Do You Have a Mobile Strategy?

That's a fair question, as well as the focus of my latest article for Internet Telephony magazine. I've been writing a monthly column there for a while - Rethinking Communications - and in the current issue, this is the theme I'm exploring.

Mobility is ubiquitous and becoming even more so.There are many things you could do - and should do - but more importantly, you need a plan. This can be a huge topic, and my article touches on three aspects of that - BYOD, BYOI and service providers. All are different, and the mix will depend on your environment, as well as where you want to take mobility - which of course is all about having a plan.

I welcome you to read the article, and hopefully that will help focus your thinking on mobility. Following that, I hope you continue reading my future articles there.

GENBAND Takeaways - In Charlie We Trust

Had a chance to reflect on GENBAND's Perspective 2011 event during the flight home last night. I posted some thoughts yesterday, and tweeted a bit, but wanted to share a bigger picture perspective with you here.

For me, it's all about this man - In Charlie We Trust. Stick with me - the "we" may not be who you're thinking of.



Charlie Vogt - President and CEO - the most important telecom exec in America? Maybe.

I've actually never met him, and he wouldn't know me from anybody. Had chances to chat with him yesterday, but didn't - I kinda like it that way - the time will come, though. I don't know him personally, but I know the backstory and the territory. The two cornerstones of their business - at least hardware-wise - are media gateways and session border controllers. I produced my share of quarterly MGW reports when I was at Frost & Sullivan, and am pretty sure I was the first industry analyst to produce a report on the SBC market (remember Aravox, Netrake, Newport Networks, Nextone, Kagoor...?). As we know, Acme is the last man standing from those days, and now everyone is gunning for them, including GENBAND. I could go on, but you get the idea.

It's been a bumpy ride with GENBAND, and you can argue they're stuck in a sunset business, and have tried to patch several orphans together to create a nextgen IP frontrunner. Somehow, he's kept their investors onside and hung on long enough to pick up some very strong assets, especially Nortel. Well, now things are getting really interesting. You don't often see industry analysts and financial analysts in the same room, and we're all keen to hear how GENBAND is going to take things to the next level.

So, what does this have to do with this guy?



Am sure some GENBANDers and their fellow Texans will know this spot in Austin (my new fave city), where I was for the last ITExpo. Just like patrons of the Thirsty Nickel put their trust in beer, telcos should put their trust in Charlie. I'm saying this for two reasons.

First, GENBAND is betting the farm on one thing - network transformation. As Charlie said, if telcos fail in the transition to IP, so will GENBAND. Of course, the opposite is true, and that's what the pre-IPO crowd wants to hear. I just like his honesty - you don't often hear execs talk about what could sink their company. For many of us, TDM is so 2004 and all we can think about is the iPhone 5. Well, as we heard a few times yesterday, TDM will be around in big telcos for a long time still, so there must still be gold in those hills. GENBAND knew what they were getting with Nortel, and now have an incredible opportunity to be THE vendor to take this customer base into the promised land of IP.

Charlie also pointed out that it's pretty much impossible for one vendor to totally dominate their space over time, and that Acme is now facing stronger competition. No argument there, and he feels they have nowhere to go but up with SBCs. Time will tell, and let's save that topic for another time.

Both Acme and BroadSoft have done well by going public, and even though Tekelec is now going the other direction, you can only conclude the time is right for GENBAND. They're now at critical mass with customers, revenues, headcount and global footprint, and whether Charlie truly has a grand plan, or things just fell into place over time, I like their chances.

The main question for me is can they migrate their customers fast enough? Veraz met a similar fate when they went public, and simply had too much legacy and a declining revenue base to keep investors interested. We heard a lot about how GENBAND is moving more towards software and supporting third party developers, and they seem on the right track there. If the wireline telcos can hang on, GENBAND should be ok. Of course, that's easier said than done, as OTTs, cablecos and wireless operators keep eroding their customer base.

There's another reason to trust in Charlie - and I don't need new reasons to trust in beer. He made a passing comment yesterday that I thought was very telling - "I'm sure Huawei would love to buy us". Yup.

