Welcome and Introductions
I'm a friend; a student; a managing director; and an entrepreneur. I'm a shaper, who makes things happen.
I earn a living being involved in self provisioning internet and telecoms businesses. I have interests in micro-accounting and resource allocation systems. I have a number of "day jobs" and am studying for a PhD which allow me to create an interesting blend of commercial and academic activity.
gradwell dot com Limited
Firstly, I am "Managing Director" of my company, gradwell dot com Limited. I started the company in my second year of University (December 1998) and it has since grown into a large business serving several thousand diverse customers, both big and small in the Internet and Telecoms Sectors.
I am heavily involved in the day-to-day (and night) operations and development of the business, though now ably assisted by a team of ten. I have delivered 60% year on year growth and in 2006/2007 I am accelerating this through new product development and increased marketing and public relations.
Academia
Since January 2003 I have been pursuing a PhD in Digital Settlement Systems on grid and agent computing networks under the supervision of Dr Julian Padget at the University of Bath.
In Summer 2002 I completed an MEng in Software Engineering at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. In my final year developed a secure, automated and efficient billing system for micro and macro electronic purchases.
The Internet
I play a small part in the UK Internet. Being part of the internet has more to it than being just physically attached. I have interests in internet infrastructure, domain names, dns and telephony.
Voice over IP
In early 2004 I was lucky enough to merge my interests in Telecoms and the Internet and begin developing systems which use the SIP protocol to do Voice over IP. I have worked in a number of joint venture companies to bring services such as GossipTel to market, as well as a number of white label solutions now used by major UK ISPs. My main interest currently is in growing the gradwell VoIP business.
However, beyond the pure comercialisation of Voice over IP, I believe that we need to grow adoption. For this reason I've sponsored the creation of www.voip.org.uk a communitity lead VoIP forum which I hope will become a de-facto reference point for Internet Telephony in the UK.
I have also worked with other industry colleagues to found a trade body ITSPA and have been part of OFCOM/DTI working groups on ENUM and 999 over VoIP.
Domain Names - Nominet
From April 2002 until April 2004 I was Chairman of Nominet's Policy Advisory Board. The PAB is the ultimate "think tank" for UK domain name policy and as Chair, I guided the discussion. As of April 2005, I have "retired" to the "back benches" and have re-focused my efforts on VoIP and Telecoms Regulation.
Loud-n-clear Ltd
As well as my own company, I am also a non-Executive Director of Loud-n-clear Limited, a slightly smaller but equally nice company. They focus on Hosting, Connectivity and Colocation. My role is to help bring the outsiders perspective on how they work and are positioned in the market place.
Other Interests
I maintain a keen interest in uk internet and telecoms facilities, and also uk usenet. I'm also interested in some web things, notably PHP, Java and Cold Fusion and have built (Preloved, Mackays) and host some pretty cool websites.
Currently...
I'm pretty busy and tied up now until 2007 with a combination of contract work, my company and a PhD. However, my CV is here.
I try to get out more these days and make sure I do the things all good students should do. Working is bad for my health, but good for my bank balance. When I can (because "I can"), I go places, take photos and relax.
Slovenia, April 2005
