Among Top Security Threats in 2008 are VoIP, Gaming, Instant Messaging According to McAfee

            According to the presumption of Researchers in McAfee Avert Labs, there is going to be an increase in Web dangers and threats targeting Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista operating system, plus other recent or increased threats. In this light, McAfee has announced its top ten predictions for security threats for the coming year, 2008.

            The senior vice president of McAfee Avert Labs and product development, Jeff Green said, "Threats are increasingly moving to the Web and migrating to newer technologies such as VoIP and instant messaging," said Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee Avert Labs and product development.
            Here is an overview of the top 10 security threats, as compiled by Dave Marcus, the security research and communications manager and Craig Schmugar, the threat research manager, both at McAfee Avert Labs.
            The very first threat is Web 2.0 Attacks. A lot of users look out for this type of website. So what the attackers does is to adapt their solutions and try to conduct malware attacks and other malicious actions using these pages. The Salesforce and MySpace attacks are quite informative. Most of the time, they usually aim at users' login credentials.
            Storm Attacks is the second one. It was recently uncovered and it has shown a new trend in the malicious attacks on our computers. It works by permanently changing codes and several file formats targeted by the infections. This makes the blocking and removal process very difficult for our security technologies which were to protect data stored on the hard-drives.
            The next one which is the IM based Attacks, has been anticipated for years. IM Attacks is a "flash" worm that proliferates through IM. Though Craig Schmugar said it might not come in 2008, it will be the year that more of the ingredients for this threat will come together.
            The fourth is the Online Gaming Attacks. Online gaming is one of the most common activities on the web. It is also the main source of income for a lot of companies. It allows registered members to buy virtual goods so as to be used in the game. In this case, attackers might be drawn to these virtual goods that can be used for getting real money.
            Windows Vista Attacks is the fifth virus threat. When you look at the most recent version of Microsoft Windows, it is just like the previous editions of the operating system, which is affected by little or no critical weaknesses. Here, the attackers tries to take advantage of these defect to inject malware or other threats into the affected systems.
            In a situation where the adware is presently in a continuous decline because more and more powerful security tools are being used, it might present a significant threat even when McAfee foresees a reduction in the number of the attacks. This attack is known as AdWare Attack.

            The seventh is the Phishing Attacks. This attack has always been quite efficient because they use copies of authentic websites to trick the users to enter their sensitive data. The phishing attempts might become one of the top 10 threats for 2008 since the techniques for conducting this kind of attack grow up.
            Parasitic Attacks is quite dangerous. It tries to modify the files stored on the disks. According to McAfee's explanation, "injecting code into the file where it resides. We expect a continued interest in parasitics from the crimeware community, with overall parasitic malware expected to grow by 20 percent in 2008."
            The ninth one is Virtualization, which is to help new types of attacks. "Virtualization can be a great thing, but now malware authors are targeting it", Schmugar said. Well, Malware writers will continue to look for ways around the security defences, security vendors are putting up.
            Then lastly is the VoIP Attacks. Even as this type of software tools continues to be prevalent, the attacks will continue to increase. McAfee expects a growth of about 50 percent.
            According to the firm, "Professional and organized criminals continue to drive a lot of the malicious activity. As they become increasingly sophisticated, it is more important than ever to be aware and secure when traversing the Web. The decline in adware that started in 2006 because of the government crackdown bringing a positive effect is expected to continue."

 

Telecoms costs, a case for concern

            Even as businesses try to handle a world of converged communications where mobile phones vie for attention with fixed lines, VoIP services promise a cost-free nirvana and  every supplier is talking about reducing costs, one still wonders why the cost of telecoms are still on the increase? What is happening is that businesses in the UK are spending money unnecessarily without consideration how they procure, consume and manage telecoms services. Do you know that three quarters of companies in the UK companies do not even have a telecoms policy? In the 10 years of investigation I carried out, I have, that is in rare occasions, found less than 10% in savings on an annual basis. Can you imagine that?

            When you look at the UK enterprise telecoms market which was estimated by analyst Yankee Group in 2006 to be about £5bn, you will discover that approximately £1bn is wasted every year. What this means is that for every second any employee is on the phone, there is always a profit loss. Why do you think the introduction of Telecom Expense Management (TEM) has become so well known in the US. It is because the TEM provider can self fund their services since they can stop you from losing money.

            The savings can start even before buying equipment and services, for many companies, thereby saving costs right from day one by using the right procurement policy. I will cite how all this can be possible. It can be by buying from a position of knowledge and having benchmark information. Another way is by using an independent advisor. The advisor will be able to give you professional guidelines on the procedures and help reduce costs right from the beginning. You can also cut costs by putting up a policy for future purchasing decisions and for the use of the systems you have today. Then you cannot forget about educating the users on how to get the best from your telecoms investments and also make available guidelines on responsible usage.

            Note that policies are not really sufficient until you police usage. When people are always using mobile phones when they should be using VoIP, you have to tell them. They should be aware that they are on top of the system and are costing the company profit. You will have to make sure you process and check monthly invoices, not just paying them. Also ensure that it is the right tariffs that are being applied and that bulk discounts or tariff bundles are the most cost-effective for your pattern of usage. You must have contract logs. With this you can review and optimise the services you are buying constantly. Then don't forget to highlight to your staff the steps you are taking, such as how you have been making savings and the wastage you have identified. It will definitely help cut the costs of misuse and fraud.

            Aside from all these, there are other very easy day to day actions that can produce one-off or ongoing savings. You will have to audit the network inorder to identify unused circuits. A lot of companies still have ISDN lines that incur rental charges, which does not carry any traffic because they have switched to broadband and other internet-based transfers. With a sweep on the directory enquiry numbers on a system, you will normally see a lot of services used in different parts of an organisation. But by using policy or employing simple changes to the call routing in the telephone system, you can help force calls to the same cost-effective supplier and also drop costs drastically. You can either make Telecom Expense Management simple or sophisticated. It all depends on what you need. You cannot do without it. Even as the telecoms industry is getting more complicated, the tendency for saving or wasting it is on the increase. So everything is up to you 

 

News Release: Packet8 MobileTalk(TM) International Calling Service Now Compatible With Nearly 450 Mobile Phones

