CXTech Week 32 2022 News and Analysis

The purpose of this CXTech Week 32 2022 newsletter is to highlight, with commentary, some of the news stories in CXTech this week. What is CXTech?  The C stands for Connectivity, Communications, Collaboration, Conversation, Customer; X for Experience because that’s what matters; and Tech because the focus is enablers.

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Following advice, I’m including a small pitch for my consulting services in this newsletter, many readers are unaware I consult. I’m an Engineer who’s been independently consulting for a couple of decades, “I know stuff and people” 😉 A client recently shared with me why they occasionally prefer my services to the big brands (apart from being cheaper). “Some competitors use the internet and a few interviews, or generally talk with large players that can afford their fees. You understand the market from conversations across the industry and across decades.”

Covered this week:

  • Smishing, its an Old Problem, and has Solutions
  • Google Attempts to use RCS to force Apple’s hand in Messaging Interop
  • Informal Interviews: Meet the TADHack Global Sponsors
  • TADHack Memories from Sri Lanka
  • TADSummit Update: “Don’t Ask Your Developer”
  • Element Sign-on gets Better
  • Agenda Published for the OpenSIPS Summit 2022, 27th – 30th September
  • People, Gossip, and Frivolous Stuff
    • IEEE Spectrum: DALL-E 2’s Failures
    • Illegal Wire-Tapping in NYC in 1955
    • The First High-Yield, Sub-Penny Plastic Processor

Smishing, its an Old Problem, and has Solutions

This week we’ve seen a number of phishing / smishing / vishing breaches. We’ve shown how such attacks can be blocked through zero trust, for example using Metacert’s approach (Paul Walsh). CXTech Week 19 2022, and CXTech Week 24 2021.

Google Attempts to use RCS to force Apple’s hand in Messaging Interop

Google has launched 13 different messaging apps since iMessage launched in 2011. Google now says, “It’s time for Apple to fix texting.” Apple should adopt the global standard for messaging, RCS, which isn’t going to work. This article provides a fair review of the situation, and clearly shows carriers are no longer relevant to the discussion. Simply a path of last resort (SMS and MMS) for p2p messages between Android and iPhone users.

iMessage is not as popular as WhatsApp, 2B versus 1B. 84% of smartphone users use Android (5.25B) , compared to 16% iOS (1B users with almost all using iMessage). Of the 5.25B Android users, only 1.25B use Google Messages. They’re sort of neck and neck on user base, but the momentum is clearly in Google’s favor with 4B Android users to migrate onto Google Messages.

Personally, I do not care about the green bubbles and compressed videos (MMS) when sending to iPhone users. I use WhatsApp, Slack, Telegram, Element, Twitter, Wire, Skype, Linkedin, Discord, and lots of other apps for the many different conversations. Sharing Google photos and videos at full res via URLs in emails to some family members and others through Skype or WhatsApp.

The end position is clear, if Google and Apple see mutual benefit in working together on messaging, it will be easier to interop directly. Carriers and RCS are irrelevant to the discussion. A legacy path of last resort between Android and iPhone users, SMS and MMS. I wrote a piece in 2018, From IM to the First Point of Contact with the Internet (FPOCI). In that post I suggested a last gasp approach US carriers could have taken, but it’s now all too late.

Informal Interviews: Meet the TADHack Global Sponsors

Here are some short videos to informally introduce the sponsors, so you get to know the people behind the brands, why they love their technology, and what they hope to see from TADHack Global 2022.

  • Dave from Jambonz, was on the US Rugby team for the 1987 World Cup. Yes, that is the Jungfrau in his background live! Dave is living the remote working dream.
  • Thomas from STROLID, is the cook for his family like me, though much more advanced 🙂 vCon is an important technology for everyone to learn at TADHack.
  • Al and Adnan from Radisys, technology saved Al from becoming a lawyer, proof technology is a force for good 😉 As a kid Adnan had a Commodore 64 computer like me! They both want to help you bring your hacks to market. Your hack from TADHack could become your side hustle, and perhaps even your main business.

Its time to register for TADHack. Check out ‘Choose your location’ on the TADHack landing page. Click on the location you can attend, and then the register button for that location. The Location page contains the address, schedule, and other important information about the specific location (we’re still updating location details, but register now to reserve your place). If there is no location close by, you can take part in Global Remote, that is the comfort of your home.

TADHack Memories from Sri Lanka

In 2021 we had two Joint Local and Global winners from TADHack Sri Lanka 2021. Using resources from hSenid Mobile Solutions (Pvt) Ltd, ideamart.io, and Telnyx.

Going back to 2014 you can see the pitch for OfferHut with a young looking Ruwan Dissanayaka from 2014. You can read more about Ruwan’s journey here. From TADHack to a funded business to continuously innovating with new services.

