FISPA Annual Conference

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of presenting to FISPA, the Federation of Internet Solution Providers of the Americas. FISPA had its annual meeting in Atlanta last week and I was invited to provide a tutorial on how Number Portability impacts VoIP service providers. I was unaware of FISPA until just last month. In general, when I hear the term ISP, the picture that comes to my mind is a struggling Internet Service Provider unable to compete with the giant carriers.

However, the folks I met at FISPA did not fit that stereotype. Primarily, the folks I met were owners of small service providers that provide all kind of data centric services. They had learned how to become more than just Internet Service Providers, they had in fact become solution providers for their small and medium size business customers. Being entrepreneurial and innovative, they had developed nice businesses serving the needs of their customers that could not be met by large competitors. It was a technically savvy group that also had the business sense for building a business through bootstrap financing. No VCs or corporate high flyers were in the crowd, these guys were all achievers, not marketing promoters. It was a nice change from the typical trade show conference that can be heavy on creating buzz, but lacking any real substance.

I estimate that about one half of the FISPA members provide VoIP services and I expect more will add VoIP to their suite of services. While FISPA is a small group, I expect this organization will grow as more innovative service providers learn how to serve vertical market niches that require focus and expertise that is beyond the scope of large competitors. You can learn more about FISPA at www.FISPA.org.