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New England roads have personality. Many people come to Connecticut in the fall to
drive through our heavily wooded back roads and to watch the leaves as they turn from
green to autumn's vibrant reds, golds, and yellows.
New England is home to some of the quirkiest roads in the country. Many visitors to
this area comment about how charming and quaint our roads are. I can hardly disagree.
Driving near my house requires a firm grasp of the various rotaries, frequent stop signs,
and numerous forks that characterize Connecticut's back roads.
It is because of this unique geography that native drivers can spot out-of-towners in
an instant. The constant cycle of braking and jerky acceleration signals the fact that
driver in the car just ahead holds an out of state license.
And, when large numbers of visitors come through all at once, these wayfarers become
more than just a passing curiosity. Such was the case with the recent PowerBall frenzy
that swept our nation. Connecticut happens to be the closest state to New York and New
Jersey that permits PowerBall drawings. As the recent Jackpot topped 250 million dollars,
hundreds and thousands of people queued up at convenience stores and supermarkets and gas
stations in Connecticut. The lines started forming before 8:00 A.M. and lasted well past
midnight.
TRAFFIC ON THE ROAD TO RICH'S
Of course, the main highway, which is already overtaxed with traffic, resembled a parking
lot. A trip that should take 20 minutes or so in average traffic now took nearly 2 hours.
New York and New Jersey license plates far outnumbered Connecticut plates. Connecticut
natives had become the minority in their own state!
It was while fighting my way home through one particular traffic jam (and subsequently
- with patience fading - trailing misguided interlopers on back roads) that I realized how
easily everyone is lured by the potential for financial reward. The amount of energy and
time that it took to travel (in some cases over 100 miles) and then stand in line for
hours to buy a lottery ticket amazed me. The patience and time devoted to acquiring a
lottery ticket was truly astonishing.
It is this very same ambition to make or save money that drives industry. The Internet,
and its lucrative outgrowth - Internet telephony -- are no exception. A recent review of
the circulation records for Internet Telephony™ shows that in just over 5 months,
more than 33,000 subscribers have requested personal subscriptions to the magazine. And
this is after only our second issue! In the trade-publishing world, this is absolutely
unheard of. The amount of interest generated by this field is staggering.
Still, this should come as no surprise. The potential to make money and save money by
embracing Internet telephony technology is astounding. Comparisons can be drawn that
telephony traveling over IP networks is akin to what the PC did for paper documents or
even mail. If you think telephony is fine the way it is, then I invite you to stop using
e-mail. Mail may have been fine the way it once was, but it was not until we began using
e-mail that regular mail became derisively known as snail mail. We are on the verge of
totally changing our telecommunications infrastructure. It won't happen overnight, but
then, nothing ever does. The fact remains, however, that tomorrow's market leaders will be
determined today.
APPLICATIONS ARE THE KEY
Transmission time is only a small part of what makes e-mail useful. It is the power to CC,
forward, and broadcast e-mail quickly and inexpensively that makes it so attractive. It's
not just the technology, but rather the applications that spur advances in efficiency. The
possibilities are truly amazing to contemplate. For example, a company of IP telephony
enabled users could conduct an instant video conference regardless of the participants'
locations. This is just a single forward-looking application that we will soon take for
granted. Today it may be a dream, but in the world of IP telephony, such applications
become but a trivial programming job.
THEY MUST BE ON TO SOMETHING
The market capitalization of publicly traded companies in this field and the amount of
venture capital available to entrepreneurs in Internet telephony are also beyond belief.
Companies like Microsoft, Nortel, Lucent, Dialogic, Natural MicroSystems, Cisco,
Cabletron, Ascend, and just about every other networking or PBX vendor are all releasing
(or about to release) products in this space: Proof that there is tremendous momentum
here. We have stacks of press releases that we can't even fit in an issue of our magazine
and Internet Telephony™ is only four issues old! The opportunities are out there, and
it is up to each individual to figure out which portion of this booming market they want
to play in.
EQUAL TIME
There are so many different ways that almost everyone can get involved in this profitable
market. Our readership spans many different specialties, so I will attempt to cover all of
the readers of Internet Telephony™ and help them decide what is the best way for them
to take advantage of this field.
