Is the Phone Number (DID) Dead?

I had this idea to share with the world of telecom-related providers that the phone number is not dead, even though we have social networking, cell phones,email, instant messengers, and tons of unified and converged communications solutions.

So, I emailed Hugh Goldstein my idea in the form of a Power Point presentation. And ... ITEXPO West has accepted.

Topic: Voice Interconnect and Peering Conference during ITEXPO West! Visit http://www.itexpo.com/ to sign up to attend, sponsor, exhibit.

Description: As VoIP services, presence, app markets and social networking begin to merge and dominate the consumer's Internet focus, are e.164 telephone numbers a thing of the past? Evidence suggests this is far from the case, in fact, LNP and DID wholesale providers are opening up new opportunities for e.164 numbers to enable new communications services and take a key functional role in the integration of new Web communications platforms and experiences. This panel will explore the trends and opportunities, and give use cases for social networking, Video telephony and nongeographic number business and use scenarios.

Session Title: Be sure to come to the Apps & Numbers: How 3.164 Numbers are Enabling New Communications Services session at http://www.itexpo.com/.

Speakers:
Rod Ullens Co-Founder & CEO -Voxbone
Bryan Hertz CEO, VoxOx -TelCentris
Suzanne Bowen Vice President, Super Technologies, DIDXchange, Techistan

Date: Oct. 5, 2010 Tuesday at 9:30 AM

Place: ITEXPO West at the Los Angeles Convention Center

Visit me Suzanne Bowen and some of our DIDX Team Members, DIDX Customers and Vendors, and open source developers at booth 143 during ITEXPO West Oct. 4-6, 2010. You can sign up now. It's in Los Angeles.

.. other blogs from our Super Technologies' team at http://blogs.didx.net/ and http://blog.tmcnet.com/monetizing-ip-communications/, our online magazine at http://www.techistan.com/, our iTunes channel, and DIDX podcasts. Find out how to bring new customers to your telephone company with local phone numbers from 70 countries. We are excited to be a part of helping 1000s around the world start a business, have success and connect with others via our Super Technologies' services such as DIDX, Techistan, Virtual Phoneline, CFMS or HVOIP white label business and more.

What about CNAM and DIDX wholesale phone numbers?

For CNAM inbound DIDX does not control CNAM inbound. DIDX can only send what we get from provider (vendor or seller) of the phone number. Whatever features come with each DID voip phone number is clearly listed in cells or fields you can see when you click on the phone number's details before buying including CNAM or No CNAM.


However, in most cases, after the sale of a NON-CNAM enabled DID voip phone number, we can ask the provider to make the Name of the registered callers only on the DIDX Buyer's customer's DID number by activating CNAM Inbound service on the number. DIDX will be charged from the provider (seller, vendor) an extra fee per month and DIDX will pass that fee onto the DIDX Buyer if ordered.
 
.. other blogs from our Super Technologies' team at http://blogs.didx.net/ and http://blog.tmcnet.com/monetizing-ip-communications/, our online magazine at http://www.techistan.com/, our iTunes channel, and DIDX podcasts. Find out how to bring new customers to your telephone company with local phone numbers from 70 countries. We are excited to be a part of helping 1000s around the world start a business, have success and connect with others via our Super Technologies' services such as DIDX, Techistan, Virtual Phoneline, CFMS or HVOIP white label business and more.

Co-operative Republic of Guyana DID phone numbers and telco trivia

http://www.didx.net has several thousand telco and voip company wholesale members with a goal to buy and sell DID and DDI phone numbers. The most recent request is for Co-operative Republic of Guyana DID phone numbers. Requesting wireless and wired telcos and voip companies with this to contact care@didx.net with Co-operative Republic of Guyana in the subject line. This is wholesale level only. See http://www.didx.net/interop to understand the terms and interop testing steps to get an instant interconnect with thousands of other service providers for origination (DID/DDI).