I read a couple of things into that. GENBAND is now getting big enough to be a nice target for Tier 1 global vendors, so that must feel good for builders like Charlie. More importantly, Huawei has long coveted an in for the U.S. market, and acquistion efforts (3Com?) have been their route of choice, but no luck so far. The U.S. and European telecom vendors cannot compete against China's cost advantages, so there's a self-preservation motive at work here. Sure, Huawei would be a lucrative exit for GENBAND at some point, but would it be the right thing to do?

Money and principle don't always mix, but I'm rooting for GENBAND to stay put. They've outlasted a lot of MGW players, especially in the U.S., and if they go, who's left here for the telcos to buy from? Of course there are many other MGW vendors out there, but GENBAND has managed to make themselves #1, and big telcos generally like to buy from market leaders. Am not a trade protectionist, but my New England roots are showing, and I like GENBAND better as a domestic company that's trying to become the global player that Nortel once was.

I'm also saying that because Canada has just gone through this losing its shining star in Nortel, and it sure looks like RIM is on the same path. If they go, it's scary to think who would be our top tech company - it gets pretty thin after RIM, and that's kinda worrisome. Anyhow, GENBAND doesn't have RIM or Nortel's legacy of innovation and R&D, but they're working on that, and I think that will eventually be their saving grace.

In that regard, there's a lot riding on Charlie and the trust we're putting in his hands. Wireline telcos need GENBAND, but in return GENBAND needs to deliver a clear vision and solution to get those telcos on terra firma to secure their future. I think they have the products - not so sure yet about the apps - but, of two things I am certain in terms of takeaways from yesterday. One - they understand the telco business and are earning their trust for the IP roadmap. Two - they understand their place in the vendor ecosystem and what they need to do to compete successfully.

There's lots more to say about all of this, as well as the event itself, but I'll stop now. It's too early for a beer, so I'll have my morning tea. In the meantime, what's your take on GENBAND? Are you with me?

UCStrategies Podcast - the Future for Service Providers

This week's UCStrategies podcast was about the future for service providers, especially incumbents. I've been keen on this topic for years, and still believe that the service provider of the future has yet to emerge.

Anyhow, Russell Bennett did a great job pulling this together, and I enjoyed being part of it. The podcast has just been uploaded to the UCS portal, and you can give it a listen any time. Enjoy!

Content for Service Providers - is this the answer?

The topic of content has been a big deal recently with service providers, and there are many angles to consider here. I just started exploring this, based largely on what's happening in Canada right now, and that's the focus of my latest Service Provider Views article on TMCnet.

I'm going to continue this thread over the next couple of articles, but am starting with the question around whether service providers should own their content or outsource it. Every situation is different, but it's a decision all service providers will need to make at some point. The article is running now, and you can read it here.

Are Telcos Giving Up on Landline too Soon?

That's the subject of my latest Service Provider Views column, which is running now TMCnet. Hope you give it a read - I'm worried about the state of telecom - are you? Let's discuss.

Service Provider Views - New Thoughts About Microsoft

My latest Service Provider Views column on TMCnet is running now, and revisits some earlier pieces I wrote about their Telco 2.0 strategy.

This column focuses on two main ideas. First - why service providers and Microsoft need each other, and second, a look at a few of the key industry trends that are transforming the role and definition of what it means to be a service provider in the Internet age.

There are a lot of interesting and timely themes to explore, and I'll be continuing in this vein over the next 1 or 2 columns. To get started, I'll steer you to today's piece, and hopefully you'll stick with me in columns that will follow it. As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome.


Technorati tags: Service Provider Views, Jon Arnold, J Arnold & Associates, TMCnet, Microsoft

BCE Deal - How Do You Value a Telco?

The BCE privatization saga continues, and now the ball is back in BCE's court as they try to defend their valuation and trump KPMG's solvency opinion. There's a lot at stake here, and both sides are pulling out all the stops to get things to go their way. It's a bit like watching Detroit's auto execs going hat in hand to Washington for a bailout. If the deal falls apart, there are big time winners and losers, and a whole new environment for Canadian service providers.

