Voice Over IP (VOIP) News

ECR Voice offering special for SunRocket refugees

2007-08-17T10:29:00.000-04:00

In the wake of SunRocket going out of buisness, and the need for more good prices options for VoIP for the rest of the world, ECR Voice is offering a limited time offer. $19.95 a month or $199 a year and the first month is free. I believe they do have a $29.99 set up fee though. But still, what a deal!!

SunRocket leaves customers behind

2007-07-18T09:36:00.000-04:00

By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press

VIENNA, VA. — The abrupt shutdown of Internet phone carrier SunRocket left more than 200,000 customers scrambling for alternate service Tuesday and raised questions about the viability of other stand-alone Internet phone providers.

SunRocket, like other companies that only provide phone service over broadband, attracted customers with cheap plans and innovative features. But traditional phone and cable companies also lowered prices and started bundling their services.

The competition proved too much for the No. 2 standalone Internet phone company after Vonage Holdings Corp.

SunRocket ceased operations without warning on Monday.

Nobody at SunRocket was available to explain its quick exit. SunRocket Chief Executive Lisa Hook did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday.

At the company's Tysons Corner, Va., headquarters, the phones went unanswered, the doors were locked and a cardboard sign with "Out of Business" scribbled on it hung inside the glass front door. The lights were on, and computers and fax machines remained in place, but all the artwork was gone from the walls.

Customers are out of luck. Many paid for their service well in advance, drawn by aggressively marketed service plans that cost $199 a year. It was not clear whether SunRocket customers have any recourse with government regulators.

Meanwhile, a California company that is overseeing SunRocket's liquidation, Sherwood Partners, said it is in talks with other service providers to take over portions of SunRocket's customer base. Sherwood spokesman Martin Pichison said he hoped to have such deals in place by today. He acknowledged that SunRocket customers are cutting their own deals with other companies.
Many of SunRocket's customers will opt for Vonage or another VoIP provider, some of which are posting "Welcome SunRocket" offers on their Web sites, said Stephan Beckert, research director at TeleGeography, a Washington-based research firm.

"It will give them second thoughts about prepaying a year in advance," Beckert said. The leading standalone provider, Vonage, has more than 2 million customers but it also has faced slowing growth rates and financial losses. It suffered a legal setback earlier this year when it lost a patent infringement case to Verizon Communications and a judge issued an injunction barring it from signing up new customers.

The case is on appeal and the injunction has been stayed, but Vonage has warned in court papers that its viability is precarious if the initial verdict and sanctions are allowed to stand.

Northwestern University eases into VoIP

2007-06-08T12:55:00.000-04:00

By Tim Greene, Network World, 06/08/07

Northwestern University is getting rid of its old TDM phone switches not in response to a groundswell of demand for communications options unique to its new VoIP system, but to be ready for the day when that groundswell hits.

“In some sense we are buying potential," says David Carr, director of telecommunications and networking for Northwestern, about the move to Nortel VoIP switches.

Most of the university’s 18,000 phone users on two campuses say they’d be happy with phone service just as it is, according to a poll by Carr. Others are ready to embrace VoIP, but for a limited set of features that can help them do their jobs better right away.
The new capabilities include mobility and presence integrated with applications, but Carr says users weren't looking for a specific application.

Time for upgrades
As part and parcel of the VoIP project, which started in 2003 with a review of ways to upgrade two Nortel SL 100 phone switches, the university discovered it needed to upgrade its wiring closets, stress-test its network, address QoS and consider network admission control. “They all get wrapped together," Carr says.

The two carrier-grade SL-100 phone switches, one at the university’s Chicago campus and one at its campus in Evanston, Ill., were about 20 years old.

The goal was to collapse the two separate switches into a single logical switch to reduce management complexity, he says. The school also didn’t want to replace all its digital phones at once.

It decided to upgrade to the Nortel CS 2100 VoIP switch, which supports both VoIP and TDM, so users would not be forced to switch their handsets for VoIP phones. “Those who wanted to take advantage of the VoIP value proposition could do so, and those that were happy continuing to use their current telephony features and services could do so. It allowed the community to migrate at its own pace," Carr says.

The university has installed a CS 100 at the Chicago campus and expects to have one installed at the Evanston campus next month. Until then the school has 250 IP phones working on a trial basis. “Beyond that we’re waiting until we finish these upgrades," he says.

Rest of the story here

US soldiers face tough VOIP call

2007-06-01T12:46:00.000-04:00

John Blau IDG News Service

American soldiers in South Korea face a tough call on using Internet telephony in the country.

Thursday was the last day the U.S. military community in South Korea could make VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) calls through companies based in the U.S., such as Vonage Holdings Corp. and Lingo Inc., according to a report Thursday in Stars & Stripes, a U.S. Department of Defense authorized newspaper. Beginning Friday, all new contracts must be made with South Korean VOIP providers, the report said.

For service members used to making and receiving calls to and from the U.S. for as low as US$15 a month, the move to a South Korean provider -- and a local phone number -- could ring up a pricey phone bill.

Because U.S. VOIP providers assign service members a U.S. phone number, these users can be reached from the U.S. without callers being billed for international calling charges. Prices for VOIP services in the U.S. vary from around US$15 to $25 a month for unlimited local and long-distance calls.

South Korea's major Internet service providers, including LG Dacom Corp., said in June 2006 they would block Internet calls through companies not registered under the Korean Telecommunications Business Act. But after U.S. Forces Korea Commander General Burwell Baxter Bell said the move would impact service members' quality of life, the companies agreed to delay enforcing the act until June 1, 2007.

Demand for VOIP services have surged as service members -- and many others -- seek cheap ways to communicate with their families, friends and business partners around the globe.

Vonage offers a VOIP service that replaces the traditional telephone. Customers connect their phones to an IP-transformation device, which connects to the home or small-business DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) or cable modem. Vonage doesn't offer PC-to-PC VOIP service provided by companies such as Skype Ltd.

Brooke Schulz, a Vonage spokeswoman, was unable to confirm whether the company's service is no longer available in South Korea and, if so, whether Vonage plans to apply for a VOIP license with the South Korean government.

Companies registered to provide VOIP service in Korea include Korea Telecom Corp., Hanaro Telecom Inc. as well as LG Dacom Corp.

Concerns put campus VoIP deployment on hold

2007-04-27T15:48:00.000-04:00

New survey suggests that schools are experimenting with voice-over-IP service--but security, cost are barriers to more widespread deployment

By Justin Appel, Assistant Editor, eSchool

More than three-fourths of college administrators who took part in a recent survey said they feel better about the idea of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) service today than they did three years ago. But security and cost are still significant hurdles to the more widespread deployment of VoIP service in college campuses across the United States and Canada, the survey suggests.

—The study, which was conducted by the Association for Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education (ACUTA), surveyed 279 schools. The web-based survey found that while 65 percent of respondents have had some experience with VoIP, 55 percent have only limited experience, with one-fourth or fewer of their phones employing VoIP service. This, in addition to the 35 percent of respondents who said they have no VoIP phones on their campus, suggests that while the trend is gaining steam among consumers, higher-education institutions have yet to truly embrace the use of VoIP.

"Our members have been seriously considering the benefits of VoIP for some time," says Jeri Semer, executive director of ACUTA. "I'd say they're doing their due diligence in learning about the technology and what applications of it might benefit their campus. It's not about acquiring the technology for its own sake, but about determining how it can best meet their particular needs on campus."

The survey reveals that of the schools that have begun using VoIP (which is the method of transmitting voice conversations through broadband internet networks, rather than traditional telephone lines), the majority have tried it in IT departments, as pilot projects, and on remote campus sites--suggesting there has been no widespread migration toward replacing traditional phone lines in administrative settings or dormitory rooms.

"Fewer and fewer students are using the campus-provided phones in their room," says Semer. "They are tending to use their cell phones more, as well as eMail and instant messaging. The actual phone usage in dorms is shrinking, to the extent that a lot of colleges have or are considering removing the phones from their dorms."

Security issues have always been a concern for some when switching to VoIP. Of the administrators who responded to ACUTA's survey, 43 percent believe the possibility of viruses and denial-of-service attacks is a major concern. A majority of respondents also feel that security concerns cannot be overcome easily.

"Security is a big issue," says Semer. "The traditional phone system has been very secure and has had a long track record of reliability. When a virus attacks your eMail program, it's a major inconvenience. But if it attacks and brings down your ability to communicate by voice, that's a major safety and security concern."

This concern is often raised when considering a switch to VoIP, says Kevin Flynn, senior manager of security technology marketing for unified communications at Cisco Systems Inc.

"In the past, people have had two separate kind of systems--voice on one wire, and data on another," Flynn said. "Now, we're talking about having both on the same wire. That doesn't mean the two data types will necessarily impact each other. The problems of having issues on the data stream affecting voice are easily fixed, and that's just part of any good unified design system."
Flynn says there is, in essence, an automatic separation between data and voice traffic in any well-designed system. This creates two separate virtual LANs, so that a virus attack on the data end will not affect the bandwidth or the quality of the voice traffic.

The ACUTA survey also shows that a majority of campus administrators believe VoIP vendors need to better disclose the full costs of service and installation, Semer says. More than half of those surveyed say vendors provide unrealistic assessments of the costs of VoIP implementation. In addition, only 19 percent felt that VoIP deployment will save their colleges and universities money over the next five years.

Rest of the story here.

Advances in VoIP and Feature-Rich Options Drive the Growth of Global Audio Conferencing Bridge Systems Markets

2007-04-19T15:12:00.000-04:00

PALO ALTO, Calif., April 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Global audio conferencing bridge systems market has made significant strides in the last year, driven primarily by the increasing prevalence of audio conferencing, uptake of advanced collaboration features and additional growth in the emerging markets and the enterprise arena. There is a renewed focus on enhancing audio conference bridges to better meet the needs of both service providers and enterprise vendors. This focus has led to innovative and exciting new offerings of audio conference bridge systems.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.conferencingandcollaboration.frost.com/ ), World Audio Conferencing Bridge Systems Markets, reveals that revenues in this market totaled $144.2 million in 2006, and are likely to reach $233.2 million in 2012.
If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an overview of the latest analysis of the World Audio Conferencing Bridge Systems Markets, then send an e-mail to Tracy Henderson, Corporate Communications, at tracy.henderson@frost.com with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.

"One of the key trends driving the audio conferencing bridge systems markets is the move towards Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), driven by the promise of cost savings and the ability to integrate it into other applications," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Doreen Natukunda. "The enterprise market is increasingly embracing VoIP, and as a result, there is growing demand from new clients looking to purchase audio conferencing bridge products and services."

With VoIP gaining traction, more and more organizations continue to replace their voice conferencing infrastructure with VoIP to utilize the additional bandwidth to carry audio conferencing bridge systems. The move toward VoIP is expected to continue throughout the business market and reach a mature market cycle in the next 5-7 years.

However, competition continues from other market participants vying to pocket a slice of the audio conferencing bridge customer base. The convergence of collaboration tools means that there exist many more options that employ voice as part of the applications offered to customers. For the business community, this provides more choice, but for the audio conferencing bridge systems manufacturers, this means lower price per port options.
"As competition continues to increase among the different segments of voice conferencing markets, it is imperative that vendors for both service providers and enterprise vendors continue to expand their features and services in their respective markets," says Natukunda. "For this reason, superior features, services, and partnerships to go along with the audio conferencing bridge applications will strengthen vendors in this market."

Going forward, audio conferencing bridge systems makers must continuously strive to make the use of bridges as effortless as possible with maximum efficiency, ease-of-use and intuitive features. This will enable the promotion of additional call usage, ultimately translating to time and cost savings for information technology managers.

World Audio Conferencing Bridge Systems Markets is part of the Conferencing and Collaboration Subscription, which also includes research in the following markets: video conferencing, web conferencing, unified communications, and audio conferencing. All research included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews with the press are available.

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective, and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics.

Telecom veteran questions Verizon VOIP patents

2007-04-18T16:26:00.000-04:00

Grant Gross, IDG News Service, Washington Bureau
Two patents owned by Verizon Communications Inc. in its infringement lawsuit against Vonage Holdings Corp. are invalid, and if allowed to stand, could threaten all competing VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) services, a telecommunications industry veteran said Tuesday.

Two of the three Verizon patents a jury upheld in a March decision were described in a standards group called the VOIP Forum before Verizon filed for the patents, said Daniel Berninger, who had a hand in launching Vonage but now works as a telecom analyst for Tier1Research.com. The VOIP Forum described the name translation call-processing step in an open standard developed in 1996, and Verizon applied for the two patents in March 1997 and February 2000, he said in an interview about the case.

Verizon's patents focus on using name translation to connect VOIP calls to traditional telephone networks. But without name translation, no VOIP calls could be completed, and all Verizon VOIP competitors are in danger of getting sued, Berninger said. "If you translate these patents so ridiculously broadly, then there's nothing left," he said. "Everybody infringes."

Two Verizon spokesmen didn't immediately respond to a request for comments on Berninger's information.

Berninger, an advocate of open standards and cofounder of the VON Coalition, said members of the VOIP Forum talked extensively about name translation during call set-up during discussions about the voice portion of the H.323 standard during 1996, and in the parallel development of the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) at the Internet Engineering Task Force. Several major tech vendors participated in the standards-setting process, and two papers on H.323 published in January 1997, one by coworkers at his former employer VocalTec Communications Ltd., describe the technologies later patented by Verizon, he said.

Other telecom experts have disagreed about whether Verizon's patents could affect other VOIP providers.

But Berninger compared name translation to the Internet's domain name system (DNS), which translates Internet domain names into IP addresses. "Essentially every VOIP provider on planet Earth" uses the name translation processing step, he said.

Vonage pointed to other technology it believed preceded Verizon's patents at a trial that ended with a March verdict that the company had infringed three Verizon patents. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia interpreted the Verizon claims too broadly to be valid, said Brooke Schulz, Vonage's vice president for communications.

"The patents as filed and awarded ... were very narrow," she said. "We continue to believe, for this and many other reasons, we don't infringe on their technology."

Berninger began looking into the patents recently because of the Vonage case. In the March verdict, Vonage was ordered to pay Verizon US$58 million. Last Friday, a U.S. district court judge barred Vonage from signing up new customers, but an appeals court gave the company a temporary stay the same day.

Ottawa's VoIP decision good news: SaskTel

2006-11-16T15:31:00.000-05:00

People at SaskTel are happy about the federal government's decision not to regulate certain kinds of internet phone service.

Originally, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ordered that SaskTel and the other big telephone companies would be regulated when they rolled out their voice over internet protocol services.

In other words, whenever they introduced new services or changed prices, they'd have to get permission from the CRTC.

However, upstart companies offering VoIP service wouldn't be regulated the same way. SaskTel and the other phone companies complained that wasn't fair.

Now, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet has overruled the CRTC and said phone company VoIP services over the public internet won't be subject to price regulation. VoIP over a phone company's own network will continue to be regulated, however.

SaskTel vice-president John Meldrum said Ottawa's decision Wednesday should help his company sell its planned "web call" service.

"We'll be free to price our VoIP products as we see fit, as the market determines, without having to go to the commission, without having to be told that the price is too low," he said.

Meldrum said SaskTel wants less regulation from Ottawa and hopes the same approach applied to the VoIP case will apply to other phone services.

Enterprises Take Center Stage at VoiceCon Fall 2006

2006-08-02T16:14:00.002-04:00

Executives from Coca-Cola, NASA, Barclays Bank, Southern Company and XM Radio to Share Experiences With IP Telephony Deployment

SAN FRANCISCO/PRNewswire/ -- VoiceCon(R), produced by CMP Technology, will once again feature an impressive lineup of enterprise executives who will be sharing experiences from their migration to IP Telephony and converged networks at VoiceCon Fall 2006 (http://www.voiceconfall.com/), taking place August 21-24 at the Moscone North Convention Center in San Francisco.

"We're far enough along on the migration to IP Telephony and converged networks where there are real-life case studies of how these new technologies are changing the way enterprises communicate with their customers and suppliers," said Fred Knight, VoiceCon General Manager. "I'm proud of VoiceCon's track record in presenting many senior IS/telecom enterprise executives who share their migration strategies, decision criteria, the lessons learned and their plans for the future with IP Telephony and converged networking systems."

At VoiceCon Fall 2006, the list of keynotes, summits and forums that will feature IT executives includes:

-- Opening Keynote (Tuesday, Aug 22): The conference kicks off with an address from Ray Repic, Chief Technical Architect, Technology Planning at Coca-Cola Enterprises. Ray will describe how Coca-Cola Enterprises' global network is being redesigned and built to leverage IP Telephony and an MPLS network. More than 50 locations were cut over in 2005, and many more will be implemented in 2006.

-- VoiceCon Enterprise Executive Summit (Wednesday, Aug 23): A spontaneous round-table discussion in which four IT decision-makers share their perspectives and experiences with IP Telephony and converged networks. The panel features John Irizarry, VoIP Project Manager, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center; Kevin McPhee, Telecom Director, First Health Coventry; Patricia A. Green, Principal Telecommunications Manager, Barclays Bank; Joseph Schuldhaus, VP IT, West Edmonton Mall.

-- VoiceCon User Forum (Thursday, Aug 24): Structured presentations based on real-world IP Telephony roll-outs. The panelists will explain what they've done, their decision-making process, offer advice and field your questions. The speakers are: Tanya Callaway, Director, Technical Operations, XM Radio; Arnold Solomon, Senior IT Architect, Southern Company; Christopher Lappi, Executive Vice President, ResMAE Mortgage Corporation.

