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Telecom companies have long held dominance over the way we communicate, specifically by controlling phone calls. The Internet is threatening to change this entirely – email and social media have made phone calls less essential, while services like Skype are … Continue reading →

Cisco’s marketing department has continued their cuddly product naming  with the announcement of umi (pronounced you-me) last week. It’s basically Skype or in Cisco-speak, “telepresense,” for regular folks. And by regular folks they mean TV-watchers with an Internet connection but … Continue reading →

For Skype customers and just about anyone else who’s every typed phone numbers into a virtual dial pad, Gmail video and voice chat, even with its new ability to make free calls to cell and landlines, may warrant a big … Continue reading →

Glad I’m not the only curmudgeon who’s troubled by the state of 21st century audio! The lower quality of digitally compressed MP3 (compared to CD ) made the front page of yesterday’s New York Times. Economics and convenience are to … Continue reading →

I was captivated by the CTIA’s comment  filed recently in response to the FCC Notice of Inquiry (or NOI) on Wireless Competition. In this factoid filled ex parte presentation, the wireless industry’s leading trade group was crowing about the robust … Continue reading →

As we all know, Verizon went public on Tuesday with its agreement to allow Skype's VoIP application to run on its network. There are still a few gotchas for Verizon subscribers who want the service, but in the world of telecom this is momentous. Faced with the FCC's proposed rules for net neutrality and a new fifth principle of non-discrimination, Verizon (along with AT&T) has relented. Continue reading →

Skype is taking its time with a VoIP app that exploits the recently unlocked 3G data channel on the iPhone. But they have a pretty good reason. They’re working on adding their own SILK wideband audio codec to  a 3G … Continue reading →

Will Skype be assumed into Avayatel? Or will it stand on its own in the Silver Lake portfolio and transform into an IPO butterfly? Bloomberg.com writers Edward Robinson and Joseph Galente think the latter is more likely. They have a  … Continue reading →

AT&T reversed  course and decided to allow Sling Media’s iPhone app to run on its network.   The app was previously viewed as a congestion hog, but  Sling  (under the supervision of AT&T) tweaked its software to lower bandwidth consumption.  iCall, … Continue reading →