Top Trends to Watch in 2008

• A lot of experts are predicting mobile VoIP to become front and center in 2008. Now, innovation and regulation often go hand-in-hand, so don’t be surprised if regulators start paying attention a few months after mobile VoIP becomes really viable. When is that, you might ask? Viability is likely to come after the 700MHz spectrum auction wraps (it’s slated to begin Jan. 24), and there’s new, post-election leadership at the FCC. It’s widely expected that those former UHF airwaves could be used for WiMAX and other broadband wireless technologies. On the whole, VoIP in 2008 will keep moving toward mobility. How that plays out in the regulatory world will be a question of election year posturing and how it plays out in the business world is anyone’s guess.

• Meanwhile, consumer VoIP might make some headway in 2008. Vonage Holdings Corp. appears to have settled all of the patent infringement suits against it. If that’s the case, the company might be able to turn a profit – or move toward the black, anyway. That’s a big shift from the company’s 2007 woes.

• Another big industry question mark is Skype. eBay Inc. finally admitted last year it overpaid for the P2P VoIP service. And, if rumors have any basis in fact, it will try to offload the unit this year. eBay’s difficulty has come in trying to monetize a free service; it will be interesting to see if other content providers think Skype might be worth their while.

• Finally, as has been long forecast, the cable companies look ready to jump into the SMB market. SMBs like VoIP, cable companies have a good grasp on the technology and a brand to leverage, and that seems to point to some pretty serious competition for CLECs and even ILECs. It’ll be interesting to see what the FCC does, if anything, to single out cable VoIP. The agency already has created a double standard for cable video that it doesn’t enforce for telco video (i.e., capping market share at 30 percent).

• Taxation will be a definite area to watch this year. An 18 additional states started taxing VoIP services on Jan. 1. That brings to 31 the number of states that tax VoIP. The newcomers include Indiana, Missouri and Wyoming.

• Policy-wise, don’t expect much new activity at the FCC. That’s because the agency tends to hibernate during an election year, especially one where the incumbent is out the door. Still, the FCC will keep enforcing mandates such as Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) and Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI).

• Congress, on the other hand, could address IP telephony. House lawmakers in the 2007 fall session, for example, introduced the 911 Modernization and Public Safety Act of 2007 in August. However, the bill has languished in the Senate Commerce Committee since November. If it passes, it would “promote and enhance public safety by facilitating the rapid deployment of IP -enabled 911 and E-911 services, encouraging the nation's transition to a national IP -enabled emergency network and improve 911 and E-911 access to those with disabilities,” according to its description.

Source: New Telephony