BT to Close Ribbit

British Telecom paid $105 million to buy Ribbit in 2008, which liked to call itself “Silicon Valley’s first phone company.” Now it appears to be "nobody's phone company," as Ribbit is shut down and its functions are subsumed elsewhere inside BT.

The platform allowed Web developers to add phone services into their sites and applications. Remember the phrase "communication-enabled business processes?" That essentially was what Ribbit promised. That is not to say CEBP is equally "dead." But it does indicate Ribbit never was able to jumpstart a significant business for BT, however valid the concept.

Some might say the failure simply points out how hard it is for large telcos to innovate. Others might simply say this particular effort was flawed in some way. Yet others might say the benefits of voice enabling applications has not proven as easy or valuable as proponents have insisted was possible.

Ribbit to close