In addition to the enterprise executives, industry leaders like Anoop Gupta, Corporate Vice President, Unified Communications Group, Microsoft, will present at VoiceCon Fall 2006, along with senior executives from Avaya, Cisco, Nortel, Siemens, NEC Unified Solutions, Nokia, 3Com, Aastra Intecom, AT&T, Ericsson, RIM, ShoreTel and Motorola.

VoiceCon is also proud to continue its status as the only venue to feature all of the leading vendors and suppliers in enterprise IP Telephony and converged communications, providing attendees with an unmatched opportunity to see and experience a wide range of IP Telephony solutions. Among the companies exhibiting at VoiceCon Fall 2006 include: 3Com, Aastra Intecom, Adomo, AT&T, Avaya, Cisco, Citrix, Ericsson, Extreme Networks, Foundry Networks, IBM, Inter-Tel, Microsoft, Motorola, NEC Unified Solutions, Nortel, SecureLogix, ShoreTel Siemens, Sprint and Toshiba.

About VoiceCon(R)

VoiceCon(R), now in its 16th year, is the leading conference and exhibition for enterprise voice, IP Telephony and convergence in North America. VoiceCon(R) brings decision makers together with the industry's pioneering end users, vendors, and consultants to focus on the issues central to enterprise voice networks and the migration to IP telephony and convergence. As the momentum toward IP telephony and convergence has grown, VoiceCon has expanded to include two yearly shows: VoiceCon Fall 2006, taking place August 21-24 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, and VoiceCon Spring 2007, taking place March 5-8 in Orlando. The VoiceCon portfolio also includes the VoiceCon Implementation Tour, which take place in Fall 2006. VoiceCon also serves the community with a weekly email newsletter that is circulated to approximately 28,000 subscribers -- VoiceCon eNews (http://www.voicecon.com/enews/); VoIP Loop (http://www.voiploop.com/), a news, information and opinion site that features thought leaders in VoIP and enterprise IP Telephony and convergence; and the VoiceCon Webinar Series. For more information, visit http://www.voicecon.com/.

About CMP Technology (http://www.cmp.com/)

CMP Technology is a marketing solutions company serving the technology industry. Through its market-leading portfolio of trusted information brands, CMP has earned the confidence of more technology professionals than any other media company. As a result, CMP is the premier provider of access, insight and actionable programs designed to connect sellers and buyers in ways that yield superior return on investment. CMP Technology is a subsidiary of United Business Media (http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com/), a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $3 billion.

VoIP takes root in home offices

2006-08-01T10:54:00.000-04:00

The number of US households with income-generating or corporate home offices are more than twice as likely to implement VoIP in the next 12 months compared with households in general, a newly published study has revealed.

Currently, almost 40 per cent of corporate home offices and 23.7 per cent of home-based businesses are interested in or using VoIP. In contrast, only 10.8 per cent of households without home offices are VoIP aware, IDC reported.

"Home offices will adopt VoIP communications at a faster rate than US households overall," said Chris Hazelton, senior analyst, SMB research at IDC.

"Although cost savings are important, features such as convergence with mobile phones will be increasingly important to home offices in the long run."

The report, Home Office Households Set the Stage for Consumer VoIP Adoption, also noted that, although VoIP has moved beyond the very earliest adoption stage, many home office households are reluctant to use VoIP as their only telephone service, and would rather add it as a second method of communication.

Savings on long distance calls continue to be the key driver of initial interest in VoIP by home offices, according to the study.

Skype and SanDisk Launch VoIP-Ready Memory Stick

2006-07-12T16:53:00.000-04:00

Popular internet telephony provider, Skype, has teamed up with SanDisk in a deal that will let Skype users make free calls from any computer, without needing to download the VoIP software.

SanDisk has agreed to pre-install the Skype software on its newest Cruzer Micro and Cruzer Titanium memory sticks, which will be useable from the USB ports of any computer running Windows 2000 or XP.

The new USB memory drives will range in price from $39.99 to $199.99, depending on capacity (512MB to 4GB). They will come with the added bonus of a free month of Skype voicemail, allowing users to check their voice messages on the go.

This partnership with SanDisk is sure to make the Skype service even more popular among frequent travelers, and even some small business users. It is also a clear attempt to compete with Vonage, which recently launched the V-Phone, another portable memory drive with pre-installed VoIP software.

10 steps to VoIP nirvana

2006-07-05T16:40:00.000-04:00

As suggested by Sandra Gittlen, Computerworld

Vendors would like you to believe that VoIP is as simple as plugging a phone into the network, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. There is a complex thought process that needs to occur before you commit to moving your users from traditional phone lines. Decision-making must centre on your users' needs, your IT support resources (budget and people) and the network itself.

Where IP telephony gets particularly tricky is in dealing with small/remote offices. Many IT crews think that it's a no-brainer in that they won't have to get phone service to each company site - therefore saving time and money on negotiating contracts, running phone lines, etc.
However, as Bryan Cohen, a telephony engineer and VoIP expert at CDW, points out, VoIP has its own issues that IT groups need to consider.

Here are his tips for deciding to roll out VoIP to small/remote offices:

1. Think of voice traffic as you would data, not like traditional voice.

"In many respects voice over IP traffic is just like data traffic, so you have to consider many of the same issues such as security, availability, power and bandwidth," he says. You should weigh a possible VoIP investment through this lens to understand fully what it takes to run VoIP successfully.

This is important from both planning and budget perspectives. It doesn't make sense to purchase a VoIP solution if your network cannot deliver the right quality of service (QoS). If you think users will complain loudly when their computers go down, what will they do if their phones go out?

2. Why do you want VoIP?

It's critical to assess the features you need to support your users and they themselves need to determine if a VoIP system can give you what your current phone system can't. How will VoIP make your users more responsive and productive? Does it help you reduce operational costs?
Cohen says asking these questions at the outset helps you make a business case for or against VoIP adoption.

3. Evaluate your network's readiness.

"You really need to sort through all of the implications of voice over IP on your network before you buy any equipment or service," he says. One way to do this is to work with an advisor or a peer who has gone through a VoIP roll-out and knows the potential pitfalls to avoid.

He warns to look at the roll-out from every angle within your network, not just the VoIP itself. "Going with just a VoIP specialist may not cover the security or networking perspective, and they all have to work together," he says.

4. Consider your organisation's business model.

VoIP's flexibility makes it compatible with virtually any industry especially where employees are mobile and need to be reached easily. However, Cohen says to consider how important telephone communication is to your business.

"For instance, if you are considering VoIP for a corporate call centre for customer service, then you may want to consider a hybrid solution of VoIP and traditional PBX because the telephone is such a crucial element of the business," he says. Costs are also coming down, which makes VoIP more attractive. In some instances, VoIP phones now cost less that some digital phones.

5. Focus on the wide-area network.

One of the biggest mistakes companies make is not investing in the pipe that will support the VoIP network. "The single most important thing in being successful with voice over IP is WAN connectivity between offices," he says. He adds that you could have an MPLS network or a point-to-point T1. And while virtual private networking is popular, he warns that some VPNs don't support VoIP.

6. Maintain a single system with gateways at remote locations.

In dealing with small/remote offices, it might be tempting to create islands of VoIP networks. However, this is not recommended, according to Cohen. "One system with remote gateways at branch locations offers many benefits, including helping a centralised IT team manage functions via a single interface," he says.

7. Try before you buy.

"While it is very important to conduct a network assessment to determine network readiness, we have seen some companies make the mistake of relying solely on design alone," Cohen says.
He says the only way to truly know how VoIP will perform on your network is to put it through real-world testing. This will highlight important infrastructure elements. For example, you'll need to figure out how to provide power to the phones, he says. "If your network does not support power over Ethernet, then your IP phones will need to be located near a mains outlet," he says.

8. Think outside the IP telephony box.

Cohen says there are many parts to the system that IT managers don't consider when first putting together their budgets or designs. One such gotcha: "To run VoIP, you need to have a TFTP server that updates the phones with patches and feature upgrades. Many businesses do not realise they need a server for this activity," he says.

9. Train, train, train.

The best way to decide on the benefits of VoIP is to go through product training before you commit to buying one. "This helps you understand the available features and requirements better. You may realise that you need some functions you never considered," he says.

10. Be cautious about outsourcing.

Cohen says outsourcers bring a lot of benefits, but they also present some risk. Chief among considerations, "when you outsource you cede control of all your phone calls to a third party. You may also be limited to the features that the service provider offers," he says.

Following this checklist is a great formula for deciding the value of VoIP in your enterprise, Cohen says.

"You can make smart decisions about the specifics of your VoIP needs and plan for the future for additional IP applications such as video conferencing."

Pulver on the FCC USF for VoIP Order

2006-06-29T16:45:00.000-04:00

Jeff Pulver summarizes the seriousness of the recent FCC USF for VoIP order and asks that more people in our community get involved with the legislative and regulatory issues that are being (poorly) decided in the U.S. today. Jeff is one of the most informed and active participants in the U.S. regulatory processes surrounding IP communications and his post today is well worth a read. If you had any doubts that this new FCC order is Very Bad Thing for VoIP, I think Jeff will quickly convince you otherwise. And he doesn’t pull any punches:

At first review, the Order appears to be a laughable, legally suspect, misapplication of the state of the law and prior rulings and an unsubstantiated gross mischaracterization of the opinions of the VoIP community and VON in particular.

For some particulars, check out this scary summary Jeff has initally pulled out of the 150-page document:

Overall the order:

• Is not limited to calls that touch the PSTN - includes IP to IP calls (pg 20)
• circumvents the Vonage decision to allow state regulation of VoIP, if you report actual revenues (pg 29)
• requires pre-approval of traffic studies - but not for wireless providers because pre-approval would be disruptive to wireless, but not VoIP (pg 30)
• requires double payments of USF fees for 2 quarters - waiving the “carrier’s carrier” rule so that wholesale providers also have to pay USF for the same service (pg 30)
• Includes new VoIP registration requirement with the FCC
• does not include a transition period
• indicates a desire to expand the definition of Interconnected VoIP in the future (pg 20)
• includes international traffic• ignores Small Business Administration arguments (pg 121)
• Does not discuss this decision’s impact on VoIP providers, but finds it will have minimal impact on LECs (pg 13)
• requires VoIP providers to pay into USF at the highest rate of any service
• buried deep in footnote 209, relieves DSL of USF obligations

But Jeff doesn’t want us to just take his word for it, he suggests that we should all give this important document a thorough read. And I’d also like to echo Jeff’s suggestion that now is the time to get more involved with the legislative processes around VoIP here in the U.S., and supporting the VON Coalition is one good way to do this.

Dial VoIP in Case of Emergency

2006-06-28T16:35:00.000-04:00

When officials in Orange County, Fla., installed a Voice over IP phone system in 2003, they quickly achieved the goal of cutting telecommunications costs by as much as 30 percent. But after a series of hurricanes hit a year later, county managers discovered another reason to love the technology.

To provide services for citizens affected by Hurricane Charley and two other storms in 2004, the host county for Disney World created a temporary emergency center in an empty warehouse that the county was planning to renovate. "It had nothing in it, including [no] communications infrastructure," said John Amiot, enterprise operations manager for the county.
So officials trucked in PCs and network gear that supported VoIP, and within 24 hours, the facility opened for business with a line of storm-weary citizens already forming at the door.
"Our people could cut checks and provide all the things that people needed in order to survive," Amiot said. "We were able to deploy in 24 hours because we had Voice over IP technology already in place."

Since then, the county has integrated IP telephony into its formal continuity-of-operations (COOP) plans by installing it in a regional computing center.

Expanding Role

Business continuity plans are increasingly relying on new technologies to keep organizations running in the aftermath of natural disasters, terrorist attacks and more mundane incidents, such as local power outages.

"IP telephony and continuity of operations are an excellent marriage," said Jim Biskaduros, a client delivery executive who specializes in security and intelligence at systems integrator EDS.
In Orange County, the newly wired warehouse became an extension of its infrastructure. An IP network provided connectivity among employees and the county's main offices.

"It was as if we had just opened a new building," Amiot said. "This was in the center of one of the most devastated areas in the county, and it was strategically advantageous for everybody to come there versus getting them downtown while trees were down everywhere."

By the time the last of the storms plowed through the area, the warehouse had logged more than 226,000 calls. The system automatically routed some calls normally intended for headquarters to the site.

Other agencies are also discovering IP telephony's flexibility. The Department of Veterans Affairs turned to IP-enabled mobile communications trucks to keep Gulf Coast hospitals running after Hurricane Katrina hit last year. After finding success, the agency is extending contracts to formalize those backup communications tools and COOP plans.

Go here for more of the story.

Microsoft introduces 360-degree conferencing camera as part of VoIP strategy

2006-06-27T16:56:00.000-04:00

San Francisco (CA) - At what had been billed as a rollout event for the company's Office Communications and "softphone" software yesterday, Microsoft Business Division President Jeff Raikes unveiled an intriguing new plank of what the company now calls its Unified Communications Platform: Utilizing Office Communications software and Microsoft's VoIP services, hardware manufacturers including Hewlett-Packard, LG-Nortel, and Samsung will be making available a new class of communications devices, not only for messaging but for audio and videoconferencing. Among these devices is a 360-degree camera designed for video conferences called RoundTable, that has apparently emerged from a back-burner project called RingCam from Microsoft's laboratories.
With Microsoft's software driving an online videoconference session, and the RoundTable camera placed atop a conference table, remote participants will see the face or faces of the active speakers as they assume the floor. Participants who may grow weary of the angle changes during heated arguments may prefer the optional panorama view. Documents and PowerPoint slides can also be featured into the picture, synchronized with cues provided by the speakers.

"The virtual meeting experience can be, should be, and maybe in some ways be even better than actually being in the room," Raikes told attendees yesterday. "One of the things that we've learned from our research is that it's possible to view the meeting in about half the time just by using good compression of the normal pauses in human speech - which, of course, leads to the great paradox: If you can review the meeting in half the time after the meeting, who wants to go to the meeting in the first place?"

To demonstrate the potential usefulness of the RoundTable camera in future videoconferences, Raikes participated in a mock session with various product managers and sitcom stars, engaged in a scripted argument over what to order for lunch.

The objective behind the RoundTable device is apparently to sweeten Microsoft's value proposition for its voice-over-IP service, which will need some bolstering in the face of the continuing expansion of Skype, now owned by eBay. Major network equipment providers Linksys (part of Cisco) and Netgear have already announced Skype phones, in so doing, making it clear that anyone who wants to seriously compete in the VoIP field will need a substantive hardware offering.

So here again, that vital term "leverage" will be used in conjunction with Microsoft, to describe how it intends to make use of a business it has already conquered to venture into a business it has barely entered into. "Microsoft is uniquely positioned, given our software focus," said Raikes yesterday. "The advances in software for communications, we already have deep investments in communications, we've already delivered on the basics of unified communications with Microsoft Exchange, our communications server, Outlook, Office Communicator and Live Meeting. We are truly using the software, the power of software to drive the next wave of innovation in the way people communicate at work."

That said, it will still take hardware for Microsoft to be able to make its VoIP play profitable; and with one or two noteworthy except.

VoIP makes phone system hurricane-resistant

2006-06-26T15:48:00.000-04:00

When Hurricane Wilma struck South Florida last October, most business owners had to struggle to survive without telephone service. Not Stephen McWilliam.

McWilliam, the president of Florida State Realty Group Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, fled South Florida for Orlando right after the storm. He realized he wouldn't be able to access his downtown office building for about a week. But that didn't slow his business any. He simply plugged his Polycom Internet phone, removed from his office before the storm, into a broadband connection at his Orlando hotel; he was back in business, connecting with clients and trying to keep his pending real estate deals together.

McWilliam is a customer of Cooper City-based STS Telecom, a technology-based telephone company that provides businesses with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service. Even though his office phone service was down in Fort Lauderdale, McWilliam's customers were able to reach him at his regular number.

"It's plug and play," he said. "And the technology helped us maintain communication, which is vital to servicing our clients."

VoIP, also called IP telephony, allows users to make calls without the need for a traditional phone line. All you need is a broadband Internet connection and an IP phone. The technology converts voices into data that is transmitted over the lines like e-mail messages.

The use of VoIP by consumers has skyrocketed because of the introduction of low-cost service by companies such as Vonage. But small- and medium-sized businesses are also adopting online phone service in droves. According to research firm InfoTech, demand for IP telephony by small- and medium-sized businesses surged 36 percent between 2004 and 2005.

"Small businesses are flocking to VoIP in order to save from 40 to 60 percent on their phone bills, take advantage of new services and do things never before possible with traditional phones," said Jonathan Askin, a spokesman for pulver.com, a Melville, N.Y.-based firm that tracks the VoIP industry. "To ensure business continuity during and after an emergency, many are now looking at VoIP as a safer alternative."

Proponents of VoIP tout lower costs and continuity of service as its biggest advantages. But there are others. Jon Krutchik, president of STS Telecom, said users can also redirect their calls using any Web browser. "If you have no phone service but you can find broadband access someplace, you can log onto your account and redirect your phone calls to your cell phone," he said.

Krutchik said that VoIP service with his firm starts at about $750 per month, which includes a dedicated T-1 broadband connection, phones and hardware. STS offers traditional telephone service as well.

Despite the advantages of VoIP, it may not be right for everyone. After Wilma hit last year, Michelle Soudry packed up her files, backup drive, laptop and cell phone and headed to Orlando.

"My business is very reliant on e-mail and phones," said Soudry, founder of The Gab Group, a public relations firm. "I have national clients and can't afford not to work for two weeks."

Soudry was able to retrieve incoming phone calls to her office from her BellSouth voice mail service, which works even when the power is out. And clients and reporters could reach her on her cell because she added that number to her outgoing message. She never missed a call.

