JUNCTION NETWORKS UNVEILS ‘onSIP’ HOSTED PBX FOR SMB

Junction Networks, a leader in IP voice telecommunications services for small businesses, today announced the general availability of onSIP, a hosted IP PBX service with a pricing model that stands out in a crowded field.
Unlike typical PBX hosts, which offer all-or-nothing feature bundles and charge $20, $30 or $40 per user line per month, Junction Networks charges its customers only for calling minutes that go off its network, at low, voice-over-IP rates. One monthly $39.95 network fee covers the entire “onSIP Complete” plan, including a comprehensive suite of advanced features.
“Usage” here means use of the service to call “off-net,” that is, to non-IP, traditional phones and faxes, at great cost savings compared with switched-network carriers. Junction Networks also sells advanced calling features, including dial-by-name directory, voicemail, auto attendant, hunt/ring groups and call routing, on an à la carte basis, so that customers pay only for what they want.
As a hosted service, onSIP eliminates the hefty capital expenditure of in-house PBX hardware, and the opex of support, maintenance and change requests. Junction Networks groups all of a customer’s phones—at one location or many—as extensions of one calling group, and routes calls among all company extensions for free.
Employees at far-flung locations, nomadic workers and home-based workers all can use their IP phones and features over broadband Internet connections as if they all were physically attached to one on-premises PBX. In paying per usage, not per seat, onSIP customers are free to add seldom-used extensions, like conference room and lobby phones, without raising their costs. They can also add and drop extensions for temporary employees and consultants easily and economically, whether on-site or telecommuting.
onSIP also removes the need to change employee contact information for every temporary or permanent relocation; the phone number travels with the phone or PC softphone. It allows businesses to use any device that works with the SIP signaling protocol, which includes most VoIP networks currently operating.
onSIP also connects calls to all SIP phones around the world, for free. Customers can easily order and assign regular ten-digit phone numbers to main numbers or extensions, to receive calls from traditional landline or wireline phones. Numbers can be chosen from area codes throughout the United States. Even more important, customers can keep the numbers they already have.
Open-source + self-made platform = flexibility + control
Junction Networks can price, package and provision onSIP calling features flexibly because the company has designed and built the onSIP hosted PBX platform itself, using widely available open-source technologies.
In contrast, most PBX hosts resell telephony services running on platforms from Avaya, Alcatel/Lucent, Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks or similar big-name PBX vendors. They must charge more to cover licensing fees, and must wait for their vendors to respond when end-user problems require advanced technical support.
The onSIP platform also puts great control in the hands of its customers. Using onSIP’s Web-based interface and credit cards, customers with no telecom system programming background can quickly set up their own PBX accounts, assign user extensions, and purchase regular 10-digit telephone numbers to receive PSTN phone calls.
After setup, the same newbies can also order and set up advanced features such as hunt groups, call forwarding and voicemail. Extensions in different locations can be registered to all ring at the same number, so that the same call can be answered from offices on either side of the Atlantic, or from home, office or traveling PC.
“To understand what onSIP brings to small to medium businesses,” says Robert Wolpov, Junction Networks’ president, “start with the outsourcing convenience and low capex of Centrex. Add in the economy and location-independence of voice over IP. Now add the still greater economy, scalability, flexibility and integration potential of open-source. With that third piece, we level the playing field between large-enterprise and SMB telecom.”
Customers are welcome to bring their own application servers to their onSIP Complete accounts; any SIP-compliant server, such as a call monitoring or VoiceXML IVR server, can be registered within the hosted PBX, making it addressable like any other extension.
New applications are more quickly developed, too, owing to onSIP’s open-source, Web Service development model. Junction Networks has invited the developer community to see this for themselves by making its API available at: http://www.junctionnetworks.com/webservices.php

Vonage and Verizon to Resolve their Patent Dispute

In a recent announcement, Vonage and Verizon have made known their intention to sort out their patent lawsuit. Vonage has made it clear that the cost of its patent dispute settlement with Verizon will now be capped at a maximum of $32 million. This will be plus the $88 million that is already accrued and held in escrow. The money accrued comes from a $66 million cash-collateralized bond, a $12 million second-quarter escrow payment, in addition to a $10 million third-quarter escrow payment that was made in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Anyway, the terms of the resolution will actually depend on how the Court of Appeal decides Vonage's impending petition for rehearing with regards to two of the Verizon patents known as the '574 and '711. Vonage will pay Verizon $80 million if it wins the rehearing on either the '574 or '711 patent or if the injunction is vacated as to the two patent. If on the other hand, Vonage does not win rehearing on either the '574 or '711 patent, or if the stay is lifted reinstating the injunction, it will pay Verizon $120 million. The $120 million includes a $2.5 million sum that will be given to some charities.
According to Sharon O'Leary, the Chief Legal Officer of Vonage,"We're pleased to put this dispute behind us and believe this settlement is in the best interests of Vonage and its customers.This settlement removes the uncertainty of legal reviews and long-term court action and allows us to continue focusing on our core business and customers."
The most recent decision in the lawsuit was on September 26, 2007. There the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit partially remanded a March 8 jury verdict in the U.S. District Court of Alexandria, Va. that the company infringed on three Verizon patents. The appellate court remanded the infringement verdict on the 880 patent. It further affirmed the verdict on one patent claim for each of the 574 and 711 patents.
In conclusion, the appellate court vacated the $58 million damages award and also the 5.5 percent royalty. It further directed that the original case be retried by the trial court. The petition for a rehearing en banc by Vonage was actually filed on October 10, 2007.

Mundu IM compatible with Pocket PC and Sony Ericsson Phones

The producers of comprehensive mobile instant messaging products, Geodesic, has just introduced its new product to the public. They call it Mundu IM. It will be used for Pocket PC and choice Sony Ericsson devices that works with AIM, MSN and Yahoo! IM services by means of a single chat window on Pocket PC, Sony Ericsson J2ME, Palm OS, Windows Mobile Smartphone and iPhone devices. Apart from this, it is also compatible with ICQ, Google Talk and Jabber from a single user interface.
For those of us that use common phones like the Sony Ericsson W300i and K550i, HTC Mogul, Samsung BlackJack, Motorola Q, Palm Treo 750, Palm 700p and the iPhone, Mundu IM will be especially useful to you.
Now we'll look closely at the features in Mundu IM that makes it worthwhile. You can use it to share files and music. This means you can easily send files and music to your buddies using your mobile phone. For Yahoo, MSN and Google account holders, you can get real-time email notification with it. It allows for Photo blogging and video sharing. Photos and videos taken from a camera phone can be distributed instantly across well known services. This will make collaboration and social networking much simpler than before. Mundu now support major mobile platforms such as Pocket PC, Sony Ericsson J2ME devices, Palm OS and Windows Mobile Smartphone platforms. Apple® iPhone and iPod touch are not left out.
To get acquainted with the complete features of Mundu IM V4, go to their website, http://messenger.mundu.com where you can download a free 5 day trial version. For a lifetime access to Mundu IM with no per-message charge, you will need $11.00.

Jajah is now the native SIP client for EM-ONE phone

Do you know that by running Windows Mobile 6, any user can now make native SIP calls with the help of JAJAH software, to more than 120 global destinations. Take that Skype! Take that you Apple iPhone fanboys with your Skype on iPhone workarounds!
How did I know? Well, Jajah has just announced a wonderful pre-installed VoIP client for EM-ONE. EMOBILE is a Japanese mobile carrier with a data only connection. It was also co-developed with Microsoft and Sharp. . It features the EM-ONE which is a mobile device from SHARP. You will find a large touch screen which incorporates the company's very first 4.1 inch W-VGA (800X480 dot) high definition ASV LCD. It is made up of a full-fledged Internet browser, a mobile PC and a mobile phone. You will also find Bluetooth, WiFi, and a TV antenna. It also features a high resolution TV channels all in a slim package which is taken as one of the slimmest mobile devices with a QWERTY keyboard in Japan. Why do the Japanese always get the cool phone gadgets first, gaming platforms first (Sony PS3), damn it!
Since March 2007, EMOBILE has been giving a flat rate mobile broadband data service which is just the ideal thing for making VoIP calls without getting a data charge. EM Mobile Broadband adopts a data channel software known as 3.5G HSDPA technology to deliver voice services for EMOBILE's mobile broadband customers. It offers a maximum downlink speed of 3.6Mbps and a maximum uplink speed of 384kbps.
Well this is what Frederik Hermann told me, "JAJAH Mobile for the EM-ONE � is a SIP-based VoIP application that ships with the device and connects its users over their mobile broadband Internet connection to regular phones, landline or mobile. We have all the backend technology and a great development team to provide this kind of next-generation IP-based services and it doesn't conflict with our ease-of-use and simplicity approach of providing smart click-to-call solutions to end-consumers via jajah.com, it is an example of a great collaborative project demonstrating our partner friendly approach to deliver the most interesting solutions to the consumers and create a win-win situation for all industry players involved."

AOL Launch AIM Call Out

VoIP users are being offered additional service by AOL. The company has just launched its AIM Calling Out service that will enable its customers to make international calls to about 200 countries around the world from their landline or mobile phones.
To the existing VoIP users, AOL is no new name in the VoIP markets and their re-entering into VoIP’s world could bring about changes in services offered. Although, the service is a paying one and it is available for only non American customers, it promises to be cost effective and users friendly.
However, no installation fee is required, all what users need to do is to download and install the latest AIM Call Out service. After that, they need to enter the phone number of their foreign friends and then click dial, there they go, connecting to the world simply by a click.
It is hoped that this time around AOL has come to stay.

Net and Quintum Merge

Net has taken over the business activities of Quintum in order to consolidate on the services offered by the former. The two companies are players of unified communication (UC) and specifically on how UC relates to Microsoft. The both work with Redmond-based Software Company to deliver services.
Quintum is known for the sales of gateways to Microsoft UC solutions and on the other hand Nets is a partner with both Microsoft and Unisys and they provide voice integration into hosted exchange environment.
Although, NET has taken over the business of Quintum, the company will continue to operate as a division of NET and they will be in apposition to much better support customers and pursue growth goals.
According to Chuck, Quintum’s VP of marketing, “being part of larger organization will allow us to complete in areas that use the higher-end equipment”.

Agito Networks, New but Promising

Agito Networks is a new startup in the fixed-mobile convergence market and it promises to bring some innovation that might speedup development in the market. Even as its enters the market, the company has shown distinctive appearance from existing ones, through the display of creativity and innovation.
Considering their location-aware technology, no other company in the market has offered such innovative feature before and through this technology, any system connected to it would be able to detect when a user leaves the building. This is achieved through an initial configuration where the administrator to the exits of the buildings and alerts the system.
Also, the application serves the radio ID information and any GPS coordinates, it can find and any other info the system may deem pertinent. The implication of this is that the system can take advantage of your location to route calls more effectively and therefore if you are working late your work calls can be routed to your mobile phone. Again you can save battery by turning off the Wi-Fi through this.
The caliber of people behind Agito has shown that the company has come to stay and they include people who have worked with Cisco, Good Technology, Motorola, Spirent, Palm and Proxim.

Platinum Equity has Made a Move to Purchase Covad

The name Covad may finally cease to exist as far as VoIP industry is concerned going by the recent transaction that occurred between Covad and Platinum Equity that allowed the later to buy over the property of Covad as related to the VoIP market.
Covad, it should be recalled, has gone to a state of dormancy for several months due to erratic services being offered and at a point it appeared the company has shifted the attention of the bulk of its messaging to broadband, many customers believed the reason for this was poor voice quality from VoIP service offered.
Little wonder, one of their competitors took the advantage and turn it round to its favour. The company, Cbeyond has been able to cash into this by recording a rise in shares of about 36%($11 in real money), as a matter of fact Cbeyond is now worth $1.18billion as at when Covad ceased to operate effectively and Covad is valued at only $191million.
It is expected that, by purchasing Covad, Platinum Equity would bank on Covad identity in the VoIP market and turn things around to justify the acquisition.

Skype and Logitech Partners for Sharper, Smoother and Better Video Calling

Skype and Logitech, the world’s leading manufacturer of webcams, today announced a collaboration to deliver a new standard of video calls over the Internet: High Quality Video. With High Quality Video on Skype™, people worldwide can enjoy free video calls that are sharper and smoother than ever before. The experience is so good, it might be better than being there.
“This is a major leap in the clarity and smoothness of free video calls over the Internet,” said Gareth O‘Loughlin, Skype’s general manager, mobile and hardware devices. “High Quality Video is a tremendous opportunity to delight our more than 246 million users and take their Skype experience to a whole new level. One in four Skype calls already involve video, so we know our users love to show and not just tell. High Quality Video will take Skype conversations to a whole new level of realism. In the past, only big businesses could afford this kind of video quality. It’s now time to take it to everyone else.”
“High Quality Video takes all the promises of video calling – staying connected with family and friends, traveling the world without a suitcase and increasing collaboration among colleagues spread across a global network – and dramatically enhances the quality of the experience,” said Gina Clark, general manager and vice president of Logitech’s Internet Communications business unit. “Once people start enjoying High Quality Video at VGA resolution and 30 frames per second – a level of quality that is sharper and smoother than we’ve ever seen on Skype before – we’re confident that it will quickly become an indispensable way to stay connected.”
Whether it’s a father reading a book to his kids back home while he travels for work, grandchildren giving their grandparents a close-up view of their first lost tooth, or colleagues connecting across continents to discuss a business proposal, High Quality video offers image-perfect detail and clarity that help people connect better with their friends and families, co-workers and clients – without having to buy and install expensive video-conferencing equipment.
High Quality Video (Skype 3.6 for Windows and Logitech QuickCam® software, version 11.5) brings VGA-quality video calls (640-by-480-pixels) at up to 30 frames per second (fps) to people using a broadband connection (384 kbps connection or higher), a High Quality Video-certified Logitech webcam and a PC with a dual-core processor. (Both parties require minimum system requirements to experience High Quality Video.) As a result, people can enjoy significantly sharper, smoother video calls – even in full-screen mode.
A collaborative effort between Logitech and Skype, the High Quality Video experience is created through Skype software, Logitech webcams, and a fully redesigned set of drivers in the QuickCam software, all optimized to work together in a way never achieved before on Skype. Logitech’s new webcam drivers are specially tuned to recognize callers who have the new Skype software.
High Quality Video on Skype is only available with the following premium Logitech webcams: the Logitech® QuickCam® Pro 9000, the Logitech® QuickCam® Pro for Notebooks and the Logitech® QuickCam® Orbit AF (Logitech® QuickCam® Sphere AF in Europe ).
All three High Quality Video-certified webcams offer a Carl Zeiss lens and a premium autofocus system for fast, fluid focusing that helps eliminate the inconvenience of manual focusing. Logitech’s autofocus system refocuses images in less than three seconds and helps ensure that images remain crisp even in extreme close-ups (up to 10 cm from the camera lens).
For the office and the home, the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 comes with a flexible universal base, which allows it to rest comfortably on nearly any monitor. For the on-the-go professional, the Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks is sold with a protective travel case and an adjustable, spring-tension clip that accommodates even large laptops with panels up to 20 mm thick. The QuickCam Orbit AF webcam can cover 190 horizontal degrees and 100 vertical degrees of a room and offers a unique pan-and-tilt tracking technology.
Skype 3.6 for Windows is expected to be available as a free download at skype.com in November and will support 28 languages. The Logitech QuickCam Software version 11.5 is available now for free download at www.logitech.com/downloads. The Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 and Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks webcams are now available for a suggested retail price of $99.99 in the U.S. and EUR 99.99 in Europe . The Logitech QuickCam Orbit AF (QuickCam Sphere AF) is available now in the U.S. and Europe for $129.99 and EUR 129.99, respectively. These webcams are also available for purchase at www.skype.com/shop.

Joiphone Offers Unlimited Calls to Several Countries

After Sunrocket's demise, the alternative i recomemded for my readers who were customer of sucrocket is JoiPhone and i have very good reasons to have done that. Joiphone clearly stand out with is simplicity, cost effectiveness and excellent custormer service. They offer unlimited calls to India, pakistan and several other countries for a reasonable month fee, destinations that other voip providers are charging exobitant per minute rate.

Joiphone, founded in 1999 as a internet service provider and by 2205 they have grown to become one of USA's broaband providers. JoiPhone voip service is a shinning light among all other voip service proveíders. They are giving exeptional service at about the lowest rate in the market. Though they are many voip service on the internet that enable you make free unlimited calls but they are not all the time reliable and they could change their business model or rules at a flash, so for those who want secure and reliable service for their home or business the best approach is to subscribe to a service provider like Joiphone.

I now discuss the various service options available to voip users wishing to to subscribe to Joiphone service. The first is JoiPhone Unlimited. With a subscription to joiphone unlimited for just $8.95 per month, you make unlimited free calls to anywhere within USA and 9 others countries internationally which include: Argentina (Buenos Aires), Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom. Click Here now to get more details about Joiphone unlimited and enjoy the discounted rate exclusive for Solomon's VoIP World readers.

Next in the line of amazing Joiphone offers is Joi To The World, for just $14.95 per month subscribers can make free unlimited calls within the USA and to 40 countries and 50 destinations around the world. You can call Argentina, Australia, Brazil*, Canada, China, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico*, Puerto Rico, Russia*, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom, US Virgin Islands and many more for as long as you like. Click Here now to get more details about Joi To The World and enjoy the discounted rate exclusive for Solomon's VoIP World readers.

