Presence and IntComm WG

["Rork, Joseph (J.P.)" <>]

Title: My silly little cell phone idea

<soapbox>
I am a Vonage user.  One of the things that I think is cool is the click-to-call feature.  I just highlight a bit of numeric text on my computer, push F6, and my analog desk phone rings, connecting me to the phone number that I highlighted.  Simple, stupid, cool.  Easier to use then Skype. 

Great, what does this have to do with PIC?

I realize that our group promotes SIP as our protocol of choice, and that we wish to promote presence and integrated communications using SIP.  However, I also thing that we can achieve our goal without demanding that we are SIP end-to-end.  SIP.edu, which actually likes SIP so much that it has SIP in it's name, isn't always SIP end-to-end.  But people get the idea.  I use SIP, I contact someone. I argue that we relax our grip on controlling all aspects of the RTC, and focus more on the PIC.  All the end user wants to do is communicate with someone; we want to show them how to use PIC to communicate with that someone more effectively. 

I propose that we allow the conference attendees to add their existing cell phones to their profile at the conference, mimicking what a real world implementation might look like today.  Then, as part of our integrated communications package, we offer this as a voice endpoint using the SIP-to-PSTN gateway we plan on providing.  It will allow he end user to make softphone to cell and cell to cell calls, depending on how we implement it. 

We can take it one step further and allow people to not only register their cell phone number, but also their SMS contact as well. 

Scenario 1:  Tarzan wants to call Jane.  Tarzan is using a SIP softphone on his computer and puts in .  The system sees that Jane is registered at softphone and rings her softphone.  Done already today.

Scenario 2:  Same as one, but Jane's battery on her laptop died and she isn't registered at all.  System recognizes this, and redirects the call to the cell phone that Jane provided in her profile out the PSTN gateway.  Note Tarzan still doesn't know Jane's cell, just her unique identifier.

Scenario 3:  Tarzan still wants to call Jane, but Jane is sitting in a coconut opening seminar, and doesn't want to be disturbed by phone calls.  The system recognizes that Jane has set Jane has set her "DND by voice" flag, and offers Tarzan the option to IM her.  Tarzan decides no, but instructs the system to have Jane call him when both of them are not seen as busy by voice. 

Scenario 4:  Tarzan in hurry, doesn't have time to boot up old 386, runs to kiosk, logs in as Tarzan, tells system to call Jane using Tarzan's cell phone.  Tarzan's cell phone rings, Jane answers either cell phone or softphone, depending on which she is using at the time.

I know that there are some that are not fans of gateways, but we are putting in a PSTN gateway because we recognize the need to expand our calling audience.  It would be beneficial if we use that same gateway to extend the integrated part of our communications.  I believe that it would help people 'get' what we are trying to explain.  And it would also help solve that little nagging voice problem that we admit to having...

</soapbox>

Regards,
Joseph Rork
Associate Architect
Next Generation Collaborative Computing, SIE
Ford Motor Company
Phone: 313-594-6672
Email:
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