8x8, Inc. , provider of Packet8 (http://www.packet8.net) broadband Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), videophone and mobile VoIP communication services, today announced that the Packet8 MobileTalk(TM) international calling service, launched less than two weeks ago, is now compatible with nearly 450 different mobile phones including Blackberry, Nokia, Palm, Motorola, Samsung and other popular makes and models.
The Packet8 MobileTalk service seamlessly connects international calls from the mobile phone to the Packet8 digital VoIP network, enabling cell phone users to significantly reduce their international phone bills and maintain high digital voice quality while still enjoying the convenience and flexibility of mobile calling. Packet8 MobileTalk removes the barriers associated with existing carrier, calling card and call back services that often dissuade individuals from using their cell phones for overseas calling. These include obstacles such as costly per minute rates, poor call quality, cumbersome dialing procedures and unreliable service availability.
With Packet8 MobileTalk, users can dial calls directly and natively from their mobile handset, contact list or speed dial directory without the additional keystrokes required by calling card and other reduced rate international calling services. Once the destination number is dialed or selected, the Packet8 MobileTalk software application identifies the international prefix being called and redirects the call to a local Packet8 network access number. All Packet8 MobileTalk calls are carried to the Packet8 network over the subscriber's existing cellular voice phone service and do not require access to an expensive monthly data plan or WiFi access point. Packet8 MobileTalk service offers exceptional rates, $.02 to $.05 per minute for most locations in Europe and Asia, along with unparalleled voice quality as calls are routed over the award-winning, patent-protected Packet8 digital phone VoIP network.
Nearly 450 Windows, Palm, RIM and Symbian-based mobile phone models, including the entire family of Blackberry phones running version 4.0 of the operating system and above and 25 Nokia models running the Symbian OS, are now supported by the Packet8 MobileTalk service. A complete list of supported devices can be found at http://www.packet8.net/mobile_services/supported_phones.aspx.
Customers can sign up for a Packet8 MobileTalk account today at http://mobiletalk.packet8.net and download the application to their mobile device from a PC or, if the customer's existing mobile service plan includes data service, via a quick over-the-air software download.
Customers do not have to subscribe to other Packet8 VoIP or videophone services in order to sign up for Packet8 Mobiletalk, though discounted service fees are offered to existing Packet8 VoIP or MobileTalk subscribers. There is a one-time $9.99 activation fee for the service and a monthly fee of $9.99 for non-Packet 8 subscribers. Existing Packet8 VoIP subscribers, including subscribers with at least one Packet8 MobileTalk account, pay a monthly service fee of $4.99. Packet8 MobileTalk overseas calls are billed at Packet8's low international rates which can be found at http://www.packet8.net/international_services/. To view a demo of Packet8 MobileTalk go to http://mobiletalk.packet8.net/demo.html.

German Police tackle Skype encryption

            Just some few days back, a top police officer in Germany reported that the German police were unable to decipher the encryption that was used in Skype, to monitor calls by suspected criminals and terrorists. Just a quick reminder, Skype is an Internet telephone software that allows users to make telephone calls over the Internet from their computer to other Skype users at no cost at all.

            Right from its inception, Law enforcement agencies and intelligence services have been using wiretaps to monitor Skype. But it is much more complicated in the modern telecommunications market since most of the providers are foreign companies.

            At an annual gathering of security and law enforcement officials, Joerg Ziercke, the president of Germany's Federal Police Office (BKA) told reporters that, "The encryption with Skype telephone software ... creates grave difficulties for us. We can't decipher it. That's why we're talking about source telecommunication surveillance -- that is, getting to the source before encryption or after it's been decrypted."

            According to experts, Skype and other Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calling software are difficult to intercept. The reason is because they work by breaking up voice data into small packets and switching them along thousands of router paths which is quite different from the conventional method of making calls that involves a constant circuit between two parties.

            In a further statement, Joerg said that they were not asking Skype to divulge its encryption keys or leave "back doors open" for German and other country's law enforcement authorities.

            "There are no discussions with Skype. I don't think that would help," he added that he did not want to harm the competitiveness of any company. "I don't think that any provider would go for that." 

            He noted that it was very important for German law enforcement agencies to be able to run on-line searches of computer hard drives of suspected terrorists with the aid of  "Trojan horse" spyware.

            You will find this search very important especially in situations where the suspects know that their Internet traffic and phone calls might be monitored and choose to store sensitive information directly on their hard drives without emailing it. The only setback is that Spyware computer searches are prohibited in Germany. Here people are so sensitive about police surveillance. Why won't they be, after the history of the Nazis' Gestapo secret police and the previous East German Stasi.

            Joerg feels that it is a clear case of exaggerated fears and that on-line searches only need to be done occasionally.

            He finally said this, "We currently have 230 proceedings related to suspected Islamists. "I can imagine that in two or three of those we would like to do this."

 

The CEO of Comcast Attempts to Calm Investors

            Recently, Investors have had a reason to be afraid of Comcast. This is partly because they think that Comcast is trying to spend a fortune to enter the wireless broadband space. The other reason is that investors are now caught up in all the press surrounding telcoTV. But just as we have deliberated before, it will actually take a lot of years before telcos can make a dent into cable's footprint. Right now, overbuilders like RCN have more to think about.

            In an attempt to calm wary investors, the CEO of Comcast, Brian Roberts talked to Fortune Magazine. This is what he had to say. He reminded the magazine that the company is adding VoIP customers a lot more quickly than Verizon and AT&T are adding TV customers, and they're set to leapfrog Embarq and become the nation's fourth largest phone provider before the end of this year. In addition, he confessed that the biggest problem they face is their poor reputation for customer service. Here is his statement, "I hope that reputation is not universal, and we are working very hard to improve where we have made past mistakes. We do 250 million phone calls a year between orders and services, and, inevitably, with that many calls, you are going to have failures. We have added 11,000 technical and customer-care employees just in the past 18 months. And we are beginning to call customers before and after service appointments to make sure we did the work properly. It is a major goal to continue to improve".

            Brian concentrated on other topics too such as 3.0 and DirecTV's NFL stranglehold. He claims that "video-rich content works better on cable modem."

 

Web-based phone line to be put in place in Schools

 

            Starting from next spring, teachers in the San Mateo-Foster City School District will not have to use phone lines to make their calls anymore. Instead, they will now communicate through the internet with the help of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), which is becoming very common these days.

            According to Cathleen Calice, the district's technology director, "The change will clear the way for all sorts of cutting-edge technology upgrades in the future. Video conferencing, automated school-to-home messaging and the ability to check voicemail messages via e-mail are a few of the possibilities".

            With this upgrade, each teacher will now have a full seven-digit number rather than just an extension. They will also get a new phone with a video screen. The classrooms will also experience a faster internet with the overhaul of the district's data network.

            Though this whole thing looks expensive, Calice has made it known that it won't cost the district much more than it's already spending. It will effectively take the place of the already failing phones and data networks which were getting expensive to maintain with each passing day.

            Right now, the 10,000-student district is trying to be the very first in the county to move completely to VoIP, but it is not the only one taking that stride. Other ones in the county such as the San Mateo Union High School District and San Mateo County Office of Education are also phasing in the technology.

            This is what the administrative services director for the city of Foster City, Steve Toler has to say, "A lot of companies and government agencies are going to VoIP, particularly those that are spread out over a number of different locations. Since most every site needs to be networked for data, you figure, why not put voice capability in there, too?"

            He further added that, "the city itself isn't looking at the technology right now. But it did help the school district by negotiating a contract with Comcast that will provide high-speed fiber connections to eight schools, including four in Foster City. The district will pay for better connections at its other schools as well".

            "A faster Internet will likely be the most immediate benefit of the changes", Calice mentioned.  "For example, teachers will finally be able to easily use a Web-based system called SChoolPlan purchased several years ago to track individual student performance on standardized tests".

