Harrisburg, Pa. — Philadelphia’s plan to offer inexpensive wireless Internet as a municipal service — the most ambitious yet by a major U.S. city — has collided with commercial interests including the local phone company, Verizon Communications Inc.
Regional and long-distance phone companies, who sell broadband Internet to consumers and businesses, have in recent months intensified a national campaign to quash municipal wireless initiatives like Philadelphia’s as dozens of cities and towns have either begun or announced such plans — from San Francisco to Chaska, Minn., to St. Cloud, Fla.

Telecommunications companies are doubly worried because hundreds of other municipalities provide broadband service over cable or telephone lines.

The idea of cheap, municipally provided Internet as a social leveler is particularly appealing to big city politicians.

«We looked at it as a way to be a city, literally, of the 21st century,» said Barbara Grant, a spokeswoman for Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street. «We wanted to bridge the digital divide for residents who wouldn’t have access to the Internet, particularly schoolchildren.»

Plus, the service could help make Philadelphia «hip» enough to stem the exodus of college graduates, she said.

But the telecom industry calls such public-sector projects unfair competition.

A chief complaint: a city can draw on taxpayer dollars, while a private company has to pay interest on borrowed capital.

Consumer advocates say cheap Wi-Fi fills a need the private sector has no intention of meeting.

«They’re saying, ’You provide it to any place we can’t or won’t, but you can’t charge a fee,»’ said Edward Schwartz, a member of Philadelphia’s wireless task force. «How does that work?»

By Marc Levy
Associated Press

BY JOHN MORAN
THE HARTFORD COURANT

Own a telephone, someone once said, and you give 6 billion people the right to wake you up in the middle of the night. Fortunately, most can’t be bothered.

But even that possibility highlights what a stupid and unruly brute the traditional telephone is. Someone calls, the phone rings, and you are bound to answer it — or at least be interrupted by it.

Internet telephone service — otherwise known as voice over Internet protocol, or more simply VOIP — promises to change all that, offering consumers sweeping and sophisticated control over how the phone works at an affordable price.

Consider, for example, the VOIP service from BroadVoice, a subsidiary of Convergent Networks. For as little as $9.99 a month, it offers unlimited in-state calling and long-distance service at 3.9 cents a minute — not bad for people who make most of their calls locally.

Of course, to use BroadVoice, you must supply your own high-speed Internet connection — typically either a DSL or cable Internet hookup. Still, if you spend a lot each month on long-distance calling, the savings could be considerable.

But beyond the savings, a slew of call-management features makes using BroadVoice’s VOIP service a liberating, if somewhat complicated, experience.

First you get a raft of «basic» call features, which actually seem pretty sophisticated. These include call-forwarding, call-waiting, three-way calling, last-number redial, call hold, anonymous-call rejection and more.

My favorite is the Do-Not-Disturb feature, which lets you effectively take the phone «off the hook» when you don’t want to be bothered. Incoming calls are either sent directly to voice mail or get a busy signal.

Then there are more advanced features, like those on advanced cell phones. One lets you assign a distinctive ring to calls originating from certain numbers, so you can separate special callers, such as spouse and boss, from others.

Similarly, you can arrange to have certain callers forwarded while others are sent to voice mail.

In all, BroadVoice offers 22 basic and advanced call management features. If those aren’t enough, another handful of premium features, such as customized hold music and alternative phone numbers, are available for an extra fee.

None of this would be worth much if VOIP call quality were poor. But calls placed via the BroadVoice service were almost always as good as conventional phone service — and much better than most cell phone calls.

VOIP remains a fraction of the overall telephone universe at present. But once consumers get clued into the pricing and the features available, that could change quickly.

The Hartford Courant is a Tribune Co. newspaper.

Harrisburg, Pa. — Philadelphia’s plan to offer inexpensive wireless Internet as a municipal service — the most ambitious yet by a major U.S. city — has collided with commercial interests including the local phone company, Verizon Communications Inc.
Regional and long-distance phone companies, who sell broadband Internet to consumers and businesses, have in recent months intensified a national campaign to quash municipal wireless initiatives like Philadelphia’s as dozens of cities and towns have either begun or announced such plans — from San Francisco to Chaska, Minn., to St. Cloud, Fla.

