There was a time when VoIP was at the bleeding edge of technology, opening up new markets and taking on the establishment.
Since then, we’ve seen some of the pioneers (being the actual pioneers, not the Soviet Youth) like Skype, come and go. VoIP is now mainstream. In fact, voice over a data bearer is so ubiquitous, that its predecessor, TDM, is only found in a smattering of places.
Back then though, VoIP providers faced huge barriers. Up popped trade associations like the Internet Telephony Service Providers Association (ITSPA) providing a place where they could band together and stick it to The Man.
In their heyday, ITSPA did great things. Most notably was their campaign about ten years ago on net neutrality – working with the UK Government and the EU to prevent the MNOs from blocking over-the-top apps. I still chuckle at the sight of then Ofcom CEO, Ed Richards, squirming under a barrage of evidence from Philip Davis MP in a select committee session on that very topic.
ITSPA was a credible powerhouse..
As VoIP became more mainstream, it rebranded as Comms Council UK (don’t google CCUK if people can see your screen – you don’t want those rumours circulating at the watercooler). In one sense, as we move into the next era of WhatsApp calling and Conversational AI, CCUK is increasingly representative of The Man it once sought to stick things to.
That’s all well and good. Simwood is a major provider of services to CCUK members and their compatriots around the world. However, we have decided not to renew our membership for a few key reasons.
Firstly, we now have a more global outlook. The development of the Potato and its worldwide audience, along with BYoC means that while the UK is our home market, and an important one, our relationship with the more globally-focussed likes of the CCA, GLF and ITU take priority.
Secondly, here at Simwood, credibility and integrity are important. Very important. So important, it’s a specific metric on all our staff’s appraisals.
When a trade association gives a “Highly Commended” award to an entity that had a 700k fine the same day for an egregious outage on 999, we have to question their bona fides. When, at the same ceremony, a category winner is the provider with a major cybersecurity incident that at the time is preventing it from provisioning new orders for the rest of the year and discharging its regulatory obligations, questions have to be asked.
Errors of judgment happen, but this is the same trade association that has form in this area, previously commending those with major outages as a result of poor resilience planning.
Maybe it also stems from Governance – like having two Directors on the “Council” from the same company, albeit nominally representing different companies. I don’t like things like that.
There’s plenty of other reasons over many years which have nearly lead to this, but I don’t want to rant or cry over spilled milk. So let’s leave it at that.
Like many things in life, things that were once useful, are consigned to the annals of history. Just like the cassettes and CDs we’ve previously talked about, it is time for us to move on too.