            After all said and done, one has to remember that using VoIP has its own pitfalls too. One of which is that the data networks have been known to crash more than phone lines. To solve the problem, Calice said the district will have a backup system so it can still make calls if that happens.

 

 

News Release: SPIRIT and Importek Team Up to Create Next-generation VoIP Device

SPIRIT DSP (www.spiritDSP.com), the world's leading provider of voice and video software engines, announced today that Inventec Multimedia & Telecom Corp. ("Importek"), one of the largest manufacturers of the multimedia & telecommunication products, will use TeamSpirit® Voice&Video Engine Embedded in Apollo design of NX® product family, manufactured by Importek, a subsidiary of Inventec Group.
"Importek has extensive expertise in IP Terminal Technology and has shipped over 8 million VoIP phones in the past 4 years. Our next-generation devices bring new opportunities and are a break-through for the global communication market, that's why we have chosen SPIRIT - the voice and video engine provider with the best offering and the best reputation," said Larry Sun, General Manager of Importek.
"To stay competitive in the market today, mobile equipment and design manufacturers have to look for mature, high quality voice and video over IP solutions. Today, SPIRIT is the only player on the global internet telephony market who offers not only voice but also video over IP solutions, excellently optimized for embedded platforms, as well as for the PC," said Alex Kravchenko, VP Sales at SPIRIT. "Our technology already powers a great number of world leading products including those from Arima, Compal, HTC, Quanta and other leaders of the industry. We believe our joint project with Importek is a significant move ahead for both companies, and moreover, it is a great leap toward the market of next generation voice and video converged communications."
TeamSpirit® 3.0 Voice&Video Engine Embedded is a highly optimized media processing solution which enables real-time voice & video over IP calls. The engine allows to process video at up to 30 fps on the new devices of Importek, while default market offerings boast only 10-15 fps. The engine supports VGA mode (640 x 480) which is considered to be the best choice for the majority of mobile devices. The SPIRIT's solution also supports widescreen resolution format (16:9), which is compatible with almost all modern HD devices and is the most optimal for the human visual perception. TeamSpirit Embedded is IMS-ready, so new revenue generating applications and services can be implemented on wireline or wireless devices.

MySQL Cluster 5.1 now has new features

How would you describe MySQL Cluster? It is indeed a scalable, high-performance, clustered database, which was originally developed for some of the world's most demanding applications present in the telecommunications industry. Most times, these telecom applications made it necessary for the database's availability to get to 99.999%. We will look closely at the new features that have been added to MySQL Cluster 5.1.

            Since the introduction of MySQL Cluster in 2004, new feature sets have been continuously introduced into the product. With this, it has widened its appeal for new application use-cases, markets and industries.

            Presently, not only is MySQL Cluster chosen as a database for traditional telecom applications such as, HLR (Home Locator Registry) or SLR (Subscriber Locator Registry), it is now being widely deployed for VOIP, internet billing, session management, eCommerce sites, search engines, not to talk of traditional back office applications.

 

Fortnum & Mason embrace VoIP integration

 

            Fortnum & Mason, the World famous department store has upgraded its backroom IT services with a wireless local area network infrastructure.
            As part of the £24 million upgrade of its Piccadilly store, the luxury food emporium has created a single network for its data communications. It is also thinking of including a VoIP telephony system in the future.
            In a statement, Mahshid Rafizadeh, Fortnum's interim head of IT, said the upgrade features a "future-proof local area network and structured cabling which will benefit our business, staff and customers alike".
            When the new infrastructure is finished, it will link up the stores electronic sales points and also provide wireless access points over a secure network for both its back office and the shop floor. The store intends to make maximum use of the addition flexibility offered by the wireless system to shift electronic cash tills around the store so as to make room for different in-store seasonal displays

 

 

 

 

Huawei shows off U-SYS technology

            In a seminar held at a city hotel on the 20^th of November, a new age technology which focuses on the emerging VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) market in Bangladesh was brought to the limelight. The seminar which was on cutting edge voice communication systems was actually organised by Huawei, a China based fast progressing telecom equipment manufacturer.

            To be exact, the commercial deployment of Huawei U-SYS started 5 years ago, i.e. in 2002. Presently, they have reached more than 70 operators in over 50 countries that is counting the US, Canada, Germany, UK, Spain, Russia, Bulgaria, UAE, Kenya, Malaysia, Thailand, China and a lot more.

            According to Huawei, the U-SYS NGN Technology is a sophisticated, cost effective and QOS (Quality of Service) enabled solution for IGW (International Gateway) and ICX (Interconnection Exchange). An integrated and open architecture is used in Huawei's U-SYS solution. It provides data, voice, and multimedia services. One of the biggest NGN (Next Generation Network) systems in the world is the U-SYS.
            By proffering multidimensional solutions like 'VoIP Solution', 'IP Centrex Solution', 'Business Network Solution' and 'VoBB Plus Solution' U-SYS is able to bring broad spectrum opportunities for operators. Finally, U-SYS also paves the way for the smooth migration to IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) and reuses all parts of the U-SYS.

 

Make Unlimited Calls to Bangladesh, India or Pakistan - QuantumTone’s new Initiative

 

                Just some few days ago, QuantumTone declared its intention to launch the highly awaited unlimited calling plans. It will be for Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Mexico, Europe, Asia, in addition to other countries at a monthly flat rate.

            With the introduction of this new service users will not have to pay at per minute rate for making international calls. Instead, they can now use their present handset, home phone or even get a new digital home phone service from QuantumTone to be able to use the service. Another good news is that you can use it without any internet connection. It is readily available through an online portal at www.quantumtone.com  and some designated local retail storefronts found in major metropolitan cities nationwide. In the future, the product will be rolled out to European and Middle Eastern consumers.

            I can tell you that any mobile or local land phone can be transformed into an instant world phone with an unrestricted calling capability with the help of our service. With the arrival and continuous developments of QuantumTone VoIP Technology, international telephony has been made easier. We introduced the flat rate unlimited calling plan when we discovered how agonizing, time consuming, and expensive it is for ethnic frequent callers to use long distance services and deceptive, gray-route prepaid calling cards.

            According to the CEO of QuantumTone, Monica Kish, "Residential consumers can take advantage of our new service and call their friends and family overseas worry free. We are the first US telephone company that pioneered such aggressive worldwide unlimited plans to some of these high-cost international tariffs like any where in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mexico, Columbia, and other destinations".

            Talk of a new era in VoIP connectivity and IP telephony sophistication never seen before in home and mobile device until now you think of QuantumTone. It has completely redefined what a mobile phone and digital home phone can do using QuantumTone IP technology. You can get unlimited domestic and international calling plans both for residential and business users from QuantumTone. With VoIP Home and Q-TONE Mobile/Home you have the option of registering either your existing mobile phone or local home phone or even choosing QuantumToneVoIP to make free calls to your choice overseas country. This also includes domestic calls in the US and long distance calls as in Canada. Digital quality, enterprise grade VoIP solutions which comes with a lot of necessary calling features at no additional costs is also offered by QuantumTone.