The third is the Killer offer especially if you are from India or Pakistan or you have cause to call these two countries often. It's the Joi Worldwide Premium, for $39.95 per month you can make unlimited calls to India and Pakistan and 70 countries and 100 destinations across the world. Click Here to see the full list of the countries. This is really great offer and its the best offer from any voip provider to this day. If you call any of the destinations in this list frequently using other services you will be paying hundreds of dollars monthly. Click Here now to get more details about Joi Worldwide Premium and enjoy the discounted rate exclusive for Solomon's VoIP World readers.

In addition, all joiphone plan comes with free equipment supply and a host of other great features including:

• Keep Your Existing Phone Number
• 911 Emergency Service
• Call Forwarding
• 411 Directory Assistance
• Voicemail via Phone/Web
• Hunt Me/Follow me
• Block Anonymous Calls
• CID on Call Waiting
• Call Blasting- Simultaneous Call
• Call Conferencing
• 30 Day money back Gurantee
• No Contract, Cancel Anytime you want

Coupled with it excellent audio quality and customer support, sincerely this is the best voip service offer out there now. Click Here now for more information and to take advantage of this special offers.

Mobile Entrepreneur, Tom Carter, appointed as president of Truphone’s operations in North and South America.

Truphone, the world’s first global mobile Internet network operator, announced the appointment of mobile-industry veteran Tom Carter as president of Truphone’s operations in North and South America. His appointment, together with demonstrations of Truphone's service on Windows Mobile devices at VON, are key preparations as Truphone readies itself to push further into the market in the Americas.
“Tom is the ideal person to direct our expansion in North and South America,” said Truphone CEO James Tagg. “His familiarity with a wide range of mobile and VoIP technologies, deep and extensive contacts in the mobile industry along with his entrepreneurial spirit and global experience will serve us well as we focus on audiences beyond the U.K. and Europe.”
With a career spanning more than 20 years, Carter brings both vision and experience to Truphone. In the past he has founded and funded startups and has led sales, marketing and business-development teams in Asia, Europe, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. In recent years, he has turned his attention to the area of fixed-mobile convergence, co-founding BridgePort Networks.
With BridgePort Networks, Carter personally funded the initial development team and then took an active operating role in the company. He participated in securing two rounds of funding that raised more than $35 million in venture capital. As a senior vice president for BridgePort, he led the company’s international expansion by establishing offices in London, Toronto, Tokyo and Hong Kong. This came on the heels of his successes at Adaptive Broadband (formerly California Microwave). There he transformed the company’s sales strategy by establishing channel and OEM programs that augmented their existing efforts.
He was also a co-founder of @Mobile, a venture-backed application service provider for wireless carriers and Internet content providers, which was sold to SOFTWARE.COM (now Openwave) for $350 million.
During the mid-1990s, while at Tandem Computers (now COMPAQ), Carter was instrumental in pioneering the first off-switch “home location register” (HLR) application for mobile-subscriber authorization—now deployed in 20 countries across 73 carriers. This development was enabled by a strategic alliance with development funding from Rogers AT&T and McCaw Cellular (now AT&T) that was secured by Carter and his Tandem telecom team.
Truphone, which is based in the United Kingdom, offers mobile Internet telephony services worldwide. It has strong followings in the U. K., the United States and in Europe. Truphone delivers an all-SIP standards-based solution to the problem of providing a converged mobile phone service: a mobile phone that also works in the home, office or any public area with Wi-Fi or 3G Internet access.
“Truphone has a world-class team with proven technology that is ripe for expansion,” said Carter. “I’m pleased to be working with James Tagg and the entire Truphone team as we launch Truphone’s operations here in the Americas—a very important market for the company’s fresh approach to mobile communications. I'm delighted that at our booth here today we're showing our first Windows Mobile solution, which I see as a key element in pushing Truphone further into the market here.”
Carter, 46, holds a bachelor’s degree (with honors) in business administration and commerce (finance and marketing major) from the University of Alberta, Canada. He holds a U.S. patent as co-author of a design for a mobile-over-Internet network technology.

SPIRIT Powers Next-Generation iRiver Device With Voice and Video

SPIRIT DSP, the world's leading provider of embedded voice and video software products, announced that Reigncom, one of the largest manufacturers of portable CD and MP3 players and the parent company of mp3 player manufacturer iRiver, has licensed TeamSpirit® 3.0 Voice&Video Engine Mobile to guarantee the brilliant voice and video performance in the new iRiver Unit2 portable media player.
TeamSpirit® 3.0 Voice&Video Engine Mobile will run in Unit2, the new iRiver portable media player. The new-generation device is invented to deliver home users convergence of multiple features: the device will incorporate voice over IP phone, voice and video over IP conferencing terminal, DVD player, TV tuner, WiFi access point, will support an SD slot and USB connectivity, and will handle voice and video over IP calls and conferencing, music, movies, photos, eBooks, and WiFi streaming.
"iRiver has always been an innovator- both in user features set and design. To keep pace with today's rapidly growing and very demanding personal communication and home entertainment market, we need to work with industry leaders - that's why we have chosen SPIRIT. We would like to emphasize the high quality and excellent integration support we received from SPIRIT," said Justin Hwang, VP Products of Reigncom.
"We are pleased to contribute the development and further market success of the fabulous, innovative design of SPIRIT's world leading Voice and Video Engine," said Alex Kravchenko, VP Sales of SPIRIT. "iRiver Unit2, being powered by SPIRIT, is another acknowledgement of SPIRIT's world leadership in high-quality voice and video over IP and WiFi communication on mobile platforms."
TeamSpirit® 3.0 Voice&Video Engine Mobile is a complete solution that delivers a rich voice and video experience for mobile OEMs. Due to sophisticated algorithms the engine enables best-of-breed voice, as well as three-way video conference calls with 10 fps on a low cost 200 MHz mobile phone for 3G VT and V2oIP applications. The engine provides longer battery life thanks to extremely low MIPS consumption. TeamSpirit® Mobile is specifically designed for next generation mobile devices like portable players with Wi-Fi adapter, dual mode phones (cellular + WiFi), WiFi phones, softphones on mobile platforms, IP voice and videophones, and 3G mobile phones (with video telephony support).
TeamSpirit® 3.0 Mobile is available on all ARM9 and ARM9E based processors (XScale, OMAP and others), along with ARM AudioDE and TI C64x.

Etisalat Launches ‘eCentrex’ Services in UAE on BroadSoft Platform

BroadSoft, Inc., a leading provider of VoIP application software, announced at the BroadSoft Connections 2007 Executive Users Conference that Etisalat, a United Arab Emirates-based telecom service provider, has selected BroadSoft’s BroadWorks® VoIP application software as the framework for its new VoIP services. BroadSoft partner Emircom, a leading system integrator operating in the Middle East , is under contract with Etisalat to provide the BroadWorks platform. Etisalat will use the platform to deliver “eCentrex” services to small, medium and large enterprises across the UAE.
Etisalat’s eCentrex will provide Hosted PBX and business trunking services, including value-added features such as conferencing, video calling and multiple call lines, which effectively combine a company’s headquarters and branch offices into a single virtual office.
eCentrex services will also offer client applications from BroadSoft, such as BroadWorks Assistant and BroadWorks Receptionist. BroadWorks Receptionist is a carrier-class IP telephony attendant console to manage and screen inbound calls for enterprises. BroadWorks Assistant is an integrated toolbar that gives users the convenience of click-to-dial calling and changing call settings from within Microsoft® Outlook® and the Microsoft Internet Explorer® and Firefox® web browsers.
“Because customers can use the eCentrex service wherever they happen to be, distance becomes irrelevant,” Etisalat said in a statement. “The scalable BroadWorks platform will enable companies to readily reach all the emirates and improve productivity through faster accessibility to company personnel. This translates into faster decision making and better service for our customers.”
"As the powerhouse of VoIP technology, BroadWorks provides a foolproof VoIP solution that enables service providers to offer customers advanced voice services without requiring a large capital investment,” said Michel Sawaya, CEO of Emircom. “With Emircom, Etisalat has a partner that is committed to Etisalat’s success as it expands its service offerings.”
“In today’s competitive business environment where operators are striving to offer innovative services in attractive packages, Etisalat is taking a leading position in the Middle East by bringing the benefits of VoIP to enterprises of all sizes,” said Michael Tessler , president and CEO of BroadSoft. “Etisalat’s new BroadWorks-based eCentrex service gives UAE companies the productivity gains, cost savings and flexibility of VoIP.”

SPIRIT Launches TeamSpirit® Voice&Video Engine PC 3.0

SPIRIT DSP, the world's leading provider of embedded voice and video software products, announced today the availability of TeamSpirit® Voice&Video Engine PC Version 3.0 for telecommunications, cable and broadband service providers worldwide. The TeamSpirit Voice&Video Engine PC 3.0 delivers the highest quality voice and video over IP (V2oIP) networks to a broad range of PC-based communication applications. The new version of the engine lets broadband operators and service providers quickly offer their subscribers an easy PC-download to enable a rich and smooth voice and video experience, with unprecedented quality.
The VoIP market continues at an aggressive pace. In Europe and N. America, branded VoIP represents more than 50 percent of all VoIP calls on broadband networks, according a recent analysis by broadband management company Sandvine Inc. And according to ABI Research, there were more than 37 million VoIP subscribers worldwide last year, and the firm predicts that number will increase more than seven fold by 2012. Slava Borilin, VP Products at SPIRIT DSP, said "The flourishing VoIP market has reached mass-market adoption and a video-soft-phone under the operator brand is quickly becoming a 'must-have' service offering for cable, telco and broadband service providers. They know that new IP-based applications are critical to keeping their subscribers and attracting new ones. Our innovative TeamSpirit Voice&Video Engine PC 3.0 gives them a cost-effective and completely pre-integrated solution for rapid time-to-market with amazing VoIP and video conferencing quality, even on impaired networks. Unlike others, we have wideband voice and standards-based video tightly and seamlessly integrated, ready for operators and service providers to deploy today."
The TeamSpirit® Voice&Video Engine PC 3.0 is a complete, pre-integrated IMS-ready solution that encapsulates wideband voice and video processing to offer the smoothest video and voice integration experience. The Engine seamlessly bundles standard and proprietary wideband voice and video codecs, echo cancellation, noise suppression, PLC, jitter buffer and more, allowing fast and easy integration into complex products designed to deliver low-latency voice and video over IP. Thanks to unique proprietary technology, the Engine successfully solves all the issues encountered in V2oIP communications, including voice and video lips sync.
It includes speech enhancement algorithms for superior toll voice quality, network optimizing functionality, voice/video synchronization, CPU load control, packet loss concealment and a library of highly optimized speech and video codecs. The engine supports next generation IMS features: 3gp voice/video sharing, voice/video recording, 3gp playback/record, RTSP/SDP protocols and push-to-talk. The Engine is compatible with Microsoft® Windows® 98/2K/XP/Vista, Apple® Mac OS® X, and Linux operating systems.

3's Skypephone Launched

Earlier today, in London, Skype and mobile operator 3 announced the launch of the 3 Skypephone, a new, affordable and easy-to-use handset that lets 3 customers make free Skype to Skype calls and send free Skype instant messages from their mobile phone to other Skype users no matter where they are – all by pushing a single Skype button on the phone.
This is the first time a mobile operator has offered a mass market device which is tailor-made for free calling over the Internet from a wireless phone. Now, all of Skype's 246 million registered users can be reached for free with the 3 Skypephone.
This announcement combines the world’s most powerful communications tool – the mobile phone – with the world’s most successful internet communications tool – Skype – to change the way people communicate. Furthermore, it demonstrates that Skype’s ambition of enabling everyone in the world to talk for free extends beyond offering free PC to PC calling, as Skype now makes it possible for people around the world to make free calls on a mobile phone as well.
3 is one of the few telcos that have come to the realisation of the fact that mobile voip is the future and that it is to their advantage if they embrace it. while some telcos are trying to block mobile voip in other to continue to charge those unresoanable high charges, some wise ones like 3 UK are exploring it to increase their patronage and revenue.
More information about the 3 Skypephone and its rollout and availability can be found online at http://www.skype.com/3skypephone.

FREE Phone Calls and SMS to 30 Countries with VoipRaider

Betamax of Germany has just launched another voip application called VoipRaider that enables its users to make free PC-to-PC, PC-to-Phone and Phone-to-Phone calls to landlines and mobiles in more than 30 countries all around the world. VoipRaider is very similar to other betamax voip applications. Infact it seems more like renaming voipbuster or voipcheap.
To use voipRaider all you have to do is to download the free application from www.voipraider.com, install it on your system and register a username and password. Its easy to install and use and the audio quality is really good. User can also send free sms to all the free destinations. Direct callback feature that enable you to make phone-to-phone is also available in voipRaider but not as conspicuous as it was on other betamax applications. To use direct callback in voipRaider you have to setup your phone number by clicking tools > options > Call settings and under phone-to-phone section enter your telephone number in international format. Now whenever you dial any number voipRaider automatically connects your phone and the destination phone number and you can call phone-to-phone using your voipRaider account.
At the moment betamax is not imposing any limitation on the amount and duration of the free calls but that can change really fast. So enjoy the free phone calls to friends and family. Subscribe to solomon's voip world to continue to get the latest information on available free phone calls opportunities.

NetLogic® Announces "TrueDirection"

NetLogic,an ITSP (Internet Telephony Service Provider) and a leading provider of Quality of Service (QoS) Business-Class VoIP services, today announced a new service, available immediately, that allows customers with multiple call centers to automatically route over-capacity calls to the next available and appropriate call center switch without the need for a second call path.
The new service, called TrueDirection, was announced in conjunction with the Interactive Intelligence VoIP Partner Conference, being held October 22 - 24 in Chandler, AZ.
Designed as a cost-savings feature for call centers with multiple service locations, TrueDirection handles calls that come into a full queue by redirecting them back through the NetLogic network to the customer-directed next available switch. By rerouting back through the NetLogic network, the initial call path is preserved.
"TrueDirection is an excellent solution for call centers with a large volume of in-bound calls," says Matt Siemens, vice president of marketing and sales for NetLogic. "When the primary customer IP-PBX is full, then calls will be rerouted over the initial call path according to client protocol, thereby saving the cost of a second call path."
With TrueDirection, the client designates one master call center switch. Then when the switch queue is full, calls are rerouted back through the NetLogic network and sent (per client direction) to the next appropriate and available call center switch.
"I am pleased that NetLogic is able to make this unique option available to call center managers," says Michael Morey, president and CEO of NetLogic. "It will allow in-bound calls to be handled on a cost-effective, timely and efficient basis, which will enhance the end-user's experience."

Tadiran Announces Incentives for its Resellers

Tadiran Telecom®, a leading global IP business telephone and communications solutions provider, today announced a new loyalty incentive program, Accelerate for Success, designed to encourage and reward top performing reseller partners. The program is geared towards driving Tadiran's growing base of resellers to improve profitability, enhance margins and increase their sales of Tadiran's award-winning products.
The Accelerate for Success Reseller Loyalty Program represents another significant investment in Tadiran's Channel strategy, which further continues to pass on to its resellers the highest margin levels in the Enterprise VoIP marketplace. The program provides significant dollar savings to customers as well as reward programs for the reseller's staff.
Tadiran's award-winning, high-performance IP communications solutions and telephones allow businesses and organizations of all sizes to migrate to the world of IP in stages, all while continuing to leverage existing network and legacy investments. The company's leading IP communications solutions are used in more than 100,000 locations worldwide with over 10 million ports installed. Tadiran's products have proven to be cost-effective, reliable and easy to use, making them attractive to channel partners targeting increasing customer demand in this rapidly growing market.
Tadiran Telecom's V.P. of Marketing Pat Lennon said, "Channel partners can offer customers the benefits of an easy, cost-effective move to IP communications, while taking advantage of Tadiran's high-quality channel support, training and commitment to success. By partnering with resellers through this new program, Tadiran will grow its market presence with deeper penetration into vertical sectors where reliable Enterprise-wide communications and mobility are critical, such as finance, healthcare, real estate, education, retail, manufacturing and state and local government."
The Accelerate for Success Reseller Loyalty Program is unique in that it gives resellers immediate access to essential tools, product information and incentive/reward programs. It is designed to build higher levels of customer satisfaction and reseller expertise to increase profitability. Highlights of the program include:
" Incentive programs providing incremental bonuses for reseller's staff, including certified technicians, sales persons, sales managers and owners.
" Rewards include trips (Hawaii and Alaskan cruises, Super Bowl XLIII, NCAA Final Four, Daytona 500, etc.), cash rewards and Tadiran merchandise.
" Sales and marketing support and training materials designed to maximize program members' business and promote and sell Tadiran solutions, including the latest sales promotions, product information, comparisons and literature, logos, whitepapers, case studies, presentations, and more.
" Two new co-marketing advertising campaigns that contribute to revenue growth including print and email campaigns, press release templates, and more.
" Access to a dedicated, secure partner website portal with an array of marketing and sales tools and rewards points tracking capabilities.
Tadiran is currently seeking additional resellers nationwide. For more information on the Accelerate for Success Reseller Loyalty Program, visit Tadiran's Web site at www.tadiranamerica.com or call 866-595-4900.

