March 21, 2007

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Skype requires an open Internet. A so called neutral net. That’s the case for fixed access and this will be no different in the mobile space. Carriers will understandably do all they can to stop that.

So Skype has to support “open” values.

The problem I see is that on the technology side, Skype is “closed”. It uses a proprietary protocol that is incompatible with SIP, the open standard widely adopted by the VOIP Industry.

On the other hand, I suppose it’s a good thing to have Skype fight the net neutrality war with its big $$$$. Nothing will prevent me then, if they succeed, to use my favorite SIP-based mobile phone!

Tags: Skype, net neutrality, SIP

I spent the last three days at the new video track of the VON conference which has been dealing with Voice On the Net for the last ten years. As we know, video on the net is currently gaining ground on a daily basis with Youtube, Google Video, video blogging and many other passionate artists, producers and and so on. That’s the reason why video was inserted in the VON program this year and I realize that video on the net will probably face regulatory issues that VOIP had to go through in the recent years: intellectual property, copyright protection and network neutrality just to name a few. In fact, Jeff Pulver is being proactive on that issue by launching the Video On the Net Alliance to advocate for this emerging Internet video industry.

Voice over IP is disruptive. The flexibility provided by VOIP is an important factor for its success, but its impact is also quite important in that it opened the telecommunication playing field to new players that can operate outside the grasp of the incumbent telecommunication industry. Jeff Pulver officially stated that VOIP, an industry he triggered, is now well established. “We are now the incumbents who can be disrupted”.

In that respect, video on the net will allow the same type of disruption. Broadcasters and broadcast regulation can (and will) be circumvented by people and organizations who see the Net as an effective distribution platform.

Does Skype ring a bell? Well, they could potentially be #1 in both spaces. But that’s the topic of my next post.

Tags: video+on+the+net, VON2007,