Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1816)	11/10/1998 7:46:00 AM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Respond to of 3178

I remember the articles a few years ago that stated ISPs then would be long gone, the 4600plus would be narrowed to less than 1500. I couldn't figure out why that statement made sense and still don't. But the thought of not having a great partner heading into the Telephony-Game Internationally, should be even scarrier! ICG Netcom & VIP Calling Join Forces to Provide Global Internet Telephony Service; Partnership Forms Complete, End-to-End Cisco-based Internet Telephony Network Solution for Global Telecommunications November 10, 1998 ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE) Nov. 9, 1998--Integrated communications provider (ICP) ICG Netcom and VIP Calling, Inc., the leading wholesale provider of international Internet telephony services today announced an agreement that will significantly enlarge each company's global Internet Protocol (IP) telephony presence. Using scaleable end-to-end Cisco products in the backbone and VoIP gateways, the partnership combines the forces of both companies to offer customers global, high-quality calling, beginning this month. Because both companies have compatible Cisco equipment, this new alliance will enable VIP Calling to terminate incoming international minutes in the United States on the ICG Netcom IP network, and ICG Netcom to terminate out-going international minutes on the VIP Calling Network, including Europe and the Pacific Rim. As the leading international, wholesale Internet telephone service provider (ITSP), VIP Calling traffics substantial carrier minutes between North America and its points of presence overseas. ICG Netcom currently focuses its IP long distance service exclusively in the United States. "Using strategic alliances to expand our capabilities amplifies the reach of our IP long distance service," said J. Shelby Bryan, president and CEO of ICG Netcom. "The biggest winners in this agreement are the customers of both companies who gain a global calling area that still has the savings of IP. " "Until now, incoming calls on the VIP Calling Network had to be terminated onto the public switched networks in order to reach destinations within the United States. These calls now can be exchanged between VIP Calling and ICG Netcom." said Ofer Gneezy, VIP Calling's president and CEO. "This alliance expands the VIP Calling footprint into the United States while still enabling us to focus on what we do best: international voice and fax service over the Internet." "We are very excited to see two of our leading partners merging their Cisco-powered networks to create a robust, scaleable, wholesale IP telecommunications solution for carriers around the world," said Kevin Kennedy, executive vice president and general manager of the Network-to-User Business Unit at Cisco Systems. "We are certain that this cooperative worldwide solution will be able to keep pace with the growing demand to move more and more voice and fax traffic onto the Internet." About ICG Netcom ICG Netcom is the brand name for products and services from ICG Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ICGX) and ICG's subsidiary, NETCOM On-Line Communication Services, Inc. The combined entity is a leading integrated communications provider (ICP) offering high-quality telecommunications services. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., ICG has extensive switched fiber-optic networks and offers local, long distance and enhanced telephony and data services in California, Colorado, the Ohio Valley and parts of the southeastern United States. The company provides Internet communication solutions, connectivity and Web site hosting to individuals and to small- and medium-sized businesses through its subsidiary, NETCOM On-Line Communication Services, Inc. ICG also is a leading designer and installer of copper, fiber and wireless infrastructure for buildings and campuses. Further information is available on ICG's Web site located at icgcomm.com. About VIP Calling VIP Calling, Inc., based in Burlington, Mass., is a leading facilities-based carrier utilizing the Internet to provide wholesale international telecommunication services. Founded in 1996, the company has leveraged its engineering and telecommunications expertise to deploy the VIP Calling Network, a state-of-the-art IP telephony network providing PSTN-level quality. The VIP Calling Network has gateway and switching facilities in New York and Los Angeles, a Network Operations Center in Burlington, Mass., and high capacity points of presence (POP) in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and South America. VIP Calling enables carriers, prepaid card operators and telephony resellers to reduce costs and increase profit margins. The company can be reached at 781-229-0011 or at vipcalling.com. Cisco, Cisco IOS, Cisco Systems and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the U.S., Canada and other countries. VIP Calling, VIP Calling Network and Assured Quality Routing are registered trademarks of VIP Calling, Inc. All other brand names and trademarks mentioned in this document are properties of their respective owners.