Voxbone Established Second Point of Presence in the U.S

Voxbone, a leading provider of international VoIP origination services to carriers, ITSPs, calling card operators, call centers and other businesses around the world, today announced that has established its second point of presence (PoP) in the U.S. to better meet the needs of its North American customers
The new PoP, based in Los Angeles, will be clustered with the existing New York PoP to provide an automatic fail-over in case either datacenter is down for any reason. In addition, the new PoP puts Voxbone services closer to all carriers and service providers based on the West Coast.
"We are excited," said Rodrigue Ullens, co-founder of Voxbone, about enhancing the overall quality and reliability of our service. This new patent-pending POP clustering technique demonstrates Voxbone's commitment to constantly enhance the reliability of our VoIP backbone. In addition, the new center will enable service providers and carriers on the West Coast will be able to interconnect directly with our network, easily, quickly and cost-effectively."
Voxbone leases international VoIP virtual phone numbers and worldwide origination services via VoIP to organizations in North and South America, Europe and Asia/Pacific regions. It delivers high-quality call origination and provides the global infrastructure that enables its customers to expand to international markets quickly and efficiently. Using direct inbound dial (DID) also called virtual numbers from Voxbone, customers may receive inexpensive, locally dialed phone calls. Using standard VoIP hardware, customers utilize the Voxbone API or web portal for the configuration of the acquired DIDs and to choose to which IP appliance the calls are diverted.
Voxbone differentiates its offerings in two ways: By investing in multiple PoPs, redundant servers and other areas of service provision, Voxbone offers customers phone quality and reliability approaching landline options. In addition, Voxbone focuses exclusively in the distribution of DID numbers to ensure its service remains higher quality than that of its competitors, which are less focused in their offerings.

Vapps to offer Wideband Conferencing using Skype or PSTN

In a bid to offer more wideband conferencing to all, Vapps has just reintroduced their free conferencing service. It is known as HighSpeed Conferencing. This time around, it comes as a flat-rate monthly service with unlimited usage.
In a conversation with the CEO of Vapps, Ben Lilienthal, where I asked him "why the change?", he said that they have gone from using a narrowband codec to a wideband codec, offering premium sound quality conferencing that scales up to 500 PSTN and/or Skype users. He boasted having the only wideband conferencing service in the world that can scale to 500 participants and also pointed out that Skype by itself can only do 3-way conferencing. He feels there is a lot of valuable in offering wideband, high-quality conferencing. Vapps' servers perform all the heavy lifting of transcoding and mixing the individual audio streams and sending to each participant.
With this new development, the Skype client will now provide the HighSpeed Conferencing plugin. This plugin makes advanced conferencing possible. It can also mute or unmute participants, Q&A (hand raising capability), record a conference, schedule conference, drop participants, and do even much more. From all indications, Vapps has actually been cracking their brains to make sure that their high definition conferencing will have the ability to scale, handle latency & packet loss. They have also included the ability to control conferencing through web APIs. All this is all in an effort to bring out their new product
You have to take note of the new price. It now involves a monthly subscription for each conference room. There is no need to pay for phone minutes now be it from skype or PSTN. The only place you will have to pay is when you make long distance calls. Here you will have to pay just for calling their non-toll free number. A toll-free option is also available where you will incur per-minute charges.
When I spoke with Vapps, I was informed that they are now working on how to form a group with Gizmo. They also have plans for integrating other companies like 3G clients, MSN Messenger, and LCS i.e. Live Communications Server.
You need to hear this! They told me that even online gamers have been one of the largest users of their current narrowband offering due to its excellent voice performance. When I asked them why the notoriously price fickle online gamers would want to pay for VoIP videoconferencing when there are a lot of available free services, Ben said that online gamers will pay for performance - they will pay for good voice quality for a better gaming experience.
Another interesting thing he mentioned was that a lot of day traders use Vapp's service as an inexpensive "hoot & holler" service. Do you know with this, dozens or even hundreds of day traders can be in a conference room at the same time? By punching Ctrl-F5, a pre-programmed hotkey in Skype, one can easily unmute their mic, say something, and put it back on mute again. In other words, a poor man's click-to-talk. With this, they can be connected for about 8 hours a day, which is like an entire workday. This is quite unlike the conventional PSTN conference bridges. This is the wonderful thing about IP in the sense that it's a fixed cost for the bandwidth. Then lastly, you will see a web based admin screen that can be used to control or moderate any conference. This will replace the Skype plugin.

Nokia N810 launched

Nokia N800 is actually one of the most portable devices I have ever used. It came into the market even before Apple's iPhone. It has similar features with Apple's iPhone until you take a closer look at it, you will then find out that it is actually better in so many ways. Mind you, it is not as portable as the iPhone. First of all, it has more capabilities and can actually do more things. To top it up, it is an excellent device for people that live in places where WiFi is predominant.
Well, there were some set backs to this phone. The first one is that it did not have connectivity to any cellular networks. It also lacks a keyboard.
But not to worry because Nokia has just launched another phone which is much better. It is the Nokia N810. It has a keyboard and an in built GPS, something the other phone doesn't have. The presence of the keypad has solved a problem that was present in the other Nokia phone. With GPS the phone has become even much more useful. The only problem is that the weight or form factor may have been affected.

Vonage has been sued again

Believe it or not, but AT&T has just sued Vonage in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Wisconsin. The reason being for patent infringement. This news is based on media reports.
Well, it looks like Vonage is always knee deep in one controversy or the other with different companies. As soon as it solves one dispute, another one comes up to take the troubled VoIP startup once more to the court of law. Right now you can't tell when the annoying Vonage will come up with a clean face.
According to AT&T, Vonage is unlawfully using their wide-area packet technology system and insists Vonage to refrain from using the platform. AT&T is also looking for triple damages and attorneys' fees from Vonage. The amount of money involved in this dispute was not actually mentioned.
Its hard to believe that just a few days ago, Vonage settled two legal disputes. The most recent one was with the company, Klausner Technologies. In their agreement, they concluded to use their patents i.e. the one related to voicemail services.
But before this, the residential VoIP service provider accepted to pay about $80 million to Sprint Nextel as part of the settlement. In exchange for this, Sprint Nextel has accorded more than 100 VoIP patents to Vonage.
Can you believe that right now, Vonage is still fighting a legal battle with Verizon Communication. Vonage was ordered to pay $58 million in damages, and also 5.5 percent royalties on future revenues for violating three Verizon patents.

NoiseFree Offer Free Trial of its New Application

VoIP users can now try out a beta product developed by NoiseFree, one of the leading service providers of the next generation software for the enhancement of voice-based communications, based in the US.
This new software was developed with a view to providing lasting solutions to some erratic service associated with VoIP and these include masking and disabling of background noise of callers irrespective of the surroundings and cancellation of any distracting activities. This unique innovation ensures that users are provided with good services as found in the traditional telephony.
Users would therefore no longer have to worry about being heard as frequently experienced in a noisy environment this is because this technology has been designed to deliver, receive and transmit signal-to-noise ratio enhancement in excess of 15dB. The implication of this is that callers can be heard clearly regardless of noisy background.
Another interesting feature of this new software is its enhancement ability of overall bandwidth since it can reduce the packet load on a network. You can log on for a free through their official website: http://www.noise-free-wireless.com

EU Group Seeks for Harmonized Rules in the VoIP

Seeking a basis for co-operation among telecommunication and internet service industries, the European telephone regulators wants a harmonized rule that would protect the usage of VoIP service within the 27 member nations. This came as a result of the groups intention to correct the wrong notion claimed by some VoIP call providers and therefore not under any obligation to offer some services like the emergency calls.
Speaking on the reasons why there should be harmony between these two sectors, the chairman of the European regulations group, Roberto Voila has pointed out that the VoIP stands in the central of the co-operation irrespective of national boundaries.
With this co-operation, users of the VoIP within the member states would use the same number through the internet and route all their common service through this number and this is in alignment to achieve one of the European union objectives.

Vyke Partners Nokia to Market New Product

The cooperation between Vyke AS and Nokia Corporation would definitely give the former an edge in the VoIP market. This statement established by Vyke, a mobile internet provider and Nokia Corporation where Nokia has signed the globally distribute VoIP service in form of mobile handset software component of the Vyke Mobile IP service.
Through this agreement, new users subscribing to the Nokia on-device content portal, download will automatically be directed to Vyke’s end-user communications portal through their website: http://www.Vyke.com where accounts will be created simply within the Vyke system. As such, 81 free Vyke calling credit is awarded to new users signing up for the Vyke’s service through the Nokia download.
This offer provides several hours of free international calling from the mobile phone and might attract many new users who would be willing to try out the product especially those calling the North America and Western Europe fixed lines for its relative cheapness.
Already, the two parties have selected channels for the unital launch of distribution in the Europe and it is hoped that the agreement would pave way for greater opportunities for them.

Quiconnect to License its Application to Truphone

Quiconnect has agreed to help broaden Truphone’s international public Wi-Fi access licensing its technology developed for that purpose to Truphone. This technology would make it possible for users to automatically log on to global Wi-Fi hotspots and networks without the usual process of offering passwords, usernames, accounts or subscriptions with local operators.
By automating hotspot log-in process, Truphone has gone a step further to facilitate the use of its services by its customers. Users of its service will now be able to easily log-in at any of the public Wi-Fi locations worldwide and this includes the hotels, the airports and any such public places.
In order to protect users from extortion, the technology has built to ensure that they are charged only when they make VoIP calls but not when they log on. The Truphone’s service is available over Nokia mobile phones and the product is such that Quiconnect’s Connector Software is embedded into Truphone’s own solution.

WiMax is Endorsed by UN Agency

In a general meeting of the International Telecommunication Union held on the 19th October, the United Nations Telecommunications agency reached an agreement to approve WiMax as a global third-generation communication standard.
After several obligation, negotiation, and deliberation by several countries that wanted their application included, the UN agency finally endorsed the WiMax to be among the IMT-2000 standard for advanced mobile technologies.
WiMax is an acronym for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access and it has the ability of delivering wireless broadband connections at speeds of 70MB a second over an area of 65KM, compared the current fixed-line broadband connections that have speeds of about 2MB per second.
This decision has opened door to many opportunities. In one sense, it means rural areas denied of fixed-line broadband connections due to its high cost will be benefiting from the high-speed internet access for mobile telecommunicating can now choose to use their franchise to provide WiMax services to customers in place of slower technologies.
Definitely, the endorsement of WiMax by UN will open way for many International Telecommunication Union member countries to devote resources in improving on services in that respect

Truphone offers FREE Calls to 40 countries and Slashes the rates to other countries by 20%

Truphone, one of the fastest growing mobile VoIP provider is now offering FREE calls to landlines in 40 countries around the world and mobile phone in US, Canada, China, Hong Kong and Singapore. Additionally they have slashed the rates to other destinations by more than 20% so that users can save more on their mobile calls while enjoying the best quality mobile voip calls available. For example, calls to India mobiles are down 30% to just 4.4p/min, Russian mobiles are down 26% to 4.5p/min and Argentinian mobiles are down 48% to 4.8p/min. More Information about truphone rates are available here
Truphone is an easy to use service that works wherever there is access to the internet via wi-fi or 3G. Wi-fi access is now becoming really popular and widely available all the over the country and this will drive an explosive growth in mobile voip. I drove through atalanta metropolitan area some days ago with my laptop to monitor the avalability of wi-fi in this area and was surprised to discover that i was able to find a wi-fi network i could logon to free of charge for every 2 square miles area. This must be scaring mobile phone service providers to their bone marrows.
At the moment Truphone works with dual-mode Nokia phone such as Nokia E60, E61, E61i, E65, E70 E90, N80 Internet Edition and N95 and there plans to extend it to other wi-fi capable mobile phone models.

Skype surpass 10 million simultaneous online users mark

Skype has now surpass the 10 million simultaneous users mark. This feat was achieve recently with skype having more that 10 million online users globally connected to one another. Just three years ago they, on 20th of October , 2004, Skype record its first 1 million simultaneous users, that they now have ten times that number is surely a great achievement. Congratulations Skype!.

Upgrade to Skype 3.6 Beta for Improved Quality Audio and Video Calls

BAXL Technologies goes for Allen & Caron as its Investor Relations and Corporate Communications

A developer, manufacturer, and supplier of advanced networking solutions that enable the transmission of voice, data and video over existing wiring, the BAXL Technologies, has publicised its intention to pick an investment company Allen & Caron Inc as its agency for investor relations and corporate communications.
"Over the past year we have made considerable progress in our business, and our momentum is growing," said Gus Bottazzi, BAXL Technologies CEO. "At this point, we believe it is the appropriate time to launch a proactive investor relations program to deliver our message to the investment community. We selected Allen & Caron because of its solid reputation and track record of successfully introducing fast-growing companies to new and broader audiences of institutional investors and other investment community professionals, which is an essential part of any plan to attract qualified investors."
"While its key target markets include the global Multi dwelling/Multi tenant, healthcare, hospitality, and education markets, the hospitality industry has been an early adopter of the BAXL technology solutions, with an impressive installed base of more than 30,000 units across 180 properties worldwide," said Joe Allen, Allen & Caron Chairman and CEO. "Its customers choose BAXL's comprehensive solution for its continuous fixed bandwidth, remote power and support of wired and wireless applications over existing wiring, and its solutions have proven to be virtually 99.99 percent effective - even under the worst wiring conditions, with no modems or power outlets required. With its niche market, best-in-class technology, and experienced senior management, we feel that as BAXL executes its post-merger strategy its prospects will be very interesting to institutional investors."
BAXL is the only technology solution available that delivers continuous connection speeds using existing building wiring, whether over twisted or untwisted copper pair or Category 5; incorporates Power over Ethernet (PoE) at the jack level to power ancillary devices, such as set top boxes, wireless access modems, digital phone sets; and converts analog signals to digital IP at the jack level to optimize wiring bandwidth for VoIP offerings. The company’s alternative technology solution is easy to install and more cost-effective than some competitive technology, such as Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL), cable, or rewiring.

Major wireless solution providers, Connect One and Wi2Wi come together to give New Secure Socket iWifi Module for Machine2Machine Applications

The mentioned companies; Connect One and Wi2Wi, both providers of small form factor, multiple radio wireless SiP devices and modules, have released Secure Socket iWiFi, a new embedded serial-to-WiFi device server that connects devices running machine-to-machine (M2M) applications to 802.11b/g wireless LANs.
The device uses a communication controller chip which includes the latest encryption, hardware internalized security and full suite of Internet protocols and applications--as a firewall and Wi2Wi's W2SW0001 Wireless LAN Module, which is based on a leading vendor of WiFi chipsets. Secure Socket iWiFi can be integrated into a wireless LAN network with minimal programming.
To use Connect One's serial-to-WiFi device server, designers do not need to significantly reprogram applications because iChipSec CO2128 and high-level AT+i API offload the WiFi drivers, WPA supplicant, security and networking protocols, and communication tasks from the host application. iChipSec CO2128 integrated, hardware-based SSL encryption engine assure end-to-end secure data transfers, even over the Internet. iChipSec CO2128 also acts as a firewall-in-a-chip, protecting the application from networks attacks.
"Connect One's reputation as a leading connectivity innovator made them an obvious partner for this product development," said Dhiraj Solgani, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Wi2Wi. "Integrating our WiFi solution into the iChip-based socket provides unmatched time to market since developers can get a solution up and running in only one-man month."
"WiFi is quickly becoming the most asked for requirement in M2M applications for point of sale, medical devices and security applications," noted Izak Shoshana, Vice President Marketing for Connect One. "Wi2Wi superior technology with the iChip solution gives customers a jump start thanks to its very low cost, simple AT+I interface, hardware encryption and no need for drivers. Since Secure Socket iWiFi is also certified in many countries including the United States, Japan and Europe for example, it becomes an obvious best choice."

KPN Global Carrier Services in partnership with Tekelec

A company that provides network solutions and applications known as the KPN Global Carrier Services is promising to extend its relationship with Tekelec a developer of high-performance network applications for next-generation fixed, mobile and packet networks.
KPN is trying to utilize the package owned by Tekelec called the EAGLE 5 Integrated Signaling Systems to expand its signaling network capacity and support SIGTRAN (signaling system 7 over Internet protocol, or SS7 over IP) and a next-generation architecture.
Presently the organisation provides wholesale voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), signaling interconnect and value-added services globally. KPN initially deployed the EAGLE 5 ISS in its fixed network in The Netherlands as well as the Tekelec mobile number portability solution.
"We are extending our relationship with Tekelec because we have come to rely on the company's experience, quality and cost-effective solutions," said Edwin A. D. van Ierland, managing director, KPN Global Carrier Services. "We replaced our previous signaling equipment because of capacity constraints and its inability to support SIGTRAN--capabilities inherent in the EAGLE 5 ISS. With Tekelec, we now are able to provide customers with the next-generation services they require."
Tekele EAGLE 5 ISS is said to support SIGTRAN signaling, which is a stepping stone for cost-effectively migrating to IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) at the signaling layer. Enhanced services and reduced transport cost. Together, these benefits allow operators to offer their customers new, more advanced services at competitive prices which is the main reason behind the bid.
"We at Tekelec value our long-standing relationship with KPN," said Wolrad Claudy, managing director for Tekelec operations in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia and India. "We are honored to be KPN's partner of choice for control-layer solutions and applications and are dedicated to helping KPN retain its competitive position by delivering superior services to its customers globally."

