When I received a “Mention” on a Tweet earlier this week:

my curiosity was piqued. Obviously Marcus had read one of my previous posts about CounterPath’s Bria on the iPad and iPhone and had encountered the CounterPath name in association with a new Rogers service. Over the years CounterPath has become associated with providing IP-based communications clients for enterprise, carrier and consumer use on PC’s, smartphones and tablets.

After some investigation it turns out that this past Monday Rogers sent an email to many of its consumer wireless customers asking them to take part in a beta program for a forthcoming service called Rogers One Number.

The concept basically is to provide a PC softphone that is associated with a wireless account such that conversations can be mirrored onto your PC through a web browser plugin on a Windows or Mac PC. Exchange SMS text messages, place and receive voice calls, there’s even a hint of a video call option in call management menu.

So what does this service deliver? From a web browser you can:

• synchronize contacts with your wireless device address book
• receive and place voice calls
• send and receive SMS messages

Going forward it appears Rogers One Number will also offer:

• links to Rogers Yahoo Mail and GMail
• receive and place video calls

All conversation activity, initiated or received on the softphone, is also reflected on the wireless phone(s)associated with the account. For instance, at this time, a call to my BlackBerry not only rings on my BlackBerry but also results in a call notification on my desktop PC. If I have missed a call a small “missed call” notification appears near the system tray on Windows PC’s. Text messages sent from the softphone also show up under text messages on the BlackBerry. And the service also applies for iPhone or Android phones.

So how does CounterPath come into the picture? When setting up the service there is a CounterPath End User License agreement to be accepted; also Norton Utilities identifies the plugin software as coming from CounterPath. CounterPath’s business model, in their OEM activities, involves providing the chat messaging along with voice and video calling infrastructure behind a user interface designed to an enterprise or carrier  customer’s specifications. In this case Rogers Wireless is the CounterPath customer who is responsible for the final user interface.

From a start-up page a wireless customer can register for the service; once confirmed via SMS messaging of a PIN number you are taken to a setup wizard where you need to enter key information, including a physical location for associating with e911 services. At that point you are asked to download a browser plugin for either Windows or Mac. Once you relaunch the browser you can open up the portal at the user interface and start using the service.

Once set up I made a few test calls with good quality voice. On placing a voice call (green phone icon in the Header bar above) a small call management client appears with options to escalate to video, place a call on hold and end a call. The upper icon bar includes a call log, a dial pad and a settings menu associated with the audio and video hardware. The lower icon bar covers mic mute,switch between multiple calls, switch between “headphones” and “speakerphone” and add a third party for a conference call. The program automatically had designated my FREETALK Everyman Headset as the headphone and Yamaha SoundGadget speakerphone as the speakerphone.

The main question re the video is who can you have a video conversation with? At the moment it would appear to only work with calls where both parties were using the Rogers One Number portal where you can set up video. On a voice call to my Skype client (calling my Skype Online number), the client appears to support the G729 codec; however, given that CounterPath is now incorporating Skype’s SILK into other products, there may be a future opportunity to wider audio bandwidth calling – at least between Rogers One Number web portals, if not to the wireless device itself.

Also of interest is the line “My web phone Emergency Address”. This is the initial setting that one enters when working through the setup wizard addressing a CRTC requirement for support of emergency services.

The images below show the dial pad and audio/video settings. Of significant interest is the potential for support of HD video should a webcam support it. However, until I can find a party who can receive a video call, we won’t know the full answer.

Bottom line: The Rogers One Number client is a recognition that many users have only a wireless phone and a PC; landlines are losing customers, especially with the “under 35” demographic. It’s a convenience that allows their consumer customers to make and receive calls on a PC in parallel with calling activity on the wireless phone. As analyst Jon Arnold mentions in his post, Rogers Wireless “One Number” Launch – Upping the Stakes:

The twist with One Number is that it’s built around the mobile phone, which is pretty much where consumers live, breath and sleep these days….

Anyhow, it’s very much a Web 2.0-meets mobility-meets VoIP mashup, and I think consumers will love it. Most people under 30 have long moved on from a landline, and with One Number, their PC simply becomes an extension of their smartphone – you just don’t need anything else.

To go back to the original Tweet that triggered this post, is it flaky? No, but it’s still in beta. There are a few issues that need to be addressed; however, it certainly addresses the basic requirements of providing PC access to conversation activity associated with a wireless device. Its feature set is not at the level of Skype for both functionality and ease of navigation but it will certainly provide the basic text messaging along with voice and video calling features. (And text messaging will generate SMS revenues for Rogers.)

If there is one major disappointment, it’s that Rogers elected to use a web browser plugin instead of an independent client; that makes it somewhat clumsy to access along with the requirement for always having a browser open. And the browser plugin needs a fair bit of desktop real estate in order to be fully seen; not a client you can put to one side such as Skype or Trillian.

One other question: will this service also incorporate some aspect of social networking where it can follow Facebook and Twitter activity? Given it was subtitled, by default, “My Social Hub” I would expect it to include these features also.

With respect to that most important feature called price – other than to realize there can be associated SMS revenues, we still have not heard what the pricing model is for using Rogers One Number voice and video calls. Most likely it will follow the Rogers Home Phone long distance model where calls from a Rogers Home Phone customer to other Rogers Home Phone customers or Rogers Wireless customers within Canada have no associated long distance charges.

From a wireless carrier business perspective Rogers One Number is a feature that introduces unique competitive positioning into a Canadian market where six carriers are now looking for customers. For that reason I cannot see any other charges beyond what is currently charged for wireless services.

Check out Jon Arnold’s complete post for another perspective.

Last week Skype and TELUS Mobility announced an agreement, where Canada’s third largest national wireless carrier will be closely working with Skype for free Skype-to-Skype and low cost SkypeOut international calling. While Canadians can use Skype for iPhone and Skype for Android on any Canadian carrier offering iPhone and Android phones, this agreement represents the first formal agreement between Skype and a Canadian wireless carrier with value-added services.

To give some background, both TELUS Mobility and Bell Mobility were spinoffs of legacy landline carriers where TELUS covers British Columbia and Alberta while Bell covers Ontario and Quebec. Since their respective cellular networks commenced operations back in the mid-1980’s , both have expanded to cover the entire county for wireless services; in TELUS’ case they acquired a major Bell/Rogers competitor who covered Ontario and Quebec.

However, whereas Rogers, the leading national carrier has always supported GSM protocols, TELUS and Bell both launched their services using the CDMA protocols (a la Verizon and Sprint in the U.S.). The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, where Bell Canada was the “official carrier”, was the stimulus for Bell Canada to upgrade their network to GSM-compatible HSPA+ service in November 2009.

But this is a large country, 90% of the Canadian population lives within 160 kilometers (100 miles) of the 6,000 km (4,000 mile) U.S.-Canada border. So the capital cost for a new network infrastructure, so long yet so narrow, runs up quickly. As a result Bell Mobility and TELUS Mobility partnered to build one 4G/HSPA+ network infrastructure to support the two retail operations. One ironic twist is that, at the time of the network’s launch in the fall of 2009, Bell and TELUS both launched an offering for the iPhone 3G S (and later iPhone 4) which already had support for HSPA+.

Launch of this network broke not only the Rogers Canadian monopoly on the Canadian iPhone franchise but also its monopoly on international roaming for visitors to Canada (since most of the world’s carriers supported GSM). There also occurred some legal and regulatory battles (Bell/TELUS vs Rogers) over the promotion of each network’s speed ; effectively they ended up in a draw. (Note also that Canada’s two legacy CDMA carriers were offering iPhone a year before Verizon could launch a CDMA-compliant iPhone in the U.S. market.)

From its launch in late 2009, TELUS has called their network a 4G 21Mbps network, with a speed increase to 42Mbps this year and plans to go to 4G/LTE “coming soon”. So they certainly have the data speeds required to support Skype calls over a data network using a native carrier-agnostic Skype client.

Under the leadership of CEO Darren Entwistle TELUS has been noted for aggressive, “outside-the-box” marketing initiatives that appeal especially to a younger demographic . The most recent example occurred earlier this week when, following release of a OECD report pointing out that Canadian carriers had some of the highest international roaming charges anywhere, TELUS came back immediately announcing they would be reviewing their roaming plans with a view to lowering roaming costs.

Upon reviewing the Skype/TELUS press release, along with responses to some questions I posed to Skype’s PR agency, here is how I see the positioning of the service:

• TELUS customers will be using Skype for iPhone and Skype for Android installed on the relevant devices via downloads from the respective application stores or via the web at skype.com/m.
• TELUS will be reinforcing the customer experience by providing enhanced customer support for TELUS customers using Skype on their smartphones
• Skype Credit can be purchased directly from the TELUS customer’s mobile phone with the transaction billed to his/her TELUS account
• A Skype edition LG Optimus Black phone will be launched in July by TELUS to give customers easy access to Skype through a pre-installed icon on the home screen, a detailed “getting started” guide, and Skype Credit to begin making calls to landline and mobile phones immediately
• TELUS customers will be able to make free Skype-to-Skype calls worldwide as well as use Skype’s Instant Messaging presence and chat features.
• TELUS  customers will be able to make calls to landlines outside Canada (and mobile phones in countries where phone owner pays for inbound calls) using either Skype Calling Plan subscriptions or Skype Credit on a pay-as-you-go basis.
• Carrier data charges will apply when used over the 4 G network. TELUS recommends a Data Flex plan or Wi-Fi connection when making Skype calls (according to the TELUS website)
• The Android-based LG phone will support Bluetooth connectivity (not available with Skype for iPhone currently)

Here’s my take on the announcement:

• This is Skype’s first carrier arrangement involving carrier-endorsed support of the native Skype client on a mobile smartphone as compared to the carrier-specific “Skype mobile” arrangements with Verizon and 3.
• It’s a major marketing move by TELUS to associate itself with leading edge services without the need for any major capital equipment costs (such as “Skype mobile” gateway servers) other than those already planned for their 4G evolution.
  • There are ongoing operations costs for TELUS involving marketing and customer support.
  • Skype does not have to develop a carrier-specific application for these services
• Skype’s significant data requirements will drive demand for TELUS data plan subscriptions and ARPU when the customer is making calls, including Skype-to-Skype calls, from within Canada.
• For the supported smartphones Skype basically takes over TELUS’s responsibility for managing TELUS Mobility’s international calling with Skype revenues coming from Skype Calling Plan subscriptions and Skype Credits required to make international calls to the PSTN.
• One would have to assume the above two revenue drivers would incorporate revenue sharing between TELUS and Skype.
  • Question: are there any Skype software royalties involved based on customer revenues?
• Will the LG Skypephone support Skype mobile Video that was announced for Verizon at CES 2011 or an equivalent service?
• When roaming internationally, it would be wise to turn off 3G/4G and only make Skype calls from WiFi connections in hotels, airports, restaurants, offices and other WiFi hotspots – which are quite prevalent in Europe from my own experience over the past two years.
  • Is WiFi growing as a Stealth Carrier? Can it be a viable alternative to roaming charges?
• Skype-to-Skype messaging will certainly impact TELUS revenues for SMS text messaging services but Apple’s recent iMessage announcement will probably have an even larger impact on carrier SMS messaging revenues
• With no native Skype for BlackBerry application, TELUS’s Skype service will not be available to their BlackBerry customers.

One final but very important concern: will the supported phones have enough battery life to support this initiative? I have covered this issue previously with some suggestions.