"There was no effect on our business," she said. "Plus, I know two different people who have had bad experiences with dropped calls on VoIP. I can't take that chance because my business is very time-sensitive."

But others, like McWilliam, swear by VoIP service. He recently went on a cruise and was able to make and answer calls using his laptop and a wireless broadband connection, avoiding the pricey ship-to-shore phone service he'd otherwise be dependent on.

"I hate to use the cliché `the wave of the future,' but it's just a matter of time before this becomes the standard for phone service," he said. "There's just no other way."

FCC extends USF Tax to VoIP Providers

2006-06-23T14:56:00.000-04:00

Reported from Von Mag.

On Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a new plan for funding the Universal Service Fund (USF), with VoIP providers having to contribute around 7 percent of their revenue into the fund.

The FCC has ordered Internet telephone service providers who connect to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to contribute part of their venue into the USF, which subsidizes telecommunications access to rural and low-income areas along schools, hospitals and libraries. Wireless providers will also end up paying more, resulting in a rate increase for both cell phone and VoIP customers since fees are passed along to consumers.

Wireless carriers will have to contribute about 4 percent of their revenue under the new FCC plan with new contribution levels expected to take place in the fourth quarter, but there could be a loophole of sorts. If wireless or VoIP providers could prove that their long distance and international revenues were less, they would be allowed to contribute a smaller percentage of their revenues.

Companies offering long-distance and international phone services plus broadband DSL providers must contribute 10.9 percent of their revenue into a $7.3 billion fund, Reuters stated. However, DSL providers will no longer have to contribute to the program after August, setting the stage for another funding adjustment before the summer is out. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin wants to see USF contributions shifted to a mechanism based upon telephone number usage.

Businesses increasingly looking to convergence

2006-06-22T15:54:00.000-04:00

Recent research shows that VoIP (voice over internet protocol) projects and IP convergence are increasingly being employed by enterprises to save money and increase flexibility.

The study by TheInfoPro reveals that many US Fortune 1,000 and mid-market companies are planning to implement VoIP technologies, such as IP PBX and Sip products.

Respondents to the survey demonstrated that Sip tools were being used by 22 per cent of businesses interviewed, while 27 per cent planned to utilise or pilot the technology this year.

The new statistics follow a survey by the economist unit of AT&T, the largest telecoms company in the US, which revealed that 73 per cent of senior executives believed that converged IP networks could leverage more efficient collaboration with partners, customers and suppliers.

The AT&T report also indicates that multichannel approaches will increase in popularity over the next two years, with statistics illustrating that whereas only nine per cent of businesses interact with their customers via video link at the moment, 50 per cent of respondents are planning to implement the tool in the future.

Biggest need in the VoIP space: Web-based, carrier-neutral universal VoIP phone directory

2006-06-21T12:48:00.000-04:00

Wouldn't it be great if there was a Web-based centralized directory of inbound VoIP phone numbers from all carriers?

A third-party website where customers of Vonage, Skype's SkypeIn service, Packet8, AT&T CallVantage, Verizon VoiceWing, and pretty much any other IP phone service you could think of could list their inbound numbers?

Something that would take the cludginess out of letting everyone know what your new, say, Vonage or SkypeIn phone number is?

This service has been tried in baby steps, but there's so much more to go. And such an upside, that I cannot believe this wouldn't be a huge hit.

Yes, I know about privacy, but youcould opt out and get an unlisted number just like you have been able to do with Ma Bell since the earliest days.

Since VoIP pretty much eliminates locality-based considerations, you could have one VoIP directory assistance site for all of North America. Heck, the world.

I envision the listings as a five-column user interface consisting of last name, first name, email address (instead of physical addy as the dead-tree phone directories offer), phone number, and service provider.

Additionally the phone number would be hyperlinked so that when that number is clicked on, your default softphone would automatically dial the number.
The service could be advertising-supported (VoIP calling services, equipment makers, or other tech-friendly advertisers). Such a service could charge access based on an all-you-can eat, subscription based model.

There's a big, honkin', crying, loud need for a universal VoIP phone number directory.
Would you use one?

And if any VCs are out there, is this something you would fund?

VoIP heats up while Net neutrality simmers

2006-06-20T13:26:00.000-04:00

There have been some rumblings in the wobbly world of VoIP recently.

Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP for short, holds a lot of promise as both a viable technology and a sustainable business model but has yet to do much more than lurch forward. Leading VoIP company Vonage, which had its initial public offering in May, is in deep water now that its earnings picture has come under suspicion. Some stock analysts have gone cold on the stock amid concerns over subscriber numbers.

Those unfamiliar with VoIP need to know that it's a system for using the Internet for making voice phone calls at substantially lower cost than POTS, or plain old telephone service.

Even as its stock price has fallen nearly 54 percent off its IPO price, a few observers have risen to Vonage's defense. Cormac O'Reilly of the Britain-based TheRegister.co.uk points out that growing its subscriber base from 100,000 to 1.6 million in three years is nothing to sneeze at.

However, Vonage's willingness to lower its $24.99 monthly rate to $19.99 to keep its subscribers from bolting certainly reveals some market weakness.

Sadly, Vonage's main competitor, Skype, the brainchild of KaZaA founders Niklas Zennstrm and Janus Friis, has made things a bit difficult for Vonage with its own daring price point: free. Skype has millions worldwide using its free PC-to-PC calling software, but to capture market share, it has dropped its price on calling landline and mobile phones to free, as well.

Skype's fee structure will time-out at the end of the year, with its PC-to-PC remaining free "forever" as its Web site claims, while the calls from your PC to phones will again be charged. But you can bet Skype will manage to undercut Vonage.

Still, its niche is different from Vonage's -- as Vonage puts traditional handheld phone sets in users' hands -- but the difference may not be enough to mollify analysts' concerns. We should all hope Vonage makes it because the more competition the better, especially against the increasingly leviathan mainstream carriers such as AT&T and the various cellular providers. A string of telecomm mergers have bloated the Baby Bells, with SBC even resuscitating the AT&T brand.

VoIP has competitive advantages, but its main disadvantage is a dilly: It requires a technology comfort zone, if not downright know-how. I can figure out how to get Skype going on my home computer, and Vonage is certainly even easier, but most people may balk at the notion.

If you feel you're in that category, just head out to the Napa Valley PC Users Group monthly meeting tomorrow night, at 7 p.m. at the Napa Senior Activity Center, 1500 Jefferson St.

Susy Ball will host the main demonstration with an in-depth demonstration of VoIP and how to use it. Susy maintains most people who use VoIP are able to reduce their telephone costs and truly save money.

That sounds like something all of us can profit by.

Late update as my deadline nears: Vonage has been hit by a VoIP patent infringement suit by Verizon. When it rains it pours.

On the net neutrality front of which I spoke last week, things are also heating up, with a modest breakthrough in the ongoing fight in the U.S. Senate.

Net neutrality, or the notion that all players should be treated equally on the Internet with no sides playing favorites or charging higher fees for higher channel capacity, was dealt a severe blow a couple of weeks back with the House of Representatives passing a new communications bill with no promise to respect net neutrality.

Things were better but not good in the Senate until this past weekend when Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK) expressed willingness to include language in the Senate's version that preserves a consumer's ability to travel anywhere on the Internet and use any Web-based application.

What's missing is any ban on multi-tiered pricing, as companies like Microsoft, Google and Yahoo! have demanded.

It's hardly a breakthrough when so little is offered, but it's a start. If nothing else Stevens has offered cover for middle-of-the-roaders to move a little closer to supporting net neutrality. With a little momentum and a couple more conservative defectors, there's hope yet.

It's ironic that net neutrality is considered a liberal cause, when in reality it should be the libertarians in the conservative ranks demanding a level playing field.

The stickler is that conservative ideologues favor a free market, which often favors capital over innovation. Business ends up regulating itself, not through regulation but market manipulation.

And that's something Internet enthusiasts -- and future Internet innovators -- can ill afford.

Verizon sues Vonage for VoIP patent infringement

2006-06-19T15:57:00.000-04:00

The bad news for Internet phone provider Vonage keeps piling up, as the company now faces a patent infringement lawsuit from telephone giant Verizon Communications

Verizon's complaint was filed last Monday in a U.S. District Court in Virginia. It alleges that Vonage infringed on patents held by Verizon that describe technology for completing phone calls between VoIP users and people using phones on the traditional public switched network, authenticating VoIP callers, validating VoIP callers' accounts, fraud protection, providing enhanced features, using Wi-Fi handsets with VoIP services and monitoring VoIP caller usage.

Vonage's service uses software that turns voice signals into packets and then transmits them over broadband connections, essentially turning any Internet connection into a telephone line. Verizon sells a similar service, called VoiceWing.

In a statement released Monday, Vonage said "its services have been developed with its own proprietary technology and technology, licensed from third parties." The company also said it would "vigorously defend (against) the lawsuit." Vonage said it hadn't been previously notified by Verizon that the company thought it was infringing on its patents.

Verizon acknowledged that it had filed the complaint, but a company representative declined to comment further. The representative also would not clarify whether the company is looking into filing lawsuits against other VoIP providers.

The lawsuit comes shortly after Vonage's disappointing stock market debut. The company lost nearly 30 percent of its value in the first week of trading. The Internet telephony provider has also been gearing up to defend itself against several investor lawsuits. Shareholders allege that the company misled them and created artificial demand for the stock.

News of the Verizon lawsuit sent shares of Vonage down $1.03, or 8.13 percent, to $8.22

By Marguerite Reardon Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Residential VoIP To Boom To 44 Million Users

2006-06-15T14:10:00.000-04:00

Residential VoIP subscribers will skyrocket from 10.3 million today to 44 million in 2010, according to a new report from market research firm IDC. The report forecasts that VoIP will be used in 62% of broadband households by 2010.

The growth will be accelerated by increased broadband penetration, and consumers becoming increasingly comfortable with VoIP and other new communications technologies, the report contends.

Trends driving VoIP adoption will be mobility, simplicity, and a need for on-demand telephony, the report says. Simple setup requirements will make consumers more comfortable with the technology, and the ability to access IP telephony not just at home, but while traveling will be a driver as well.

IDC sees significant market potential for service providers able to tap into the burgeoning demand. "For those that are able to tweak their service offering to fit the ever changing tastes of the mass market, the potential growth opportunity is huge," Will Stofega, research manager for IDC's VoIP Services program, said in a statement.

Internet Pioneers Warn of VoIP Wiretapping Problems

2006-06-14T13:51:00.000-04:00

Grant Gross, IDG News Service
Wednesday, June 14, 2006

WASHINGTON -- U.S. government efforts to require most VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) providers to permit law enforcement agencies to wiretap phone calls could introduce new cybersecurity problems to the Internet, a group of Internet security experts said this week.

A U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule requiring VoIP providers to allow wiretapping by May 2007 would either require a massive re-engineering of the Internet or introduce broad security risks, said authors of a new study released by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), an IT vendor trade group.

In addition, the requirements would stall Internet innovations in the U.S. by adding hundreds of thousands of dollars in set-up and maintenance costs to VoIP providers and potentially to other Internet applications that provide voice services, including instant messaging, and online games, according to the study, which is available online.

The study, co-authored by several people including TCP/IP co-creator Vinton Cerf and former U.S. National Security Agency encryption scientist Clinton Brooks, comes days after a U.S. appeals court upheld the FCC's VoIP wiretapping rules. On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the ruling, requiring that VoIP providers offering a substitute for traditional telephone service comply with a 1994 telephone wiretapping law called the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA).

The FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comments about the ITAA study. But on Friday, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said allowing law enforcement wiretapping of VoIP calls is of "paramount importance" to U.S. security.

Nine Tips For Deploying Enterprise-Class VoIP

2006-06-13T10:25:00.000-04:00

Consider tools needed to support virtual environments enabled by VoIP. VoIP provides the opportunity to transform customer interaction and other applications. In many cases, it is inadequate to deploy tools that were developed for more siloed TDM environments. Define in your application the unique requirements to support virtual teams from an architectural standpoint.

John Macario, president of the Boston-based consulting firm Savatar adds the following tips.

Calculate Total Cost of Ownership for your VoIP system as opposed to just the cost for initial deployment. Economic issues that comprise the TOC include:

Acquisition costs: What items do you need to write a check for upfront, such as installation fees, new phone purchases, and professional services to update your Local Area Network?

Monthly recurring charges: What will you pay for every month, such as local and long distance charges, per user costs, and per seat costs for IP Centrex or your T1 line?

Maintenance: What will you pay on an annual basis to maintain or upgrade the equipment?

Evaluate the performance of a VoIP network. A VoIP solution, either IP PBX or hosted IP PBX, is only as reliable as the network that carries your voice and data traffic. Service providers who offer business-class VoIP services carry voice and data packets over a managed network to ensure service quality. Any provider offering such a network should provide information on the network's performance, including security, redundancy, and reliability. When selecting a VoIP service provider, poor network performance is a knock-out criterion.

Look for productivity-enhancing features. A host of VoIP features can lead to productivity gains and give VoIP solutions a significant feature advantage over traditional systems. Some of the more interesting VoIP features include:

Unified messaging lets you consolidates voice mail, e-mail, video mail, and fax into a single interface.

Mobile extensions make it simple to reach colleagues and to manage call features from mobile devices. They also extend hosted IP PBX features to a cell phone.

Uniform dialing plans give remote offices the same features and functionality as your main office.

Shared call appearance allows calls to ring on another phone.

Personal mobility features including selective call routing, simultaneous ring, and sequential ringing to increase productivity and customer service.

J.W. Olsen has been a full-time author, editor, and freelance book project manager with more than 1000 editorial credits for IT publishers since 1990, and has provided computer, Web site, and editorial services to other clients since 1985. He welcomes feedback via the e-mail response form at www.jwolsen.com.

Whether to deploy VoIP is no longer an issue --- it's something you have to do. But there are a lot of high-level steps you need to take before deploying. It's not just technology you need to be concerned about. In fact, say many experts, hardware and software may be the least of your problems. It's the business issues you should be concerned with most.

Which issues are important --- and what to do about them? We've talked to several experts, who offer their advice.

Brett Shockley, CEO of Spanlink Communications, a consultant in VoIP solutions based in Minneapolis, suggests the following.

Clearly define your vision and goals. When migrating to an IP communications system, formulate a detailed plan that maps to the business goals and operational needs of your organization. Be absolutely clear about why you need VoIP and design a system that matches those needs. Otherwise, the risk is that the deployment will be either too narrowly considered or too overreaching to justify the total cost of ownership.

Take full advantage of the business benefits of your VoIP system. Too often, companies approach VoIP as a simple replacement of their current TDM-based PBX voice system with a VoIP PBX. Strategically, design your IP communications system to take advantage of new business processes that make you more competitive. The risk is implementing a solution that doesn't deliver a return, doesn't scale, and therefore must ultimately be re-engineered.

Plan for post-implementation management and maintenance. Set clear goals and create explicit roadmaps not only for the implementation of your system, but also for management and maintenance once it's up and running. Additionally, it's critical to ensure the right system structure to make the system manageable. Failing to have a clear management plan and the proper tools, you run the risk of compromising the environment or bogging down the process with change management and support issues.

Ensure proper training for end users. You can't just swap out employees' traditional phones for IP handsets and expect everyone to be fully operational the next morning and taking advantage of the new capabilities of the system. VoIP deployment can be compromised if users feel the system includes features that few want or excludes the ones they need. Such feelings can be mitigated by proper training.

Define roles for voice and data networking staff. The thorniest question facing VoIP project managers is getting their voice and data networking staffs to work together effectively. Bring your telecommunications managers into planning and implementation discussions with your data networking engineers. The two cultures are often still at odds, so set clearly defined roles for both sets of workers and cross-train them.

VoIP News: VoIP provides small business with a defense against hurricane damage

2006-06-12T15:21:00.000-04:00

The cost of phone service was bad enough for Aaron Lee. The potential expense of poor business continuity after a hurricane threatened his business.

As a small business owner, Lee was spending hundreds of dollars each month for two business lines and a fax line at Illuminati Studios, his graphic design and Web production company in Miami Lakes. Even at home, his personal, business and fax lines were topping a combined $150 a month, when features like voice mail and caller ID were added. He also knew that should a storm hit, if his phones went down, he would be incommunicado.

So Lee went from analog to Internet. He signed up with Vonage voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) service, first for his home, and later for his office. For around $100 a month, his office has all the lines and features his landline service formerly offered plus unlimited domestic long distance, and some overseas. The three lines at home, plus a toll-free number, run less than $80 atop the $45 a month for the cable modem service.

"That gives us a lot of telecommunications for not a lot of dollars," he said.

Voice-over-Internet protocol, or VoIP, is changing the way corporate and home-based businesses communicate. In the corporate environment, IP telephony accounted for 8 percent of the business lines installed worldwide in 2004, according to statistics from VoIP provider Avaya. The number is expected to quadruple by 2007.

For most applications, VoIP is relatively simple to install. Its router plugs into the existing broadband Internet connection, which can be DSL, cable modem, satellite or T-1 business-grade service. Then standard or business phones can be plugged into the VoIP router to complete the connection.

VoIP also can become a remote office solution should an office be damaged or closed after a hurricane.

That's the plan for Illuminati. After Lee's office was closed last year after Hurricane Wilma, a large client requested a business continuity plan. Lee knows that if his office loses its T-1 broadband Internet connection, his VoIP service will be lost as well. Should Illuminati lose service, Lee will unplug his VoIP router, and relocate to hotel or office where broadband service is accessible. This way, he can plug in his modem and phone set, and have phone service.