 

Health Service to Utilize VoIP

The National Heath Service (NHS) has decided to make use of the VoIP
services in order to ensure effective health service delivery. This
decision would connect all the 36 contact centers together and placing
them on the same network simply by using VoIP services.
Consequently, it is believed that NHS would be able to improve in term
of service it offers and that response times to patient calls would be
reduced thereby saving cost.
While commenting on this new development, the national ICT
infrastructure manager at NHS Direct, Adrian Price, said that "We
wanted to improve the service we were offering, while benefiting from
the cost savings that centralization should bring.
"We recognized that the only way to create the desired consistency and
efficiencies was through virtualization – joining up all call centers
to create a united appearance – and the only way to do that was to
deploy IP telephony across the country."

Based on this, calls to NHS Direct can now be re-routed from where it
was received to any other call centre around the country, allowing for
shorter waiting times for patients on hold.
Also, the cost effectiveness of the service implies that tax-payers
money will be saved from lower internal phone bills, as all calls
between sites will now be free over the IP telephony service.

VoiceNetIP and Connect Obtain VoIP Licenses

VoiceNetIP Limited and Connect (a unit of Telecom Fiji Ltd), both
operating in Fiji have gotten licenses that would enable them to
provide VoIP services, thereby add to the number of VoIP player in
Fiji.
Another company is also believed to have applied for the same license,
but the identity is yet to be known.
Generally in Fiji, companies interestd in offering VoIP services have
to pay a sum of $10,000 in order to get a license. This policy is
believed to encourage companies to offer VoIP services and make them
available to users at a cheap rate.
To that effect, VoicNetIP has been working round the clock to ensure
that people of Fiji get the maximum bebefits and savings to
businesses. And according to the company's CEO, ""VoiceNetIP is
excited and keen to get on with the business of providing and
delivering the most cost effective and efficient cutting edge
communication in Fiji with no compromise for quality, and in that
process, we also look forward to working with all stakeholders
including the present telecommunication providers."
Connect chief executive officer Sharon Smith-Johns says the market is
open and they intend to be a major player in voice services.
"This is a huge step for Fiji as it now opens up other opportunities
for businesses and investors," she added.
Smith-Johns says the company will offer cheap international calls to
fixed lines in most destinations, a move that would allow all Connect
broadband customers the opportunity to save on their international
call charges with Connect's new 021 service.
As more companies are beginning to show interest to offer VoIP
services in Fiji, it is hoped that prices would be low and quality of
service also enhanced.

Bigfoot Partners DiamondWare to Bring VoIP Acceleration to Killer NIC Card

Two companies, Bigfoot Networks and DiamondWare have concluded plan to
work together in order to effectively bring VoIP acceleration onto the
Killer NIC card.
Facilitating the partnership is the idea that all the client-side
processing for the VoIP function in MMORPG and FPS games end up on a
network card and as a result it becomes really interesting to note
that latency would not increase, unlike the regular spikes follow
every VoIP conversation.
Although, many users believe that MMORPGs have shown to be a bit more
resilient to problems with lag than FPSes, the popularity of World of
Warcraft and having 20 or even 40 people in a same team proved that
latency has entered the world of MMOs as well. You can grind with 1sec
lag, but when it comes to playing in a team, and either DPSing or
healing or simply playing, network problems count.
This concept would also make use of 3D spatial which brings the
positioning of the people in the room. Te implication of this is that,
it makes it easier for users to sort out a strategy and voice.
By offering this service, DiamondWare joins other five companies to
provide such service and it promised to make the technology available
before the year runs out.

SIP Service may Worth $150bn by 2012

Going by the present trend of constant increase in the SIP services,
it is very likely that the IP networks deployed by fixed and mobile
operators will lead to an upsurge in the number of people that use the
service and consequently lead to cash return value at 150 billion
dollars.
As predicted by ABI Research, the increasing popularity of 'smart'
devices like the PDAs and Smartphones would lead to a huge increase in
the SIP services.
Ian Cox, who is the research principal at ABI said "New affordable
price points and ease of use will allow consumers to benefit from SIP
services such as instant messaging, video sharing and conferencing,
which will join VoIP as it takes over from circuit-switched voice,"
He also said that "We have seen the start of a revolution, as mobile
handsets become the product of choice not just for voice and simple
text messaging, but for any task that users can perform on a PC.
"And as networks are replaced by 'flat architecture' all-IP with SIP
application servers in the core, all forms of communications become
possible."
Cox added that SIP services will develop into "the norm" after 2010
and rapidly begin to dominate the world's telecoms markets.
Almost half of all telecoms users will be using at least one SIP
service by 2012, but will have many services from multiple devices
able to communicate with other users and services across the web and
between enterprise and public networks.
This market will generate over $150bn in service revenue annually with
cumulative infrastructure capital expenditure of over $10bn by that
date.
"Using SIP, telephony becomes another web application which can be
integrated into other internet services."
From their report, it is expected that about 1.2 billion VoIP users
will be active by 2012.

New VoIP Widget Released by Fring

Fring has continued to prove to the VoIP world that there is no limit to its expansion and stressing this fact is their recent launch of VoIP widget for social networks and blogs. This VoIP widget has been designed in a way that it can be embedded on blogs, social networking profiles, online auction listings and a host of other web-based services irrespective of service provider.
This new widget is called FringME and it comes with interesting features that include; indication of status, for example it let people to see if user is online, easy launch of an IM chat session.For those who are using Fing on a GPS-enabled handset, it is possible for people to pop a Google Map pinpointing the location of the user. FringME has already taken care of issue of privacy; users can switch off any of those features that are not relevant to their needs.
Interested VoIP users can try it out at www.fring.com, it is now available and free to use.

A proof-of-concept VoIP Hacking Tool Now Released

From all indications, the days of the hackers who have been penetrating the VoIP service for their selfish interest might soon be over. A researcher has just released a proof-of-concept program that
reveals the techniques hackers use to break into the VoIP services
thereby making it easy for them to eavesdrop on any conversation on
the VoIP-based phone calls of any of company using the same
technology.
The program called SIPtap works in such a way that it can monitor
multiple VoIP call streams, listening in and also recording them for
remote inspection and save them as .wavfiles. It is therefore very
easy for hackers to attack such service by simply infecting a single
PC inside the network with a Trojan incorporating these functions.
According to Peter Cox, UK-based expert of VoIP security and who is
the demonstrator of the SIPtap program, "The threat is that an
attacker engineers a Trojan and has it sit there passively [on a
network], recording calls from anywhere on the Internet".
It has also been proved that the hack would work at ISP level and the
program can index 'IP-tapped' calls by caller -- using SIP identity
information -- and by recipient, or even by date. Running from August
this year until the most recent tap on November 21st, SIPtap had no
problems in extracting enough information on the test network to prove
that call recording of any and every VoIP call at a hypothetical
company was now a trivial exercise.
With these features SIPtap has been able to show how vulnerable the
VoIP is and the possible crimes that could be committed by criminals
who could use which could use such a program to steal confidential
data from companies, governments and even the police system can be
easily hacked using this tool.
It is expected that through the awareness initiated by Cox, who has
been running series of workshop on VoIP threats in conjunction with
SIP Services, a lasting solution would be found that will at least
reduce the hacking rate

