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The New York Times story on saving money on mobile calling internationally hit home, so I thought I should add my spin to it. It's something through trial and error I've become sort of a subject matter expert on.

Upfront, I think David Kelly did an excellent job of highlighting some of what’s possible (and I really appreciate his mentioning Truphone and Boingo - both clients - in his story) but I felt with more space, more could be told.

Like so many international travelers I’ve also hated roaming rates for as long as I could remember. Given I’ve been traveling and working internationally on a regular basis now for at least the last 10 years, I’ve picked up tricks and tips that have helped, but until my most recent trip, I never really had what was really the ultimate solution when I'm away from my computer, where Skype has been a blessing, but not quite full solution.

Well, that solution has arrived, and it comes from Truphone with Truphone Local Anywhere.

Here's why:

1. I know what I'm paying per minute on Local Anywhere’s Pre-Paid plan, just like when I used buy local SIMS in local countries.

2. I can top up from the phone or from their web site

3. My friends can find me everywhere and pay local. I can call them and pay local. U.S.or UK (and soon elsewhere)

4. I don't have to swap SIMS any more. I can now use one phone, with one SIM anywhere in the world.

5. I have the luxury of having both a UK and a USA number that rings in both places. That means I can now consistently provide my UK number to my UK friends vs. telling them "the number I'm calling from won't get answered after I leave the UK," as has been the message I would leave when using a UK T-Mobile, Vodafone or Three SIM. This means a true end to number confusion.

6. When I'm calling around the UK and more importantly, over to the EU, I'm paying rates even better than the EU-to-EU international rates, not the extortion-priced rates as a USA roamer there, from wherever I may be. Even better, when I'm calling back to the States, it's as if I'm making a local call from the USA to someone down the block. That's because with Truphone, I'm viewed as a local on the Truphone network wherever I may calling to, not where I'm calling from.

7. I was able to port an existing AT&T number over to Truphone, thus allowing me to keep my USA number from one of my many accounts here in the USA and not get a new number.

Let me give you some background why this is so important. Before every trip I’ve spent many, many hours, figuring out how to minimize or eliminate those painfully high roaming rates, especially when I was visiting a new country for the first time. And, that my friends, was almost always a losing battle. But now, after my most recent trip, I can see that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. And that light really is called Truphone Local Anywhere.

This most recent trip included 39 days of business travel spanning 13 cities, 9 flights, 4 trains, 12 hotels (in four countries) and regardless of where I was, I was able to make use of my mobile phone and, for the most part, with really only one phone number as far as the outside world was concerned.

Sure I used my Google Voice number that everyone has, but I pointed that to both my Truphone applications' inbound number and to my USA-based Truphone Local Anywhere number. In the UK, I simply gave out my UK number from Truphone and I was totally, connected and local and thus avoided those high roaming charges. You see, with Truphone Local Anywhere you can add local numbers in the countries they are operating in. That meant my calls back to the States were local and my calls in the UK were local. When I called someone in Europe my calls were on EU/UK International rates, not what someone from the USA usually ever pays, and thus I realized a massive per minute savings of up to 80 percent. The local number also meant I could give people in the UK (like the restaurants I booked at) my local number, so they could confirm my booking, or provide it to others who needed to reach me who are in London. For those who had my pre-existing UK mobile number I simply forwarded that to my UK Truphone number.

With Local Anywhere active I was able to beat the high cost of roaming at every single turn. And it also put a big dent into even higher data roaming rates, too.

Sure, I kept playing with all those old SIMs that I’ve acquired along the way the past few years, swapping them in and out of my cadre of unlocked phones, MiFi's and 3G Data Dongles that I usually carry. But that was more or less to see what worked with which carrier and what doesn't work where, as well as to burn up some leftover credit. But, now with Local Anywhere, those days are basically over.

What this all means.

1) For my next trip I'll pretty much be able to toss all the excess baggage of many phones and too many SIM cards away and simply use one carrier. Truphone.

2) I won’t have to race to the Phone House, Three, T-Mobile or Vodafone store in London to get my phone topped up.

3) I’ll be able to enjoy London, grab a curry lunch, instead of something fast, so I can get my phone services up and running.

4) When people check voice mail, I’ll only be checking one voice mailbox regardless of which country I’m in. That’s something most people can’t easily do even with Google Voice (trust me, I’ve done the telephony gymnastics on that one).

5) By October, other countries like Spain, the Netherlands and Australia should be online, too, with more being added. More places, local numbers, local rates for global nomads, ex-pats and other people who visit friends and family regularly.

Most of all, next trip I won’t be leaving unused credit on travel or local SIMs anymore as the Truphone Local Anywhere pre-paid calling plan just simply guts the travel SIMs where those prices may look good on the surface, but what’s hidden in the pricing really isn’t good at all. With Truphone Local Anywhere I know what I’m paying for, and what’s left over to use next time.

Add to the fact that with my Nokias or an unlocked iPhone I can also use the Mobile VoIP apps from Truphone to make calls over WiFi or 3G for even more savings, and it all means that I’m now calling everywhere as if I’m there.

Up next, more on how I saved money internationally to beat the high cost of roaming using 3G, Boingo WiFi, hotel broadband and public hotspots.

Sprint wants you calling. And not with a cellphone. The new Sprint Peel is a backpack, charger and carrier for the Apple iPod touch. Well as it turns out, three of my favorite applications CounterPath's Bria, the Truphone of iPod/iPhone app and Skype all work very, very well on the iPod Touch. Add in a headset and mic and off you go making calls over 3G. Call it the poor man's iPhone.

Now here's something to drool over. Bria works over BlueTooth. So that means in the car, your iPod on Sprint over 3G connected to your in car BlueTooth system or your headset when your out and about equals a phone. Reportedly the next version of the iPod will also have a webcam and a built in speaker too. That means calling will just be getting easier.

Back on July 12th, while sitting in Paris, I posted that IBBS (Integrated Broadband Services) was going to acquire SinglePipe, a provider of Voice over IP to Tier Two and Tier Three cable operators.

Well, it has happened. This is an example of gap filling, while also a "take away" type acquisition. Reports are the buy was for under $2.0 million dollars, meaning the investors behind SinglePipe had pretty much given up pouring more money into the company while IBBS, clearly a company making a roll-up within the industry that services the cable operators, saw an opportunity to widen their offerings to the second rung of MSO's like Bressnan Communications.

For IBSS, which largely provided testing and monitoring services to the cable operators, the pick up means they can now go back to their customer base and offer Voice services, and know which operators can handle the technology and which need to upgrade their network infrastructure. With the National Broadband Plan's efforts currently underway at the Federal level (FCC, State Department, FTC, etc., the acquisition is very well timed for IBBS as it gives them a missing piece to be the one-stop shop up to the point of two way video communications. My guess is that could be the next piece of the pie, either directly or indirectly.

Light Reading has some additional perspective.

First Spain captured the World Cup of Football (soccer) in South Africa. Now their rider in the Tour de France, Alberto Contador, has captured the the race.

The economy in Spain may be in the toilet and unemployment may be on the rise, but in athletics, a source of pride, these two global titles have to give the entire country hope.

A few days ago Om Malik drew my attention to the state of the telcos vs. the cable operators and how it's not only voice that moving away from the telcos. It's broadband too. The reason in my book though goes beyond simply the speed issue. It's also about customer service.

In the 80s and 90s the cable operators as a group began attacking the "Cable Guy" image head on. They worked very hard to change the perception that they had acquired. And it worked. That said, we all hear the horror stories about Comcast or Time Warner, and that has come as a result of simply rapid growth. That said, I'll take my cable folks over the telcos any day.

