deal architect

Not free, but reasonably priced, conference calling

I have written positively about my experience with FreeConference.com for almost a decade now. You and others pay your own long-distance charges to a common conference number, usually in a rural state like Iowa. The service provider then charges termination fees for each of the calls in that conference to the originating telcos.

The big telcos have bellyached for years. First, because this cut into their lucrative 50c + per minute per caller conferencing service. Then as they moved to unmetered plans on home and blocks of time on cellular long-distance lines, they resented these calls making up much of the traffic. Even though they charged $25, 50, 75 for those monthly plans.

Now Google Voice has jumped into the fray. They do not charge a monthly fee on your home or mobile line, so you can sympathize up to a point. But they get advertising revenue as it helps overall Google viewer metrics and customer aggregation.

Here’s my perspective as a consumer. I don’t particularly want free..I would be happy to pay 3-4c a minute for the convenience of knowing everyone I invited to a conference call will not be blocked.

So FCC, jump in and swat the conference calling boys and Verizon and Sprint and AT&T and Google to come up with some middle ground between free and 10c a minute a person that freeconferencecall.com charges for its own toll-free service.

In the meantime, time to start using Skype conferencing more.

AT&T opens up to VoIP. But not where it really matters.

“AT&T supposedly just told Apple and the FCC this afternoon that their network is ready for VoIP over 3G for the iPhone, meaning it might take a bit to show up in apps, but the floodgates are open now.” – Gizmodo

The biggest use of Skype and many other VoIP services is for cross-border calls. Many of us had already adjusted to AT&T and other carriers messing with VoIP packets by using SkypeOut. You dial a US number they assign (and is covered in your allotted mobile minutes) and from that dial the international number at 2c a minute for most European land line numbers, 5c to Brazil, 9c to India etc. Worth it compared to the unknown quality of a VoIP call through AT&T’s patchy 3G network. Also, I read somewhere Skype usage averages 20 mb of data traffic for every hour of calling and considerably more if you also have video – so you may end up hitting AT&T’s 5GB a month limits on some data plans. 

Now where I would like to consider a VoIP call is when I am overseas. Because AT&T meters you by the minute on those calls. At “reasonable” rates of $ 1 to 4 a minute. To beat those I would love to get on Skype and call back at 2c, 5c, 9c a minute. But to do that I would have to use AT&T’s data plan. AT&T charges you $ 24.99 a month for 20MB of data roaming. So, give or take 40c a minute if the Skype 20 mb for an hour of calling holds true. Better than their roaming voice rates but still pretty exorbitant. That is where I wish AT&T would improve.

Without that, VoIP over 3G, is at least to me a yawner…

WoIP – War over IP

We cannot agree on how to pronounce VoIP and maybe that is why it has led to massive food fights

• The founders of Skype and their dispute with the company they sold it to,eBay and the new owners
• The he said/she said in FCC filings between Apple and Google on Google Voice for the iPhone. Of course, there is confusion whether Voice even uses any VoIP technology
• The serial lawsuits by Verizon, Sprint, At&T and Nortel against Vonage in the 06-07 time frame,

Now that it has morphed and is part of broader Unified Communications, I cannot wait to see how many more legal battles are launched. But at least a bit easier to pronounce :)

How to fix the AT&T Navigator Glitch

“Some users of the $10-a-month AT&T Navigator iPhone app may have noticed a little problem. It crashes every time it calculates directions. Don’t worry, you aren’t doing any thing wrong, and the problem is easy to fix.”

New York Times

I have a better solution. Use Bing Mobile Maps and save the $ 10 monthly fee. I have used it for almost 2 years now, and while you have to put up with beeps instead of voice commands, I have used it in at least 20 US cities without getting lost.

Besides Bing may qualify you for an additional discount on the iPhone 3G S.

Telco double-dipping

 In the recent AT&T filing with the FCC a sentence caught my attention

“In particular, both parties required assurances that the revenues from the AT&T voice plans available to iPhone customers would not be reduced by enabling VoIP calling functionality on the iPhone.”

I said wait a minute – what about data plan revenue? I mean you could not make a VoIP call without a data plan (which is $ 30 or higher a month on an iPhone in addition to a voice plan).

No mention of that anywhere.

But why is that surprising in an industry which loves to double-dip?

• Mobile voice plans meter both the caller and the receiver - outside the US many plans do not
• Ditto with text messages – with eyes on charging the source application in addition to monthly plans consumers pay for
• Verizon charges you a base fee for a land-line – but if you don’t make any long-distance calls they bill you a “shortfall” charge. No kidding.
• As this consumer comments – pay twice for one Verizon FiOS ONT
• 3G not available where you are even though we sold you a national plan? Sign up for our additional wi-fi hotspot plan (for iPhone AT&T includes the hotspot in the data plan)
• You want to use your PDA as a modem? Sure, that will be extra even though you will now download less onto your PDA – and you have an unlimited data plan
• AT&T allows you to rollover minutes on your mobile plan, Nice feature their acquisition of Cingular continued. But if you reduce your monthly minutes to take advantage of that backlog of rollover minutes, you lose a big chunk of that inventory of minutes. How naive of you to believe you had “earned” those minutes
• Hotspot plans -  you sign up with a big carrier like T-Mobile and find they have patchy coverage even in German speaking Europe. Pay them a plan fee, and pay hotels and other carriers as you go along. Let everyone enjoy the double-dip party,
• Not just the telcos – governments have learned to pile on. Take a look at the fees and taxes in your bill each month.

Airlines and banks get lots of bad press for nickel and diming customers with fees. I would say they are amateurs compared to telcos. 

