“Spam” (Not The Canned Meat) Of The Future
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a rapidly growing technology that permits users to place phone calls over the Internet. Although it is primarily used by businesses, the number of consumer subscribers is growing. It’s projected that by 2008, more than 17 million households will have VoIP capability.
It is easy to predict that spammers are already viewing this explosive growth as an opportunity for a telemarketing comeback. Called SPIT, or Spam Over Internet Telephony, this marketing tool would permit a single “caller” to send out thousands of voice messages at once, potentially overloading servers and compromising overall system reliability. (Note that the do-not-call registry doesn’t apply to Internet calls.)
At least one company, Qovia, Inc., has applied one of my strategies – solving tomorrow’s predictable problems today – by developing a software package that will block up to 95 percent of SPIT by monitoring the rate and length of calls being made from a particular Internet address. Hopefully, proactive approaches like this will stop SPIT before it becomes a widespread problem.
For information: Qovia, Inc., 7470 New Technology Way, Suite E, Frederick, MD 21703; phone: 301-846-0020; fax: 310-846-0065; Web site: www.qovia.com
Daniel Burrus, one of the world's leading technology forecasters, business strategists, and author of six books
Copyright 2004 Author retains copyright. All Rights Reserved.