I'm not following the minutiae of the story, but you can get a good taste of it here. It's high stakes accounting, banking and legalese, with lots of complexities around things like the criteria for determining solvency, the benchmark dates for making valuations, potential conflicts of interest for KPMG between BCE and the bankers, avoidance of paying break fees if the solvency test is the deal-killer, the impact of Canada's suddenly weak dollar, etc.

There are many angles and sub-stories here, and some will only be of local interest. In some ways BCE is better off remaining a public company, and long-standing shareholders will be happy because the huge drop in valuation this week only remains a paper loss. By staying public, BCE avoids taking on the $30+ billion in debt, which would severely restrict its ability to invest in network upgrades to remain competitive. If the deal dies, all bets are off, and BCE's competitors will have to expect a more aggressive posture from them. That in turn should keep the playing field a bit more level since BCE will be jumping back into the pool with both feet.

Not everyone out there will find the BCE story of interest, and that's fine. My main reason for posting about this is to draw attention to the challenges of valuing a telco, especially in tough economic times. I'm not an expert in business valuations, but it sure must be difficult to assess the value of the two primary assets of any telco - its subscribers and the network. BCE is a great case study since it's so public, and if I was a telco, I'd be watching this one closely. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see one or two major telcos/cablecos to falter in 2009, and they'll have the same issues to deal with. In today's world of IP communications it's much harder to place a value on the subscriber, and at some point, revenues from advertisers will be part of the mix, just like they are with the portal players like Google and Yahoo. I'm sure BCE will be a real test to determine just how well auditors can do their job in valuing service providers, and I guess we'll know once the final rulings are decided. Stay tuned.


Technorati tags: KPMG, Jon Arnold, BCE

Service Provider Views - Managing in a Down Economy

My latest column for TMCnet is running now. This edition of Service Provider Views picks up from last month's theme about how carriers are being impacted by the economy. The health of service providers determines the health of vendors, and I have some thoughts on what's happening with both.

The main idea I'm trying to get across is that despite all the bad news, there are a number of companies bucking the trend, and are doing just fine. Apple is a a true anomaly, but there are quite a few companies peforming very well while their peers struggle along.

You can read the article here, and by all means, I'd love to hear your thoughts or other good news stories I've missed.


Technorati tags: Service Provider Views, Jon Arnold, J Arnold & Associates, TMCnet

SaaS Model for VoIP - Ari Rabban's View in IP Convergence TV

I haven't had much to report lately for the IP Convergence TV portal, although the video interviews I conducted at the recent IT Expo have now been posted there as well.

In addition, however, I do regular outreach with industry thought leaders to contribute Guest Opinion articles to the portal. The most recent piece comes from long-time colleague Ari Rabban, who should be familiar to my regular readers. Ari's been in VoIP as long as anybody, going back to the early days of VocalTec. He's currently the CEO of Phone.com, an interesting VoIP startup I've talked about previously.

Phone.com is a great example of a VoIP SaaS solution, and they have pretty cool offerings for both residential and SMB environments. I've used the SMB service a bit, and it's great having an 800 number to give out to people.

In today's economy, SaaS makes a lot of sense, and Phone.com looks to be in the right place at the right time these days. I'm sure we'll be hearing more good things in due course, and until then, I encourage you to give Ari's article a read. It was posted earlier today on the IPCTV portal, and is also runing now on the Phone.com blog.

Let me - and Ari - know your thoughts, and if you like it, you should sign up for the service!


Technorati tags: IP Convergence TV, Jon Arnold, Phone.com, Ari Rabban, VoIP

Service Provider Views - Dealing with a Down Economy

Sooner or later this economy catches up to everyone, and telecom is not immune. My latest Service Provider Views article on TMCnet takes a look at what I think operators need to be doing to minimize the fallout in a down market.

