Open IP Communications

1
Open IP Communications

• Jeff Pulver,
• CEO
• pulver.com
• jeffp_at_pulver.com
• Presentation to FCC VoIP Forum
• December 1, 2003

2
The Public Good of IP Communication

• I have formed my opinions from my Ham Radio
  background and the phone patching I did for the
  military personnel growing up.
• I became a VoIP hobbyist in 1995 marrying my Ham
  Radio phone patching with my computer background.
  This perspective drives my efforts with Free
  World Dialup. A network of 80,000 worldwide
  users.
• I have no formal telecom background. As a Ham
  Radio operator my thought process is not
  constrained by anything other than my imagination.

• Kodachrome
• by Paul Simon
• When I think back on all the crap
• I've learned in highschool
• It's a wonder I can think at all
• Though my lack of education hasn't hurt me much
• I can read the writings on the walls
• Chorus
• Kodachrome, they give us those nice bright colors
• They give us the greens of summers
• Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh
  yeah

3
VoIP is different than traditional telephony.
Applications E-mail, Voice, Video Instant
Messaging, etc.
Internet
Protocol
IP
Infrastructure POTS WiFi, Fiber, DSL, etc.
No one e-mailing says, I am SMTPing No one web
surfing says, I am HTTPing So what makes us
think that talking should be considered
VoIPing?
4
VoIP is an Open Innovative Application

• Flowers are Red by Harry Chapin
• the little boy said...
• There are so many colors in the rainbow
• So many colors in the morning sun
• So many colors in the flower and I see every one
• The teacher put him in a corner
• She said.. It's for your own good..
• And you won't come out 'til you get it right
• And all responding like you should
• Well finally he got lonely
• Frightened thoughts filled his head
• And he went up to the teacher
• And this is what he said.. and he said
• Flowers are red, green leaves are green.
• There's no need to see flowers any other way
• Than the way they always have been seen.

• Application / Services are separate from
  Transport.
• Anyone can deploy new applications / services
• Services / Applications can be deployed from
  anywhere to anywhere.
• Voice will be enabled from a variety of
  everyday consumer devices using a variety of
  protocols.
• We have the unique opportunity to deliver
  innovative new services and not be constrained by
  the legacy vision of the past there is no need
  to replicate what we used to do when we can
  innovate upon the future.

5
Innovation is Happening

• Open source communications will drive the future
  of communications.
• Advances in consumer electronics is bringing the
  edge a lot closer to everyday people.
• Free World Dialup ( http//www.freeworldialup.com
  ) is an example of Open Source Communications
  empowering a global broadband community.
• Everyday People who are not traditional carriers
  and who defy normal boundaries are getting real
  value from FWD. Some community members provide
  value to FWD by offering connectivity to the PSTN
  for toll-free dialing ability into the US, UK and
  Netherlands. More countries to follow in 2004.
• FWD provides a Presence and Instant Messaging
  network for the community which can be used for
  signaling voice calls.
• IPKall.com offers free US 360 area code number
  mapped to FWD numbers.
• CallUK offers free 0870 UK number mapped to FWD
  numbers.
• Buzz2Talk is a GPRS application which empowers
  GPRS users on Wireless with the ability to speak
  to people on FWD.
• FWD offers free Voice mail and free ClicktoCall
  applications
• FWD provides a platform for experimentation with
  Voice XML.
• IP Innovation is happening outside of the
  Broadband World
• Push to Talk on Wireless is driven by IP lead
  Innovations
• There is added value whenever legacy networks
  interconnect!

6
Good Technology is Socially Responsible

• Social Policy concerns can be addressed by
  voluntary industry standards.
• Disability Access
• 911
• CALEA
• The VoIP Industry is actively working with all
  appropriate parties.

7
Beltway Buzz is not the same as Market
Penetration

• Market penetration for Voice over broadband
  services is currently less than one tenth of one
  percent of the access lines in the USA 150,000
  subs vs. 150,000,000 lines.
• VoIP penetration is totally dependent on
  broadband adoption and consumers comfort with
  the environment.
• Many challenges still exist
• IP phones and edge devices are still expensive.
• Traversing homes NATs and Firewalls and local QoS
  can be an issue at times.
• Excessive Hype and recent press has given the
  VoIP Industry a lot of exposure lately.

8
Policy Implications

• We need room to innovate and experiment and in
  effect a regulation free zone for the Internet.
• If there is regulation, it should be smart
  regulation
• Recognize that VoIP is unique
• Please fix the broken problems rather than
  applying old regulatory policy on new
  innovations.
• VoIP can be an engine for Competition.
• Give voluntary standards a chance.

9
Do we know the futures requirements?
We need to build for an Always On generation.