To me, this creates opportunity. Municipalities, like Cambridge, MA and over-builders, like SureWest in Sacramento have proven they can be better, and cheaper, than both the telcos and the cable operators. To me, the future of great service, and competitive pricing will come from these upstarts, not the legacy carriers who have forgotten how they got to where they are today.

Skype Journal and others are reporting that Skype has decided to NOT charge for mobile calling from the iPhone. The news of the change in direction came as part of an announcement related to a new version of Skype for the iPhone 3GS and 4 editions.

I have always felt that one of the last remaining hurdles that SightSpeed faced in the past to widespread adoption of SightSpeed for Business was the nagging issue of NAT and Firewall traversal, especially in hotel and multi-stage router and access point deployments that we would always seem to run into at the most inopportune times. Sure from their offices to my home office and to then CEO Peter Csathy's home office it all worked, but when I would change into Road Warrior mode the hurdle that would arise when you last needed it to appear, like Mr. Murphy, was that pesky pest of IP packet traffic, NAT traversal.

In my heart I knew that once SightSpeed crossed that hurdle, their SightSpeed for Business product could be the best bet for small business as dollar for dollar nothing beats it. Even now, given that Skype's multiparty play is maxed at five as an offering it offers four less end points and thus SightSpeed, with now 9 users-ala the Hollywood Squares- was hands down the better option as their video to this day remains the most pristine and sharp and is so good it's just short of moving upstream to the far more expensive box based video conferencing solutions on the market today, and far simpler to deploy. You simply install the software and off you go. No IT guy required.

Well, it looks like that problem is going to go away, as SightSpeed's parent, Logitech earlier this month acquired Paradial.

I'm in Phialdelphia for a family matter this weekend. It was ideal timing as my monthlong tour of duty in Europe and the UK had ended, and the timing of a few family and friends activities made for a perfect mid-point to my west coast return trip the end of this week in time for a BBQ on the beach next Saturday with some friends from the UK.

So being in Philadelphia meant a few things had to be done in advance beyond my hotel and car reservations. It meant bringing along two devices that normally I have no need for in Europe. My Sprint Overdrive with 4G and the Nokia N900 which has a radio inside capable of HSPA+ on T-Mobile's USA network. The only issue with carry both is they will only be at their maximum potential for me while I'm in Philadelphia this trip, but I'm looking forward to the day when both networks expand to more places (Note: I can use the Overdrive in Sacramento, Las Vegas, Portland and Seattle when I'm in those places) but as far as T-Mobile goes, their rollout of 3.5G+ over HSPA+ is just starting.

Oh, how I wish these services were everywhere, at least when I'm outside. You see, both are spatially challenged. While I'm getting great speeds on both, the T-Mobile HSDPA+ speeds are over 6 megs down and close to two megs up, when I'm outside. But inside, I'm seeing 2.5G connectivity making WiFi essential. With the Sprint/Clear/Comcast 4G network I have more in-building coverage, but when I was in the back of the Kite and Key Pub just a few blocks north of Comcast's HQ my speeds were only 3G and with only 20 percent of signal.

So here's my take......

Coverage is the key. While the speeds are great, the access to them is akin to finding an open stretch of highway on I-10 near Banning, CA on the way to Palm Springs, CA where you can push the pedal to the floor and know that your speed will be as fast as the car can go. Here in Philadelphia my "speeding" experience has been best on Clear, followed by Verizon, where the consistency of upload speeds has been best, and while I have seen more high speed downloads over AT&T, often in the 1.2-1.7 meg range from AT&T on the iPhone, Ma Bell's great grandson still needs an octane boost on its upload as those tests on the MiFi, iPhone and iPad have consistently been slower than Verizon and Sprint, and woefully lagging behind the Internet on Steroids like T-Mobile when I've had the coverage and the N900 with me.

AT&T purchased Wayport about a year and a half or so ago. Wayport was the leading underlying provider of WiFi and Broadband services about a year or so ago. At that time Wayport's biggest customer was McDonalds. AT&T quickly took over StarBucks via Yahoo's ad engine as the cost savings driver, and now roughly has struck what I consider their first big deal. They've landed Hilton to provide WiFi and Guest Broadband services.

This comes after some global horse-trading between AT&T and Swisscom, who along with Intertouch, DoCoMo's hospitality arm, are pretty much the global market leaders to hotel operators as the provider of broadband services, a space previously dominated by T-Mobile (who I predict will shed that service in the next 18 months or so.) Over the past two years, T-Mobile which pretty much owned the hotel and airline club space has been giving up market share, especially in the USA. So, why do I single out these three companies related to the AT&T story about Hilton? Its simple.

The hotel connectivity for travelers in Hilton hotel properties in the USA has been so bad for the past five years that I went from being nearly a Hilton Diamond guest to Silver and now will be lucky if I qualify for that this year, if at all. And I'm someone who has traveled globally over 300 days in 2008, 275 days in 2009 and am on a pace to match the average of the last two years this year. Since 2006 Hilton has mandated to their properties, many of which are nothing but franchises to use Hilton "approved" providers, many of whom have simply run the Internet over the existing twisted pair (DSL) or some kind of ethernet over the existing in room TV coax. In some cases they have added WiFi, but in almost all locations at best you have seen no more than a pair of T-1s providing the kind of coverage that gives guests at best speeds that were only considered great when dial up was the access king (i.e. 56K)

And now days, access to real broadband is important. Especially to AT&T and their customers, as the consumption of content and delivery of mission critical information goes over the 'Net. For iPhone users in a Hilton, the inability to access the Net over WiFi, let along 3G is now critical. With AT&T now saying they "will ensure that hotel guests receive fast wi-fi and Internet services through a wired connectivity over a common Internet access platform" should mean a lot to the business traveler. But will it with the Hilton property owners.

First to really deliver this means that AT&T has to go past the demarcation point (where the service is handed off to the premise owner.) They are actually going to have to redesign and upgrade many of the internal distribution systems, many of which are controlled by OnCommand and other in room guest services/entertainment companies. Then there is the actual access point for WiFi. Anything short of the commercial grade Bel Air, Motorola or Cisco access points will mean an experience that is less than solid. And that's only for WiFi.

But I think this deal goes farther. I think AT&T has been reading some of Machiavelli. Specifically, "The Prince" where the fundamental and underlying premise is about "territory establishes control."

1. AT&T wants better in hotel coverage for voice calls. That means Femto or Pico cells being installed that work with guess whose network? AT&T.

2. Broadband Media Delivery of TV. Can you spell UVerse. First WiFi and Broadband, then the entertainment to the rooms both wired and over WiFi

3. WiFi access on the property

And who said AT&T isn't still about being a monopoly.

Your phone number is now no longer important. It's your identity that matters. And Apple, has once again demonstrated forward thinking vision and leadership.

In reality this is precisely what Yahoo started to do under the reign of Brad Garlinghouse (now at AOL) with the YAHOO ID. At Yahoo they envisioned a world where their user identification was what mattered, and if a user moved from carrier to carrier over time they still remained a Yahoo customer. Unfortunately, many meetings between the carriers and Yahoo likely occurred and in those meetings one could gather that the dumb pipers, those providing DSL access which (i.e. AT&T, Verizon and Qwest) more than likely discouraged their upstart partner from taking the concept too far. Kinda like what Yahoo did with VoIP inside Yahoo Messenger (which is still there) and their plans to clobber Skype (under Brad and now Xobni leader Jeff Bonforte.) Those ideals and ideas got derailed by others inside what quickly became AOL II. Over at AOL the same kind of thinking, use your AIM ID tied to your phone services was likely going to happen until the folks at Time Warner Cable more than likely pushed hard corporately because they wanted to sell phone service over their network, and not let AOL's team do it better (and better it would have been based on my tests.)

So with that as history, Apple has come out with FaceTime, and as BGR reports, your Apple ID, or in reality any email address, becomes how people will reach you.

