VoIP is the Napster of the telecom industry

I had a busy week last week -- a full day workshop on e-government, and a board of directors strategy session for a New York state credit union. So this weekend, I decided to stay up at our ski cottage a few extra days to catch up on some work, and to get a few runs in.

I brought along my Voice-over-Internet box from Vonage, plugged it into my high speed Internet connection at our ski cottage -- and I've got phone service via the Internet ... despite the fact I'm sort of in the middle of no-where.

VoIP is the Napster of the telecom industry -- it is going to tear apart business models, cause job and career upheaval, increase competition -- and generally change everything. Here I am on the shores of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, working away, and I've got a New York City telephone number via the Internet. Fascinating.