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Technology Stocks : Voice-on-the-net (VON), VoIP, Internet (IP) Telephony -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scott C. Lemon who wrote (696)	6/6/1998 9:43:00 AM
From: Crash	Respond to of 3178

Scott, Some very interesting concepts you've tossed in the ring this week. I am currently working in the area of wireless/VoIP/circuit-switched convergence as I also see this as the brass ring all the players are attempting to reach. I believe one of the largest obstacles is the issue of mobility in this type of converged environment and the business issues that are illuminated when attempting to process these types of calls in the back office. The One Rate Plan is an excellent example of an early attempt to "emulate" this type of product offering but if you read the fine print, the coverage provided under this rate is severely limited. When roaming into an area not providing Digital PCS, your rates will more than double for all calls which suggests that you consider your own mobility needs before making the plunge. Additionally, if you read between the lines of this offering, it tells me that T Mgmt. is determined to effectively compete against other providers based on price. This is not necessarily bad as long as your cost structure is reduced along with meeting your targets of increased call volumes. The downside is that this approach is riskier as the entire structure fails if any of the targets or goals are not met. To Lawrence's point, it does serve to move subscribers away from the AMPS standard into the digital realm where convergence with other technologies will be easier from a back office perspective. I still believe that a solution that addresses aspects of both digital and analog wireless interfaces will be required in order to provide the industry with a ubiquitous solution to mobility until analog access devices are no longer accommodated in the subscriber base. Frank also makes an interesting point in his posting concerning device vs. user location as it pertains to mobility. While it would be a better solution to locate mobile users at any physical address location, the technical/business/privacy issues this raises will probably not be resolved in the near future. Converging the current environment of device network registration for mobility is the best short term solution IMHO. Regards, Crash