Andy Abramson picked up on an excellent story on Slate that provides a comprehensive looking at VOIP service providers. It looks at most of the major players – Skype, VoiceWing, Packet8, Vonage, CallVantage – and grades them on sound quality, reliability, international calling, portability and bells and whistles. AT&T's CallVantage was the winner while BroadVoice trailed the pack by a wide margin. Perhaps an enterprising telephony reporter can do the same thing for service providers in Canada.
Rogers' Telephony Plans: Underwhelming
Now that I've escaped the Nortel AGM, I've had a chance to take a look at Rogers' cable telephony plans. They may be financially disciplined but they're underwhelming. Aside from the fact none of them include LD, there are no Web-based features such as voice-mail to e-mail, call me/follow me, and online account management. If you want LD, it costs 8 cents a minute in Canada, which is premium pricing, which is higher than what Rogers' Sprint Canada unit charges. Rogers' new plans are just regular local phone service provided by a cableco, rather than Bell. Nevertheless, UBS Securities expects Rogers will have 30,000 customers by the end of 2005 and 286,000 by the end of next year.
So how will Bell respond? It could be aggressive and highlight the fact there is little difference between its service and what's being offered by Rogers. Bell could also do nothing, and let Rogers win some market share as part of a plan to convince the CRTC to deregulate the local market. And/or Bell could roll out its own VOIP service with the standard bells and whistles. I suspect Rogers will probably win over customers who already have other services as part of a bundle. Then, there will be the Bell-haters, who may already by Sprint customers.
Let the wars start – albeit one that does not involve a price war…yet.
Voxilla Comes to Canada
Voxilla, which offers Internet telephony equipment and industry news, has decided to open for business north of the border – in Vancouver to be exact. Voxilla Canada's new online store is selling everything from IP phones and wireless gear to headsets and VOIP adaptors- and doing it in Canadian dollars with free shipping. “We realized that there are a lot of people in Canada who are interested in the products Voxilla retails as well as the support services we offer,” said Paul Crick, Voxilla Canada's president. “While they previously were willing to pay a premium in shipping for them we felt that there was a better way to service them.” Given Rogers Communications just launched its cable telephony service, Voxilla's timing couldn't have been better.
What Motivates Nortel's CEO?
The more I listen to Nortel Networks CEO Bill Owens, the more I believe he likes being king. He enjoys leading a major multi-national company, much like he must have liked being a U.S. Navy Admiral. Indications he is reluctant to give up the reigns to Gary Daichendt or anyone else any time soon are become increasingly apparent. If Owens makes some bonus money and a few million dollars along the way before he retires, he'll be happy but I really believe he's more motivated by having the corner office and the respect of being a big-time CEO. Here's a quote from Owens from the AGM that illustrates my point: “I like being the CEO of this company. I was in the military for 30 years and I did not make a lot of money. I was dedicated to that, I am dedicated to this.” By the way, Owens said he's a healthy, enthusiastic 65-year-old who plans to stick around as CEO until it is “time for someone [else] to lead the company forward.” In the meantime, he's looking to hire a new COO to replace Gary Daichendt.
Rogers's Unveils Cable Telephony Plan
Anyone looking for a deal on local telephone service from Rogers Communications will be disappointed. The cableco unveiled its much-anticipated service today featuring three plans:
- an standard plan for C$29.95 – includes local calling and one calling feature;
- an enhanced Plan for C$37.95 – includes local calling and three calling features;
– an ultimate Plan for C$41.95 – includes local calling and six calling features.
None of the plans include long-distance service. Existing Rogers customers who sign a two-year contract will see prices reduced to $25.26, $32.26 and $35.66 respectively.
The plans should warm the hearts of analysts who want to see Rogers take a disciplined approach to pricing. It should also please Vonage and Primus, which should still be able to operate quite comfortably in the discount segment of the market. If you're a Bell Canada customer, jumping to Rogers may depend on how much you like calling features. The standard plan seems to be a bit of a wash given you can get a Bell local line for about $23 and one feature for $6 to $8. As you move to the enhanced and ultimate plans, moving to Rogers seems more palatable. I'm puzzled by the absence of any LD given it is a standard feature in most VOIP and cable telephony plans. On a positive note, Rogers' entry into the market should give the VOIP and cable telephony markets a serious jump-start.
More from Nortel's AGM
It sounds like Nortel may be looking to move out of its large corporate headquarters facility in Brampton. Nortel CEO Bill Owens said the facility is “too big” and the company is considering a number of options, including sharing the space. He also seemed to indicate Nortel could explore the idea of moving the HQs to Ottawa because that is where management likes to take guests given the extensive R&D activities up there. By the way, we're now 2.5 hours into the AGM, and in the midst of Q&A/venting from a lengthy string of shareholders. Looks like this could go on for another hour or two.