Atelier and Philip Zimmermann Partners to Provide Secure VoIP communications on Symbian Smartphones

Atelier and Zimmermann has just announced their partnership. This partnership was set up in order to provide secure Voice over IP (VoIP) technology for Symbian smartphones. Atelier is one of the leading providers of wireless software solutions for smart devices while Philip Zimmermann is the creator of PGP®, the most commonly used email encryption software in the world.
Right now, Atelier is making possible the Zfone software for Symbian OS™. This software can automatically encrypt voice calls made over the Internet and successfully turn existing Symbian smartphones into secure crypto phones. This new technology makes sure that voice communications are indeed private. It also stops threats like wiretapping or eavesdropping by alerting the user on when a call is secure. If you think this is wonderful, just wait for the next line. You can now whisper into another person's ear even from a thousand miles away. Isn't it just too fantastic?
This is what the CEO of Atelier, Marc Menschenfreund said, "Today, we're seeing VoIP telephony's stellar growth and acceptance in the mass market, but users do not realize their Internet calls are more likely and easily intercepted than with standard telephony. With Phil Zimmermann's Zfone for Symbian OS, we're bringing to the masses the same level of privacy to VoIP calls that PGP® brought to email."
What the Zfone for Symbian OS does is that it integrates with the Internet protocol stack of the operating system and then intercepts VoIP packets when they go in and out of the phone, scrambling voice on the fly impeccably. It is compatible with all SIP/RTP-based VoIP clients. This means that it can be used out-of-the-box with the standard Internet telephony software like the one built into the Nokia S60 phones.
According to Phil Zimmermann, "Zfone is the easy and smart way to provide privacy to VoIP calls and it is a ready-to-go technology that can be widely deployed. Atelier's expertise enabled Zfone to be very tightly integrated into the Symbian platform, allowing secure VoIP communications to reach critical mass faster by transforming millions of existing and forthcoming Symbian smartphones based on S60 and UIQ platforms into secure Internet phones."
Zfone has an end-to-end compatibility with its desktop application. This is what makes it possible for one to be able make encrypted calls between a Symbian smartphone and a PC. The Zfone technology can auto-detects whether the other endpoint supports encryption or not. If it does not, it allows frequent VoIP calls that allows for an instant deployment in heterogeneous environments.
You don't need any user configuration with Zfone. With this feature, it makes it easy for Handset Manufacturers, Enterprises and Network Operators to quickly provide secure communications both to their users and customers. Zfone is based on the ZRTP protocol that makes use of 128 and 256-bit AES encryption. The ZRTP protocol has been submitted to the IETF as a proposal for a public standard. You can now get its source code for peer review.
Atelier has just had a demonstration on Zfone running on Symbian smartphones and its interoperability with PC based encrypted Internet telephony software. This display took place at their booth, #80 during the Symbian Smartphone Show on the 16th to 17th October, 2007 in London UK.

VegaStream to permit 999 calls on their VoIP service

Ofcom, a communications regulator conducted a research on making 999 calls with VoIP. They found out that 46 per cent of household VoIP lines cannot make emergency 999 calls. Another discovery was that 78 per cent of VoIP users did not know that they cannot call the emergency services with the 999 number. It was after this research that Vegastream developed a new version of its VoIP Gateway product. This product allows you to make 999 calls over VoIP lines.
In the light of this research findings, Ofcom published proposals that will make it absolutely necessary for 999 to be accessible through VoIP. Once you call the 999 number, the caller's location can easily be made known to the emergency services. This is a problem with VoIP because its service does not give one this information. But with VegaStream's new system this problem has been overcome just by routing a 999 call through a standard PSTN instead of the VoIP network.
Another benefit is that the system can also switch to PSTN once a broadband connection fails. This makes the VoIP network more resilient. The number of VoIP lines on the product is what will actually determine its cost. You can get 120 lines for about £275.

mig33 to provide Google Talk for Its 7 Million Members

For countries where international long-distance rates are quite much, mobile services such as mig33's mobile instant messenger and VoIP calls are beginning to get a sizable user base. According to the Burlingame, Calif. startup, an eTel/GigaOM Launch Pad startup, as at this moment, they have successfully signed up more than 7 million users. They also have a number of new features such as Google Talk (GOOG).
To say that they now have 7 million members, not to talk of the growing user base is a thing of shock to me. You will see why now. In July the company said it had 6 million members. Anyway one should expect this considering the fact that their major approach was to use downloadable mobile software.
A barrier to entry is usually mobile clients. That is when trying to build a substantial amount of users, especially for services that are meant to save users' money.
If you don't want to download this, the company has also added a WAP site recently. Just a quick note for you, there are other mobile callback or calling type services that offer lower-cost minutes such as Cellity and Jajah.

Canisp Will Soon Release New Product

Canisp is set to make a name for itself in the VoIP market, going by its preparation to offer services in the industry. Canisp Plc is basically a telecommunications service provider and has decided to enter into the VoIP business with a view to challenging other service providers and provide better platform for VoIP related services.
According to the report made available during its annual general meeting they have been recording good progress with the development of the VoIP product and it is currently undergoing testing.
The company promised to make the product available as soon as the test is complete and is hoping on the awareness it has created in the market to sell its product.
Having gone through a successful cost saving understanding it is expected that the potential customers will find the product to more cost effective and flexible to their needs.

Government Wants Emergency Phone Access through VoIP in Australia

The VoIP service providers in Australia have been charged with the responsibility of finding technical solutions to allow users the access to the country’s emergency 000 number. This appeal was made by the Australian Government in custody of the country’s telecommunication, this is as a result of the need to give callers more option to route their emergency calls.
While the US VoIP service providers are constantly improving on the emergency 911 VoIP features in order to attract more customers to their services, it is unfortunate to note that Australia VoIP providers have not yet developed such an important service for all emergency numbers in the country.
There are three emergency numbers where callers can route any of their urgent calls in Australia at the moment, they are 000, 106 and 112. The triple zero can be accessed through any of the mobile or fixed phone and some VoIP services. 106 is mainly available for people with hearing or speech disability is a text-based connection and the 112 is available for all mobile users.
The service providers in Australia should be advised that the concern expressed by the Australian communicators is not only meant for users to have access to emergency call via the internet but also to expose them to the market and international opportunities.

WISPr ready to be Launched by Skype and WeRoam

The saying that two good heads are better than one cannot be better demonstrated as Skype and WeRoam (a Swiss company known as Comfone) have done. These two companies have cooperated to develop WISPr software and the trials have already proved successful.
The WISPr is a set of programmes that enhances inter-network and inter-operator roaming of Wi-Fi users. It is quite cumbersome for a service provider to build an infrastructure that allows global access of service by its customer, therefore roaming between service providers is encouraged by the Wi-Fi Alliance with the WISPr protocol.
As a result, the two parties have partnered together to ensure that the product stands the test of time, this is seen by their conduction of several trial tests during which the Skype's technical team used WeRoam’s test facilities.
The fact that WeRoam has been providing signaling data, clearing, hubbing and convergence. Services to more than 300 operators in about 125 countries could only mean that there is a market opportunity for the two companies to cash in.

Tip
Download Skype 3.6 Now for Improved Video Calls. Click here

8el Introduce its Callport VoIP for Businesses

Aggregated Telecom Ltd whose trading name is 8el has announced the release of its Callport VoIP for commercial use. The Callport VoIP enables users to have unrestricted access to manage their voice service and to also retain control over how the configuration of the service is done during the process.
This service has been designed to combine the flexibility of VoIP features with the traditional phone service to be able to deliver better service and as such providing users with cost savings VoIP services.
It is interesting to note that this service is based on the next generation networking IP technology; consequently 8el is able to effectively manage its service for customers without the need to employ a dedicated staff or purchase expensive equipment to such effect.
Callport combine unified messaging, recording, listen-in and operate consol functionality to deliver it service and can be used alongside with existing PBXs and Keyphone for those would not want to move totally to VoIP.
Although the targeted market is for companies that have users range between 50 and 1500, it can however be adjusted to accommodate less and more users. To be able to use the service, the IP Freeport box needs to be installed in user’s home while the service is managed through a PC screen or internet thereafter

TV Telephony Now Available Courtesy Waterfront

The users of the VoIP service and those in the media especially the telecast would soon experience a major change in the way they interact if the innovative product launched by waterfront is anything to rely on. Waterfront which is a major player in the VoIP industry has just release an innovative service, the TV Telephony, that would enable phone calls to be made and received using a digital television.
For the people in the television industry, this might be the answer to their prayers, this is because the “phone ins” television feature has recently been condemned by many and hence waterfront service might taken as an alternative.
Features like the “ring me back” available in this new service can be easily incorporated into television shows thereby providing direct voice link with viewers and this is useful for broadcasters, production companies and advertisers.
The waterfront TV Telephony is based on the technology from ComX0 Limited based in Datchet, Berkshire .

Skype 3.6 Beta Brings Improved Video.

After reading on skype blog about their latest version of skype, skype 3.6 beta i decided to try out myself and see if the improvements to video quality they claim is really true. After using this latest version for some days i can confidently say that it does bring a considerable improvement to the quality of the video. Images are a lot sharper and movement are more natural. The audio quality improved too and connection is instant.
This latest version is realy worth trying out to see for yourself. I believe it will be out of beta very soon. Click Here to download Skype 3.6 now.

MySpace and Skype team up for voice function on IM client

MySpace and Skype are prepared to announce that the eBay-owned telephony client will be providing voice chat services for the News Corp. owned social network's instant messaging client, MySpaceIM. They are yet to divulge the financial terms involved in the new partnership.
In all probability, this must be the "MySpace announcement" rumored to take place on Wednesday at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. Initially it was believed that this announcement would reveal a developer platform for MySpace similar to the one for Facebook. But thanks to reliable informants who were able to quickly hint to multiple news outlets, including CNET News.com that this would not be the case. An informant for gossip blog Valleywag also revealed that the announcement would deal with the MySpaceIM client.
With this new partnership, all users in MySpace can now link their profiles to a Skype account. They can also place voice chat calls through the MySpaceIM client or the Skype client to both MySpace and Skype members. But once your Myspace profile is set to "private," you can't receive calls from people that are not on your friends list. You will find this service only in the 20 countries where MySpace has "localized communities."
In a joint statement the two companies stressed on the sheer number of users this will cover. "With more than 110 million monthly active MySpace users and 220 million Skype registered users around the world, this partnership connects two of the most popular communications platforms on the Internet to create the world's largest online, voice-connected community."
At the moment, only 25 million out of the 110 million active users of MySpace have downloaded the MySpaceIM client and none of the two companies is at the top of its game. When it comes to the social-networking field in membership and traffic, MySpace is still leading. The only thing is that it has lost its position in the spotlight to another rival, the fast-growing Facebook. Talk about Skype, it has not exactly been a real winner for eBay. Some critics actually said that the two are quite incompatible.

VoIP-PAL Expands Market

The need to broaden their horizon in the VoIP market and reach out beyond the current market and current client database has prompted VoIP-PAL to recently announce their plans to expand distribution channels for their VoIP products. The company has also come up with new sales strategies that will ensure that the sales of their online wares attracted more customers from the internet.
Not only this, the several year of research has also finally pared way for the company to launch their own product line of Softphones and IP telephones thereby ensuring that their customers are provided with the best product available. Little wonder the CEO of VoIP-PAL Richard Kipping, while boasting on the company’s achievement stated that “The recent Vonage and sprint pertaining to the relaxing of VoIP industry competitive restrictions opens up a whole new market that VoIP-PAL will strive to develop…. A forward to implementing our nationwide global strategy with our leading-edge VoIP products accordingly”.

Vonage trying to come out of legal hassles

The Embattled VoIP Company, Vonage, would soon bounce back to normal after facing several legal disputes as regards patent right of the VoIP service it offers. The company is now trying to clear off the air all the legal hassles against it in order to focus on its major business.
The recent dispute settled in the one involving the company and Klausner Technologies over voicemail platform infringement where Klausner Technologies sued Vonage for violating its patent right. The two parties relating to voicemail services.
This is good for Vonage because this is the second dispute settled within a week. Earlier, Vonage has agreed to pay the total sum of $80 million to Sprint Nextel as part of the settlement over Sprint Nextel’s patent and the company has granted Vonage over 100 VoIP patents.
However, all may not totally be well because Vonage is still fighting another legal battle with Verizon communication. Vonage has been ordered to pay $58million in damages along side with 5.5 percent royalties on future revenues for the violation of three Verizon patens.
Though it seems they might not be paying as much as the amount fined going by the verdict of the US court of Appeals that recently decided that one of the three patents might have been misinterpreted by the lower court.

Extreme Video Solutions Leases Product

An Arizona based company, Extreme Video Solutions, has adopted a different mode of approach in offering video conferencing services to its prospective customers. It leases out the service instead of offering the product for sale. Normally, such services are offered by service provider companies through direct product sale but new Extreme Video Solutions came up with a unique approach of not only leasing out but also its pricing is very attractive considering the fact that the users are just tenants of the product.
Interested subscribers must however conform to their terms before they could enjoy the service. The offer is for minimum 3-years leasing agreement and it goes for $3000 per month with a T1 line and a 61 inches monitor with unlimited video conferencing!
The quality of the service has been reported to be effectively agreeable by those who have tried it. The audio quality produced during the course of conferencing is not affected by the traffic on the system and as bandwidth is being used up the audio quality is said to hold up just fine.
Other interesting features include the ability to control the camera remotely by people in the conferencing, the audio and video can as well be muted as needed. Again, users can use the conference at their pace as they can just ask participants to meet them at any predetermined time. Extreme Video Solutions already has many customers which include Major League Baseball that has the solution on 90 sites and is currently on contract negotiations.
The company has patented the system in 31 countries and is preparing to release a solution that would allow PCs to be in a conferencing call. Extreme Video Solutions has its NOC in New Jersey and demo centers around the US .

Tokbox, an Easy Platform to Get Spammed

Tokbox is a new web tool application that allows its users to participate in web chats through a designated web browser and it does not need any predetermined special program to boot up before it could be accessed. It is new in the industry and funded by Sequoia Capital with $4million, it has the support of big shots from Google’s YouTube-(GOOG). The idea behind this tool is quite innovative because it promises to offer real-time interactions and the web chat module can be incorporated into one’s blog or social networking profile.
However, there appears to be a potential problem with this web application which if not checked could discourage its use by many. The spamming rate through this medium is quite alarming for such new face in the market. Imagine getting over 150 messages from spammers simply because someone is invited by his close pal to share the tool with him.
Indeed, if folks in Tokbox mean business they would need, as a matter of urgency, to fix their technology and tightening up their security. No real-time users would want to be spammed especially with the alarming rate of internet fraud simply because he/she wants to try out a new product.
If only they could attend to this on time may be they can attract suitors like Cisco systems or even GOOG might just be interested in buying them out.

Saudi Telecom unveils Zhone EFM Network

Recently, Zhone Technologies, announced that Zhone's Ethernet in the First Mile (EFM) solution has been chosen by Saudi Telecom company (TASI:STC) to be the cornerstone business access technology in STC's outstanding combined all-IP network initiative. Zhone Technology is a provider of advanced communications equipment and a leader in VoIP, IPTV, and also Ethernet over copper and fiber access lines.
The incumbent operator in Saudi Arabia is Saudi Telecom Company. STC is the largest wireless and wireline network in the Gulf region. The company was once under the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. Subsequently after its independence from the Ministry in 1998, it has been involved in what is known as one of the world's most advanced network transformation projects, which is migrating from legacy TDM to pure IP packet technology.
STC's present network transformation puts in more than 60,000 lines of 802.3ah EFM technology. This technology is the world's largest EFM deployment to date. It supports the first commercial EFM-based business services in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region. With the huge copper assets of STC plus the quick rise in new businesses in Saudi Arabia, a stage has been set for an ideal application of EFM. EFM is based on native Ethernet. It also has the robust attribute associated with ATM connections but it does not have the high cost and complexity of provisioning and management that comes with ATM private virtual circuits.
The advantages Ethernet bonding has over ATM are as follows. It can bond pairs that are operating at different speeds. Another one is that it can perform hitless add/drops if a single pair goes down. All of these are crucial technical factors for the Saudi Technical Company.
Using the recently-adopted 802.3ah EFM standard over SHDSL.bis lines, STC has deployed Zhone's MALC multi-service access platform, to deliver premium-quality transparent LAN services (TLS) everywhere in Saudi Arabia. The EFM-standard solution from Zhone offers a symmetric service speed of up to 45 Mbps. Talk of the MALC 719 model that was also deployed by STC across their network. It powers the industry's highest-density aggregation architecture and it supports up to 384 EFM ports in a single, compact 7U chassis. By so doing, it maximizes STC's business-service revenue opportunity at a very cheap rate.
EFM solution was selected by Zhone because of link performance and standards-based interoperability trials. It was also based on the strengths of Zhone's ZMS Management System. The ZMS Management System gives operators synchronous network monitoring and Quality of Service (QoS) prioritization over a wide range of services and media.
In a statement, the access engineering manager at STC, Sami Al-Zomaia said, "We believe Zhone's EFM solution will dramatically improve our service capability through copper loop bonding for higher bandwidth along with symmetric data capabilities for our business customers demanding enhanced services utilizing the existing copper infrastructure. Zhone's EFM standards-based access aggregation ensures our service objectives are met, including simplifying provisioning and management."
Mory Ejabat, the CEO of Zhone Technologies also has this to say, "Zhone's EFM enables STC to migrate corporate and business customers to packet-based services bringing the power and speed of STC's immense IP/MPLS backbone closer to the subscriber. Saudi Telecom Company is a highly valued customer and the STC network serves as a model of the state-of-the-art for twenty-first century communications and the efficiency benefits of IP convergence."