And one irony: While there are no Canadian Skype Online numbers available due to a conflict between a regulatory issue and Skype’s past policies re e911 services, TELUS Mobility customers can now set up as many as ten Skype Online numbers in any of the 26 countries (U.S., U.K. included) where Skype Online numbers are available. Calling a “local” Skype Online number in those countries, an “expat” relative or overseas customer can reach a TELUS Mobility customer via Skype on a call that would have no termination charge revenue for TELUS.

Bottom line: Skype is once again being endorsed for its ability to be a marketing tool that attracts a younger “always-on” demographic seeking lower cost communications and new communications services. Skype is a service that has a low implementation cost for TELUS while taking advantage of their higher speed network, yet expands TELUS’s appeal to a country where international communications plays a significant role not only for business but also for the various ethnic communities that want to keep in touch with relatives and friends in their country of ethnic origin.

We look forward to following its actual implementation, especially the launch of the LG Skypephone and its feature set, over the next couple of months.

Having been invited to attend a BlackBerry Torch launch event in Toronto a week ago Monday, I have now experienced RIM’s latest smartphone for about ten days. Suffice it to say, as a veteran BlackBerry user, it certainly elevates BlackBerry’s feature set to a level that is very competitive in today’s smartphone market.

So what’s new – relative to my previous Bold 9700?

• combining a touch screen display with BlackBerry’s traditional keyboard
• BlackBerry 6 operating system
• a WebKit-based web browser that delivers a state-of-the-art smartphone browsing experience
• universal search
• an accelerometer that allows operation in both portrait and landscape mode
• a 5M-pixel camera with flash
• enhanced multimedia support
• significantly enhanced social networking support

To comment on some of my experiences:

Migration from a Bold 9700 to the Torch: using the latest version of BlackBerry Desktop Manager’s “Switch Devices” feature, the entire migration process required 20 to 30 minutes, including all my installed applications. Desktop Manager 6.0 is more user friendly and has a much easier migration process than previous versions – key when you’re trying to appeal to a consumer market.

However, for many applications, such as Twitter and Social Scope it was necessary to log in again; effectively a positive security feature. The biggest challenge is organizing the applications within the various categories across which you can swipe in the main menu: “All”, “Favorites”, “Media”, “Downloads” and “Frequent”. Once organized finding an application using touch screen gestures becomes much faster.

The Touch Screen and Its Keyboard: Touch with all its gesturing effects brings a significant productivity improvement to the handling of emails, media and web browsing. All the traditional ways to use the touchpad and keyboard remain available but for the majority of applications it becomes much easier to use the touch screen as opposed to the four function keys, touchpad and traditional keyboard. For example, it is now possible to simply swipe a finger left or right to move through your Messages, including emails.

As for the Touch screen keyboard: it simply confirms that my fingers are too large for a touch keyboard – works fine for entering a few characters but I revert to the hardware keyboard for any serious typing such as longer email replies.

Bottom line is that the touch screen and hardware keyboard are significant complements to each other and bring the advantages of each where appropriate in context of the application. And, being a true multi-tasking smartphone, the touch screen has features that make application switching much easier.

Note there are a few applications that are currently not sensitive to the touch screen, the most significant being the Google Mobile suite, including GMail, Google Maps and Google Reader. Here you can continue to use the touchpad but trying any gesture on the touch screen has no effect. I’m sure Google and RIM are working on a resolution of this situation. But almost all my other applications are appropriately touch sensitive.

The Browser: Not only is the WebKit-based browser the first truly reliable browsing experience on a BlackBerry; it also brings in features such as “tabs” that make browsing a much more manageable activity. Combined with the touch screen’s gesturing, such as the two finger expansion and pinch for zooming/unzooming, BlackBerry’s OS 6 browser has become on par with my iPhone browsing experience. Actually one advantage of also having the BlackBerry’s touchpad available is that it can be used for the precision cursor location required when two or more links are very close to each other such as on the PGATour.com mobile website.

The Torch also includes an accelerometer to allow portrait and landscape mode viewing in the browser; however, if the hardware keyboard is open, only portrait mode is available. On the other hand, when viewing YouTube videos they always come up in landscape mode. One of those small but important features that contributes to the device’s user friendliness.

Overall the BlackBerry 6 browser is a much more reliable, user friendly (and satisfying) experience.

Universal Search: within BlackBerry 6 is a search facility that not only searches the web but can search the entire BlackBerry. Basically hit the search icon on the status bar, enter the search term(s) and hit return. The applications containing the search term(s) will show up; click on the application and it will take you to the search term(s). Included in the applications is an option to do a Google search. In my world there can never be too many search opportunities, whether in Outlook, Skype chat messages, Gmail on the BlackBerry or iPhone, Google on the desktop, or locating emails from a contact on my BlackBerry.

Social Media: When I arrived at the Canadian BlackBerry launch event, one of Canada’s top social media guru’s, Amber MacArthur (@ambermac), author of Power Friending, was demonstrating the Torch’s social media features. Full disclosure; through a recent series of her columns in the Globe and Mail, it was apparent Amber remains a hard core BlackBerry user. But it quickly became apparent why she was carrying out this role at the launch event. BlackBerry 6 includes a comprehensive “Social Feeds” application where you can readily view your stream of Twitter, Facebook, BlackBerry Messenger and five other IM feeds either in one stream or filtered by application. In addition swipe to the left and you can view a stream of selected RSS feeds. A very comprehensive interface that has the potential to challenge my favorite Twitter/Facebook client – Social Scope. (Social Scope, which has BlackBerry 6 compatibility, has the ability to follow individuals and specific hashtags as well.) In summary, Social Feeds is a new feature that will readily appeal to anyone managing social media.

Of course, BlackBerry Torch includes RIM’s unique social networking tool, BlackBerry Messenger, that, in its latest incarnation, provides instant PIN-to-PIN chat, photo and file transfer along voice messaging. I continue to use it when I really need to grab a contact’s attention and using other Internet messaging applications, including email, as an intermediary can not get the message across fast enough.

And finally, BlackBerry integration with applications. Many BlackBerry apps are integrated tightly with the Address Book and other primary BlackBerry apps such that, for instance, a Contact’s picture will be retrieved from FaceBook if it is not available from an Outlook Contact synchronization. From a Contact in the Address Book, one can immediately go to her/his Facebook or LinkedIn page or locate an address in Google Maps.

Bottom line: This review highlights the features that became apparent over the course of my first ten days with the BlackBerry Torch; there are many other more subtle ones. For any BlackBerry aficionado it’s a “must” upgrade that puts the BlackBerry technology performance on a par with either iPhone or Android.

RIM’s real challenge is to attract new BlackBerry adopters and recruit more application developers. Certainly the PlayBook announcement earlier this week, with its underlying QNX OS, appears to brings to the table many of the tools required to assist the latter challenge. And RIM’s continued promotion of BlackBerry Messenger, a unique application that has bailed me out on many occasions, as well as its ongoing reputation for the most mature smartphone email operation and high level of security help with the former.

Of course the final piece of the puzzle for full support of real time social networking would be that missing BlackBerry SuperApp: a carrier agnostic Skype for BlackBerry; Amber, a longtime Skype user and enthusiast who used Skype for TV reporting long before Oprah, would have loved to have been able to demonstrate it.

And why the timing for this post? BlackBerry Torch launched yesterday on five Canadian carriers: Rogers Wireless, SaskTel, Telus, Bell and Virgin Mobile

Three more announcements this week that should help these challenges:

• Press Release: Research In Motion announces BBM social platform
• Press Release: RIM launches BlackBerry Advertising Service
• Press Release: RIM to launch free BlackBerry Analytics Service

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• RIM’s Blackberry Torch now available in Canada – here’s the lowdown on where to get one (techvibes.com)
• Future Shop offers Canadians the highly-sought after BlackBerry Torch smartphone on September 30 (newswire.ca)
• Review: BlackBerry Torch is a hot pick, but has flaws (thestar.com)
• BlackBerry Torch 9800 Goes Live on Rogers (intomobile.com)
• BlackBerry Torch up for pre-order on Vodafone (v3.co.uk)
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Over the past week I have been experimenting with two relatively new features that build out the Skype video experience:

• HD video using the recently released FREETALK® TALK-7140 HD webcam and Skype for Windows 4.2
• Skype Group calling using the beta release of Skype for Windows 5.0

FREETALK^® TALK-7140 HD Webcam

At a price point that makes it attractive even for Skype High Quality Video calls (VGA resolution @ 30 fps), the FREETALK^® TALK-7140 HD Webcam:

• Enhances the video image quality to HD’s 720p resolution at frame rates up to 22 fps, provided the Sender has sufficient Internet upload bandwidth (>1.2 Mbps).
• Requires 30 seconds to four minutes at the beginning of a call to come up to HD resolution; after some initial “network negotiation” by the connecting software the aspect ratio changes from 4: 3 to HD’s 16:9.
• Works with Skype’s High Quality Video calling where end point conditions do not provide sufficient bandwidth for HD calling.
• Falls back to lower resolutions when network conditions degrade as a result of Skype’s network bandwidth adaptation feature that adjusts video resolution to network conditions. But the image will self-restore to the maximum resolution if the network conditions recover and return to improved quality.
• Is Skype certified for HD Video and High Quality Video calling.
• Is recognized as a webcam by MacBooks and iMacs; however, currently will only operate on MacBooks at up to VGA resolution at up to 30 fps until Skype releases a new version of Skype for Mac that supports HD video calling.

The image to the right comes from a half hour, two-way HD call with TechCraver’s Jason Harris who had an upload speed in excess of 4Mbps while I was supported by a network upload speed of 1.8Mbps using Rogers recently introduced DOCSIS 3.0 Ultimate service (50 Mbps download, 2 Mbps upload). Expanding the image to a full screen display (22” in my case) gives a close-to-Telepresence experience.

Note that if only one Sender on a one-to-one video call has the upload speed to support sending HD video, the recipient, if also using Skype for Windows 4.2 or later, will be able to receive and view the full 720p HD image provided his/her download speed is above 1.2 Mbps – well below the download bandwidth maximum for most broadband Internet services.

So this brings up the issue of upload bandwidth speeds available to consumers. Om Malik had something to say on this subject in a recent post, Faster Upstream Speeds for Cable Broadband:

U.S. cable companies expect that by 2015, nearly 100 million of the nation’s homes will be able to send data upstream at speeds of around 20 Mbps. This will eventually be followed by further upgrades to 50 Mbps, by way of enhancements to DOCSIS 3.0 tech. That compares to current upstream speeds of 6-28 Mbps (shared).

So we don’t need to wait for Fibre-to-the-Home if you’re on cable. As mentioned above, Rogers now offers a 50Mbps download/2 Mbps upload DOCSIS 3.0 service for which they recently reduced the price by 1/3 to under $100 per month with a 175 GB/month cap. Bell Canada is introducing a 25/7 fibre-to-the-home service for $54 per month but with only a 75 GB cap; their current issue is coverage. Whereas it’s available in central Toronto, there is only limited availability around the suburban Toronto area. In the U.S., where available, Comcast is offering DOCSIS 3.0 services with up to 10 Mbps upload speeds but have services at 2 and 3 Mbps upload as well; also Verizon offers its FIOS Fibre-to-the-Home service. This scenario recalls the era ten years ago when broadband Internet services were rolling out sporadically over a three to four year period.