FCC: The Forest and the Trees in the Apple/AT&T/Google saga

In an early sign of its likely activism, the FCC asked for input from all 3 parties on the case of whether AT&T influenced Apple in its decision to reject the Google Voice application.  But the questions it asked and the comments back suggest it will be mired in the trees and lose sight of the forest.

Example: Apple  suggests its issue with Google is around software OS and UI - not a telecom issue. It does not say it, but you could well argue it is telling the FCC to stay out.

"We are continuing to study the Google Voice application and its potential impact on the iPhone user experience. Google is of course free to provide Google Voice on the iPhone as a web application through Apple’s Safari browser, just as they do for desktop PCs, or to provide its “Google-branded” user experience on other phones, including Android-based phones, and let consumers make their choices."

Then there is the he said/she said part

• Apple says it was not influenced by AT&T and that "No contractual conditions or non-contractual understandings with AT&T have been a factor in Apple’s decision-making process in this matter"
• AT&T says it did not influence Apple. It acknowledges however their agreement was "Apple would not take affirmative steps to enable an iPhone to use AT&T’s wireless service to make VoIP calls."
• Google says ...sorry you and I are not entitled to know. Redacted. Update 9/18 Google allows FCC to unmask the redacted portion and its shows Apple had rejected its application.

Is Google Voice even VoIP?

• Apple says "not sure"
• AT&T says "it is our understanding that Google Voice is not a Voice over Internet Protocol service"
• Google does not use the term VoIP anywhere in its letter

You see what I mean - a potential rat hole.

The FCC needs to pull back and look at some broader policy questions about mobile consumer experience and economics.

• why are US mobile consumers (very differently than most around the world) metered on both incoming and outgoing calls?
• why this on-going telco FUD that VoIP is cannibalizing their voice revenue, when customers are actually paying for even more expensive mobile data plans to be able to access the VoIP? (or in case of Google Voice, the time on call counts towards your mobile voice minutes)
• why does AT&T charge its customers rates of $ 1.29 a minute from Belgium all the way up to $ 4.99 a minute from Botswana (plus taxes), when local providers can give you similar functionality for 10% or less of the price (and Skype and others even cheaper)? Ditto for international mobile roaming .
• If the EU has moved to cap international roaming charges for its citizens should the US be doing something similar for its citizens?
• what percent of network coverage is truly 3G? Why not a "truth in advertising" statement which clearly shows only 30% of the US has access to 3G (the telcos do link to their coverage maps - but try squinting through the confusing colors on their coverage, partner coverage etc)
• if there are significant 3G contention issues (as many iPhone users are reporting) why are telcos selling 3G data cards to congest the networks even more?
• given that after 8 years after it started 3G deployment is still a work in progress in this country, why are telcos being allowed to glibly talk about 4G and LTE without specific rollout schedules?
• why are telcos not telling customers how much of so called 3G coverage is via wi-fi and that they will need broadband at home and a hotspot plan when they travel to get any kind of satisfactory coverage? 
• what are customers being told at point-of-sale? Many report they are being sold proprietary navigation, music, voice dialing and other services - without being educated there are plenty of comparable third party applications and services. In some cases the telcos have masked or crippled base functionality delivered by the device manufacturer to be able to sell their own services.
• why are telcos not required to show in plain English how much they are subsidizing on a handset, and how much that costs the customer incrementally over the 2 year plan commitment?

I could go on. Instead we are going to be arguing whether Google Voice is even a VoIP application.

Any color, so long it is $ 59.99 a month

Pretty impressive that four different carriers are charging for their 3G data cards at the same price, and with the same limitation – 5GB a month. Maybe Henry Ford is advising them all.

• T-Mobile $ 59.99
• Sprint $ 59.99
• Verizon MiFi $ 59.99
• ATT $ 60 for 5GB plan

Look closer and the fine print should be saying:

• T-Mobile – Our US 3G coverage is the smallest of the big carriers, but our hotspot coverage has been our diffentiator. That justifies our charging you at the higher 3G rates
• Sprint – We are the weakest of the bigger mobile carriers in the US, but that’s no reason for us to compete on price
• Verizon – the MiFi allows you to create a hotspot to share with up to 5 people. Make sure you have an accountant watch as the group racks up the usage – it’s 5GB across all users
• AT&T – Plenty of iPhone users whining about 3G coverage but why should that stop us from selling to more 3G customers? 

Gunter glieben glauchen globen

Yeah, it's better to burn out…Yeah, than fade away….

Def Leppard

Larry Dignan calls Philip Schiller, Apple’s fireman

Well, then should he not be focused on that which is causing so many fires? 

• is the biggest source of iPhone customer complaints due to poor 3G service coverage
• has led to issues with Google and Skype and others due to VoIP restrictions
• is source of significant customer heartburn because of international roaming charges tied to iPhone’s locked SIM
• has brought Federal scrutiny to Apple

no serenade, no fire brigade, just-a pyromania…

Let them eat cake, er iPhones

While some of us passionately argue about our loyalty to iPhone or Blackberry or Android, Nielsen’s survey of the masses - 25,000 mobile consumers - shows handset choice ranks 7th in decision criteria about a carrier. It was 7th in 2006 when we did not argue passionately about iPhones, and it still is today.

Economic considerations have grown far more important in the meantime.

“Family plans that let consumers call other family members for free and free in-network calling have shot up to near the top. Payment options, including pre-paid and unlimited calling and texting offers, are also substantially more important.”

More engineers, economists and entrepreneurs

New FCC Chairman Genachowski on how he would like to see his staffing to change.

And to have his agency “relentlessly focused on competition, consumers, innovation and investment.”

I guess US carriers will have even more reason to complain their industry is “unfairly maligned”