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?