BTW, for the trivia buffs...
Telephone Systems in Guyana
Telephones: 110,120 main telephone lines (2005)
Telephones mobile cellular: 281,400 (2005)
General Assessment: fair system for long-distance service
Domestic: microwave radio relay network for trunk lines; fixed-line teledensity is about 15 per 100 persons; many areas still lack fixed-line telephone services; mobile-cellular teledensity reached 37 per 100 persons in 2005
International: country code - 592; tropospheric scatter to Trinidad; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)


... browse some of our team's other blogs at http://blogs.didx.net and http://blog.tmcnet.com/monetizing-ip-communications/. Find out how to get your telephone company to offer phone numbers from around the world. You're welcome to comment, contribute, and collaborate any time.

From Asterisk-Biz List on the Term "Unlimited"

R, your answer is awesome. Bret is sharp, too. I admire both of you for what you do in educating and sharing information and content in a fair and professional manner in the telecommunications industry. Check below and read the complete thread on the Asterisk-Biz list in the Free DID discussion.

>> Today, as you all know, 'unlimited' never means anything other than
>> "limited to an arbitrary amount of resource usage that we can
>> reconcile with our business plan". IOW, service providers need to make
>> money on the accounts, not just provide a service.

> that is not true, that is only true from providers that want to lie to
> customers and claim they are unlimited when they have no intention of
> providing what they advertise.

You're missing one thing: "unlimited" is totally impossible to prove,
ever, by definition, except using infinity as a factor, so I stand by
my definition. :) Unlimited is like saying "the most beautiful...",
it's unprovable.

There are only three true certainties in life: death, taxes and thread
drift on this list.

Join us sometime to talk about it: http://VUC.me

... browse some of our team's other blogs at http://blogs.didx.net and http://blog.tmcnet.com/monetizing-ip-communications/. You're welcome to comment, contribute, and collaborate any time.

New phone numbers from Jordan and Iceland on DIDX

Wholesale IP communications can now satisfy clients who need a local presence in Jordan, Iceland as well as Beijing, China; South Korea and Japan. Check the complete list of countries' DID available at http://www.didx.net/did and more indepth information on these particular new areas at http://blogs.didx.net/2009/06/new-phone-numbers-on-wholesale-didx-of.html.

Let me backtrack because some readers are asking:
1. What is a DID? It's an acronym meaning direct inward dialing. Today we use it synonymously with the phrase "phone number." Because of voice over Internet, SIP and open source telephony such as Asterisk and FreeSWITCH and more, telephone service providers are potentially able to provide anyone a phone number from any country in the world ... to have a local presence there.

2. Why would anyone want a phone number from Jordan or Iceland if they are not living and working in one of those countries? If you want to start receiving phone calls from people in a certain city or country, you want to make it easy for them to call you. They are more likely to call you if the phone number they dial is local to them. You buy a phone number that is local to them and set it to ring to your favorite instant messenger, a SIP or IAX2 address, landline or cell phone. Ask your telephone service provider if they are using DIDX.net? If they are, you have available to you ... phone numbers from more 60 countries. If they are not, send them to http://www.didx.net/signup.

... browse some of our team's other blogs at http://blogs.didx.net and http://blog.tmcnet.com/monetizing-ip-communications/. You're welcome to comment, contribute, and collaborate any time.

Buenaventura, Buga, Cartago, Palmira and Tulua, DID de Colombia en DIDX

Buenaventura, Buga, Cartago, Palmira and Tulua, DID de Colombia en DIDX...

... browse some of our team's other blogs at http://blogs.didx.net and http://blog.tmcnet.com/monetizing-ip-communications/. You're welcome to comment, contribute, and collaborate any time.

DIDX Wholesale Clients Need Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa Phone Numbers

Yes! It's a double-post, but we want to make sure to get the word out.

DIDX clients need Alaska, Hawaii and Iowa DID available to buy this week. See http://blogs.didx.net/2009/05/alaska-hawaii-and-iowa-did-vendors-sip.html for more information.

... browse some of our team's other blogs at http://blogs.didx.net and http://blog.tmcnet.com/monetizing-ip-communications/. You're welcome to comment, contribute, and collaborate any time.

El Salvador Cell Phone Service Requested

Hello to you, highly valued readers, with more expertise in the following areas that I can even imagine,

A friend is looking for a system where people can call in from a cell phone line in El Salvador. Their call would be answered by inputting a PIN #.

