Botswana and Cape Verde Move to Legalize VoIP Services

With the recent development in Botswana and Cape Verde, these two nations are among the few in Africa to legalize VoIP services. The Cape Verde agency in charge of communication, Agencia Nacional de Communicacoes of Cape has announced its intention to legalize VoIP in the country.

Arrangements have been concluded to offer license to international VoIP service providers offering cheap calling and offer two classes of numbering- fixed and mobile. It has already licensed a Triple Play operator, European-backed Cabo Corn, which will take advantage of the change in regulation to offer IP-TV, internet and voice services. The new operators will need a simple authorization from ANAC to start offering service. PC to PC and PC to phone calling will be entirely without any form of regulation. ANAC is also setting the pace in the wireless area as next month it will start a public consultation on Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) where it wants to split the spectrum into 4-5 blocks and then have a public tender based on the highest bidders. It believes this will be the most transparent way of dealing with increased demand for Wi-MAX related spectrum. ANAC is also considering a 3rd licence with 3G as part of the licence package. The islands were promoted to the middle-income country group in January this year and increased tourist trade is drawing operator interest.

Similarly, the Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA) has approved the license of two international VoIP service providers to operate in the country. The operators are BBI and OPQ Net, both offering international calling cards but have not yet made much impact on the market. Perhaps it's no coincidence that BTA is also addressing Wi-MAX spectrum in two ranges 3.5-3.6 and 1785-1805 Ghz.

However, it will be taking a slightly different approach to ANAC and will be offering spectrum at fixed prices on the basis of the business case presented.

 

Toktumi in VoIP deal with Staples

Toktumi Inc. announces its first distribtuion deal with giant office supplies retailer Staples. Toktumi's computer-based service is a enterprise-grade, hosted office telephone system for small businesses that can be set up in five minutes and supports the use of any regular corded, cordless, or speaker phone via Toktumi's Phone Adapter.

Staples begins selling Toktumi's $29.99 Phone Adapter that works exclusively with Toktumi's service, which is sold separately.

The monthly service fee of Toktumi is $12.95  per line and this includes access to all features and can be cancelled at any tibut you just said it

me without obligation. Outbound calling costs two cents per minute to most phones worldwide. Unlike many competing services, inbound calls to Toktumi lines are free.

Toktumi's service includes a direct telephone number for each line and set-up requires no technical support. It works wherever an employee connects their computer to the Internet, including over Wi-Fi. No wired local area network or special phones are required.

Experts Worries about VoIP Fraud

As the VoIP services gain more popularity in terms of usage and therefore financial returns, there have been several speculations that this might cause the industry to be the target of fraudsters. Experts worries that this might bring a new form of cyber crime yet unknown to several innocent users.

To this effect, Newport Networks has recently published their findings which include the fact that cyber criminals are already targeting people using internet phone services. The research also revealed that usernames and passwords from VoIP account are selling more than stolen credit cards on the internet. Credit cards details are being sold for £6 each, while VoIP account details goes for about £9.

Username and password are the two key information needed to commit this crime and once someone get hold of these two info, they can use the telephone service for free at the expense of their victims.

While speaking on the crime on the BBC, the vice president of products at Newport Networks, Dave Gladwin said that "it still at an embryonic stage but as voice adoption increases it becomes more of a problem and needs addressing"

In addition, there is also the problems of eavesdropping on phone calls and this has made the VoIP users more vulnerable.

He reveals that 90% of carriers don't offer a secure VoIP service [which doesn't include Skype] and it would cost around £2/£3 per subscriber to bump security levels up.

 

 

Snom Integrates Thompson’s CIRPACK switching system

 

snom technology,  is integrating its SIP-based phone portfolio with Thomson's Cirpack voice switching platforms.

Thomson's Lab has tested and evaluated snom's 3xx series VoIP phones and given them full certification for use with Thomson's Cirpack softswitches. The integration will enable service providers to accelerate the delivery of Class 5 VoIP services to the enterprise and residential markets, including advanced SIP-based IP Centrex features.

The Cirpack softswitch solutions enable massive deployments of broadband and legacy telephony, including ISDN, VoIP, IP Centrex and Fixed-Mobile Convergence with a migration path to IMS/TISPAN architecture.