Apple, now with considerable market share, and with it growing everyday, have a way to say...go elsewhere, but your friends stay with you.

Game, Set. ...not quite match yet...but close.

Fring is calling Skype "cowards." Skype is saying that "Fring is breaching our API Terms of Use and End User Licence Agreement."

My sources tell me that Skype has neither "blocked fring" nor asked them to pull their support for Skype. This is slightly different than what Frings' angle to the story is. As we all know there are three sides to every story, but given Fring took the shot first, an old rule of thumb in a legal battle is get the word out first. And Fring did. Now Skype, whose legal minds are based on the West Coast, as well as their platform team and video folks for the most part have gotten in and replied.

Skype has also issued a statement that reads:

"Skype has been in discussions with Fring regarding our belief that Fring is breaching our API Terms of Use and End User Licence Agreement. Skype is disappointed that an amicable resolution was not possible, but Fring’s decision to withdraw Skype functionality immediately was of its own choice. Skype encourages developers to build products that work with Skype in accordance with our various API licenses. However, Skype will rigorously protect its brand and reputation and those companies that do not comply with our terms will be subject to enforcement."

Dear Uncle Steve,

Here's my wish list for my next iPod touch:

1) A really good camera-you know. 3.5 megapixels or more..

2) Video chat with non-Apple users-I mean, most of my friends use Skype and h.264 SIP Video. Please. I really want to see them.

3) Retina display. - I'm so hooked on great clarity in communication.

4) Faster Wi-Fi-Besides, that one thing that AT&T can't really screw up, except at Starbucks and McDonalds. But I rarely go there to hook up.

5) Built-in microphone-one less thing to carry and one less chance to confuse the TSA agents at airport security.

6) Longer battery life-um, yes. I mean with 99 cent streaming movies on the Apple TV I gotta believe the iPod is next and I need at least two hours.

7) 3G option with iPad-style data plan-Just use regular SIMs please. Well okay. Make it a Micro. Just more pricing options and global deals.

That's all. Nothing big. Nothing you can't deliver.

Your customer since 1984,

Andy

I have to admit, being over here in Europe for a solid month has really changed my perspective on some things related to technology. Here are some observations:

Apple, which was never so dominant in Europe five years ago is clearly the runaway leader. I have seen more iPhones now than anything else as the most common phone in the hands of people on the go. Even the cab drivers have them and everyone uses the wired earphones. I'm not seeing so many Bluetooth earphones stuck in people ears' that make them look like the Borg and wired earbuds are still very hot.

Blackberry is what I'm seeing more of and was in second place of what I'm seeing more of, especially in Spain where even winemakers and hotel staff have them in their hand and the insiders I know at RIM tell me that kind of usage is growing. Candidly, I didn't see much Android, at least not many Milestones. Nexus One's are a figment of someone's imagination over here. Feature phones are still ruled by Nokia, with some Samsung and LG with HTC getting hotter, but HTC's heat index is more in the UK than anywhere here on the Continent.

When it comes to PC's I see more and more Macs in meetings, with only the corporate IT type company folks or those from the oversized Enterprise companies carrying PCs, and those were usually Lenovo's. Netbooks (Samsung, Acer and Asus) are the rule for students and execs on the go not using a Mac. People seem to prefer them vs. more expensive laptops so it was obvious to me that Dell is losing/has lost ground fast and even H-P but they do have a growing Netbook share it seemed. And yes, the iPad is hot, but there seems to be shortage of them here, and a very real shortage of 3G MicroSims is slowing down roll out/uptake. Given how mobile of a society Europeans are, my take is that Apple is timing the big push for them when the MicroSim's have deeper supplies. For example, none are available in Spain until last week of July. The reaction to around the iPad when in the cafe's is "wow" but nothing like in the USA where I get fully engaged in conversation about it by someone. Then again, I'm hardly fluent in French or Spanish.....When I'm back in London tonight my iPad on 02's 3G network will be a blessing the next few days, as the laptop can take a rest and my shoulder will love me once again.

Public Broadband-and what we suffer through is embarrassing back in the USA. It's not only speed. It's packet loss, jitter and such and over here it's the lack of any of that. I'm getting almost none of that over here in the better hotels, nor in coffee shops. Broadband just works. Even when my bandwidth is only 500k I can have awesome video and voice calls over Skype or using CounterPath's Bria on the Mac. On my iPhone I use Truphone and Bria more than Skype for calls to real numbers (like banks) and credit card companies over WiFi. It sounds awesome. I still get tons of use out of my Nokia E71 as the phone of choice, but more because it has a keyboard, ala the Blackberry, but with the new Truphone Local Anywhere and my ported number I'm having a blast not having to carry so many phones any more. Paid Wi-Fi access to me trumps the so called free stuff that hotels back home like to promote. And, there is something to getting what you're paying for, or staying in hotels that have done it right as a true amenity. And yes, I've even finally seen the value of FON while sitting at a Cafe yesterday and jumping on the NEUF WiFi service here in Paris where I simply sent an SMS to gain access to the network while having brunch at Cafe de l'Industrie not far from Bastille.

This week when I'm back in London I'm actually going to try to purchase an unlocked iPhone while I'm there. I've really gotten hooked on the iPhone when i had my 3G that was Jailbroken (I restored it to see what 4.0 was like and thus locked out from using other SIMs) and found for reading and doing tasks that it very high on convenience as the apps make the phone more and more valuable each day. Heck, even using it without a SIM over WiFi has been easy as those calls over Bria, Truphone and Skype all sounded so, so good.

More observations to come...from your friendly, neighborhood Global Nomad.

TUAW tells how to use an unlimited iPhone 4 3G data plan from AT&T on an iPad.

Maybe I'm less frugal than most, but I have unlimited plans for both and don't really think that the extra 30 dollars a month is wrong to pay. Why? Well for starters I understand how AT&T needs the money. I mean, despite their record profits the network needs all the cash they can get to build out more infrastructure, so I figure, give them some additional help, for the upside down the road. Better bandwidth. With their ONE Network approach backhaul issues have to go away. Same for logging on, and at some point they begin to rival the cable companies with their own flavor of Triple Play that goes beyond uVerse.

History always repeats. So you would think that taking a page out of the old AOL playbook the outcome would be known before the situation arose. I'm referring to the news about Fring and their capacity issue as it relates to two way video calling.

Plain and simply, Fring has a capacity issue. This is why Skype was smart to take their "wait and see" position on interoperability with FaceTime.

If doing this stuff was so easy, companies like client GlowPoint and others who offer bridging services wouldn't be working with the Polycoms and Tata's of the world to namedrop. Bridging requires skill, expertise and capacity management. And it has a price. So while the Frings of the world may think they can go out and simply cross connect and transcode, the real secret to satisfaction is in keeping it up.

Here's a novel idea for cord cutters who have ditched the landline but still need to use a desk or cordless phone from Panasonic. It's called Linked To Cell and it works via Bluetooth.

Basically the Link To Cell system serves a BlueTooth gateway, connecting the mobile phone via BlueTooth on one side to a base station that supports Panasonic's DECT phones.

I see this as one more example of wireless cellular networks being dumb pipes, and at the same time contributing to the erosion of landline business around the globe. As 4G rolls out and there's less need for landlines connectivity, devices like Link To Cell will play a bigger role in how we are connecting and staying more connected.

Fring is upping the stakes in consumer video on mobile devices with their claim at being the first cross platform mobile video applications provider. With their latest move Fring now provides iPhone users with what they claim is unrestricted 2-way video calling over Wi-Fi or 3G internet with other iPhone, Android or Symbian devices.

Cross platform mobile video is key to the growth, and with this latest move Fring has beaten Skype, and others, to being cross platform with video while clearly coat-tailing on the Apple Face Time initiative.