News Release : IOTUM SECURES NEW CAPITAL INVESTMENT FROM VERDEXUS

iotum, a pioneer and leader in voice services for social networks, announced today that it has received new investment funding from boutique investment and management consulting firm VERDEXUS. Financial details were not disclosed; iotum will use the new funding for ongoing operations. In addition, VERDEXUS General Partner Randall Howard has joined iotum’s Board of Directors and has been appointed Chairman of the Board.
“Our investment represents a strong endorsement of iotum and recognition of a fast-growing and potentially dominant player in the mobile presence universe,” said Howard, a veteran of Canada’s technology industry as an entrepreneur, executive, consultant and venture capitalist. “iotum has the potential to be the phone company for social networks, as shown by its strategic launch of the first conference-calling application for Facebook. The underlying, patent-pending technology foundation and experienced management team make iotum a compelling addition to our portfolio.”
Howard, a founding partner of VERDEXUS, brings a global network of senior-level business contacts based on his deep executive experience in international technology markets. As founder, Chairman and CEO of MKS Inc. ( www.mks.com ) (TSX: MKX), one of Canada's leading enterprise software vendors, he led growth to more than $40 million revenue annually and 350 employees worldwide, including seven acquisitions. From May 2004 to April 2006, Howard served as CEO of VERDEXUS’ portfolio company, Software Innovation ( www.softinn.com ).
Howard’s extensive board and advisor experience has included Necho Systems Corp, GoodContacts, Whitehill Technologies, Waterloo Maple Software, Arise Technologies and Nanodesign.
“Randall is recognized as one of the pioneers of the Canadian software industry. He is a serial entrepreneur who has earned a reputation as a respected visionary and innovator,” said iotum CEO Alec Saunders. “His decision to join iotum as investor, board member and Chairman is a strong endorsement of the iotum vision.” About iotum

News Release: VOXALOT ADDS “VOXCALL” APPLICATION TO FACEBOOK, SOCIAL NETWORKERS CAN NOW CALL THEIR FRIENDS FOR FREE

Voxalot, the global voice applications provider, has announced that it has launched Voxcall, a voice communication application running on Facebook. Voxalot used its recently announced VoxConnect ™ API to rapidly develop and deploy Voxcall. The API, in turn, leverages Voxalot’s core telephony platform to add free VoIP calling to the popular site’s applications. Voxcall is open to current Facebook users who sign up for a free Voxalot number or to subscribers of any open SIP-based VoIP service plan.
Voxcall enables Facebook friends to upgrade their interactions from messages, wall posts and “pokes” to real-time spoken conversation, without revealing their own phone numbers or knowing the phone numbers of others. No particular telecom expertise or equipment besides a software or hardware phone is needed, making Voxcall perfect for the wide range of Facebook users around the globe. They just add Voxcall from the Facebook application list and enter their Internet telephone number (SIP URI). Voxcall validates that number by calling it and requesting a pin number displayed on screen.
Once the SIP URI is validated, all the registrant’s friends who have also added Voxcall show up in his or her “Call Friends” tab. These friends now can call each other by clicking on each other’s faces; Voxcall initiates calls to both numbers and connects them. The service also offers free “conference rooms,” where friends can call in and have a private or public chat. Users can also set their status on the Call Friends tab, so friends can see whether they are available to take a call.
To extend calling beyond on-net calls to traditional PSTN and mobile phones, Voxalot can underpin Voxcall with its upgraded VoxPremium™ service. Priced at $US15 per year per user, VoxPremium routes calls to or from PSTN phones, delivers voice mail as emailed recordings, and enables users to set call-forwarding rules to any phone, anywhere, depending on caller and time of day. Voxalot users are able to select their own Voice Service providers for off-net calls.
“As used on Facebook, VoxCall is an excellent demonstration of how the VoxConnect API can be used to quickly and easily embed Voxalot’s voice application into any online solution” said Tony Mascarenhas, Voxalot CEO. “It demonstrates how any site or application can support voice calling within its own social or commercial context, and conversely, how you can put a natural interface – an actual face -- on phone calling or conferencing. Just as important, it shows how phone calls can be made without having to search for and key in telephone numbers.”
Facebook members who don’t subscribe to any VoIP network can still get the on-net, free Voxcall application by registering for a Voxalot Basic account at www.voxalot.com/action/memberRegister

Number of Users of VoIPo3G Expected to Rise

According to a report made available by Disruptive Analysis, the
number of people who use the VoIP over 3G Mobile Network might
increase to about 250 million by the year 2012 going by the trend at
which people are subscribing to the service. It is also speculated
that the mobile VoIP might become a major means of communication with
encouragement being offered by mobile service providers and therefore
it might also take over WiFi.
The fact that it is possible to fit more phone calls into a limited
allocation of radio spectrumhas made Disruptive to believe that VoIP3G
will be popular with carriers. In term of cost, it will help cut down
some operating expenses thereby allowing fixed and mobile core
networks to be combined and will facilitate new services such as
push-to-talk and voice-integrated mashups. VoIPo3G is compatible with
femtocells and all- IP technologies such as 3GPP LTE (Long Term
Evolution), 3GPP2 UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), and WiMAX.
Although these radio technologies are still a few years away from
becoming mainstream, independent VoIP companies are currently using 3G
support for VoIP by equipping smartphones with dedicated software, and
exploiting open operating systems, flat-rate data plans and features
such as naked SIP and built-in VoIP capability to such effect.
It is also reported that there is an increase in the number of
carriers marketing 3G modems for PCs in order to compete with home
DSL/cable broadband offerings. Some operators provide VoIP software
for PCs with wireless broadband.
Therefore, going by the presence occurrence Disruptive Networks
expects that by 2012 these trends and developments to lead to most
VoIPo3G users using mobile carriers' own standards-based VoIP
capabilities, over the new, advanced 3G+ networks

A New Conferencing Software Offered by Netviewer five

A new version conferencing software application that will provide
enhanced speech transmission through VoIP has been released by
Netviewer five, the Europe's leading provider of real-time
collaboration software.
This new application is an improved version of one2one and one2meet
and it came with improved features.
These features include the elimination of the telephone charges which
can be associated with online meetings, multi-video display, a survey
creator, a Skype plug-in, and a user interface with floating windows
that can be customized to suit users needs.
The new multi-video function allows six users to view each other in
real time video windows, proving a more 'true-to-life' conferencing
experience, where participants can see facial expressions and
gestures.
Participants can also see and hear the conference in a Webinar mode
similar to that used for shareholders' meetings.
The survey creator tool allows participants to take part in
pre-prepared poll at any time during a conference.
Netviewer five now also offers a plug-in for Skype. Skype users can
invite participants and start Netviewer conferences directly from Skype. It is expected that the application will be flagged at the Online
Information 2007 event at Olympia the event which will commence from
the 4th to the 6th of December.
Netviewer is based in Germany and has branches in other in European
countries that include Switzerland, France, The United Kingdom, The
United States, The Netherlands, Austria, Spain and Italy.