SMBs offered freedom of choice thanks to iBasis Pingo

Pingo Business is an on-demand VoIP service that will target SMBs to offer low cost calling for about 999 employees. It was introduced some days back by iBasis.
This VoIP service has a lot of wonderful features. With The Pingo Business, employees can now use their own fixed-line and mobile phones. Also administrators can set individual spending limits, monitor usage easily and manage billing using a single central account.
Another feature is that you can easily choose the total number of funds you want to put in your account, with no additional commitment required. With this there will no more single or multi-year lock-in contracts. I am very happy the days of single or multi-year lock-in contracts is over because it makes me remember when I had to be a decision maker in a 4-year lock-in corporate phone contract some years ago. With VoIP technology, we now have more freedom of choice and can now pick out the best phone provider. Once you check out iBasis's new Pingo Business and you don't like it or you find something much cheaper than this, don't replenish the funds. Being able to track employee usage is a wonderful value-add.
All these mentioned features plus the fact that iBasis uses the open SIP standard is what makes me still certain that Skype will never actually take off in the enterprise. The SIP standard has by now cracked the proprietary digital phone market. Cisco is also on board with support for SIP and Skinny. SIP phones are being sold like hot cakes to assorted kinds of IP-PBXs by Polycom, Snom, Aastra and many others. Indeed, SIP has opened the door for many enterprises. They are SIP trunking applications and hosted providers, like iBasis. Residential SIP trunking providers like Vonage and Packet8 are not left out. Unfortunately, Skype does not go with SIP. Because of this, you will have to buy a proprietary gateway hardware or software from companies like ActionTec, Skip2PBX , PSGW, and others. Now that standards are in place, I hate locking into a single hardware provider.
The new gist is that TMCNet has just reported that iBasics announced TruePrompts. TruePrompts is a new pre-paid calling card service. Users can receive precisely the same number of minutes announced or "prompted" at the start of any call made using any iBasis TruePrompts calling card. It is a wonderful feature to have. Don't you think so?

The Federal Communications Commission voted to lift some regulations on AT&T's broadband business.

It was a divided FCC that partially granted AT&T this request. The request made was for FCC to relax rules that will govern what the company can charge its business customers and rivals for accessing some of their high-speed Internet lines. In a statement, the chairman of FCC, Kevin Martin said, "This relief will enable AT&T to have the flexibility to further deploy its broadband services and fiber facilities without overly burdensome regulations."
The FCC has the authority, under the telecommunications law, to waive some regulations if it thinks the market has become sufficiently competitive. Its action will be able to remove a key requirement that AT&T file tariffs with the agency disclosing the rates it charges businesses and rivals for high-speed access.
But Robert McDowell the Republican commissioner has said that the agency had left other key regulations in place and created a new process for handling complaints about the rates AT&T charges for access. According to him, "With this partial grant of AT&T's...petition, the commission is striking a thoughtful balance between deregulation and consumer protection," This was the conclusion that was reached just before a midnight deadline to act on AT&T's request. Amongst the people in the Commission where 3 Republicans and 2 Democrats; the former agreed to the motion while the later did not.
According to the two Democrats, Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, there was not an adequate proof of competition to support AT&T's request. On the contrary, they mentioned indications that the market for high-speed access was "anything but competitive." This is the statement AT&T issued praising their decision, "We have not reviewed the order yet, but the FCC appears to have continued its successful pro-investment broadband policy, allowing for multiple providers to build out new wired and wireless networks to better compete for business customers."
An analyst with Stifel Nicolaus, David Kaut said that removing the tariff rules would give AT&T a leg up in negotiations with rivals and business customers seeking to lease access. Last year, FCC lifted regulations on Verizon Communication's high-speed business services. The petition from Verizon Comunication was not approved by the agency. It went into effect when one of the commissioners removed himself from the case and the remaining four could not reach a consensus.
Still pending before the agency is a comparable petition by Qwest Communications International. The company's request was put on hold by the FCC the previous month. Opposed to these requests are smaller rivals like Sprint Nextel Corp, Time Warner Telecom Inc and XO Communications. Their argument is that they have a limited alternative to have access to the high-speed lines they need and also face rising prices by the dominant carriers.
A number of commissioners and lawmakers on Capitol Hill have also expressed their concerns on easing the regulations on AT&T at a time when the FCC is conducting a broader study on whether to reimpose related pricing rules on the "special access" lines needed to provide business broadband services.

Banglalink pays a VoIP fine of USD18.5

The mobile operator, Banglalink has been fined the sum of BDT1.25 billion i.e. USD18.5 million for illicitly providing VoIP telephony. They were penalized by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
According to the regulator, the GSM operator which is owned by Orascom Telecom has already decided to pay the fine. It will be a sort of compensation to the government for the revenues lost.
In a press statement yesterday, BTRC said international call termination to Bangladesh is a licensed service and is currently reserved only for state-owned Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB). Well, Banglalink also issued a statement saying that it was compensating the state because of the use of its services by a number of its customers to illegally terminate international calls.
Some time ago, GrameenPhone, a subsidiary of Telenor, and also Bangladesh's mobile market leader affirmed that they will pay the government USD25.2 million as compensation for revenues lost due to illegal VoIP operations.

Skype Partners with 3 to offer Mobile VoIP

The VoIP unit of EBay-Skype, and 3-a mobile provider owned by Hutchison Whampoa based in Hong Kong have joined forces together to offer a Skype phone in the U.K that will enable free calls to be made without the need to use a computer, buy special software or head sets and even to set up new accounts.
The joint effort of these two mobile service providers would ensure that a fully integrated mobile phone that would make free mobile to mobile phone calls for anyone swapping networks available is offered.
With this move, the two companies are heading towards sweeping customers away from other competitors and this might eventually force these competitors to reduce their charges. And for the debutants like Apple’s iphone and Google’s Gphone, it might serve as a big threat to their entrance into the business.
Going by the cooperation between Skype and 3, and along side with many promises, the VoIP industry might on the verge to witness a total turn-around.

SymbianGear.com to Offer Optimobile’s VoIP Client Software UniPhone

SymbianGear.com has been chosen by Motricity Germany and Optimobile AB to offer the Optimobile’s VoIP client software UniPhone. This new application will enable users to make cheap voice calls and even free call service sometime, and for those who already have Symbian UIQ Smartphone they would be able to make calls using regular numbers over the internet.
The optimobile UniPhone follows the SIP-standard and is a full featured SIP VoIP client enabling telephony towards SIP infrastructure and since it operates on the platform of WLAN radio interface for wireless calls over broadband, users must have access to a WLAN connection for them to be able to make internet telephony calls and also subscribe with a service provider.
The client software is designed to perform the following functions:

• Communicate with other SIP-compatible VoIP applications and systems.
• Call any host by its IP or domain address.
• Call a regular phone using a SIP-PSTN gateway (typically through a VoIP operator or corporate IP-PBX).
• Call a computer or IP-phone in a private network through a SIP proxy.
• Handle multiple calls: put call on hold and switch between two active calls.
• Graphical dial pad to type in numbers and send DTMF signals.
• Multiple views in GUI for P990i flip open/closed and for P1i.
• Support for SIP URL syntax.
• Possibility to call using platform phone Speed Dial settings and to call via UniPhone Dialer, Contacts and Call History
• Selectable flip actions to either no action (off), Answer or Answer/Hangup (P990 with flip)
• Selectable auto-start of UniPhone at phone startup (on/off)
• Selectable UniPhone hot-key enabling (on/off, "Internet" Button only)
• Noise reduction settings (low, medium, low). Sensitivity before sound handling interprets noise as "speech".
• Emergency call handling, preference to cellular networks whenever possible and fallback to VoIP when failing on cellular network.
• Excellent sound quality with Acoustic Echo Suppression, Noise Suppression, Automatic Gain Control, High-Pass Filter, Voice Activity Detection, Discontinuous Transmission, Comfort Noise Generation. High packet loss robustness.

The software is purchasable through instant download from Symbian web site and it currently operates on SonyEricson’ Symbian UIQ3 platform and would soon be attended to other platforms.

New bill to consolidate VoIP industry

The VoIP industry is soon to experience a much solid support as regards emergency (E911) calls over the VoIP lines going by a bill that is still under deliberation by the US congress.
The bill, 911 Modernization and Public Safety Act, would enable VoIP providers to directly obtain access to the backbone of the E911 system. This will also pave way for related opportunities such as the one enjoy by the landline and cell-service providers in terms of security.
While speaking on the importance of the bill, the chairman of the house subcommittee on telecommunications and the internet, Rep. Ed Markey, said that “the E911 legislation is designed to ensure that a consumer calling 911 in an emergency from an internet phone can do so with a degree of confidence matching that of traditional phone service and wireless service. ”
It is expected that the bill would address those basic issues connecting E911 to it use on the internet such that it can function on features like voice, video and data traffic.

Microsoft Launches UC 2007, Released Unified Communications Client API (UCCA) SDK

Microsoft has released its much anticipated Unified Communications Client API (UCCA) SDK. The UCCA is to empower its user to build client applications for Office Communications Server 2007. According to Microsoft, the API can be used to integrate Office Communication server 2007’s VoIP, video, instant messaging, conferencing, telephoning, contact management and presence functionality into various applications.
The UCCA works as much as the Communicator does and it can perform functions of the RTC 1.3 SDK and at the same time add vista support. In a similar development, the Unified Communications 2007 will be released come October 16 (Tuesday) in San Francisco and the occasion will be graced by the biggest names in the industry, Bill Gates and Deff Raikes. It promises to be a great event since the launch is a world wide application; the UC from Microsoft is to equip developers with necessary components that will enable them to perform effectively.

A New Spokes Model Search by myLowPhone.com

With a view to promoting their product and the chance to find a new spokes model of the face of the myLow brand, myLowPhone.com has recently released their National 2008 JustSayMyLow spokes Model search.
myLowPhone is a new entry in the VoIP world and has taken the VoIP market by surprise through its unique approach to the telephone industry with their marketing to musicians, artists, car enthusiasts and the urban marked.
Quoting a statement made by Jeffery Hiester, the company�s spokes man, he said �getting closer to our customers and the things they like is something we not only enjoy, but feel is important providing a low-cost home phone alternate that everyone can afford is our main goal. Our staff�s background is music, movies, promotion, hotrods and advertising gives us a competitive edge in these markets�. �
For more information about this new offer and other of their services please visit their official website MyLowphone.com.

US Wireless Data Now Known as StarVox Communications.

According to the Wireless News made available through Thomson Dialog NewsEdge the US Wireless Data is putting on a new identity and this came as a result of the need to be identified with the market the company serves. The new identity, StarVox communications Inc was decided upon by the stockholders of the company during a special meeting held on September 14. The change of name became effective as of 5 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday of October 2.
To this effect, the StarVox Communication CEO and President, Tom Rowley, stated that it is the intension of the company to create the most robust VoIP network in the industry while re-introducing old fashioned customer service. In his own words, �By changing our name to StarVox Communications Inc. we are aligned more clearly with the market we serve�.
StarVox Communications Inc, a company based in San Jose, C. A. is an applications service provider and has been offering customers with services such as voice data, internet services, business and carriers. It offers both wholesale and retail traditional voice and its international wholesale network.
In addition to its new identity, the company�s shareholders also decided on the company�s stock. They voted to implement some changes with respect to their stock base in order to move the company forward.

VoX Telecoms Acquires Storm Telecom

VoX Telecoms is on the way to expand its VoIP service through its acquisition of storm Telecom. It has already entered a binding agreement of R360 million to buy storm Telecom. The agreement would not however be settled by only cash payments from VoX Telecoms, VoX Telecoms would also loan facilities and part of its shares to ensure that they meet up to their agreement.
With over 6000 subscribers from South Africa�s largest public and private corporations, storm Telecoms an alternative telephony service provider, has been offering voice services through a variety of technologies such as VoIP Cellular; east-cost roaming and international call back, it has also been providing corporate internet services.
VoX Telecoms would surely cash-in in this opportunity and expand on its business plan and as a statement credit to the company put it �The storm acquisition as being material for VoX �... and it will considerably improve VoX�s positioning in the VoIP telephony market��.

VoIP Calling Available for Users of RingCentral PBX Service

Building more reliable service based company for its users; RingCentral has added VoIP calling services to its hosted PBX service. This is targeted at their customers who do not have large business capability, they can now have the features of a PBX through this new offer without having to buy, install and maintain such systems themselves.
With the new offer, all virtual services offered by RingCentral can allow incoming calls to be answered using VoIP on a user�s computer and an existing broadband link. This existing RingCentral Service works with the customer's landline and mobile phone service.
It gives users with more reliable options since they would be able to have multiple extensions with voicemail as well as to be able to screen, forward and make calls. Also, they would be able to receive voicemail, send and receive faxes and get messages alerts using these virtual services.
Endorsing the effectiveness of the virtual service, Jay Blazensky, vice president of business development in Redwood city, California said that �(Users) can have VoIP with no extra charge or without having to buy a new phone�. Check out RingCentral.com now to be part of this amazing new service addition to the Ringcentral suite of services.

Vonage and Sprint decide to settle a patent dispute

The latest gist is that Vonage, a US-based residential VoIP player has agreed to pay Sprint Nextel almost $80 million as a settlement for the two year old patent dispute it had with the other company.
Here is a quick breakdown of what the $80 million money was used for. $35 million was for using the Sprint license in the past while $40 million is for a fully-paid future license and finally, $5 million as prepayment for services rendered. After all this, Vonage will now be able to access Sprint's VoIP portfolio. The portfolio is made up of more 100 patents that covers different methods, components and systems needed for residential VoIP services.
According to Vonage, "We are pleased to resolve our dispute with Sprint and enter into a productive future relationship. We believe this deal is good news for Vonage, our customers and our shareholders".
Before all this started, a jury in the U.S. District Court of Kansas City had already ordered Vonage to pay Sprint the sum of $69.5 million. All this took place on the 25th of September, 2007. The money was meant for the payment of damages for impinging six patents.
Vonage is yet to resolve its patent dispute with Verizon Communications.

Jaiku has been bought by Google

Jaiku, a Finland-based mobile IM and presence company has just been bought by Google (GOOG). You can get the whole story on the Jaiku website. When you get to the website, just check the Jaiku blog. There you will get more details and also a column on FAQ for current users. Don't expect to find the terms for this transaction in the blog because it was not mentioned.
This new development is indeed a source of joy for the small Jaiku Company and an additional piece for the Google Phone Puzzle.
The most important aspect where Google needs to put a lot of value for its users is in the area of activity streams and mobile presence. So, with the addition of Jaiku's technology and talented team, it will be of great advantage to Google's present application and also its mobile teams.
When you consider all this initially, it is actually a wonderful purchase by Google. Well the next step is for me is to sit back and relax, so I can try to comprehend the full meaning of this acquisition by Google and its implication in the mobile and VoIP space.

Beta version 1.0 for Mac and PC users launched by Joost

Your favourite P2P TV application by Joost is now going to be in version 1.0. Joost wanted to update its services by releasing a beta 1.0 version of the P2P software. But when you see the new edition of the product, you will notice that it is still in a Beta 1.0 version. The only difference is that more improvements has been added to it. We shall look at the features of the new update.
It comes with a new 'spoon' User Interface or UI attached to it. The completely modified UI is the first thing you will notice immediately after you must have installed the client. The Channel guide has also been totally restructured. It is now referred to as "Explore". Explore animates a list of available options you can pick from.
With the new Beta version 1.0 you can actually drag and drop thumbnails of different programs in the 'Explore Programs' section when you want to create personal channels. You can also get the 'Add to my Channels' option, if you hold your mouse over the thumbnail. This feature makes it much easier for one to drag and drop without having to do a preview. You will also find out that the 'Invite Friends' option is now combined with the widget menu, the 'Blog This' and the 'User Profile' feature.
Another exciting thing about the new P2P software is that you can now share shows with your friends. You can do it within the Joost website by using the chat feature. Another alternative is by sending Joost Links by email. You can also put them up on your blog or website for a little variety.
This new version of the P2P application is more tolerant of poor network performance. In cases where streams has been stopped or frozen, it makes an effort to retry or restart it all over again. For anybody that is using Windows Vista, you will have to install the administrator privileges. This is because Joost 1.0's installer does not use a stub loader anymore to run the application. With this in place, there is no need loading a compatible dlls.