Telecommunications companies are doubly worried because hundreds of other municipalities provide broadband service over cable or telephone lines.

The idea of cheap, municipally provided Internet as a social leveler is particularly appealing to big city politicians.

«We looked at it as a way to be a city, literally, of the 21st century,» said Barbara Grant, a spokeswoman for Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street. «We wanted to bridge the digital divide for residents who wouldn’t have access to the Internet, particularly schoolchildren.»

Plus, the service could help make Philadelphia «hip» enough to stem the exodus of college graduates, she said.

But the telecom industry calls such public-sector projects unfair competition.

A chief complaint: a city can draw on taxpayer dollars, while a private company has to pay interest on borrowed capital.

Consumer advocates say cheap Wi-Fi fills a need the private sector has no intention of meeting.

«They’re saying, ’You provide it to any place we can’t or won’t, but you can’t charge a fee,»’ said Edward Schwartz, a member of Philadelphia’s wireless task force. «How does that work?»

By Marc Levy
Associated Press

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.

"Maybe your goals are more modest. Would $120 per month be enough? I know you’re not the only ones in the game; the frequency with which they tear up El Camino Real to lay new fiber demonstrates that.

The Quandary
Here’s my question: How do we get there from here? To put it another way, what combination of services and content will convince a moderately skeptical, college-educated, literate householder to pay you $150 to $170 per month?

I should be an easy sell. Consider where you touch me already:
• You know I use your cable TV. There’s no decent rooftop reception around here and your competition is typically nonexistent. That’s $32 a month. Your customer service is no worse than TCI was—but then, how could it be?
• You’re not as big a player in the Internet business, but you’re my ISP, and in that area, I think you’re great. Consistent 50K connections, fast connections, good Web hosting with plenty of space: I see why you come in tops on PC magazine studies. That’s another $19.50 a month.
• I still use your long distance, mostly because we don’t do enough long distance calling to justify any fancy plan—and I even carry one of your credit card/calling card combinations (with the $1/month plan to reduce calling-card costs).

That’s $52 a month, plus maybe another $3 to $6 in long distance revenues. I notice that there are no price breaks for using multiple AT&T services, which doesn’t entice me to consolidate more stuff with you.

The Possibilities
Sure, I know you want my local phone service and keep throwing that «digital» line at me. But I like having some competition, thank you—and you’d only get another $12 or so if I did switch.

You’d love to have me add $10 for digital cable and $20 for @Home Net access. Given the lack of bundling price breaks, that would bring me up to $82, or even $94 with local phone service.

But that highlights one of our problems. Offer me all the cable I can eat, TV and high-speed Net alike, for (say) $55 a month, and we might have a deal. Otherwise—well, I know the reputation of TCI Digital for overcompressing signals; if I had enough Net use to justify @Home, I wouldn’t have time for digital cable (and vice versa); it just doesn’t add up.

Even if it did, $94 is a long way from $150. I don’t comprehend what you’re going to offer that makes $1,800 a year sound like a great deal. Some kind of content? You’re doing that already, with the expanded cable service that proves Bruce Springsteen’s point. Once I knock the shopping, foreign language, sports, and ultraconservative news stations off my TV’s channel-surfing list, I come up with almost exactly 57 stations—and sure enough, most of the time nothing much is on.

Full-Featured Flat-Rate Calling Comes to the Capital of the Hawkeye State

EDISON, N.J., /PRNewswire/ Vonage Holdings Corp., the leading provider of broadband phone service, today announced local availability of its service in Des Moines, Iowa.

High-speed Internet subscribers nestled along the Boone and Raccoon Rivers can now take advantage of Vonage’s broadband phone service offering free unlimited local and long distance calling. Each plan includes the most popular features like call waiting, call forwarding and voicemail for one low, flat monthly rate. Vonage customers in the Des Moines area can now keep their current numbers or choose telephone numbers within the popular (515) and (641) area codes.

