I've watched the evolution of VoIp from the beginning. Closely. This very short piece poses and interesting question with some deep implicatons.

I believe VoIP has achieved penetration as a transport mechanism for voice services. It works in the carrier backbone. It works in the enterprise. It even works for many small businesses and consumers.

VoIP has driven voice and data network convergence to practical levels. With many dual-mode handsets, convergence at the device level is well underway. VoIP has been painfully so to bring about the true convergence of services and applications.

Will we really follow Microsoft and will VoIP become simply a presence tool in the large picture? I hope not, but fear that may be one of the next big steps we see.

VoIP Just a Tool for Presence
Microsoft aims to make presence information available across a variety of platforms, including IM, voice and within applications such as calendars and Outlook.

Aug 3, 2007 - By Andrew Conry-Murray
Microsoft's strong moves into VoIP are less about telephony and more about presence. Today the most common form of presence is the status box in an IM client. Microsoft aims to make presence information available across a variety of platforms, including IM, voice and within applications such as calendars and Outlook.