VON Canada

Jeff Pulver's VON roadshow rolled into Canada for the first time last week with a lineup that featured Skype Technologies CEO Niklas Zennstrom. VON's debut was timely because VOIP is just starting to gain momentum in Canada with Primus and Vonage offering service, while Yak Communications, AOL Canada and Telus planning to start later this year. As the show's star attraction, Zennstrom spoke during two sessions on the first day of the show. Right now, he is acting the role of the technology pioneer – preaching to the masses about how peer-to-peer technology will revolutionize the US$300-billion telecom industry. His major argument is Internet telephony will unleash a tidal wave of innovation because services can be developed at the edge, rather than by carriers within the network. It is an intriguing presentation because who wouldn't like better and/or more services. But the issue I have troubling grasping is how Skype plans to make money. People using the software like the fact it's free, particularly if you're making international phone calls. But what happens when Skype tries to get people to pay for value-added services such as voice mail and access to the PSTN? What happens when incumbent carriers offer Internet telephony services? Perhaps it's the lengthy hang-over from the dot-com boom when the media – myself included – fell over itself writing about start-ups with great technology but unviable business plans, but let's just say I'm a Skype skeptic. For now, I'm not on the same page as the VCs that pumped US$18.8-million into Skype earlier this year. Until Skype proves otherwise, it will likely become a telecom version of Kazaa – popular but economically unviable.