Fully integrated with Thomson's SmartVision IPTV platforms, Cirpack switches allow operators to easily deploy quadruple play services on a large scale, offering primary line telephony services with carrier-grade reliability.

Nimbuzz Announces New Application

 

Nimbuzz, a Netherlands-based company, has announced the launch of its new service, mobile VoIP,  in the UK. The new application works exactly like Skype, however it is designed to for a mobile unlike Skype which is used on a PC.

The application apparently aggregates user logins/contacts from a shed-load of online IM services and social networks, including Skype, MSN, Google Talk, Yahoo!, AIM, Jabber, ICQ, Facebook, Myspace, and several others.

The service which is free to users also features conference calling, instant messaging, chat, and photo sharing. However, network operator rates for data usage applies.

Recent Survey Reveals Newport Networks Face Service Quality Challenges

 

At a recent  networking software event, SofNet,

Newport conducted a survey to sample what users associated with the telecoms industry actually think and know about VoIP. Although the sample was just a few dozen delegates , the company was able to know what exactly people think about their service.

The biggest obstacle that VoIP services face, according to the poll, is  Quality of Service and  this beat security concerns into second place with worries over how to charge and bill in a lowly third place. In a way, this is no real surprise as VoIP services still are in the process of shedding the cheap and unreliable image (think how Skoda had to re-invent itself). They are worried that rates of those transitioning to VoIP services may slow dramatically if quality and security issues are not dealt with soon.

Second on the list was security, a surprising 60 percent of delegates believed that VoIP is 'reasonably secure' with 1 in 10 considering it to be secure with just 30 percent believing it to be insecure. This figures are interesting considering that the majority of SIP based VoIP services do not use encryption on signalling or media. Therefore, any reasonably well informed hacker can 'sniff' VoIP credentials from unsecured wireless networks.

Another question asked related to security was who should be responsible for security.

A significant 60 percent of delegates surveyed believe that service providers should be responsible for security, followed by 35 per cent feeling that both the service provider and subscriber should be responsible.

When asked what were the biggest perceived threats to VoIP services, nearly half of delegates named lack of quality (again), followed by identity theft (28 per cent), lack of interconnect between services (20 per cent), and denial of service attacks (9 per cent).

Drawing a conclusion, VP of Product Marketing at Newport Networks, Dave Gladwin, said that

it is clear that service providers need to take action to address fundamental issues such as reliable quality of service and effective security to ensure they continue to retain or increase their market share. But also consumers need to be more aware of the security implications of using VoIP services, particularly when on the road where they are most useful. VoIP hacking may be in its infancy at present but you can be sure that hackers are taking the opportunity to "case the joint".  As consumers we can do our bit by securing our home WiFi, but ultimately it will come down to the service providers to offer a secure service.

Jangl may Opt out of VoIP Industry

From all indications, the Silicon Valley Internet phone company that also offers VoIP services via widgets on the web-Jangl will soon opt out of VoIP services by selling off its investments in the industry.

This was confirmed by the company spokesman, Tim Johnson who said that the company is looking to be sold, and that the company has received a number of offers.

Already, some of the staff have been applying for other jobs not wanting to be caught stranded by this recent development.

The company has tried all kinds of tactics to find traction in the cut-throat world of free calls. It started by issuing you a disposable number, so that you could give out numbers to dates, for example, and avoid giving them your real number. It then moved to more fully embrace placing widgets on web sites, making it easy for you to make free calls over the Web. The company has continued to work on new initiatives, including a pre-roll ad platform for VoIP calls most recently.

Johnson further said that Jangl executives last fall directed by the company's board "to pursue acquisition opportunities in lieu of venture funding."

This suggests the Jangl's backers, which have pumped $9 million into the company beginning three years ago, saw the VoIP field as too competitive and too risky to make further investments.

 On the other hand, the company had enough money to honor its commitments to partners for quite some time. It will continue to do that.

Officials Warns Against Use of VoIP for Emergency Calls

Even though his parents made an emergency call to rescue the life of their dying baby, it could not save the life of eighteen-month old Elijah who died before the emergency  officials could make it to their home.

