Subject: [NEXTEL-1] The Pulver Report - June 30, 2003 Issue

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2003 18:19:24 -0400

The Pulver Report - June 30, 2003 Issue

------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Verizon's WiFi Experiment in NYC

Just like the way Starbucks has taken over some of the abandoned branch
banking offices (as well as other spots) in the downtown sections of US
towns, Verizon's move to offer WiFI internet access by leveraging their
own real estate in Manhattan was an unanticipated and brilliant move.

By simply converting some of their existing Verizon phone booths into
Verizon WiFi Hot Spots, Verizon has overnight created another reason why
somebody who lives in Verizon territory would consider staying (or
becoming) a Verizon DSL customer - since they can now leverage their
account and have access to the net in places they normally wouldn't.

As Corporate America recognizes that WiFi is indeed cool and increasingly
becomes part of the mission critical networking infrastructure needed to
keep employees productive as they roam around their respective offices,
look for more and more communication companies to follow Verizon's lead
and start to provide WiFi access in places you least suspect to see it.

Also, as consumers start to leverage the social aspects of living in an
"always on" world which for some will eventually mean "always on" access
to the net even when they are out of the home or office, look for a new
set of net services that will begin to be marketed to these "always on"
consumers.

Earlier this year I heard that Bell Canada had started a similar program
and I'm sure other carriers from around the world are looking at these
experiments to figure out what best works for them.

Fundamentally a decision will need to be made as to whether or not WiFi
access will be separately charged for, or in the case of some companies
like Verizon, is treated like electricity and rent and included in the
cost of being in business.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Who needs a remote office anymore?

Last week while visiting Washington D.C., four of us from pulver.com
setup shop in a downtown Starbucks empowered with a Hotspot and
within minutes each of us were on-line with WiFi access.  We spent about
two hours sitting down with our coffee & drinks and I felt as if we were
a real-life advertisement for an "office on the move."

After just a few minutes it felt as if we were in the office as we started
to instant message each other silently while talking to others.

If nothing else, we were experiencing the present future. I've decided
that as long as I can find a place in a city where I can get broadband
WiFi access, there is no need anymore to check into a hotel just to check
my email.

With our real-time connectivity, our cell phones, and our ability to
IM and respond to email in real-time for the time we were in that
Starbucks, we were as efficient as being in our own offices back on Long
Island but only minutes away from our Washington, DC meetings.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Kevin Werbach's SUPERNOVA 2003

Supernova 2003 will be taking place next week, July 8-9 in the Washington,
DC area. Conference details are posted to: <http://pulver.com/supernova

Supernova will bring together cutting-edge executives and companies to
consider the distributed future of communications, software, and media.
It is the one place that assembles the people, companies, investors
and trends that will lead the next wave of technology-driven change.
I will be there to experience this first hand and to network with some of
the very interesting people who will be in attendance and try my hand
at blogging the event.

Some of the insightful and provocative speakers at Supernova 2003 include
former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, Movable Type Creator Mena Trott,
Nokia's Marko Ahtisaari, Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, Neoteny CEO Joichi
Ito, Macromedia's Kevin Lynch, Assistant Secretary of Commerce Bruce
Mehlman, telecom provocateur David Isenberg, and commentator Clay Shirky.

There is still time to register for the only conference focused on the
business implications of decentralizing technologies such as WiFi, Web
services, connected digital devices, weblogs, and broadband media.

Please visit: <http://pulver.com/supernova/register.html> to register.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Jeff Goes to Washington

During the past 30 days, due to the pending Free world Dialup petition at
the FCC (proceeding: 03-45), I've attended meetings in Washington, DC with
people from: The White House, FBI, FCC and NARUC. I am sure there will be
future meetings as the future regulation of the VoIP industry is
unfolding.

As previously reported in the Pulver Report, there are still open
proceeding in Virginia and Ohio and the Governor of Florida just
recently signed their VoIP bill into law. In the past month, open
proceedings have also started in: Illinois, Colorado and Pennsylvania and
I would not be surprised to learn of more States getting into action
during the coming months.

We are now entering a time when the needs of legacy regulations are
not in sync with the technology of today and I believe we are at
a regulatory crossroads where the status quo regulations may need to be
re-thought out and where concepts like "Universal Services" and
"Access Charges" may need to be redefined for an America living in
an "always on" world.  Broadband is happening in the US and the
rest of the world and for the first time in about 100 years, the real
possibility exists for many new local IP based phone companies to come
into existence and to serve populations which for a long time have been
served by one company operating with little or no local competition.