Then they could have an option to listen to voice mail prompts--questions or multiple choice, respond and playback their recording. If these files could be saved as .wav files that would be best.

A second option would be to be put through to someone else on the line to speak to directly, i.e., have a conversation.

Much of this technology is already used in call centers, except for the conference calling feature (being able to talk to one or more people at the same time). Again, conference calling technology exists and most likely uses VOIP.

They know that the readers of this blog, various companies offer all of these things and the DIDX lines (for El Salvador), right? Looking for your comments and directions! You can comment on this blog, on my Facebook page, email suzanne@didx.net, or call me.

Praise that Makes a VoIP Company's Heart Warm

I am copying an email that I just received where a wholesale client (industry giant) of DIDX is recommending an industry friend to use DIDX. I have replaced the actual name of the company they refer with "Company X" and left out the name of our lovely current client.

Here we go...

"I want to make an introduction to Suzanne who is the CEO of DIDx. See: http://www.didx.net. This is who we uses for our callin numbers and I highly recommend them as a solution for your company. Here's what I can say about her/them.

We have had a multi-year relationship with them and they are trustworthy.
Suzanne is very responsive to our needs.
Their web portal is superior to any other DID providers.
They have broad availability of numbers.
They have a real time API which makes it efficient to purchase and assign DIDs.

I recommend you work directly with them for your DID needs."

Besides friends and family, the above is what I live for... working hard/smart with our team to be productive and see the rewards gained by our clients and have them refer others to us! We love you, "industry giant."

... browse some of our team's other blogs at http://blogs.didx.net and http://blog.tmcnet.com/monetizing-ip-communications/. You're welcome to comment, contribute, and collaborate any time.

Globalize local communications = Followo Communications' Mantra

Yesterday I was showing a colleague how to tether his Nokia E61i to his laptop. This was my answer to his: "I can't work. I don't have any Internet."

;-)

Problem solved! Next, we both conferenced with a new DIDXchange (an electronic wholesale marketplace for buying and selling of DID/DDI) member* Charles Lu. He has been a part of the global Asterisk developers' community for several years. His company Softele is based in Canada.

What stood out to me in our conversation was Charles' collection of words into an interesting phrase, basically his mantra, his mission... globalize local communications.

With Followo service, clients get to:

1. Assign a DID from city in another country to a local home or mobile phone.

2. Assign a DID that is local to family, friends, potential customers in a city in another country.

3. Take the DIDs (phone numbers) while traveling and avoid overseas roaming charges.

4. Choose the most cost-effective phone to answer incoming calls: mobile phone, home phone, softphone, VoIP hard phone.

5. Change the "ring to" anytime as often as needed.

6. Ring 2 phones at once.

7. No contract, pay as you go.

Charles' team speaks English and Mandarin, both with a clearly understood accent. The target market will be China, Canada, USA and Pakistan where millions of people speak both languages, are very mobile, and need local presence in an area on Earth that they are not physically in that varies by the day even.

For now, watch for Followo service roll out before the New Year January 26, 2009!

* (At first I placed a comma between the words "member" and "Charles" and then realized that "Charles Lu" is essential to the sentence; therefore, no comma is needed.)

Eavesdrop on Jay Xia and Rehan Ahmed

Listen in, soak it up... makes you wish you were there in the middle discussing, dreaming of the future of mobile communications. Watch on the DIDXchange Youtube Channel.

... browse some of our team's other blogs at http://blogs.didx.net and http://blog.tmcnet.com/monetizing-ip-communications/. You're welcome to comment, contribute, and collaborate any time.

Direct Inward Termination, Common Telephony Search Keyword

Just noticed that the key words phrase "Direct Inward Termination" is being used more and more in searches that land on my blogs, so I asked several to explain what it's all about. I'll add more answers as I get them in the coming year. This blog is meant to be INTERACTIVE and COLLABORATIVE. ;-)

John Cirner of TalkMotion: Suzanne, in the 15 or so years I worked in the PBX hardware industry we would associate "direct inward termination" as the programmed association of a DID number to a specific device. Applications such as DID to fax machine or DID to system port (or modems in the old days) for remote programming interface, would be common applications.