His parents had earlier called 911 using a VoIP phone and this has prompted the officials to immediately dispatched their ambulance to the caller's residence but unfortunately the officials  went to the caller's former address and before anything could be done poor Luck Elijah passed on.

This occurrence was attributed to the use of VoIP phone by the parents of the boy. According to Terry Owen, the director of technology services with the City of Edmonton's community services branch "Cell phones work better than "nomadic" connections -- like those used by VoIP phone providers Comwave and Vonage -- because emergency responders get a phone number and a location of the nearest cell phone tower, but are still more limited than landlines"

While commenting on the reasons emergency callers should avoid the use of VoIP to route any urgent call,

Devon Card, branch manager of operational services for the City of Edmonton, said enhanced 911 -- available through fixed VoIP systems, like those offered by Shaw -- puts you through to an emergency communication centre in the same city as the call, and automatically provides the address and telephone number if the call is disconnected or the caller cannot speak. In his words he said "You don't want to find out about those limitations during an emergency. Consumers need to be asking questions so they have a full understanding of their service."

However, Paul Godin, a spokesperson for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, said the CRTC is working on enhancing the service. The CRTC ruled in 2005 that phone providers must inform customers of limitations yearly.

On the other hand, the VoIP companies have vowed to enlighten users more on how they can effectively make use of the service for such purpose. Comwave representative Allison George said that following the incident in Calgary, the company will now inform customers of limitations with 911 twice a year by e-mail, instead of just annually.

Also, George said Comwave customers do not have the option of enhanced 911, and customers are asked to confirm location when on the phone with emergency services personnel. George said Comwave phones will not turn on until customers acknowledge limitations with 911.

Free Worldwide Calls for 2 days from AOL's AIM Phone

As part of their mother's day promotion AOL is giving away free worldwide calls for whole two days on their AIM Phone voip client. The offer starts from 06:00 EDT on saturday, the 10th of May and ends by 04:00 EDT on monday, the 12th of may. You can make unlimited number of calls with no big restriction on the duration of the calls during this special offer period.
To be able to enjoy this offer you need to sign up for AIM Call out and add $5 to your account. Your $5 can be used to make calls after this free calls period so it is not a payment in anyway, all calls are completely free during this period.
More information and download are available Here

News Release: VOXBONE AWARDED LICENSES, NUMBERS

Voxbone, a leading provider of local telephone numbers and VoIP transport to communications service providers and businesses worldwide, today announced that it has been awarded licenses and numbering resources to operate telecommunications services in Singapore and Greece.
The new licenses, awarded by Singapore’s IDA (Infocomm Development Authority) and Greece’s EETT (National Telecommunications and Post Commission), bring the total number of Voxbone-accessible countries to 43.
Voxbone’s DID (direct-inward dial) and toll-free numbers give its carrier, call center and major enterprise customers a way to establish a “local” presence in other countries, by being reachable through a local phone call. Seeing an advertised telephone number that costs little or nothing to dial, end customers and prospects will call an overseas businesses as soon as any business physically located nearby or in-country. Voxbone delivers these incoming calls to the number holder/subscriber through its global VoIP network.
Customers can instantly lease and provision numbers through Voxbone’s self-care Web portal, turning the acquisition process from months to minutes. “Voxbone is our source for local access numbers whenever we extend the reach of our free- and low-cost international calling service,” says Darren Yaphe, Director of Marketing at MOBIVOX, a Voxbone customer. “We rely on those local access numbers, as they enable our customers in over 40 countries to reach our dial-by-name IVR every time.”
Voxbone has partnered with local Singaporean and Greek telephone companies who are given their numbers by national regulators – a purchase as close to the physical source as possible and in compliance with all national standards and regulations. This assures number holders of service as reliable as that of a local incumbent carrier.