Voxygen's Dean Elwood likes to refer to voice as a service. The attorney turned developer and integrator is much akin to pal and client Thomas Howe of Light and Electric as well as my colleague inside In Store Solutions, makers of the FreeTalk brand of products, where Howe serves as CTO and I serve as the Head of Marketing in addition to my CEO role with Comunicano.

The two clearly have their heads in the cloud, as do I, for we all see the following:

1) Voice minutes are at zero. Services like Skype, Gizmo, Truphone, Nimbuzz, Fring and Vonage have all proven that. Calls to peers are free.

2) Carriers be they wired or wireless are nothing but dumb pipes. Other than enterprise customers who buys more than basic class five features and voice mail from their carrier?

3) Data providers are the next generation. They are ignorant pipes. They have the ability and they know, but they do nothing much to cultivate and keep the customers business. How so? How many companies HOST with their cable or DSL provider? How many use their data provider to host their domain, even for mail? How many data carriers even offer that?

So when I look at companies that "get it" beyond Howe and Elwood's I see a few that you should watch out for:

1. IfByPhone (yes I'm a shareholder and their agency of record) but what this company is doing from the suburbs of Chicago is what voice as a service is all about. The IfByPhone playform lets anyone use their platform to deploy fully function voice services. A must know about for web services and interactive developers of all kinds.

2. Voxeo have a conversation about IVR or voice services and it almost always turns to Voxeo. They have built up one heck of a platform that provides developers all kinds of underpinnings that they need.

3. Twillio the upstart from Texas, these guys are all about providing the toolkits for developers to build applications.

4. VoiceSage out of Ireland, these folks are in the business of what they call voice logistics. In a nutshell, VoiceSage's platform is built around messaging and message delivery.

When you look at what all four offer, it become's easy to see why those of us, with our head in the clouds, all know where to go for services that understand service.

I was in my latest wine bar discovery, a place called Wineing in Palma de Mallorca when I spotted the perfect wine for GigaOm readers.

It's appropriately named after my good friend and GigaOm founder, Om Malik with the simple name of OM and is produced by Oliver Moragues.

And how perfect of a wine is it to match up to Om's personality and writing style. Well here are my notes:

"dark color, full bodied, spicy on the attack and smooth all the way through....."

High above Port Soller on the Island of Mallorca was a delightful dining spot. It is named Ca's Xorc and the cooking is as exquisite as the dusk time just passing sunset view.

Michael Arrington may have his "friends" inside Google but well, that doesn't mean he's the only one who can be one of the "chosen" to be able to use what I am calling GizmoVoice. Reports are that there are a TOTAL of seven copies in use so can you guess who the other five belong to?

The application works flawlessly, and it has amazing sound quality, easily making it a rival to Skype. It works seamlessly too, with your GoogleVoice Account as well. All you do is enter your username and password and calls can be made and received.

More on the experience using it as I work with it over the next few days while traveling, but according to sources that have access to Google's thinking, Larry and Sergey do not want anything that works outside of the Chrome browser, making Google in my mind the next AOL in thought process. Many will recall that AOL only wanted their users to live inside the AOL application and some things, like voice and video clients need to live elsewhere. Very little information exists on the application outside of Arrington's post, and being the holiday weekend, it is doubtful anyone from the big G will be around for a few days. That said, it would be interesting to get an official comment on the software which like other interesting things in the past, have a wonderful way of finding their way here.

Back in 2007 I penned a post that was all about divergence. While convergence remains the rage in many parts, and still is looming, I have felt for three years or so that divergent devices are the key to communications. Well it seems Cisco thinks the same way with the Cius (cute name and play on words.) But this also means it's the dawning of services convergence in the palm (pun intended) of your hands.

Sam Diaz over at ZDNet and many others have their comments,

like 9to5Mac calling it an "enterprise Android Tablet" while Computerworld/IDG's summary clearly shows how Cisco is approaching video, and yes Android, but reveals that the networking giant is also realizing that Apple, the iPhone and eventually the iPad are going to be devices that need to talk to their customers too.

Here's how I see it:

1. Cisco is moving big time into video. They are reportedly dropping standalone audio conferencing from their WebEx portfolio.

2. Android as a starting OS and Intel as the hardware players of choice gives them massive developer bases to work with

3. Recognizing that Apple has an audience with the iPhone's iOS 4 shows they really don't care what an enterprise is running, as long as it's Cisco

4. The acquisition of Flip is providing the core team/technology to be in the handheld telepresence anywhere game.

5. The iPad needs a camera.

6. Standards will be key. H.264 video is now the defacto standard.

7. HP needs to play catch up. While they rejigger Halo and start to migrate their suite users over to Vidyo they lack anything handheld that's linked up the food chain. For Cisco Flip + Tandberg + Cius + FaceTime = Telepresence Everywhere for the enterprise.

8. Boy Genius Report calls it a "mobile collaboration business tablet" and I agree, but it goes farther than that. It's face to face from anyone to anyone, anywhere and at anytime, without being bound to a room, desk or PC.

9. Mashable's recap reveals that the device has 3G inside. That means AT&T, Orange, Telstra, etc. will be the wireless data partners. Why do I say that? Because they are the Cisco Telepresence partners and with Cisco, they use their existing channels to drive distribution.

10. Stacy @ GigaOm references 4G, so it will be interesting to see if Cisco dances with Mobile WiMax or goes only LTE. My guess is that they go LTE.

Key points not brought up by others yet:

Where's the interoperability with Skype? SightSpeed? ooVoo? Given the love of h.264 client CounterPath, who is already in the Cisco eco-system is very well poised to be a winner here. Why? Their desktop and laptop Bria and Eyebeam are perfect for the stationary folks as those softphone clients are already delivering H.264 video and work with Cisco Call Manager, etc. My feeling is that Skype will end up being interoperable too, but ooVoo will have to play some catch up as they are not an eco-system player yet. That said, former client up until acquisition SightSpeed is built to be very eco-system friendly (and proved it when they were independent) plus with their core technology, and that of stablemate LifeSize (both were purchased by Logitech) means they have some very interesting patents and network technology that will make them a force too, so don't count them out at all.

Bridging services just became really important. Client GlowPoint recently announced a relationship with Tata, a tier one Cisco partner in the Telepresence Suite universe that Cisco holds holy. They bridge to everyone. So think about how client xConnect is building peering federations for voice and apply that thinking to Glowpoint and you'll see they're already there at being the video communication's switchboard. Given how everyone doesn't use Cisco or Tandberg, but people will still need to "see" one another, well you get the (Glowpoint) picture as clearly as I do.

All in all this is very good for a lot of reasons, but most of all, it simply means more FaceTime.

This morning I went to Google News and found that they have "changed" the layout of their news page.

They've made the page "longer" but in doing so have made the page less easy to read. It's part of an experiment that Google is running and I've ended up in it. And I hate it the same way I don't like the new "smaller" format of the Wall Street Journal Hard copy. There was something about a broadsheet, and there was something about Google's very easy to follow news layout that appealed to me.

What they have now is so much like Yahoo News of old I'm wondering what's up? Well in my opinion it has to do more with the deals Google is making with the news publishers than anything else. And, as part of capitulation Google has to make some concessions, or at least prove they know more about how to present the news than the publishers do, which I feel Google clearly did.

But for now, I'm finding the new look, less breezy, and less suited to the 2010 era online reader and more suited, well, for Dead Tree Society members.

Please Google--Give Me Back my Google News, the way it always was.

I thought the PC Magazine report on "Fastest ISP in the USA" would be and interesting read, as we all have a need for speed. It was interesting enough in concept that is, until I read it. You see, the report is far from all inclusive, as it is missing two ISPs I personally have providing services, and whose speeds best the winners hand down, as well as others friend's are using in the Bay Area with a great degree of satisfaction.