Since VoIP service stores all functions, greetings and voice mails on its servers, messages await retrieval once Lee has accessed the service. Lee can log on to his VoIP account and forward all calls to his wireless phone.

He's also considering the provider's "soft phone" service. With a simple software download, Lee can plug a headset into his laptop and use it to gain full use of his VoIP service. The cost is around $10 a month.

"I can open my laptop in a Starbucks and be in business. There's a degree of flexibility, especially in a disaster scenario," he said.

Jeff Zbar is a freelance writer. Reach him at jeff@jeffzbar.com.

Philips unveils gaming screens, VoIP and music gear

2006-06-09T15:43:00.000-04:00

Christmas comes early
Rosemary Haworth

Philips yesterday showcased the products it will be pushing in the run-up to Christmas. While a few of the items on show were from its current list of consumer items, there were new takes on some existing models and a couple of real gems.

First, Philips has a cunning deal with the soon-to-be-launched Microsoft Windows Live portal (the successor to MSN) that enables the company to offer Live Messenger IM (instant messaging) contacts lists on its dual-purpose VoIP (voice over IP) and landline telephones.

An exclusive European deal between Microsoft and Philips means users will be able to scroll down their Messenger contacts on the colour VOIP 4331 handset and quickly see who's online and whether they are available to chat. A VoIP conversation can then be initiated at the press of a button, for which no call charge will be incurred.

Alternatively, the handset can be used for standard landline calls, meaning there's no need to have two handsets for separate types of phone call. It is part of Philips' attempt to divorce the VoIP low-cost calls concept from the PC and to embrace a wider, more consumer market.

The VOIP 4331 will be onsale for around £79 within the next week or two via major high-street and online retailers. For houses with several chatterboxes, Philips will be selling a two-handset pack, the VOIP 4332, for £119.

Skype fans may prefer the £69 VOIP 3211, which is a pure VoIP offering but uses Dect technology to offer call clarity and the ability to chat from as far as 300m from the base unit. That unit connects via USB to the PC and piggybacks its broadband connection – again, meaning proximity to a PC is not required.

Gamers get to drool over a 19in LCD screen with some proper built-in 20W speakers that put to shame the weedy things found on most monitors. The 190G6 screen has a refresh rate of 8ms and a native resolution of 1,280x1,024 pixels. It comes with an accompanying subwoofer and has customisable buttons on its base to switch between music genres. Costing around £449, it will be available in around a month's time.

Other interesting product announcements included a micro hi-fi that can rip CDs and has a USB port at the front so you can immediately transfer your music collection to your MP3 player. The MCM760 has a likely list price of £170. Philips is also extending its DAB offerings with a £180 DAB micro hi-fi, the MCB700, and showed us a prototype version of its portable DAB clock radio, which it aims to launch later this year for around £70. According to the AJ5100's engineer, it will run for the best part of a week on a set of six AA batteries.

Philips will also be launching a 2GB flash-based MP3 player that looks-wise is the same as the 30GB HDD6320 MP3 and photo player launched six months ago. There were also hints that the company is looking at launching a video MP3 player in due course.

There will be additions to the line up of 1.3Mp (megapixel) webcams Philips offers, a redesigned and significantly cheaper range of Ambilight 3 LCD TVs and more choice in the digital photo frames category – which, a company spokesman told us, is now a significant market.

VoIP News: Man Charged With Selling Hacked VoIP Services

2006-06-08T15:33:00.000-04:00

A Miami man was charged Wednesday with stealing more than 10 million minutes of voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephone service and then selling them to unsuspecting customers for as little as US$0.004 per minute.

Edwin Pena paid a Washington state computer hacker named Robert Moore about $20,000 to help him illegally route Internet telephone calls through the networks of more than 15 unnamed VoIP companies, according to criminal complaints made available by the U.S. attorney’s office.

Pena presented himself as a legitimate telecommunications wholesaler, while at the same time using hacking techniques to steal networking services valued at as much as $300,000 from each of the carriers.

"They had hoped they had engineered a brilliant toll-free calling network for themselves," said Newark FBI Special Agent in Charge Leslie Wiser Jr. in the statement. "They hoped wrong."
Pena has been charged with wire fraud for violating computer hacking laws, according to the U.S. attorney.

Starting in November 2004, the 23-year-old sold Internet telecom services at inexpensive wholesale prices through his two companies: Fortes Telecom and Miami Tech & Consulting. The telephone service was free for Pena, however, because he was using hacked lines with legitimate VoIP providers and routing the calls without being detected, the complaint states.

Pena and Moore allegedly set up a web of servers to hide their tracks, and they flooded VoIP providers with test calls, trying to guess the proprietary prefix codes used to authenticate VoIP calls on the network. Once they had cracked the codes, the two would be able to route their calls through the legitimate VoIP network, the U.S. attorney said.

With more than $1 million in profits from the scheme, Pena was able to buy real estate, a 40-foot motor boat and customized 2004 BMW M3 sports car, the U.S. attorney said.

-Robert McMillan, IDG News Service

NON VoIP News: HP recalls digital cameras for fire hazard

2006-06-07T13:12:00.000-04:00

Slow VoIP News day...so I thought I would do this kind of a public service announcement. Besides it's not every day cameras catch fire!!!

By Ben Ames, IDG News Service

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has recalled more than half a million digital cameras, citing the risk of a fire hazard from an overheated battery.

HP, of Palo Alto, Calif., learned of the problem when a customer complained that his Photosmart R707 digital camera had caught fire while plugged into its docking station, according to a press release issued Tuesday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The flames damaged the camera and filled the room with smoke, but the customer was not injured.

The problem is caused by a mistake in the camera's firmware that kicks in when the device is plugged into an AC adapter or docking station, and attempts to charge non-rechargeable batteries such as the Duracell CP-1, HP said.

VoIP News: VoIP links virtual transatlantic yachtswoman to real world.

2006-06-06T14:58:00.000-04:00

Press Releases

Submitter: David Pincott
Release Date: 05-06-2006
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View all releases submitted by David Pincott

PRESS RELEASE 5 June 2006 Virtual transatlantic yachtswoman links to real world with new VoIP range ProVu (www.provu.co.uk), the supplier of innovative, video and voice communication equipment today (5 June) launched two new VoIP (voice over internet protocol) phones at a unique event in London.

The solo yachtswoman, Lia Ditton, has just begun a virtual voyage on board the 40-foot racing trimaran ProVu – firmly fixed on dry land. Over the next 28 days she will live and work on board recreating an Atlantic crossing – her isolation broken only by contact via VoIP. Friends, family, and media are invited to talk and interact with her in this unprecedented blend of performance art, yachting, endurance and internet telephony.

Lia will be using two new phones from ProVu. The Siemens Dual C460IP DECT offers the best of all worlds as it provides cordless telephony over both the standard (PSTN) network and the internet – and unlike most existing VoIP phones you don’t need to have a PC. It’s ideal for use in the home or a small business as you can make cheap or even free VoIP calls simply by connecting the base terminal to a broadband router while still having access to standard telephone service. Lia will also be using ProVu’s newly updated Snom 300 IP phone for the first time in the UK.

ProVu considers Lia’s performance art event to be a unique way to demonstrate the benefits of these new phones. ProVu’s chairman, Peter Bryant, said: “Products like this, where the public’s familiarity is not yet at the level where they are readily understood, need to be launched in an attention-grabbing way. Keeping Lia in touch with the outside world whilst she combines performance art with her yachting achievements is unique in that it draws attention to the product whilst demonstrating exactly what it can do.”

For further information or pictures of this event or to arrange your own VoIP talk with either Lia or Peter Bryant of ProVu, please email- david.pincott@btinternet.com or call- 07866 261198 or Robert Dunnett on- robert.dunnett@talk21.com or - 07739 903769.

www.provu.co.uk/event

VoIP News: Net2Phone Sues Skype over VoIP Patent

2006-06-05T16:19:00.000-04:00

Online VoIP provider, Net2Phone Inc., has initiated legal action against Skype and its parent company, eBay Inc., claiming that the Skype software infringes on one of its point-to-point IP communication patents.

The lawsuit was filed at a U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey, seeking a permanent injunction as well as unspecified financial damages.

Skype, eBay, and IDC, which purchased Net2Phone in February, have all declined to comment on the pending litigation, which could potentially result in major changes to the internet VoIP market.

VoIP News:Get Ready for the VoIP Tax

2006-06-02T14:55:00.000-04:00

From NEWSFACTOR MAGAZINE

If the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has its way, businesses and consumers alike will be paying more for their Voice over IP (VoIP) calling services. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has submitted a proposal that would require VoIP service providers, including Skype, Vonage, and others, to pay into the Universal Service Fund (USF).

There is no clear indication of how much the USF surcharge will add to the cost of existing VoIP services. However, according to the VON Coalition, an advocacy group consisting of VoIP service and equipment providers, the USF surcharge might add as much as $1.77 per month to a $25 monthly bundle.

Lisa Pierce, an analyst at Forrester Research, said a VoIP tax has been in the works for a long time. "Voice over IP, by definition, is a voice service," Pierce said, "and the whole reason for the USF was to ensure the availability of voice services on an equitably built basis throughout the United States."

Growing Pain

As part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the USF is intended to guarantee the delivery of affordable telecommunications services to every citizen. The fund collects some $7 billion from interstate and international phone calls annually.

For VoIP service providers, the question has moved from whether they should have to pay into the USF to how much they should pay. The FCC is calling on VoIP companies to pay 10.9 percent of 65 percent of their revenues into the USF.

Pierce said there is no question that the cost of the surcharge will be passed on to VoIP customers -- both business and home users -- and that it will narrow the gap separating VoIP and traditional phone services.

Paying It Forward

In the near term, she said, the tax could affect consumers a lot, and companies like Vonage might suffer. "Depending on how far that margin is closed over time, if someone was going to VoIP purely or primarily for economic reasons, it would obviously remove a lot of the incentive," she said.

In the case of business customers, the applications and productivity are still good reasons to choose VoIP over traditional phone services, Pierce went on to say.

"As far as economics are concerned," she said, "in the business market over the long haul, VoIP still has a lot of legs. This doesn't change that."

Were the FCC proposal to pass, she said, it is a good indication that the industry has gained legitimacy and that the government recognizes it is a growing revenue stream.
"This is some of the pains of puberty or adolescence," shd said

VoIP News: Web Hosting and VoIP Firm Featured on Business Efficiency eBroadcast

2006-06-01T16:55:00.000-04:00

San Jose, California - (The Hosting News) - June 1, 2006 - Web host and national provider of integrated voice and data communications firm, Covad Communications Group, Inc. executives will be featured with analysts from Frost and Sullivan for a discussion on the critical importance of Voice over IP (VoIP) for businesses seeking a competitive advantage.

The session, ''Can You Really Afford Not to Use VoIP? Leveraging the Options for Increased Business Value,'' will be led by Sam Masud, Principal Analyst, Carrier Infrastructure, ICT Practice, Frost and Sullivan; Prakash Nagpal, Director of Product Strategy, Covad; and John Grady, Director of Product Management, Covad.

Mr. Nagpal commented, ''It is important that businesses understand the options available to them," according to Nagpal. Different types of businesses need different solutions, and VoIP providers must work with each customer to ensure the service they are using gives them the maximum benefit.''

Mr. Grady added, ''Advancements in VoIP technology have provided new ways to benefit from the convenience and cost savings of a converged service, as well as the advanced features provided by Covad's portfolio of VoIP solutions.''

Sam Masud, Principal Analyst at Carrier Infrastructure, ICT Practice, Frost and Sullivan offered, ''Getting up to speed on VoIP facilitates businesses for growth. Covad's experience as a provider of VoIP for businesses allows participants to understand more clearly how different VoIP solutions can work for them.''

VoIP News: Microsoft Targets VoIP Market With LG-Nortel Deal

2006-05-31T17:22:00.000-04:00

Microsoft is continuing its slow assault on the VoIP market by signing a new deal with LG-
By Preston Gralla
Networking Pipeline

Nortel to work together on VoIP products based on the next generation of WinCE. LG-Nortel is a joint venture between Nortel and cell phone manufacturer LG Electronics.

The deal between Microsoft and LG-Nortel is a memorandum of understanding (MOU) covering joint research and development, marketing, and licensing for WinCE 6. It extends an existing agreement between the two companies in which LG-Nortel developed a WinCE 5-based multimedia SIP phone.

The final agreement will be hammered out over the next several months, when designs for new WinCE 6-based IP phones will be announced. WinCE 6, code-named Yamazaki, is Microsoft's new development environment for the next generation of smart devices and smart phones.

The announcement is not getting much press, but this is a much more important deal than most people realize. Microsoft hasn't gotten a great deal of traction in the mobile phone market, and it's only just starting to make noise about VoIP.

But Microsoft has been quietly pursuing an increasingly network-centric strategy that focuses on data synchronization and collaboration, even in its desktop products. For example, Vista includes a Sync Center that will allow users to easily synchronize data across all their devices. That means that mobile phones and smart devices will be able to be synchronized with desktop PCs, making it that much more likely enterprises will opt for WinCE-based devices.

Iit's not just VoIP that Microsoft is after in this announcement. You can be sure that multimedia IP communications will be part of the upcoming product line as well.

For Microsoft, the stakes are sizable. The announcement came out of the company's Mobile & Embedded Devices/Communications Sector (MED/CS) group, which Microsoft calls "the fastest growing business line among the seven Microsoft business groups."

What Microsoft doesn't like to say, however, is that the group is also operating in the red, reportedly to the tune of a $14 million loss for the quarter ending March 31st. That's a drop in the bucket for Microsoft, of course. But that's where future growth is, and the company knows that it needs to gain a sizable share of that market.

How much this announcement will help remains a bit unclear. We'll know better when the definitive agreement is made public in several months.

VoIP News: VoIP Advantages And Pitfalls For Small Businesses

2006-05-30T16:58:00.000-04:00

From webpronews.com:

If you're just starting your business you may not have an office with a dedicated phone line, which can be an expensive hassle.

That's why small businesses, home-based businesses, and the self-employed have been turning to internet telephone service (also called broadband phone or VOIP) in droves.

I switched my business to internet phones early in 2005. Despite a few hiccups, I'm not going back to landlines. Internet phone service has too many advantages, which I'll describe for you. I also have some tips for avoiding possible rough patches.

VOIP Internet Phone Small Business and SOHO Advantages

VOIP Advantage No. 1: Look bigger.

Need your small business to seem larger? A virtual PBX (switchboard) with a dial-by-name directory might help. These systems cost thousands to install. But many VOIP companies let you rent this service for less than a hundred dollars a month.

Give each member of your team their own outside line. With most VOIP companies, each line costs around $10.

Get one or more 1-800 numbers at around $10/month.

VOIP Advantage No 2. Freedom of movement.

Freedom to travel. When I went to Sacramento to visit a friend, I ended up extending my stay to a whole month. I couldn't have done that without regular phone access. With VOIP, my Massachusetts number follows me wherever I go.

Tropical adventures. I regularly work with a virtual assistant company that takes phone calls on their Quebec phone number everyday. That wouldn't be so strange except they're in the Philippines. They're using the same small business VOIP phone service sold right here in North America. True, VOIP companies don't generally guarantee their services will work outside the country of purchase. But the internet is the internet, whether in Fargo or the South Pacific. With the growth of broadband to virtually every non-pariah nation on earth, your second office really could be in a tropical paradise--or year-round ski resort. Isn't that the freedom you hoped being your own boss would bring?

Telecommuting. Feel a cold coming? Work from home! With VOIP, even the receptionist may be able to telecommute!

Voicemail by email. You don't have to be by the phone to get voicemail. This is the perfect service for busy people and email addicts. Bonus: the message (in a file similar those used on MP3 players) can be stored indefinitely.

Internet Phone Advantage 3. Cost

Make lots of calls? Many VOIP providers' unlimited-calling plans cost just $20 to $80 a month.

Features such as call waiting, caller ID, hold, call forwarding, and multiple ring-to numbers are usually costly extras with landline service. With most VOIP services, those are built-in features.

SOHO VOIP: Tips for Making it Work for Your Business

SOHO VOIP Tip 1. Test internet phoning out before committing.

Yes, some VOIP connections are so scratchy and patchy they sound like cell phones. That's usually because of a problem in the internet connection. Such problems may not be apparent in ordinary web browsing and file downloading. Go with a service that has a 30-day money-back guarantee. Try VOIP out where you live and work. Make sure to try inbound and outbound calls.

Small Business Internet Phone Tip 2. Phoning from a laptop.

With VOIP telephones, you don't need a computer. But you can use your computer as a phone. A piece of software called a "softphone" uses your computer's speakers and microphone. If your laptop is running too many programs at once, calls will deteriorate. Higher-end laptops shouldn't have this problem.

Small Biz Internet Phoning Tip 3. Choose a provider carefully before putting the number on your business cards.

Switching VOIP companies is at least as much of a pain as switching landline phone companies. In fact, there is typically no outward number-portability. You can bring a number in, but good luck taking it with you. Researching in early 2005, I found no nationwide VOIP services officially offering outward number portability. However, you may be able to talk some carriers into letting you keep your number.

Choose a VOIP provider with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Test the service out thoroughly. One thing is likely: you may want to switch VOIP providers, but you won't want to go back to landline.

VoIP News: NEW VOIP SERVICE PROVIDER

2006-05-26T12:19:00.000-04:00

A new voip service provider has hit the scene. ECR Voice was started by Copper.net a long time reliable ISP service. ECR Voice is currenly offering 2 months free with a $1 activation fee through VoIP discounts.

