Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

AT&T is once again disrupting the cable and satellite companies as they illustrate what IP communications can do. As my pal, Jeff Pulver, used to tell me, "on IP networks, video is just an application."  Case in point is AT&T offering customers the chance to follow and participate in College Basketball Playoffs.  

Here’s what you do:  To set up your brackets for College Basketball from Yahoo! Sports,  log in at att.net and click on "Sports" to pick the teams you think will advance. You can complete your bracket anytime between when the brackets are announced until the first game tips off. Once the tournament begins, U-verse TV customers can easily track the accuracy of their team picks by viewing their brackets on their U-verse TV screen. Correct picks will be highlighted in green and losing picks will be highlighted in red.

Source: www.voip-news.com

The Virtual Office Business Phone Service from 8×8, Inc. is now part of the Certified Solutions Showcase on the Intel Business Exchange.

“8×8 applauds Intel’s efforts to help small businesses make difficult technology purchasing decisions,” said 8×8 Vice President of Business & Channel Development, Huw Rees. “We are very pleased to be part of this innovative and influential online resource and look forward to educating more and more small businesses about the cost and operational efficiencies of our Virtual Office VoIP business phone service.”

According to 8×8:

8×8’s Virtual Office hosted PBX phone service is an all inclusive Internet-based telecommunications solution which combines unlimited local and long distance calling with advanced PBX features. Normally priced at $49.99 per extension/month Virtual Office is now available to companies who subscribe by December 31, 2008 for a monthly fee of $24.99/extension or a one-time annual fee of $250/extension for the first year of service.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Tektronix Communications joined in the fun of Global MSF Interoperability 2008 event. The event promotes multivendor interoperability and the advancement of monitoring and test solutions for multiservice networks.

According to the company:

At GMI 2008, Tektronix Communications monitored both voice and video services simultaneously in the access and core networks. Building on its heritage of innovation and industry leadership in next-generation network monitoring, Tektronix Communications used its Unified Assurance suite of solutions including GeoProbe and Advanced Performance Monitoring (APM) for network monitoring in a multiservice environment.

“Participation in GMI 2008 showcases Tektronix’ commitment to meeting service operators’ needs as they migrate towards multiservice environments,” said Mark Driedger, Vice President and General Manager, Network Management, Tektronix Communications. “However, there is a great deal of complexity that needs to be managed in a multiservice environment in order to ensure a high quality of service, which is fundamental to customer retention and reduced churn. In this environment, a monitoring solution that supports open standards and vendor interoperability is crucial for network operators to leverage the highest return on their network investments.”

Source: www.voip-news.com

Nortel is using Certicom’s security technology to improve cryptographic performance and simply application creation for its UC platform for U.S. Federal Government agencies.

According to Nortel:

Nortel plans to integrate Certicom ECC algorithms into its Application Server 5300, bringing this open, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-based software platform into conformance with U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) recommendations for cryptographic implementation.

Nortel has also licensed Certicom’s Security Builder(R) GSE(TM), which provides a pre-approved FIPS 140-2 cryptographic module for application development, saving both development time and cost of certification.

“We’re experts at developing solutions that meet or exceed the most rigorous security requirements,” said Chuck Saffell, chief executive officer, Nortel Government Solutions, which provides networking solutions and IT services for a number of U.S. Federal agencies.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

Last night when I came home from work, I went over to my AT&T HomeManager Frame to check messages and missed calls. 

This was not some conscious act of doing, since after all, I had just had the device for a few days.   

It just sort of happened. 

After doing this, I thought to myself, "this is really a better way to check your voice messages…." 

I found the user interface of using the Frame to be more elegant and enjoyable, much like the way I enjoy using my iPhone, my iPod in the car, and my MacBook Pro for other types of work and life things.  (OK… I am an Apple fan too)

All this to say is that in all of these supposedly multi-purpose devices that vendors create for us, at the end of the day, they generally do one or two things really well and the rest- sort of so-so.   

I find that the HomeManager- and in particular the HomeManager frame is becoming a sidekick to my iPhone and MacBookPro when I work from home. 

I can also multi-task (like I need more multi-tasking in my life?) and find that I am using the HomeManager’s Yellow Pages because it’s just easier and faster to look stuff up on my Frame than it is on my computer or iPhone.

AT&T’s HomeManager offering may not be for every family, and I still have a problem with $299 for the base system, even though it really is a very cool and compelling idea. 