«Vonage is blazing the trail for affordable, full-featured phone service in Iowa’s capital city,» said Jeffrey A. Citron, chairman & CEO of Vonage Holdings Corp. «Our presence in Des Moines gives consumers and small businesses the option to choose a phone service that provides a great alternative to high-priced, low value traditional phone service from the incumbents.»

Using the latest technology, Vonage sets the standard for the new generation of phone service with residential and business calling plans:

-- $14.99/month — Residential Basic Plan — 500 minutes of local, toll and
long distance calling throughout the United States and Canada.
-- $24.99/month — Residential Premium Unlimited Plan — unlimited calling
throughout the 50 United States and Canada anytime, anywhere.
-- $39.99/month — Small Business Basic Plan — 1500 minutes of calling
throughout the United States and Canada, including a free dedicated fax
line.
-- $49.99/month — Small Business Unlimited Plan — unlimited calling
throughout the United States and Canada, including a free dedicated fax
line.

Services and hardware included for free on any of the above plans:

• Voicemail * Call hunt
  
• Caller ID * Call transfer
  
• Call waiting * Repeat dialing
  
• Call forwarding * Bandwidth saver
  
• Call return (*69) * Area code selection
  
• Caller ID block (*67) * International call block
  
• Web-based account management * Linksys RT31P2 Device
  -- Real-time billing activity * Great international calling rates:
  -- Online voicemail retrieval -- Tel Aviv 4 cents per minute
  -- Real-time inbound/outbound -- London 3 cents per minute
  call record details -- Sydney 4 cents per minute
  

About Vonage®

Vonage is redefining communications by offering consumers and small businesses an affordable alternative to traditional telephone service. The fastest growing telephony company in North America, Vonage’s service area encompasses more than 1950 active rate centers in over 125 global markets. Vonage is sold directly through [ >>> ] and retail partners such as Amazon.com, RadioShack, Best Buy, Circuit City, Staples, Fry’s Electronics and Office Depot. Wholesale partners such as EarthLink, ARMSTRONG®, Advanced Cable Communications and the Coldwater Board of Public Utilities resell the Vonage broadband phone service under their own unique brands. With more than 300,000 lines in service, Vonage continues to add more than 30,000 lines per month to its network. Over 5 million calls per week are made using Vonage, the easy-to-use, feature-rich, flat rate phone service. Vonage is headquartered in Edison, New Jersey. For more information about Vonage’s products and services, please visit [ >>> ] or call 1-VONAGE-HELP. Vonage®, Vonage Digital Voice™, Toll Free Plus(SM) and Virtual Phone Number(SM) are trademarks of Vonage Holdings Corp.

Packet8 is an affordable and easy-to-use broadband telephone and videophone service. Designed with both residential and business customers in mind, Packet8 allows anyone with broadband (high-speed) Internet access to use their regular phone to make UNLIMITED calls to anywhere in the U.S. and Canada

(PRWEB) November 13, 2004 -- By taking advantage of your high speed Internet connection and VoIP (voice over internet protocol) together with 8x8’s expertise in designing videophones, Packet8 is the complete residential phone service.

Packet8 sends all calls to and from you through the broadband phone adapter or the videophone which then route the calls over the Internet to your regular phone, instead of using your traditional provider such as SBC/Ameritech etc.

There are no extra numbers to dial, no special instructions and no talking through your computer. You can use your current phone, pick it up and dial just like you would your regular old phone.

[ >>> ]

To sum it up: with Packet8 you make and receive calls as you always have, but we route your calls more efficiently to save you money. Your phone call will have the same quality and your calling experience will be identical to what you have always had.

One phone bill for local and long distance calling will be a lot less. And there’s NO EXTRA CHARGES for features like voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, three-way calling, or long-distance calls to anywhere in the U.S., Canada or to other Packet8 subscribers worldwide.

Currently our unlimited Packet8 plan is only $19.95 per month.

By Leslie Cauley, USA TODAY
Iowa has long expressed an independent voice in national politics. Now it’s doing the same thing with broadband.

