Paddy Holahan of NewBay thinks that camera phones will change everything. As the data from voice declines, the telcos are looking for data apps to fill the pipes and the coffers.

Raju Gulabani of Telesym focuses on delivering voice over wifi.

Louis Holder of Vonage says that they offer phone service over a broadband connection. [Unfortunately, it’s not available in Boston, unless you’re willing to get a new phone number. I checked a couple of months ago.] They have about 33,000 customers. You get unlimited calling for $40/month, including long distance. Now they’re adding services.

David Isenberg of David Isenberg asks which we would choose if forced, telephone or email. Most of us in the audience would give up our email instead of our phone. In fact, these days we set up long phone calls through IM or email. The era of voice is over. SIP will do for communications what HTML did for documents. And don’t forget to keep the network Stupid!

Raju agrees that voice is undergoing a transition and that the idea of charging more for distance is going away. But we’re going to have more phones and more talk than ever before. But don’t underestimate the power of a disruptive business model.

The audience argues about whether voice is dead, or exactly how dead it is. More minutes. Fewer lines to homes. David clarifies: The era of voice-only is dead.

Arnold Kling asks if the last mile has to be wireless. General agreement on the panel.

Categories: Uncategorized dw