I don’t think it’s "overpriced." 

I just think the price point is something we, as consumers have not been trained to accept.

Maybe the problem is that we still think of these  devices in the home as  just "phones."

Do a quick survey:  ask some of your friends, family and business associates what they call their iPhone or their BlackBerry.  Chances are they won’t call or refer to them as "cell phones."

I don’t fault AT&T or Samsung, who makes the system for its price point or product offering.

After all,  it’s not a phone. 

It’s what it is:  a telecom home manager, for the home. 

Maybe it’s also because for a zillion years, Ma Bell-Western Electric-Southwestern Bell- SBC-AT&T has evolved we as residential consumers of the phone company still see these home phones as just phones.

Anyone out there buy a HomeManager?

Comments are welcomed at:  alan at weinkrantz dot com.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

When AT&T sets up shop in Beijing at the 2008 Olympic Games next month, they will be showcasing the best of the best in telecommunications technologies and services. As the Official Telecommunications Services Partner for the U.S. Olympic team, they will be providing Team USA with the likes of OneNet® Services – the company’s integrated long distance, data service and audio/videoconferencing portfolio, along with a variety of technology platforms, managed services, VPNs, wireless, web hosting and much more.

These very services will provide the Olympians, coaches and support staff not only a means to communicate and exchange information with each other during the Games, but also the outside world- without having verbal or written communications monitored, censored or edited.

More than any other Olympic sponsor such as Coke, McDonald’s or G.E., AT&T has a very unique opportunity to elevate a message to the Chinese government and other developing countries that the right to express oneself and seek knowledge is core to the human condition.

While China continues to make strides in censorship policies it still has considerable progress to make.  To its credit, and in agreement with the International Olympic Committee, the Chinese government has unblocked many global sites and most of the English-version of Wikipedia. 

But that’s not enough.

U.S. Olympic Committee in partnership with AT&T, should train its athletes to carry a message to the global media that could help accelerate the rate of change in which China allows for a truly open Internet — one that allows for freedom of speech, expression of the written word, and access to broad content.

It can do so by building a special landing page on its AT&T Olympic web site and adding content to it’s Team USA Blue Room site as well.   AT&T’s PR team should counsel Team US on blogging, creating their own videos on YouTube, joining liked minded online communities, Twittering en route to their events, and creating their own FaceBoook profiles.  AT&T should ensure these pages are available – and viewable in China and in provide translation of that content in Chinese.

AT&T could easily take the position that they are only a sponsor of the Games and cannot advise, let alone suggest foreign policy- especially in a country such as China.

I believe that more than Olympic sponsor such as Coke, McDonald’s or G.E., AT&T has the opportunity and an obligation to help foster conversation, raise awareness, and impact change- without the need to hire one domestic or international lobbying firm.  (For the record, in 2007, AT&T spent $17 million in lobbying initiatives alone).

Winning at the Olympics is the ultimate combination of leveraging the power of ones body and mind.    As a sponsor of the Olympics, the “new” AT&T has a unique opportunity to facilitate the process of sending a simple and powerful message to Chinese President, Hu Jintao:  tear down that Chinese firewall.

Source: andyabramson.blogs.com

Martin picked up on my post of earlier in the week where I through down the gauntlet to get some bright minds thinking out loud.

Sir Martin really hit the mark on the integration of web and telco as this past week we saw Comcast and Vodafone grab address book managers Plaxo and Zyb.

Give it a read and see how smart this guy is if you don’t already read my good friend from Scotland.

Source: andyabramson.blogs.com

One of the companies that first crossed my radar back in the fall at Fall VON was Fonolo. Shai Berger took me through his deck, much the way Craig Walker did a year earlier with GrandCentral. As I listened to what was unfolding I kept relating mentally and verbally to my own personal experiences, and like GrandCentral was a solution to a major pain point, I realized just how much Fonolo would do to solve other pain points for so many of us.

I liked what I heard so much, I joined their advisory board and they’ve also become a client.

Fast forward to February. Shai and his team were closing in on their beta release. eComm was looming. He was presenting and the day of the presentation, he hit it out of the park. In the hallways and in chat sessions a lot of people were talking to me about Fonolo. Now this week, one of our favorite industry analyst/consultants, and good friend, Martin Geddes has weighed in with what is typically Martin. A bulls-eye, dead on the mark post that crystalizes all the Fonolo is and will be.