Delwar Hossain Khan, member of Freedom2Speak and Ecomm: "I have not dealt with telecom for years now but as far as I remember DID is an old telecom term, referring 2 a particular feature of PABX system, when caller seizes a trunk port, gets a 2nd dial tone and connects with the destination number(usually a Pabx extension port).

If we consider the international telecom network as one PABX system, this could be a simplified explanation.

Submitted by Michael Bowen, running coach for Emerald Coast Racing Team.
Glossary on Higher Ground, Inc. web site:

DID (DIRECT INWARD DIALING)
A combination of features between the central office of the telephone company and the PBX. It allows a party calling into a PBX to be directly connected to a station associated to the number dialed, without the assistance of the operator.

http://www.highergroundinc.com/site/us/... ... http://www.highergroundinc.com/site/us/support/glossary.php?cat=105&sub=5&supportid=4&alpha=D


... browse some of our team's other blogs at http://blogs.didx.net and http://blog.tmcnet.com/monetizing-ip-communications/. You're welcome to comment, contribute, and collaborate any time.

Douglas Kimani Discusses Africa voIP in Swahili at ITEXPO West 2008

Wholesale Issue Regarding End-User Details

We sleep, wake up, leave our bed, get ready for work and use some transportation to work (walk, bike, motorcycle, drive car, take bus...). We do this even though we know there is a chance that we can come into contact with danger and get hurt or even killed. We take chances every second of our lives. I'm talking about you and me.

In my daily work with Super Technologies, Inc. we work with thousands of wholesale telephony companies from many parts of the earth. They in turn serve millions of end-users from their local area and around the globe.

Take didx.net for example. Several hundred sell direct inward dialing to make up the 17 million phone numbers from 55 countries available for sale on DIDX to the 10,000 or so who buy. The seller also has wholesale customers it sells directly to outside of DIDX.

My question is... does the wholesale direct inward dialing phone number seller require its wholesale telephony company buyers to give them complete end-user information for every end-user it resells to? No. Of course not.

If there is a problem regarding possible criminal use of the phone number by an end-user who is the customer of the wholesale DID buyer who is a customer of the wholesale DID seller...

The wholesale DID buyer will gather the information responding to any subpoena or similar government request for its vendor the wholesale DID seller.

What I am saying here are a few things:
1. A tiny tiny percentage of end-users use phone number in a criminal manner, but that doesn't mean we quit selling phone numbers. A tiny tiny percentage of the food I eat makes me sick, but that doesn't mean I quit eating food.

2. If there is evidence that shows a phone number may be used in a criminal manner, authorities normally send a subpoena requiring contact information and sometimes CDR, etc. of the end-user.

Super Technologies, Inc. does have a potential abuse reporting process listed at http://kb.didx.net/tiki-index.php?page=Abuse. We have automated the ability to upload the subpoena or government inquiry via the DIDX dashboard of each www.didx.net wholesale telephony member.

40 New Romanian Rate Centers on DIDX

If your provider is not a member of DIDX, make a suggestion for them to get started, so you as a consumer and/or small business owner can have access to local phone numbers from over 55 countries, giving you another great success tool for new opportunities, markets and revenues! Stay in touch better with your family, friends, suppliers, partners, customers, and remote offices by making sure you have a phone number that is local to them to dial and will ring your computer, cell phone, Internet phone or other type phone. Just send your telephone service provider to www.didx.net.

BTW, yes, it's true, DIDX.net has phone numbers available in 40 new cities in Romania. http://blogs.didx.net/2008/07/romania-didddi-in-40-new-rate-centers.html

DIDX Suzanne Bowen and telx Hunter Newby at Comptel

What a great guy, Hunter Newby! I really enjoyed this interview regarding telx and telx|vision as well as DIDX.

Users Can Review Groovytel.com on Google Enterprise Solution Gallery

Groovytel.com gives a free Toledo, Ohio, USA phone number to every Groovytel.com member (member sounds better than user). Each member controls the settings of whether to make their phone number ring to MSN instant messenger, Gizmo Project, Yahoo Instant Messenger, GoogleTalk, FreeWorldDialup, and other instant messengers and sip addresses free.

