Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com
Update 9:50 AM CST….
My iPhone sees the AT&T WiFi network at the first Starbucks with AT&T WiFi in Antonio. It defaulted to T-Mobile, so be sure to add AT&T.
Stand by for more.
Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com
Update: 8:30 AM CST…
While I am pleased to have broken the story on the first Starbucks in the US with AT&T WiFi, I need to be clear that this deployment has not official been announced by AT&T or Starbucks.
With that being said, they are still getting the store up and going and so for me to speculate on things would be irresponsible.
As of yesterday and today, the WiFi worked just fine.
As of 8:00 AM CST this morning, I tried to log on to the Apple iTunes store from my iPhone and it did not work. It’s not a reflection of the service in any way. It’s just where the service is as of now.
Keep checking back and I will keep checking the store with real time updates.
Reporters can call me at 210-410-3075 for tight deadlines.
If you are not on deadline, please call the office at 210-820-3075
email is: alan at weinkrantz dot com
Thanks!
Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com
Yes, the AT&T WiFi branding is at the Starbucks store. I suspect you will see more of these as they roll out San Antonio.
Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com
So here is a quick and dirty home made video of what I call "My Three Screens Life."
Be it at home, at Starbucks, or at the office, I can be mobile, get my work done, do life, friends, kids, family, etc.
This probably won’t win an Academy Award, but I do hope you get the basic picture here.
Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com
Here is what I know about the deal with AT&T and Starbucks. Your mileage may vary….
Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com
I am starting to get calls from reporters. One of the most frequently asked questions is "So, what happens to T-Mobile?"
I don’t do PR for T-Mobile and I don’t want to speculate what will or will not happen. All I do know is that if you look at the screen shot above, it has both the AT&T and T-Mobile logos.
Here is the joint announcement from Starbucks and AT&T
Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com
The first Starbucks in the U.S. with AT&T WiFi is now live and it works.
Located at 5321 Broadway Road San Antonio, TX 78209, this the first of what is supposed to be 7,000 company-operated Starbucks locations that will offer this service.
Free To U-verse Customers
Because I am an AT&T U-verse customer, I now have free WiFi at Starbucks (and McDonald’s and Barnes & Noble.)
Logged On. Gave My AT&T User Name & Password and…it worked.
When I was at the Starbucks store this afternoon, there were both AT&T and Starbucks employees doing the final install.
I walked in, logged on, and presto it worked.
More, later.
Reporters can call me on my cell: 210-410-3075 anytime up until midnight CST.
Google me here or here or here.
See my YouTube Video on AT&T’s U-verse Guide here.
Source: voip-hype.com
Former Head of Strategic Alliances and Business Development for RadioShack Expands Board to Five Members
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – April 14, 2008 — i2Telecom International, Inc. (”i2Telecom®”) (OTCBB: ITUI), a developer of patented and innovative high-quality Voice-over-Internet Protocol (”VoIP”) products and services, today announced that Andy Berman has been appointed to its board of directors, increasing the number of board members to five.
With over 26 years of industry experience, Mr. Berman has been involved in nearly all sectors of the technology and telecommunications industries and was instrumental in revolutionizing global Internet connectivity in the early 1990s. He has extensive experience in the disciplines of strategic alliance planning and business development, as well as sales and marketing, product development and distribution.
Mr. Berman, age 49, is the founder and owner of Chesapeake Ventures, LP (”Chesapeake”), a consulting group specializing in strategic global alliances and business development for the technology and telecommunications industries. His clients at Chesapeake have included Monster Cable, Cisco, RadioShack and Valence Semiconductor, among others. Mr. Berman was President and Chief Executive Officer for Nextlink USA, Inc, AB, a Denmark-based headset manufacturer from May 2006 to February 2007, at which time he was elected to their Board of Directors. He served as Vice President, Strategic Alliances and Business Development, at RadioShack from July 2003 through April 2006, where he successfully delivered emerging technologies and new products/services to distribution channels and brought many licensing and investment opportunities to the company. Mr. Berman, as a Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for CipherOptics from January 2002 through June 2003, successfully negotiated strategic relationships with SafeNet, CNT, IBM, EMC, Storage Technology, and Hitachi Data Systems.
