The IETF Meeting started today in Hiroshima (without me), the speermint session is tomorrow at an ungodly hour with respect to CET, but the real news is somewhere else:
JD Rosenberg left Cisco and joins Skype.
and
Jonathan and Cullen published a new VoIP interconnection idea.
Their analysis is similar to mine, but their solution starts with a different set of requirements.
Their main idea is not to build something which is capable of obsoleting the PSTN, but build something which leverages the strength of the PSTN to enable direct SIP peerings.
Definitely worth a read. This could be huge, especially as JD writes:
This technology is not just documents – it is working code, and was announced by Cisco today as part of their products shipping early next year.
If he manages to get that idea into Skype as well and if the IPR allows Open Source implementation, then ViPR-enabled PBXs will make an end-run around the carriers.
We live in interesting times.
UPDATE: See also this.