Comments on: Global Telcos Plotting a Skype Rival?

By: Paltalk Picks Up Virtual Phone Service Vumber

Paltalk Picks Up Virtual Phone Service Vumber — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:30:29 +0000

[...] features to bolster its existing video conferencing product, and give it a leg up against services like Skype in an industry that’s becoming increasingly [...]

By: Where is My Skype on iPhone? - GigaOM

Where is My Skype on iPhone? - GigaOM — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:51:47 +0000

[...] we taped and will post later today. We talk about the beta of Skype 4.0, the eBay relationship and the Skype-killer client being plotted by telecom operators amongst various [...]

By: BT compra Ribbit? | VoipBlog.it

BT compra Ribbit? | VoipBlog.it — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:42:51 +0000

[...] potrebbe anche far parte di un piano a più largo raggio che vedrebbe diverse aziende di telecomunicazione impegnate nella ricerca di un [...]

By: DD

DD — Thu, 29 May 2008 02:06:48 +0000

Current “wholesale priced” offerings from certain providers cannot be beaten by any of large TELCO or their conglomerates. However, they are raw services, and thus require user to configure ATA and services such as Voxalot to take full advantage out of them. Masses cannot, and don’t want to deal with this techie stuff, so they got to have user friendly interface, even if it makes the service, particularly termination rates, cost 2-5 times more. This is why such services can and will flourish regardless of by whom they are backed: large TELCO, or a startup.

By: On telcos and disintermediation… at diversity.net.nz

On telcos and disintermediation… at diversity.net.nz — Thu, 15 May 2008 09:10:05 +0000

[...] recent days we’ve seen rumours of a plot by global Telcos to create some sort of Skype rival, surely this (if it’s true) [...]

By: Digital Common Sense » It’s Too late Baby, Yeah It’s Too Late

Digital Common Sense » It’s Too late Baby, Yeah It’s Too Late — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:36:10 +0000

[...] to generate a lot of interest all across the blogs and in the news. The first was the rumor of a “Skype Killer” being planned by the leading telcos around the world. The second was the blockbuster move by the [...]

By: Stardust Global Ventures » It’s Too late Baby, Yeah It’s Too Late

Tue, 13 May 2008 22:35:40 +0000

By: Jason Sjobeck

Jason Sjobeck — Sat, 10 May 2008 20:08:33 +0000

As a consumer I hope that this is true. But as a telephony consultant, watcher, observer, big telco client, I know that these operate so damn slowly that they cant even adjust your callerID sometimes let alone roll-out a new service like this. I dont see it happening. To their own detriment. Pretty soon ATT will simply operate a global fiber network only, as hey will alienate all their end users & as those end users migrate to service providers who give them their calls over that network. Which then makes ATT (and all the other operators (ah, hmmmm, Comcast!)) to stop jerking us around by actually introducing latency/jitter in their networks to ruin our quality. he biggest thing I want from the world right now is a global QoS agreement. OK, and more speed, but that second to QoS.

Great article.

Keep it up. More of the same.

One last thought: what is Apple going to do with the iPhone to let us make these calls from that device because I will be damned if I spend enough n their phone to get a used laptop & then not be able to use TruPhone or similar.

By: harleyridesagain

harleyridesagain — Thu, 08 May 2008 21:27:57 +0000

If at&t wants to compete they will do as they always do. They will buy it all out. Remember when they had a monopoly and had to be broken up? They just bought Bellsouth. They are rebuilding there monopoly knowing it will again be broken up. Proving there is big money in selling off pieces to competitors to start new companies.

By: Withheld

Withheld — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:47:43 +0000

I read this article with joy. For one, I have worked in startup tech and now work in telco (soon to be departed). I can assure you, the telecom business is a bureaucratic dinosaur where logic and reason and meritocracy do not exist. It is also an environment where people willfully create products or service which will not make money, only to save their bacon. In some cases, these people have become part of the infrastructure.

They can barely deliver a product themselves with the bureaucracy, governance, and funding approval process. 10-15 together? Haha, the mother of all telecom product launches! Good luck.

Telecom does not innovate -- it FOLLOWS. Not once have I heard my firm say, "We will boldly disrupt the marketplace and allow our product teams to really innovate" - they don't. They simply copy what is in the marketplace or follow an analyst report.

It's time to get back into the startup world -- and don't ask me why I went there! :-)

By: Standards guy

Standards guy — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:42:13 +0000

I would hope/guess that they are using an implementation of P2P SIP, which is working its way through the IETF standards body. Building another closed system like Skype just doesn’t make any sense. P2P SIP would allow them to use whatever device they choose to roll out i.e. PC client, wireless device, etc.

By: aajjcckk

aajjcckk — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:24:31 +0000

This would make complete sense from a business perspective. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” or perhaps more accurately the telcos intention would be “join ‘em, then beat ‘em at their own game”. I don’t like saying this, but in the true mass market, such a thing, pan-telco and pan-global, could trounce Skype without a vast amount of effort. Esp. if it’s easily accessible to mobile and landline users – and the networks are the ones who have the customer relationships and physical connections.

Skype has fluffed their mobile strategy IMHO – loads of Wifi enabled phones out there and barely a true Skype client to be seen, and the ones that are pipe over the PSTN, leaving it to competitors to offer true mobile VoIP.

By: B On The Move - Tech News » Blog Archive » AT&T and Other Telcos Thinking of Skype Combatant? [VoIP]

Wed, 07 May 2008 20:27:19 +0000

[...] Om writes about a report that AT&T and a group of major international telcos like British Telecom, Deutsche Telecom and NTT are thinking of making a free VoIP system. The reason for it is that voice is a “losing proposition” these days in the face of Skype and landline attrition. The system would eventually be moved to cellphones and would be launched in 2009. One problem: The report is so far mostly theory, even if the writer does have a good track record. [Om] [...]

By: B On The Move - Tech News » Blog Archive » AT&T and Other Telcos Thinking of Skype Combatant? [VoIP]

Wed, 07 May 2008 19:29:50 +0000

By: tech-talk.biz » Blog Archive » IMS Vs. Skype

tech-talk.biz » Blog Archive » IMS Vs. Skype — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:39:52 +0000

[...] Multimedia Subsystem or IMS is an architecture standardized by 3GPP, 3GPP2 and TISPAN, that is the choice of telcos to implement not only VoIP, but also other multimedia services, such as videcalls, presence, instant messaging, push-to-x, [...]

By: Jose Miguel Cansado

Jose Miguel Cansado — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:37:10 +0000

The technology is called IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem). This architecture, standardized by different bodies such as 3GPP or ETSI, is the choice of telcos to implement not only VoIP, but also videcalls, presence, instant messaging, push-to-x, videosharing, etc.

You can envision it as a service similar to Skype but standard-based, with assured quality of service and fully inter-operable among different telcos.

IMS software clients will run on different devices including handsets, PC/laptops and IPTV Set-top-boxes.

In fact AT&T U-verse Voice is already based in this kind of technology.

http://tech-talk.biz/2008/03/04/att-u-verse-true-convergence/