More than 80 communities across Iowa have banded to create Opportunity Iowa. The goal: to wire the state for advanced voice, data and video services. The communities represent about 25% of the state’s homes and businesses, and more are expected to join later.

Under the plan, communities would install — on their own dime — high-speed fiber lines. Then they would invite outside vendors such as AT&T to use the lines. The lines could be used to provide voice, data and video services to homes and businesses. Vendors would pay towns «access» fees to use their fiber lines, just as the local Bells charge AT&T and MCI fees for handling their long-distance calls.

The initiative is being spearheaded by a Who’s Who of the state, including telecom millionaire Clark McLeod, former Iowa governors Terry Branstad and Robert Ray, and former Iowa attorney general Bonnie Campbell.

«We want Iowa to be No. 1 in the country» in terms of its broadband infrastructure, says McLeod, a native Iowan.

Iowa is the newest entrant into what is fast becoming a broadband revolution across the USA. The movement is gaining momentum as more communities recognize that it could take the big phone and cable companies years to get to them.

Frustrated with the wait, a lot of communities say they have no choice but to build their own networks.

«If we depend on the superlarge carriers, we’ll never get it,» says Brian Thompson, founder and chairman of iTown — short for Interactive Town. ITown is working with several foreign governments as well as other U.S. states, including West Virginia, to bring broadband to rural areas.

Thompson’s perspective has been colored by years of fighting in the telecom trenches. Thompson was the executive vice president of MCI during its highflying days in the 1990s. He is also the former chairman and CEO of LCI International, at one time one of the USA’s largest long-distance carriers.

Thompson says his biggest worry is that the USA could fall far behind other nations that are racing to deploy fiber at a blistering rate.

McLeod shares the same concern. He thinks the broadband movement in Iowa will have a big influence on other states. That, in turn, could speed fiber deployment everywhere.

«We are right at the front end of a major movement in the United States,» he predicts.

McLeod says he decided to put his telecom muscle, as well as his millions, to work for the state after it became clear that the big carriers weren’t going to show up.

Qwest, which provides basic phone service to about 70% of the state, has said it doesn’t intend to deploy high-speed fiber lines in rural Iowa anytime soon.

McLeod says that isn’t acceptable.

«We believe we can fiberize this entire state in 10 years,» says McLeod, who is contributing his own money and time to help make it happen.

McLeod has a track record to back up his boast. In 1980, he founded Teleconnect, an Iowa-based long-distance company. He eventually built it up into the USA’s fourth-largest carrier, with more than 6,000 employees. McLeod sold it to MCI WorldCom (now MCI) in 1990 for $1.25 billion. Since then, he’s been involved in a string of telecom companies.

The big incumbents, like Verizon and SBC Communications, have announced aggressive plans to deploy high-speed fiber lines throughout their territories. But a lot of those rollouts aren’t focused on smaller towns.

SBC is also rolling out fiber rapidly. On Thursday, it said it plans to build a fiber-optic network that could support voice, data and video services, including Internet-based TV.

Eric Rabe, a spokesman for Verizon, says his company has no problem with initiatives like Opportunity Iowa, provided the playing field is «level for everybody.»

By CBS MarketWatch
Last Updated: 10/28/2004 12:05:02 AM

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- SBC Communications plans a major price cut for high-speed Internet customers who also buy the company’s local and long-distance phone service, according to a published report Wednesday.

SBC plans to charge $19.95 for digital subscriber line, or DSL service, to new subscribers who also sign up for its local and long-distance phone plan for an additional $48.95, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The move is meant to counter Internet-calling plans offered by some rivals, the Journal said, and to get customers to migrate away from traditional long-distance providers such as MCI (MCIP) and AT&T (T), the newspaper reported.

DSL providers are also in a battle with cable operators, who can currently offer faster high-speed Internet service than DSL.

SBC (SBC) rose 21 cents to close at $24.96 on Wednesday.

By Tim Knauss

Next week, Syracuse telecommunications company USA Datanet will start selling unlimited local and long-distance phone service for $24.95 a month to customers who have high-speed connections to the Internet.

