PricewaterhouseCoopers has published an interesting list of key VOIP trends for 2005. Some of the most eye-catching issues are:
- pricing: PWC doesn't believe the market has bottomed out yet and asks the obvious question "how low can they go?"
- regulation: what kind of approach will the FCC really adopt - hands off or hands on?
- consolidation: the big telcos and cablecos will snaup up small VOIP service providers (Vonage, 8x8?)
PWC also has a list of companies to watch. This include Skype, Vonage, AT&T, Cablevision, Cisco, Nortel, Lucent, Juniper, IBM, Microsoft and SunRocket.
I'm particularly interested in some of the non-traditional VOIP players. IBM attracts attention because it puts the spotlight on the large corporate market, which has been somewhat ignored as consumer VOIP takes off. Microsoft is an interesting choice because the software giant has yet to make much of an impact in VOIP, although PWC believes the company could "make quite a splash" if and/or when it decides to make a move. SunRocket stands out because I hadn't heard of them yet. The company, which was started by some ex-MCI executives, is offering a US$199 "Annual Edition" product, which includes a year of home telephone service, two phone numbers, enhanced voice mail and 100 free minutes of international service.

For anyone who still has a passing interest in the financial troubles of Nortel Networks, we're only seven days away from the "real" story. Maybe - and that's a big maybe given Nortel's recent track record - we'll actually find out some of the following next week:

1. Nortel's actual sales and profits from 2000 to 2004;
2. Why CEO Frank Dunn, CFO Doug Beatty and 10 senior financial executives were fired? And how much cash are they getting to be quiet and/or not launch wrongful dismissal suits?
3. How the lucrative bonus structure put in place actually came about. It should ge noted the bonuses were approved by Nortel's board, which included current CEO Bill Owens?
4. What prompted Nortel do re-look at its books in the first place?
5. Most important, what really happened? Is this a case of widespread, systematic fraud or over-aggressive accounting?

Some non-financial questions I'm curoius about include:

1. What's Bill Owens' personal vision for Nortel other than going after military and government contracts? - two areas he knows intimately from his days with the U.S. Navy.
2. Where is Nortel going strategically? Does it need to make acquisitions to become a more viable player in IP? If so, where are the holes?
3. Does it still intend to be everything to everybody, or will the company pare down its focus so it can be more efficient at R&D, marketing and sales?
4. Are there more job cuts on the way? What's the status of corporate headquarters in Brampton, Ont.?
5. What's Owens' future given there's already talk about a hunt for a new CEO?
6. Will Nortel actually hold an AGM this year?

Late note: the NYSE has given Nortel until March 31 to file its 2003 annual results with the SEC, or it will start de-listing procedures. Nice P.R. move by the NYSE given Nortel will probably file its 2003 results this month.