Approaching the half-century mark in YOE (years on earth) causes some people to ponder, even obsess over, the concept of time--how fast it goes by, how little of it they have left. As the bodacious Bonnie Raitt would say: "[We're ] scared...scared to run out of time." Not me. I've had a pretty good run; the rest is gravy. So when I think about time lately, it's been more about the phrase, "Time will tell."

"Time will tell" has become the refrain for experts trying to determine the soundness of decisions about new technology developments. Is taking fiber all the way to the home a good idea? Time will tell. Is wireless going to be the ultimate access technology? Time will tell. Is Disney Mobile going to flop? Time will tell (but not a whole heckuva lot of time).

No earthly concept has been as entrusted with--and more successful at--determining ultimate right from wrong than time. Only through time can we determine whether a decision was for the best. The more major the decision, the more time needed to judge it. And even those determinations are often subject to revision with the passing of more time.

Also, only through time can we determine whether or not the professed intentions behind some decisions were honorable or deceitful. When pondering the intentions of Verizon Wireless and its vendor cohorts in the recently announced enhancement proposal to the IP multimedia subsystem standard known as Advances to IMS, or A-IMS, the only real answer is: time will tell.

Given the history of large vendors and carriers trying to twist standards to their advantage in the name of differentiation, can we really take Verizon Wireless at its word when it claims it will take its work back to the standards bodies for potential incorporation or that they will take the bodies' recommendations in return to heart? Can we rest assured that this group is filled with the good intentions of improving the standard for worldwide consumption? Or do we assume, based on prior experience such as in the TDMA versus CDMA wars or the T1/E1 stink, that this is the thinly disguised first step in creating a separate standard? While some people obviously know the answer to that question, only time will tell. 

E-mail me at tmcelligott@telephonyonline.com.