I’m still experimenting with the HD webcam and will have a more complete report once I have experience with a wider range of user endpoint conditions. The TALK-7140 HD webcam is available at the Skype Store.

Skype Multi-Party Video Chat (beta!)

In a separate post I’ll deal with Skype Multi-Party Video Calling; in the meantime check out Phil Wolff’s posts on this subject at Skype Journal and Andy Abramson begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting’s Skype Multi Party Video Makes Others A Thing of The Past at VoIP Watch. As shown in one of Phil’s posts, I participated in a five party call for about fifteen minutes simply to ensure I had a configuration where it would work.

Caveat: Skype for Windows 5.0 is still beta software and needs user feedback and some work prior to any final release; it’s not suitable for ongoing production use at this time.

Bottom line: we’re seeing how far video calling can be pushed with respect to video resolution and multi-party video chat sessions; it’s still early days. For full realization of the potential of video calling we need implementation of faster Internet services for both consumers and SMB’s with reasonable pricing. Also we need more experience and development of the underlying video calling software and hardware, especially when it comes to the User Interface. In the meantime VGA resolution video calling (High Quality Video) remains a quite acceptable user experience – especially when it’s free.

Full disclosure: In Store Solutions, producer of the FREETALK line of Skype hardware, has become a client of Denali InterConneXions, publisher of Voice On The Web, building on the author’s previous business development experience with establishing partnerships that can assist with the promotion of a primary vendor’s offerings. A more complete statement will follow shortly.

Some posts from the High Quality Video launch in late 2007:

• Installing a Logitech High Quality Video Camera: The Experience.
• High Quality Video: What’s the Benchmark?
• High Quality Video: Definitely a Winner for Skype
• Click here for more…

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• CableLabs announces 5Gbps cable data technology (feldmanfile.blogspot.com)

Yesterday’s announcement that Skype will become available as a supported service on Verizon Wireless has to have sent a tsunami through the wireless operator world. To review the offering:

• A Skype client will be included on nine models of BlackBerry and Android smartphones in late March; current customers with these devices will be able to download the application
• Free Skype-to-Skype voice calling, both inbound and outbound, worldwide
• send and receive instant messaging (chat and presence) worldwide at no charge
• International SkypeOut calling; domestic calls come out of the customer’s voice plan
• Requires a Verizon voice and data plan
• Skype-to-Skype and SkypeOut calls as well as Skype IM activity will not impact a customer’s voice plan minutes and data plan usage.

The Background. Yesterday I wrote about the market environment and technology infrastructure that led to the ability to make this announcement

• It’s Verizon’s answer to AT&T’s forthcoming Skype for iPhone over 3G; however, given that planning and development activity have been ongoing for the past year, it’s a well thought out response with a focus on the user experience.
• The client will be a customized version of Skype Lite where the voice conversation is carried over the Verizon voice channel while presence indication, chat messages, mood messages and voice call signaling will be carried over the Verizon data channel.
• Launching a Skype voice call or chat session will be the same process as launching a traditional call.
• It’s integrated with the Address Book of the device such that all contacts can become Skype or SkypeOut contacts.
• Both the BlackBerry and Android smartphones can handle multi-tasking such that Skype “data” activity can continue to operate in the background while using other applications on the device.
• Client is optimized to take advantage of any battery life conservation features, certainly one of BlackBerry’s well known strengths.
• In response to one question at the press conference, Verizon stated they will not allow network quality to erode as a result of the additional load created by this service.
• Currently no video calling, file transfer, SMS messaging or WiFi access

Show me the money! Based on information provided by iSkoot at eComm 2008 and 3′s gradual expansion of Skype availability, it would appear at first glance that the business model involves:

• Verizon receiving a percentage of SkypeOut revenues (Skype has an affiliate program that provides referrers with 25% of SkypeOut revenues – an indicator of Skype’s margin for this service; 3 has offered SkypeOut since summer 2008)
• Skype receiving software licensing revenue associated with smartphone revenues (sales or lease) and Verizon voice/data plan revenues
• No termination charges for Skype-to-Skype calls (explains why Verizon can offer this as a free service to their data plan customers)

The implications:

• Has the potential to add 90 million Verizon customers to Skype’s user base
• Verizon customers can call over 500 million Skype accounts worldwide at no cost (probably about 100 million active accounts)
• SkypeOut becomes the de facto replacement for all Verizon’s other consumer international calling activity, especially for calls to those 44 countries on Skype’s Unlimited World Calling plans.
• Provides a subtle but significant carrier endorsement of BlackBerry and Android devices.
• Multi-tasking allows an “always on” user experience; the challenge will be when and how notifications are made of a Skype activity (presence status change, new chat message, etc.) when using other applications
• the underlying architecture takes advantage of the existing robust and scalable voice architecture while exchanging data over a wireless data service that is widely perceived as the best in the U.S due to the combination of its reliability and coverage.
• requires the installation of “Skype gateway” servers within Verizon’s infrastructure to terminate Skype calls under Verizon’s management and control, offset by the fact that there are no termination charges for Skype-to-Skype calls.

The downside: The architecture does not allow for WiFi access to Skype. As a result:

• one cannot readily make calls from WiFi access points outside the U.S. without paying roaming charges which can tend to be expensive. (Skype for iPhone on AT&T or T-Mobile’s @ Home service provide this capability.)
• calls cannot be made from locations without carrier network coverage (to a large extent Verizon’s U.S. geographical coverage addresses this issue but one can also be deep in a building with WiFi but no carrier).

The Questions:

• Will Skype Instant Messaging become a replacement for SMS messaging and cannibalize SMS revenues? Skype IM messages simply go out over the data channel as one application for the data plan.
• What happens when a Verizon customer is roaming in other countries?  Can visitors to Canada or Europe continue to use Skype at no additional cost while in Canada? or will a roaming charge apply?
• Verizon is currently offering these devices with a “Buy One Now, Get One Free” feature and a two year contract at prices ranging from $29.99 (Storm 1, 8530 Curve)to $179.99 (Storm 2). Will the lack of a low cost phone, such as 3’s Skypephone2, with Pay-As-You-Go impact adoption?
• What is the level of carrier exclusivity in the deal? Will we be seeing similar offers from T-Mobile US or AT&T any time soon? What portions of the embedded Skype software in the devices are  exclusive to Verizon?
• Who will be the first Canadian carrier to adopt the Verizon-Skype model? This will be interesting to follow given that:
  • there are no network quality issues with any of the three
  • the Bell Canada/Telus networks can not only support EVDO (same BlackBerries as offered by Verizon) but also GSM/LTE supported devices with their new HSPA+ network launched in time for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
  • all three carriers now offer the iPhone; in this case Rogers was the original carrier with it.
• What level of support will Verizon provide for BlackBerry’s app store and Android’s market? Will Verizon facilitate and promote them or even provide an aggregated app store?

Final question: Skype stealthed its way onto AT&T 3G through the combination of supporting calling over WiFi access points (worldwide) and FCC lobbying; Skype is certainly helping to drive iPhone sales at AT&T. Can the combination of carrier-supported “free international calling”, full multi-tasking, a more robust and reliable network and the currently top selling smartphone brand in the U.S. sustain and build Verizon’s user base?

Bottom line: carriers are recognizing that Skype needs to incorporated into their infrastructure as a key element providing both uninhibited access and the network resources to ensure a high quality, positive user conversation experience. Most importantly they are discovering that Skype can become a marketing tool that drives market differentiation and user adoption.

For further commentary Carl Ford and I recorded a podcast conversation yesterday: Jim Courtney & Carl Ford Converse about Skype & VZW.

Update: Andy Abramson has been on-site at MWC and picked up some feedback: Skype, Verizon (and Andy) In the News

Photo: John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless, and Josh Silverman, Skype’s CEO, announcing their strategic relationship to bring Skype to Verizon Wireless smartphones during a press conference at the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain earlier today. (Via Business Wire, accreditat[on not provided)

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Over the past several months I have written three posts about WiFi’s ever-increasing role as a complement to the wireless carriers:

• WiFi: The Real Threat to the Mobile Carriers
• Is WiFi Becoming the Unregulated Stealth Carrier of the Future?
• Traveling in a Bipolar Mobile Mode

Basically, in my recent travels I have found that WiFi access is becoming more readily available at home, in the office and, as I travel, in hotels, airports and restaurants. Especially when in countries where roaming charges can be excessive, I seek out WiFi access points when on my BlackBerry and iPhone to minimize roaming expense for data.

Now that Apple is allowing VoIP over 3G, this strategy will become even more critical when using the Skype and Truphone applications for the  iPhone where the conversation uses VoIP technology over the data channel. While my home network data plan has sufficient monthly capacity for making these calls from within Canada, I’m not sure I want to be paying $1/MB when roaming in, say, the U.S. for a Skype call.

Brough Turner has built up an immense wealth of knowledge about Internet infrastructure and wireless carriers, not only from the technology perspective but also the business implications, including costs. He has recently published a post, WiFi Offload, not Femtocells, where, while postulating that Femtocell technology is too complex and costly become mainstream, he supports his argument by pointing out the business reasons for relying on WiFi as a primary “carrier” for wireless:

• “most mobile data is destined for the open Internet, not for someplace on the mobile operator’s network” Apparently 96% to 99%. Yet, relative to a direct broadband Internet connection, it’s much more costly per user (and more complex) for a wireless carrier to provide the tower and backhaul infrastructure required to connect a mobile phone to the Internet.
• “the primary sources of mobile data demand are laptops, notebooks and smart phones”. It’s become reality that most mobile devices these days support WiFi in addition to 3G/LTE/4G. And the iPad is a “data only” device. Demand for wireless connections will continue to grow rapidly; carriers need to look at the cost of new towers vs encouraging installation of WiFi access points (for which they have zero cost if the subscriber installs the access point).
• “WiFi access points cost less than femtocells” When end users can set up a WiFi access point for around $100 whereas the carriers’ towers can run $1MM to $2MM per tower and require a backhaul Internet link, it is actually to the carrier’s capital cost advantage to support the build out of WiFi access points, whether private (home, office) or public (hotels, restaurants, airports, etc.).
• “WiFi access points are showing up everywhere”. Yep, see the posts referenced above.

Three instances where WiFi has “bailed me out” recently:

• On both my January trips to CES and IT Expo, I had set up voice roaming with Rogers. Just one complication – over 80% of the calls I received, via roaming partner AT&T, had such poor call quality I had to ask the party to hang up and call them back. But when I called them back it was using Skype for iPhone over WiFi connections to have a more than acceptable call quality. AT&T simply failed, big time.
• At one recent hotel the hotel wanted to charge $14.95 per day per PC or smartphone for a WiFi connection. However, the hotel chain involved also had an arrangement with Boingo. Once I got the Boingo availability reminder I simply upgraded my mobile Boingo plan to a combined plan at $17.95 per month, connected my laptop, BlackBerry and iPhone and bypassed the hotel charges. As a bonus, I was also able to use the plan while waiting for my flights at two airports, amongst other Boingo-supported locations.
• During my trips to Spain last fall I ended up in situations where no public carrier access was available but there was WiFi access – once in an office with no 3G signal and once in a hotel in an ancient building with WiFi but no landline phone. Once again in these situations WiFi was the path to get data and Skype for iPhone or Truphone was used for voice calls.

