As long as I've been following the VoIP industry, I am amazed at how many companies are essentially reinventing the wheel when it comes to providing Voice dialtone over IP. Oh sure they use common hardware, common protocols, and common methods. But each company creates their own island that only connects to other VoIP islands through a common method: the PSTN.
There's no reason that each of these VoIP islands should touch the PSTN to make calls that are essentially VoIP on both ends. It's inelegant and costs extra money. And with the technology that exists today, there's no reason it needs to be this way any longer.
IntelePeer has released a series of white papers that espouse connecting those VoIP islands with ENUM. They also explain that peering is needed for VoIP companies to remain competitive as peering will reduce costs and open the opportunity for more than just voice.
I'm all for VoIP companies peering. What do you think?
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Of course I said as much in 2003 (and prior), such as: http://www.toyz.org/mrblog/archives/00000103.html
But my 2007 predictions (http://www.toyz.org/mrblog/archives/00000252.html) included this one: “VoIP peering will plod along at a snail’s pace. Most VoIP companies bleed Telco blood. They think in terms of reciprocal comp, rather than Internet-style peering.”
It’s amazing how little progress the VoIP industry has made over the last five+ years. You’d be amazed the responses you hear from VoIP providers in terms of peering. One problem is that a lot of them are running off-the-shelf solutions from a third-party that don’t have peering capabilities, or the VoIP company lacks the expertise to use it. They have their hands full just trying to maintain their service.
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