Aastra - Canadian VoIP Player to Watch

Aastra Technologies is an interesting Canadian company, and one to watch, especially in light of recent news. They have an impressive roster of telephone, PBX and video products, and appear poised to emerge as an important player for enterprise premise-based communications solutions. They're also one of the few Canadian IP players that are publicly traded, and should be on the radar of the bankers and fund manager trying to make money in this space.

They just announced the acquisition of troubled German PBX manufacturer, DeTeWe KG. This will quickly add critical mass, and give them a foothold in Germany. Together with some earlier European telecom acquisitions, Aastra will look to consolidate all these pieces and become a strong force in the European PBX and video markets. We don't see many Canadian companies growing this way, and it's a good sign in terms of Canada becoming more of a global player as the IP revolution unfolds.

Aastra has also come to market with some interesting mid-range IP phones that are a great fit for the small business market. Eweek just ran a terrific article about their Venture IP phones. These are not ordinary IP handsets. They include embedded software from Nimcat Networks, another up and coming, but little-known Canadian vendor. Their nimX solution provides PBX functionality that's built into the phones, and uses serverless peer to peer technology. It's a unique approach, and provides PBX-like performance for those who cannot justify a full PBX, and want a premise based solution that's affordable, but isn't PC-based. Definitely an interesting alternative to the likes of Asterisk, or any of the open source PBX offerings.

Skype and Boingo Deal - Skaboing!

Skype Zones is the latest move by Skype to get beyond the desktop, and bring their brand of VoIP to the WiFi world.

Can you think of two companies with more unusual names - but also doing groundbreaking stuff with the two biggest trends in communications - VoIP and WiFi? So, I guess if you put 'em together, you get Skaboing. I wonder how that translates in Swedish?

On today's conference call, Niklas Zennstrom and David Hagan told the story in under 20 minutes, which I thought was great. Neat and tidy. Niklas emphasized this is a beta service still, but the price is right, and so is the footprint. $7.95 per month gets you unlimited voice access using Skype across Boingo's network of 18,000 hotspots. Just like that, instant market coverage. If you add on Boingo's charge of $21.95 per month for unlimited Internet access, you've pretty much got the ultimate combo - all you can eat voice and data with mobility.

Not only that, but if you just need a quick hit of mobile Skype, you can get 2 hours of Skype access for just $2.95. I think that's really great - not quite micro-billing, but finally some interesting options that will really work for a lot of people.

WiFi isn't all there yet for voice, but it brings Skype to people on the go in a hurry, and at that price, the major mobile operators have got to be watching this one carefully. I think we're going to start seeing more deals like this, and soon. Telecom moves in IP time now, and I'll bet we'll see other deals along these lines in a matter of days, not weeks or months.

Canadian News Items - Voxilla to Re-sell Polycom, and Cable Telephony Gaining Momentum

Two quick items of note today for the Canadian IP communications market.

First, Voxilla has just announced being a certified reseller of Polycom's products. The "aha" here is that they are the first distributor to have this status whose business is solely focused on VoIP, and whose channel is essentially Internet-based.

This is good news for Voxilla, as it moves them up the food chain from being a pure sales channel. They have invested in developing the product expertise needed to be a certified reseller, which should open the door to bigger sales opprotunities. For now, they will be carrying Polycom's line of Soundpoint IP phones, as well as their Soundstation IP conference phone.

This is also a good sign that the IP ecosystem is maturing. When a major vendor like Polycom certifies Voxilla as a reseller, it's a nice credibility boost for VoIP distributors to be bona fide channels. It validates them as being "value-added", and it also validates the Internet itself as a credible route to market. Looks like a win-win to me. Furthermore, since Voxilla is a hybrid distributor/publisher, they are in a great position to support Polycom with the written word in addition to their technical staff.

So, what's the Canadian angle? Thought you'd never ask. This is really more of a U.S. story - true - but it has a Canadian flavor. I recently posted that Voxilla has opened a Canadian operation in B.C., as they've noted strong demand here for VoIP products. Good for them, and good for Canada. Our IP ecosystem needs this kind of support, and now with Polycom, let's hope it continues to grow.

