Orb is Free

Full disclosure -- if you missed it earlier, I have been working for Orb Networks for the past few months. But I felt it was worth a post on IP Inferno to mention that the Orb Media product is now free, as TV is the next industry (after Voice) which will be entirely transformed by IP -- and Orb is a good example of how this is happening.

If you aren't familiar with Orb -- the basic idea is to use a consumer's own home PC as the streaming source to deliver video, audio, photos, and live TV (if the PC has a tuner card) to any device that a user has, anywhere they may be (as long as they have an IP connection). The software cleverly re-encodes the data for the appropriate device size, player type, and connection speed, creating the best possible experience for the consumer from a cell phone at 40K to an office PC at 1.5 MB.

When we launched the service at CES we announced that there would be a $10 per month subscription fee. The primary concern was that the cost of providing this service would be so high that we would bankrupt ourselves (quickly) if we didn't charge a fee. Three months later we have enough data (and enough product improvements) to know that it will cost only pennies per month per user to provide the service. This allows us to use an advertising and premium services model to support free use of the core Orb experience.

Our core philosophy is simple -- if you own it, either because you created it or because you have already paid for it, then you should be able to enjoy it anywhere, anytime, on any device. Orb makes it possible.

Orb creates this fascinating new thing -- the ability for a consumer to become the rupert murdoch of their own entertainment universe. Mixing personal content, purchased content, and content streams into a personal media portal that can be accessed any time, any place. This will accelerate a trend already firmly underway -- consumers moving away from the package broadcast entertainment offerings such as TV and on to an experience that they have complete control over -- IP delivery of rich media content anyplace, anytime, on any device.

Paul Kapustka... err.. Kevin Martin Wins

As we recently pointed out here at IP Inferno, Fed watcher Paul Kapustka explained why Kevin Martin would be appointed the next FCC chairman... now that its happened I think we'll give Paul a prize and pay even more attention to his articles on the FCC going forward...

Vonage and the Customer Experience

With spring VON upon us, now seems like a good time to revisit the question, why VoIP? Why is it that consumers aren't satisfied with POTS -- after all, most of the time they just want a phone line in their homes which can connect to a variety of cheap handsets and ring when someone calls them. Is it just about cost? Do consumers adopt Vonage and others just to get cheaper phone service?

I submit for your consideration that it is NOT all about price (although this will always be important). Consider the consumer experience of dealing with the Telephone Company. Start with ordering phone service. The old way was to call, wait on hold (forever?), and then speak with an inbound telemarketing professional (but only during business hours). This stranger would ask all sorts of questions about your personal background in order to establish credit worthiness before telling you that it would be between a few days or a week before your phone service could be activated.

Instead, consider the experience of phone service activation the Vonage way: a friendly, easy to use web site which gathers a few details – principally a credit card number for billing – and then instantly an active phone number is issued. The very next minute you call the number and set up your voice mailbox. A web-based form even lets you forward calls so that people can call you using the new number -- answering the call on your cell phone, office phone, or a friend’s phone. Once you purchase the VoIP router at a local electronics retailer (or wait a few days for it to come in the mail) you plug it in, anywhere there is an Internet connection, and you immediately have dial tone.

Immediately have dial tone. It is worth repeating, because this is a customer experience for which people are willing to pay. And for which they will switch phone service providers.

And if you move you can just take the VoIP router with you! Even if you have to wait a few days for the cable guy to plug in your new Internet connection you can plug this VoIP router in at work and have dial tone. Or forward your phone and continue to take calls on your cell phone. Or just take messages since your voice mail box remains active. Your home phone number follows you wherever you go. The Telephone Company still forces you to change phone numbers if you move across town. Now you can keep the same phone number whether you move across town or across the country!

The technology of VoIP makes all of this possible, but this isn’t what the consumer cares about. The consumer cares about the experience of telephony. The future of telephony, despite all of the press, is not about VoIP. The future of telephony is about the customer experience. And in this, the Telephone Company has a few things to learn from Vonage.

Now despite all of the good things about Vonage, I have been disappointed with a few items. For example, why is it that when I get an email notifying me of a new voice mail message, there is no link in the email directly to the web site where I can play back the message? And why can’t I choose to have the voice mail recording sent as an attachment to the email? So there is still room for improvement.

But as we all rush to attend VON in the next few days, let's try to remember that the consumer doesn't care at all about technology, but about a great telephony experience. See you at VON.