Why I Say “Press 1” Is Dead

Since the early days of VoIP, we’ve been talking about the demise of legacy telephony structures. “Press 1 for sales” was always a symptom of old-school thinking. Now, with OpenAI’s real-time SIP integration, that era is finally over. For years, I’ve advocated for smarter systems. In 2018, when Dialpad acquired TalkIQ, I wrote how AI … Read more

The AI Market Is Splitting Into Two Distinct Paths

After diving into the merged findings from Bessemer’s “State of AI 2025” and Janelle Tang’s Next Big Teng’s analysis, I’m struck by how the AI startup landscape is crystallizing into a fascinating dichotomy. Three years post-ChatGPT, we’re seeing the market mature in ways that tell us a lot about where things are headed. What’s immediately … Read more

Why We Must Move Beyond Gigabit Internet in the Next Decade

There was a time when “gigabit” sounded like science fiction. The idea that you could move a billion bits per second to your home or office was the stuff of press releases and futurist conference keynotes. Fast-forward to today, and “gigabit” is like a high-performance sports car you only drive in school zones—more capacity than … Read more

The Digital Dinosaur’s Final Roar: What AOL’s Dial-Up Death Tells Us About Tomorrow’s Internet

The iconic screech of AOL’s dial-up modem—that distinctive digital handshake that welcomed millions to the internet—will finally fall silent on September 30, 2025. I find this moment oddly poignant, not for nostalgic reasons, but because it perfectly illustrates how dramatically our connectivity landscape has evolved. Taking a step back, I think there are a few … Read more

Agentic AI Has Arrived — And It’s Not Waiting for You to Catch Up

A few weeks back, I shared my early take on Agentic AI and why it matters. At the time, it felt like I was seeing around corners. This week confirmed it: Agentic AI isn’t just coming. It’s already here, and the pace of activity is dizzying. Let’s start with security. CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform helped bring … Read more

Telephony-First Voice AI: Why Most Startups Get It Wrong—and Who’s Getting It Right

The recent CB Insights* report on Voice AI consolidation is a clear sign of the sector’s heat. But while capital is flowing and M&A is looming, most of the startups being celebrated have one major flaw: they’re not telephony-first. They treat voice like a data event, not a communications foundation. They analyze conversations after the … Read more

Why Telecom Needs Agentic AI: A Strategic Imperative for the Next Decade

Over the years, I’ve written extensively about telecom’s transformation—whether it was the rise of VoIP, the impact of cloud-based communications, or the integration of AI with platforms like Dialpad and TalkIQ. But what’s coming next isn’t just an evolution—it’s a revolution. And it’s being led by Agentic AI. 📡 From Reactive to Proactive: Why Now?The … Read more

AI Is Taking the Call, And That’s a Good Thing

July 8, 2025, may go down as a landmark day in the evolution of intelligent communications. Two announcements—one in insurance, the other in payments—signal how AI, and specifically voice AI, is not just reshaping industries, it’s streamlining the very friction points that have long frustrated both businesses and their customers. First, the partnership between Liberate … Read more