Bells Chime In With Voice-Over-Net Hype

Suddenly, this month, it seems the Bells have finally discovered the revolutionary power of voice-over-the-Net.

In a rare concerted move that threatens to dramatically remake the industry landscape, big phone players BellSouth (BLS Quote), Verizon (VZ Quote), Qwest (Q Quote) and SBC (SBC Quote) have unleashed a bone-jarring salvo of press releases heralding their plans to enter the 6-year-old business of voice-over-Internet protocol, or VoIP.

Yes, this staggering strategic shift was largely contained to some small and medium-sized business offerings by BellSouth and SBC and, in Qwest's case, a "select group of customers in Minnesota." Still, to growth-hungry investors, it was validation of a theme they've been keen on for a good part of the year.

Despite the hoopla, some industry observers cautioned that, while no doubt the Net will one day be the converged pathway for all communications traffic, most of these recent announcements are, alas, little more than positioning statements. ...