ThyssenKrupp Elevator Company goes VoIP

For ThyssenKrupp Elevator Co.'s telecom group, an elevator manufacturer, using VoIP will cut costs on management and maintenance now, as well as in the future.
According to the director of IT services at the Alpharetta, Georgia based Company, Adam Kimball, "As its PBXs aged, replacing them with VoIP made sense on many levels.So far adopting VoIP has resulted in a more flexible and fully featured call center infrastructure that supports sales, service, parts distribution and help desk groups. Over time, the VoIP network will also save on long-distance costs among the company's 160 offices.The technology has enabled the distributed company to slowly migrate from traditional PBXs as each of its regions decides it's time to retire the old gear. In this way, it avoided a massive project to change over the entire phone system at one time.The company has been eyeing VoIP products for more than two years now. Three years ago it switched to an MPLS fully meshed network service from Verizon. This was to accommodate VoIP by having Verizon turn on quality of service and perhaps upgrade some network access lines."
Its old system had 60% to 70% Avaya PBXs, and the rest made by Intertel with keysets made by a smattering of other vendors. The regional company executives will decide what to do to replace them as they come to an end. Anyway they have all been introduced to VoIP.
"We needed a system that would work at a single office, and if we never installed another system, it would still work at that office as a stand-alone phone system," Kimball said. "We also needed that single office to provide some of the wow features -- voice mail in your [e-mail] in-box, softphone capability, the call management platform, unified messaging. On the administrative front, the major driver for VoIP was the ability to centralize telecom support and reduce the number of trips telecom staff had to make to branch offices. That's difficult to do with a legacy PBX system. We had disparate systems and the support costs that went along with it."
They realised that it is much cheaper to register online with VoIP than to physically move a phone. This is what Mr Kimball said on that, "We have multiple call centers and we wanted to create flexibility for that environment. Two years ago when a hurricane threatened Texas, the company sent all the Dallas call center staff to a Los Angeles office as a precaution. With VoIP, call center traffic could have been rerouted to other offices on the fly using centralized VoIP management. Staff in those other offices could handle the calls."
They also wanted to open up a four-digit dialling among offices that PBX serves and across the entire business.
"In addition,during outages the VoIP network can reroute calls so the downed office doesn't lose connectivity. ThyssenKrupp considered Cisco Systems, Avaya, Nortel and ShoreTel VoIP systems, but after reading up on them and sitting through demonstrations," Adams Kimball said, "the company decided on ShoreTel for price, ease of management and the ability to scale the system from just a few locations to the entire business by adding end-user licenses."
He deployed the Shorehe offices in Frisco, Texas, and Buffalo, N.Y., with 55 end users after testing it with his telecom group. Last summer he deployed the ShoreTel call server to the ThyssenKrupp's Tennessee data center and also sent separate voice-mail servers to each office. Subsequently VoIP was deployed to 30 offices and over 1,000 users. Now the phones in the company are about 4,000.
"Now they have merged all the voice mail server as one at their data centre -- which poses a risk. If our data center is wiped off the face of the Earth, there would be a period of time during which we wouldn't have a voice-mail system," he noted, "but the cost savings outweigh the concern. The ShoreTel gear comes with basic call center software that is sufficient for ThyssenKrupp's help desk, and the company is rolling out more advanced ShoreTel software for its three other call center groups. Each group has individual needs, but they all work off the same central server."
VoIP deployment has been slow because regional executives have to budget for phone facilities. "We did not do a huge implementation plan and say we're rolling everybody out," Kimball said. "We had to look at it on an individual-office level, and it needs to be able to ramp up as quickly as we need it to, and support our entire enterprise."
Kimball said that once all of ThyssenKrupp's offices have adopted VoIP, the company stands to reap added cost benefits. For example, since the ShoreTel system is meant for least-cost routing, a phone call from a Texas office to another in New York would be routed to the Buffalo office through VoIP. The ShoreTel switch there would make a less expensive public switched telephone network (PSTN) call to the supplier to put the call through. Without this, the cost would have been much.
In another statement, Kimball said, "VoIP routing also helps minimize the size of branch-office connections to the PSTN." Based on best estimates, Kimball can set a certain capacity. ShoreTel switches can route surplus calls to other branches where PSTN connections are available if there is a need to connect to the PSTN spikes beyond capacity.
"That way the company doesn't have to overprovision each office to meet peak load," he said, "On the support side, once all the offices adopt VoIP, there will be no need for the technical staff to maintain knowledge of the different PBXs, helping to cut costs."

Vringo Wins MIPCOM’S Mobile TV & Internet Award

Vringo, the pioneer in video ringtone sharing, was presented with the “Best Mobile Service for Social Community & User Generated Content" Award during the 23rd Annual MIPCOM conference in Cannes on Oct. 9. The MIPCOM Mobile TV & Internet awards are given on the basis of the most compelling project in each category as determined by a panel of industry experts.
Vringo has built an impressive collection of video clips including content from movies, music videos, animated avatars, TV programming, advertising and original content produced by subscribers. Subscribers to the Vringo service use their buddy lists to deliver 2- to 20-second personalized video clips announcing the caller to the person being called—or to identify an incoming caller. Users select their personal Vringo clips through their mobile handsets or online. Vringos can also be shared with any subscriber in the Vringo community with a compatible wireless phone.
“This award recognizes the fact that we’ve successfully adapted and delivered great content to the mobile platform, and consumer demand continues to grow,“ said Jon Medved, Vringo CEO. “Ringtones, like mobile handsets, have become more functional and play a major role in our social lives. This is just the beginning of mobile personalization as more and more consumers rely on mobile phones as a tool to not only communicate, but express themselves.”
According to MIPCOM, a record 280 entries from 180 companies in 38 countries applied for this third edition of the Mobile TV & Internet Awards, confirming its position as the leading international mobile content event.
A full list of MIPCOM winners can be found here . For further details about Vringo, to preview video ringtones or to see a list of supported handsets, visit www.vringo.com .

Company That Makes Free International Calling Possible from Any Phone Attracts Investment from Four Countries

MOBIVOX, which makes it possible to connect with family and friends around the world for free from any phone, today announced it has received $11 million in Series A venture capital funding from top-tier investment funds in the United States, China, Southeast Asia and Canada. MOBIVOX will use the infusion of capital to expand its global reach.
Led by IDG Ventures Boston, the Series A round included participation from IDG Ventures China and IDG Ventures Vietnam, which are part of the IDG Ventures global network of funds. In addition, two previous investors, Brightspark Ventures of Toronto and Skypoint Capital Corporation of Ottawa , participated in the round.
As part of the funding, David Aronoff , general partner of IDG Ventures Boston, will join the company’s Board of Directors.
“IDG Ventures Boston understands the power of connecting people seamlessly on a global scale,” said MOBIVOX CEO Stéphane Marceau. “We envision a company that brings you closer to the services and people you care about by extending the reach and power of the Internet to any phone. Our service is designed for novice and tech-savvy consumers alike and does not require the purchase of a new device or installation of any software. We now have top investors from around the world, with deep insights and relationships into the consumer Internet space to help us achieve our vision."
MOBIVOX calls are free from anywhere in the world to over 40 countries and members save up to 98% on all other international calls. After registering at www.mobivox.com , you simply dial a local access number to connect with friends and family a world away. When you call, you just say the name of who you want to talk to. No need for a calling card, PIN numbers, computers, special software or complex downloads. It works on any phone and membership is free.
“In the three months since its initial launch, MOBIVOX has achieved incredible traction in the market,” said David Aronoff of IDG Ventures Boston. “MOBIVOX represents freedom to millions of consumers who work hard to maintain long distance relationships. We look forward to working with the company as they revolutionize the international calling market.”
IDG Ventures is a global network of independently managed venture capital funds with approximately $2.1 billion under management. The IDG Ventures network is comprised of five independent partnerships managing funds in North America, China , Vietnam and India . MOBIVOX represents the first investment where multiple funds from within the IDG Ventures network have co-invested in a company.

Verizon launches the Gleam Phone by Samsung

The Samsung Gleam otherwise known as Verizon Wireless Gleam Phone is a shiny thin clamshell phone with a new living wallpaper user interface. Verizon and Samsung recently announced the release of this phone into the market.
We will look closely at the features of this phone. The exterior glossy metallic bronze and black in colour. Within it is a sleek silver keypad. A new living wallpaper is present. With this feature, people that use Verizon Wireless can easily see the phone's status using a city or country view which usually changes with the time of day.
The phone supports V CAST with music and video. With the V CAST music, you can download songs over-the-air or even transfer your own compatible music collection into detachable microSD™ memory cards. Not to mention the V CAST video, where you can easily download or stream video clips from the best names in entertainment, news, sports, e.t.c.
With its Get It Now feature, one can download games, ringtones, wallpapers, location based services and much more. It supports Mobile Web 2.0SM. With it you can customize and even have an enhanced wireless access to the latest you can get in news, sports, weather, e.t.c.
Instant Messaging is possible using AIM, MSN or Yahoo. You can also do text, picture and video messaging services with it. It has a Bluetooth wireless technology for certain profiles. There is also an Object Push Profile for vCard, headset, hands-free, serial port and certain dial-up networking profiles, phonebook access, Bluetooth stereo support for music, basic image for sending or printing non-protected images to a compatible device, and basic print profile
It has up to 4 GB expandable memory with a microSD memory card slot. A Camcorder is present. It has about 240 x 320 pixel, 262K TFT color internal display and 96 x 96 pixel, 65K TFT external display. The dimensions is 3.88" x 1.91" x .55"; 3.35 ounces It comes with a standard battery.
The user interface is bilingual i.e. English and Spanish. It is TTY or TTD capable. There is a personal organizer with a Calendar, Calculator, Notepad, Currency Converter, Alarm Clock, World Time and Stop Watch.
For those of you anxious to get this phone, you can get it for $149.99. That is after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement online at www.verizonwireless.com and in more than 2,300 Verizon Wireless Communications Stores.
To find out more about Verizon Wireless products and services, interested people can go to www.verizonwireless.com .

Google Talk WiFi phone under way from Alpha Networks

With the invention of Skype and its enormous benefits, everyone wants to use it, so that most of the other VoIP options have been overlooked. The fact that Skype gets all the attention does not necessarily mean that vendors have forgotten other VoIP options. A typical example is the Google Talk which is quite likable.
Now, Alpha Networks Taiwan, a VoIP vendor is set to produce a WiFi phone that will have the same compatibility with Google Talk. All they are waiting for is to create a sort of agreement with "clients' product roadmaps". Not sure what that means.
The WiFi phone will have Gmail features. They are also planning to include a video phone on it. One cannot really say if it is like the Google Talk-based video chat, or if a kind of forthcoming Google Video Talk product is on one of those "clients' product roadmaps". Anyway, these are all purely irresponsible and entertaining speculations on our part. We'll just have to wait and see what they have for us.

Netgear SPH200W WiFi Skype phone

Netgear have decided to launch a yet another WiFi Skype phone. The phone is tagged SPH200W WiFi Skype phone. For those of us with a very good memory, you will remember that we preview this phone here some months again. The Netgear SPH200W was finally launch just a couple of weeks ago.
Lets take a look at the features of this phone. The phone is 802.11b/g compatible. Talk time is around 4 hours and it can stay up to 48 hours on standby. It supports WEP / WPA /WPA2. The most striking feature is that you can pick and make Skype calls anywhere WiFi signal is available. You can also store as many as 500 contacts within the phone. It also has a built-in speakerphone.
This and other Netgear skype phones should now be available at the Skype Online Store.

Nortel to Expand PEOPLEnet 3G Network in Ukraine

With a view to increasing its subscribers base PEOPLEnet has patterned with Nortel in order to expand its already existing 3G networks across Ukraine. This moves came as a result of the pressure on PEOPLEnet to meet up with the increasing demands for high-band width, real-time wireless services.
Being the first to operate 3G in Ukraine, PEOPLEnet has chosen Nortel 1 x EV-DO Rev A technology to launch and make available the high – speed, mobile broadband services for central, eastern and southern Ukraine as a start up for the expansion. The expansion will offer subscribers on Ukraine the much desired opportunity to experience faster speeds for wireless internet, watch mobile TV, make video calls and used other multimedia services based on high-speed data transmission. To users with family it means being with their loved ones while they are miles away from home.
And according to the general director of PEOPLEnet, Vitalii Vorozhbyt, the cooperation with Nortel is to ensure that their valued customers get the best of services 3G mobile network can offer.

Phone Cards Can Save and Make You More Cash

Nothing could be pocket ripping as making calls, especially international ones, and routing them directly through public switch telephony network or the standard phone lines. Those who are frequent callers to oversea numbers could bear witness to this. Many have watched their hard earned money disappear into making international calls and they appear to be helpless in their present predicament as they watch their calls expenses escalating day-in and day-out.
However, only very little are aware that more of their income could be saved by using phone card otherwise known as Calling Cards. These cards are provided by telecommunication service providers to enable their customers to make calls at cost effective rates. Therefore by using a Calling Card, subscribers would be charged less than any other mean when making long distance domestic calls and international calls.
Another added advantage is that these cards are available in different denomination making it possible for prepaid users to choose the ones that would suit their needs, since one can get a calling card for as low as $5 and the same card can be used for both local and international calls. Calling cards are made on such a way that they are very portable making them very easy to carry about.
In addition it is an opportunity for those who have “business eyes” to increase their revenue generation. The market is there and the possibilities of cashing into has no boundary and it requires just little capital start up.
Some service providers dealing with VolP have even made it simpler by providing infrastructure and technical back-up necessary to generate calling cards and PIN numbers. As a result, risk is minimized and profit optimized.

Communigate Showcases Pronto , Their New Application

The demonstration of new application by Communigate may hot up competition over desktop control between Adobe and Microsoft. This new product branded Communigate Pronto is still in beta and would be assessed for affectivity by a set of server people nominated by Communigate.
Communigate Pronto is an integrated communication suite which may be mistaken for a striped down of Outlook 2003. The application integrates feature like Calendar, Contacts options, e-mail, voice mail, news menu and media tools in just a single client application. It is interesting to note that it can be run both online and offline on the desktop.
At least, the application is presenting users with hope of getting a better service since the existing similar applications have been under different form of attack from hackers.

Vodafone Expands Its Broadband Service

According to a report made available by Wall Street Journal, Vodafone one of the leading mobile service providers is set to expand on its broadband service to include Italy and Spain in its network of coverage. This is made possible by its acquisition of the Italian and Spanish – assets of Tele2, the worth of which is about $1.1 billion all in cash.
This mobile company that is based in London has gone all the way to beat its other competitors in the bid of the Tele2 assets, Tiscali and Fastweb, and as a result it has added Italy and Spain to its triple play services.
Already, some countries of Europe have been enjoying broadband service offered by Vodafone and they include UK, Portugal, Germany and Greece. Therefore the inclusion of Italy and Spanish would definitely boost the company’s revenue.
As the company’s CEO Arun Sarin put it “what is clear to us s that mobility and broadband are two core things that our company needs to participate in …” The company may be looking at WiFi and Mesh WiFi as alternatives in addition to its services.

BT in a move to persuade customers to share their Wi-Fi.

BT has liased with Spanish technology company Fon, with the support of world giant, Google, to try to get its more than 3 million British internet users to open up part of their home wireless broadband networks so that other people can use them.
They are hoping it will push wireless broadband access, or wi-fi, into suburban and even rural areas. In return for letting other BT customers use part of their broadband connection, a give away was promised by the company to those customers that are ready to sign up to "BT Fon", as they will have free access to the networks of other British "Foneros" and more than 190,000 Fon-enabled wireless access hotspots across 50 countries including the US, Japan and France.
"The UK will become the country with the most pervasive and ubiquitous wi-fi service in the world as a result of this deal," said Fon founder and chief executive Martin Varsavsky. "When you are a BT Fonero you can roam the world free. It is like an alliance of people across the world who have seen there is much more value in creating a network than in a standalone wi-fi proposition."
The offer is to be made available from from Monday for those who already have existing home wireless equipment.
Not forgetting that customers would be security conscious when the idea of sharing part of a home network is likely to dicussed. BT's head of consumer services, Gavin Patterson, however, said the service splits a user's broadband connection in two, reserving just 512kbps or about an eighth of the average broadband connection, for the public service.
The rest of the connection remains under the control of the homeowner who can put any security access - including passwords - on to it that they want

McDonald to make Wi-Fi available in all of its UK Restuarants

The internationally known fast food owners, McDonald's has promised its customers free high speed wireless internet access at most of its 1,200 branches before the year runs out, this single act would make McDonald’s the biggest provider of such a service in the whole of the UK.
All tha is needed by a Customer laptop, compatible mobile phones or games consoles and they stay connected for hours as they wish. The same initiative is offered by some coffee shops and cafes, which provide Wi-Fi hotspots but charge for the connection.
The company said the service would benefit a wide range of customers, from business people making a "pit stop" to check email between meetings to those looking for a leisurely break at the weekend to download music. A simple arithmetic given by the company claimed that a user who pays to log on for just an hour a week in any other shop has the advantage of saving up to about £260 a year on premium Wi-Fi charges by using McDonald's free service. Out of the 13,000 outlets it has, McDonald’s has already flagged of the free scheme in about 8,000 of them in the US.
The company's president and chief executive officer, Steve Easterbrook, said: "We hope that this will be a breath of fresh air and give greater choice for Wi-Fi hotspot users who have had little choice but to pay by the month or hour to access the internet on the move." Faced with the prospect of young people spending hours surfing the net after buying just a single cup of coffee, a spokesman for McDonald's said: "We would be comfortable with that. There will be no restrictions."
The editor of Computing, Bryan Glick, said: "The future of technology is in secure, wireless, mobile, go-anywhere computers and anything that helps people achieve that is a step in the right direction."

Skype founders contended with honorable £260m exit

The two co-founders of Skype, Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis have happily voiced their decision to step down from the company they sold to eBay in 2005.
The move, which was announced yesterday, has forced eBay into a £590m writedown on the £2.1bn it paid for the internet telephony company just two years ago.
This decision has nothing todo with the chairmanship of Mr Zannstrom, as he continues to be the Chairman of the telephony company for the time being. To the outside world, this is a positive move in the direction of correction as seen by some technology analysts, who feel that the online auction company overpaid initially for acquiring Skype.
eBay confirmed to US regulators that it would be paying Mr Zennstrom and Mr Friis around £260m and take over full control of the telephony layout, which lets internet users make free telephone calls while browsing. Before tis agreement, the two bodies have been running Skype as a separate organisation under the eBay.
Actually this deal to buy the telephony company resulted in controversy in 2005, with eBay suggesting that it would be able to use Skype's services to increase revenues in its core auctions business. Although those benefits have remained largely elusive as experts rightly put it.
"If you take Skype out of the equation, the rest of the eBay business seems to be doing great again," Pacific Crest Securities analyst Steve Weinstein said. "EBay management has found ways to re-accelerate the core market. Lots of its businesses are doing extremely well."
eBay’s stock rose to an 18-month high as a result of the news, reflecting investor reaction to the new, lower sale price.
Same Mr Friis, also founded the controversial filesharing service Kazaa with Mr Zennstrom before they embarked on Skype four years ago.
"Earn-outs are inherently difficult creatures, but we are happy with the result of this one," he wrote on his blog. "We are approximately half way into the earn-out period and the settlement amounts to one-third of the total possible earn-out amount."
"Looking back at 2003, at two guys running around with a crazy idea of building a global phone company purely on the Internet, moving from one rented apartment to another, still battling a major lawsuit from our Kazaa days, 2003 seems a long time ago. It is amazing to think that it is only four years."
He said that would enable the pair to pursue their new businesses, including hotly-tipped online video service Joost, and venture capital group Atomico, which has already invested in a number of popular internet destinations.