The early reviews continue to be great. It is an easy, reliable service that is backed by the same great U.S. based customer service that Copper customers have enjoyed for years. Give them a try and see for yourself.

VoIP News : NINTENDO Wii may have VOIP phone capabilities.

2006-05-25T13:32:00.000-04:00

New information from Nintendo's financial report indicates that the price of the Nintendo Wii will be not more than $250 in the United States.

The price in Japan is supposed to not more than 25,000 yen, which is around $220. Nintendo also says to sell about 6 million Nintendo Wii consoles until March 2007. Well, why not? If the keep the price below $250 it is possible.

On the Nintendo Wii rumor front the possibility that the Wii Remote could be used as VOIP phone is making its rounds on the web. The Wii remote already has a speaker, to add a microphone would not be that hard. On top of that it has the form factor of a handset.

VoIP News: Council uses VoIP to back hotdesk plan

2006-05-24T15:10:00.000-04:00

Tower Hamlets Council is using a voice over IP (VoIP) system and hotdesking technologies to reduce the desk space needed for employees by 25 per cent.

The London council is installing the technology to operate its new Anchorage House offices in the East India Docks complex on the edge of Canary Wharf.

Jim Roberts, Tower Hamlets’ service head for IT, says the aim of the new system is to alter how the council works.

‘The new accommodation is designated as a hotdesking environment, and IT’s role has been to support that in a number of different ways,’ he said.

‘We are giving the 1,800 staff in the new office roving profiles so they can log in at any desk, and IP telephony so they can take calls at any phone in the complex.’

The council plans to extend the VoIP technology across all its offices by the end of the year covering 5,000 staff.

Tower Hamlets has set itself ambitious targets for the move to the new office, and for implementing the IT to go alongside it, says Roberts.

‘It’s all about making the most appropriate use of the desk space, making sure all the desks are occupied all of the time, because the council has lots of people whose work takes them away from their desks at least part of the time,’ he said.

VoIP News : Comcast's New VOIP Modems Offer Blackout Protection

2006-05-23T15:17:00.000-04:00

VoIP service when the power is out.

By Natali T. Del Conte

Comcast said Monday that is offering a new cable modem with a battery backup, providing some level of assurance that VOIP services will continue to operate in the event of a power outage.

Comcast has placed orders for an undisclosed number of Motorola SBV5220 modems, Motorola representatives said. The modems will be used in conjunction with Comcast's Digital Voice offering, which costs $39.95 per month including unlimited local and long-distance calling. Users will not have to pay to upgrade.

VoIP's reputation has generally suffered from two criticisms: first, that the service does not allow the use of location-based 911 services without configuration from the user, and second, that the service's modems and routers are susceptible to power outages. The SBV5220, a combination cable modem and phone adapter often referred to as an embedded Multimedia Terminal Adapter (eMTA), solves that problem with its lithium-ion battery back-up, which provides up to eight hours of extended battery life.

"The rise in VoIP services and folks using VOiP to replace the primary landline [was the reason we created this new modem]," said Paul Alfieri, a spokesperson for Motorola. "Landlines have power already in the line so should your power go out, you can still make and receive phone calls. So this is just a way to deliver more comparable service."

Comcast will offer the new modem to customers later this year with Comcast Digital Voice, an IP-based service that uses the company's broadband network rather than the Internet to transmit phone calls. Comcast has offered Digital Voice since late 2004 but up until now has only provided modems made by ARRIS, a Canadian company.

"ARRIS and Motorola are our two eMTA partners that we've announced to date," said Jeanne Russo, a Comcast spokeswoman. "They both have the battery back up. It's an important requirement for our Digital Voice service."

Comcast's first-quarter earnings reported over 416,000 Digital Voice customers. Cox Communications, one of Comcast's main competitors, reportedly has over 1.5 million customers on their Digital Telephone plan but the company does not use eMTAs, instead installing a Network Interface Unit (NIU) to the side of customer's homes. Cox provides back-up power so that their NIUs are not susceptible to power outages.

Motorola currently sells modems without lithium-ion back-ups to all of the major cable companies but Comcast is the first to order the SBV5220. It can service up to two phone lines in the home using standard RJ-11 telephone connectors, as well as connect to a computer with either an Ethernet cable or USB data port.

Users must also own a phone equipped with its own battery backup to be able to place calls during a power outage. Some wired phones are also powered solely by the phone line

VoIP for Mac / Apples now

2006-05-22T14:46:00.000-04:00

Mac-Skypers Delivered Dedicated VoIP Handset

By Erik Linask of IPCommunications.com

Now that Apple has joined mainstream computing — in the sense that it is now producing PCs powered by Intel chipsets — it also is looking to make inroads in other aspects of computing and communications. Indeed, with the multitude of third-party manufacturers unveiling various VoIP products, noticeably left out are loyal Mac users.

It may be but a single product, but it signals a new era for the Mac user community —VoIP products developer VoIPVoice has announced the release of its anticipated CyberPhone W for Mac, a Skype -compatible handset specifically designed for use with Apple’s computing products.

This release also signifies a new age for Skype, as it is now fully accessible to the Apple community. The VoIPVoice handset frees Mac Skypers from their headsets, allowing them to Skype via a handeset.

The CyberPhone W for Mac is the first Skype-certified device to be available in Apple stores universally, including its latest, which opened last week on New York’s famous Fifth Avenue. The handset delivers high quality sound features:

Leading edge design for visual appeal;
Skype integration to simplify VoIP calling;
Look and feel of a conventional handset;
Keypad-based Skype contacts management;
SkypeOut capability from keypad;
Built-in LED to indicate incoming calls, voice mails, status.

The Mac Cyberphone will be available exclusively at Apple’s retail outlets for a four-week period, following which it will also be available for purchase from the VoIPVoice online store and Skype’s online shop.

Toshiba to Add Wireless VOIP

2006-05-19T10:16:00.000-04:00

By Wayne Rash

Toshiba America will start selling wireless voice-over-IP phones and a wireless PDA to work with its Stratus CIX series of IP PBX equipment, the company said.

The products, two wireless phones and a wireless combination phone/PDA using Windows Mobile, are available through Toshiba dealers starting May 18. The company did not release pricing for the devices.

The phones are the Hitachi IP5000 and the SpectraLink Link 6020. The Hitachi phone will use a company's existing 802.11b Wi-Fi network, while the SpectraLink phone uses a private wireless network operating in the 900MHz band. The third device is the MC50 PDA, which runs Toshiba's SoftIPT softphone software and also uses Wi-Fi.

"It's the next evolution in communications," said Toshiba America Product Manager Greg Portis. "You can move without being tethered to a specific location." Portis said that at Toshiba, "wireless" refers to anything you can use to communicate and conduct dialogue through without being restricted to "a certain space."

Portis said the phones are designed to work with Toshiba's Stratus CIX, a PBX designed for SMBs (small and midsize businesses). "It's our converged system," he said.

Portis noted that no special software was required for the Stratus CIX, although he did say that some settings needed to be optimized. He declined to say exactly what form of optimization was required, except that it was needed to work properly with customers' WLANs (wireless LANs). The Stratus CIX and the wireless devices use SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) as their standard means of VOIP signaling.

Traditional Voice Service Revenues Declining

2006-05-16T16:57:00.000-04:00

By David Haskin of TechWeb News

In a few years, incumbent telecom operators will no longer earn most of their revenues from traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) voice service, according to a study released Tuesday by U.K. market research firm Informa Telecoms & Media.

The precipitous drop in PSTN revenue will be caused by increasing use of voice-over-IP (VoIP), a trend the telecoms will need to continue to capitalize on, the study says. The study predicts a worldwide decrease in revenues from traditional PSTN voice service of about 16.7 percent between the end of 2005 and 2011. That percentage works out to about $100 billion in lost earnings from traditional voice service, the market research firm said.

The full story here.

TV Over IP

2006-05-15T16:18:00.000-04:00

Could TV Over IP really happen. Jeff Pulver seems to think so. In the newest issue of Von Magazine, Editor-in-Chief Richard Grigonis continues his ongoing discussion with Jeff as the conversation leads to IP Video. There were three events last summer that make Pulver realize that IP Video is not too far away. Live 8 which was broadcasted ive on AOLMusic.om which over five million people experienced worldwide. The use of his Slingbox to watch American programming while in London. Third, Disney and NBC Universal cutting deals with Apple to sell some NBC series on iTunes. You can the entire article at Von Mags website.

Coming Soon: In-Flight VoIP Calling

2006-05-12T15:40:00.000-04:00

Like it or not, airline passengers in U.S. skies are likely to be listening to their fellow passengers talking on phones in a year or so. An FCC frequency auction underway this week will likely pave the way for VoIP calls in-flight.

Nine companies ranging from Verizon Communications' Airfone to JetBlue Airways are bidding for the frequencies. Airfone already offers phone service on many flights, but its high cost has limited its use. JetBlue has declined to say what its LiveTV LCC unit would do with a winning frequency.

Although many frequent flyers and airline attendants favor a ban on the phone chatter, Connexion by Boeing, whose Internet service is already offered on nearly 200 international flights a day, notes that there have been no complaints of in-cabin incidents about the technology. The Connexion service is regularly used by passengers to make VoIP calls.

Connexion officials look the U.S. air-to-ground (ATG) frequency services as potentially complimentary to Boeing's satellite-based service.

"An ATG provider and Connexion by Boeing could work together to provide added value to airlines and their passengers by providing a common look and feel to the Web portal, billing, operational applications, etc." said Terrance Scott, a Connexion spokesman, in an e-mail. "That makes such services more broadly available to the traveling public."

Scott noted that airline economic reality may dictate that domestic U.S. flights use land-based frequencies while long-haul and international flights could utilize satellite links. While several international airlines have rushed to install the Connexion service, the FCC has withheld its approval for the service in the U.S.

The FCC ATG bidding for spectrum in the 800 MHz band got underway on Wednesday. Two winners are expected to emerge from the auction. Airfone executives have indicated that Internet service could begin in about a year if it wins some bandwidth. Other bidders have generally been playing their cards close to their vests and haven't said much about their plans.

In addition to Airfone and JetBlue, other bidders include AC BidCo, Acadia Broadand, AMTS Consortium, Intelligent Transport & Monitoring Wireless, Space Data Spectrum Holdings, and Unison Spectrum.

The FCC has withheld the in-flight use of cell phones to date.

Boeing, responding to a recent Carnegie Mellon University study on the safety of in-flight calls, said that it has taken steps to ensure that passengers can't interfere with aircraft navigation systems.

Do you have security system and want VoIP?

2006-05-11T14:21:00.000-04:00

The security industry seems to becoming to grips that they are going to need to work with VoIP systems to stay with the times. This article was off of securityinfowatch.com.

Coming to Terms with What VoIP Means for the Alarm Industry

VoIP isn't going away. And the more the alarm industry learns about it, the more reasons our industry must be careful when working around it. But we're going to have to work with it, because VoIP is taking over from POTS.

That's the gist of a new report from the NBFAA that was released Monday on the association's website, www.alarm.org.

The new NBFAA report addresses the issues that the alarm industry is facing with VoIP. It comes after a March meeting that brought key industry players, including SIA, NBFAA, CSAA, Honeywell, Bosch, Telular, DSC, ADT, Guardian and Vector Security, to the table with cable company representatives from Cox, Charter, Time Warner and others.

SecurityInfoWatch.com recently caught up with NBFAA's Executive Director Merlin Guilbeau to discuss what the industry has learned about VoIP.

"I think the issue of VoIP is becoming more prevalent," says Guilbeau. "I think there were initial thoughts that a fix or a filter would come along like there was in DSL, but that is not going to be the case."

Guilbeau added that the pace that the cable companies are installing VoIP services is much faster than the pace at which customers were switching to DSL. In fact, industry numbers from Time Warner say that by the end of this year, 2 million customers will have signed up with VoIP service. That number will be 8 million at the end of 2008 according to the company's estimates.

Those kind of growth numbers certainly mean that a change of business is in store for the alarm industry. But it's not just the alarm industry that will feel the pinch.

You can read the rest of the article here.

VoIP on Cell Phones: Read the Fine Print

2006-05-10T12:10:00.000-04:00

Sounds like a dumb idea to me. Unless they all follow suit chances are people will just switch to the company that will let them.

John Blau, IDG News Service

As low-priced Internet phone services for mobile devices emerge, users should first check the fine print in their cell phone contracts to see if they can take advantage of such offerings. There's a chance they can't.

T-Mobile International, which has mobile phone operations in Europe and the United States, is among the first companies to ban the use of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol, or Internet-based telephone service) over its networks. Its Web 'n' Walk professional service expressly prohibits such usage, and the company reserves the right to terminate contracts.

Like many other mobile phone companies, T-Mobile wants to protect its cash-cow telephone service from new providers of VoIP-over-mobile services, such as Mino Wireless USA.

Last week, the Sunnyvale, California, company launched one of the world's first commercial VoIP-over-mobile services, offering fees as low as US$0.02 per minute for international calls.
That's cheap--really cheap--compared to the $1 per minute or more mobile phone users in many countries currently pay to make international calls.

VoIP-Over-Mobile Providers

To use Mino, customers need to install the company's mobile VoIP application on a Java-enabled mobile phone.

Mino joins other VoIP heavyweights, such as Skype Technologies, a unit of eBay. Earlier this year, Skype announced a VoIP partnership with Hutchison 3 Group, which operates IP-based mobile broadband networks in several European markets. The Skype mobile VoIP application runs on Microsoft's Windows Mobile software.

Mobile VoIP startup Iskoot, which is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is also working with Skype to allow users to make or receive Internet calls with their mobile phones.

Phishing Leaps to Next Level With VoIP

2006-05-09T13:12:00.000-04:00

Same old scams, new technology to use to do it. BEWARE!!

A security firm on Tuesday reported discovering a phishing scheme in which the scammers used spam disguised as coming from a small bank in a large East Coast city, Cloudmark Inc., a messaging security firm, said. The message asked the recipient to dial a telephone number to talk with a bank representative.

The number went to an automated voice system that asked for an account number and personal identification number, or PIN, in order to access the caller's finances. The number was obtained through a regular provider of voice over Internet protocol services.

There was no indication that the VoIP provider was aware of the scam, said Cloudmark, which declined to name the company and the spoofed bank.

The incident reflected a mutation in the tactics used by phishers to snare victims. More traditional schemes involve spam asking the recipient to visit their bank's private branch exchange, running an automated telephone information system. The voice system sounds exactly like the bank's phone tree, directing the caller to specific extensions, Adam J. O’Donnell, senior research scientist at Cloudmark, said.

O'Donnell believes it's likely the phishers were using virus-infected computers that had been commandeered to take calls over the Internet.

The use of VoIP is a natural mutation of phishing, since it involves Internet technologies that crooks operating on the Web are familiar with, O'Donnell said. In addition, obtaining a VoIP telephone number is easy and inexpensive and calls can be directed to any IP address. In the latest attack, the phishers used the same pitch in the emails, but used three different telephone numbers.

"Through the economics of using VoIP, phishers reap the same benefits of any small business," O'Donnell said.

It's not known how popular VoIP technology will become with phishers. That would depend on how successful it is at trapping victims "This is very early on, and we haven't seen a spike," O'Donnell said.

"Our main purpose at this point is to tell consumers before they fall victim."

By Antone Gonsalves

Jeff Pulver was here

2006-05-08T15:23:00.000-04:00

Although there was no comment left with the answer of G, apparently Jeff Pulver was indeed here and read the entry.

VoIP Quality of Service

2006-05-05T11:02:00.000-04:00

So how do you keep from getting dropped VoIP calls in a buisness place where there is demand for bandwidth for email, large data transfers and VoIP calls. By protecting your VoIP bandwidth with QoS (Quality of Service) Mae Kowalke, of TMCnet explains in a recent article:

You may know that Quality of Service, or QoS, is an important part of keeping your networking running smoothly. But do you know what types of applications benefit most from QoS?

In a recent application note, Kentrox provides an answer to that very question: “QoS becomes necessary when Voice over IP (VoIP) capable phones are to be added to what is currently a data only network infrastructure.”

Sounds simple enough. Here’s why that’s true.

Without VoIP, networks are used to send data using IP packets. Some networks now support server-based infrastructures that require access to the Internet.

Supporting e-mail, Internet access, file transfers, server backups, streaming video, video conferencing, and other applications takes quite a bit of bandwidth.

So, what happens when VoIP is added to the mix?

Kentrox’s answer: “A few data packets carrying a voice conversation will probably be lost among those large data applications running on a network originally designed for data. The end result is a scrambled or difficult to hear conversation.”

The human ear is a very sensitive instrument, and will quickly pick up on the loss of quality.

Luckily, there’s a way to prevent that quality loss. And it’s called, you guess it, Quality of Service.

In the application note, Kentrox explains that modern networks are designed to handle both voice and data traffic. “These networks also have the ability to prioritize traffic streams based on QoS parameters.”

Now we’re getting down to the nitty-gritty of how Quality of Service works. In a nutshell, it’s all about prioritization.

“QoS is a set of algorithms or policies that are created by a network administrator to assign different levels of quality (or priority) to different types of network traffic,” Kentrox explains.

Anything that interferes with the timely delivery of voice or video packets can cause problematic losses in quality. A QoS policy marks these packets as high priority, allowing them to be delivered prior to unmarked data traffic.

This concept is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 below.

There’s more to Quality of Service than that, of course, but it’s all you need to know. Kentrox’s Quality of Service products, like the Q1300 QoS Appliance, make it easy to ensure high-quality VoIP on your network.

To learn more, visit www.kentrox.com.