Martin uses words like genuinely brilliant and extra interesting the way I open bottles of 1982 Bordeaux. Sparingly. His high praise for a company that is still angel backed and in beta is both heartwarming as it as it further reaffirms my hunch that Fonolo is a true Voice 2.0 company that has a market to serve.

You can hear more great insight from Martin if you attend Telco 2.0 like I am in London on April 16 and 17th.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Unified Communications Magazine has named the Wave IP 2500 Business Communication System from Vertical Communications a 2007 Product of the Year. The announcement was made today (yes, in 2008).

“Wave IP 2500 addresses collaborative communications requirements and delivers a single, unified solution that streamlines and speeds the delivery of all forms of communications within a dispersed business environment,” said Peter Bailey, senior vice president of Vertical Communications. “We are pleased to have Wave honored for bringing robust unified communications solutions to the small and medium business (SMB) market.”

The product is an IP PBX that can be used cost-effectively by both SMB customers and large businesses because it can be scaled for 10 to 500 users. The flexible system can support users in a variety of locations like home, office or on the road, using a variety of phones. It includes integrated customer service, Visual Voicemail, Unified Messaging, and other features.

“Vertical has proven they are committed to quality and excellence while addressing real needs in the marketplace. Unified Communications is pleased to grant a 2007 Product of the Year Award to Wave IP 2500,” said Rich Tehrani, TMC President and Editor-in-Chief of Unified Communications magazine. “We’re proud to honor their hard work and accomplishments and look forward to more innovative solutions from Vertical in the future.”

Source: www.voip-news.com

Martin County, Florida, has replaced it leased telephony service with Alcatel-Lucent’s turnkey system that provides VoIP services as well as WiFi and contact center solutions. The 545 square mile county was installed by the county to help support the government’s efforts to deliver faster and better services to its residents.

“We wanted a networking foundation to match the culture of service we have instilled in the county government, and the Alcatel-Lucent solution provides us with the performance and features we need,” said Kevin Kryzda, Martin County’s Chief Information Officer. “Installing this system is also a considerable cost saving for the county, because it cuts our ongoing telecommunications expenses in half.”
“Martin County is a trend setter among government agencies,” said Tom Burns, Chief Operating Officer of Alcatel-Lucent’s Enterprise activities. “By improving community relations and interconnecting its citizens with collaboration over a secure high speed network, they have accomplished their goal of making government services responsive and cost-effective.”

Source: andyabramson.blogs.com

A report based on a talk at Stanford University by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin makes me think that the communications czar is waking up to the antics of Comcast.

In many ways Comcast is a company that moves forward at every turn, yet in others they step on their you know what as they walk down JFK Blvd in Philadelphia where their glistening new office is. They have brains, savvy, and very solid leadership, yet their understanding of "customer relations" is lacking, not because their PR people are incapable. They’re not, I actually think they’re PR folks are very talented, but they forever get in trouble because the campany’s leadership believe that doing things that are only good for Comcast is the only way to do things.

Their inability to come off good through any controversy is rather consistent. Now Chairman Martin is of the same mind when it comes to an issue. Compare them to Cablevision, a company that in my mind is the envy of every cable MSO. Cablevision understands where the Internet is going, what consumers want and you almost never hear about a problem like we constantly do about Comcast.

Source: www.voip-news.com

There’s a conference coming for certified resellers of AltiGen Communications, Inc., a VoIP business phone systems and Unified Communications solutions provider for small to medium businesses. The 2008 Annual Partner Conference will be held at the Pier 66 Hyatt Regency in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., from Feb. 25-28.

The conference is intended only for certified resellers of AltiGen’s products. The resellers will be able to enhance their product knowledge and interact with company experts. Highlights of the conference include sales training, updates on the competitive market, roundtable discussions with industry leaders, seminars on the technology and previews of future products.

“AltiGen’s conference continues to serve as an invaluable opportunity for our resellers and partners from around the world to convene and discuss how market forces, including competition and new technologies are driving demand for our VoIP business phone system and Unified Communication solutions,” said Mike Plumer, vice president of sales at AltiGen Communications.

If you want to go, though, you need to register in advance. For more information, contact senior product marketing manager, Niel Levonius, Sr., at nlevonius@altigen.com or call (510) 252-9712.