Free international calls from FreeCallButton

FreeCallButton is a new access number based free voip calls service launched recently. It enables you to make free international phone calls directly from your phone. FreeCallButton provide access phone numbers in several countries, to use the service you just need to call an access number closest to you, enter the PIN code which is issued daily on their website and then dial the number you want to call. You will be immediately connected to your destination. The audio quality is good enough but there is a limitation of just 5 minutes of free call per hour.
You can also use freecallbutton directly from their website using their web based callback service. You just enter your telephone number in the international format, the system will call you back, ask you to enter your destination phone number and will connect you to your destination.
. FreeCallButton free calls is not available to all countries, the list of countries they serve is available on their website www.freecallbutton.com. From the look of their website its easy to figure out that they hope to make money from the numerous ads they display on the site. Go to www.freecallsbutton.com if you want to try out the service, dont forget to share your opinion with us if you do.

SMSdiscount offers FREE calls to several destinations and low rates to many others.

SMSdiscount, the betamax voip application that let users send free text messages all over the world has gone a step further to include voip calls thereby making it a all in one voip application. Calls to Germany, US, Canada, UK , Norway etc are free while the rates for other destinations are quite low.
Like all other betamax voip applications smsdiscount is very easy to install and use and the voice quality is great. Buying credit gives you 120 days of free calls and you can call for 300 minutes per week for free.
. To try out SMSdicount visit www.smsdiscount.com

Calleasy launched. Very low rates to many destinations

Betamax the company behind voipbuster, voipcheap, nonoh and others have just launched another click to call voip service nicknamed calleasy. This is in keeping with their tradition of launching new services very similar to their existing service with only difference being in their name, call rates and user regulation. Calleasy is an easy way to make voip calls, it does not involve any download or the use of any headphone. You make the call with your own phone. All you need to do is to enter your phone number and your destination phone number on calleasy webpage and hit the call button, you will immediatelly be connected with your contact.
The connection is fast and the call quality is great. One major difference of calleasy when compared to other betamax services is that there are no free destinations but the call rates are quite low. For example calls to about 50 popular destinations countries like US, UK, Germany, France, Canada, Australia etc cost just half a cent per min, that almost free. Also rates for most other countries were considerable lowered, for example Nigeria mobile which use to cost about 19 cents per min now cost just 5 cents per min.
. Checkout www.calleasy.com to see if the rates for destinations that you call often are lowered and you can start to enjoy the new rates by signing up for the service. At solomon voip world we bring you information to help lower the cost of your communication without compromising on call quality, subscribe now to have regular updates delivered to your inbox. (see below to subscribe)

HelloSoft launches 3GPP compliant FMC client for the Nokia E-series on the S60 platform

HelloSoft Inc. the world’s leading provider of VoIP/IMS/VCC technologies for wireline and wireless devices announced today the launch of HelloMobileCommunicator-FMC™ for Nokia’s E-Series devices. The S60 Platform (formerly Series 60 User Interface) is a software platform for mobile phones that uses Symbian OS. The S60 is currently amongst the leading smartphone platforms in the world. It is developed primarily by Nokia and licensed by them to other manufacturers.
With the S60, being the world’s most popular software platform for smartphones, HelloSoft has been diligently working on the S60 platform to bring Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) to Next Generation Networks (NGN).
HelloMobileCommunicator–FMC is a standards-based complete solution enabling mass-market deployment of low-cost and power-efficient fully featured handsets. HelloSoft’s award-winning and commercially deployed comprehensive SIP-based VoIP technology forms the core component of the product. This 3GPP compliant product leads the way for FMC deployments with it’s Voice Call Continuity (VCC) feature offering seamless handoff between any access networks (Wi-Fi, WiMAX, WCDMA, EVDO, HSDPA/HSUPA).
The product provides a unified GUI to support voice, chat, messaging, phone book, and contact applications. This further improves customer usability.
“We are excited to be able to provide our IMS/VCC technologies for Nokia E-Series devices and other popular S60 platform based mobile devices”, said Ron Victor, Vice President and General Manager for Business Development and Marketing at HelloSoft. “Adding the Nokia S60 platform to our portfolio of supported platforms for FMC, enables our service provider and enterprise customers to broaden the number of handset choices available for FMC applications.”
HelloSoft has been conducting interoperability testing over the past year and continues to work with infrastructure partners to test any and all platforms with our IMS/VCC client. Announced partners include Accuris Networks Aricent, Azaire Networks, NewStep, Personeta, Sonus, Networks and Tango Networks.
HelloSoft’s products can enable mobile device manufacturers to design and architect products that are power efficient and provide substantial cost benefits. HelloSoft has a range of VoIP and wireless products to meet the price and performance needs of multiple high-volume markets, including multi-mode devices which enable OEMs, ODMs and semiconductor manufacturers to deliver VoIP enabled products with a shorter time to market.

