Spending buoys telecom show

CHICAGO - Supercomm 2004 last week was all about new services - how to create them, provision them and deliver them to customers.

At this year's edition in Chicago, attendance had grown - the unofficial tally neared 30,000, up about one-fifth - over last year, and people seemed to be going about business with a clear focus. "It's not a show anymore," said one vendor. "It's all work. There's no magicians, no jugglers."

The most stunning announcement this year, a $6 billion commitment by SBC to build fiber networks into residential neighborhoods, snapped heads around for its sheer size and boldness. The company seized on a court ruling that protects carriers that own networks from having to lease new network technology to competitors at cut rates. That ruling, says SBC Chairman Ed Whitacre, paves the way for new services. "Everybody recognizes the rules have held back what we need to do," he said.

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CHICAGO - Supercomm 2004 last week was all about new services - how to create them, provision them and deliver them to customers.

At this year's edition in Chicago, attendance had grown - the unofficial tally neared 30,000, up about one-fifth - over last year, and people seemed to be going about business with a clear focus. "It's not a show anymore," said one vendor. "It's all work. There's no magicians, no jugglers."

The most stunning announcement this year, a $6 billion commitment by SBC to build fiber networks into residential neighborhoods, snapped heads around for its sheer size and boldness. The company seized on a court ruling that protects carriers that own networks from having to lease new network technology to competitors at cut rates. That ruling, says SBC Chairman Ed Whitacre, paves the way for new services. "Everybody recognizes the rules have held back what we need to do," he said.

FCC Chairman Michael Powell, a keynote speaker, vowed to help by curbing further regulations that chew up carriers' time and expense. "They can redirect that money to switches and fiber," he said, noting that hands-off is the best way to promote innovation, particularly in broadband wireless services.

Also, Sprint announced a $1 billion promise to overhaul its wireless network so it supports a five-fold increase in data speeds. Sprint says embracing Evolution Data Optimized technology will result in new high-speed services in 2006.

Again and again, VoIP service technology got a lift. Verizon announced it is installing softswitches for the first time to carry local, not just long-distance, IP voice traffic. While limited to California and Washington state, the deployment could herald a new wave of voice-data services.

VoIP sells, said Don Logan, chairman of Time Warner's Media & Communications Group, during his SuperComm keynote address. A Time Warner trial of the technology in Portland, Maine, has snatched one in 10 subscribers from traditional voice providers with most of them buying VoIP bundled with TV programming and Internet access, he said.

VoIP played a major role in a demonstration that DSL can compete against cable for services such as voice, video, gaming, home entertainment and Internet access. The DSL Forum's demo highlighted easily configured home networks that support these.

Sylantro Systems demonstrated how VoIP can anchor mixed-media services by blending separate voice and text capabilities. For the show, the software maker created a service that lets Yahoo customers checking on their instant-messaging activity click on a buddy's name to call them on the phone. A service provider with the right infrastructure could use the software to sell Yahoo IM customers an add-on service, Sylantro says.