Young people everywhere as well as those through the senior citizen years have so much potential and with today’s user-centric and enabling technologies, anything is possible.

You will think you are listening to a young version of the smart, tech-savvy Barack Obama, Justin Frankel, or Rob Malda, but … in just three months, Cheikh Mbacke has over 8,000 customers on his calling card services over IP with DID from all over the world and a targeted audience of . We finally met up with him at the VIPeering Forum (http://www.tmcnet.com/voip/conference/v i-peering/vi-peering-agenda.aspx?buttond own=agenda) during ITEXPO West 2010 when he introduced himself to Suzanne Bowen, who was one of the speakers on the value of services leveraging e164 phone numbers.

He’s got more great ideas after attending this conference for more services that will meet the needs of customers in ways not met before.

Cheikh shares his respect for DIDX and how it enables him and thousands of others around the world in IP communications related business. He is willing to explain ways that DIDX can improve especially in regards to the steps to take in adding funds and then adding talk time and the relationship between the two on DIDs where vendors charge per minute from minute one or after a certain number of minutes.

We decided after our talk that an video icon in each area of DIDX to show how to use that area should be added. Links to Youtube are no problem.

He likes the choice on DIDX, lots of it but was hoping that more DIDX vendors would offer two choices on billing:
1. Buy DID with a certain number of minutes and channels and charge per minute after included minutes.
2. Or Buy DID with unlimited minutes and as many channels as needed.

He shares the ease of use. All areas of the world where he needs DID are available on DIDX and he is eager to see new areas, especially good quality Africa DID.

A lesson in user-centric, users rule, users drive innovation and improvement and businesses need to ask for criticism and improvement and follow up on the same. Like Cheikh says, “We go where our customers go.”

The 2010 Finalists… for the 2010 Total Telecom’s World Communication Awards! Is your telecom, cellular, or IP communications service provider among the select few who made it to the Total Telecom World Communication Awards Short List? Let Techistan know and leave your comments. Congratulations!

Best Brand
Etisalat
Grameenphone
Idea Cellular
Telstra Enterprise & Government
Turk Telekom
Ufone
Verizon Business

Best Content Service
Afghan Wireless
Orange Business Services
TE Data
Turk Telekom
Turkcell

Best Customer Care
Bharti Airtel
BT
Etisalat Misr
Global Crossing
Orange Business Services
Tata Communications
TeliaSonera International Carrier

Best Managed Service
BT Group
Ericsson
Interoute
iPass
Orange Business Services
Tulip Telecom
Virtela Technology Services
Vodafone

Best Mobile Operator
Bharti Airtel
Maxis
Orange Business Services
Safaricom
TMN

Best New Service
Avea
Bharti Airtel
MTN Uganda
Orange Business Services
Sebit
Verizon Business

Best Operator in a Developing Market
Digicel Group
Etisalat Misr
Ezecom
Gateway Communications
Orange Business Services Africa
Viettel Cambodia

Best Project Management
Bharti Airtel
Orange Business Services
Subex
Tech Mahindra
Telstra

The Alireza Mahmoodshahi Technology Foresight Award
Arieso Ltd
BT Group
Cambridge Broadband Networks
Continuous Computing
IPWireless
Kineto Wireless
SK Telecom
Turkcell Technology

Best Mobile Device Strategy
Emtiac Mobile Solutions
Novatel Wireless
Turk Telekom

Best Wholesale Carrier
Bharti Airtel
BICS
BT Wholesale
China Telecom (Europe)
Colt
Tata Communications
TeliaSonera International Carrier

Best Global Operator
3
BT Global Services
Orange Business Services
PCCW Global
Virtela Technology Services Incorporated

Best Regional Operator
China Telecom (Europe)
Digicel Group
GTS Central Europe
Hutchison Global Communications
Interoute
Singapore Telecommunications
Viettel

The Green Award
Azercell Telecom
Batelco
BT Group
Colt
Orange Business Services
Telefonica O2 UK

Team of the Year
Azercell Telecom
Emtiac Mobile Solutions
Orange Business Services
Roshan
Turk Telekom
Turkcell

