Title: Avaya's product line manager for emergency services, chairman of the PBX/Multi-Line Telephone System technical subcommittee of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA)

Employer: Avaya

Featured in:

Junkies Celebrate 101st Episode!, 2/17/2010
NENA's E911 Model Legislation, 3/11/09
FEMA’s CallPilot Hijacked, 8/27/08
Making the Right Call on E911, 2/13/08

Nickname/alias: Fletch

What I'm best known for (in the telecom world):

Speaking what is on my mind no matter who the audience is.
Remaining an advocate for the installed user base and their needs.
Actively supporting the user conferences and seminars on current VoIP technologies.
My evangelistic approach and seriousness about E911 capabilities in the enterprise.
Dialplan and voice network design for large multi-location environments.

Other primary areas of expertise:

Resilient VoIP network architecture, VoIP security, dialplan management, unified communications and being able to talk to anyone about many different technologies at their level and in terms everyone can relate to.

Summary of professional background:

More than two decades of experience in the telecommunications industry. Currently I am the product manager for Avaya's Emergency Services feature set in the enterprise as well as the PSAP. I also enjoy speaking at many international industry and user group events about anything VoIP.

Additionally, I represent Avaya as an active member in several industry organizations such as ECMA as well as public safety and E911 organizations like APCO, and the NENA Next Generation 911 Transition Technical Committee defining standards for the NG911 solution. I am also an active member of the NENA Private Sector Government Affairs Advisory Group, and act as chairman for the NENA Multi-Line Telephone System (MLTS) Technical Subcommittee.

Prediction on the future of telecom & telecom managers:

High-speed wireless broadband is here today and publicly available in many locations, and will be creeping into the enterprise. With all of the devices we have, and their need for network connectivity, there is simply no room in the closet for a 100% wired infrastructure.

The biggest fear I have is that this new unplugged network allows for a lot of mobility, and although good for productivity, it can be deadly due to today's aging E911 infrastructure. Managers need to balance both safety and productivity, which are two issues never paired up before. This can be a daunting challenge if you don't understand the problem.

Weirdest thing people usually don't know about me:

When I started my telecommunications career in 1985 as a PBX installation technician, I moonlighted as a late night disc jockey in Orlando, Fla., at the “Hot Rockin’ Y106” playing up to the Central Florida 18-to-34 female demographic as “Mark in the Dark.” Thank goodness radio is only audio, I would have never made it on TV.

When I'm not talking or doing something in relation to telecom, I'm usually ...

Spending time with my family and friends, tinkering around the house trying to claim that I actually repaired something for less than what it would cost to just replace it.

Book and author I'm currently reading:

Anything technical with a good "opinion" point of view. I don't have to agree with it, but it has to have one! ;-)

CD currently or most recently in my car stereo:

Unlike many others, I do own CDs, cassette tapes, a few old 8-tracks, some LPs and a stash of old 45s. My iPod, however, is loaded with industry-related podcasts and some great music from the '80s. I also have a few of my favorite episodes of “The Office” for those times when I just need a good chuckle. 

The stupidest thing I've ever seen anyone do or say in relation to a phone:

Of the thousands of things that I have seen and heard, two particular ones come to mind:

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us."
-- Western Union Internal Memo, in 1876

A customer asked me if I thought that since Y2K was such a non-event, if I thought Y3K would be about the same. I told them to call me a few months before Y3K actually hit, and I would have a good answer for them. They thought for a second, and then reality suddenly rushed over them.