Apr 14, 2008 12:00 AM,

The Web is the Web and telecom is telecom

By Rich Karpinski

Since returning to Telephony last fall, I've set out to try to understand the intersection of the Web and telecom. And what have I learned, albeit slowly and fitfully? Just what that headline says: The Web is the Web and telecom is telecom. And while the two shall most definitely meet, they also are fundamentally different and distinct.

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A variety of developments have driven this home in recent days. Whatever happened to Google the telephony provider? Turns out their 700 MHz bid was literally a big scam. They have no plans to be a facilities-based provider, despite their FCC gamesmanship, Wi-Fi tests, voice-over-IP tinkering, balloon-antenna inquiries, etc.

Did you catch Google's App Engine announcement last week — its formal entry into cloud/software-as-a-service computing? What it really represents is the creation of an Internet application development platform. As a step beyond advertising, this is the business Google should be in (and the business Microsoft will regret missing). It's also a business that telcos will never be good at. And that's OK, mainly because understanding this brings greater clarity to what businesses Web and telecom players will, and should, be in.

The CTIA conference was an eye-opener, too. Check out this stat from the show: Users now send 1.6 billion text messages per day. Over at AT&T Mobility, data usage grew 58% year-over-year, helping drive adjusted margins up to 38.2%. The Web is a platform, yes, but text/mobile e-mail/mobile apps/presence is a platform to reckon with in its own right, the Web be damned.

Am I saying there will be no intersection between these two worlds? Of course not. IP is a true convergence technology. Web services and SOA architectures will play key roles in both the Web and telecom. Consumer video will traverse both worlds, as will voice and other services.

But the Web and telecom also offer massive and distinct platform opportunities upon which to build huge new businesses. Each side will see true success when they stop fearing or trying to replace the other and instead leverage each other's strengths. That's where I think the real intersection of these two worlds ultimately will be.