There's a lot to explore here, and this article is Part 1. In light of Skype's strong Q3 numbers, I decided to focus a bit on them as an example of things going right in a challenging environment. Some service providers will fare better than others, and this impacts everyone in the food chain. I'll look at some of these implications in the follow up article. For now, Part 1 is online now, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Technorati tags: Service Provider Views, Jon Arnold, J Arnold & Associates, TMCnet, Skype

Videotron's Wireless Network Plans Announced

This is mostly a news item, and I don't do many of those. For many, it's an old news item by now, but not for everyone. I've been out of pocket almost all week, and this is the best I can do here, and didn't want this to pass unmentioned.

On Tuesday, Videotron announced their wireless network plans, and they're pretty ambitious. I was hoping to participate on the briefing call that day, but was too tied up at the Avaya analyst conference.

In the current economic climate, it's a huge deal to hear about spending like this. After spending $554 million to acquire spectrum during the AWS auction (which I've been following) - table stakes to get into the wireless game - they're now commmitting around $250-$300 million more to build an HSPA network. Videotron has said they were serious about wireless from the beginning and now they're putting their money on the table.

I can't help but think there's got to be a bit of political hubris at work here, as this is a Quebec story, not a Canada story. That message comes out loud and clear in the press release, especially with the proud claim how this investment will create 1,000 jobs for Quebecers. I'd be remiss to mention that the Bloc - their separatist party - fared well in the recent federal election, largely at the expense of the fading Liberals. I digress.

I should also note that Videotron is one of the biggest and best Quebec-based companies, and they are only in the wireless business to serve Quebec. Their population is a bit under 8 million, and I don't know if their Capex plans on a per-capita basis would be high or low relative to other markets. Regardless, it's happening, and that's the story here.

Anyhow, like Rogers, Videotron is a multimedia conglomerate, and have a lot of content at their disposal, so their plans extend well beyond voice. Bell diversified into content a few years back, but could never make it all work. However, networks are faster today, and we have smartphones now, so things will be much different for Videotron this time around. What also makes this interesting is that Videotron has a track record of being disruptive, most recently with their push into VoIP, which has been costly for Bell.

So, I'd expect similar things this time around with wireless. Actually, Videotron does offer wireless today, but over the Rogers network, which really limits what they'd like to do. Once they come to market on their own, Rogers will lose their traffic of course, but more importantly, they'll now be competing directly against each other.

Aside from this being a bold statement of investment in Quebec's communications infrastructure, it's great news for Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), who were announced as the prime vendor for their network buildout. NSN is on a roll in Canada, having also just been awarded the business to build a jointly-funded HSPA wireless network for Bell and Telus. Wow. Hard to believe how these two competitors are now working together, but it's a necessity. Rogers already has GSM, and once Videotron comes with HSPA, they would be at a huge disadvantage if they sat tight with their CDMA networks.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, I guess. It's clear that the economics for each to build separate HSPA networks just don't work, and it sure will be interesting to see how they manage to share things once it's done and they go back to competing against each other. Or maybe - just maybe - they'll join forces to compete against the cablecos. How interesting would that be?

And just to complete the picture, today Shaw announced they were putting aside plans to build their wireless network. They're in a much smaller market than Quebec, but still spent $190 million to acquire spectrum licenses. Maybe they'll sell it to the highest bidder - if that's allowed - or maybe they'll jump back in the game if the market changes. Who knows?

With Videotron's news, the focus now shifts to what the other new wireless players plan to do - namely Globalive, Bragg/EastLink and DAVE Wireless. It's not easy raising money today for anything, let alone yet another wireless network. This sure sets the stage for an interesting 2009 in Canada's wireless marketplace, and I'll be back on this soapbox again soon.


Technorati tags: Videotron, Jon Arnold, AWS auction

Service Provider Views - BroadSoft as a Platform Play

My latest Service Provider Views column is running now on TMCnet. It's another variation on the platform play theme, and my focus this time is on BroadSoft.

This may not be what comes to mind right away for most of you, but you might just think otherwise after reading my article.

