I think there’s a common misperception that fixed=PSTN. There’s a huge blurring going on because of VoIP, with a fair amount of traffic flipping from circuit-based PSTN to fixed/Internet/WiFi VoIP, especially lucrative traffic like international calls. I’m thinking about the growth of SkypeOut, or PSTN-replacement VoIP services here.

There’s also a hard core of calls which will never go mobile – especially in the enterprise. I’ve continually challenged mobile operators to show me a customer-service call centre where all the agents use cellphones, for example. Similarly, plenty of calls are to places, not people, for which a shared fixed phone is optimal. Unless you know the name of the guy that cooks the pizza, or the woman who does reservations at the hotel, that is….

I totally disagree with the “one number for life” notion. Already something like 20-30% of people in Europe have 2+ mobile numbers, plus probably a fixed-line number and 3-5 email addresses & Internet IDs.

The whole ridiculous “one number, one device, one service provider, one voicemail, one identity” concept is fading away as it becomes painfully obvious that exactly the opposite thing will occur. Individuals will have an expanding multiplicity of numbers & contact mechanisms. Some will be linked, others kept safely separate.

Dean