“We are excited that Andy Berman has joined i2Telecom’s Board of Directors,” stated Paul Arena, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Andy has a demonstrated record of success and is well-respected in the technology and telecommunications industries. His ability to identify strategic opportunities, enhance shareholder value, and manage profitably during periods of rapid growth is consistent with our corporate objectives. Andy’s leadership and strategic initiatives were instrumental in generating hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenues and shareholder value during his more than 26 years of building new businesses and introducing new technologies and services into a variety of global markets.”
“I am personally gratified that Andy has elected to invest his time with us,” added Mr. Arena. “His enthusiasm is shared by other members of our board of directors and senior management team. We have established aggressive goals for future growth and profitability and look forward to Andy’s contributions towards the achievement of these goals.”
“I believe that i2Telecom has created a valuable intellectual property portfolio surrounding its Internet telephony technology and has an excellent platform from which to deliver end-to-end Internet telephony solutions and applications on an international scale,” commented Mr. Berman. “Unlike many of its competitors, i2Telecom has successfully developed award-winning solutions and applications that are superior for the communications needs of users in many demographics. I hope to leverage my business and sales experience to assist i2Telecom in penetrating a variety of key strategic markets.”
About i2Telecom International, Inc.
i2Telecom International, Inc. is a developer of patented and innovative high-quality Voice-over-Internet Protocol (”VoIP”) products and services that employ best-of-breed VoIP technology and use a combination of the Company’s own services network and the Internet to deliver high-quality phone calls, streaming video and text chat to customers on a global scale. i2Telecom International provides its VoiceStick®, MyGlobalTalk™, Digital Portal communications and microgateway adapters for VoIP long-distance and other enhanced communication services to its subscribers. Its patent pending services technology platform is compliant with the Session Initiation Protocol (”SIP”) telecommunications industry standard. For additional information visit www.i2telecom.com or www.voicestick.com or www.myglobaltalk.com or call 404-567-4750.
Source: blog.voipsupply.com
This week VoIP Supply has a great promotion featuring GN Netcom products. You can save $100 when purchasing a GN9330 and GN1000 combo. The GN 1000 Remote Handset Lifter answers and ends calls remotely, allowing you to roam free around the office. The GN9330 Wireless Headset is the perfect pairing and provides noise cancelling sound with a lifter. It is also WiFi-friendly. Your voice will always be transmitted clearly, even as you are moving through a noisy area. The headset allows a nine-hour talk time without recharging, ensuring you are always ready for every call.
So make sure to check out VoIP Supply, because these essential VoIP items won’t last long. Get a great deal by saving $100 when purchasing this great combo.
Source: asteriskblog.com
All Americans know how to call 911 in case of am emergency. The system was first investigated in 1958 and was set in place in 1967. The first 911 call ever to be made was in 1968. The caller was Rankin Fite, then the Alabama Speaker of the House, and the person who answered was Congressman Tom Bevill. The 911 emergency call system has gone a long way since then and has saved countless of lives.
Today, with telephony covering many aspects and facets aside from the conventional telephone lines, the ability to reach 911 in case of an emergency is something to consider. With VOIP becoming as prevalent as it is today, it is but natural to make sure that people who use VOIP lines instead of conventional phone lines will still be able to call 911 and get the fastest service possible.
This is why the Lee County Division of Public Safety is calling for the testing of the efficiency of calling 911 from VOIP lines. To date, there has been no case of failure or complications of 911 calls from VOIP lines. However, I do agree with them when they say that we should not have to wait for such an occurrence.
So why should there be any complications with VOIP lines when they function basically the same way as regular phone lines? The fact is that there are differences – significant differences. This is particularly important with the Enhanced 911 service, wherein details such as phone number, name, and address are displayed. This information can spell the difference between life and death in some cases. If the person in trouble does not have time to state the important details, the dispatcher just has to look at the information displayed on screen and have the proper people go over to the site.