I've followed BroadSoft for ages, and after spending time with them last week at Connections 2008, I'm sure seeing a lot of Web 2.0 and mashups, and that says platform play to me. What do you think?


Technorati tags: Service Provider Views, Jon Arnold, J Arnold & Associates, TMCnet, BroadSoft

New Video Interviews on TMCnet

During TMC's IT Expo a couple of weeks back, I conducted a handful of video interviews. As with the Spring IT Expo earlier this year, these were done while wearing my Editor's hat for the IP Convergence TV portal.

These interviews are a co-production between TMC and IP Convergence TV, and they will be available for viewing on both websites. Updates for IPCTV have been a bit slow lately, but TMC's Alan Urkawich has done a great job getting these produced, and they're now running on TMC's video page. Ideally, they would run on IPCTV the same time, and I could cover these in one post, but since they're up on TMC now, I'm posting today while it's fresh.

I did 5 video interviews during the show, with each guest talking about various aspects of convergence technologies and their impact on service providers. We've kept them short this time around, and each runs about 5 minutes. So, in no particular order, here are the links...

Rich Tehrani, President, TMC - talking about some of the more interesting solutions he's seeing on the showfloor, esp mobile VoIP and immersive telepresence.

Dan York - Dir. Emerging Comm. Technologies, Voxeo - good insights from Dan about how voice-enabled communications is becoming integrated with Web services, and what this means for both service providers and enterprises.

Bob Emmerson - freelance telecom writer - Bob brings his deep industry experience to bear in talking about the importance of QoE for video, and how poorly understood it is in North America. He also shares his views on Unified Communications and the trend towards integrating VoIP with business processes.

Eric Burger - Chairman, SIP Forum - Eric updates us on the SIP Forum, especially the SIP Connect initiative, which is enabling plug-and-play solutions across multiple vendors. He also explains why service providers of all stripes - wireline, wireless and cable - are now actively involved with the SIP Forum, and helping drive its recent growth spurt.

David Yedwab - Partner, Marketing Strategy Analytics - always one of my favorite interviews. David knows the SMB space well, and has great insights about the issues/trends/challenges around their adoption of converged communications services. He cites the Microsoft Response Point solution as a good example, whose launch we both saw at the show.

That should give you a good fix of video content for now. I'd love to hear your thoughts, and let me know which one you liked the best!

To close out, I should also mention that video is a big part of TMC's thinking these days, and these interviews have been posted to a TMC microsite dedicated to video. I think it's a great idea, and it's especially helpful for anyone who couldn't get to the IT Expo last month.

There's loads of video content there, starting with a daily news update from Alan Urkawich - not a bad way to get a daily digest on what's new. Search the tabs, and you'll find video from recent events TMC has been involved with. For the IT Expo, in addition to my interviews, most of the keynotes are there, as well as many TMC interviews conducted with various exhibitors. There's similar content there for Astricon 2008 and NXTcomm.


Technorati tags: TMCnet, Jon Arnold, Rich Tehrani, Bob Emmerson, Dan York, Eric Burger, David Yedwab, IT Expo, IP Convergence TV

DNCL - Canada's Answer to the Scourge of Telemarketers

Been trying to get this out all day - just one thing after another.

This post is more of a public service announcement instead of the usual trail-blazing thought leadership you find here - but still of interest, at least to Canadians! :-)

So, we finally have DNCL - our Do Not Call List - to keep those pesky telemarketers away. This just came out about two weeks ago, but it really only popped into my mind yesterday.

It's funny how I spend most of my time with emerging technologies and following trends that may disrupt the world of telecom as we know it - but something as pedestrian as DNCL in my own backyard completely eludes me. Why is that???

I've seen this mentioned here and there in the news and the blogs, but never gave it a thought for what it means to me as a consumer. Yesterday, though, I happened to catch a tiny item in the paper about it, explaining DNCL and how to register. Duh - well, OF COURSE I SHOULD DO THIS. It may get lonely working from home, but it's not so bad that I look forward to hearing about the latest time-shares or home security deals or adult dating services, etc.