For the Reseller…
I suggest that you examine the various Internet telephony gateways that are now available
and explore reselling these products. By acquiring a few large corporate customers or even
service provider customers you can make a great deal of money. The reasoning is simple -
If you can prove that you will save a corporation $75,000 in long-distance charges per
year and the equipment cost is not too high with respect to the dollars saved, you can
easily justify the purchase of your product. There are several different types of
equipment you can resell, so I advise that you read Round Table (see page xx) in this
issue where we ask vendors their opinions on various implementations of Internet
telephony. The three options discussed are PC-based gateways, PBXs with IP telephony
trunks, and routers with IP telephony interfaces. While I have (as of this writing) yet to
see an IP telephony capable PBX, this market changes daily. I suggest you attend the
roundtable discussion at CTI
EXPO in San Jose, CA, on Thursday December 3rd, from
11:30-1:00, for the latest information.
For the ISP…
You are a prime candidate to become a telephone company. Why, you might ask, would you
want to become a telephone company? Very simply, because traditional telephone companies --
the ILECS (Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers) -- are large, monopolistic organizations that
have many opportunities to make money on new ventures but simply don't or apparently
can't. If ISDN were priced halfway decently in my state, I would be the first person to
order it. What type of business model do telephone companies have? I am absolutely dying
to part with my money and receive inexpensive Internet access in my home. I have been for
years. And still my local telephone company refuses to give it to me! Mr. or Mrs. ISP
owner, ILECs are easier competitors than you can imagine. You just have to navigate all
the regulatory stumbling blocks they will throw up in your path (this seems to be their
only competitive advantage besides owning the wires in our homes) and you will be able to
compete with them very nicely.
CLECs and Cable Companies…
You know how important convergence is. Running cable or purchasing cable from an ILEC is
expensive. What sense does it make to sell one service when you can sell 3 or more
simultaneously? Compressed voice is almost negligible when it comes to bandwidth - and
your newfound wires can easily piggyback this traffic on video or data services. If you
are in this category, you should be living and breathing IP - this is your future.
Developers…
You have a wonderful opportunity ahead of you. The industry needs the equivalent of voice
word processors, spreadsheets, and other killer apps. Remote access is all the rage, and
yet no solution does everything you need it to do. A converged IP/CTI software solution
will do the trick. You can figure out the details. Just get to work on it!
Before you start coding though, keep in mind that Microsoft has introduced TAPI 3.0,
and IP telephony (including conferencing and streaming technology) will now be embedded in
the OS. Add to that the fact that TAPI 3.0 is DCOM-compliant and you realize that you'd
better learn about TAPI 3.0 before it is too late. And don't forget Parity Software
who have recently produced an Internet telephony application generator
- the first I am aware of.
End users…
Telecom, Datacom, MIS personnel - start reviewing your phone bills. Do you often call
other corporate or branch locations resulting in large phone bills? Do you already have an
intranet set up between these branches? Are your long-distance charges simply too large?
If any of the above apply to you, then you are a prime candidate for Internet telephony
gateways. These devices can pay for themselves in a matter of months. Do the research,
come to CTI EXPO, and you will save your company lots of money.
CONCLUSION
The momentum is building. The market is growing. And there's no end in sight. Whenever you
explore a new territory for untold riches, you must remember to take your guidebook. For
those countless thousands of visitors to Connecticut during the recent PowerBall frenzy, I
would like to point out (albeit belatedly) that a simple map might have helped you in your
travels into our area. Had you only been following me (instead of the other way around), I
could have shown you where the lines were shorter, and saved you much in the way of
heartache.
Fortunately, for those of you journeying into the uncharted, yet potentially highly
lucrative, waters of Internet telephony, you have a guidebook in the magazine you hold in
your hands. As a regular reader, you will enjoy learning about the latest trends,
technologies, and products, and reading the most in-depth reviews from our own in-house
laboratory, TMC Labs. There is no substitute for doing your homework. And next time you
come to Connecticut, lured by the potential for financial reward, give me a ring. I'll
gladly give you directions.
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