In the West, where I reside, I'm referring to Covad, whose T1/Bonded T1 provides exactly what's promised and SureWest, the Fiber Optic overbuilder in Sacramento whose speeds, customer service and technology blows the rest away.

Then I started to think about the raving reviews of superfast speeds that Esme Vos and Om Malik are getting in their condos in the SOMA area of San Francisco from companies like Webpass that charge less and deliver more. That made me realize that the PC Mag study was really all about the "big brands" and left a lot out.

Here's my take. If you're looking for fast, reliable and high quality broadband, you may find that the newer, faster and yes, less expensive services are in your area, and are the companies which will make your online life a lot more enjoyable.

For the first time ever, I actually felt like I was at a conference even though I wasn't. I'm referring to the GigaOm produced event called Structure 2010. Having attended the first two events, exceptionally staged by pal Surj Patel with key moderation by Om Malik, one of my regrets for traveling to Europe this past Friday was that I would miss what I feel is a seminal event that defines where the future of IT services is heading. Unfortunately my "client work" comes first so while we have a few companies with their head in the cloud (Califlower, Thomas Howe's Light & Electric, xConnect, Voxbone, Arcot Systems, IfByPhone, HiDef Conferencing by Citrix Online and others) which were not at this year's event, that didn't mean I didn't want to know what was being said.

Between LiveStream's streaming and the impeccable coverage on the web by the GigaOm team I really felt like I was there. Take a look at the LaunchPad event and get the feeling you're there. While far away, the presentations are the same for me, as they are for the attendees. Maybe better.

But it's not just the streaming based coverage that rocked. So does the session by session coverage that was being posted in almost real time. These summaries, like the one on the Future of Cloud Computing penned by Matthew Ingram, is a brilliant synopsis of the session that one can view via the LiveStream video coverage.

In a note to Om and Surj earlier this morning, their evening yesterday, I wrote:

Having just read through the GigaOm site this AM here in Spain, the coverage of the sessions looks great and clearly has set the new standard for how conferences and events staged by media companies should be covered.

Bravo!

Just after GoogleVoice became available to everyone yesterday Frontier Telecom slapped Google with a patent infringement suit.

I'm part of the Voyces blog team and yesterday posted about my experience of adding a UK 3G data plan to my iPad.

You see, it's Father's Day today, and my late father, who was a former US Marine Corps Master Sargent, would be proud of my efforts yesterday to secure 3G data in the UK on an iPad like a local. He taught me one of the USMC's mottos, and it's something that I'll never forget and will always carry close to my heart and soul. It was a motto that read "the impossible we do right away. But miracles take a little longer."

Well, my first try with mobile operator 3 to turn on 3G service here in London was impossible, but with some extra effort, I pulled it off, and yes, as the one who always has to do something that they say can't be done, it's like a miracle, and it did take a little longer.

Like that famed GoGo VoIP call, making it the "impossible" a reality happen took some ingenuity and time, but it works. And now I have 3G data in the UK without using AT&T roaming rates and without canceling my data plan back in the USA with them which is of the unlimited variety.

Oh, and as a test of consumption, I bought the 500 meg day pass for two pounds and then last night added the thirty day plan as I'm over here twice in one month. I consumed on a Saturday about 14 megs of data, which over a thirty day period would be under 500 megs. However since I know I consume a lot more data than that on a daily basis when on 3G, and that I prefer to be outdoors in the UK and elsewhere, I opted for the cancelable 30 day plan 3 Gig plan. Just before I head back to the USA I'll just drop my UK plan back to the daily pay as you need plan when I leave the UK in a month after stops in Spain, France and elsewhere and where I hope the set up process is a lot less challenging. Then I will simply put my AT&T SIM back in, as if I never left.

Thanks dad...I never will forget you, your motto or your lessons.

Upfront let me state that I've never been a fan of the idea of a Femtocell so I'm sure when I meet up with my drinking buddy in here in London Dean Bubley later today in for a "proper" cocktail or two, we'll have a good talk on the subject.

In the USA AT&T has begun cranking up the PR machine that their Microcell device is now available in more and more markets across the nation. To me, the Femtocell/Microcell is really a way for carriers (especially AT&T) to address the massive coverage gaps they suffer from by using someone else’s broadband connectivity to provide network access to the downtrodden and disconnected masses who live where coverage is thin (i.e. fill in for coverage gaps, holes and overloads caused by the Totem Pole effect) by connecting to the cable modem network of one of the cable MSO's (multiple system operators) or their own Uverse network (as long as that sticks around that is) or even competitor Verizon's FIOS (another endangered flavor of broadband.)

Looking at this realistically, the whole Femtocell/Microcell concept is based upon OPN (other people’s network) a very close analogy of to OPM ( other people’s money) and no, not Om Malik's initials either as it basically means to use someone else assets while you make money.

Here are ten reasons why I don't see the need for an AT&T Microcell:

1. Nokia N and E Series phones with SIP stacks have been around for five years and they allow for incoming calls to a Truphone number of its own over WiFi. No coverage gap for me without a Femtocell.

2. Since the days of GrandCentral (2006) now GoogleVoice has made it possible for that number to ring both my mobile number and my Truphone number on the Nokia N & E series phones via WiFi; heck even PhoneGnome and Gizmo let you do this back then too......so did Vonage, CallVantage, Webley, etc. And that was before Femtocells were on the market.

3. This FindMe/FollowMe technology to fork calls to multiple numbers and networks (regardless of data bearer) has been around since those early days of Truphone and Gizmo and GrandCentral all of which came to life (even before two of the three became clients) dating back to 2006. Back then another acquired client BridgePort Networks, now CounterPath (which is now a client) provided the ability to deliver Voice Call Continuity between Circuit Switched Cellular and IP Networks using WiFi to get to the end point devices. No need for a Femtocell.

4. Today we have an Apple iPod touch running Truphone and have figured out how to route a SIP DID to it as well as a Voxbone iNum number to it. So much for having a coverage gap in my house for mobile calls. Again. No need for a Femtocell.

5. The Nokia N900 and N800 both have SIP stacks and can receive calls from my Truphone account or any SIP provider (OnSip, InPhonex, etc.) Once again no Femtocell needed to receive a call.

6. The new CounterPath Bria iPhone Edition connects to a SIP or Asterisk PBX which means with Find Me/Follow Me I don't care what number is called as Bria will ring over WiFi or the FindMe/FollowMe technology will ring the cell phone. Call it GrandCentral/GoogleVoice for the business set. Once again. No FemtoCell required.

7. Apple is providing multitasking on the iPhone, that means calls coming in background mode still get answered on the apps from Skype, Truphone, CounterPath and anyone else (Gizmo5 via Acrobits?) who will have programmed properly under OS 4.0. Still, no Femtocell needed.

8. Fixed Mobile Convergence technology is available and would eliminate the need for Femtocells as WiFi would be the data bearer.

9. What good will your Femtocell be when LTE or HSDPA+ becomes your carrier's flavor of choice for data, and since Voice is Data .....can it be upgraded? No guarantees, and with AT&T's history of early termination of ideas like CallVantage...well you connect the dots.

10. RIM Blackberry's with UMA inside work very well with operators who support UMA from Kineto over WiFi. Again, no Femtocell needed.

When you read the Broadband Reports posting that describes how AT&T is bungling their whole argument, you realize how their push in the past against things like FMC and Voice over IP, Voice over WiFi and more was really misplaced efforts.