The Bottom Line: Brough says it best in answering his own question “What should an operator do?”:

Mobile operators need to focus on providing bundles of connectivity, not on whether its 3G/4G or Wi-Fi. They should be encouraging Wi-Fi offload by bundling “free” public Wi-Fi access with their mobile data plans.

In the long term, it’s likely most mobile data bytes will go over Wi-Fi.  The 3G/4G network is still necessary to provide a backup path when no Wi-Fi is available. Mobile operators who recognize this can still come out on top, if they focus on facilitating connectivity for their customers regardless of the technology involved.

Note to Rogers: while Andy makes great use of UMA from T-Mobile’s @Home service during his overseas travels, Canadians would appreciate the same level of support for Rogers’ UMA-based services, which are currently limited to access from WiFi hotspots within Canada.

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Early today Skype released Skype for iPhone 1.3, available as an update in the Apple App Store.

Two key new features:

Landscape Mode for Skype IM:	Call Quality Indicator

The Call Quality Indicator builds on the experience gained with the call quality indicator in Skype for Windows 4.2 beta – a tool I have found most useful in sorting out call quality issues.

Check out Skype’s Peter Parkes post where he also discusses what the roadblock is for “Calling over 3G” as well as progress with incorporating push notification. C’mon Apple – it’s time to allow Calling over 3G: AT&T says Yes, Rogers does not have an issue. What’s the hold-up (iPhone 4?)? Maybe it’s a hardware performance issue?

The first thing I noticed after downloading the update was that the application appears to operate much more “snappily” in that wait times for chat sessions to appear or even to recognize you are Online appear to be much shorter. But I need more usage experience to confirm this perception further.

With the proliferation of WiFi access points in hotels, conference sites, offices, restaurants, airports and other public places, Skype for iPhone has become a very useful calling option for me with the extensive traveling I have been doing recently. And tomorrow I will put up a post about how I use Skype for iPhone to call my BlackBerry. Eh?

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Skype’s announcement today of agreements to have television sets become end points for Skype video calls really raises a series of both user interface issues as well as social issues:

• Do I want to be interrupted while watching programming such as a sporting event or Oprah?
• Where is it more convenient to talk: via a TV audio channel open to the room or a traditional handset with its inherent conversation privacy and reduced potential to interrupt a roomful of family and/or friends?
• Where do we want convergence? How much do we want to have application-specific hardware?
• Do we want scenarios where all those in the viewing room are exposed to the call?
• What clothes shall I wear while watching TV but enabled to be seen on a video call?
• If Skype is introduced into TV sets, how far can the inherent intelligence and Internet connectivity be deployed in a way that encourages user adoption of additional features and services? (SlingBox in the TV?)
• What Skype account(s) does one want to come via the TV? An separate account? A personal-use account? A business-use account? or combinations of these accounts. (For the Philips VoIP phone on our Rogers Home Phone service, we use a separate Skype account from my normal Skype “business-use” account.)

Why do I raise these questions? Consider three related user experiences I have had:

• When the Turin Winter Olympics opened in February 2006, I happened to be on a Skype call to an acquaintance, Peter, in Sweden while watching the CBC broadcast of the opening ceremony in my office via my newly acquired SlingBox. He was also watching the same opening ceremony on Swedish television. Our conversation was intertwined between the original purpose of the call (to address some technical issues) and comments on the opening ceremony. It was an interesting experience but note that we were watching and discussing the broadcast while being able to watch it.
• Recently Rogers quietly added a TV Call Display service that brought a feature of our Home Phone service to our TV set. Namely when someone calls us the caller ID information appears along the bottom of the TV screen along with options to Send to Voice Mail, Snooze (disable the call notification for up to 2 hours) or change the TV Call Display settings. Bottom line: it’s a minimally obtrusive service that actually provides call information prior to the phone(s) ringing and let’s you have options for dealing with the call without leaving your viewing chair.
• It’s real handy to have a PVR service that continues to record a program while viewing other programs; the other service that comes handy when there are conflicting sports events is Picture-in-Picture.

Skype’s TV Video calling currently has to be in an early adopter (or launch) phase. It simply replaces the currently viewed program with the video call taking over the screen and effectively becomes another Skype client. (More Skype Everywhere?) Obviously the TV set has to be both “intelligent” and Internet-enabled; this explains both why the HDMI 1.4 cable specification includes the ability to incorporate an Ethernet connection and why new higher performance  intelligence has to be introduced into TV sets (or cable set-top boxes).

But, partially based on my experiences described above, for a fully featured user experience we need to see:

• On-screen notification of a call while watching a broadcast program along with options to take the call or send it to a voice mail (or video mail) service.
• Ongoing recording of the currently viewed TV program in background on the PVR while on the call.
• Picture-in-picture integration to allow a viewer to monitor a program while on a call (or switch between the program and calling party as the primary display content).
• Multi-party calling (is this a potential revenue generating service for Skype?)
• Forwarding/transferring of the voice channel of the call to another Skype-enabled device such as the RTX 3088 Dualphone or mobile smartphone, or forward both the voice and video channels of the call to a Skype client on a PC.
• Chat or text messaging capability.

Given the size of the somewhat saturated HD television set market it needs new features to go beyond simply HD capability; using the TV as a Skype end point becomes one option to enhance the TV feature set. From the user perspective, on the other hand, it becomes one of many choices for handling (Skype) conversations. It certainly adds to the “Skype Everywhere” theme but how far do we want “everywhere” to go?

Bottom line: going forward we are going to see a range of attempts at convergence of our communications. But we are left with many questions:

• How much intelligence do we need within our “end point” devices? (I just acquired a Blu-Ray player that has an active Ethernet connection for firmware updates and additional content information delivery).
• Should the Skype intelligence be in TV sets or does it make more sense (and for broader distribution of Skype) to have the Skype intelligence in a set-top box, such as our Scientific Atlanta Explorer box?
• What additional services would intelligence in the TV or cable set-top box could be delivered by the cable service providers?
• How intense will the competition become between TV set manufacturers and cable set-top box manufacturers to control the intelligence behind these services? What can the set manufacturers and the cable companies see as business models for these competing offerings?
• Can this video calling intelligence be brought to mobile smartphones? Do we need LTE or 4G networks to make this happen?

At a minimum, the introduction of Skype’s TV client gives us talking points for the upcoming CES 2010 later this week.

Additional links and information:

Share Skype Blog: Get Skype on your TV

LG Electronics to Unveil Broadband HDTVs With Embedded Skype Capability

Skype and Panasonic Announce Collaboration to Add Skype Software to Viera® HDTVs

Brad Stone, New York Times: A Venture Integrating Skype Into the Family Room

And, as for the Hockey Picture on the captured TV screen: tonight Canada will be defeating the U.S. for World Junior Hockey supremacy once again…. fortunately I will be able to watch it live on my flight to Las Vegas. Something to do in this era of minimalist carry-on luggage.

The past six months, with three trips to Europe, have given me the opportunity not only to experience roaming on European 3G wireless services but also the strategies and alternatives that allow me to minimize roaming charges while traveling with both a BlackBerry and iPhone. A key to the achieving this goal lies in the support available for WiFi access points in hotels, restaurants, airports and at conferences that provide robust, scalable WiFi support. But the question outstanding is why would I use both devices? The answer lies in the applications and content.

While one can theorize academically about various low cost scenarios and one attempts to use WiFi wherever feasible, in actual travel, you need access to some form of wireless service wherever you may be. For instance, if lost in a city where you don’t speak the language, Google Maps can often help get you sorted out quickly. Or find the nearest restaurant district (was a big help in Paris, for instance). But you need wireless carrier access to use these services.

So what measures can I recommend?

First step: buy an International roaming package from the home wireless carrier. Over the summer Rogers introduced European roaming packages; here’s the comparison:

The good news about these packages is that the per MB and per minute charges remain the same for any overage over the minimum expenditures. The bad news is that roaming charges are still “huge” compared to the $0.03/MB or approximately $0.10 per minute paid when on my home Rogers network. U.S.-based users should check with their “home” carriers to see if similar plans are available. Rule of thumb and current reality, however: roaming charges remain the last ultra-high margin service for wireless carriers.

So, while relatively expensive, these packages are helpful when away from a WiFi access point; however, as mentioned above, the real saving comes when you set up for using WiFi wherever possible. (In addition I encountered a couple of situations where 3G coverage was weak or non-existent; in these cases access to WiFi became essential.)

Second step: ensure you have installed both Skype and Truphone on your iPhone; you can then make voice calls from WiFi access points at prevailing Skype or Truphone rates. For instance, Skype-to-Skype calls are free while SkypeOut calls are based on using either a Skype Calling Plan subscription or Skype credits.

Third step: buy, at a minimum, a Boingo Global Mobile plan; while WiFi in hotels and restaurants is usually free or has a daily charge, Boingo Global Mobile provides access in over 70 countries at airports and often at hotels where, otherwise, you would pay a daily fee that is usually more than Boingo Global Mobile’s monthly charge.

Fourth step: put the iPhone in Airplane mode but with WiFi access turned on. In this way, no voice calls are received via a wireless carrier; also the iPhone specifically requires proactive user permission to roam on data – leave this turned off. But the iPhone applications, including Skype and Truphone, can all be used when attached to a WiFi access point. (Note: I do not give out my iPhone voice number but do use it for various tests; Google Voice is not yet available in Canada to provide multi-smartphone calling.)

So here is where I use each device:

BlackBerry Bold 9000: email (both BlackBerry email and GMail), BlackBerry Messenger 5.0, Google Maps, SocialScope – still the most comprehensive Twitter application on a smartphone; SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry. Keep in mind that BlackBerry is overall more efficient for handling data due to the data compression provided by the BlackBerry Network Operations Centre architecture for managing data traffic. This ongoing wireless data compression feature is a major reason why I prefer BlackBerry for services such as Google Maps or downloading/uploading pictures in SocialScope as opposed to the iPhone when on a 3G wireless carrier network.

iPhone: main application is Skype, followed by Truphone. Very handy for making calls back to North America from hotel rooms or lobbies, restaurants as well as offices and conferences supported with WiFi access. (But you must have the relevant application open to receive calls and receive/send chat messages.) Other preferred applications include the Safari web browser (faster and more versatile than BlackBerry’s) and Facebook (which has a richer user experience than on BlackBerry) and a few applications that are unique to iPhone. Also comes in handy if the BlackBerry battery has died and I need immediate access to, say, GMail or a browser.

Bottom line: the feature that continues to dominate my preference for BlackBerry over iPhone is the keyboard; it’s a real time two-way communications device whereas the iPhone, with its superior browser capability, continues to be an information delivery device but works best for one way communication. My use of its touch screen keyboard tends to be limited to entering user names and passwords.

A few comments:

• There’s one major application missing on the BlackBerry – with its full multi-tasking capability the BlackBerry is ideally suited for Skype as a VoIP client. One can have real time chat sessions continue in background while using other applications; we experienced this with iSkoot but at this point one would expect to have seen the Skype for BlackBerry that was announced by Skype around the time of last spring’s launch of Skype for iPhone. And now that Skype for Symbian beta supports both 3G and WiFi and the FCC is supporting for “net neutrality”, the “carrier-support” argument for avoiding VoIP clients over WiFi on the BlackBerry no longer holds water. In fact, Rogers has made it clear that they have no issue with running Skype over 3G networks. Let’s hope that Skype and RIM can get the act together such that we can see a product introduction early in 2010.
• On my most recent trip I only bought the 15 minute voice package; with BlackBerry Messenger and SocialScope (for Twitter) available I found little need to make voice calls while in 3G only mode. Skype on my PC at hotel rooms and conferences as well as Skype and Truphone over iPhone addressed 95% of my voice calling needs. (Now, if I could just learn how to order a taxi in Spanish!)
• I realize most smartphone users will only have one phone. I present this post simply to provide an overview of my experience using both these devices while optimizing my roaming experience when traveling out of the home country. I need to have both devices due to not only their popularity but also the different content exchanged and user experiences for each smartphone.