So, it took all of about 2 minutes to visit the National DNCL website and register our number. Done. Seems like a good use of taxpayer dollars to me.

They say it will take about a month for this notice to take effect, so I'm hoping these calls will tail off by then. Working from home, I have to tell you, we get about 3-4 of these every day. For those of you working in offices, you have no idea what you're missing, and what goes on during this quiet time at home. Thanks to the magic of call display, any time I see a toll free number calling, you just know it's from one of those people. I always let it ring through to VM - I wonder why they NEVER leave a message??? Hmm.

However - and here's the rub - the DNCL only protects us from Canadian telemarketers. No surprise there. Did you know --- that a lot of these stupid calls come from the US? You know, those area codes from places you barely recognize, like Colorado, Idaho or South Carolina. Nobody I know is calling our house from these places - ever - and the DNCL isn't going to catch them. Not much you can really do there, but DNCL is definitely a step in the right direction.

So, for those of you who didn't know - and need to know - now you know - and I'd encourage you to sign on ASAP. Happy Thanksgiving!


Technorati tags: National DNCL, Jon Arnold, telemarketers

Service Provider Views - Is VoIP Dead?

Well, that's what Skype's Jonathan Christensen thinks. My latest Service Provider Views article ran yesterday on TMCnet, and the focus was on his keynote at the ITExpo earlier this month. I thought it was the most interesting presentation given, and is very much in line with what my Service Provider Views column is about.

Of course, it's a provocative question, so you'll just have to read the article yourself to find the answer. And whether you agree or not, I'd love to hear your thoughts.


Technorati tags: Service Provider Views, Jon Arnold, J Arnold & Associates, TMCnet, Skype, VoIP, Jonathan Christensen

Latest Service Provider Views - Making Voice a Killer App

Got a pretty full plate here at the IT Expo, and I'll have a blog post and some photos coming about Day 1.

Until then, my latest Service Provider Views column on TMCnet was published today, and with the Expo upon us, I think you'll find it a good read. My focus here is what a couple of companies - Mobivox and Jajah - have been doing lately with voice activated services. I think it's a great way for service providers to add value to voice without really doing much. The article was just posted this afternoon, and you can read it here.

Hopefully you'll feel the same way, and I'd love to hear your thoughts. Back to the Expo now...


Technorati tags: Service Provider Views, Jon Arnold, J Arnold & Associates, TMC IT Expo, Mobivox, Jajah

Media Summary - August

August is a pretty slow month all around, so I didn't engage that much with the media. That said, I did manage to turn up in a few places, as well as publish my bi-monthly column, Service Provider Views for TMCnet.

- Chicago Sun-Times - Ifbyphone profile story

- IT World Canada - Q9 Networks privatization

- Ottawa Business Journal - Espial outlook in IPTV market

- Service Provider Views - "Ribbit - Why BT's $105 Million Was Well Spent"

- Service Provider Views - "Platform Play Updates - Solid Proof Points for Service Providers"


Technorati tags: J Arnold & Associates, Jon Arnold

Service Provider Views - Ribbit's Deal with BT

For my latest Service Provider Views column, I've continued the theme of platform plays from the last column - this time focusing totally on Ribbit.

The $105 million price tag paid by British Telecom raises all kinds of questions about the deal and what it means for Voice 2.0 in general. It's a great story, and I've tried to shed more light on it in this column. Last week I interviewed Ribbit's founders - Ted Griggs and Crick Waters, and from that I've written my column.

Basically, I've concluded that BT paid good money for Ribbit. It's a huge exit for Ribbit, but really not such a big deal for BT. In terms of valuation, it's very tricky to say whether overpaid or not. On paper, sure there's little in the way of revenues or customers, and developers can be a very fleeting "asset". This deal is all about promise and potential, and you'll just have to read the piece to see what this means to me.

Hope you like it, and I'd love to hear your take on this.

Technorati tags: Service Provider Views, Jon Arnold, J Arnold & Associates, TMCnet, British Telecom, Ribbit

Can Bell Canada Stay Competitive? Alec Says No.

