Some much-needed good news for the bruised, battered and consolidating telecom market in the U.S. as the Telecommunications Industry Association expects the industry to grow 9.5% a year from 2004 to 2008. This would boost the size of the industry to $1.1-trillion.
So where's the growth coming from?
Apparently, VOIP will play a major role in the corporate and consumer sectors; as well as broadband Internet access and more service offerings by major ILECs. I wonder what impact the TIA's forecast will have on industry consolidation? Maybe it will accelerate the trend if things look more optimistic. And perhaps it will give investors another reason to invest other than betting on who's going to be bought next.

While Google has drawn a lot of interest with the launch of new services such as Froogle, Google News, Picassa and Gmail, none of them have shown themselves to be a new engine for revenue growth. Analysts, however, came away impressed after the company's investment day earlier this week. In an analyst report, Susquehanna Financial Group's Marianne Wolk said some of these beta products could become growth engines in the long term. She said 30% of Google's investments are focused on new search extensions, and that the company plans to make significant enhancements to Froogle soon.
Not surprisingly, Google declined to comment on a potential move into the domain registration business or the launch of a Google browser. "Moreover, the company was fairly quiet about its new Desktop Search entry as well as Gmail," Wolk said."We surmise an interesting debate may be underway within the company as to whether it should move ahead (and to what degree) with a thin operating system for mail and Web browsing."
Wolk's comments are intriguing because they suggest Google can make money off Gmail, et al. That may be true but I'm more inclined to believe Google's non-search properties are part of an army of drones designed to draw interest to the Queen Bee - a.k.a. knows Google.com. The ultimate goal for Google is driving business for AdWords, and if Gmail, roogle, etc. help the cause so much the better.

AOL Canada is looking increasingly like it is becoming a testing facility for parent, Time-Warner Inc. Earlier this year, AOL Canada rolled out a VOIP service called TotalTalk, while Time-Warner apparently plans to launch a similar service in the U.S. next month. Yesterday, AOL Canada unveiled the Netscape Nitro Web Accelerator, which purportedly increases the speed of a dial-up connection by six times, and a high-speed lite connection by two to six times.
AOL Canada figures there is a large and lucrative market for Nitro given 50% of Canadians - for reasons that seem antiquated to me - access the Web using a dial-up or high-speed lite connection. Fortunately, their online experience can now be improved significantly by spending $5.95 a month for Nitro. Look for AOL Canada to set the strategic tone for its parent when it comes to an online music service.

It's bad enough Skype is wrecking havoc in the wireline/VOIP world; now it's apparently taking on the wireless industry. Skype has signed a deal with i-mate to pre-load wireless devices with Skype software. I don't know too much about i-mate other than it's based in Dubai and it makes multi-feature devices and smart phones.
While Skype gets to do a little wireless crowing, they should wait to break out the champagne until they sign a deal with a major wireless device maker such as Nokia, or a big carrier. Mind you, I'd be shocked if a large device maker made a deal with Skype because the last thing a Nokia or Motorola wants to do is affect the business prospects of their customers - the wireless carriers - by giving consumers a way to make free or cheap long-distance calls.
I'm increasingly of the opinion the wireless industry is a nice, cozy club for the carriers and device makers. Each group has a vested interest in making each other happy. With the wireless industry finally gaining financial momentum, each constituency is loathe to upset the competitive environment. That's why Skype will likely always be on the outside looking in.