Ed Guy is now Technical Architect at Truphone – the Mobile Internet Network Operator who provide a VoIP service on mass market phones.

For those of you who know what Ed did for FWD it should come as no surprise that he has been and continues to be instrumental in bringing cool and fun features to Truphone!

How was that a success? well, from my family’s perspective, it is a magic black box that just works. If you guys could somehow create a model where non-techies could just “order here” and you get everything preconfigured for their own personal environment, that would be a hook. Especially if you don’t need a computer on for the service to work (as Skype does).

I suggest you make a deal with Grandstream and resell their adapters (including their new IP video phone) and have special web areas where you can market directly to families spread around the world, and other niche segments.

Old people makes a better market than young IMHO…

I would dearly like to kow exactly what Ed is doing now – a standard Google search reveals that he is in some way connected with mobile internet startup Truphone, who are doing all kinds of interesting stuff in the mobile VoIP arena (in the same way that FWD used to do really cool stuff!)

I share the sentiment that a focus on victimization of little co’s by big co’s is unproductive. The column represented more of a cautionary tale pointing toward a way forward. Avoid any dependence of on the traditional telephone network. The bigco anti-competitive activities explain the surprising lack of innovation in traditonal telecom. Aside from a difference in connectors, a telephone manufactured in 1924 will work with the existing local telephone networks. The same voice quality. The same technology used in the local loop. The usual forces of technology innovation appear to be absent in the monopoly local telephone business. It seems reasonable for anyone getting into the business in 2007 to think through how that could be possible. How did the Verizon increase prices every year between 1984 and 2007 without improving the value proposition offered end users? The telephone call to your neighbor in 2007 differs not at all from the one in 1984 or even 1954.

SIP through NAT was not really solved well until quite recently. Skype drew attention to the need to resolve that problem. Gizmo Project has done a decent job of making it happen, but FWD has remained under the radar for most people.

With some press, and a little better reliability, FWD could be really good. I’d look to FWD for services and features beyond simple POTS replacement before most others.

Michael

The idea that it is a membership, not a monthly fee sort of makes you feel like you are in an exclusive group. Great marketing.

I believe the most pressing obstacle today is escaping breaking the dependence of the industry on the traditional telephone network (and by extension on traditional telephone companies.)

The network effect works against the industry at this point. Everyone wants ubiquity, but ubiquity seems to depend on interconnection with the telephone network. End users only understand new offers to the extent they get presented in the context of replacing traditional telephone offers.

The column made a single point: There is more to communication and even voice communication than the telephone call. The IP Communication industry needs to get in the business of delivering communication rather than just telephone calls via the Internet.