Springboard and NexTone Partner to Offer VoIP Billing

A UK based developer of billing and analysis solutions for VoIP
providers, Springboard-ASA Ltd, has announced its collaboration with
NexTone to provide a certified VoIP billing service and its readiness
for use with the IntelliConnect System of NexTone.
The NexTone IntelliConnect has been built to support network operators
that manage network Interconnects
for real-time services and applications. It includes NexTone SBC
(Session Border Controller), NexTone MSX (Multiprotocol Session
Exchange) and IMX, (IP Multimedia Exchange).
Certifying Springboard as ServiceReady, will help provide NexTone's
customers with a reliable and robust billing and analysis tool.
Springboard is designed to help improve profitability, revenue
assurance, and maximise LCR.
Springboard is known for the provision of billing system services and
they include carrier bill verification; invoicing; un-billed traffic;
gross profit; minutes reporting etc.

Capital One Rolls Out VoIP Service

Staying connected while on the move has been facilitated by Capital
One as a result of their recent launch of VoIP service which ensures
that employees stay connected while away from duty. This move indeed
credits the company's initiative for network upgrade, the initiative
is tagged Future of Work Initiative.
My phone, My way, as the VoIP service is called assigns each employee
a single phone number which they can utilize when away from their
office and as a result allowing them to work at their own pace in any
building by simply logging in to their phone.
However, before the service can be fully enjoyed employees must equip
themselves with a Cisco VoIP phone, a BlackBerry, and a notebook PC.
With these gadgets they are connected for as long as they want.
Through this system, Capital One has been able to consolidate its
data and voice networks to a single vendor and this facilitates
management and makes it easy to effectively monitor costs

Timico and Nortel to Provide Hosted VoIP

Timico and Nortel have agreed to join forces to offer a hosted service
for SMEs which is believed to be more customers oriented and users'
friendly.
The design of the system is such that it embeds a PC- based multimedia
voice and video application that can fully allow for the integration
of Microsoft Outlook messaging and collaboration client.
This implies that users of the hosted VoIP service would be able to
avail themselves of the opportunity to make VoIP calls within the
environment of the Microsoft Outlook business application.
Interestingly, the system has been built to indicate the status of
caller whether the caller is available, busy or even away from the
desk.
The system runs well and effectively with headset recommended by
Timico or a Nortel desktop telephone
Hand set and the PC-based phone, within the VoIP solution, is
established on Nortel's Application Server 5200 (AS5200) platform.
The need to purchase or maintain equipment that are costly has been
eliminated because the service is fully supported and hosted by
Timico.

Truphone Teams-up With Surf and Sip

With a view to expanding number of locations where Truphone can be
used to make mobile calls over Wi-Fi and the Internet, Surf and Sip
has teamed-up with Truphone and this cooperation has seen Surf and Sip
adding about 260 hotspots to that regards.
As a result of this teaming up, users of Truphone can now make use a
Surf and Sip Wi-Fi hotspot and they would not need to go through the
trouble of registering before they can use such service. All that is
required of them is to simply run Truphone Wizard only one time in
order to log on after which they can start making calls. The calls
rate is charged at 3pence per minute a little more than the normal
charging rate of Truphone.
Although, Surf and Sip's hotspots are located within Caffe Nero coffee
houses, the company is planning to introduce further locations in the
future.
The service is however in the beta stage and it provides free and
low-cost calls for customers by routing calls via Wi-Fi and the
internet. Subscription to the service done by simply sending the word
'TRU' as a text to the following number; 07624 000000, another
alternative is to activate it through Truphone website. The service
could be accessed through several handsets that includes the Nokia
E-series and some of the N-series phone.

Inverclyde Now Connected To VoIP

The staff of Inverclyde can now enjoy free internal calls via the VoIP. This came as a result of the recent installation of an Ethernet VPN fiber network and IP telephony by the council. The installation became necessary when the council realized that by doing so they can save cost of using such service and at the same time obtain quality service that would enhance productivity of the staff.
Although pricing is one of the reasons why ntl: Telewest was chosen for connecting the council at the rate of £ 3 million, the flexibility of the system to provide scalable bandwidth to the entire council might have been another reason.
In addition, choosing Ethernet has caused billing procedure to be simple thereby allowing time for other tasks to be performed. The Ethernet connection is expected to deliver 10 mbps bandwidth to each council building and each of the hundred corporate and education site are directly connected to the ntl: Telewest Business network. The network can also be increased to 100mb using a emote system thereby canceling the need to send out an engineer.

Infiltration of Internet Telephony Intensifies

The rate at which internet telephony is being bombarded with Spam is becoming very alarming, going by a recent report in the Guardian, these Spammers have already succeeded in breaking into the system of the world leading VoIP service providers with their tool, Spam over Internet Telephony (SPIT). Such leading service providers such as Skype are not left out.
It is however irony that these hackers have been able to break into the VoIP system at Columbia University where the co-author of the protocol that VoIP runs on was developed by a professor in the computer department.
These sets of unlawful elements, crafted are they in their chosen careers to the effect that they leave no stone un-turn as far as VoIP is concerned. They leave bogus voicemail message from a bank thereby deceiving the owner to reveal details of their accounts, and the rest is story.
It is therefore, imperative for users of the VoIP services to be on the alert so that they would not fall prey of these hackers.

AT&T Announces Services Expansion

At the just concluded VON 2007 conference which took place at Boston Convention and Exhibition, AT&T revealed the plan to release its expanded availability of its Voice over IP connect service (AVOICS). The (AVOICS) is the flagship for the provision of wholesale VoIP offer for US service providers that require IP based connectivity to AT&T's global IP network for long distance call termination. It provides unbranded and unbundled transport over the AT&T network including termination of international and US domestic traffic.
Connecting to this service via AT&T's Managed Internet Service/Multi-protocol Label Switching-Private Network Transport service would provide users with high voice quality, key security elements and advanced network reliability.
Being a leading voice and IP networking in the international market, AT&T delivers a full portfolio of end-to-end reliable and highly secure network, voice, data, and IP solutions to the six whole industry segments that it services: carriers, wireless operator, cable providers, systems integrators, internet service providers and content providers.
AVOICS is highly scalable and accepts US-originated domestic outbound (+1) calls and international outbound (001+) calls by using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signaling.

By 2012, Over 250m VoIP Users Over 3G Mobile Networks – Disruptive Analysis report

            According to a new research study from Disruptive Analysis there will be an evolution of mobile VoIP which will swiftly overshadow voice over WiFi to become a mainstream form of communication. The prediction of the analyst firm is that the number of VoIPo3G users might increase from virtually zero in 2007 to over 250m by the end of 2012. It is comfortably in excess of the likely number of FMC users with dual-mode VoWLAN/cellular phones.

