It's not much of a surprise that Videotron has terminated its $4.95 a month for 1,000 LD minute plan today after Bell Canada and Rogers stopped similar offers last month. With LD prices returning to 4¢ or 5¢ a minute for North American calls - rather than 0.5¢ - some consumers may start to see VOIP as a more viable option again. Given consumers don't seem to be interested in Web-based calling features, VOIP service providers had tried to use the idea low-cost LD as a major marketing tool. This opportunity, however, disappeared when Bell introduced its $5 for 1,000 LD minutes plan last year.

Shaw Communications added 22.5K cable telephony customers in fiscal Q3 - the first full quarter the service has been available from the Calgary-based cableco. All in all, it's not a pretty good number given Shaw is charging $55 a month for cable telephony - the most expensive VOIP service in Canada. There are some suggestions Canadian cablecos (Rogers, Cogeco, Shaw) have decided to have premium prices out of the gate to "control" demand and ensure customers who do sign up are happy campers. Once any kinks have been worked out, the cablecos could then get more competitive on price. Meanwhile, Videotron is having trouble keeping up with strong demand for its cable telephony service that ranges from $15.95 to $30 a month. Check out my posting earlier this week for a good look at the VOIP pricing landscape in Canada.

According to an extensive report by TeleGeography, the number of VOIP subscribers in the U.S. will climb to four million by the end of this year from 1.8 million in Q1 2005. By 2010, the research firm forecasts there will be 17.5 million subscribers while annual revenue will be more than $5-billion. An intriguing part of the report is a survey of 1,500 consumers that suggests most of them are unfamilar with VOIP. When asked about their potential interest in VOIP based on differnet price point, the most interest was "significantly" higher at $20 than $35. TeleGeography's numbers suggest Vonage had about one-third of the VOIP market in the first-quarter. It also indicates Vonage may have to remain aggressive on price to maintain its momentum, if not its market lead. In Q1, TeleGeography said cablecos accounted for 46% of total subscribers while "enhanced service providers" such as Vonage and 8x8 had 41%.

Charlie Giancarlo's ascension through the senior management ranks at Cisco have taken another step forward on news he's been named chief development officer - replacing Mario Mazzola, who is retiring. Giancarolo was named chief technology officer last year. Cisco also said two other rising stars - Jayshree Ullal and Mike Volpi - will take added responsibilities now handled by executives who are retiring. With these appointments and some senior management changes last month, you wonder if the horse race to eventually succeed CEO John Chambers over the next few years has already started. From a Canadian perspective, it's interesting to compare how Cisco manages his executive changes while Nortel struggles to complete the overhaul of its senior management team following the recent departures of COO Gary Daichendt and CTO Gary Kunis.