But this quote is, well, priceless in supporting all that is IP to handle the voice traffic and all what makes the need for a Femtocell baseless:

"3G MicroCell is primarily intended to enhance the voice call quality experience in your home," AT&T's Seth Bloom tells us. "While it can carry mobile data traffic, that’s not the primary solution it provides," he says. "Wi-Fi is the optimal solution for home mobile data use. We encourage people to take advantage of Wi-Fi capabilities - that’s why all of our smartphones include Wi-Fi radios, and usage on Wi-Fi doesn’t count against your mobile data usage bucket."

A comment from inside Verizon made to me casually recently was that Verizon has really stopped further development and expansion of FIOS. We've seen this before with them. Some years back they experimented with WiFi around Manhattan using the phone booths as hotspots. The idea was killed. Now I'm hearing the word about FIOS. Well the WiFi was killed off reportedly at the behest of the wireless group at Verizon Wireless who didn't want the wireline guys in their pool. With such a big investment into LTE do you think the same kind of thinking is at work?

Next is AT&T with uVerse which is likely going the same route. Given the current and planned regulatory climate, plus the planned entry of Google, they are both likely figuring its not worth it to be in the consumer broadband business.

I always enjoyed the writing of Bruce Stewart when he was at O'Reilly and now I'm very happy to see he's back in the saddle over at IT ToolBox where he penned a short piece about client CounterPath's new Bria iPhone Edition joining in on the positive acclaim from:

Alec Saunders

Tom Keating

Michael Graves

Personally I've been using the new Bria iPhone Edition for almost a month or more, on both iPhones and iPads with amazing success. Over the weekend in Santa Barbara County wine country I was making calls from my car at speeds up to the legal limit without any doppler effect, and was able to make use of my car's Bluetooth speaker and mic system using the CounterPath client which is something I can't do with Skype over 3G on either device. Call quality was excellent, especially when calling CounterPath's CEO Donovan Jones to let him hear how good it sounded from a moving car.

Updated--YOU MUST WATCH--Dan York's video about the new CounterPath Bria iPhone Edition.

The analysis today by Voyces pal Thomas Howe about the new Twilio Open VBX is spot on. What really resonates, from an insiders perspective is why he feels client IfByPhone is safe here, and why Digium really error'd along the way. What was shocking was his feeling that this made Twilio a threat to Voxeo, which I feel is more perceptual, as a result of the direction they've taken with how they are messaged.

Key here though is these are all hot companies to watch, regardless of the one move today by upstart Twilio.

It's great to see pal Jason Harris of Techcraver breaking out and doing some broadcast work with Rudy Maxa, and Rudy's very savvy travel show, Rudy Maxa's World radio broadcast.

Jason profiles some very cool new gadgets and gizmos, as well as highlighted two longtime clients of mine, Boingo and Truphone, as must have's for summer travel.

It's more than about making calls on your mobile phone these days. Apps are playing a big role in how you manage things. Here are two new ones:

Phone.com has launched their mobile office application.

Client Ringio has a new Android application too that gives you a call center like experience on your Android Nexus One.

Talk about putting the power of call control into your hands. Both applications show how much "feature" management has been lacking with so many hosted PBX suppliers, as both demonstrate just how much can really be done and is being done by 2.0 era companies that approach telephony from another direction.

In reading this story about the Indian broadband situation I can't help but think that a war for customers in one of the most populated countries, India, is about to erupt.

While third world nations have been lacking in some aspects of communications, countries like India, Vietnam, South Korea and Singapore have all been making massive inroads to drive connectivity over IP. This is shifting more than just bits and bytes, and is playing a big part in how nation states are transitioning themselves from third world countries into first world workplaces.

I was looking through the VoIP app section inside the Apple iPhone store and I found something I had missed. It seems somewhere along the way Acrobits released an authorized iPhone/iPod touch and iPad compatible application for Gizmo5.

Basically, what it does is give you a softclient that works on the iPhone that connects to your Gizmo5 account (that is if you had one before Google bought Gizmo/SipPhone.)

Now here's the interesting play--if you've activated your Gizmo account to connect to your Google Voice account your calls ring right through as a pure SIP call. And with background notifications enabled, you can be doing other things on your iPhone and receiving calls in real time too.

And who said GoogleVoice didn't work on your iPhone?

Asus remains bullish on the prospect of WiMax around the globe, according to DigiTimes. I tend to agree. While we in the USA are getting LTE'd to death, and where we're beginning to see more clearly what the Clear strategy is, in other parts of the world WiMax is growing and manufacturers are supporting it.

This is WiMax, not to be confused with Mobile WiMax which is what Clear is offering. WiMax, or Fixed WiMax is IP connectivity at wireline speeds but without the wire and is flourishing around the globe, in more places all the time.

Yesterday AT&T announced new data pricing for mobile phone users. Today, pal Dean Bubley brings up and asserts a very interesting question in his blog post channeling Peter Jarich's assertion that Femtocell traffic (which runs on other carrier's networks, like your cable operator) will remain in the count.

"The other detail missing from the press release is the apparent fact that femtocell traffic ("Microcell" in AT&T parlance) is *included* in counting towards the quota, but WiFi traffic is *excluded*."

So to translate...this means:

1) You pay AT&T for the traffic even if it really isn't going over their wireless network

2) You will pay for the the pleasure of having a Microcell in your own network, possibly carrying your neighbors traffic because of coverage gaps in the AT&T network

3) Users are better off using WiFi

Like Dean, I think AT&T will come up with some answer and "bundle" in a Microcell, thus getting the price point back to $30.00 by taking a razor blade strategy and giving away Microcells for free in exchange for a monthly contract that moves more data over the other guys networks. In my view the user is only at risk if the cable or other network operators start to imposed data caps, making the end user responsible for the data traffic, not the peered operator, such as AT&T

The Voyces blog has started a new monthly series, the Voyces Innovator. This month it features a post from Larry Lisser about Freespee from Sweden.

Learn why Freespee is a Voice 3.0 type company over at Voyces.

The new AT&T Wireless pricing plans are out for iPhone and iPad users and they're not really going to benefit the heavy user. As a matter of fact the pricing plans are typical AT&T. Somewhat confusing.

The big issue that will cause a flap is the up-charge for tethering. They want to charge you more for it, but so far, it's only on the iPhone. No up-charge for Nokia N & E Series phone users who have smartly chosen to use JoikuSpot and I haven't read where Android based phones on AT&T are paying more.

Somehow I am suspecting this is simply a starting point and overtime, tethering costs will hit everyone. My view though is tethering is a cost you don't need. First it drives down the battery life. Second it's sharing the bandwidth to the phone. I prefer to use MiFi's and in that case, Verizon's 3G or Sprint/Clear's 4G blows away what I've seen from AT&T.

Tether me not, for now.

P.S. No more unlimited data = no more unlimited calls via Skype.

You can't keep Erik out of VoIP and softphones. He's been hard at work on Gabpark.

This is one to keep an eye on.

Alec Saunders, Jim Courtney and many others have waxed on about the new Skype over 3G app for the iPhone. Let me tell you, it works very well on the iPad too. But there are limitations:

1) No Bluetooth audio

2) No call waiting

Those are trivial. And those will likely be fixed when OS 4.0 comes out for the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad. My experience was nothing short of a teenager's first time. First kiss. First drink. First whatever. It was very, very different.

Here's how I see it:

1) Generic SIP Audio = AM

2) Skype over WiFi = FM

3) Skype /w Silk Codec over 3G directly, = CD quality

This tells me that Skype has more than likely been working very closely with Apple to get the audio right. No hacking around with the built in iLBC or AMR codecs. Unh-huh. Skype went right for the main vein, the soundcard and figured out how to take the audio from the 3G signal media path, right to the audio output, and vice versa. And it sounds very, very good. How good? Well put it this way..why would anyone with an iPhone want to call over old AT&T after their first Skype over 3G call. Oh, and yes, it makes Skype on Verizon sound like, well, a plain old telephone call.....Ma Bell, you're back sounding like you're old self. The way the boys in the labs have always dreamed and said you could.

