Telecom Junkies

The FCC has wrestled with inter-carrier compensation reform – the payment carriers make to each other – for years, and some insiders thought 2011 would be a breakthrough year that finally delivered real reform. The payoff for enterprises is lower rates for dedicated pipes and maybe even reductions in soaring USF fees. Join veteran FCC watcher Andy Regitsky of Regitsky & Associates and CCMI President George David as they detail the political and economic realities that likely push real budget relief for enterprises out by years.

Wide spread adoption of recommended E911 standards – despite everyone's "good intentions" – has been an elusive goal. Now, in an industry first, the Michigan PUC has initiated a proceeding that would make penalties for MLTS E911 noncompliance mandatory. Listen in as Mark Fletcher, Avaya's E911 Product Manager, and Voice Report Publisher George David discuss the prospects of the Michigan initiative, and as importantly, the precedent it may set for the rest of the nation.

You can't read the trade press these days without seeing ominous headlines about the recently announced "exhaustion" of IPv4 internet addresses and the imperative to adopt the new IPv6 number format. But is IPv4 exhaustion really an urgent problem for enterprises? Marc Lindsey, partner at the Washington, DC law firm, Levine, Blaszak, Block & Boothby thinks not ... and he shares his reasons why in this spirited discussion with Voice Report Publisher, George David.

You can't read the trade press these days without seeing ominous headlines about the recently announced "exhaustion" of IPv4 internet addresses and the imperative to adopt the new IPv6 number format. But is IPv4 exhaustion really an urgent problem for enterprises? Marc Lindsey, partner at the Washington, DC law firm, Levine, Blaszak, Block & Boothby thinks not ... and he shares his reasons why in this spirited discussion with Voice Report Publisher, George David.

E911 issues for MLTS PBXs have been largely resolved from a technical and economic perspective. But enterprise customers still face a number of challenges when dealing with E911. Join Andrew Brown, Partner at Levine, Blaszak, Block & Boothby, LLP and Voice Report publisher George David as they follow up on a recent Voice Report article (http://www.thevoicereport.com/2010-12-03/E911-MLTS) with a lively discussion on three E911 hot buttons that you need to follow in 2011: SIP trunking and the mobile workforce, the growing patchwork of state E911 legislation, and network service contracts that shift some E911 obligations from the carrier to you.

As enterprise spending on communications services changes, successful Telecom Expense Management (TEM) programs must adapt from a narrow focus on wireline service to a much broader range of communications services. Join Joe Basili, Managing Director of the Telecom Expense Management Industry Association (TEMIA) and CCMI President George David as they reveal the results TEMIA’s recent survey on 2011 and explain what that means for TEM users – and vendors – as they wrestle with booming mobile data use and the demands of international TEM.

Sprint's 4G rollout – with partner Clearwire – is generating some buzz, and not all of it good. Capex hungry Clearwire needed to make an 11th hour financial move to sustain its 4G momentum, but the move calls into question whether an increasingly "all wireless" Sprint is still a contender in the enterprise network service marketplace. Listen in as TechCaliber Senior Consultants David Rohde and John Smith work through the issue with CCMI President Georg David in this insightful Telecom Junkies episode.

Booming adoption of smartphones and ever faster upgrade cycles mean enterprises are challenged to handle old devices in a secure and environmentally conscious way. NextFone principal Suman Dutta joins CCMI President George David and discusses a solution that meets this challenge AND puts much needed dollars (mobile devices have an average resale value of $20!) in the hands of charitable organizations. Listen in for the powerful story.

International internet traffic volumes continue to skyrocket. That's the thrust of a just-released TeleGeography research report, Global Internet Geography. But if you dig deep there's good news for enterprise users in the research as well. Join TeleGeography's Research Director Alan Mauldin, and CCMI President George David for a look into the research numbers and what they mean for end users (HINT: Keep your eye on utilization rates).

E911 legislation has been on a slow track in just about all of the states, but a recent California PUC workshop offers hope of faster movement. Listen in as Avaya's E911 Product Manager, Mark Fletcher, and CCMI President George David, review the riveting workshop testimony of E911 mishaps and take a look at the prospects – spurred on the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) – for more comprehensive action from Congress or the FCC.

4G networks require multi-billion dollar capital investments ... and that raises two big questions. First, can anyone other than Verizon and AT&T play that game? And second, as 4G drains off most of the dollars, what are the implications for carrier investments (and innovation) in classic enterprise wireline services? Listen in as CCMI President George David puts these questions in front of TechCaliber Senior Consultant David Rohde – you'll hear some surprising answers!

IPVPN service is the de facto standard for just about all enterprises... but now, providers worldwide are ramping up the throughput of enterprise WANs with a new twist, VPLS, Virtual Private LAN Service. Join Telegeography Senior Analyst, Greg Byan, and CCMI president, George David, for an intriguing look at how VPLS – using Ethernet as the "secret sauce" – offers lower costs and better performance especially for data intensive apps. And here's the best news, VLPS works with existing IPVPN architecture!

Twenty seven states – and counting – now have distracted driving laws on the books, and that means your company has increased liability from employees who use their cell phones while driving. Listen in as Matt Howard, founder of ZoomSafer, and CCMI president George David, talk through the issue of distracted driving and the steps you should consider to limit your liability. One tidbit ... a distracted driver suit cost one firm over $5M, even though they had a written policy about it!

The consumerization of mobility has complicated your job, as you're faced with a mix of corporate- and individual-liable devices. Get analysis of best practices in this episode, featuring TAG's David Schofield and the Enterprise Mobility Foundation's Philippe Winthrop. Voice Report's Jessica Gdowski signs off.

Hear how three Nortel and Avaya user groups will merge to form the International Avaya Users Group. This episode features IAUG President Paula Brown-Hackett and is hosted by Voice Report's Jessica Gdowski.