VoIP's rising voice

If the Voice on the Net show being held in Boston this week is any indication, voice over IP is at least maintaining the momentum--and, at best, gaining--it has established over the past few years. The Telephony editorial staff's coverage of the event, available right now at www.telephonyonline.com, highlights an array of new service provider rollouts, technology enhancements and application introductions.

Much of the focus of this VON show is on the critical and sometimes controversial issues facing VoIP providers. Level 3, for example, announced that it has made more progress in facilitating E-911 for its VoIP provider customers. Meanwhile, regulators gathered at the show continued to debate the progression of VoIP reform particularly around issues like universal service and intercarrier compensation.

In the applications realm, Net2Phone introduced a new service geared toward the enterprise sector, EarthLink announced that it is addressing line-powered VoIP and fixed-mobile convergence, and MCI unveiled new IP PBX and IP trunking capabilities. Meanwhile, TelTel introduced a new program under which it can quickly equip companies that want to become virtual providers of VoIP services.

In addition to those and countless platform introductions and enhancements from various VoIP players, some discussion at VON was focused on the biggest world news of the day: Hurricane Katrina. Bill Smith, CTO of BellSouth--a carrier whose networks have weathered the worst of Katrina--warned the VoIP community not to portray VoIP as infallible in disaster scenarios, particularly when it comes to power challenges. Smith's comments are an example of what is likely to become a growing disparity between operators of traditional telecom networks (even those also offering VoIP services) and more nascent VoIP-centric entities about VoIP's capabilities. Despite much progress and success in the VoIP sector, for an industry often damaged by overpromise, Smith's is a warning that should be heeded.

E-mail me at jmeyers@primediabusiness.com.