Company officials hope the new service, which they will pitch as an alternative to traditional phone service, will make USA Datanet the primary voice communications company for many of its customers.

Until now, the company’s main services have been long-distance calling and dial-up Internet service.

«It’s a big step,» said John Turner, chief operating officer. «It takes us out of a single component . . . and really puts us into the position where we can be a customer’s complete voice carrier.»

The new service, called AllTalk, will become available Monday.

Earlier this year, USA Datanet was on the verge of offering local calling over traditional phone lines. But state and federal regulations shifted dramatically in the spring, raising rates that independent phone companies pay incumbents such as Verizon to lease access to phone lines.

The higher costs and the increasingly uncertain nature of that business forced USA Datanet to back away, Turner said.

Instead, USA Datanet will provide local phone service, along with long distance, over broadband Internet connections such as those provided by cable TV companies or on digital subscriber lines (DSL) from the phone company.

Offering a broadband-based service narrows the potential market, at least for the time being. Only about 38 percent of Americans have access to high-speed Internet at home, according estimates by NielsenNetRatings, a market research firm.

That number is growing, however. Broadband users now make up more than half of all Internet users, according to NielsenNetRatings.

The new local and long-distance service will use the same basic technology USA Datanet has used since 1999 to provide long distance. The technology, called Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, breaks voice signals into digital packets and transmits them in much the way e-mail is transmitted.

USA Datanet has 480,000 customers for its long-distance services, Turner said.

VoIP technology also is becoming popular for local phone service, because the cost is substantially lower than traditional phone service. And VoIP usually comes with free digital features such as voice mail, caller ID, call logs and click-to-dial.

In its first four months, Time Warner Cable’s VoIP service, Digital Phone, grew from zero to 6,600 customers in Central New York, said Mary Cotter, president of the Syracuse division. The company adds about 150 customers per day, said Jeff Unaitis, speaking for Time Warner Cable.

Nationally, retail VoIP services are expected to grow from about $2.8 billion this year to $20.4 billion in 2009, according to Atlantic-ACM, a Boston consulting firm. Market research firm Jupiter Research predicts one in 10 homes will have VoIP service by 2009.

The only thing that may suppress growth of VoIP services would be a slowdown in the growth of broadband, said Judy Reed Smith, chief executive officer of Atlantic-ACM.

«I think USA Datanet is very wise to put this out,» Reed Smith said.

In addition to its residential service plan, USA Datanet sells a business-class VoIP service to commercial customers. The company also sells wholesale VoIP service to Internet companies that want to sell it to their customers.

The company’s residential price — $24.95 a month — is comparable to the $24.99 charged by Vonage, the industry leader based in New Jersey, which has more than 280,000 VoIP customers.

Time Warner’s service is more costly, starting at $39.95. Verizon offers a VoIP calling plan starting at $34.95. AT&T charges $29.99.

USA Datanet plans to mail an adapter to customers who sign up; they’ll install it themselves. One end plugs into the Internet connection, the other into the phone.

After installing the adapter, the customer calls USA Datanet and enters a pin code once. That’s all there is to the installation, Turner said.

USA Datanet’s AllTalk service represents a savings of $25 or more compared with similar calling plans from traditional telephone companies — a strong incentive for customers to use it as their primary voice service.

But some customers may be reluctant to drop tried-and-true traditional phone service until they gain more familiarity with VoIP and gauge its reliability, analyst Reed Smith said. She has VoIP service from AT&T, and likes it, but hasn’t dropped her regular phone line.

«I haven’t had my broadband (voice service) long enough to trust it,» she said.

DSL users who want to save money by using AllTalk instead of traditional phone service could face this obstacle: Verizon customers must buy traditional voice service from Verizon in order to get DSL.

That may soon change, however.

Cliff Lee, speaking for Verizon, said the company plans to offer a DSL-only service by the first of the year. At this point, even customers who buy Verizon’s VoIP service are stuck paying for traditional Verizon voice service, too, if their broadband connection is DSL.