The second item is about VoIP cable telephony. Now that all 4 major MSOs are in the market, the papers have been talking about their collective progress. So far, Shaw and Videotron have made the most noise by far, with about 65,000 subscribers between them. That's a pretty good take rate considering their footprints, and the fact that both have only been available in a handful of urban markets.

Rogers is the biggest player, but just launched this month, so their impact really won't be felt until later this year. Cogeco is the other major MSO, and they operate in both Ontario and Quebec. On yesterday's conference call, they only announced a handful of customers, and gave every indication that VoIP is not their main priority. They're only investing $5 million in Capex, and expect no more than 8,000 VoIP subs by year end. Not an ambitious target, and I really don't see them being much of a driver in this space. So for me, Cogeco's news basically told me not to spend too much time following them, and to focus more on what the other MSOs are doing. And that's what I'll be doing.

VoIP Earns its Stripes

Just a quick post about how reliable and practical VoIP has turned out to be in the wake of the terrible events in London this week. This was also borne out during 9/11 in New York, and reflect the very essence of why the Internet (Arpanet) was created in the first place.

Jeff Pulver raised some poignant issues around the need for Emergency Services for VoIP, and helps focus attention on the need for regulators to see VoIP as a vital component of our overall communications fabric.

With wireline and wireless circuits overloading during disasters, VoIP has stepped in beautifully, and been a real godsend for people in dire need to stay in touch. Of course, VoIP is much more than a disaster backup service, and we really need the regulators to see it this way. It really just puts the onus on the IP communications industry to develop a native solution for IP emergency services, and to become properly understood by the regulators. Jeff's posting provides a link to some insightful ideas from Tom Evslin about this - worth reading.

Red, White & Blue - It's All Good

This is one of my occasional postings that's not about IP, and touches on some of the other things that keep me up at night! Being both Canadian and American, I take extra solace in the halo of all the flag-waving that just passed this weekend. This was one of those years where both Canada Day and Independence Day lined up as bookends to the weekend. Both countries have things to feel good about, although you'd never know it from the G8 meetings. That said, there's some nice convergence there for me that covers red, white and blue!

Now a little bit more on red and little bit on blue....

My beloved Red Sox are somehow in first place! As we approach the All Star break, I read somewhere that the Sox haven't been in first place this late in the season since 2001. At face value this is good news, but any card-carrying member of the Nation just sees this as a harbinger of doom. Are the Yankees making their move now? Will they stay this hot? What if Schilling's return doesn't pick up the pitching staff? What if Foulke is done? What if Clement's run is over? What if Bellhorn keeps striking out at this rate? What if nobody else steps up the offense aside from Manny and Ortiz? What happens when Damon's hit streak ends? What if Renteria keeps making errors and just hits ok? Will Millar ever find his swing? What's wrong with Trot? What happens if someone gets hurt? What happens if they can't find a way to beat the Blue Jays? I could go on forever, but I think you get the idea. I only posted once about the Sox at the very beginning of the season, and I still have the same doubts now. But at least this time, we're in first place. I'll check back in again on this after the next Sox-Yankees series.

Blue is about the blues - my favorite form of music. Blues are a big part of my life, and I've been on the board of the Toronto Blues Society forever. We just celebrated our 20th anniversary, and I'm wearing my TBS hat now to share that news with the blogging community. To commemorate the event, we just produced a special CD that showcases Canada's best blues talent. If you're a blues fan, and want a taste of what's coming from the Great White North, this is the ultimate sampler. It's a double CD, with 37 tracks - household names for Canadian blues fans, and a great way to broaden your horizons for first rate blues.











If you want to check it out, or learn more about the Toronto Blues Society, please visit our website. You can also order the CD online or call our toll free number, which is posted on the site. At $20 CDN it's a great deal. While you're there, check out our t-shirts, hats and mugs. We'll get you covered and feeling good about the blues in no time!

