You Charge for Voice? What a Cop out.

So, you're in the Internet protocol-based communications business?

By Suzanne Bowen and Hina Siddiqui...
You care about your customers. You may be one of the CXOs and you dig in and help with customer service, ship product, collaborate on a video, actual participate in Facebook and learn some new code on a daily business.

You've read the blogs that critique your competitors. You note that it appears that the only

way to get noticed, recommended and praised is to offer your voice business component free of charge or at least offer as many freebies as you can with it. If you charge, you will be dissed to the limit.

Those who "dog" IP communications companies for charging for their voice components, may I ask, "How do you pay your bills? Tell the truth. Do mom and dad support you? Were you lucky enough to get investment? Are you homeless so you can afford to offer voice free?"

What I'm saying is this, don't be ashamed for charging your customers for providing them with a service. Provide the best service you can. Use the traditional tools, the web 2.0 tools, and mix and mash them up with your friends. But I think you have a right to make a living.

My personal example is DIDX aka DIDXchange. It's a great platform for collaboration. Entrepreneurial minded individuals and companies all over the world communicate and buy/sell/trade with each other with Super Technologies, Inc. as something like the "eBay" of the processes. I spoke to several members and those intending to join DIDX at ITEXPO West this month who said that DIDX and other IP exchanges/collaborations are a freeing experience. It's disruptive to wholesale, consumer, entertainment and media, but competitors are actually collaborating. Who would think it possible?

So, someone asked, "Why is the DID so expensive on DIDX?" Every right to ask the question.

I put on my Burger King crown and said to myself, "Anyone can join DIDX and make at least 50 DID phone numbers available for sale. They determine the price and the features. We run the QoS measures of DID tester software check, 36 hour test time, and vendor rating. DIDX members as a result, have a choice of features, price, and quality. I.e., a USA DID can be as low as free and as high as $10 per month. A Mexico DID can be as low as $3.00 and as high as $15.00. And... everyone is trying to pay their bills, feed at least one mouth, while assisting the world of IP comms to rollout their cool mashup or even mom and pop traditional feel voice service."

(eBay is a trademarked term that does not belong to my company. eBay is a great tool.)

P.S. I liked JP's blog post main idea: reboot. So, let's really do that and not just talk about it.

P.S.S. Scent over Internet is not stupid. The F may not remain in IFMO. Internet TV can be viewed on a computer monitor and be quite rewarding, Michael (my best friend), and we can throw out our cable bill. You don't have to look a certain way, believe a certain religion, and speak with a certain accent to come up with the coolest new ideas to meet people's needs. Voice does not have to be free.

Inspiration for this post is awarded to these IP communications entities...