Quick Survey For Today

2006-05-04T16:14:00.000-04:00

How much do you know about VoIP? (Leave a comment with the corresponding letter to your answer)

A. What the heck is VoIP???
B. Just found out.
C. Learned about it in the past couple of weeks.
D. Have known about it for a awhile now.
E. I use VoIP.
F. I am in the industry.
G. My name is Jeff Pulver.

First VoIP E911 Call-Handling Solution in Texas Implemented by Galveston County Emergency Communication District

2006-05-03T10:21:00.000-04:00

GALVESTON, Texas, /PRNewswire/ -- The Galveston County Emergency Communication District (GCECD) recently implemented the first IP-enabled Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) in the state of Texas. All eight PSAPs and the 21 dispatchers in the GCECD service area, along with the La Marque Police Department, the Galveston Police Department and Galveston County Sheriff Department, are utilizing the new IP-enabled Enhanced 911 call- handling solution, which brings a variety of benefits, including integration with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), automatic crash notification, on- demand conferencing, group paging capabilities, remote log-in and encryption of all 911 calls for increased privacy.

It also provides increased networking capabilities and lets the Galveston 911 centers receive pictures and video sent by people at the scene. This will enable the dispatchers to better determine which emergency personnel are required at the scene, as well as allow the responders to more thoroughly prepare for the emergency en route.

The GCECD believes the new system's ability to quickly network PSAPs together is one of the most critical benefits of the new system. Networking allows less busy call centers to provide assistance for centers that are experiencing spikes in call volume.

"Now the PSAPs within the service area of GCECD will be in a much better position to back up each other if needed," said Bobby Wright, executive director of the GCECD.

Two years ago, the GCECD began its search for a PSAP call-center solution that would centralize the control equipment, be easier to maintain and be cost-effective. It also wanted a next-generation solution that would utilize less proprietary equipment, and could quickly accommodate future technologies and operate over an IP network.

The district selected the Synapse call-handling system from Huntsville, Ala.-based Tel Control, Inc. (TCI). Synapse is an open-architecture, VoIP- ready solution that integrates technologies from Avaya and TCI.

"IP telephony provides far more than just the ability to accommodate the increase in call volume and accept text messaging, images and OnStar data," said Jeff Robertson, TCI's president and a former policeman. "It lets call centers consolidate their hardware and systems for cost efficiency, while delivering added redundancy across the network. It also provides nearly unlimited paths for calls to get through, and makes it far easier to link together call handlers, emergency personnel and offsite staff."

Robertson continued, "It's forward-thinking people such as Bobby Wright, Jack Wilkins and the other leaders at GCECD who will ensure that the emergency community nationwide has the networking capability to handle the dramatic increase in 911 calls and large-scale emergencies, whether they are caused by people or the environment."

Industry experts point out that the IP-networks used by 911 centers are not what consumers and corporations use. "VoIP-based PSAP systems use secure, private data networks -- not the Internet," said Lee Moore, founder of 911Consult, Inc., a consulting group specializing in IT services for the E911 community. "These private network providers allow the PSAP to define the quality as well as the quantity of service needed to deliver full, uncompressed voice to the PSAPs. In comparison, residential Internet service is delivered as a 'best effort,' and bandwidth can be a problem during peak usage times."

AT&T is acting as the integrator for this project. The mapping application is provided by GeoComm.

About TCI

For more than 20 years, Huntsville, Ala.-based Tel Control, Inc. has been specializing in 911 telephony solutions. More than 700 Public Service Answering Points across North America rely on TCI's technologies and solutions to provide reliable and nearly instantaneous response for the citizens in their areas.

TCI's mission is to continually improve public safety 911 communications by remaining the industry's most innovative and responsive provider of Enhanced 911 solutions. With the installation of the first IP-enabled system in Texas, as well as the first IP-enabled system in the U.S. (Elmore County, Alabama in 2004), TCI is cementing its reputation as a leader for next- generation E911 solutions.

For more information, visit http://www.tci911.com .

VoIP Mentioned on 24

2006-05-02T19:31:00.000-04:00

Apparently VoIP was mentioned on the hit show 24. Tom's blog has a clip of the scene where it is mentioned on the show. Voice over IP is beginning to really hit the main stream. Don't be left behind. 24 seems like a good choice for the type of show for VoIP to be mentioned on. Anybody have a guess of what show will be next to mention VoIP with in the context of the show?

Welcome Copper Customers

2006-04-27T12:33:00.000-04:00

When this blog first started at the beginning of the year we covered the very basics of VoIP and have kind of moved on from there. But for those of you who maybe brand new to VoIP I will repost the FAQ posts I had done earlier. Do not let the technology scare you. Plenty of people are using it. Hope these help. Be sure to check out VoIP Discounts for the best deals on ECR Voice.

What is Voice Over IP?
Voice Over IP (VoIP) allows you to make telephone calls using a computer network, over a data network like the Internet. VoIP converts the voice signal from your telephone into a digital signal that travels over the internet then converts it back at the other end so you can speak to anyone with a regular phone number. When placing a VoIP call using a phone with an adapter, you'll hear a dial tone and dial just as you always have. VoIP may also allow you to make a call directly from a computer using a conventional telephone or a microphone.

What are the advantages of Voice over IP?
The obvious answer is price. You can often get VoIP service and your broadband service for less than your regular phone bill alone. Also, you get many of the features that the phone services nickel and dime you for, for free.! This is in most cases, some service still try to make an extra buck on some features so be sure to ask. Voice over IP service can also give you features just not available with standard phone service. Some examples are voice mail to email and the ability to take your phone number with you. Take your phone number with you? That's right. Simply take your phone adapter with you and plug it into a highspeed connection in your hotel, friend, or family's house and you phone number is hooked up there with you.

Can I keep my number?
Okay now we start this week with some the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about VoIP. Probably the number one concern with most people who are thinking about switching to a Voice Over IP provider is "Can I keep my number?" The answer is yes!! Usually most providers will assign you a temporary number to your box at first. Then you will simply fill out a form for the new provider who will use that to get the number from you existing phone company. This is called porting your number. If you are planning to port your number to NOT cancel your existing service right away. Wait until you get confirmation from your VoIP provider that they have ported your number. Otherwise your current phone company may give you number away to someone else. It is pretty much the same process if you are afraid you may go back to the standard land line after VoIP. So there are no worries, if you take the proper steps, about losing your number.

If I plug my phone into my box, does that mean I have only one phone I can answer?
There are two ways to get around this. The first one takes a little doing. You take the phone line from the back of your voip box and plug it directly into the wall jack. You then go outside to the box coming in from the phone company and disconnect their line coming in. Then just like that all your jacks are now ready for VoIP service. The second answer is a little easier. You get expandable cordless phones. Only the base phone needs to be plugged into a jack. The rest need only an outlet and satellite the phone service off the base phone. This is a great and easy way to expand your phones to anywhere in the house.

Gizmo Project Now Includes VoIP Conferencing

2006-04-26T13:00:00.000-04:00

Gizmo Project uses your Internet connection to make calls to other computers. With the click of a mouse, you’re connected to friends, family, and colleagues anywhere on earth. You talk clearly for as long as you want — for free.

As business uptake of Web-based calling grows, among the features users are increasingly looking for is conference capability. To address this demand, Gizmo Project has enhanced its VoIP services by tapping Vapps, a provider of VoIP conference calling solutions, for its conferencing platform in order to offer free worldwide conference calling services to Gizmo users.

Vapps provides a carrier-class system for service providers and large enterprises to deliver high-quality reservationless, attended and operator assisted conferencing solutions. The solution is based on the company’s Conference Bridge 1000 (CB1000), a SIP-based conferencing platform that offers customized conferencing on a customer by customer basis both on legacy TDM and newer IP-based telecom systems.

“We chose Vapps’ conference calling platform because of the incredible simplicity the service brings to Gizmo users,” said Michael Robertson, founder of Project Gizmo. “Traditional conference calling has never been as easy as simply typing in a Web address and connecting up to 500 users in minutes.”

With the Vapps VoIP conference calling solution, Gizmo subscribers can connect multiple users over the Internet for cost-effective and reliable conference calls. All the features of a traditional conference calling service are available through Gizmo’s Web site.

Developed by SIPphone, Gizmo Project is capable of delivering its VoIP service via broadband or dial-up connections. Gizmo also offers inexpensive add-ons like Call In and Call Out, which allow users to connect via a landline handset.

“The addition of our advanced conference calling platform to Gizmo's package of service offerings gives consumers a one-stop-shop for Internet calling,” said Ben Lilienthal, CEO and co-founder of Vapps.

Erik Linask is Associate Editor of INTERNET TELEPHONY. Most recently, he was Managing Editor at Global Custodian, an international securities services publication. To see more of his articles, please visit Erik Linask’s columnist page.

Citel Enables Gradual Enterprise VoIP Migration

2006-04-25T13:48:00.000-04:00

By Johanne Torres
TMCnet Contributing Editor

Citel introduced today the EXTender IP6000, a system that enables enterprises with multiple locations to gradually migrate their telecommunications to an IP telephony-based network.

With the EXTender products in place, businesses will be able to connect remote call centers, home workers, and branch offices to a central digital PBX over an IP network. The system offers reduced telecom operating costs, single voicemail and call center applications, central reception, and four-digit dialing throughout the enterprise.

As the business prepares to complete the migration to SIP, the EXTender IP6000 can be software-upgraded to accommodate the premises or service provider hosted IP PBX, integrating the existing handset and wiring infrastructure at each location. This process allows businesses to experience a smoother migration to SIP telephony in the future, without having to replace existing infrastructure.

"Although the market for new telephony infrastructure is shifting rapidly toward IP, many enterprises with existing PBX infrastructure require a more solid business case for immediate migration to VoIP," said Mike Robinson, CEO of Citel in a statement. "The EXTender IP6000 addresses this reality across a multitude of PBX platforms. This solution provides an immediately cost-effective and productivity enhancing business case as the first step, followed by a simple, flexible path to complete the migration to IP telephony in the future."

Congrats Tom!!!!

2006-04-24T16:11:00.000-04:00

Tom's Hacked photo of Megan Lyn

Proud Dad (Tom K.) and his new girl Megan Lyn

Trouble in the tropics: Belize telco accused of blocking VoIP

2006-04-24T15:58:00.000-04:00

For the last few months, VoIP users in Belize have been up in arms at what they perceive to be an organized effort by Belize Telecommunications Limited to block outgoing calls over Vonage, Skype and other Internet phone service providers.

Online forums have bristled with frustrated posts. The Vonage Forum has a busy thread on the subject. And last Friday, the Belize Free Internet Consortium posted this:

Have you been a regular user of Skype, Vonage, SpeakEasy, VerizonSpeak and others? Noticed that lately you've been experiencing trouble connecting and utilizing these services? Silent moments, repeated sounds, buzzes?Here's the good news: it's almost certainly fixable. The bad news? WE MUST lobby the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to fix it.VoIP customers around the world are discovering that their calls cannot be connected because telecom companies (like BTL) are blocking the movement of such traffic across the net.

It turns out that BTL has jammed the signal on VoIP (voice over internet protocol). They have gone as far as jamming chat and messenger programs like GoogleTalk, MSN Messenger, Yahoo Voice and other. What this means, simply, is that BTL is mandating what you should and should not do with your internet connection.

This continues to create a monopoly which BTL should no longer have and forces us to continue to pay exorbitant prices per minute for international calls. It is unwarranted for Belizeans to be held hostage by one company who already makes a substantial profit with fixed lines, cellular services, Internet fee and various other services.

The BTIA would like your assistance in surveying the effects of BTL's actions on providing your products and services. Once we have ascertained the extent of effect, we will forward an official position to the PUC.

Well, on Wednesday, the Belize PUC will hold a hearing on the matter. Expect to hear from some very influential people, such as Andrew Godoy, director of the Belize Tourism Industry Association. “The Board is appalled by the actions of BTL,” Godoy tells the San Pedro, Belize Sun. "We have heard from many of our constituents and this is negatively impacting their business."

Make VoIP Tracking A Breeze

2006-04-14T16:15:00.000-04:00

eTelemetry Introduces Locate911, A Low-Cost e911 Compliance Solution

More and more businesses are deploying VoIP telephony because of perceived cost and productivity benefits. Under FCC rules, each business must know where those VoIP phones are and who is assigned to each phone at all times. So if you’re contemplating VoIP and want to minimize the tasks for compliance with the FCC’s e911 mandate, a look at a product called Locate911 is advised.

Locate911 is a plug-and-play appliance from eTelemetry that provides real-time VoIP location tracking by automatically linking the VoIP phone to building/room and person.

Contact info is dynamically pulled from the organization’s system of record and may be shared with your call management system or other enterprise solutions via XML Web services. This provides the accurate ALI (Automatic Location Identification) the FCC requires for e911 compliance.

Managers can lock a phone to a specific location (for example, the phone will not work if it is moved)—or they can configure Locate911 to email the assigned end user when the device is moved. The end user must then approve the move and verify the location of the IP phone before the phone will work again. In this way, IP phone losses are reduced, and the location of the phone is always known without devoting staff time to the effort of tracking assets and administering changes manually.

Installation is quick and easy. When the appliance is connected and VoIP phone documentation is loaded, Locate911 automatically discovers all phone locations. The data is available on a searchable, exportable database that includes the phone IP address, MAC address, network switch and port, physical location, and all contact information for the assigned user.

The Locate911 price is $2,995 with unlimited licenses.

Competing products include Redsky Technology's E911 Manager (www.redskytech.com) and Cisco Systems’ CallManager Emergency Responder (www.cisco.com), which only works with CallManager and Cisco’s equipment. Both products handle traditional as well as VoIP telephony but do not provide asset tracking capability (no locking down or asset change verification), and each is significantly more expensive than Locate911. Total costs for a 100-license E911 Manager installation are close to $10,000. Costs for a 100-license Emergency Responder installation are about $4,600, not counting fees for auditing and installation.

by Alan Petraske

Low awareness of voice over IP costs smaller firms dear

2006-04-13T16:10:00.000-04:00

Over three-quarters of managers at smaller firms have limited or no understanding of voice over IP (VoIP) technology. This lack of knowledge could collectively be costing them up to £1bn ($1.7bn)a year in unnecessary call and equipment costs.

A survey of 522 small to medium-sized enterprises by communications specialist Inclarity in February found that of those questioned, the 12 percent making voice calls over the internet had seen their annual communications bills fall by 23 percent.

IT costs had fallen by 13 percent, largely through the convergence of separate voice and data networks that yielded savings on the cost of equipment, said Inclarity marketing manager David Larkin.

The majority of respondents were using VoIP solutions from providers such as Viatel and Vonage. Larkin believes that the relatively poor quality of peer-to-peer consumer services such as Skype have caused many managers to think twice about deploying any form of the technology.

"Worries about security and performance have to be addressed. Skype and other services have been good at raising awareness [about VoIP] but they also cloud the true business quality of VoIP," he said.

Demand for VoIP to double by nearly 2 million people

2006-04-10T14:12:00.000-04:00

Its no surprise to see that a new report has found that the use of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is set to double in the next 12 months.

Currently about 1.8 million people in the UK use or have tried VoIP, this figure is set to double with 1.8 million NEW users expected to take up the service in the next 12 months.

Its suggested that this doubling of demand is driven by people having such positive experiences using VoIP technology. Continental associate director
James Myring said that “Most users are quite satisfied and will use it more in the future”.

The report also looked into the most popular VoIP providers and again its no surprise to see the top slot with 48% of all called being made using Skype (bought by eBay for £2.9bn last year) and second place going to Microsoft’s MSN Messenger.

Skype’s dominance in this market will not be left unchallenged by BT, who will be concerned about losing market share from its fixed line business and will no doubt market its own VoIP on a large scale.

Most VoIP calls are free to other users as long as the recipients use the same software, calls to different VoIP providers, landlines and mobile phones are chargeable at rates of around 2p per minute.

With the quality of the service growing and better VoIP phones coming on to the market, its no surprise to see the use of VoIP grow so much so fast.

Bootcamp - Mac and Windows !!!

2006-04-05T14:50:00.000-04:00

This is not directly VoIP related but Bootcamp seems to be the biggest technology news of the day...

More and more people are buying and loving Macs. To make this choice simply irresistible, Apple will include technology in the next major release of Mac OS X, Leopard, that lets you install and run the Windows XP operating system on your Mac. Called Boot Camp (for now), you can download a public beta today.

As elegant as it gets

Boot Camp lets you install Windows XP without moving your Mac data, though you will need to bring your own copy to the table, as Apple Computer does not sell or support Microsoft Windows.(1) Boot Camp will burn a CD of all the required drivers for Windows so you don't have to scrounge around the Internet looking for them.

Once you’ve completed Boot Camp, simply hold down the option key at startup to choose between Mac OS X and Windows. (That’s the “alt” key for you longtime Windows users.) After starting up, your Mac runs Windows completely natively. Simply restart to come back to Mac.

What you’ll need:

Mac OS X Tiger v10.4.6 (check Software Update)
The latest Firmware update (check Support Downloads)
10GB free hard disk space
An Intel-based Mac
A blank recordable CD
A printer for the instructions (You’ll want to print them before installing Windows, really.)
A bona fide installation disc for Microsoft Windows XP, Service Pack 2, Home or Professional (No multi-disc, upgrade or Media Center versions.)

BigWorld Announces MMO VOIP Solution

2006-03-24T12:20:00.000-05:00

BigWorld, the leading provider of Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) technology today announced the integration of DiamondWare’s 3D VOIP client into the BigWorld Technology Suite.