VoIP revenue-sharing scheme enhanced by Timico

      Thanks to VoIP, Timico Ltd, a provider of converged communication services to business customers is actually realising more than double the revenue its business partners can get. The company can be found in Newark, Nottinghamshire.

            Right now, all the companies registered to the Timico's Business Partner programme are gaining a lot from a combination of connection bonus, hardware earnings and ongoing revenue share. In the first year of the contract, a Timico business partner can actually earn up to £185 from an average revenue customer on a mid-range tariff. This is quite much compared to the previous average revenue, which was £85.

            The new package form Timico is meant to position Timico's hosted VoIP solution as a lucrative proposition for dealers expanding into converged communications. It is their hope that the improved VoIP rewards will attract mobile and telecoms dealers, by demonstrating how much they can earn from selling VoIP services.

            With the help of Timico, its business partners can now expand their operations from a single service to providing a full suite of converged communications. This will enable them to gain both from higher earnings and reduced customer churn.

 

 

 

VoIP comes first in IBISWorld’s Top 10 List for 2008

            In a recent release by IBISWorld on the top ten industries with strong growth forecasts for 2008, VoIP topped the list.  According to the report too, VoIP is forecasted to grow by 24.3 percent this year.

            Those in corn farming, foam product manufacturing, web search portal, and biotechnology fields, are not left far behind. The Subscriber growth will drive revenue in the VoIP sector. It is expected that the figure will rise by 21.2 percent this year to 16.6 million. The number of establishments is also expected to jump by a significant 44.5 percent to 2,190 nationwide.

            In a statement release, the Senior analyst at IBISWorld, George Van Horn explained that, "The VoIP providers industry will easily outperform the wider telecommunications sector this year, given that it is an emerging service which continues to gain greater consumer and business acceptance. As household broadband penetration increases, it will facilitate greater use of digital services, helping to improve the call quality of industry services. In fact, by 2012, we expect revenue growth of 90.2 percent, bringing total revenue to $4.88 billion. By the same time, we predict that the U.S. will have approximately 25.4 million paying VoIP subscribers."

            In only this year, it is expected that the revenue will grow from an impressive 24.3 percent to $3.19 billion. IBISWorld forecasts that as the services improve and gain greater consumer acceptance, many more providers will begin to turn a profit especially with Vonage leading the way.  It is expected that the US's largest VoIP provider will become more profitable for the first time this quarter.

 

 

 

SMEs to benefit from VoIP, Thanks to BT and RingCentral

            In order to launch the latest in its range of web-based tools, BT RingCentral, BT Business has entered into a joint venture with RingCentral, a US-based online communications company. RingCentral helps manage the phone, mobile and communication services of SMEs in the UK. By doing this, they help these SMEs maintain a more professional image.

            The main reason for establishing BT RingCentral was to make it easy to set-up and maintain small and medium-sized businesses. It does not necessarily require any outlay on hardware, which can be quite expensive to maintain.

            With this new service, you get a lot. The professional phone system has a variety of high tech features such as advanced call management and PBX features, voicemail and internet fax capabilities.

            It costs just £15 to get RingCentral. This offer is exclusive of VAT and on a monthly basis. A company is supposed to get a non-geographic 0800 Freefone or an 0844 Contact call number with this. The number can be used for a lot of things. Talk about having multiple extensions with voicemail; automatic call screening and forwarding; a click-to-call button to use on web sites and e-mails; call logs for sales leads; fax capabilities; and for message alerts.

            How can I forget that it also have a provision for welcoming callers with a customised greeting, in-queue music or even a promotional announcement. Then finally, it allows customers to make, screen and answer calls online, through the "Desktop Call Controller". Isn't that something?