Nokia spends $8 Billion on Navteq, promises Excellent Location-Based Services

The Finnish mobile phone giant company, NOKIA, with nearly a third of the global handset market, has decided to bet big on location-based services (LBS), and has moves on buying off the Chicago-based digital map company NAVTEQ for the going price of $8.1 billion. A break up would give about $78 per share. This is one of Nokia’s largest purchases in recent history, the worldclass mobile giant has a mixed track record when it comes to acquisitions.
This is also the second megabillion dollar buyout in the maps (LBS) space. As it can also be recalled that, earlier this year, the based Dutch GPS device maker, TomTom bought Tele-Atlas for about $3 billion.
Nokia is paying 32 times EBITDA while TomTom paid around 27 times EBITDA. Since the deal for Tele Atlas hasn’t closed, TomTom might have to pay a little more to be in the game. The deal may not favour some of NAVTEQ customer, but it is again too early to pre-empty the plans Nokia put on paper. Nokia also has to its credits the release of Nokia 330, a GPS-based navigation device which has the European market as its target, and so could find itself competing with other companies like Garmin.
But One thing is certain: the company wants to diversify its reliance on the handset business and move into software and services, where its brand positioning can really help, this can be seen in its ability to it acquire gate5 last year, a small German startup, for an undisclosed amount to media. Nokia also has a deal with Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Trimble.
"Location-based services are one of the cornerstones of Nokia’s Internet services strategy," said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokia’s president and CEO. "By joining forces with NAVTEQ, we will be able to bring context and geographical information to a number of our Internet services with accelerated time to market."
Maps on Mobile is apparently something people want. In a recent chat, Google (GOOG) vice president Marissa Mayer told us that Google Maps usage soared after the introduction of the iPhone.

Best Buy to buy Covad, How True?

In a recent release by a magazine, Broadband Reports, it was observed and stated that Best Buy (BBY), the large North American electronics marketing network, is very ready and interested to acquire Covad (DVW), a large wholesale broadband provider after recently grabbing Speakeasy, a major DSL provider.
From all indications, the discussions on the purchase is the shaky in nature, Broadband Reports says, and points out that the deal might be for Covad’s VoIP business. Covad which currently has the value of about 65 cents per share on the floor of the American Stock Exchange is valued at $194 million compared to the mere $97 million Best Buy paid for Speakeasy.
If Covad is indeed in plan, then it could get some interest from the likes of AT&T (T), Qwest (Q), and Embarq (EQ). It currently has a line sharing agreement with AT&T. They are also one of the first to provide ADSL2+ in the US.

Zune2 is definitelly not an iPod killer

Microsoft has announced the introduction of second-generation Zunes which will go on sale in November this year. Indications show that the products would be sold at $249.99 for Zune 80GB hard-drive model, with a 3.2 inch screen, and two flash models: a Zune 8GB at $199.99 and a 4GB for $149.99. The 8GB and 4GB will come in pink, green, black and glossy red.
It is obvious that Microsoft is making a big deal about the the new Zune Pad navigation button, with its touch-sensitive surface.Users would just flick their thumbs over the pad to navigate through lists of songs or albums or to fast-forward through picture slide shows and videos. It is now easier for those who need to pause, advance or adjust the volume on the device even without looking, the Zune Pad can also be navigated through, using physical cues by pressing on the four sides or the center of the button to adjust the volume or choose the next track.
The following features can be noticed in the new Zune2:
Wireless sync. The devices can automatically synchronyse itself over home wireless networks;
Enhanced wireless sharing. Full-length songs, albums, playlists, pictures and even audio podcasts will be shareable from device to device. Microsoft notes consumers will be able listen to any song received up to three times with no time restrictions, and they can now also pass along songs to other friends who have a Zune.
Easy transfer of Recorded television content. The Zune software will now automatically import broadcast content recorded on Windows Media Center PCs.
I guess this is not enough for Microsoft’s Zune to be at loggerhead with the iPod or even the iPhone. At least the new Zune won't have or be a phone. But what about vis-a-vis the iPod?
An IDC analyst Susan Kevorkian says she regards the new Zune’s features as encompassing "important incremental changes," while Gartner analyst Van Baker regards Zune2’s feature set as Microsoft "holding their own."
Zune is a cool product, though it is unlike the iPod which has made the transition from an unknown product to a product that is being made reference to in the global world of sellers and consumers.

Power personalised : Ten easy steps to unlock your iPhone using the new iNDependence

iPhone users now have the freedom of downloading the latest iPhone firmware on to their unlocked iPhone, this is a new firmware that will unlock all the functionalitie of the iPhone except for the phone service.
It is a Cocoa-based application for Mac OS X known as iNDependence. This has a simple User Interface for modifying iPhones.
The easy steps start by downloading iNDependence from http://independence.googlecode.com/files/iNdependence_v1.2.1a_bin.dmg.,
Once you get it downloaded, you would receive the instruction from hackintOsh Member sparx to follow the steps below:

• 1. Make sure you have a copy of the 1.0.2 firmware handy in ipsw and decrypted form.
• 2. Reboot iPhone holding top (power) and home buttons *BUT* release the top button 10 seconds into it (right after the screen goes dark).
• 3.The iPhone screen will appear to be off, but start iTunes (latest version worked for me on the Mac).
• 4. Option+Click restore and select the 1.0.2 firmware ips.
• 5. The phone will restart and error out at the end with an unknown error 1013, this is expected.
• 6. Restart iTunes and let it get to the screen that says you have an invalid SIM
• 7. Launch the latest iNDpendence
• 8. Jailbreak the phone using a decrypted 1.0.2 (it will flash all sorts of error, but stick with it)
• 9. Activate the phone
• 10. It will show the SIM error but you should be able to get back in.

JAJAH buttons removed from eBay listings

Not long ago JAJAH introduced new widgets to help eBay listers to use them on their listings pages. The simple idea of inserting the widget is allow JAJAH users to talk directly to the seller just by a click of the widget.
It seems the fact that eBay owns JAJAH competitor Skype is behind this quick decision, Well, left alone, I would conclude its true. A report by Amy-Mae Elliott of the Pocket-lint site states that "Overnight, the auction giant has taken down all listings that contained JAJAH Buttons that auction holders had put up since the widgets launched,"
Amy also noted in an e-mail from eBay to sellers using JAJAH, that: "The listing was removed because it violated the eBay Inappropriate Links policy … links or other connections to live chat systems are not permitted."
In a different development JAJAH co-founder Roman Scharf says his company is seeking clarification from eBay. He further went ahead to say “I think I already know what that clarification ought to be: we overpaid for Skype, it isn’t integrating well, so we need to protect our investment by nuking our competitors out of our neighborhood”.

New VoIP conferencing and intercom system launched by Talkdynamics

Talkdynamics, a company based in Canada has developed a second generation of VoIP conferencing and intercom systems known as evoke. It is a VoIP, multi-user conference and intercom application.
Evoke can easily be used on any IP-based network, even on existing LAN and Internet infrastructures. It can also be used on a soft phone. With a versatile soft phone, a person using evoke can easily drag or drop contacts into a communication window to start up ad-hoc conferences.
It can be used in so many ways. One can easily create multi-user voice intercommunication and conferences instantly and efficiently without having to re-establish a voice connection. Business users, collaborative workgroups and social networks can also communicate with each other consistently and without much waste of time on the web anywhere in the world. This communication could be done over any Internet or intranet device, wired or wireless, based on presence.
Evoke makes it possible for users to have private access to conference rooms. In the conference room, multiple voice distribution of information is allowed from one source to many listeners.
Anybody using evoke on a system can easily text another user. To escalate an IM session to a voice session, you don't have to open another window. All you have to do is a simple click away in the same window you are using.
Thanks to evoke, companies that have multiple office locations can substantially cut the cost of voice communications, conference calls and long distance calls. This can be effectively achieved by allowing local and remote users to stay connected over any IP network.
Apart from the VoIP conferencing and intercom systems it developed, Talkdynamics also provides development tools and embedded technology to software and hardware providers. These providers now use this for the development of IP-based voice communication, conference and intercom solutions. Their main expertise is in the area of hardware, firmware and software integration. They also deal on software and protocol development.

Hacker Jailed for Stealing VoIP Services

A hacker by the name of Robert Moore has just been jailed for two years in the U.S for stealing VoIP services in a router. He was discovered after he had breached security at 15 separate telcos with an unbelievable ease.
His main target in this global hacking exercise was telcos and corporations. He wanted to steal VoIP services and then sell them using a third party.
In a statement released during the trial, AT&T said that Robert Moore ran a total of six million scans on its network alone. As for other companies that were successfully raided, they now use aliases to disguise themselves and to build up more confidence in their services.
According to reports, Robert Moore stole 10 million minutes of service which he re-sold at discounted rates. The net illegal profit made from the sale was more than $1 million. For all his efforts, he got only a merger sum of $20,000. Can you imagine that!
When pressed further on what made the hacking job easy. Moore replied that 70% of all the companies he scanned were unprotected, and 45% to 50% of VoIP providers were also unprotected.
The default passwords posed a lot of security problems. Most companies do not reset the default password on their routers. According to his statement at the trial, 85% of them were misconfigured routers which still had the default passwords which is very easy to get. The default passwords were mostly 'admin' or 'Cisco0'.
On getting the default password, any hacker can have access to the router almost anytime. With this, he can get any information; infact the entire database in the router will be at his disposal.
To show how bad the situation is, a small telco company got busted due to expenses it acquired from the amount of traffic Moore diverted through their network.
Experts in this industry have known for a long time that not changing the default passwords in a router is a widespread and dangerous problem. The only way the problem of hacking can be resolved is if vendors will always endeavour to change the default password of a router the first time it is used. This way, hacking into routers would be minimised or even stopped.

Codima Technologies launches Codima Toolbox 5.0, a VoIP management system

Codima Technologies has announced the release of its new VoIP management system. It is called Codima Toolbox 5.0. Codima Toolbox 5.0 was developed to give IT managers an easy to use, highly integrated VoIP management system from pre-assessment through post-deployment with real time passive analysis.
With Codima Toolbox 5.0, robust VoIP testing, monitoring and troubleshooting can be done with much ease. It will bring about unparalleled in-depth reports; free software for SINK system and Traffic Blaster system; multi-site scheduler and screen scalability.
With its new easy to use features, you can easily deliver very important information. You can also envisage the performance of the network and by so doing will help organisations to achieve a hitch free VoIP operation.
According to the CEO of Codima, with the Codima Toolbox 5.0 and its new functions IT managers will be able need to achieve more tasks with little effort. With its beginning to end solution they will have transparency and have absolute control over their networks. It will also increase the network performance and improve the important end user experience.
Codima Toolbox 5.0 can be found worldwide. You can get the product from Codima Partners. It was built from zero level up to this stage by the in-house engineering team of the company.

Birmingham PCT goes VoIP

Recently, BT was hired by Birmingham Teaching Primary Care Trust to provide a hosted VoIP phone service over the NHS's N3 broadband network. The VoIP network was put in place by BT as part of the £12.4bn NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT). The upgrade was actually done in July so as to make VoIP calls possible.
Amongst the beneficial features of this service is a Hosted Voice Service with a fixed monthly rental fee. It provides free on-net calls and calls can also be made at a cheaper rate to mobile phones. It also helps in the convergence of voice and data over the same network. This makes communication over the networks more efficient. Apart from this, priotisation of traffic across the network is possible. With this, users will then know that voice is of topmost priority, while less important communications is given a lower priority.
The operation of the trust's IP infrastructure will be on the Birmingham and Solihull Community of Interest Network (COIN). It is a high bandwidth network that connects 200 NHS sites within that region, plus PCTs and doctors' surgeries.
More than three sites have been mapped out by BT for providing VoIP service to the heart of Birmingham Teaching Primary Care Trust. About 280 Cisco handsets will be made available for this purpose.

Matrixstream launches 1080p IPTV HD Mpeg 4 AVC / H.264 Encoder

MatrixStream Technologies, Inc., known for its end-to-end IPTV platform that instantly streams high definition (“HD”) video over any best effort broadband network without quality of service, proudly announces the introduction of an encoder suited for 1080p videos, dubbed the IMX e4080HD.
The IMX e4080HD encoder allows IPTV providers to encode and instantly stream live video feeds in real-time Full HD 1080p 24 and 30 frames per second at 3.5mbps. Currently broadcasters commonly transmit interlaced HD video (1080i) which translates to content loaded with artifacts and blurry video images, especially with sports or fast action oriented content. With the IMX e4080HD encoder, video is transmitted progressively so that the viewing audience can behold video free from artifacts and at the highest resolution possible on a given HD television screen. Furthermore, the IMX e4080HD encoder will allow IPTV operators to deploy the highest quality HD 1080p videos over the Internet utilizing MatrixStream’s end-to-end IPTV XMS streaming products.
“This new development will allow MatrixStream's clients to deploy quickly and rapidly scale their HD video on demand and TV channel offerings to millions of users on a robust platform that is far more economical than systems currently offered by cable or satellite providers” says Jack Chung, CEO of MatrixStream. Demonstrations of MatrixStream's latest HD IPTV platform will be made available at CEATEC Japan, scheduled from October 2nd - 6th 2007, booth 10A88, hosted by Fujisoft, Inc., a partner company of MatrixStream. To view a video demo of MatrixStream's HD IPTV platform TV interface, go to: http://www.matrixstream.com/demo.php.

Alltel Adds WiFi as Data Access Option for its Customers

The Little Rock, Ark.-based mobile company Alltel has now added wifi as a data access option for its customers. This service will cost from $10 to $30 dollars a month depending og the plan. Alltel is offering this service in partnership with hotspot aggregator Boingo Wireless. Also the service will be offered as part of a EVDO and unlimited Wi-Fi bundle for about $70 dollars a month.
This is good news for Alltel customers especially those that use VoIP as they will be able to use their voip service from wherever there is a boingo wi-fi hotspot and there quite a lot of them all over the country now. I hope that other providers such as Sprint and Verizon wireless will start to offer such WiFi option.

Mobile WiMAX now available in Nokia N800

In order for it to be used on Sprint's US WiMAX network the following year, the Nokia N800 tablet is getting a Mobile WiMAX connection. The Bluetooth and Wi-Fi that was there before will still be present just in case of anything. Nokia N800 occupies an odd position in Nokia's portfolio of mobile phones and the occasional set-top box. With the introduction of VoIP to it, calls can be made and also received. It is not a mobile phone in the real sense because cellular connectivity is absent. It slips between the converging technologies.
This is a golden opportunity for Nokia or any other company for that matter to experiment on new ideas and technologies. Since it is Linux based, it makes software development easier. Also because it comes in a somewhat large form when compared to a phone handset, the addition of any new technologies will not be a complex issue to handle.
If you find this new endorsement of a non-cellular technology by Nokia strange, just remember Nokia does not see itself as a mobile phone business dealer. Rather it prides itself in doing personal electronics business. They can actually boast of being the biggest producer of both digital cameras and portable music players.
Although Nokia has patents in portions of the 3G standard and will want it to be successful, it will still not cut away from other substitute technologies. That is if they will make available some other route to the pockets of punters.

4G networks awaited by Mobile VoIP

Although Mobile VoIP services have the appropriate technology to move forward, they are still not able to make a distinctive mark in the telecoms market. Panelists at a debate on the topic at the NetEvents summit in Malta some weeks back agreed that, hindrances to its adoption might leave services neglected, maybe until the next-generation of mobile networks is rolled out by its carriers.
The programme manager of networking and infrastructure in analysts IDC, Emir Halilovic stated that VoIP remains predominantly a fixed-line market. Multimedia revenues in the mobile arena are growing quickly, but from a very small base.
"Mobile applications are a very, very small slice of that whole market. Still, there is a great promise in both [mobile VoIP and multi-media] because the ecosystem elements are all there, although it's still not fully functional."
Once available GSM or 3G Radio Access Networks are connected to VoIP systems, the cost and feature benefits of VoIP will be made available to these handsets. The availability of VoIP in mobile networks, gives operators spectrum usage benefits.
On the other hand, this technology competes against offering similar services over Wi-Fi networks. For Wi-Fi-based services, you will need new multimode handsets, client software, and an exorbitant investment in upgrading already available wireless networks. When you consider the fact that providers are already doing all these things it is no longer the show-stopper it should have been. The problem that is encountered more is the ingrained user behaviour.
The founder of Disruptive Analysis, Dean Bubley, said the market for conventional voice calls remains healthy. "Ordinary GSM cellular is not going to go away any time soon, particularly for the 60 to 70 per cent of mobile subscribers who are prepaid customers and more particularly for those who don't have access to broadband."
"Although Wi-Fi and dual-mode devices are becoming available in wider numbers they are not used by many people for VoIP. There's some traction in enterprise which has been pretty slow coming. Certainly we're not going to see double-digit percentages of the global subscriber base using VoIP on wireless LANs.
"I'm a huge disbeliever in metro Wi-Fi for VoIP simply because the external Wi-Fi doesn't penetrate into building, so it's pretty much useless for the majority of calls."
In his statements, Dean Bubley was much more confident on the use of 3.5 and 4G networks as a platform for VoIP. His exact words were, "the next generation of mobile networks are designed for VoIP".
Networks with a favourable flat-rate tariff rate can easily run VoIP with 3G connection. This is only if they decide not violate the terms and conditions of services provided. Anyway, it will remain out of the ordinary for the next few years. On wireless networks, VoIP is limited by the quality of service and coverage.
Based on this, Bubley said, "I think through that in five years you will have more people using Voice-over-3G network than using it with Wi-Fi. But both of those numbers will remain dwarfed by people just using circuit-to-cellular."
The product marketing director at wireless switch vendor Trapeze Networks, Michael Coci, said putting extra traffic onto wireless LANs was a viable strategy, at least for enterprises. "In the enterprise environment you have a much deeper amount of control over the RF environment, over the handset, over the quality of service. And in the environment it's absolutely a viable, and in fact, ultimately for a better solution than Voice-over-3G."
To conclude it all Halilovic from IDC said, "It's is our firm belief that all voice will eventually be transferred over IP. Whether it is going to be in our lifetimes, is open to debate."

