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Life is good. Especially if your name is Niklas Zennstr�m. eBay�s Meg Whitman and her team of advisors decided it was time to buy their way into the hottest game in town (VoIP) and they accomplished just that by shelling out up to $4.1 Billion for Skype. Time will tell if they made the right choice, and whether or not they were able to haggle for the best possible price. I�ve written extensively in my blog (http://voip-blog.tmcnet.com/blog/greg-galitzine) about my less than positive view of the transaction so I won�t go into that here, but I�m looking forward to hearing Mr. Zennstr�m speak at the Internet Telephony Conference & EXPO at the end of this month. Perhaps he can share some useful insight regarding the acquisition.
The eBay/Skype merger is just one of the high points of this new season of VoIP. Persistent rumors of a Vonage IPO, the launch of GoogleTalk, Microsoft�s acquisition of Teleo, the list of major players getting into the VoIP game� all says something about the staying power of a technology not too long ago derided as a hobbyist�s plaything, useful only for saving a penny or two while giving up way too much in the quality department.
Believe me I�ve heard it all. We�ve been publishing this magazine since 1998 and I was writing about Internet telephony back in CTI magazine for several years before that. Our industry has weathered a number of storms and we�ve been here all along watching, listening, reporting. Take it from me; October 2005 is a great time to be here and to see all of this buzz and activity in our industry. It is certainly the right time to be involved with VoIP.
And amid all this awesome activity in our space stands the aforementioned Internet Telephony Conference & EXPO. This year�s event is gearing up to be the largest ever in the VoIP space, with attendance projected at over 7,500. There�s simply no better place to go and get educated on what you need to know if you want to build or deploy or resell VoIP. The conference program is truly unparalleled. And the Exhibit Hall at the Los Angeles Convention Center will be full of the industry�s leading vendors promoting their latest VoIP products and services.
Back when it all began, who would have thought that the world�s largest ISP, the world�s largest software company, the world�s leading Web site, and the world�s largest networking company would all be in one place addressing the audience on the subject VoIP?
This brings us to the �show issue,� which you hold in your hands. It�s our biggest issue yet! And while size is relative, rest assured that this magazine has never been so full of pertinent news and information that you � as a reader and a consumer of knowledge � absolutely need to help you make the important decisions regarding this space.
For our loyal subscribers, it�s so nice to welcome you each and every month and let me say how thrilled I am to greet you again. Hopefully, I�ll see you at the event.
And, for those of you who may have just recently picked up a copy at the show, I urge you to look through this issue and then go online and subscribe. Make sure you don�t miss this wonderful opportunity to receive the industry�s leading magazine. And if I haven�t yet done so, may I welcome you to Los Angeles. This week at least, it�s the right place to be for VoIP.
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