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Two announcements yesterday, when meshed together, create the setting for Skype to become, de facto, the ‘”unofficial” personal communications software provider for the 2010 Winter Olympics at Vancouver and Whistler, B.C. next February:

Skype President Josh Silverman today posted: “Good Move AT&T”:

Since launching our iPhone application six months ago, people have downloaded and installed Skype on 10% of all iPhone and iPod touch devices sold – making it clear that people are extremely interested in taking Skype conversations with them on the go.

All of us at Skype applaud today’s announcement by AT&T (in an FCC filing to be published shortly – update, it’s here in PDF format) that it’ll open up its 3G network to Internet calling applications such as Skype. It’s the right step for AT&T, Apple, millions of mobile Skype users and the Internet itself.

Bell Canada’s Mobility service and Telus yesterday announced both the launch of their new joint-venture HSPA+ network across Canada next month and their agreement to be selling Apple’s iPhone amongst other 3G/GSM phones such as Nokia’s line. In fact, as shown on the right, the existence of the new network, with the identifier “302880”, can already be detected via the iPhone’s Carrier settings .

The implications of this announcement:

• Bell Mobility and Telus expect their HSPA+ network to completely replace their current CDMA/EV-DO network within five years.
• Bell Mobility and Telus will be providing direct competition to Rogers who, to date, has been the sole GSM carrier in Canada and will be able to offer a full range of 3G GSM phones – not only the iPhone but also Nokia’s GSM-exclusive line of phones.
• As a benefit of their current monopoly Rogers has also been the only carrier offering Apple’s iPhone since its Canadian launch in July, 2008. Canada now becomes one of the few countries with multiple carriers offering the iPhone.
• As another benefit of their GSM monopoly Rogers has been the sole network available for roaming by visitors from outside the U.S. and Canada as well as AT&T and T-Mobile customers from the U.S. Since athletes and visitors coming to the Vancouver Olympics from outside North America will have GSM phones, Bell Mobility and Telus will now be able to draw away from Rogers a significant portion of the roaming business that otherwise would have accrued by default to Rogers.
• Bell Canada is the “official” communications carrier for the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Bell Mobility has built out their new HSPA+ network from the Telus network connection in Vancouver along the Sea-to-Sky highway to Whistler, site of the alpine and cross-country skiing events as well as bobsleigh, luge and skeleton “sliding” races.
• Additional communications capacity between Vancouver and Whistler has been built by Bell Canada for Internet communications, the 35 to 40 Mbps voice and data backhaul required for each of the wireless towers and the HD 5.1 surround sound television coverage that will include all events. No doubt a lot of fibre has been installed as BC Highways rebuilt the Sea to Sky Highway over the past few years to meet the Olympics’ inherent demands both additional vehicle capacity and enhanced safety. Being the “official” carrier this will benefit Bell Canada’s revenue stream also.

This raises the question of whether an HSPA-only service can run on the iPhone or BlackBerry Bold both of which currently only support 3G. The answer is Yes; HSPA will support 3G devices.

However, an HSPA+ network can only fall back to a 3G network capability when full HSPA capability is not supported by a device. But the iPhone and BlackBerry Bold also support 2G/EDGE networks.

As a result should a Bell Mobility or Telus customer leave an HSPA+ coverage area, there is no EDGE available for fall back when outside these areas. For example,when we drive the freeway from Toronto to Ottawa, we see EDGE for most of the trip except near Toronto, Kingston and Ottawa where Rogers 3G coverage exists. Either Bell and Telus will require roaming agreements with Rogers to provide non-urban service or they will not be able to offer as complete coverage to their customers.

Of course, those landlines will be able to support Skype on laptop PC’s using Ethernet or WiFi connections. But combining the two announcements along with Skype for iPhone’s recent availability in Canada, can Skype become the overall de facto “unofficial” personal communications software provider for the 2010 Olympics? Questions to be answered:

• Will Skype release a version of Skype for iPhone that supports both WiFi and 3G as the underlying wireless protocols prior to the Olympics?
• Will Skype finally release Skype for BlackBerry? (to address Phil’s desire for Skype on a multi-tasking smartphone)
• Will we see execution on Skype’s agreement with Nokia?
• Will the various communications and “Internet cafe” rooms for athletes and press be equipped with enough power sources to keep the various smartphones charged conveniently?
• Will Bell Canada have the same policy re Net Neutrality as Rogers who has publicly stated their primary business in providing Internet access and not managing applications or specific customer uses?
• Has Bell Canada signed the appropriate international roaming agreements with carriers around the world?

Certainly it’s within the realm of current technology to support Skype over wireless networks, whether WiFi or wireless carrier. Bell Canada touts their 2010 Olympics commitment as being “The first all-IP Olympics”. The question that remain:

• To what extent will the Skype ecosystem actually be able to execute on, and take full advantage of, this underlying IP-based communications infrastructure?
• Will Skype’s popularity, ease-of-use and combined voice/chat/video feature set make it the de facto “unofficial” voice, chat and video personal communications software provider for the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics?

Call it Skype Everywhere by Stealth…. but can Skype execute on the challenge?

Disclaimer: Bell Canada, including its Bell Mobility wireless business unit, is the official communications services provider for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Skype is a software application, with over 500 million registered accounts worldwide, that uses these communications services for the purpose of voice, instant messaging and video conversations; however, Skype is in no way affiliated with, or endorsed, by the 2010 Winter Olympics Committee.

Full disclosure: For over thirty-five years the author has personally observed the growth of Whistler from a small and remote “boutique” ski area with one tragically slow 4-person per cabin gondola lift and a few double chairlifts into North America’s number one rated ski resort covering two mountains and capped off last year by the opening of a 4.4km peak-to-peak gondola that takes riders as high 436m above the valley floor. Concurrently the Sea-to-Sky highway has grown from a twisty, up-and-down adventure (and risky) roadway with some sections on wooden platforms on stilts anchored to rock walls over canyons to a safe multi-lane, yet still scenic, roadway. (I still consider it one of Canada’s most scenic highways.)

• A fully redundant fibre-optic network between Vancouver and Whistler to support essential broadcast traffic. Bell has successfully laid fibre to the front door of every major Olympics and Paralympics venue, and will ultimately connect all of the 130 competition and non-competition venues to our dedicated Olympics network
• Bell’s fibre-optic network will provide all voice, data and broadcast services for fans, media, athletes and officials from around the world, and will be the backbone that enables all Olympics and Paralympics connectivity. This includes 400,000 private radio calls, 10,416 hours of dedicated TV broadcast coverage to more than three billion viewers, timing and scoring results delivered in the blink of an eye, and more
• The highest level of reliability and redundancy and the most up-to-date technology for the full range of Olympics telecommunications services, including voice, data, broadcast video and audio, wireless PCS and private radio
• Provision of all hardware, cabling, logistics and support staff
• An unprecedented level of support to the Rights Holding Broadcasters, in particular the Broadcasting Service for the Olympic Games
• Internet portal services enabling an interactive, multilingual window to Canada and the world
• The first all-IP Olympic Games
• All built to minimize environmental impact by co-locating equipment to minimize footprint, coordinating construction schedules to reduce waste and using IP-based technology to dramatically reduce cabling and infrastructure needs

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Over the past two months you may have noticed that my blogging activity has not had the usual frequency of at least one post every day or two. And during the past three weeks it really amounted to reporting on the launch of client In Store Solutions’ FREETALK Everyman headset. Have I lost interest in other activity in the IP-based communications space? Not really, there are times that mother nature issues disruptive  challenges and I have had more than my share of them over the past month.

About four weeks ago I came home in the late afternoon from an event only to hear the drip, drip, drip of water on a document on a table beside my desktop PC. Looked up to find a massive water stain in the ceiling of my office. Needless to say, I had to remove all the contents along that side of my office before the ceiling crashed in on my desktop PC and other contents related to my business activity. Within a day I was learning about “restoration” services companies; three huge blowers and a dehumidifier spent three days in my office drying out the drywall. As shown a section of the ceiling could not be saved. A pinhole leak had developed in the solder at an elbow joint after 25 years of holding the pressure (the office is under two bathrooms with lots of plumbing in the ceiling). Last week contractors were here for four days stripping wallpaper, patching the ceiling and painting the walls. Hopefully I should have all my office items restored (or sent to the garbage) within the next couple of days. And the best news: the expense was fully covered by insurance.

But just to complicate life – and, in the process, give me some material for comparing servicing of landline phone services – our return home from a five day trip a week ago Saturday night resulted in finding the security alarm operating when it should not have, both my Bell Canada business phone lines and my Rogers Home Phone line dead and no cable Internet connection operating. (It did not help that my iPhone battery died two minutes into my first service call to the alarm company with the alarm’s piercing sound probably doing infinite damage to my hearing; my BlackBerry Bold finally came to the rescue in calling the various services technical support operations.)

To cut to the chase, my home had been hit by a surge resulting from a very violent electrical storm (that included a couple of much more damaging tornados within 10 km) a week ago Thursday evening. I later found the need to replace a central vac electronic relay board, repair a garage door opener and replace a light timer. It took six days to get these services all restored with visits by various service personnel or to service operations. But I’ll also be publishing a story as to how infrastructure-associated servicing costs may kill Bell Canada’s PSTN operations. And I have to thank my ex-Bell Canada engineer neighbour for sorting out internal phone wiring issues.

Points to note:

1. In spite of having an APC UPS with surge protection for my Internet cable modem, router, 5-port switch and another device to be introduced later this week, only the WRT54GS wireless 4-port router survived.
2. On Sunday I obtained a new cable Internet modem at a Rogers store; as a result for the next three days, Skype was my only landline service available until the Home Phone service person arrived. And, more ironically, during the same period, Skype was the only service available to use on my dual mode (PSTN/Skype) Philips VoIP841 cordless phones. I still had e911 service available via my BlackBerry and iPhone.

Bottom line: now that my office has been restored and reorganized and my services are mostly restored, it’s time to get back to blogging regularly. So I have set a goal for this week to publish one post per day not only to discuss some news announcements and product reviews but also to comment on some industry issues that have arisen recently.

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It all started when I attended the June 2 Android launch on Rogers Wireless. During a scrum I had asked “Fringe” actor Joshua Jackson if he had made a call from Paris, France to his wife in Vancouver using Skype for Android (Skype Lite). Rogers Wireless CMO John Boynton interjected that Rogers allows all applications to run on their networks; the inability to run Skype was an issue that required Skype’s initiative to resolve (there’s a regulatory issue). Later during a demonstration of the Android when I had noticed the Skype Lite beta icon on one of the HTC Android phones, a Rogers marketing person volunteered that Rogers does not block any applications.