Now only if I had that working with Bluetooth :-(

Let's face it, an iPad is no more distracting than a magazine or a book, yet, nothing in the New York Yankees or Yankee Stadium "rules" bans book or magazines.

So why are the Yankee's doing this?

Here are a few likely "reasons" they are from someone who grew up inside the sports world, from the age of 14 until I was 38, working with and for some of the most professional venue and team executives ever to be around sports and entertainment:

1. The reflection from the screen may distract one of the ballplayers--gee so could the groupie in the front row who is wearing hardly anything at all who likely will have more of the player's attention after the game.

2. If you're reading the iPad instead of watching the screens you're not seeing the ads--gee, some fans could be reading their Bible and be praying for a home run. Either way, this impacts revenue from gross impressions from ads and commercials on the replay screens, signs and scoreboards.

3. The iPad may let you make a bet in real time just like your iPhone, Android or any Smartphone. Gee-- they're not on the list of banned substances in the MLB yet.

4. You'll be subscribing and using the MLB's At Bat 2010 iPad application and know more about the game's that day, and possibly learn more than the guy sitting next to you. That's ok, they're a fan of the opposition anyway, and it may cause them to learn something new, because we all know that Yankee fans already know it all.

There are likely a ton of real reasons/excuses the Yankees could offer up, but honestly, does a laptop or iPad really interfere with the game? Does it create a risk for the venue? And most of all, is the safety of the fan really compromised? Well, I guess to be serious they do. You see, we all know about distractions at athletic events, and the iPad could easily cause more than a few distractions:

1. A foul tip could hit you in the face because you were too busy watching or reading on the iPad (but the same argument applies to Blackberries and they are not yet banned)

2. Walking into someone-we all have seen the Blackberry Helmet video (or should watch it)

3. Revenue-you're not buying the game day magazine or program book and instead are getting more current content and information from other sources that are not making money for the Yankees and MLB.

4. Theft, fights and more--Yankee Stadium isn't exactly in the most poshest of neighborhoods in the five boroughs of New York. The risk of theft or a fight over your iPad on your way in or out of the venue could cause patrons harm or lead to increased thievery.

5. Where does it get stored when you're not looking at it? Let's face it, seats at a ballpark don't exactly have baggage storage. At what point is a bag too big to fit under your seat?

I could go on and on, but the reality is, after thinking this over, the Yankees are really leaning to the side of caution. Unfortunately, they just dropped the ball in how they handled the communications to the public.

I am not quite sure how ready the mobile networks are in their support of video on mobile handsets but Fring isn't waiting.

It looks like PhoneTag has some competition in the voicemail to text space.

Upstart YAP has landed Phone.com as a customer, giving Boston based Phone.com the ability to resell a service that delivers the words of a message by email or as an SMS message.

With the deflation of SpinVox, PhoneTag pretty much had the sector to themselves, but now it looks like there is some real competition on the horizon.

It looks like Microsoft wants to jump into the fray vs. Skype, SightSpeed and Google in the world of video chat. Not only are they offering video inside Messenger for Windows, they now have it for the Mac.

Let the games, BEGIN.

Dean Bubley has been keeping abreast of the LTE plans of carriers, and the technology being developed by the NEP's for a while now. His report from the LTE Conference leads me to believe we're in for a mess.

"He knows when you're are sleeping."

"He knows when you're awake"

"He knows if you've been bad or good..."

"So be good for goodness sake..."

You know the old rhyme.....well, it could apply to Google after what I heard today from a T-Mobile rep about the updates to the Nexus One that some folks are reporting they have. It seems that "the updates were pushed out to some reporters" said the Nexus One support person who I was automatically connected to after dialing 611 on my Nexus One. The rest of us he said "have to wait until it comes out for everyone else."

The very friendly agent also said "I've been tracking this story closely because I too have a Nexus One and am looking forward to having it too."

So that begs the question...just how much of what the reporters and bloggers, not to mention the hundreds of executives who were given Nexus One's at events like TED, is now known by Google?

In light of the recent Facebook privacy flap, maybe it's time that Google provides a "DELETE ALL" my history option to Nexus One users in a simple, easy to accomplish way.

If you haven't been following Ooma lately, the early week recap of what's new with Ooma is a very good reference point and worth a read.

The FBI has coined a phrase, Telephony Denial of Service (TDOS). What's alarming is that the telephone networks are not capable of detecting this before it really goes wild.

Good news for client Truphone and others in the Mobile VoIP space.

According to Frost & Sullivan, Mobile Voip is poised to overtake traditional telephone service.

For longtime readers this won't be a surprise. We've all been predicting, and supporting this for years.

But Frost is not alone is saying Mobile VoIP is the future. Ovum, a leading UK analyst firm, and rival to Gartner and IDC, is also making a similar prognostication, but is suggesting the carriers should develop their own solutions or offer their own. This is where patents will come into play, as well as rapid, agile programming and a deep understanding of applications vs. hardware.

For the past 19 months or so, I've had the good fortune to work with an amazing leadership team at GIPS (Global IP Solutions). Ever since I met CEO Emerick Woods after his appointment, and then his team of Joyce Kim, Jan Linden, John Gallagher, John Hermansen and the rest, the rapport, respect and results have always been the way they should be. Right on gameplan.

GIPS acquisition by Google, also makes for the second company I've had the good fortune to work with to land there, with the first being GrandCentral (now Google Voice). Both companies had similar qualities. Both needed counsel on their approach to Social Media. Both wanted to leverage the blogosphere to make up for the shortcomings of traditional media. Both had leadership teams that asked for, took and executed on our advice, but most of all, both companies were full of extremely competent, resourceful, professional and most of all extremely nice and very pleasant people to work with. The team at GIPS, like the team at GrandCentral, were always quick to respond, decisive and knew how to capitalize on an opportunity. In a word, they "listened."

And with this acquisition, for me and my agency, Comunicano, the number of companies to "exit" or in this case "get bought" in the last 8 years now has hit 18. Alec Saunders referenced that feat in his very well written post yesterday. GIPS came to my agency and I in the same way the other 17 had. We were asked to work with them. In this case the door opener was trusted friend and colleague, Jim Courtney, who has known Emerick Woods for longer than most dating back to their days at Quarterdeck. Jim always said that Emerick is the consummate professional, and someone who knows how to win. Looks like Jim's matchmaking ability came through.

To win in this game means to know what the trophy is. In this case it was being acquired by a larger company. Other times it's an IPO and in some cases it's being part of a roll-up. Regardless of the desired outcome, when that day comes, the team that got them there just became more valuable to where they end up next. For the team at GIPS this is a badge of honor, to be bought by Google, and as someone who was able to watch things unfold, reaching the desired outcome was all because of flawless execution and never losing sight of its goal.

Congratulations on playing the game right.

We're rapidly moving to an all IP world. Today we have in some markets Mobile Wimax from Clearwire. Their using the Sprint IP network and WiMax. In the future LTE is coming to Verizon and eventually AT&T. We're also seeing devices that will make computers mobile phones with data built in.

Current 3G technology permits voice to run over it, but it's not always perfect. LTE and WiMax are ready for voice. It's all just a matter of time and is no longer a if, but a when.

Yesterday a voice conference call quickly became a three of five person video conference, with two parties on Mac Books remaining an active part of the call in voice mode only. And, this is only beta.

Five of us were in the call, and for the most part, the call went as planned. As one speaker became active their "box" lit up. I could move between them, and at the same time maintain chat sessions with them and others. No part of the usual Skype experience (on a PC) seemed lacking, though I couldn't locate the technical call information, but being I was more interested in the discussion, than the call itself, as it should be, the more impressed I became. Now, I rarely use my Windows PC but one reason I do is to stay constant on what the Skype experience is for the 85% of the PC public vs. the Mac users who are by nature more early adoptive.