Without rewiring household phone lines, which is not part of USA Datanet’s installation, a Datanet customer would have broadband VoIP service only at the phone or cordless base station plugged into the adapter. But a customer could easily extend the service throughout the house by buying an expandable cordless phone system with multiple handsets, Turner said.

Some customers may prefer traditional phones for emergencies. Unlike standard phone service, broadband voice service does not work during a power failure.

USA Datanet will provide 911 service. But a 911 call from an AllTalk customer would not display the address and call-back number of the caller, as traditional 911 calls do. Turner said USA Datanet is working to add that capability.

IPeria, Inc. (www.iperia.com), the emerging leader of enhanced services software and solutions, today announced that Broadband Telephony Systems (www.bbtelsys.com) has selected IPeria’s ActivStart™ Solution to provide its subscribers worldwide with enhanced services including telephone and web-based voicemail.

Broadband Telephony Systems offers residential and business users with integrated high-speed services over cable and DSL connections. These services include unlimited local and long distance phone services and additional enhanced services such as telephone and web based voicemail, unified messaging, hosted PBX and auto attendant services for businesses, and the ability to monitor video cameras remotely from the internet. Subscribers can access all of Broadband Telephony services through an easy to use web portal enabling them to configure, control, and monitor their services.

«Broadband Telephony chose IPeria’s ActivStart Solution because it is a complete hardware and software voicemail solution,» said Art Hale, president and CEO of Broadband Telephony Systems. «IPeria has packaged its ActivEdge software applications, industry standard off the shelf hardware components, installation, training, and support services to provide a complete turn-key voicemail solution. This decreases our implementation risk and dramatically improves our time-to-market for enhanced services.»

IPeria’s carrier-class ActivEdge(R) software provides network service providers with a scalable and high performance solution for enhanced services such as web and telephone-based voicemail, auto attendant and unified messaging capabilities.

IPeria’s ActivEdge Voicemail allows subscribers to access voicemail messages through any telephone, any e-mail client, or from the internet using a web portal. Subscribers can listen to voicemails in any sequence, forward, store, and delete them. ActivEdge also enables subscribers to be notified of a new voicemail message through an e-mail message, a phone call to a mobile or alternate telephone, through stutter dial tone, or by activating the message waiting indicator light on the telephone.

ActivEdge Voicemail includes a reply feature, which enables subscribers to automatically call the person back who left them a voicemail message at the touch of a button. It also includes broadcast messaging, sub mailboxes, and the ability to have callers transfer to a mobile or alternate telephone instead of leaving a voicemail message.

«IPeria is very pleased to be working with a company like Broadband Telephony Systems that has an aggressive growth strategy of providing high speed internet, local and long distance voice services, and other value added services for residential and business subscribers,» said Jonathan Ross, VP of Sales of IPeria. «IPeria will work with Broadband Telephony very closely to ensure that their service is up and running smoothly. IPeria will continue to support them by providing additional applications as they expand their service offering.»

About Broadband Telephony Systems, Inc

Broadband Telephony Systems, Inc (btelsys) offers an array of broadband telephone service plans delivered over high speed internet connections such as cable or DSL to meet the most stringent residential, business telephone users needs. Programs include unlimited residential voice calling plans to US, Canada, Europe, Asia and more. Business plans for round the clock continuous telephone communications, even hosted PBX services. For more information, visit www.bbtelsys.com or call 1–888–524-VoIP.

About IPeria

IPeria is the emerging leader in enhanced services software and solutions that allows wireline, wireless and broadband service providers worldwide to offer revenue-generating network-based services to residential and business subscribers. Based on open industry standards such as SIP and VoiceXML, IPeria’s ActivEdge software leverages off the shelf hardware components. IPeria offers a distinctive value proposition: a suite of «best in class» messaging applications plus an open architecture that provides interoperability with shared resources and systems. This combination brings new efficiency and ease of use to personal and business communications. IPeria is privately held and venture funded. Its headquarters are in Burlington, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.iperia.com or call 781–993–3500.