            From the report, it shows that it is the operators themselves that will be chiefly in charge of the push of carrying VoIP over cellular networks. Off course Carriers will be really drawn to VoIPo3G because of the following reasons. First of all is that it will make it possible for them to fit more phone calls into their scarce spectrum allocations. Secondly it will reduce operating expenses by combining fixed and mobile core networks. Then thirdly, it will make it possible to launch new services such as push-to-talk and voice-integrated "mashups". One more thing is that VoIPo3G is in compliance with the move towards femtocells.  The future generations of wireless technology such as 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution), 3GPP2 UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), and WiMAX – are "all-IP". Therefore, unless mobile operators continue to run separate voice networks in parallel, they will eventually evolve to VoIP after some time. But since the new radio technologies are three to five years away from mainstream deployment, what happens for now will give the major disruption to operator business models.  

             As at the moment, some independent VoIP players have started making use of the fact that today's 3G networks can already support VoIP. They have also been putting dedicated software on smartphones, exploiting open operating systems, flat-rate data plans and features like "naked SIP" and built-in VoIP capability. All these are connected to competitive 'over the top' phone or IM services through a mobile Internet connection. 

There is a growing trend of carriers that are marketing 3G modems for PCs, right at the same time. I mean not only for mobile computing, but to also compete with home DSL/cable broadband offerings. Even Laptop owners look forward to being able to use their normal broadband applications over 3G, not to mention the voice-based users such as Skype. A few operators have even started offering their own VoIP software for PCs with wireless broadband.

            The final expectation of being compliant with VoIPo3G is that by 2012, majority of the VoIPo3G users will be using the mobile carriers' own standard-based VoIP capabilities, more than the latest advanced 3G+ networks. The other expectation is that a substantial minority of say 60m will be using independent or Internet-based solutions. A lot actually operated in partnership with carriers or retailers.
            Here is a comment from Dean Bubley, author of the report and founder of Disruptive Analysis, "3G networks are increasingly capable of supporting VoIP, for both traditional mobile operators and independent Internet-based VoIP challengers. But while CDMA operators will benefit from VoIP being 'designed-in' to their newest networks, 3GPP / HSPA operators will have to wait for several years – a window of opportunity which will be exploited by the 'over the top' players. Rather than competing head-on, partnership models have the potential to create win-win propositions"
            As from now, you can get the "VoIPo3G Business Models" report from Disruptive Analysis. The report is based on a huge research effort that spans hundreds of interviews and meetings. It also contains wide market forecasts, company profiles, as well as industry commentary & analysis.

 

Motorola has started its 3G Femtocell trial in EMEA

            The news is that Motorolla has started sampling its 3G femtocell solution with a major European operator. This was after they have successfully done an end-to-end testing of the femtocell solution.
            Reports shows that Femtocell can give operators an opportunity to provide a better wireless voice, in addition to real-time data services to their users. All this they will get within the comfort of their homes. Isn't it wonderful? When compared to the macrocell network, you will find out that Femtocell allows for a lower cost of delivery for wireless traffic.
            There are a lot of benefits with femtocell for consumers. Talk about a perfectly smooth communication experience and better indoor coverage. Cost of calls will also be reduced and there will be a consolidated billing. Can you imagine that they will get all these benefits right from their current 3G handsets? Who wouldn't want all that!

 

Vodafone returns to its Syniverse clearing service deal

            Syniverse Technologies is a provider of technology and business solutions for the global telecommunications industry. It controls mobile clearinghouses by making sure that financial settlement for worldwide roaming services is cleared accurately and is constantly compliant with emerging standards in the industry.

            Well, Syniverse Technologies has just announced a new global contract extension to provide voice and data clearing services to all the 18 Vodafone operating companies within the five continents. The contract extension is for four years which means till 2011.
            Syniverse Access S&E GSM Clearinghouse Services has been chosen by Vodafone to be its single point of contact for the exchange of roaming billing records between all Vodafone operating companies and all other mobile partners and operators.
            Vodafone hopes to benefit fully from this venture. Be it in network usage reports, invoicing and settlement of global mobile roaming voice and data calls, in addition to Wi-fi sessions where necessary.

Jajah Launch Jajah Direct. Low Cost Calling directly from your phone.

Jajah has moved a step futher by launching Jajah Direct. With Jajah Direct you can use your jajah account from any telephone wherever you are. No computer or internet connection is required. All you have to do is to call a local access number from your phone and enter the number of the person you wish to call and jajah will connect you.
This service is really convinient especially for people who are always on the move and will surely draw more people to start using jajah. Jajah direct worked very fine and the audio quality is great too. For a list of local access numbers visit http://www.localaccessnumber.com

Yedda has been acquired by AO

           

            Yedda, a semantic social search Questions and Answer service has been acquired by AOL. It will now operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of AOL.
            How does Yedda work? It utilizes a patent-pending technology which automatically matches questions to other related questions and topics. At the same time it also picks the most favorable users available to answer the question.
            The semantic matching technology found in Yedda can intelligently route questions to relevant communities of internet users who can 'syndicate' their know-how. They can also spark a community-wide dialogue of people invited to discuss and learn from each other's experiences.
            With Yedda's technology, AOL can now incorporate the Questions and Answer functionality into select programming areas on AOL.com. They will also integrate 'Questions & Answers' into its experiences in the upcoming months.
            Yedda employs about 20 people. They will still be operating all over Europe and in the US. The R&D centre in Yedda will still have its base in Israel. The financial terms involved in the deal was not revealed.

V-Moda introduces VIBE Duo for iPhone users in Europe

            V-Moda, the music lifestyle brand has announced the launching of its VIBE Duo in Europe. The VIBE Duo is a noise-isolating dual-use headphone or headset that is created to accessorise the Apple iPhone.

            In the VIBE Duo earphone with control-playback functionality, you will find a microphone with a call button. It allows users to receive calls and also control the musical functions of the iPhone with the ease of a hands-free.

            You will find a combination of products in the iPhone. They include– a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls and an internet communications device – into one small handheld. VIBE Duo can be used with the iPod, as well as a range of smart phones like the Blackberry Curve and the Sidekick 4. It is also compatible with other portable music players.

            By using V-MASQUE dynamic driver technology, VIBE Duo can get the exact soundstage. BLISS (Bass Level Isolating Soft Silicon) technology further minimizes external noise for a better bass response i.e. a frequency of 12Hz to 22Hz.  

Smile Content awards VoIP contract to Stratus

            Smile Content in Denmark has just awarded a VoIP contract to Stratus Technologies. This announcement was made by Stratus Technologies. Based on the contract, Stratus Technologies will be the one to deploy its VoIP service over its IP backbone and broadband access infrastructure.