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1816)	11/10/1998 8:33:00 AM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3178

CTI News> Save your @ss feature> <gg> E-mail lifesaver or in-box invasion? November 10, 1998 Network World "Unsend! Unsend! Unsend!" You've probably seen the TV commercial in which two co-workers fed up with their lousy laptops fire off a flaming e-mail to the boss , only to learn seconds later that he has already ordered them new machines. A frantic, futile search for the "unsend" button ensues . In real life, some e-mail products - Novell GroupWise and Microsoft Outlook, for example - let users "unsend" or retract a message. However, the message needs to have been sent within the company to another user of that same software and cannot already have been read. Novell officials call this option the "save your job feature," and they insist customers love it. On the other hand, market leader Lotus does not support retraction capabilities in Notes and has no plans to do so even when Version 5.0 ships later this year. Although some customers have recently expressed interest in the capability, Lotus says most consider the feature a low priority, or worse, an administrative headache that customers would rather not introduce into their networks. Amid the differing vendor approaches and customer opinions lies this question: At what point does possession of an e-mail message tr ansfer from a sender to a recipient? "We have had a lot of conversations over the last 10 years about exactly that question and have asked a lot of customers about it," says John Gailey, Novell director of collaboration services. "What we have evolved to is that as a sender it is my e-mail message un til you have opened it or accessed it some way. Once you have accessed it in some way, it is now your e-mail message, and I cannot u ndo or retract it." That sounds reasonable, but imagine this scenario: You open your in-box view and see 10 freshly delivered messages. Just as you move to open the one from your boss - poof - it disappears before your eyes. Never mind "save your job," some might call that a "shake your confidence" feature. Moreover, with the threat of e-mail-related hara ssment lawsuits a growing reality, it isn't difficult to imagine the potential for user abuse of this tool. At least that's the way Lotus and some IT professionals see it. Proponents of e-mail retraction, however, see more benefits than pitfalls. They call retraction an invaluable remedy for those insta nces when sensitive material gets distributed inadvertently, a meeting time needs to be changed or an e-mail goes out without its pr omised attachment. Travis Berkley, supervisor of LAN support services at the University of Kansas, is a firm supporter of the retraction function in Gr oupWise. "It keeps you from looking stupid" when fresh information or a belatedly discovered mistake turns an already delivered e-ma il message into a problem just waiting to be opened, he says. "I have had folks ask me how to retract over the Internet because they've gotten spoiled on GroupWise," Berkley says. "You can actua lly watch the blood drain out of their faces" when they are told this is not possible today, he says. Chris Miller deals with Lotus Notes daily as a senior systems manager at Catalyst Solutions Group in St. Louis. He says he is "thank ful" that Lotus is not including retraction capabilities in the upcoming Notes 5.0 and Domino 5.0 releases. Besides what he envision s as administrative headaches, Miller sees such features creating false impressions among workers as to who owns what when it comes to corporate e-mail. "You never actually own the message as long as it exists somewhere on a company machine, whether it be local or on the server," Mill er says. "Even drafts can be read, and now companies are coming out with policies on the ability to open an employee's mail file whe never they see fit." Miller is unconvinced by anecdotes arguing the usefulness of retraction. "If it comes to leaving something out, then send another complete message or addendum," he says. Lotus believes that Miller's opinion represents the majority viewpoint among its customers. "Retraction is really a double-edged sword," says Lance Shaw, a Notes product manager. The sophisticated replication capabilities an d mobile support found in Notes and Domino virtually guarantee that a message sent to a significant number of recipients could not b e retracted from all of them, he maintains. "Generally, the majority of our customers are saying that if we can't guarantee they can do retraction completely, then it's somewha t futile," Shaw adds. Jim Santiago, assistant vice president of information services at AEW Capital Management in Boston, currently oversees a GroupWise s hop and also has recent experience with Notes. "Notes is like the U.S. post office: Once you e-mail your message, it's gone," Santiago says. "GroupWise does give you the ability t o take back a message, but the fact is unless that person is out of the office, they will probably read it before you delete it." While he likes using retraction for rescheduling purposes, Santiago also believes the feature undermines the notion that companies, not employees, actually own the e-mail. <<Network World -- 11-02-98, p. 37>> [Copyright 1998, Network World]