Many of the above communications services, products, tools, companies and applications are actively involved in peering and termination, SIP trunking and DID sales, on any of the following: Arbinet for termination or DIDXchange for origination. If your service provider is among these select World Communication Awards Short List, congratulate them! Add your comments here or on Facebook. Pass on the good news with Linkedin, Twitter by RT or with your original reposting.44

Gregory Giagnocavo presented Co-opetition at ITEXPO East 2010

With the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, becoming a CLEC was the cool and financially viable thing to do. The Act allowed companies with CLEC status to use ILEC infrastructure in three ways: access to UNEs with the most important as the “local loop” or buying telecommunications services from ILECs at wholesale rates and then reselling them retail or a combination of both. The second option helps CLECs to avoid buying switches, fiber optic transmission facilities or colocation facilities.Many have hinted at the fact that hosted voip providers have much in common with CLECS and in fact, could be the new CLECs.

What is a CLEC? It is a company which provides local telephone service — other than the incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (LEC). Much like a LEC, a CLEC will provide telephone service within a LATA. To handle InterLATA long-distance calls, the CLEC will connect to an IXC (IntereXchange Carrier). Quite often, CLEC’s will use the local loop (UNE-L) belonging to the incumbent Local Exchange Carrier.

What is hosted VoIP? Cindy Waxer, in VoIP-News, describes hosted VoIP as the “method is best suited for small and medium-size businesses with limited IT resources and budgetary funds that want the perks of a powerful VoIP system without the hefty price tag.” (In fact Cindy explains the pros and cons among hosted VoIP, on the premises VoIP and managed VoIP in VoIP-News.)

Huw Rees, Vice President of Business Development at 8×8, states in the 2010TMC interview that 8×8 is a hosted VoIP provider who “supplies hosted PBX to the SMB market with an expansion into medium and large enterprise.”

Candice Malmstrom, marketing director at FreedomVoice, shares on podcast interview, information about their hosted services.

What do CLECs and Hosted VoIP Providers have or not have in common?

1. Compete with established local telecoms who often continue to do business same as it ever was
2. Have their own network and switch
3. Integrated access: voice & data via IP or IP/TDM
4. Seen as disruptive by traditionals
5. Often using open source technologies
6. Tend to know their market niche and do a great job at serving it

In a conversation in the ITEXPO East 2010 press room, several speakers and press discussed: Did the following June 1, 2009 prophecy for a CLEC and other business entities to combine and become all IP by 2010 come to pass? ENMR Plateau would be three companies in one. This would include a rural telephone co-op that served 13,000 access lines in a 25,000-square mile segment of eastern New Mexico, a business CLEC competitor for Qwest Communications and Windstream, and a broadband wireless company that would offer broadband access to a wide geographic area.

Another example of hosted VoIP versus CLEC or the same is Bandwidth.com, a nationwide CLEC and supplier of VoIP and SIP Trunking services who run wholesale voice on an all-IP network. The lines are blurring between CLECs and hosted VoIP providers who combine forces in such platforms as Arbinet, CarrierCloud, DIDX, VPF, Xconnect, and other peering, collaboration and consolidation could turn VoIP providers into the next great CLEC class.

Listen to an expert… “Companies will come together to pool resources against the larger companies,” said Ari Rabban, CEO of Phone.

Rehan Ahmed, CEO of DIDX shared once, “DIDX is a laughable idea and I’m a clown in 2005, but I believe DIDX will help thousands around the world start and run a successful business in hosted VoIP. DIDX removes the phone number acquisition problem.”

For more information, read the CLEC archives on TMCNET.com at http://blog.tmcnet.com/on-rads-radar/clec/. Check out VON’s article at http://www.von.com/articles/are-hosted-voip-players-next-great-clec-class.html. Browse lists of hosted PBX and hosted VoIP (wholesale and/or retail) providers such VoIPSWITCH on the net: Zippy Grigonis’s 2008 list includes a diverse set from Vonage to Cox Communications to Sunrocket (now out of business).

Co-opetition is a major key to hosted VoIP providers’ success. A walled garden can only expand so far and with only so much innovation. Gregory Giagnocavo of Carrier Cloud, Ari Rabban of Phone.com, and Rehan Ahmed of DIDX may very well be some of the wisest men in telecommunications.