Fast forward to the Canadian Telecom Summit two weeks later when recently appointed Rogers CEO Nadir Mohamed made similar points about Rogers policy on network management during his leadoff keynote presentation. But it was during a Net Neutrality forum presentation the following day by Rogers Chief Strategy Office Mike Lee that we got to the meat of the topic; three of his slides articulate the story:

followed by:

followed by:

In his commentary, Mike pointed out that the focus of Rogers’ network management policy is on optimizing the behavior of the network such as to give customers the response they expect. Other points Mike made:

• In today’s world a service provider needs to deliver the best possible experience for the broadest range of customers.
• Rogers primary business is providing Internet access in a market that has a focus on speed and accessibility.
• Rogers is not in the business of managing applications or specific customer uses.
• Rogers’ traffic management is designed specifically so that Skype works well.
• The only throttling of traffic relates to p2p file sharing traffic (i.e. BitTorrent) to which a dedicated channel is assigned so that p2p traffic does not swamp the network and interfere with other customers’ access to the network.
• In response to query from the audience, Rogers only provides network management for their retail customers. Any MVNO using the Rogers backbone via a wholesale arrangement gets the “raw” Internet and must establish their own network management practices.

Mike’s presentation was followed by Skype’s Christopher Libertelli, Director of North American Government Relations, making Skype’s usual pitch supporting network neutrality. The final forum participant was Dave Caputo, CEO of Sandvine, a provider of network infrastructure software focused on improving the quality of customer experience. Dave’s main point was that an unmanaged network does not equate to network neutrality; however, Internet service providers have the most to gain from permitting the diversity that attracts the most customers.

In the end all three agreed that a focus on the customer experience, while managing the network only to the level of protecting the network’s integrity while achieving customer satisfaction, will make a sustainable win-win for both the network operator and the end user.

But the Rogers’ approach to network management really hit home when, the day after the forum, I found a post by Skype’s Director of EU Government Relations, Jean-Jacques Sahel, “’You touch my Skype, you touch my freedom of expression and communication’ – access to the Internet recognised as a fundamental human right (at last)” where it appears the European Parliament is at odds with individual European governments over net neutrality issues.

EU law should ensure that citizens can exercise their freedom of expression and communication and can benefit from Internet access that is open, taking into account the requirements expressed by users to make use of, and distribute, content, applications and services on the Internet. Access to Internet content, services and applications, as confirmed by the French Conseil Constitutionnel, is an explicit part of the fundamental rights of citizens to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference and regardless of frontiers. Additionally, unrestricted Internet access to content, services and applications is also a necessity for the preservation of the effectiveness of European and national policies designed to combat social exclusion, promote education, training, employment, etc.

Seems like some European carriers have not quite yet got the message being put forward by Rogers – these operators can’t quite deal with the gradual shift in power from the carrier to the consumer.

My own experience: When I am able to run SlingPlayer for BlackBerry over Rogers 3G service, whereas AT&T feels that this application would overload their network, I am getting the response I expect. When Skype video calling runs such that, on full screen mode, I feel the other party appears to be “across the desk” I am getting the response i expect. When Rogers is offering WiFi-based services that complement their 3G network service I get the response I expect (hello Verizon!).

Bottom line: Under new CEO Nadir Mohammed Rogers’ focus is on the customer experience as their ultimate sustainable advantage. Their network management practices address network integrity issues: spam, viruses, denial of service attacks and ensuring that p2p file sharing does not deprive others of their expected service level. They simply do not have the time nor resources to worry about “limiting” or manipulating access to Internet traffic based on applications or offerings.

Certainly there are still issues outstanding at Rogers with respect to, say, roaming charges and length of contracts. But, in response to my question to Nadir about roaming charges, he stated there is currently a disconnect when there is such a disparity between local and roaming “per MB” data charges. However, he continued by saying that this is an area that Rogers is reviewing. In fact, Alec Saunders found a “customer service fairy” when he called Rogers this past week in anticipation of a forthcoming trip to the U.S. On the other hand, Alec would like to see increased upload speeds for the coming flood of video applications. (DOCSIS 3.0, anyone?)

In summary, Rogers appears to be establishing a world-leading benchmark for adhering to application-agnostic net neutrality policies in practice; they are not simply mouthing the network neutrality message but also executing on it.

Footnotes:

• My thanks to Rogers CSO Mike Lee for providing me with a copy of slides used at his Net Neutrality forum presentation at the Canadian Telecom Summit.
• Rogers WiFi-based services include participation in the Canadian HotSpot Network and Rogers TalkSpotTM service that allows one to make voice calls via any WiFi access point in Canada for a fixed monthly fee.

(As for the issues Skype is facing with respect to offering SkypeIn, Skype To Go, Skype for iPhone and Skype for BlackBerry in Canada – that will be the subject of another post. But they are NOT Rogers issues.)

Full disclosure: the author is a full paying Rogers customer for all their services: wireless, cableTV, high speed Internet and Home Phone.

The past Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday I attended my first Canadian Telecom Summit – where Canadian telecom carrier and vendor executives have an opportunity to provide an overview of their goals and directions encompassing both recent accomplishments and future plans. Overall many of the speakers succeeded; however, there are still a few telecom executives who want to preach motherhood. The audience comprised a mix of participants in the Canadian telecom ecosystem including both national  and  independent carrier management personnel, telecom business consultants, regulatory body staff, financial analysts and service providers amongst others.

Some highlights:

Building out a national broadband infrastructure (wireless and wireline). While the country can be considered “covered” with broadband and 3G wireless access, there are a multitude of private companies who have invested several billion dollars to build this infrastructure. Bell Canada, Rogers, Telus and MTS Allstream are the major carrier players but there are several regional or local private operations providing backbone to vertical or regional markets, (Atria Networks, Hydro One Telecom and Internetworking-Atlantic are some examples.)

But doing the interconnect between these players, especially at the wholesale/retail interface, is governed by CRTC regulation. A “regulatory blockbuster” forum, encompassing the heads of government relations for four major carriers and a public policy advocate, brought out several of the issues and conflicts from the participants’ perspective. Multi-billions of dollars are being spent this year to build out fiber and wireless infrastructure. Shareholders want to see return on investment; business and consumer customers simply want value for their charges independent of how the connection is routed. CRTC personnel were in the audience but there was no indication as to whether they heard anything new.

Customer Expectations: Simply put, several of the presenters focused on the customer as the primary consideration and marketing target when it comes to developing services. Lots of talk about how the user experience is changing and will change with the range of new services available via mobile data/Internet. However, execution is the challenge.

From comments by various Rogers personnel related to Net Neutrality (separate post) through to the demonstration of user-friendly interfaces that aggregate local and cloud-based personalization of a mobile device the conference covered a range of end user issues. Both the Palm Pre and Comverse demonstrations provided specific examples of how such aggregation can work to the user’s benefit. Microsoft’s “Surface” table demonstration was pretty amazing but it can only become a consumer experience with a significant price drop from the stated $12,000.

It’s about bringing broadband speeds to mobile services: One common theme across most of the presentations was the exponential growth of user demand for mobile services across the data networks. RIM co-CEO Mike Lazardis used physics as the basis of his talk about the future need for more wireless data network capacity through not only additional spectrum but also scalable applications and, based on an inherent strength of BlackBerry devices since their introduction ten years ago, effective wireless data compression to reduce bandwidth demand.

Rogers Chief Strategy Officer Mike Lee pointed out that current investment in wireless and fiber infrastructure dwarfs all other investment in Canadian ICT combined. Four outcomes that I have experienced this year as a result of these investments: launch of their 7.2 Mbps HSPA wireless service reaching 75% of the Canadian population; fiber-to-the-node installed to my neighborhood cable head, 3G service to two central Canada resort areas which I frequent and, most importantly, a robust, stable 3G service compared to my AT&T 3G roaming experience.

The disconnect: However, I also felt a major disconnect with the emerging communications opportunities being discussed at conferences such as Lee Dryburgh’s eComm Conferences and Jeff Pulver’s recently launched HD Communications Summit. Innovative applications, communications enhanced business processes and the productivity benefits of HD Voice were amongst the subjects NOT discussed at Canadian Telecom Summit. Innovative yet profitably successful services such as Voxeo and Jaduka ride over the carrier networks. Yet the Canadian Telecom Summit was an opportunity missed; it had the audience that needs to hear these stories and to build awareness of the services required to facilitate sustainable revenue streams at the carrier level.

Friend Thomas Howe, CEO of Jaduka and more commonly known as Mr. Mashup, puts it succinctly in a recent post, The Sophomore Slump, concludes with:

My suggestion is simple: instead of putting out another solo album, today’s operators need to team up with other musicians. They need push out of their current ecosystem and into others, showing how voice and communications can make other applications better.

…….

The challenge? Operators need to step back from the spotlight, and give somebody else a turn at the microphone. Operators need to admit that they are not expert at anything other than real time communication. The most rational path is for the carriers to partner with others companies that bring other talents and values to the table, [rather] than to use what operators do best to extend their partner’s offerings.

Bottom line: Canada continues to lead the world in delivering communications over a large geography but with relatively small pockets of population. But, instead of hearing oft-stated platitudes about the need for increased business communications, let’s hear about specific examples where enhanced communications applications and services can deliver true productivity enhancements to the both enterprise operations and the end user while bringing significant benefits to our social communications.

Suggested reading: Thomas Howe’s various posts on The Jaduka Exchange – a primer on new telecom services in action. Especially relevant: Unified Communications? No, CEBP.

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Ok, so the term “Net Neutrality” has different interpretations for different people. Convergence of voice, Internet and broadcast media has created an entirely new set of stakeholders with divergent issues:

• Users: they would like to exploit the Internet for all its various features: email, web browsing, viewing videos, exchanging text messages (think IM, not SMS), voice and video conversations, remote viewing of their cable TV subscription (one-to-one), researching and booking travel, researching purchases, buying goods and services … the list goes on…
• Service Providers: basically they want to simply deliver the electrons in the form of data packets; they are not media mavens, do not care about content other than security issues. They are the extension of the copper wire, coaxial cable or fiber optic strands used to deliver the content but they are not and do not want to be content producers (other than portals that help users set up and use their services).
• Content producers: fundamentally these are the talents that produce content who hope they can draw an audience. They want to be rewarded and compensated for their efforts and deserve to be at the artist, author or director level. Their traditional business models are breaking down but, in many instances, they do not have the leadership or enthusiasm to figure out the new business models for generating revenues.
• Commercial enterprises want to promote and sell their goods and services. e-Commerce is growing, especially when it comes to travel, memberships, books, legacy catalogue operations and long tail goods and services.

A recipe for conflict. Even though the legacy voice carriers never concerned themselves with the spoken words (content) of a conversation, convergence of infrastructure and content, resulting from the potential of IP-based communications technology, has been muddying up the waters when it comes to considerations of what content is delivered over the Internet. And, of course, they need additional revenue streams as they see their previous business models and associated revenues evaporate.

“Net Neutrality” has become the modern equivalent of separation of church and state; the debate centers around separation of ‘”pipes” (copper or fiber) and content. As with our gas utilities in Ontario, give us the “last mile” pipes into our homes and negotiate/deal separately for whose “gas” will be delivered through those pipes.

The Stockholm “structural bypass” model, as described by Brough Turner at eComm 2009, demonstrates “a simple proven path to ‘Real Broadband’” : 1.2 million kilometers of “dark” fiber around the city as a public utility with a low cost ($11 per month) for 100 Mbps connectivity complemented by over 300 service providers delivering content (or “lighting up” the fiber). Separation of pipes and content – one concept of “net neutrality”.