 

 

 

A New Set of features to be Added to Qwest’s OneFlex VoIP product suite

            Qwest is a company that provides voice, video and data services across the US and the world. In 2004, Qwest introduced OneFlex, a business VoIP service. It has just added a set of new features to its OneFlex VoIP product suite. Among the features is an application that will allow users compress their voice calls to free up more bandwidth for data transmissions.

            With the compression feature, users can double or triple the amount of paths they have that is solely for VoIP. The nice part about this, is that its cost free for OneFlex customers. It also allows for work in the sense that employees can set up dedicated VoIP lines in hotels and home offices that act as extensions to office lines. A lot of companies can now save money by putting voice services over the company's T1 line.

            Even though users can now compress their voice traffic to get more use out of their bandwidth, they still have to pay more if they want to buy additional phone lines. The only users that can take advantage of the compression features are those with up-to-date compression-capable equipment. Those who don't have compression-capable equipment will have to upgrade.

            Another distinct feature is an "escape to operator" feature. It allows inbound callers access to an operator from their voice mail. There are also Sub Office Administrator Portals that allows office administrators to outsource office management functions to employees at different office locations.

 

 

 

 

New iPhone SDK to allow VoIP

            In a recent announcement, Apple declared that it will let VoIP clients on the iPhone and iPod, by means of its new software development kit. The only thing is that any VoIP solution developed with this kit does not work through a cellular network. It only works over Wi-Fi. The real reason behind this might be due to bandwidth limitations on the cell network, which make it difficult to develop VoIP on that platform.

            According to the iPhone SDK agreement, "If an Application requires or will have access to the carrier network, then additionally such Application: … May not have Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) functionality."

            Anyway all hope is not lost. SightSpeed, a company has started some operations aimed at developing VoIP for the iPhone. Have they faced any obstacles? Off course. Right now they are having problems putting together their video chat service. The location of the camera on the iPhone is making it hard for them to fully develop the VoIP application. Aside from this, there are also some speculations that Skype and Gizmo projects will soon introduce a VoIP client. So watch out.

 

 

Tokiva Introduces a Wireless Variation to Its VoIP Theme

            With VoIP technology comes a lot of hybrids and variations. Presently, the wireless mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), Tokiva has added instant messaging on mobiles to the mix which is a way to initiate a packetized voice call

            A few days ago, the Toronto-based operator made it known that its IM-To-Call service will now be available with immediate effect on leading IM clients. This includes MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, AOL Messenger, and Google Talk. In a statement, Tokiva said its general availability follows a beta test that began in January.

            According to Tokiva, the users do not need to download any software in order to make any wireless VoIP call. What happens is that registered users receive an invitation to add Tokiva as a buddy on their IM lists. All they now need to do is to send an instant message to Tokiva to call them. Tokiva will definitely call back, with the user's landline or mobile phone. They will then connect the caller to the desired number immediately.

            The MVNO claims that, "using Tokiva can save up to 90% of normal call costs because the calls are carried by Tokiva's global VoIP network that has a footprint in over 185 countries."

            Tokiva observed that their customers tend to be heavy users of IM. Which means that the Tokiva IM-To-Call service is a natural extension to what they are already doing. According to Tong Li, the founder and chief executive of Tokiva, "Tokiva is connecting text-based IM systems with voice-based phone networks in a simple yet powerful way." 

            From the figures obtained from the ComScore Media, there are 90 million instant messaging users in the United States. Come second quarter of 2008, Tokiva said it plans to support QQ Messenger, the most popular IM systems in China, which counts 520 million users.

HD DVR, SureWest’s new VoIP phone service

            Before now, SureWest, a telecommunication company provided VoIP services for business customers. Now, they have moved on to a higher level. That is to say that in addition to providing VoIP services to their business customers, they are now going to involve residential customers.

            The new form of VoIP service for residential customers is a Digital Phone. It is a high-definition digital video recorder product. SureWest (Nasdaq: SURW) has since been testing the high-definition DVR. This development has been in affect since December last year.

            In a news release, Steve Oldham, the president and chief executive officer of SureWest said this, "customer response to the product far exceeded SureWest's expectations".

            SureWEst has also expanded to 50 high-definition channels, up from 17 a year ago.

