Another Glen Campbell sings a telephony song

In his 1969 hit song "Wichita Lineman," pop singer Glen Campbell addressed the technological andrelated personalof a PSTNline repairman.

Now,35 years later, another Glen Campbell is singing a different type of telephony tune. As Canadian IP blogger and Financial Post columnist Mark Evans reports, Merrill Lynch Canada telcom analyst Glen Campbell got a reality check when he spoke with Karen Sheriff, president of Bell Canada's 450,000-plus subscriber small and medium business unit.

Evans notes that Campbell quoted Sheriff as saying that "the migration is happening very slowly. She cited 'high equipment costs and the pain of conversion' as the biggest obstacles, but she expects more customers to gravitate to Internet telephony by 2006."

Ms. Sheriff, incidentally, was recently named one of Canada's 100 Most Powerful Women" by the Canadian Women's Executive Network. So, unlikeanother hit song, this is one "sheriff" that should not be "shot down."

Evans does add his view that in the short-term IP will be a second line option. "The reality... is(IP telephony)will probably take longer than most expect to become mainstream."

I thinkEvans has a point, especially with his second-line prediction.

"And the Winnepeg Lineman is still on the line..."