The BigWorld Technology Suite is an integrated set of tools, software and systems that provides all of the underlying technology and content development tools required to produce an MMOG. “The next generation of MMO and persistently casual games invite new methods of communication between players and the worlds they inhabit. We have enabled 3D positional voice communication in our platform to further extend the options for our Developers,” commented Gavin Longhurst, Director of Business Development for BigWorld, “Developers and gamers alike are looking for more immersive and transparent gaming experiences – this is what DiamondWare’s technology offers when integrated into a game”.

“DiamondWare is excited to bring its real world, military proven technology to the BigWorld MMOG space. The importance of 3D voice is that it provides a tactical awareness and control, enabling greater cohesion and coordination in complex team play,” said Keith Weiner, CEO of DiamondWare. “For the first time, voice can be used to create new social relationships between people meeting in an online game,” he added.

BigWorld Technology Suite provides operators and studios with a lower total time-to-release and cost of ownership through several innovations. The BigWorld Server architecture allows operators to run several games on a single server cluster, dramatically reducing the cost of running the game, while the enhanced content creation pipeline reduces the time and cost of building and filling out the complex worlds required in next-generation games.

Shaw Sued by U.S. VoIP Provider

2006-03-23T14:45:00.000-05:00

By Johanne Torres
TMCnet Contributing Editor

It seems like Shaw Communications shady consumer acquisition practices keep getting the company in serious trouble. The company was just slammed with a $1.2 million lawsuit from U.S.-based VoIP provider ZingoTel. ZingoTel claims that the Canadian cable operator refused to air a ZingoTel television ad because it promoted a competing VoIP-based calling service.

According to an article published in the Calgary Herald, ZingoTel had agreed to pay Corus Entertainment, Shaw's media buyer, a total of $36,000 to air the ad in one of the cable operator's channels. "The ad was later vetoed by Shaw chief executive Jim Shaw, according to ZingoTel's statement of claim. It alleges Corus was informed by e-mail that 'Shaw will not accept any VoIP advertising business on cable.'"

Hybrid VoIP/POTS phone shows potential

2006-03-22T16:59:00.000-05:00

by Shawn Conaway on News.com

Mixing seemingly unrelated pieces and parts together can often yield exciting results. Take the guy who added a forked straw and a pair of beer cans to a baseball cap: Genius!

The new RTXPortal phone has potential to be one of those exciting results. Like Emeril Lagasse combining ingredients in the kitchen, RTX combined some ideas and BANG: A VoIP/landline hybrid phone is born.

According to RTX, the new phone is the first hybrid, Web-enabled cordless phone. It has myriad features, like a color screen that displays customizable Web content with news, local traffic, weather reports, buddy lists, calendar alarms, and instant messages. The ability to import a personal address book is particularly nice because you won't have to transcribe all your phone numbers as you might with many standard cell phones.

The implementation could be better. Saving cash with a small business or household VoIP phone is great, but you can't go more than 1,000 feet away from your home without the phone dropping calls. But RTX may have chosen to exploit the small business and home niche because if the phone supported cellular, it would be a BlackBerry.

A phone line and a broadband connection are needed to make the unit fully-functional. To use it, just hook up the PORTALphone base station to both a POTS (plain old telephone service) and to a broadband Internet connection. The PORTALphone supports up to six cordless handsets using SIP-based VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and standard landline telephony. You won't get all the benefits of the phone if you're like the many telecom customers who have traded their POTS line for a cell phone.

The phone can handle up to three simultaneous VoIP calls. It became generally available in the U.S. on Tuesday.

Sipera Launches Comprehensive VoIP Security System

2006-03-21T13:59:00.000-05:00

ORLANDO, Fla., March/PRNewswire/ -- Sipera Systems, the leader in puresecurity for VoIP, mobile and multimedia communications, today debuted itsSipera IPCS 310 system for comprehensive IP Communications Security. TheSipera IPCS products intelligently and transparently monitor VoIP traffic,detect anomalies in traffic and call patterns, and identify threats, toprotect end-user devices and network infrastructures against attacks, misuseand service abuse.

America Is Using VoIP

2006-03-20T10:43:00.000-05:00

Last week I reported that there are at least 1.1 million people using VoIP with just one VoIP provider. That provider was in Europe. I found an article this week that says that according to a recent study that an estimated 3.9 million (American) households were using VoIP as of January 2006, up from 2.9 million in June 2005. What are you waiting for? Go ahead and start saving now.

Skype Is Celebrating St. Patrick's Day

2006-03-17T08:45:00.000-05:00

Skype is pinching rates to celebrate St. Patrick's Day!!!
On St. Patrick's Day there will be a reduced SkypeOut rate of US$0.01 per minute for calls to Irish landlines!

A Possible Fix for VoIP Call Quality

2006-03-15T13:42:00.000-05:00

A tiered Internet is nothing new: and here's how VoIP call quality suffers by ZDNet's Russell Shaw -- The big telecom and cable behemoths would love to charge high bandwidth services extra for fast service. One variation of this proposal would offer these services under a tiered rate structure where you would pay more money for preferential bandwidth. That's what Shaw Communications wants to do. Despite the cries of many (including yours truly) [...]

VoIP Holds a Pep Rally

2006-03-14T13:13:00.000-05:00

Firms offering voice and video over the Internet are meeting to tout themselves as telco replacements.

VoIP companies are expected to use an Internet telephony conference this week as a major pep rally to argue they can offer reliable service capable of replacing usually more costly wireless and landline phone service, analysts said Tuesday.

Based in downtown San Jose, California, the VON, or Voice On the Net, conference is seen drawing more than 300 communications companies hawking VoIP products, as well as the major phone and cable companies looking for startups and emerging technologies.

“During the past 10 years, it has been great to watch the Voice side of VON grow up and become ‘mainstream’ both in the way the technology is being used across the communications industry as well as a disruptor of worldwide public policy,” VON Founder Jeff Pulver said in a statement.

Analysts said they expect companies to announce major moves into wireless VoIP as well as video-based Internet telephony. They also anticipate a heated debate over the issue of Net neutrality, or whether the Internet conduits should be open to everyone. Network owners want to charge content providers or other companies that want to piggyback on the network.

Rest of the story here.

Does Anyone Really Use Voice Over IP(VoIP)?

2006-03-10T10:27:00.000-05:00

You would not believe the number of people (mostly friends and acquaintances) who still ask me "Does anyone really use VoIP?" "Isn't it just for geeky people who know a lot about computers?" Well let me put this way...just one company.. Netcentrex has reached 1.1 million customers and sign up 150,000 new customers a month. That is just one company. So there are obviously more than just geeks use VoIP service. By all means give it a try already, you will not be alone!!! Check VoIP Discounts for a good deal.

Yahoo and Sieman Is Joining the VoIP Scene

2006-03-09T16:28:00.000-05:00

Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices LLC said Wednesday that it plans to include Yahoo Inc.'s Internet telephony service with Gigaset cordless phones, enabling free PC-to-PC calls.

The agreement has Siemens Home, a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens Communications Inc., incorporating Yahoo Messenger and Voice in the Gigaset M34 USB adapter, which plugs into a computer's USB port and enables the voice over Internet protocol capabilities. Messenger is Yahoo's instant messaging service.

The adapter will enable free PC-to-PC calls, as well as calls to landline phones and cellular phones, which carry a charge. In addition, users can access their Messenger contact list.

The Gigaset adapter is scheduled to ship in the third quarter.

VoIP support is increasing among phone manufacturers, particularly cellular phones. Besides Yahoo, rival Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp.'s MSN also offer Internet telephony services.

VoIP, XBox, and World of Warcraft??

2006-03-08T11:11:00.000-05:00

You surely have heard of all three of these by now. There is even a good chance that many of you already know by now that you should never group with Night Elves who claim they don't use shadowmeld. The rumor is that World of Warcraft (an online role-playing game that is currently only available on Windows and Mac) may soon becoming to XBox 360. And they may be using a player to player voice over ip feature. Why they are not offering this for computer users as well is unknown?

Verizon Business Adds VoIP to Contact Center Service Suite

2006-03-07T14:30:00.000-05:00

Verizon Business, a premier provider of advanced global communications and information technology (IT) solutions, today announced that it has added Internet protocol capability to its Verizon Web Center service, enabling businesses to more effectively communicate with customers using both traditional and IP telephony.

Available this month, IP Web Center, a hosted contact center solution, will allow companies to quickly start up or expand their customer communications operations in response to rapidly changing business plans or business continuity requirements.

"Verizon Business is marrying its IP and contact center services expertise to deliver one of the industry's first end-to-end IP contact center solutions," said Nancy Gofus, vice president of product management, Verizon Business. "By combining the power of Verizon Web Center with our Verizon voice-over-IP suite of services, businesses can reap the benefits of VoIP across their entire enterprise operations and achieve new capabilities and cost savings afforded by IP Telephony."

In addition, through a series of new Web Center enhancements, Verizon Business is making the jobs of agents, supervisors and administrators easier than ever before.

Customer service agents can personalize their voice mail greetings to enhance customer interactions. Agents also can obtain more information about a customer's history and can supervise call transfers to speed customer support. Customers can now use IP technology to fully explore the benefits of remote agents with Web Center's inbound and outbound call handling capability, meaning geographically dispersed agents can now have a local presence from anywhere.

Supervisors can better manage agents and improve service performance while controlling costs with new call-control screening and use of virtual network computing and guest access.

Management can build business rules and routing strategies for all contact center projects through Verizon Business' addition of overflow capabilities, creation of guest supervisors, pre-announced caller information (whisper announcements) and enhanced statistical information.

LAN Cordless DUALphone offers the best of both worlds

2006-03-06T16:26:00.000-05:00

The LAN Cordless DUALphone is actually a session initiation protocol (SIP) device that comprises a combination of a generic phone connection, Internet telephony, and provides Web content storage. You can connect the base station to your everyday phone line and a broadband link simultaneously to receive calls from either channel. The screen is able to display news, e-mail, traffic updates or even sports results in real-time. Expect the DUALphone to come with 8 hours’ worth of talk time at a 300m range and enough memory to store 200 numbers.

VoIP Over Cable

2006-03-03T14:49:00.000-05:00

Apparently I am way behind on this one. I found this on an article that is over two years old...

While the Time Warner Cable service is designed for residential use, Cisco said enterprises also might adopt VoIP over cable. Bosco noted that in the past six months, there has been a significant upturn in major corporations inquiring about VoIP over cable for remote VPNs and home access networks for teleworkers.

For the technical devices used to accomplish this you can check the rest of the article here.

VoIP without Broadband

2006-03-02T16:27:00.000-05:00

Time Warner called me last night and told me they could offer me digital phone service without having Road Runner. They said all that I need is to be a cable T.V. customer. I am assuming they are going to give me a box with IP running to it but has no extensions to hook up to my computer. So technically, I will be still using their broand band service but only for the phone service. They want to charge $45, so if you do not need broad band would it be worth it? Okay so I realize not many people fall into the category of not needing internet of any kind. I am going to do more research into this and will let you all know what I find.

Vonage - currently have the largest number of wireless VoIP subscribers in the US

2006-03-01T15:32:00.000-05:00

DUBLIN, Ireland --(Business Wire)-- March 1, 2006 -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c33740) has announced the addition of The Market For Wireless VoIP to their offering.

The 1st Edition of "The Market For Wireless VoIP" is a comprehensive 100-page overview of the Wireless VoIP business. The report provides a concise look at the forces driving wireless VoIP, its market potential, and the major players in the industry.

Smartphones Growing Out of 'Niche' Status

2006-02-28T14:33:00.000-05:00

Found on Al Bredenburg's blog:

ABI Research is announcing a new study predicting that smartphones will grow to almost 15% of the mobile phone market this year, hitting 123 million units shipped.

ABI Mobile Wireless Analyst Philip Solis identifies five factors accounting for smartphones' growth:

1.Increasing demand for mobile data communications, including email and instant messaging.

2.Falling prices.

3.Greater device choices.

4.Smaller sizes (even as functionality improves), which in turn means lower power consumption and better battery life.

5.More wifi enablement in smartphones, expected to reach 25% penetration by 2010.

Today's announcement also points to shifting trends in smartphone operating systems as another important factor affecting the outlook. The report says Symbian is still market-share winner and describes the Palm OS as "moribund" (nearing death). But Windows Mobile is growing, and Motorola, Samsung, NEC and Panasonic are now backing Linux in the smartphone market.

ABI's new report is called "Smartphones: The Next Phase of Worldwide Adoption."

Washington State Emergency Agency to Use Satellite VoIP

2006-02-27T09:19:00.000-05:00

Written by Robert Poe

Washington state's Emergency Management Division has deployed an emergency communication system using VoIP connections over satellites.

The system makes it possible for emergency personnel to talk to each other even when they're on opposite sides of the mountain range that divides the state. That geographical barrier makes it hard to use the VHF radio links that emergency agencies typically depend on.

The system, provided by Last Mile Networks using technology from FreelineUSA, connects a remote trailer to a National Guard central communications building via satellite links similar to those used to deliver commercial "dish" TV. The trailer, which operates at the disaster site, contains communications equipment and various backup power supplies, including a satellite dish and FreelineUSA IP node with softswitch capabilities.

The current configuration of the system provides eight simultaneous IP voice channels. It can also provide video links, using non-blocking architecture to make sure the video streams don't knock the voice links off the air.

VoIP technology gained attention for emergency communications following the widespread damage to conventional networks caused by Hurricane Katrina.

However, VoIP communication via satellite has been rare, mainly due to the significant delays resulting from the need for signals to travel to and from high-orbiting satellites. Such delays can run from 650 milliseconds to 1.2 seconds, according to Robert Simkavitz, president and CEO of FreelineUSA, which supplied key networking equipment used in both the remote and command center sites.

FreelineUSA uses specialized techniques to deal with the problems caused by such delays, such as the tendency of VoIP networks to drop calls when there are no packet transmissions for a certain length of time. Testing has shown the system to work with up to three-second delays, Simkavitz says.

Satellite delays are also disconcerting to callers, which is one reason for the near-complete migration of commercial international phone traffic from satellites to optical fiber cables.
One in-flight Internet communication system for airliners uses Iridium and other satellites to provide air-to-ground links.

Iridium's 66 so-called low earth-orbit, or LEO, satellites orbit at heights of only 780 kilometers. That means they produce considerably less delay than the geostationary satellites used to provide TV and other types of communications services. Geostationary satellites, so named because they remain in a fixed location above the earth, orbit at over 35,000 km.

Concerned about VoIP E911?

2006-02-24T09:46:00.000-05:00

Here's a list of all PSAPs in the U.S. by ZDNet's Russell Shaw -- The recent imperative by VoIP service providers to make their E911 service compatible with the U.S.' nearly 8,000 Public Safety Answering Points has generated a new focus on what these PSAPs are and what they do.One might think that PSAP territories totally overlap jurisdictional city and county boundaries. No, they don't.So what PSAP are you [...]

Research and Markets Gives Their Update For VoIP 2006

2006-02-23T14:22:00.000-05:00

Consumer VoIP shows great potential as it provides a cheap phone service, allows consumers to listen to their voicemail over their PC, schedule times when they cannot be reached, and get a phone number in an area code different from where they live.

According to R & M, for VoIP to continue growth in 2006, it must leverage value-added services rather than remaining as another mechanism to deliver cheap telephony. Providers must resist pursuing convergence for technology reasons alone. To succeed, the new mobile/fixed quadruple-play strategies must address consumers' needs, and complement existing services with clear new benefits.

The real power of VoIP over the long term is that any device with an Internet connection can now be voice-enabled. We believe that propositions marketed to customers revolve around value, instead of the enhanced features which VoIP may offer. Because of the importance of PSTN calling, the value proposition currently equates to bundles of fixed local or national PSTN calls, rather than free VoIP-to-VoIP calling irrespective of distance.

R & M foresees the following trends unraveling in 2006:

Leading device makers will not try to replace the phone by embedding voice into devices like TVs and appliances. Instead, they will try to enhance their devices with voice.

VoIP browsing and chat will change how customer service questions get answered

In areas where cell coverage is limited, such as planes, telcos will use a combination of VoIP and Wi-Fi to support telephony and conferencing services.

VoIP Comes to the Rescue of 3G

2006-02-22T10:52:00.000-05:00

By Charlotte Wolter

The 3GSM World Congress 2006 last week in Barcelona, Spain, was an eye opener about the impact of VoIP on the mobile phone industry, and how VoIP might actually end up aiding 3G service providers, many of which are still trying to find their audiences.

The 3GSM conference centers on the developing 3G services worldwide, services that offer quasi-broadband (500 kbps to 700kbps) mobile IP voice and data. 3G services were conceived a decade ago as a way to expand traditional mobile technologies to provide broadband pipes. Multi-billion dollar spectrum licenses have been granted in many areas of the world to accommodate 3G services.
In the meantime, VoIP has developed and grown into a technology already used by tens-of-millions and is on its way to dominating voice communications.
Most VoIP services are very low-cost. Many are free. 3G services, by contrast, tend to be expensive high-end communications. Consequently, 3G services have struggled to find the legions of subscribers needed to help pay for the expensive licenses, and now feel the threat of Wi-Fi VoIP cutting into their already limited revenue.

However, some 3G providers seem to have decided to embrace, rather than fight, the VoIP phenomenon. The 3GSM conference saw the announcement of some major VoIP-3G alliances and the hints of others. Also, new technology, such as the Windows Mobile operating system, can be exploited to bring VoIP to any smart mobile phone.

Do I Register My Cell Phone or Not?