Colleague Alec Saunders had an action-speaks-louder-than-words post yesterday that read my mind perfectly.

I had exactly the same reaction as Alec after reading Bell Canada's current position on infrastructure spending in the Globe & Mail.

Basically, the storyline is that Bell does not plan to pursue a FTTH - fiber to the home - strategy to deliver the high end speeds to stay on par or get ahead of the cablecos. They're taking the prudent approach in balancing the Capex required to upgrade their networks versus the fiscal realities that privatization is about to impose on them. It really is a rock and a hard place scenario, and Bell ultimately seems to be playing it safe.

Too safe for Alec's liking - mine too. So much so for Alec that his post was a public declaration that Bell will not be able to meet his needs, and he's making the switch from DSL to cable. I just had to share this with you as I think Alec speaks to an issue that may come to haunt Bell.

Their rationale is that Bell's plans for DSL and fiber will provide sufficient speeds - up to 10 Mbps - for what the market needs. Hmm. That may hold for the general population, but a few years from now, that number is going to sound like it's from a bygone era. Maybe this means that IPTV is not in their plans now and that they'll rely more on Expressvu for video. Or maybe they're going to surprise us or change their plans as market conditions dictate, but for now, this doesn't sound like the way to go for a company that more than ever needs to be on the leading edge.

Technorati tags: Bell Canada, Alec Saunders, Jon Arnold, DSL

Mobile VoIP - Easier Said Than Done

Wanted to pick up on a few threads here that I think point to a topic we're going to keep hearing about - why isn't mobile VoIP happening?

Of course the answer depends on who you talk to, but it's certainly getting people's attention and giving rise to some interesting questions. I've always been a fan of a mobile user's best friend - such as Truphone, fring, Jajah, Mobivox, Rebtel, etc. Admittedly, since I don't travel much, I don't have much utility for these services, but in the course of my work, I certainly understand the value proposition.

I think about this topic from time to time, but the ball got rolling for me on Friday when Olga Kharif of Business Week interviewed me on this topic. Whenever Olga calls me, there's usually a good story. She hasn't turned this into an article yet, but she prefaced the story with a post about mobile VoIP to her Tech Beat blog on Thursday. I'll update you if she does get an article running on this.

The theme hit me again with a really interesting post by Om Malik that I saw today. It was actually posted on Saturday - y'know, Om never stops...

His post went into very nice detail about how Nokia is no longer supporting mobile VoIP on certain N-Series phones, and concludes that Nokia is off the mark doing this. It's a great read and basically shows how the mobile operators still have the market power and can call the shots with handset vendors as to what services are going to run over their networks. Very interesting stuff.

This topic has come up a number of times on many blogs in recent months, but this post seemed to tie in nicely with what Olga is picking up on. To me, it's a simply a repeat of how landline operators initially responded to VoIP, and the pattern is very predictable. Eventually we'll get our mobile VoIP, but the carriers will only support it when they're good and ready - and they're not ready yet. As usual, Om's post generated loads of comments, and these are another barometer of how well Nokia's actions are going over - not.

Going in reverse motion, I need to bring in Andy Abramson's post from last week that cited a nice Wall Street Journal article about mobile VoIP. It's not really a critical analysis, but it's great mainstream coverage that I'm sure will eventually get more people wondering about this too.

Oh, and for a nice twist how you can do mobile VoIP even when you're not supposed to, Andy's got a great story to tell about what he did the other day. The tools are definitely there, and for those who are tech savvy enough and willing to experiment a little, mobile VoIP is just a few URLs and downloads away. This is a long way from becoming mainstream, but there's no doubt in my mind that mobile VoIP will get there - just not right away.

Am sure with a bit of digging I could find many other recent posts and news items to support my story here, but I'm satisfied that I've seen enough to conclude we've got a trend here. Aren't you?


Technorati tags: mobile VoIP, Business Week, Jon Arnold, Om Malik, Nokia, Andy Abramson