8x8 wins auto-provisioning patent; broad implications for industry?

Yesterday, 8x8 announced that they have been awarded a patent for a technology that enables a VoIP phone to automatically locate and connect to web servers to download appropriate configurations and upgrades.

The patent seems simple and harmless enough, but Garrett Smith over at Smith on VoIP raises a red flag. "I’m no patent lawyer and certainly some of the verbose used in the patent is lost on me, but it sure seems that what 8X8 has patented is how just about every residential and hosted VoIP provider goes about offering 'plug-n-play' functionality to the end customer as well as the ability to push new settings, firmware, etc seamlessly," muses Smith on his blog.

If he's right in the way he's reading this patent, the implication is that VoIP providers might have to start looking for other ways to provide their automatic configuration and firmware upgrade features.

For more:
- read the release
- read Smith on VoIP's story

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