Alec Saunders SquawkBox

A brief flirtation with the prepaid calling card world introduced me to NetworkIP and their CEO Pete Patullo in 2002.  Historically a player that has shunned the limelight, NetworkIP nevertheless built a solid business – 6 billion minutes of traffic annual — on providing hosted calling card services to vendors wishing to develop retail products without needing to buy infrastructure. Last year, NetworkIP announced Jaduka – a subsidiary focused on monetizing the infrastructure built by NetworkIP in a different way.  Instead of providing hosted calling card services, Jaduka would deliver voice services to enterprise via APIs that could be integrated with business processes. 

News started leaking out over the weekend that mashup king Thomas Howe has joined Jaduka as CEO. Rich Tehrani’s extensive interview with Tom is worth reading, and Andy Abramson gets to add another feather to his cap as yet another of his Telco 2.0 Scouting Report picks gets snapped up. 

It’s looking like this is the year for Telco 2.0.  With multiple players in the market, including seasoned companies like Voxeo, and newcomers like Ribbit, and IfByPhone, the entrance of Jaduka – backed by NetworkIP’s infrastructure, and fronted by the charismatic and visionary Tom Howe – couldn’t be more timely.