Those of us involved in the VoIP Industry in 1996 watched as some
countries around the world started to ban IP telephony as a way to
maintain their accounting rate imbalance and in effect keep the balance of
money flowing into their countries. It took some time but most of those
countries eventually came around, opened up their national telecom
infrastructure and encouraged competition. Similar motivation to 1996
seems to be happening on a State level and once again, it is the money
aspect which is fueling the regulatory fire.

What is at risk is for a patch quilt of VoIP regulations to be in effect
in all 50 States in which if that happens there is a good chance that
everyone loses. While it would be great if it was politically possible for
the FCC to adopt a policy of preemption and tell the States not to
regulate, I'm not sure if this is possible and if not, now is the time for
all those affected members of the IP Communications Industry to rise up
and be heard as one voice.

It is in times like these that the situation exists where some very
unlikely people/organizations get together and find their own common
ground and I look forward to helping stick together our own patchwork
of supporters who can help us stand up and make a difference. If you are
interested in keeping VoIP regulation free in the US, please feel free to
drop me a line at: [email-masked].

------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Fall 2003 VON Conference & Expo: Registration is now Open

The VON events have always been a reflection of the community we serve and
the economic times which we live in. This said, our exhibit hall at Fall
2003 VON will be our largest since our Spring 2001 event in Phoenix and is
already 80% sold out.

I look at this as positive momentum in the IP Communications Industry.

Looking at our list of speakers, sponsors and committed exhibitors, the
positive vibe the IP Communications Industry has been receiving in the
press during the past eight months is reflected in our general positive
bias towards the fall event and towards our future.

Now that we are in Version 2.0 of the IP Communications Industry, I've
tried to apply what I've learned from producing the VON Conferences since
1997 and create an event which works for all concerned.

Given the increasing regulatory issues which the IP Communications
Industry will be facing, I've taken the liberty of adding a "2003 Telecom
Policy Summit" to our conference schedule for Monday, Sept 22nd. I'm
looking forward to this summit as a way for those who are concerned  (or
should be concerned) about Telecom Policy (including Federal, US and
pending International issues) to get updated as to where things are, which
issues are the hot ones to solve and what the current thinking is amongst
those in a position to do something about it.

If you are planning on attending our Fall 2003 VON Conference & Expo,
if you would like to take advantage of our discounted prices, please
remember to visit: ( http://pulver.com/von/register.html ) and register
by August 8th.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
The FWD Welcome Phone - FWD# 55555

Recently, members of the Free World Dialup community came forward to
answer FWD Phone number 55555, the new "Welcome to the FWD Community"
hotline. We are encouraging all of the FWD Newbies to dial 55555 and
introduce themselves to the FWD community.

At this moment there are about 12 instances of the 55555 phone number
on-line and ringable in North America, Europe and Asia. We are close
to having on an opt-in basis what looks like 24/7 coverage for new
members who join our community.

The cool part is that we are able to offer this service thanks to
the personal generosity of those people who volunteered to come forward
coupled with the fact that "multiple presence" is a feature that
comes for free with SIP. We are not using any expensive ACDs or other
call center technology to make this happen. As we learn from this
experience it is my hope that other communities that have a need
for a "help line" will discover FWD and take advantage of this
as one of the cool things that one can do on the internet.

Please feel free to say hi to the community members staffing the
55555 number. It is random as to who decides to answer the call
first and given that FWD# 55555 today is only staffed by people who have
time to staff it, there will be times when the phone number will go
unanswered.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
pulver.com 2003/4 Conference Calendar
( http://pulver.com/conference )

   "Events for the Communications Industry" (tm)

   September
   22-25        - Fall 2003 VON Conference & Expo,
                  Hynes Convention Center, Boston, MA
                  ( http://pulver.com/von )

   September
   23-25        - SIPop! 2003,
                  Hynes Convention Center, Boston, MA
                  ( http://pulver.com/sipop )

   September 30
   - October 1  - RVC SoftEdge 2003
                  ( http://pulver.com/rvc2003 )

   November
     11-12      - 2003 Wireless Internet Summit
                  Santa Clara, CA
                  ( http://pulver.com/wirelesssummit )
   - 2004 -

   January
   27-29        - IP Communication Industry Executive Summit
                  Sophia Antipolis, France

   March 29
  - April 1     - Spring 2004 VON Conference & Expo
                  Santa Clara, CA

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Get A Free Psychic Reading! Your Online Answer To Life's Important Questions.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/Lj3uPC/Me7FAA/ySSFAA/61FxlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/