Politics and incumbent interests have presented challenges in the U.S. and Canadian markets. However, we’re starting to see some seeds being sown that hopefully will build a base of support for some level of “structural bypass”:

• US: appointment of Blair Levin, a veteran of telecomm regulation, to help coordinate the FCC’s national broadband plan. Phil Wolff at Skype Journal comments in his post, King of Broadband:
  

  Astoundingly great, ubiquitous, pervasive, cheap, uncensored, clean, accessible, fair and market-driven broadband might be possible with a national plan. A former commissioner, Levin understands the deeper tech, social, economic and political forces at play, and the players. Skype’s Chris Libertelli told FierceVoIP last year that “Levin would make an excellent FCC chairman.” (He didn’t get the job.) Blair’s a nice guy who knows the lyrics to Winnie the Pooh songs.

• Canada: at the Rogers Android launch last week I picked up vibrations that Rogers is doing and will do nothing to impede the evolution of services such as Skype onto their network. At this point, in response to my “scrum” question about Skype on Android phones sold by Rogers, Rogers Wireless CMO John Boynton stated that “it’s a Skype issue”. Further investigation has found that it is a matter of Skype establishing a business relationship with a carrier, not only to obtain Canadian numbers but also to establish the relevant physical interfaces into various Canadian PSTN carriers. It was made clear to me later by another Rogers marketing person that Rogers will do nothing to inhibit any services (as long as they do not impair their ability to deliver a quality service). And certainly they have made no issue of their customers using SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry over their network. (Walked the BlackBerry two evenings ago watching a Stanley Cup Finals game while on the dog’s evening stroll.)
• Canada: The Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC – the Canadian version of FCC) recently decided to continue its policy of not regulating “broadcast content” delivered via the Internet or mobile phones. This is a classic case of the conflict created by the differing interests of service providers and content producers. From the Ars Technica post linked above:
  

  Internet broadcasting has had a special regulatory exemption since 1999, but some cultural groups and content creators argued that it was time to apply the same standards that govern TV to Internet broadcasting. ISPs were totally opposed to the plan, which would in some ways regulate them like traditional broadcasters.

• On the same issue, The Globe and Mail quotes CRTC Chair Konrad van Finckenstein:
  

  “We do not believe that regulatory intervention is necessary at this time,” CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said in a statement. “We found that the Internet and mobile services are acting in a complementary fashion to the traditional broadcasting system. Any intervention on our part would only get in the way of innovation.”

• Canada: Southern and eastern Ontario is seeing growth of several fiber optic initiatives where the focus is simply on building “last mile” fiber connectivity without regard to content:
  • Fifteen independent rural carries in southwestern Ontario are installing fiber-to-the home that will eventually reach even farms within two years.
  • Atria Networks has become a major supplier of fiber optic and wireless services to regions and counties surrounding the Greater Toronto Area as well as in the Ottawa region. School boards, government agencies and enterprises (including RIM) are users of what, in some cases, are multi-Gpbs services. At a press event last month Atria made a point about getting fiber to the end points for use as the customer sees appropriate for their operating needs with no limitations other than ensuring network security and operating integrity (as defined by an Acceptable Use Policy).
  • Cogeco, a major cable TV and Internet service provider across Ontario and Quebec, recently acquired Toronto Telecomm’s fiber assets within the Greater Toronto Area and established a separate business unit, Cogeco Data Services with plans for continued expansion of their high speed fiber services in the GTA.

Small signals in a world fraught not only with business issues but political agendas as well. These moves are a start but until, as we did with other utilities in past history, we can figure out a “Structural Bypass” model, there will always be challenges to obtaining “Net Neutrality” in terms of separating the “pipes” from the content.

It will be an interesting forum next week at the Canadian Telecom Summit when Skype’s Christopher Libertelli, Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs – Americas participates on a “Net Neutrality” panel along with Rogers’ Chief Strategy Officer, Mike Lee, and Dave Caputo, CEO of an infrastructure engineering company that attempts to ensure and improve quality of service, Sandvine.

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Yesterday Rogers launched the first Android phones available in Canada with two devices: the HTC Magic (touch screen only) and HTC Dream (touchscreen and slide-out keyboard). Rogers is the first carrier worldwide offering both these devices and also the first North American carrier to offer the HTC Magic.

Over two years ago, in a post Precursor to GPhone? On My Blackberry?, I had predicted any Google-powered phone would include all the Google features found on the BlackBerry (or iPhone).  In this regard today’s demonstration and presentation did not disappoint. Search, Maps with Latitude, GTalk, GMail, News, Google Docs, Sync, Calendar, were all included in the demonstration with the same Google features as found on any BlackBerry or iPhone. However, there were some differentiating features:

• both phones run on Rogers recently launched 3.5G 7.2 Mbps HSPA network, which Rogers claims to approach broadband DSL speeds and to be 3x faster than any other Canadian wireless data network
• there are over 3,200 applications available in the Android Market. Currently these applications are free; however, Google is expected to add a payment system in a few months.
• both phones have a touchscreen with haptic keyboard which, on a brief trial, was definitely impressive (the Dream also has a physical slide-out keyboard)

A few comments:

• While the Skype Lite beta client was seen on the demonstration devices, it does not work at the moment on Rogers. See my upcoming post about Rogers’ position on supporting Skype for more details; suffice it to say it is a Skype issue that needs to be addressed at this point.
• They are currently targeting the consumer market. With a launch involving “Fringe” actor Joshua Jackson (a native Canadian), the entire presentation centered on drawing attention through his promotional tour of the past few days.
• Pricing for these devices are C$149 when purchased with a three year plan. The voice and data plans are the same pricing as for BlackBerry and iPhone but with an one month introductory offering of C$30 for 6GB data usage per month. Interestingly, according to a salesperson in the Rogers Retail Store at their headquarters, the same offer is being made for iPhone purchases during June.
• Rogers continues to demonstrate an ability to outperform AT&T in the U.S. when it comes to fully supporting 3G, and now 3.5G, networks.
• In Om Malik’s post today, With 2M Downloads, Where Is Right on Track, it appears that ”Where” is the most popular Android application. However, for Rogers’ customers the question would be the extent of the Canadian content in this application.
• Yesterday T-Mobile USA’s CTO reported that over 1 million G1 phones have been sold in the U.S. over the first six months in the market. According to mocoNews.net, it appears that T-Mobile USA is going ahead with new Android models and forsaking Nokia’s new N97 offering:
  

  [CTO] Brodman said they are not very interested in Nokia’s flagship N97 device, which hits the market this month. Brodman: “Some of the Nokia/Symbian devices have a lot of functionality, but they are quite expensive and Symbian does not have a lot of traction in the U.S. While Nokia (NYSE: NOK) is a strong partner, we haven’t had a lot of demand for N-series products to date.”

Bottom line: Android opens up new user choices in the Canadian consumer smartphone market. Frankly, the key attraction and differentiator will be the variety of applications available on Android Market along with the overall touchscreen user experience. As a representative application, at yesterday’s launch they mentioned Savvy Shopper that allows price comparisons, using the camera as a bar code reader, for any product in their database.

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We all know that Skype for iPhone currently requires that you be at a WiFi access point in order to make a Skype call from the iPhone, even though it supports 3G data. So, when highly respected technology reporter Larry Magid, attending today’s D:AllThingsDigital conference, sends out the Tweet, shown to the right, quoting AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, many questions arise:

• Has AT&T heard that Skype really provides communications software? I think that is the message that Skype President Josh Silverman has been trying to deliver when he states, “software will drive the future of real time communications innovation and efficiencies going forward, not the existing telcos”
• Is failure to allow Skype for iPhone to run over AT&T’s 3G network a tacit admission that AT&T continues to suffer from 3G data network capacity and quality issues? Once again my most recent trip roaming on AT&T in Chicago four weeks ago demonstrated nothing to say service availability and robustness has improved over my previous experiences in PA, WV, VA, NC, SC, CA and NV.
• Is AT&T’s response to SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone (or BlackBerry) one more challenge to, or subtle admission of, AT&T’s network quality and robustness issues. Is the following statement a cover-up for their failings:
  

  “Slingbox, which would use large amounts of wireless network capacity, could create congestion and potentially prevent other customers from using the network,” an AT&T representative said in e-mail to reporters. “The application does not run on our 3G wireless network. Applications like this, which redirect a TV signal to a personal computer, are specifically prohibited under our terms of service.”

I would invite Mr. Stephenson to Canada where I can demonstrate Rogers’ high quality 3G GSM data network that:

• has robust and reliable 3G data coverage in not only major population areas but also all our major tourist and recreation areas (Whistler, Central Ontario, Tremblant, etc.)
• is always there when I expect it
• has no issue with using SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry (and has made no issue with SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone either)
• Rogers is offering its Rocket Stick mobile data service over its  7.2Mbps 3.5G HSPA network, placing additional demand on their network capacity.

Bottom Line: Sorry, Randall, but AT&T has a long way to go to show that they understand the real potential of, and that they’re serious about, their mobile business.

For more amusement check out John Paczkowski’s report on Walt Mossberg’s Q&A with Randall Stephenson at D7.

Update: Om Malik reports this afternoon at GigaOm: AT&T Moves Up Its LTE Rollout, Admits To Network Issues. Seems that AT&T is finally admitting they have some issues to address.

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Note: this post has been modified and updated to reflect clarifications of issues from Skype PR.

I woke up this morning to find this message on Phil’s Skype Journal post announcing the download availability of Skype for iPhone but with one caveat:

“THIS APPLICATION IS NOT AVAILABLE IN CANADA AND THE USER WARRANTS THAT THEY CANNOT DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION FROM CANADA.”

I can accept that some iPhone applications are not available in Canada for copyright reasons (in fact, the iTunes launch in Canada was held up for a year or so while addressing copyright issues); however, my initial skepticism centered on two issues that could be holding this up in Canada.

• Rogers, who is the only Canadian carrier with both iPhone and GSM BlackBerry, offers a Talkspot service @ $20 per month where users of supported UMA equipped BlackBerry 8×20 devices and the 8900 Curve can make calls from a Canadian location via a WiFi connection. Update: However, this is NOT the case as supported by a statement in Matt Hartley’s Globe and  Mail story this morning: “Rogers, which is the exclusive Canadian carrier for the iPhone, said it would not seek to block its customers from using the service.”
• The 911 issue: Canadian Skype Online (formerly SkypeIn) numbers are still not available in Canada due to the need to have a 911 service associated with any number. However, this is only a requirement for DID-types of services over regulated carriers. Skype for iPhone only operates over WiFi connections which are unregulated in Canada.

This morning I have had call requests from not only the U.S. but also Malaysia and observed that some Voice On The Web Public Chat participants in the U.K. are now testing it. So it appears to be available elsewhere worldwide.

However, thanks to an enquiry from the CBC to Skype PR we have an answer:

Chaim Haas, a public relations representative acting on behalf of Skype, said the application is available in every country in which the iPhone is on sale and in which Apple has an iTunes Store — with the exception of Canada.

Haas said this is because of patent-license restrictions but would not elaborate except to specify that it is a patent issue related to Skype, not Apple.

Update: in response to my enquiry to Chaim early this morning I received word that the patent-licensing issues are “codec-related”. Tom Keating reports this also on TMC’s VoIP and Gadgets blog.

Update #2: When I asked at Skype’s CTIA press conference Tuesday afternoon for a clarification of the Canadian situation, Skype COO Scott Durchslag responded that Skype is trying to clarify an “ambiguity” re the G729 codec license in Canada. He did say they hope to have this resolved “soon”.