Microsoft Extends Low Pricing VoIP Services to Small Biz.

For small business owners using the VoIP services, this could be a breaking news. Microsoft, the internet and communication technology giant has finally joined the race for making VoIP services available to small business at affordable prices. This move by Microsoft may hot up competition as regards this VoIP services from vendors who were in the market already, such vendors include 3com, Cisco systems and Digium.
To this effect, Microsoft has released its response point phone system which includes features like VoIP call processing, voicemail, call forwarding and integration with Microsoft outlook. While emphasizing on the importance of these features, the senior product manager at Microsoft, Jeff Smith, said that they are targeted at small-business customers with up to 50 users which may however scale higher with time.
The Microsoft’s small business VoIP move is ahead of their much publicized launch of Microsoft’s office communication server (OCS) 2007 and other communication products which would be launched in the next couple of weeks in San Francisco. Response point software will soon be available to solution providers through the main Microsoft distributors, OEM partners, D-link and Quanta and it is hoped that the pricing will not be more than $3,000

3COM Announces 3 New VoIP Products

Unperturbed by the recent move to privatize the company, 3com has stormed the VoIP market with three distinct products that would serve the VoIP demands of both small and medium-sized business. The announcement of these products might look somewhat unrealistic bearing in mind that there is an on-going negotiation on the need to privatize the company, nevertheless the products have come to stay.
These new VoIP products are the VCX connect 100, the VCX connect 200 and the 3com Asterisk Appliance. The first two are solely the initiative of 3com while the last comes as the result of an OEM agreement with open source VoIP vendor Digium The VCX connect products are designed based on the company’s older VCX platform which was targeted at larger organizations. They include IP-PBX capabilities with a VoIP call control and unified messaging. The expected users for the VCX concoct 100 ranges from 30 – 100 and the VCX connect 200 is targeted at organization with maximum number of 250 users.
According to the 3com marketing Director, Kevin Flanagan, the VCX products are developed in order to meet the growing demand of enterprise-class IP telephony users that use as few as 100 phones and to provide them with more affordable means. Stressing the need to make the products available to as many organizations that indicate interest irrespective of the number of users, it has partner with open source VoIP Vendor Digium to OEM its Asterisks Appliance and placing a 3com UI on it and supporting it with our global service organization, which we believe no other open source telephony provider can do, we are making this technology available to the smallest organizations.
This partnership of 3com with Digium might pave way to attracting more customers to use the service especially when a new product –AA250 is rumored to have been developed by Digium and might be available soon.

Sipera Expands VoIP Security Business With $1OM

Sipera systems has recently snagged the huge sum of $10 million in funding. Sipera is noted for developing products which protect VoIP businesses from array of VoIP –borne threats including voice spam and toll fraud. The company has come up, against all odd, with a start up funding of $29.5 million in order to insure that it gives the best to its valued customers in term of security.
Just some few weeks back, company like Sun-Rocket that are well-funded experienced set-back thereby left many customers stranded, Sipera has come all the way to prove beyond any reasonable doubt its commitment to the VoIP industry. This is well explained by Sipera CEO, Seshu Madhavapeddy, who said “There is definitely some turbulence in the consumer VoIP service provider market, but there is very health growth in the wireless VoIP market that manifests itself in VoIP over Wi-Fi”.
The VoIP security is becoming a popular interest to companies seek for fund to ensure that they meet up to expectation. As it were, more hands would be on deck to join Sipera in ensuring security in the VoIP services.

Tortel Offers New SIP Trunking on BroadSoft Platform

Due to its reliability, reputation and interoperability with other VoIP products and services, BroadSoft’s BroadWorks VoIP platform has been chosen by Tortel communications Inc. to deliver its new Board-Connect SIP trunking as well as hosted PBX services to include the small, medium and large businesses.
Tortel communications is a business phone system provider and would make this service available to its customers, especially those in North America, through its networks of resellers. The use of resellers might be very effective this time around this is because, Tortel is customer oriented and as a result supports its clients with its in-house and 24/7 support centre, including a state–of-the-art training centre where resellers are familiarized with BroadWork’s applications.
The offer will include the integration of BroadWorks with Microsoft Outlook, the customer Web portal, Broad works communicator, and an integrated audio and video SIP soft phone. According to Ravi Prasher who is sales directors of Tortel communications, “Tortel stands to become a major player in the IP telephone world.
It is expected that Trotel will use its BroadWorks-base VoIP services to also offer video conferencing and Wi-Max deployment for mobile phone services in the nearest future.

JAJAH Launched JaJah Buttons

JAJAH has launched their new service JAJAH Buttons. Users create a slim and stylish JAJAH Button to place on their websites, email signatures, blogs and social network profiles – simply wherever they travel throughout the web. Initiating a call through a JAJAH Button is as easy as entering your very own phone number and clicking ‘Call'. All at absolutely no cost for the caller: phone-to-phone, no download, no headset, no broadband, globally.
Click-to-call at its best
"In the past all communication between users in online communities has been limited to the written word. Today we are adding a new voice dimension to Web 2.0 on a global scale" explains Roman Scharf, JAJAH co-founder. "We are adding voice to wherever you share your thoughts, pictures, videos. We are adding voice to your email signature, your online shop, and your homepage."
Simple in its creation, extensive in its functionality, and with complete privacy control, JAJAH Buttons fit perfectly into popular platforms like MySpace, LinkedIn and YouTube – and the JAJAH website gives an easy step-by-step guide how to implement a JAJAH Button into a variety of networks.
JAJAH users create and customize their JAJAH Button in many ways, the biggest issue of course being privacy: A JAJAH Button owner keeps the own phone number hidden, can set the time and day he or she is available for calls or the countries of the calls very easily. Blocking certain numbers and limiting calling costs ensures maximum control over your JAJAH Buttons.
The Advantages?
Distant friends and family can now call JAJAH users without any restrictions, obstacles or cost considerations. You simply add your JAJAH Button to your email signature, send them the email, they click on it and call you.
JAJAH Buttons implement the voice element to social networks – in a true, seamless Voice 2.0 way. "Online relationships will grow beyond messaging back to people simply talking to each other again, without being restricted by download or cost issues." enthuses Daniel Mattes, JAJAH co-founder.
This is how it works from a JAJAH Button owners' perspective: Register or log-on to your JAJAH account. Follow our Button Creation wizard process to customize your JAJAH Button. Paste a snippet of HTML code or a URL onto your website, blog or email signature. Wait for friends, colleagues or clients to call you.
This is how it works from a callers' perspective: Enter your phone number and press ‘Call'. Your phone will ring a short moment later and you are connected. That's it. Costs for you? Nothing.
But not only Web 2.0 aficionados will lap it up: From a business perspective a JAJAH Button is the quickest, cheapest way to a very own toll-free number. Every SME can now afford to let their customers call them – from one or many countries, or from all over the world. Business owners pick up the tab at the cheap JAJAH rates. Compared to commercial toll-free numbers this saves 95% of cost, or more.
"Roman and Daniel have been holed up with a small core team somewhere throughout the summer. What they came back with lifts JAJAH to the next level. It's scary, as this is the first of many more innovations to come!" enthuses Trevor Healy, JAJAH's CEO. "What I like about this product is that I can send it to mom and as long as she can open an email – she can call me using JAJAH - now that's cool!"

MagicJack offers Cheap VOIP services.

MagicJack is making available simple and affordable VOIP services for its users. These users can now make cheap local and long distance calls as long as they stay connected to MagicJack.
The device has been designed to look like a “magic match box” and its work is like that of a phone Jack and it has enable its use by both the private individual and business enterprises to be more rewarding in terms of cost.
Again, another magic about MagicJack is the fact that it does not require any headphone to be attached to PCs for any VoIP services, unlike another VOIP start ups such as Skype where you need such gadget to be able to enjoy their services.
It has interesting features such as the FollowMe that afterwards calls to other phone numbers when the person is offline. Other services offer include the call waiting option that enable your caller to hold while you are on another a call, 911 emergency service, conference calling to your loved ones and associates and a voice mail. The MagicJack goes for only $40 and for YMax’s voip service users; it provides only one subscription option for those who purchase the magic Jack. This is because YMax phone service brings a personal phone number, 911 service and voice mail services to the customers who can also enjoy free international calling to US/Canada when they are miles away outside the US.
The Magic Jack operates on the platform of windows XP and Vista operating system but it may soon launch its Mac version.

Make Free International Calls With Click2Voice.

For those who like freebies this might feel good, Click2Voice is offering free calls to some selected destinations worldwide. This offer is available for over 30 countries in the Europe, Asia and America. Although, Click2Voice is quite a small VOIP industry it has determined to offer this service probably to boast its ego and to make the service available for as many countries as selected.
For you to be able to take advantage of this opportunity, you must first ensure you fall within the range of the selected countries and then other procedures are quite simple. After ensuring you fall within the catchment areas, you then register with Click2Voice; the registration should take few minutes. You can then login into your Click2Voice account make calls by selecting your country, you enter your number, after which you can select your party’s country and enter his/her number. You are now ready to make your calls by simply clicking the “call” menu option. The duration of allowed calls is for 15 minutes but you can however call back again.
Although there are some short comings like a bug that appear in the system which makes refreshing the page difficult after you finished your call, it is not a bad ride for such free service.
The selected destinations include Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Christmas Island, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Singapore, south Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom and the US. For more Info and registration visit www.click2voice.com

Industry Veteran Zeev Rubinstein Appointed as CEO of Tadiran Telecom

Tadiran Telecom® Inc., a leading global IP business telephone and communications solutions provider, today announced the appointment of telecommunications leader Zeev Rubinstein to the position of chief executive officer, overseeing Tadiran's North and South American operations.
Rubinstein, a 20-year veteran with a track record at several highly successful domestic and international telecommunications companies, joins Tadiran Telecom as the company leverages its unique capabilities to help businesses and organizations of all sizes cost-effectively migrate to the world of IP communications.
"Zeev is a great addition to Tadiran," said Eitan Livneh, CEO of Tadiran Telecom Ltd (parent company of Tadiran Telecom, Inc.). "Tadiran is seeing customer momentum as more companies moving to IP Communications can appreciate the unique advantages of the company's technical and cost-effective approach to Internet Telephony. Zeev's extensive experience leading and branding telecommunications companies is the perfect complement to Tadiran's incredibly strong technical team."
"I am thrilled to join a company whose strategy so clearly resonates with its customers," said Zeev Rubinstein. "Tadiran, known for its world-class engineering and Israeli-based R&D, has developed a IP Communications path for its customers that allows them to move to the world of IP in stages, all while continuing to leverage existing network and legacy investments. I've known Tadiran for many years - I've admired, and at times, competed against Tadiran throughout my career, and I'm excited to join this talented team to help build on the company's current products and applications and expand its reach into new channels."
Rubinstein's CEO experience spans several successful national and global telecommunications companies. Prior to joining Tadiran, Rubinstein was President and CEO of LEADCOM Integrated Solutions, a subsidiary of Elgadcom Communications Ltd., where he successfully launched the subsidiary in the U.S. Prior to LEADCOM, he was CEO of Solgod Cellular Communications in Israel, which had built and then marketed cell phones in partnership with SK Korea. He was also VP of Marketing at Bezeq-Call Communications, a subsidiary of Bezek (ptt) of Israel. In addition, Rubinstein has held senior executive positions at Eurocom Group, the leading supplier of telephones and office automation products in Israel, Aboudi Advertising, the largest billboard advertising agency in Israel, and the Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) in Israel and the U.S. Rubinstein holds a Bachelors degree in Marketing and an MBA in Management/Marketing from New York Institute of Technology. He is also a board member of the America-Israel Friendship League.

JiWire Named as U.S. Winner of Mashup Cup

As part of its vision to extend its public platform to third-party developers, Skype has honored JiWire, Inc., for its winning entry in the 2007 Skype Mashup Competition. The JiWire Hotspot Finder for Skype™ was named the winner of the competition in the U.S. region last night during Skype’s Developer Program Open House, which was held at the Skype Inn in San Jose, Calif.
The JiWire Hotspot Finder for Skype allows users to search for and find Wi-Fi hotspots anywhere in the world through Skype. It allows one to view surrounding access points and then connect to them in just one click. The JiWire Hotspot Finder for Skype includes easy keyword search capability; just type in “café” or “hotel” or the name of a specific location to find a nearby hotspot. You can also get local weather or traffic reports, news and directions by simply clicking on the map. You can download it at extras.skype.com/952.
Developers from all around the world have been creating and submitting Skype plug-ins and mashups since the competition, which was announced at eBay Live! in June, officially began this past July 1st. Earlier this month, PamConsult’s PamFax (extras.skype.com/1044) was named the global winner. PamFax allows users to easily send a fax to any fax machine in the world through Skype and to pay with Skype Credit. Users also can get fax status notifications via Skype chat, SMS or email. All entries were judged using the same criteria of Skypeness: usability, coolness, stability, usefulness, innovation, flair and layout.
“JiWire has created a dynamic mobile Internet experience for Skype users through a unique plug-in for finding and connecting to wireless networks,” said Nihad Hafiz, Co-Founder, President and COO of JiWire. “Considering the many strong entries in the Skype Mashup Competition, we’re delighted that the JiWire Hotspot Finder for Skype has been chosen for this award.”
The Mashup Cup was presented to JiWire by Paul Amery, director of the Skype Developer Program, at Skype’s San Jose office yesterday. The event was attended by an energetic group of Skype Developer Program partners, journalists and Skype staff.
Amery said, “The mashup judges felt this was the best submission from the U.S. region as it is stable, looks great and, perhaps most important, is useful. Slick, smooth and useful – this is a good benchmark for other developers to consider.”
The Skype Mashup competition is part of Skype’s overall developer program strategy to ‘reach out’ and provide a global opportunity for developers to innovate and create new businesses and software that enrich the Skype experience for users. Skype looks to continue evolving its public APIs and opening up Web Services as an increasing number of developers seek to build mashups, widgets and other applications using APIs from Skype and other third-party service providers.
To date, there are nearly 6,000 developers registered in the Skype Developer Program, which are creating a new generation of exciting software to allow users to do more on Skype. More than 130 third-party applications, mashups and services are available in the Skype Extras Gallery (extras.skype.com) today.
For more information on the Skype Developer Program, including a view of the Extras Gallery and tips and tools on developing Skype Extras, visit the Skype Developer Zone at developer.skype.com. All the entries from the Mashup Contest can be found at extras.skype.com/categories/17.

Sony Ericsson W580i Features

The W580i has undergone tremendous software improvements in the past one year. It consist of a QVGA 2” screen an M2 slot, 12 MB of available storage, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support, a 2 MP camera, a 900 mAh battery, and an FM Radio with RDS. It is a slim, slider phone that weighs just 94 grams. In the box we also found a 512 MB M2 card, a hands free with a 3.5mm adapter, a travel charger, the Li-Po battery, a USB 2.0 cable with support for SE's "Fast Port", the PC suite in a CD and the user manual. A quad band GSM and EDGE cell phone.
With just the volume buttons on the side, with special purpose buttons missing on the side, making it very slim and handy. A rigid 5 way joystick which also controls camera application loader. The loudspeaker is right behind the joystick, with the camera at the back of the phone when you slide the phone up.
All about the design of the phone is good except for the keypad and battery door, which is very difficult to open when trying to change Sims. The keypad feels like they are not well attached to the phone and gives the impression that the keys are weekly placed.
Definitely to be compared to SE’s more popular phone in the US, the W810i. The visible enhancements include, the QVGA screen QVGA screen compared to W810i's QCIF screen, Bluetooth 2.0 instead of 1.2, upgraded software with A2DP and PAN support, better Netfront memory management, much better Walkman. Its disadvantages are bad camera with no flash, or auto focus , no IrDA, slightly worse battery life. So the choice lies in terms of the features you prefer. With 7 hours of talktime and 7 days standby and with superb reception and audio quality, targeting the young and active, including an updated walkman software, physical exercise application, and a pedometer in the front screen. There is also a weight counter that saves information on an .XLS file and allows for sharing, and a whole lot of added features. Also upgraded is the FM radio interface allowing one actually know by getting album and artist info, by listening to the onboard radio and connecting to a server. The new camera software is easier to use than W810's for example, and Netfront 3.3 does not run out of memory in every corner! Java apps also seems faster too, e.g. Opera Mini, GMail and Google Maps. It's a joy to be able to run multiple java apps at the same time and switch between them, using SE's new app-switching facility. We were able to run 6 java applets at the same time before the phone started to perform slower.
With software being the major reason why anyone might want an upgrade to the W580i, rather than hardware qualities. I feel Sony Ericsson has been the best user interface in the non smart phone market with their current platform. The W580i disadvantages are its camera lack of auto focus and flash light leading to poor picture quality. The phone only records in QCIF size and 3GP format. Overall W580i is a good upgrade from W810i and many other Sony Ericsson phones.