It’s great to see world-class talent from around the world being recognized in Programmable Communications.

TADSummit Update: “Don’t Ask Your Developer”

We added a new presentation to the TADSummit agenda “Don’t” ask your developer! by Dinesh Saparamadu from hSenid Mobile Solutions (Pvt) Ltd.

You can rely on TADSummit for “No BS” insights on programmable communications. Lead don’t follow the herd. Of course the reality is more complex, but no-code / low-code is changing how enterprise applications are built for the benefit of CPaaS.

Loads more big name content to add in the coming months. I’ll have the event logistics posted soon, add the date to your diary, 8/9 November in Aveiro Portugal at GoContact HQ.

“Don’t” ask your developer!

Dinesh Saparamadu, CEO, hSenid Mobile Solutions

  • The term “Ask your developer” has become a stumbling block for innovation over the years and leads to missing the first to enter market advantage.
  • No-code low-code CPaaS mitigates these barriers, and Telcos can be the centre point of this transformation.
  • Drag and drop application builder will enable CPaaS access to people without developer skills, and with the use of AI/ML in CPaaS, Telcos can,
    • Create a developer support system to enhance the support services.
    • Create a personalized experience for users.
    • Proactively predict churn that will lead to increase in monetization

Element Sign-on gets Better

We covered Element buying Gitter in CXTech Week 40 2020, and an outcome of that acquisition is a better first time user experience.

Agenda Published for the OpenSIPS Summit 2022, 27th – 30th September

A world-class line-up of presenters from around the world. OpenSIPS is one of the most used Open Source SIP Servers in the world. It’s routing millions of calls across the globe each day. It has been 100% Open Source and has been backed by a robust community for over 15 years.

I’ll be presenting some of the Open Source Telecom Survey Results. Since 2019 we’re run the Open Source Telecom Survey thanks to the support of the OpenSIPS community. This year we focused on security, accelerators, vCon, DDoS, A2P messaging, STIR/SHAKEN, expectation given a coming recession, and more. I’ll shared my no BS views of the results.

People, Gossip, and Frivolous Stuff

Erin Fonzi Denton is now a Senior Product Designer at 15Five. Erin has help TADHack Orlando over a number of years as part of Code for Orlando. Here are some of her winners.

Amy Sliwinski is now a Business Analyst at Oddball. Amy is a TADHack Global Winner with RescueR by Ebtesam Al Haque, Doug Moore, Amy Sliwinski, Muntaser Syed, Vincent Tang, Davindra Tulsi, and Chris Woodle.

Phil Doherty is now RVP Sales Engineering for International Global Service Providers at RingCentral.

Lazar Mihajlovic is now Key Account Manager at Native Teams

Richard Smith is now a Consultant at Optimal Projects Ltd

Zoe Scheiber is now Strategic Initiatives Analyst at ServiceNow

Simon Taylor is now business development specialist at Stacuity. Who are presenting at TADSummit on Time to ditch the ‘dumb-pipe’ – reinventing the core mobile network, to put developers first. Mike Bromwich, CEO / Co-Founder Stacuity & Tim Dowling, Co-Founder Stacuity.

IEEE Spectrum: DALL-E 2’s Failures

We covered DALL-E 2 with in CXTech Week 23 2022 with the Delft Blue Stormtroopers. This is an important step in the evolution of metaverse. In time, personalized 3D interactive environments could be created by machine learning, these mashed up images are just a taste. No need for large teams of designers, artists, and games engineers; which limit the use cases and ownership of metaverse. We’re still a ways away from that vision, but the path is becoming a little clearer.

This article frankly reviews OpenAI’s text-to-image generator struggles with text, science, faces, and bias.

Illegal Wire-Tapping in NYC in 1955

The two firms, Bristol-Myers and E. R. Squibb, were at the time locked in a nasty legal battle over the commercial rights to the antibiotic tetracycline. Evidence later revealed that representatives from a third firm, Pfizer, had employed the wiretap nest to spy on both entities, paying more than $60,000 in cash for the service.

An important quote in the article is: “You can’t legislate…against illegal wiretapping,” warned New York District Attorney Edward Silver. The article is great telecoms history, and makes clear while private wiretapping was closed down, public wiretapping continues.

The First High-Yield, Sub-Penny Plastic Processor

This article reminded me of my time at BT Labs as a student during my Masters project struggling to measure HEMTs (high-electron-mobility transistor). I thought I’d achieved an unmatched level of stupidity, only for my supervisor to achieve the same level. And realize how poor the yield on the wafer was. We found a couple that worked after a few days. Yield is hard with new technology.

While still years even one decade+ from broad market application, flexible circuits, like flexible screens enable new applications of electronics. For example, band aids monitoring and adapting treatment of wounds.

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