So here's the net net. Only in Beta, the Skype video experience easily matches, and beats the SightSpeed Business experience the last time I tried it, with only the video quality edge going to SightSpeed. And, as far as ooVoo goes, based on what I've ever seen of it, well, Skype's own dog food made their finished product, um... puppy chow.

Former client SightSpeed was acquired about 18 months ago by Logitech. Logitech has since also acquired Lifesize and between the two, plus their webcams, have assembled a small arsenal in the video communications space. Plus in both Scott Lomond (ex COO at SightSpeed) and in Matt Collier from Lifesize they have two very professional leaders inside the company now guiding their video communications efforts.

I missed this post on the Logitech blog but the rumors about Skype and multiparty video made me want to check out what was happening with SightSpeed. The reports about Skype now being about to offer more than one to one video will accomplish one thing. It will drive the use of video as a communications tool to new heights. Already 42 percent of all Skype calls are video. Well, SightSpeed has been in the multiparty video space for as long as I can remember, and their SightSpeed for Business program has offered a low priced option that, like ooVoo, really works but SightSpeed was there first.

Skype today announced new pricing plans that offer more customization on a granular basis. The new plans allow for country specific calling, the ability to buy plans for shorter durations than before and in a word are "customized" by the subscriber.

The effort expands what they have been doing with the unlimited and world plans currently offered.

There has been a lot of discussion online the past few days surrounding the Apple 3G iPad and A&T when it comes to the subject of HD video being delivered or not delivered. Speculation surrounds everything from conspiracy theories to bandwidth limitations and more. While I’ve yet to try out my new 3G iPad, as I’m on the road (no surprise) and it’s home, I do have my WiFi only iPad and a few Novatel Wireless MiFi’s with me, and I can report that I can still watch all the HD video I want to over them, but at a price. That price is I'm on a far different, and capped 5 GB plan at $60.00 per month.

With the 3G iPad at $30 a month, Apple and AT&T are not expecting people to be watching HD video that eliminates the cable bill. That would be foolish for AT&T and well that would end up harming Apple in the long run.

Let’s use FLO TV for comparative purposes.

An unlimited plan with FLO is $199.00 and change for the YEAR. So if we apply Apple/AT&T math that’s almost 7 months of service, but since I’ll apply a liberal split between download email, web surfing and such, I would say that an all TV package at $200 a year would likely cover most normal users. Divide that by 12 months and you’re at roughly $17.00 a month, or roughly six HD episodes of one hour television programming via iTunes.

Now, apply cost of bandwidth, the cheap part, plus the cost of managing all that infrastructure, if you’re AT&T it’s the most expensive part, and you’ll quickly realize that $17.00 a month isn’t enough. For comparison, just look at their regular monthly Laptop Connect plans and the costs for 5 GB of data. More like $60.00 a month. That’s still not a big enough data cap for mobile bandwidth to cover the amount of content that six one hour shows would bring down. Ergo, the need for an add on “programming” delivery fee.

My gut tells me that by the fall TV season there will be “packages” for streaming of services like Hulu, Netflix and others in HD and SD, and that like your cable company or satellite TV provider the pricing for delivery will be tiered. Oh, and yes, I wouldn’t be surprised if Google gets hit with some fees by AT&T for delivery of YouTube videos. The sending party pays model is coming. Just you watch.

Hats off to Clearwire and to SideCut Reports for bringing to our attention the new Clearwire coverage maps.

The map provides the most honest look at where service is, and more importantly, isn't.

I can't say I disagree at all with Hotel Chatter's annual Hotel WiFi's Best & Worst Report at all. My favorite hotel chain, the upscale Hyatt ANDAZ is number one. I've been staying in the London Andaz practically every three months or so for the past two years and have spent many a memorable number of days there. One of the reasons is the fantastic WiFi. Same in NYC where the Andaz just opened in the Wall Street area. They use a service called interTouch, which is owned and operated by DocomoNTT out of Japan. Yup, the same folks who used to be in partnership with AT&T in the Mobile phone world many years ago.

If you notice, the major hotel groups, Marriott, Sheraton and Hilton didn't fare very well. That's because for the most part they have farmed out their WiFi to a few companies that work with the in-room entertainment suppliers and are running connectivity the most cost efficient way possible, vs. actually sitting down and figuring out how to do it right. Additionally, the capacity needed for quality WiFi, and quality Internet connectivity keeps going up, as more guests and more meeting attendees usage rises. Ten years or so the average hotel saw no more than ten percent usage per night based on the number of registered guests, so a T1 was likely more than enough. Now, that usage is north of 60 percent, and in markets like NYC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Seattle more than likely closer to 80 percent.

Hotels, even with 20 megs of connectivity are suffering from being underpowered, and also challenged by improperly positioned WiFi access points, as well as the growing number of P2P (peer to peer) clients running on guests computers. More and more guests are also downloading music and videos using Apple's iTunes, the BBC's iPlayer and of course a few other apps for services we won't mention.

So it's more than just the WiFi, its also the size of the pipe that matters. Oh. that fits in what we won't mention.......

Well anyway, it's great to see someone is keeping score. I for one have demanded better connectivity in hotels. I treat Internet access and WiFi like hot water. If you don't have hot water, the stay is usually free. Well the same goes for me if I don't have solid access and fast speeds of at least half a meg in both directions. You have a choice in where you stay. Stay where you can have hassle a free Internet life.

A lot has already been written about the CenturyLink pending merger with Qwest, including a rather interesting summary by TMCNet's Emperor For Life, Rich Tehrani. Tehrani cites a few online folks we all know and they each have gone on to share their perspectives. Peter Radizeski stated the obvious, in his comment about how the investment bankers are driving "M&A" activity. That makes this merger not much different, except in scale, to the recent Covad & MegaPath tie up.

In bankers terms, CenturyLink is a "roll-up" play. Taking similar industry companies, bringing them together to squeeze out efficiencies, usually by taking the best parts of each, and canning the rest. That means layoffs, staff retirements, furloughs or in some cases selling off parts or assets to others who need them.

Overlooked in most recaps though is what CenturyLink got with Qwest beyond the customer base and a larger national footprint in markets where customers are not alway only yards away from one another, is the Qwest IP network, which may be the newest IP network in the ground in the USA. Qwest built it's nationwide network right along side Level3 back in the 90s. The fiber runs along the railway tracks and is about three feet over from those same fiber runs according to people in the know. That fiber network was supposed to be one of the key growth portions for Qwest, but along the way, the company, embroiled in merger attempts, financial games and even executive criminal activity lost their right of way as a company. But the asset remained buried in the ground, partially lit. Qwest's Cyber Centers were supposed to be the future of the Internet, massive hosting, switching and routing facilities dotting the USA. The idea was right. The timing, and leadership wrong. So as the cable companies began to pick off customer after customer, and as wireless became more en vogue, Qwest, with neither a clue how to play in the wireless game, nor any real focus on the IP side of the house, became less and less of what they were supposed to become, and more of the old fashioned telephone company.

They got bought because what the have, fits, with the rest of the pieces Century Link has already bought. As AT&T moves towards One Network, and as Sprint migrates to an industry supplier of bandwidth and 4G connectivity, CenturyLink moves into compete with Verizon and AT&T for enterprise connectivity, with the makings of some very good in the ground assets. A largely dark fiber network. Likely they will find a way to work with the cable operators, especially in rural area. This may make them a useful suitor to SinglePipe, a company whose business is being shopped around the country still, but where no one is jumping. While I think they are a better fit for another piece of Covad, CenturyLink has the cash and right now is on a buying binge.