2006-02-21T10:08:00.000-05:00

Twice, just this week, I received an email from well intended people informing that my cell phone is going to be called by telemarketers soon. The wording was slightly different but both were basically saying that telemarketers are soon going to get a list of cell phone numbers and start calling you. Then direct you to https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx . While there is no harm in doing so, chances are telemarketers are not going to be calling your cell phone anytime soon. I did what I do with most forwards that sound a bit off center and checked with Snopes. (I suggest doing this for any forwarded email you receive that says it is a public service announcement. Especially before sending it on to 40 of your friends, family and colleagues. Because trust me if you sent them every one of those fwds you get, eventually they are just deleting your emails before they even open them.)

So anyways, like most emails like this there is some truth to them. Because there are now more cell phone numbers than land lines AllTel, AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Nextel, Sprint PCS, and T-Mobile have banded together and hired Qsent, Inc. to produce a Wireless 411 service. This is a completely an opt in service. And the numbers will NOT be printed nor sold to telemarketers. For more specifics you can read the rest here at Snopes.

Microsoft Answers VoIP Question, Sort Of

2006-02-20T15:52:00.000-05:00

MICROSOFT has developed a Skype-style free internet voice service for mobile phones that City analysts believe could wipe billions off the market value of operators such as Vodafone.

The service is included in a mobile version of Microsoft Office Communicator due to be released this year. It will take the form of a voice-over internet protocol (VoIP) application that allows Office users to make free voice calls over wi-fi enabled phones running Windows Mobile software. It uses the internet as a virtual phone network as well as accessing e-mail, PowerPoint and other Office applications.

Rest of the story here.

deltathree Expands Presence in Latin American and Caribbean VoIP Markets

2006-02-17T09:05:00.000-05:00

VoIP to increase it's presence South of the border.

By JOHANNE TORRES
TMCnet VoIP Minute Watch Columnist

SIP-based VoIP service provider deltathree Inc. announced this week that it will expand its presence in the Central, South American and Caribbean markets. The company inked partnerships within Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic regions that have led to an expansion of its global VoIP network.

"Our further expansion into Latin America and the Caribbean is a key step in leveraging the growing demand for VoIP services in the region," said deltathree's director of sales, Colin Blou. "Together with our established distribution partners, we are aggressively targeting new business opportunities and successfully leveraging the overwhelming interest in our VoIP offerings. Partner programs should not be complicated. Our focus is on making it easy for partners to work with deltathree and to maximize the revenue they derive from selling our products and services."

Where is the VoIP, Micorsoft?

2006-02-16T16:27:00.000-05:00

Excellent question raised....

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 7:00 am on zdnet blog...

I have been touring Microsoft's new kind of hosted Office Live beta.
What a waste of server space. Or, as my colleague Phil Wainewright rightly says:
The power of Microsoft's branding is so great that slapping the labels 'Live' and 'Office' on a piecemeal bundle of rehashed services seems to have the whole world agog. The evidence doesn't justify the excitement. Today's beta of Office Live is a repackaging of various web presence offerings that Microsoft previously tried (and largely failed) to market under the bcentral brand for a number of years.

And to that, I add: where's the VoIP?

Seems to me the Office Live Mail feature could really use a click-to-talk button. Oh sure there is an MSN Messenger icon but what if you wanted a real in-the-ear conversation with the person that just emailed you? Isn't that why Microsoft bought Teleo last August?

Oh, sorry. That's probably another division. And not always do separate divisions of a company that is more Balkanized than you think talk to each other.

Rest of the story here.

Nokia, Motorola Show Cellular-VoIP Phones

2006-02-15T15:48:00.000-05:00

By LAURENCE FROST AP Business Writer

BARCELONA, Spain Feb 15, 2006 (AP)— "Call me back on the landline" may soon sound like a quaint, turn-of-the-century instruction to the ears of many mobile phone users.
Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc., the world's biggest branded handset makers, both unveiled phones at a tradeshow here this week that switch between cellular coverage outdoors and cheap wireless Internet calling inside all on a single phone number.

The new hardware is a response to growing demand. Mobile networks, aware that they can't beat Internet call operators like Skype for cheap indoor coverage, are itching to join them.
BT Group PLC already has. In September, the British telecom began shipping Motorola handsets to the first customers of its BT Fusion service, the first in the world to allow users to switch in mid-call between cellular and Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP delivered via a Bluetooth wireless connection at home.

The new Nokia 6136 and Motorola A910 handsets introduced at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona can connect to the Internet via WiFi, rather than Bluetooth, to make cut-price calls from the home, office or public hotspot. A handful of similar phones have been announced by smaller manufacturers in recent months.

"Then you walk out of the door and the call is seamlessly handed off to the cellular network," said Nokia Executive Vice President Kai Oistamo. "There are no dropped calls it's like moving from one cell to another one in a cellular network today."

Other mobile operators have waited for the WiFi phones before adopting the technology that enables the mid-call switching between broadband and cellular networks, called Unlicensed Mobile Access.

France Telecom SA will be its first customer for Nokia's UMA phone, to be sold under the French operator's Orange brand to customers of its LiveBox a phone, TV and Internet hub marketed in France, Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland and Belgium.

Several other operators have announced trials or launches of UMA products.

The move into "converged" cellular and VoIP services is a big step for the mobile industry, which often sees the Internet as a threat to future revenues from services it has spent years and billions developing.

Not only VoIP and Valentine's Day, but Flowers, VoIP and Valentine's Day.

2006-02-14T14:55:00.000-05:00

VoX Communications Corp., a division of eLEC Communications Corp. (OTCBB:ELEC), and 1-800-FLOWERS.COM®, Inc., recently announced a Voice over IP (VoIP) Valentine's Day promotion designed to take the long distance out of long-distance relationships. VoX, a wholesale and retail provider of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services nationwide, provides unlimited calling across the U.S. and Canada for $29.95. After mobilizing the single largest disaster recovery response in Motorola's (NYSE: MOT) 77-year history in 2005, top leaders from Motorola's Government and Enterprise business this week returned to hurricane ravaged Hancock County to construct a new public playground as part of the company's ongoing relationship with the national nonprofit organization KaBOOM!.

PhotoSite Celebrates Launch of Album Gallery with 'What Love Means to Me' Contest for Valentine's Day

2006-02-13T13:02:00.000-05:00

OK , so this one may be stretching it a little to connect VoIP to Valentine's day, but United Online is hosting a Valentine's Day related photo contest...

Winners in Five Categories Receive $500

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., -- Online photo-sharing service PhotoSite will host a "What Loves Means to Me" photo contest to celebrate the Valentine's Day holiday and the launch of its new Album Gallery. Members are encouraged to upload and enter photos that best represent what love means to them, whether it be romantic love, unrequited love, love gone bad or puppy love.

"Love is such an important emotion and it's expressed in so many different ways," said Heidi Gibson, vice president of PhotoSite. "To some, love might be a spouse or a parent, while to others it might be a cold beer and a ball game on the big screen. It really just depends on the individual. There are over 300,000 members in the PhotoSite community and we're encouraging people to be really creative in their entries, so we anticipate a wide range of photos."

The contest will run from February 7th through the day after Valentine's Day, February 15th and is open to all new and existing PhotoSite free and PhotoSite paid members. Winners will be selected in five categories: -- Most Romantic
-- Most Humorous
-- Most Creative
-- Most Surprising
-- Most Inspired

VOIP Startup Isn't Quite Spyware, But It's Close

2006-02-10T14:58:00.000-05:00

It certainly sounds like Spyware to me. A crook who is willing to admit he is a crook is still a crook.

By Mark HachmanFebruary 10, 2006
A startup called Jajah launched its new VOIP service this past Monday, making telephone calls as easy as loading a Web page. But in doing so, customers may essentially be granting Jajah sweeping access to watch and even listen as they chat and surf the Web.

The Jajah VOIP service launched Monday, although the company began trials last year. For now, Jajah is offering customers a free five minutes to call another landline phone.

The service is simple: upon loading the company's web page, users are presented with two boxes to fill in: the number of a friend's phone number, and the number of a landline phone close to the user. When the customer clicks the "Call" button, the Jajah service rings the user's landline, and then connects him via the Internet to the specified caller.

The company's privacy policy and EULA, however, seem to imply that the service could be used as a window into a user's online activities, including monitoring a user's surfing habits and the content a user posts to message boards and web sites, sending him spam, disclosing personal information to third parties without control and consent, and even potentially allowing a third party to eavesdrop on the conversation.

Because the company technically discloses its practices, Internet security firms said they couldn't classify it as spyware. "They're doing nothing blatantly illegal," a spokeswoman from Webroot Software told ExtremeVOIP. "But they're just toeing the line, and we certainly don't agree with it by any means."

ExtremeVOIP attempted to contact Jajah executives, but company representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Jahjah is headquartered on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, Calif., one of the ley lines for technology venture capitalists, as well as in Luxembourg.

The last of the first long distance calls

2006-02-09T15:57:00.000-05:00

Usually I only list news about the newer updated forms of communication, but I thought this was important to note as well.

On Friday January 27th Western Union closed a chapter of communication history and sent their last telegram. With no big fanfare Western Union has decided to stop sending telegrams.

On May, 24, 1844 the first telegram ever was sent by Samuel L. Morse. Sent from Washington to Baltimore, the message read, "what hath God wrought."Over the next few decades, telegraphs invented by Morse and his assistant, Alfred Vail, where deployed around the nation and around the world. The first Transatlantic Telegraph cable was successfully completed on July 27, 1866.

So if you never received a Western Union telegram before, like I suspect most haven't you never will. I think they missed a chance at making some good money by not announcing it ahead of time. I think a lot of people would have sent one just to say they had done it. Oh well...too late now I guess.

Vonage Files for $250M IPO, Names New CEO

2006-02-08T13:47:00.000-05:00

Ok, I would be the only one not reporting this if I didn't report this VoIP news about Vonage...

By PETER SVENSSON AP Technology Writer
NEW YORK Feb 8, 2006 (AP)— Vonage Holdings Corp., the country's largest Internet telephone service, on Wednesday filed for an initial public offering worth up to $250 million.

The company also appointed Mike Snyder chief executive, succeeding founder Jeffrey Citron, who will remain chairman and take the new title "chief strategist."

In a statement, Citron said he had recruited Snyder to assume day-to-day management of the company, leaving Citron to focus on new products and technologies.

VoIP and Valentine's Day

2006-02-07T14:02:00.000-05:00

Well Valentine's Day is only a week away. What better way to keep in touch with your special valentine then with a VoIP phone. At least that is what Firebox is suggesting on their site. A VoIP phone for Valentine's Day, just below their Silver & Gold Plated Love Heart.

Voip and the Super Bowl?

2006-02-06T10:04:00.000-05:00

Ok, I had to find away to mention the year's biggest game into a VoIP blog. The best I could do was to let you know that VoIP blogger, Jeff Pulver, was there in person taking pictures.

Way to go Steelers.

P.S. In case you do not already know...
Jeff Pulver is the Chairman and Founder of pulver.com, and one of the true pioneers of the VoIP industry. Leveraging well over a decade of hands-on experience in Internet/IP communications and innovation, Mr. Pulver is a globally renowned thought leader, author and entrepreneur.

Packet 8 upgraded

2006-02-03T09:27:00.000-05:00

Packet 8 has announced yesterday that they have added some "new" features. These features have been offered by most Voice Over IP providers, even the smaller ones, for awhile now. But now they seem to be up to speed in all areas. The following are the features they have added:

VOICEMAIL TO EMAIL NOTIFICATION

FOLLOW ME, FIND ME

SIMULTANEOUS RINGING ON MULTIPLE PHONE NUMBERS

7-DIGIT LOCAL DIALING

NETWORK UNAVAILABLE FORWARDING

CALL WAITING DISABLE *70 per call or all calls

Will BlackBerrys be shut down

2006-02-02T09:56:00.000-05:00

BlackBerry fans have been holding their breaths as a five-year intellectual property fight that could lead to the shutdown of their beloved mobile devices heads into its final weeks.

Lawyers for Research In Motion and patent holder NTP are scheduled to give final arguments later this month before a Virginia judge who could reimpose an injunction on the sales of BlackBerry devices in the U.S. NTP has won several court victories so far, but RIM has prevailed on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to call NTP's patents into question.

The case is being closely watched by the tech industry amid calls for patent reform and by anxious BlackBerry users wondering how they'll keep the mobile e-mail flowing in the event of a shutdown. Just to spice things up, RIM claims that it has a "workaround" that could allow it to bypass NTP's patents simply by upgrading its software

Google tests VoIP calls to firms

2006-02-01T09:08:00.000-05:00

It would seem that Google's "click to call" project that was reported on a couple of weeks ago is coming even closer to being.

DEAL TAKES SEARCH COMPANY FURTHER INTO TELECOM
By Jessie Seyfer Mercury News

Google is adding another way to cash in on search advertising, confirming Tuesday that it is working with a Florida-based telephone network to allow people to make Internet phone calls directly to the companies highlighted in its search results.

A Google spokesman briefly explained the company's dealings with VoIP Inc. after a Securities and Exchange Commission filing by the Ft. Lauderdale-based company Monday made vague reference to a Google telecommunications service.

The filing added fuel to rumors that the Mountain View search giant might expand further into the telecom world.

Warner Music and Skype do deal on VoIP ringtones

2006-01-31T14:10:00.000-05:00

VoIP provider Skype has struck a deal with Warner Music Group to supply ringtones to its customers.
The latter company, part of the huge Time Warner content empire, will allow Skype users to download ringtones based on original recordings from artists such as Mike Jones, Green Day, Paul Wall and many others.
The tunes will be sold through Skype's own internet shopfront, which will play host to Warner Music singer Madonna as the sole featured artist at launch.

EarthLink offers new VoIP service

2006-01-30T17:54:00.000-05:00

Broadband provider EarthLink has begun selling a new Internet phone service that's designed to be easy to use and require no additional hardware.

The company has partnered with broadband access wholesaler Covad Communications to offer the voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, service in Dallas, Seattle and the San Francisco-San Jose area starting this week. EarthLink is bundling the new service with DSL (digital subscriber line) broadband access. More cities in Covad's territory will offer the service later this year; EarthLink would not specify which.

Unlike other VoIP services, including the one Earthlink currently sells for $20 a month, the new service doesn't require consumers to add hardware. Customers can use their existing phones and plug them into phone jacks as they would with any regular telephone service. The technology, called "line-powered voice," puts all the intelligence and equipment for offering VoIP service in Covad's central office, where all the gear to provide the DSL service is housed.

This approach differs from that of most other VoIP services, such as Vonage's. Those services require a special adapter to be hooked to the phone and the broadband connection.

Vonage(R) Launches Virtual Numbers Across Western Europe

2006-01-27T10:42:00.000-05:00

For our friends who want Voice Over IP in Europe...

HOLMDEL, N.J., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Vonage Marketing, a subsidiary of Vonage Holdings Corp., a leading provider of broadband phone service, today announced the availability of Virtual Numbers with area codes from Austria, France, Ireland, Italy and Spain. European friends, family and business associates residing and working within these nations can now call U.S.-based Vonage customers for the price of a local call.

Vonage Virtual Phone Numbers are inexpensive secondary numbers that ring to your primary Vonage line. These numbers are available to Vonage subscribersin the U.S., Canada and the U.K. for $9.99 USD, $11.99 CAD and pounds Sterling 5.99 GBP per month respectively. These numbers receive incoming calls only. U.S.-based customers can select Western European numbers, allowing their friends, family and business associates the ability to dial them locally.

"Whether you live in Vienna, Dublin, Paris, Madrid or Rome, Vonage nowallows you to call the U.S. for the price of a local call," said Michael Tribolet, president of Vonage America. "More importantly, this is a tremendous gain for the broadband telephony industry, as Vonage is making the world smaller. We are now able to bring friends, families and business associates from around the globe closer together."

Grandstream GXV3000

2006-01-26T14:50:00.000-05:00

George Jetson here we come!!

Internet Telephony Conference Spring 2006, Ft. Lauderdale, FL—January 25, 2006—Grandstream Networks today announced it has completed engineering interoperability tests between its new GXV-3000 H.264 based SIP video phone and the SIP products from a few partner companies. Based on completed interoperability tests conducted by engineers from Grandstream and its partners, GXV-3000 works seamlessly with SIP soft client from Counterpath, IP-PBX or softswitch products from Digium, Netcentrex, and Pingtel.

“The Grandstream product is one of the sleekest and coolest video phone products out there today," said David Michaud, CEO of Netcentrex, Inc. "It combines sound design with features that are fully supported by our market leading video calling VoIP application servers and frequently requested by our growing base of joint customers."

“The launch of the GXV-3000 video phone underscores the reality that video and VoIP are here,” said Mark Spencer, president of Digium and creator of Asterisk. We see open source playing an integral role in making VoIP video conferencing an easy and cost-effective method of communicating face-to-face over distances.”

The new GXV-3000 features an adjustable advanced VGA resolution camera sensor (with 1-touch ON/OFF switch for privacy control), a razor-thin 5”6-inch TFT color LCD with stunning picture quality (2-dimensionally rotatable to allow nearly all viewing angles), 5 navigation keys, 3 line indicators (each of which supports independent SIP account), visual voice/video message indicator, hands-free speakerphone with advanced acoustic echo cancellation, dual 10M/100M Ethernet ports (switch or router mode configurable), 2 USB ports, 2.5mm headset jack, and RCA style audio/video output jack to allow simultaneous video output to TV. In addition, it also supports video call Hold/Transfer/Forward, 3-way conference, audio mute and camera block, video phone book, mirror camera, picture-in-picture, 4xzoom (2xoptical plus 2xdigital), on-screen-display, auto focus and auto exposure, anti-flickering, video capture & save, configurable screen-saver pictures, downloadable music ring tones, and intuitive graphic user interface.