Blogging Panel Coming at Fall VON

I'm still finding my legs as a blogger, but it's quickly become an important part of both my social and intelligence networks. No doubt this is the case for most of you following my blog as well as many others out there in IP-land.

In support of the blogerati who make my life a little easier - and more interesting - I want to do my part and put the word out for the Blogging Panel coming up in September at Fall VON.

For anyone following the blogs, this will be a great opportunity to get beyond the virtual and see some of the true IP thought leaders in person. It's a great lineup, and I strongly urge you to see them - I'll certainly be there. And if you're not yet going to Fall VON, this is as good a reason as any to get off the fence and make your plans to go now. Where else can you see all these guys in one place?

Here's the lineup - Andy Abramson will moderate, and joining him will be Jeff Pulver, Om Malik, Aswath Rao, Martin Geddes, Stuart Henshell, and waving the Maple Leaf, Mark Evans.

See you there!

Blue Man Group - Stanley Kubrick Meets David Byrne

This weekend I saw the Blue Man Group here in Toronto. BMG has been around a long time, but they just recently started a Toronto production. This may be old news to many of you, but I suspect if you saw the show in Las Vegas, it will feel more like entertainment than if you see it your local theater, where the whole experience seemed quite intimate, even though these guys never say a word.

As entertainment, it's superb - fun to watch, witty, funny, great music, colorful, inventive - well, you get the idea. And I won't give away the ending - very interactive and participatory. That stuff isn't hard to miss - these guys are good.

What I really liked was just how original the whole thing is. To me, this counts a lot considering how much things are recycled these days, or badly re-made. You don't see much out there that's really different, and also challenges you. I just love the way they explore the relationship between man and machine, and where art fits into a world that is becoming more and more based on technology and automation.

Not since Kubrick's 2001 Space Odyssey, have I seen something that's really explored this territory in a way that connects with you on a primal level. It's really not much of stretch to switch how the Blue Men react to everyday life with the way the apes reacted to the monolith in beginning of the film. That sense of fascination and wonder - that's what gives the Blue Men their charm - you can't really tell if they are man or machine.

I had to bring David Byrne into this because he also explores some of these themes in his music, and really brings it to life in his music, and a strong sense of rhythm and percussion. I'm a huge Heads fan, and I can see how their music might have evolved into something like what BMG does. It's really primal and edgy and keeps you connected to the ideas that the Blue Men are trying to get across. I especially liked the way they showed how Internet technology is actually increasing urban alienation rather than bringing us all together.

On the positive side, the central message for me is that BMG is showing us their vision of how to combine music and art with technology, and they're doing it in an original way that is really good. So, technology can serve a higher purpose than just making our lives more efficient, but it's hard as hell to do. That's what I liked most about BMG. It can be done, and you don't have to rely on everything that's come before.

Isn't that what we're trying to do with IP communications? Right - building a new communications network that is simply better for the age we live in - much like how the telephone displaced the telegraph. That seems appropriate to say given how effectively the Internet was used this weekend to broadcast all the Live8 concerts.

If you want to see what David Byrne is up to these days, and how he sees the role of art evolving in our global village, check out his Journal - it's really great. And while you're there, he's got a very cool Internet radio station. I think he's a great visionary for where art and technology meet and can make the world a better place.

Ok, so where's the VoIP tie-in? Well, this one's a stretch, but anyone who has seen the Herding Cats perform at Jeff Pulver's VON events will know where I'm coming from. Their showstopper is a killer version of Whole Lotta Love. This is one of those cases where the cover version really is as good as or better than original. I've certainly got my fave examples - but we'll have to take that conversation offline - that's another topic! Anyhow, the Cats version is really great, and at one point, their drummer, Jon, pours water onto his drums, and if you've seen the show, you know just how cool the effect is when he pounds away, and the water shoots up like a volcano.

BMG does this too, but with different colors of paint, and the effect is even more spectacular, and of course, much more theatrical. So, for the handful of us who have seen BMG and the Cats, you can't help but make the connection. Anybody out there know who actually came up with the idea? Maybe it was neither of them. Whatever - it's a great effect.