Every so often, something comes along in the comms world that makes you stop, squint, and say, “Wait, haven’t we seen this before—but different?” That’s why, in the spirit of VoIPWatch, I’m launching vCON Watch here on andyabramson.com
The launch is timely because much like VoIP in 2004, that’s where vCons are right now. A protocol for structured, portable, and actionable conversations? Yes, we’ve danced to this tune before—except now the tech stack is finally ready for it. And those of us who were there for ENUM, SIP, and the dawn of programmable voice know exactly why this moment matters.
Thomas Howe’s vCon App Store: Déjà Vu, But With Guardrails
Back in the early days of programmable telephony, Thomas McCarthy-Howe was one of the first to turn communications into code. I wrote about him during the days of the Telephony Mashup Contest, his deep involvement with platforms like Tropo and the original Telco 2.0 movement.
Now, as the “father of the vCON standard” he’s rolling out the vCon App Store—a secure, scalable layer to govern how we store, tag, and query conversations. This isn’t just about metadata—it’s about making conversations useful in the age of AI. Think Docker Hub meets iTunes, but for virtualized interactions.
Pulver’s Back—And He’s Rebuilding the Future (Again)
Jeff Pulver isn’t just hosting events again—he’s reigniting a movement. His Dallas vCon Meetup today and Fall Conference (October 21–23) feel a lot like the early days of VON, when innovation pulsed between sessions, not just on stage.
Pulver’s genius was always about building community, not just companies. Back then, it was about turning SIP into business models. Now, it’s about how vCons will underpin the trust infrastructure for real-time AI. The conversations won’t just be recorded—they’ll be referenced, analyzed, and reused.
This Isn’t the First Time a Protocol Promised the World
I’ve been through this cycle before. In , I covered how Skype and Vonage were shaping consumer VoIP. In 2008, I looked at how Cisco was pushing TelePresence while startup clients like SightSpeed were fighting for mindshare. By 2018, the focus had shifted to VoiceAI with acquisitions like Dialpad snapping up TalkIQ—laying the groundwork for today’s AI-native comms. Back then I opined that “VoiceAI will be as ubiquitous as collaboration,” something were clearly seeing when every AI app now uses voice as an interface.
Companies that leaned in early—Dialpad, Twilio, Voxbone, and even BroadSoft (before the Cisco acquisition)—showed us what could happen when APIs and voice converged. Their DNA now runs through much of what’s powering the vCon layer.
Why This Time Might Actually Stick
The difference now? Ecosystem maturity. We have fast networks. We have AI that can learn from tone, cadence, and context. We have privacy frameworks (finally) that recognize metadata as sensitive.
And most of all, we’ve got veterans like Howe and Pulver not just reminiscing, but actively building again.
So here’s my take: if you’re in voice, AI, CPaaS, or customer experience, and you’re not paying attention to vCons, you’re standing on the sidelines while the next protocol wave breaks.
So, just like some did with SIP, you can ignore it… until you can’t.