Skype also announced Skype Lite for BlackBerry beta will be available in May. Further on in the CBC post there is mention of a limitation for Canadians that relates to Canadian 911 requirements:

The Skype application for BlackBerry will be available wherever the devices are supported, said Haas, but only customers in select countries — including the U.S. and the United Kingdom but not Canada — will be able to use the Skype Out or Skype-to-Skype services to make outgoing calls.

Canadian Blackberry users will only be able to use the version of the application for instant messaging and to receive calls from Skype users.

Canadian Skype customers, including those using the application from desktop computers, are already unable to use Skype’s “Skype In” service, which allows users to receive calls from landlines and mobile devices, because CRTC regulations require phone service operators to offer enhanced 911, which allows the operator to find the location of a caller.

In the meantime, for Canadians, here are some ways to access Skype via WiFi or carrier:

• iSkoot on BlackBerry – carrier for voice, WiFi or carrier for data – my first choice at the moment
• IM+ for Skype (iPhone, iPod Touch and BlackBerry versions) – same comment as for iSkoot – definitely my second choice
• Truphone: but may have call quality issues
• Nimbuzz: have not successfully completed a call; also issues with how they handle chat
• Fring: again call quality issues.

So the current question is: when will the “Canadian” version of Skype for iPhone become available? With chat being 90% of my Skype activity and being able to place Skype calls, when required, in other ways, it’s the “group and public chat” issue described by Dan York that I would most appreciate.

And what Canadian has a Canadian patent application or patent that is holding up full Skype access to the rest of his/her countrymen?

Related posts:

• Alec Saunders, Saunderslog: No Skype on iPhone for Canadians
• Mark Evans, Mark Evans Tech: Tired of Being a Digital Peasant!

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Having just come out from behind the rocks of West Virginia and spent all yesterday traveling, I arrived home to find that it has been confirmed that Skype will be launching an application on the iPhone tomorrow. The major point coming out of the announcement, aside from the conversation feature set, is that Skype for iPhone will require WiFi access to the Internet. A masterful stroke on Skype’s part, especially after my experience over the past ten days that involved 3200 km of driving, mostly on U.S. Interstates, and nine nights of lodging. Some key bullets to back this up:

• AT&T is just not a reliable 3G wireless network – full stop. I have reported on this previously involving trips to California and Nevada; Om confirmed it recently when he switched from iPhone and BlackBerry Bold on AT&T to Blackberry 8900 Curve on T-Mobile.
• When the best I can find is one bar (and not always) at a major tourist destination with over 2 million visitors per year, Skype could not rely on AT&T to deliver anything close to the current experience Skype and iSkoot are having on the 3 networks in nine countries.
• T-Mobile actually had more bars than AT&T on Hilton Head Island but only two at best; of course an iPhone will not work over T-Mobile.
• AT&T coverage along the Interstates varied from zero to full 3G, but with the latter only near major cities (as to be expected). It was the intermittent 2G/EDGE coverage along the Interstates that was very frustrating. (I can drive along Ontario’s major freeways with no service interruptions, whether 2G or 3G.)
• WiFi access points are becoming pervasive. Every hotel along the route was advertising high speed Internet connectivity (usually WiFi); most restaurants also had WiFi access, including one at a New York State Thruway rest stop. Our primary lodging had individual access points for each unit.
• I used my Boingo account at one overnight hotel for access without a hotel WiFi charge.

My WiFi experiences during the week (all at no additional cost):

• the major connection for both my Windows laptop and MacBook at our accommodation
• Making Skype video and voice calls from the Mac Book
• Downloading and installing the final release of SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry
• Updating iPhone applications
• Following an NHL hockey game of interest via SlingPlayer on my BlackBerry Bold using my NHL Center Ice cable subscription
• Making Skype calls and PSTN calls via Truphone for iPhone (but with echo cancellation issues on the Skype call and termination issues when calling the PSTN).
• With Boingo, avoiding additional WiFi charges at one of our overnight stops during the trip down.

Not only did WiFi make these applications possible; there were no (Rogers) roaming charges for a Canadian traveling in the U.S. At $6/MB (and when I had an AT&T signal), I limited my use on wireless GSM networks to checking GMail headers, following Twitter via SocialScope and, during our trip home, finalizing a hotel reservation as we neared our overnight destination (and this exercise involved waiting for coverage at some points as we traveled along the I-79 through West Virginia’s mountains).

Boingo will be a major benefactor of this trend; their relationships with major hotel chains, airports and restaurants contribute to this trend and provide an account that minimizes charges. Having clients on Macs, Windows PC’s, Nokia smartphones and, currently in alpha phase, BlackBerry again improves the user experience making the technology transparent to the calling protocol.

One difficulty continues with WiFi: access at high usage locations such as conventions where capacity limitations come into play.  Ultimately it reinforces that WiFi still needs to address scalability issues.

Bottom line: WiFi is stealthing its way significantly into the wireless picture for fixed point access to the Internet by road warriors. Of course its speed and robustness features are additional benefits.

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• Skype is Coming to the iPhone. For Real. (mashable.com)
• BlackBerry to Get Skype Action; iPhone Skype Confirmed (jkontherun.com)

Skype today published data from a recent Zobgy survey that, aside from demonstrating smartphone users’ desire to control their own phone configuration, demonstrates that a significant majority of users in the four countries surveyed (U.S., U.K., Japan and Spain) simply are still not perceiving the potential for a mobile phone handset to be considered as having additional use beyond simply making voice calls.

While I am receiving feedback from acquaintances who are saying their BlackBerry Bold or 8900 Curve has become their mobile computer (reinforcing my own experience) the survey results conclude:

• over 62% of the survey respondents do not perceive their mobile device as an extension of their computer.
• Over 70% have never downloaded an application to their mobile phone.

What this survey really says is that awareness of the smartphone as a mobile computing device is still quite weak amongst the general public, especially in North America. Secondary to this finding are the results showing:

• Only 23% feel that they have more or the same level of control over their mobile device as they have over their computer.
• 67% want to be able to choose their mobile applications for themselves, rather than have their carriers choose for them.

Of course consumers want choice; the real issue here becomes the legacy microcomputer user issue of balancing:

• how much guidance does a vendor (carrier, PC manufacturer, smartphone vendor) provide driving users to “supported” or “authorized” applications against
• how aware is the consumer that they can actually have “freedom to choose” when it comes to not only smartphone applications but also personal computing applications.

The major difference from the early Windows 95 days of wanting to be on the Windows desktop and wanting to be immediately available on a smartphone is that the carrier, not the operating system developer, approves the user interface and smartphone configuration that is available on purchase of the computing device.

We have since seen the disappearance of “pre-configured” Windows desktop applications (how many PC’s have I installed over the past 15 years where I removed the AOL application?) with more practices such as the Dell Vostro line of business PC’s providing a minimal number of pre-installed desktop applications supporting use of the PC itself and no third party applications. It has become the responsibility of  the individual third party developers to generate market awareness and adoption on a PC platform.

The Apple iPhone started this trend within the smartphone consumer market. A basic iPhone has the necessary applications to use the phone for voice calls and text messaging along with a minimal number of third party applications such as Google Maps and Facebook. From this starting point, the user can then use the iPhone App store to choose applications that find the nearest Starbucks, tell you when the next TTC streetcar is coming, deliver the Toronto Globe and Mail or turn your iPhone into a musical instrument. No carrier control, no carrier revenue; over 20,000 applications available.

When looking at the BlackBerry, one again finds that it comes with a set of basic applications that support communications, either voice or text (including several IM applications). Users have long been able to add applications either via stores such as Handango with 1800 applications for the Bold, Crackberry App Store or a wide range of enterprise-specific applications. Today my BlackBerry can follow Twitter and Facebook via SocialScope, deliver my cable TV service to the device anywhere worldwide, make Skype calls via iSkoot or IM+ for Skype, follow the news on NY Times, Wall Street Journal or CNN (Globe and Mail, where are you?), stream video to the Internet (Qik) and use any Google service (Maps, News, Reader, Search, Sync, etc.).

The ability to download user-selected applications is here (certainly on my Rogers Wireless service). The real issue is that North Americans need to be made more aware of the potential of a smartphone to deliver value-added services and information. Only at that point will there be sufficient pent-up consumer demand to “free up the smartphone” from today’s level of carrier control.

According to the report the Spanish and Japanese “get it”; probably other European countries where the level of  carrier control of applications is much less than in North America also get it. The survey found almost twice as many Spanish have downloaded applications and perceive their mobile devices as an extension of their computing experience. When the awareness is there, the demand for user freedom to choose their applications and smartphone configuration will arise.

The bottom line:

• General awareness of mobile smartphones as more than a voice calling device still needs to be promoted heavily by both application developers and smartphone vendors
• Users perceive that they would want to have control over their smartphone applications if they know there is an huge range of non-telephony applications available.
• the younger generation will drive adoption through their personal social networks, in turn, making older generations aware of what can be done with a smartphone.
• Developers still need to market their applications, emphasizing the user experience, beyond simply having them available on the iPhone App Store or BlackBerry App World.

All it takes is for an individual to find one Starbucks, watch one television program remotely, see a live video of the grandchildren, read one time sensitive news report, have one business success story or make a free international Skype call via iSkoot or other Skype-enabled application to drive awareness amongst a broader public. In the end it’s all about demonstrating the satisfaction that results from an engaging user experience to build the necessary awareness.

Om Malik says “As Mobile Data Grows, People Want Wireless Carriers To Buzz Off”.

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• Unauthorized iPhone app stores emerging (buddymob.blogspot.com)
• Why Facebook’s Future Is Mobile (gigaom.com)
• BlackBerry App Store Clone Pushes $3 Minimum (iphonesavior.com)

The U.S. cell phone industry is asking its customers to only text during the inauguration ceremonies tomorrow. From the New York Times:

The largest cellphone carriers, fearful that a communicative citizenry will overwhelm their networks, have taken the unusual step of asking people to limit their phone calls and to delay sending photos. The carriers are also spending millions of dollars to temporarily and substantially upgrade their networks in Washington.

And the article goes on to request that customers delay sending photographs; they warn of delayed text messages and difficulty getting onto the (mobile) Internet.

But then all weekend I have heard CNN wanting to try out some “new technology” asking that as many of their “viewers” as possible send in photographs of “The Moment”. so that they can do a mass (Microsoft) Photosynth montage. Is this a recipe for Atlantic seaboard wireless network meltdown at noon Tuesday (EST or GMT-5)?

James Kendrick talks about his problems in San Francisco with AT&T; I experienced similar problems roaming on AT&T in Las Vegas at CES 2009 and in California back in September. At CES this was resolved only by setting my BlackBerry Bold to use just the “2G” network on the advice of an employee of a company who really would know; that tip resulted in a more stable and reliable operation. For those U.S. friends who want to experience a robust, reliable 3G GSM/HSDPA network, I invite you to move to Canada to be on Rogers. Rates may be a bit higher, but it’s always there, robust and reliable, in the advertised regions. Best proof: handling SlingPlayer for BlackBerry when driving along the 401 freeway at 100 km/hour.

Finally, first test of Barack Obama’s ability to change the U.S. government bureaucracy? His ability (and his resolve) to keep at least one of his two BlackBerries. And to save embarrassment when he next drops his BlackBerry, I would have to recommend an Otterbox Defender case.