The member is sitting on the monorail with his laptop online, at the office, at home, at the airport... anywhere in the world. The people who are important to him who he has given his USA phone number to can call it from a cell phone or landline phone or IP phone, and when they do... it rings on his instant messenger or SIP address of choice. How groovy is that?

Many of the Groovytel.com members use GoogleTalk. In fact, my Dad is trying it out, and he's 70 years old, totally loving it. You can review your experience with Groovytel.com by clicking the Google Enterprise Soluton Gallery button at the bottom of the Groovytel.com webpage now.

I'd love to know your experience and to know about your getting calls from those who are important to you, no matter where you are in the world on your instant messenger or SIP agent on your laptop or cell phone.

(Groovytel also won a position on the VONMAG Innovator Award shortlist for 2008. See pages 40-41.)

Shamefully Commercial Groovytel.com Blog Post

You know you're groovy. We know you're groovy. Kelly shares with you in Chinese how to Try a free Number on www.groovytel.com! Groovytel lets you get local phone numbers from USA and set them to ring to many different instant messenger programs.



See how to get in the psychodelic groove and buy the local phone numbers from the cities where your friends, business partners, and family are. Forward them to your instant messenger ID's. Get the calls on your computer or even cell phone via the Groovytel service on your favorite IM program.



More news TBA, dude! (Groovytel.com is one of the 6500 powerhouse Internet Protocol-based communications companies using DIDXchange for DID direct inward dialing phone numbers from up to 55 nations.)

Homeless Showed me How DIDX is Pretty Cool

Sitting in Breaktime Expresso this morning, sharing coffee with a few local *homeless guys and gals... (no, I'm not homeless, but I have been), we discussed the news on Google and Yahoo on my laptop (free WIFI at BE, cool). They are some of the few American consumers (non-telecom-businesspeople) who don't bat an eye when I tell them Super Technologies offers mainly wholesale telecom solutions like a global phone number exchange.

They usually respond with one of the following:
1. So, you mean, I could get me a phone number of my own that I could get calls and voicemails on even though I don't own a cell phone or landline?
2. I could sure use finding a telephone company who could do that for me. There's a few PC's on WIFI at the local End of the Line Cafe I can use free. They have headsets, too. Now, I don't have to give away my freedom just to get a phone number.

Very interesting, indeed... so what is the latest for DIDXCHANGE?

DIDX.net, the world’s largest DID/DDI phone number market place, announces interconnection with Microsoft MSN Messenger using gtalk2voip services. DIDX is the DID exchange for 3250+ telecom companies from over 200 countries around the globe.

DIDX began with 100 members in August 25, 2005. It is one of the most disruptive yet practical VoIP services in the 21st century, created and maintained by Super Technologies, Inc., VoIP technology company for six years, based in sunny Pensacola, Florida.

The MSN interconnection makes Super Technologies, Inc. the first company in the world to offer phone lines on Microsoft MSN Messenger and the opportunity to empower more individuals and industry than ever with DID from Africa, Asia, Americas, Australia, and Europe. “We predicted the ever-increasing demand in the world market for DID versatility as long ago as 1999. We have made it our mission to cater to this demand.

Most of all, we are excited about the un-imaginable number of opportunities available to us and even more so, our thousands of global telecom partners to benefit from this deal,” says Suzanne Bowen CEO, Super Technologies. Customers can own a US, UK, France, Australia, Malaysia, Poland, Pakistan, and/or Nigeria phone numbers (DID = Direct Inward Dialing) on their regular Microsoft MSN Messenger.

Super Technologies, Inc.'s DIDX service is poised to offer similar interconnection services for other exciting programs such as Google Talk, Gizmo Project, Groovytel, Free World Dialup**and Skype. Initially the service will be offered through the DIDX’s retail number sales web site on www.virtualphoneline.com

Measures are in the process now to add the module to the wholesale DID engine at www.didx.net. MSN Messenger*** is a service and product of Microsoft Corporation.

Google Talk is a service and product of Google, Inc. Skype is a product and service of Skype Limited. All services and products mentioned are property of their relative companies.

*See Eddie of San Jose, homeless and sitting at Lite Rail at 2 AM to be on time to his new job.

**As of fall 2008, Freeworlddialup is a paid service.

***MSN Messenger is the second most popular IM after QQ in China.