What will VoIP look like in a few years from now. There is so much going on in VoIP these days it’s hard to say where we will be in year 2010.

Everyone has an opinion on where the industry is headed and what that may mean to the consumers and business stakeholders. I thought it was time to call on some industry movers and shakers and have a discussion about “The Future of VoIP”. Starting next week I will be publishing multiple telephone interviews on the same topic.

There are some big industry names stepping up to the podium and I can’t wait to hear what they have to say! Join me right here next week for the first podcast episode in the series, you won’t want to miss it!

The Federal Communications Commission said it would delay a Monday deadline for providers of Internet-based phone calls to get acknowledgments from their customers that they understand the problems they may encounter when dialing 911 in an emergency.

But in Friday’s notice, the agency said the deadline would be extended to Sept. 28 for the providers to get their acknowledgments. If by that time a provider still has not received confirmation from a customer, then the company should disconnect a customer’s phone service, according to the FCC order.

more..

When I read articles like this one, I have to laugh. Have these guys ever tried to get phone service from an incumbent? It’s like trying to negotiate a mortgage for your home. Hmm, no.. that was easier actually.

Recently I moved my family across town and when I found out that my cable Internet connection was already installed, well.. I was a happy guy.

911 is fully functional now via Vonage but trying to explain that to my wife holding a 2 month old baby is not so easy. So I gave in and decided to call the local incumbent for a landline, let the saga begin.

The local telephone company is on strike, locked out actually. Super, now I get to hop from department to department (they have a few) and talk to various supervisors about my wife’s request for a landline I do not need.

Finally after an hour on hold and explaining myself away a few times I get a girl who is willing to help. She tells me that she has absolutely no idea when the line will be installed nor can she refund or discount the install fee when the line actually does get installed.

Nice service guys.

She then goes on to tell me that the best she can do is send me a cellular phone which I would have to pay for or forward the number we wanted to another line. HA! Excellent. So I explain this to my wife and it’s apparent she wants the number from the phone company because it’s easier to remember. Ugh. Now I get to pay for a line fee from the incumbent just to have it forwarded to my Vonage line! Makes no sense to me. If I had it my way I would cancel the landline altogether.

When I first moved in I had Vonage phone service as soon as my Internet was installed, if the cable company were smart they would strategically partner with Vonage and get a piece of that revenue. Now imagine if I had Internet from the Telco as well. No land line, no DSL. No DSL, no Vonage.

Being an advocate of IP communications I of course use Vonage in my home but I never thought that it would be the only connection I could get.

More on Vonage..

Rich Tehrani on the Vonage IPO

Om Malik with Vonage IPO Reactions

Paul Kapustka Says “Something Smells” with the Vonage IPO