From a feast to family photos and free long-distance telephone calls, about 350 people who otherwise might have no place to go for the holidays enjoyed all the pleasures of a traditional Thanksgiving get-together Tuesday at the Friendly House in Davenport.

Chris Pruden of Davenport said he attended the free party, sponsored by the Davenport Noon Optimist Club and Oscar Mayer Foods Corp., „because I was hungry.“ The thin 21-year-old filled up on turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and all the other fixings typically found at a Turkey Day dinner.

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Dear AT&T Broadband,
I’m a little confused. I hope I have the name right this month. «Dear striped blue deathstar» seems too informal (and may infringe on a high school classmate’s intellectual property—sorry, George). «AT&T» I understand; «Broadband» I’m not so sure about. But never mind. I’m one of your customers and, I suspect, a hot prospect to get where you and other convergence operators need to be—and I just don’t see it.

The Goal?
I’m no businessman, but I read the business section. Don’t we all? As I understand it, you and your primary competitors are investing tens of billions in infrastructure and content with the expectation that you’ll get it back (and more) in monthly fees. I’ve seen a target number floating around $150 to $170 per month for a middle-class household, for a full range of «broadband» services and content.

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These days every enterprise or small company is looking at Voice Over IP (VoIP) in some way, shape or form. The problem is that VoIP vendors’ wares are so different, and their pitches so attractive, that it’s often easy to forget the underlying principles of cost vs. benefit. At the end of the day, the last thing enterprises need to be doing is choosing VoIP as a „strategic move“ (i.e.: marketing speak for „because there’s no compelling reason“).

In this article we’ll dissect some of the trends in VoIP, as well as providing some solid reasons why it may work for your enterprise, and why it may not. Ultimately the decision will be up to you and your chosen VoIP company to mesh your services in such a way that you are able to provide solid Quality of Service (QoS – i.e.: good connectivity) as well as actually reducing your overall telephony and communications costs. And hey if you can throw in some added features while you’re at it – without increasing your costs and losing money – fantastic.

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