Sometimes, though, when VOIP users make calls, the vital information is not displayed at all. What reasons could be behind this? One reason could be that the VOIP user did not give their VOIP service provider (VSP) that information – this could be either because they purposely did not do so OR they were not informed that they should have done so. In any case, the possible results are the same – no information will be displayed when they call 911. More so, some VOIP calls do not get connected directly to the 911 center. Instead, they are routed to a VSP center first.
As you can see, this is a vital point that has to be dealt with soon – before anyone actually gets in trouble because of the lack of proper preparation.
Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com
Over the last two years, I have managed to navigate, and get pretty good at reading and understanding my U-verse bill from AT&T.
Here is a handy guide which walks you through all the various charges you wind up paying.
The guide provides information on your Account Summary, Previous Charges and Credits, Prorated Usage Charges, and Surcharges, like government fees that are added on to your bill.
Graphic image, courtesy of AT&T. All Rights Reserved.
Source: blog.voipsupply.com
Where is the VoIP industry going?
Of late, it is the question I field most often.
I am not sure if it is because as the market mature, seeing what’s next is increasingly important, or if it is because as the marketplace matures, what worked yesterday is no longer working today (or will work tomorrow). Whatever the case may be, I thought it would be fitting to address where the VoIP industry is going, in a short and sweet high-level digest.
The buzz surrounding VoIP has worn off. Overall interest in the VoIP technology is trending downward due to this, although the market is still growing. People have wised up to the fact that VoIP is just another transport mechanism for voice and therefore what is currently hot is the applications and business enhancements that come as a result of using IP for voice transport. The first adopter’s have come and went. This new wave of interested parties are no longer looking to just save a buck, but in almost all cases, is looking at VoIP as a way to “improve” or solve a problem. If you are a VAR, Manufacturer or Service Provider, go there.
Consolidation, bundled offerings and tighter margins are the name of the game in the service provider marketplace. Over the past few years, hundreds of providers have sprung up and many are now fighting for their lives. Without control of the pipe or a true differentiator, many are now looking to merge or get acquired by other providers. For those who were lucky enough to see that survival could come in the form of bundling multiple services, the trend will continue as getting “multiple services delivered through one pipe from one provider” is the ultimate goal for many service providers. Expect this pursuit and these offerings to continue to come pouring into the marketplace. It won’t be easy though, many, if not most, of the service providers who have entered the marketplace over the last few years, have aided the race to zero and as more struggle to survive, I expect service providers to continue to operate on thinner and thinner margins. Innovate, collaborate or die.
There is not much new here, except in the handset space. The latest here is a move towards pushing applications down to the handsets, applications that improve or make business processes more efficient. While these applications have not yet hit mass adoption by end users, manufacturers are spending big (and talking big) when it comes to this new functionality. In addition to applications, as the pipes get cheaper and larger, more and more vendors (such as Polycom) are creating handsets that can handle larger codec’s that will increase call quality and better the user experience. HD Voice will be big, soon.
Open source companies are growing up and therefore there has been an overlaying theme of monetization occurring. Monetization of the technology, the community, the websites and of course the ecosystem. This shouldn’t be viewed as a bad thing, just because these companies are open source does not necessarily mean they should not be pursuing revenues and profitability. They are in business to make money, as is everyone. If your business was impacted as a result of these efforts, should have had the foresight to see where they were going; it was inevitable.
Another side trend, in open source telephony, is the movement towards the “appliance.” I have been talking to open source companies in this space about an appliance based approach since 2005, when a conversation with a small business owner lead me to the thought that most people want a phone system, to look like a phone system (whatever that is) not a PC or a server. I am not crediting myself with the idea, but of late, everyone has their own appliance…and from what I have seen it has been could for their business (and their VAR’s). I don’t see too many more appliances hitting the street as the market is saturated, but I do see the appliances continuing to evolve and becoming a selling point for open source companies when recruiting resellers.
This was pretty brief and honestly, I could go on for hours, but I won’t. What I would like to do though, is open up the floor for others. Have a trend you would like to discuss? Leave a comment below!
In-depth analysis, recording, and playback of SIP and H.323 voice communications.
http://www.tamos.com/prod…