Qwest improves VoIP product suite

            Qwest first opened up OneFlex, a business VoIP service in the year 2004. According to Jeff Randolph, the president of the Illinois-based engineering consulting firm Randolph & Associates, his company has subscribed to Qwest's OneFlex service for about a year. It has provided his company with the ability to work more flexibly by allowing employees to set up dedicated VoIP lines in hotels and home offices that act as extensions to office lines. He further added that the service has helped his company save money by putting voice services over the company's T1 line.

            In a recent development, Qwest has revealed a number of new features for its OneFlex VoIP product suite. It also includes an application that allows users to compress their voice calls so as to free up more bandwidth for data transmissions.

            According to Thuy Ha, the director of product management for Qwest, "the compression feature can let users double or even triple the number of paths they have dedicated to VoIP." She added that Oneflex customers do not have to pay more for the compression feature.

            "While users will be able to compress their voice traffic to get more use out of their bandwidth," Ha adds, "they will still have to pay additional money if they want to purchase additional phone lines. Customers will only be able to take advantage of the compression feature if they have up-to-date compression-capable equipment. Customers who don't have compression-capable equipment will have to upgrade."

            Another feature has been added. It is known as the "escape to operator" feature. It allows inbound callers to have access to an operator from their voice mail in addition to Sub Office Administrator Portals that allow office administrators to outsource office management functions to employees at different office locations.

Adphone given away 30 minutes of free calls per day !

I wrote about this service about a year ago and they have really improved since then. Their voip client has been redesigned and their business model changed a little bit. Adphone is now a ad based voip service but calls are not totally free because they recognize the fact that ad revenue just cannot finance the cost of call termination to all destination. Therefore the free calls are available for some 50 countries, the list of which are available HERE.
One good thing about Adphone is that they display visual ads on the voip client that does not interfere whit your calls in anyway. You are not even required to click on the ads before your calls get connected. So you only need to click on the ads if you are really interested in it.
To use adphone you have to download the adphone client from their website. It is very easy to install and use. When you call a number the first two minutes of the call are free and you can call the same number up to ten times in a day. The only down side of adphone is the fact that it is only available for PC-to-phone calls but i believe they will add phone-to-phone funtionality in no distance future. Call connection is really fast and the audio quality is excellent
To try out Adphone download it Here now.

Ad-based Free Calling Service Voixio to go live Soon. Promise Free Worldwide Calls

A new advertisement based free calling service nicknamed voixio was launched recently and will be going live from the 1st of April. It has been generating some excitement in the blogsphere recently. They promise to let their users call any number in the world for free just by viewing a video commercial. Users will be able to make free worldwide voice and video calls, at least that is what they are saying. When you visit their website www.voixio.com, you will be asked to register and if you try to place a call, a small video commercial will play after which you will be informed that the service will only be live by April 1st
I have seen several ad-based voip service come and go without much success. One of the major problem with them is that they promise free worldwide calls but in reality they only provide free calls to popular destinations that are already free from other services. This normally turn off users because they have to watch a commercial or listen to an ad before they can have free calls to destinations they can get from other services or voip applications for free and without any ad.
Most ad-based voip service can not deliver on their promise of free worldwide calls because it is just not possible for them to offset their termination cost to non western countries by whatever to earn from advertisements. Imaging the cost of terminating 1 million calls to a place like India or Senegal for example.
But Voixio is saying they can do this, at least that what I am reading on some blogs. I guess we have to wait till April 1st to find out, just hope this will not be another April fool.

Nonoh verification process creating problem for users in North America

Many users of nonoh in north america particularly in the US and canada are having problem with the nonoh user verification process. Most users in this area are unable to purchase credit for their nonoh account thereby unable to make phone calls with it. The problem is due to the fact the verification code which nonoh send to their mobile through an sms did not arrive. User are not getting this sms and therefore cant complete the verification process.
I have this same problem with my nonoh account and i have received lot of e-mails from my readers telling me they are having thesame problem. I have contacted betamax, the owner of nonoh but i am yet to get a reply from them.
I hope betamax resolve this problem as soon as possible so that users can continue to use their service.