            Smile Content, the Triple-Play provider will use the Stratus Entice (Emerging Network Telecommunications Control Environment) framework, Stratus Inter-network Services Signaling Gateway (ISSG), fault-tolerant ftServer T Series servers, and Cantata IMG 1010 media gateway.
            It is expected that the new SIP-based solution will be able to allow Smile Content to expand its residential voice customer base. In addition build its own VoIP and IN services. Then finally extend VoIP to enterprise customers with IP PBX and IP Centrex.
Smile Content will also be able to host an internal clearing house (ICH) and order workflow system (OWS) from Neoconsult. Through a SOAP API, the Stratus products will interface with the ICH/OWS, in addition to the existing invoicing and customer self-care systems.
            Before the year runs out, the deployment of the new VoIP infrastructure should be finished.

Australian Authority Makes Emergency calls from VoIP obligatory

The VoIP users in Australia may need not to worry about routing emergency calls via the internet, because this  has been taken care of by  the Australian Authority in charge of communication, the Australian Communications and Media AUTHORITY (ACMA), which made available new rules that would protect consumers interest in the use of emergency services.

       
With this new rules, access to police, fire and ambulance assistance are being provided free of charge not only via the country's emergency number, 000, but also through the special emergency number for the hearing impaired.

        The Integrated Public Number Database, the national database of all the listed and unlisted public telephone numbers, would also flag these VoIP services so that the emergency call service operator will be alerted to ask the caller for location information.

       
This obligation has already gained popularity, more than forty Australian service providers of VoIP have been contacted and urged to find technical solutions in order to allow all, users of VoIP services to have access to the emergency call numbers. 

Phonex Launches Speakerphone

  With a view to providing VoIP users with the best services available, Phonex Audiop Technologies has developed a Quatro Speakerphone that would enable them to effectively utilize all feature of audio communication and these include dialing and memory storing.

       
This US-based company has been providing audio communication solutions fro quite a time and has decided to make the speakerphone a add-on device to already existing telephones.

       
The Quatro is a complete conferencing Solution for VoIP applications, there are a number of plug-in interface modules that compliment the Quatro. The unit comes with a USB interface, connector for optional external speakers and an extension plug for daisy chain or external input connection.

       
The features that compliment the Quatro include POTS interface, SIP interface, proprietary interfaces, and video conferencing systems interface.

        The design is such that allows for three-way communication and its flexibility makes it ideal solution for medium and large conference rooms.

Residents to be Offered VoIP by Housing Group

VoIP services are getting more attractions from different groups including Housing Association. Just recently the Gallons Housing Association in London installed a wireless broadband from Motorola with the sole reason of ensuring that their residents enjoy VoIP and IPTV services.
Already, the service is on its trial phases after which, if successful, would be fully upgraded to service the residents. What triggered the housing group might possibly be the difficulty always encountered by residents of high rise buildings to utilize VoIP services because of the high cost connection to traditional broadband solutions.
In order to ensure that the interest of their residents are protected alongside with theirs, the housing association approached Motorola, known for it cost effective and easy to deploy broadband over power line to make available such services.
With this service, residents can enjoy internet access simply by plugging a BPL modem into an available electrical socket. There is no need to install any additional software and installation is usually less than 24 hours.

FCC Facilitates Number Portability to VoIP

The intervention of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to expand local number portability (LNP) to VoIP means that henceforth there would be easy number portability and transfer of phone number from one provider to another.
Indeed, this would make things a lot easier especially for those who would prefer to retain their old local land-line phone number while trying another service provider. This has modified the fear that phone lines may be changed as a result, subscribers can retain their old lines irrespective of the switch over.
In order to ensure that customers are not kept under un due anxiety during the course of transfer, FCC has mandated the whole arrangement to take place within 48 hours of the request.

InPhonex partners 3CX to offer VoIP Solution

The popular saying that “two good heads are better than one” might have geared 3CX and InPhonex to team up in order to provide a more reliable VoIP solution. It is understood that there is stiff competition in the VoIP market today and to be able to strive well VoIP service providers might need to join forces and provide a better service.
3CX is a developer of telecommunications software and InPhonex is known for its leading role in the provision of high quality internet telephony services and infrastructure, both companies offer their services for customers from all walks of life. It is therefore, expected that the combine efforts to provide a fully integrated and highly reliable end-end business grade solution using VoIP/SIP technologies would not only expose the two companies but also offer great international opportunities.
The benefits of the teaming up can only be well explained by CEO of 3CX, Nick Galea and in his own words be said “3CX’s partnership with InPhonex provides an excellent VoIP solution. Full interoperability testing has been executed, so customers can use our IP PBX with InPhonex internet telephony services knowing that the solution has been tested and that they have full support from both companies.
The two companies have also put into consideration the cost and have actually provided their customers with a cost effective solution that yet does not compromise quality. The 3CX phone system for windows has been designed such that it is easy to install, configure and manage thereby making it more user friendly.

Rex Software Announced by GIPS

VoIP users are being provided with improved and enhanced communication tool by Global IP Solution (GIPS). The new product which is an improved version of REX softphone would allow for features like multi-party instant messaging where several users can exchange and access instant messages within their cycle, other features incorporated into this VoIP softphone include advance presence capabilities, voicemail and an easy-to-use user interface.
It should be recalled that GIPS is a leading VoIP media solutions provider and hence the new softphone could be much reliable in term of service delivery. While boasting on the capabilities of this new product, the Global IP Solutions Chief Marketing Officer said that “REX is a greatly enhanced communication tool that enables users the capability to communicate more efficiently and with higher security and quality than other softphones can offer…”
It is very obvious that REX software will improve and facilitate communication via the internet, interestingly, the softphone possess all the features that can be found in an IP-PBX telephone and additionally can deliver the features in today’s business environment and these include benefits of mobility, flexibility, presence and IM.
For those who have registered with GIPS already, there is a provision to upgrade their existing softphone to this latest version and also the flexibility has allowed for re-branding and re-skinning of the product to suit customers desire.

WiMAX services introduced to Jordan by Umniah

            Umniah, the Jordanian mobile provider and a subsidiary of Batelco Bahrain has launched WiMAX services under its new trademark UMAX. In the first phase, UMAX services in the first phase covers 30% of the capital Amman. The future phases will cover all the governorates.
            The services offered by UMAX will take the place of the conventional cables or DSL to work with the wireless broadband technology. Then the transmission of data from one computer to another using encoded radio waves and also to personal computers over great distances.
            Users of UMAX will also be able to make VoIP calls while also receiving and sending large multimedia files. They have also announced an initiative and a partnership with the Ministry of Education to provide schools in the Kingdom with free UMAX services. This initiative is specifically for supporting the education sector according to  Royal directives.

 

 

Trials on CDMA2000 1x EV-DO VoIP based on IMS successfully done by Huawei and Qualcomm

             A provider of next-generation telecommunications network solutions, Huawei Technologies, in partnership with Qualcomm, has just publicized their fruitful testing of an overall solution for CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Rev.A access to the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network and a successful end-to-end Voice Over IP (VoIP) call in Shanghai.
            They performed a series of tests. The tests are as follows- interoperability trials by using Huawei's 1xEV-DO Rev. A and IMS system, all-IP transmission system, CDMA IP BTS based on the UMB technology and devices enabled by Qualcomm's MSM6800A chipset and IMS device client solution.

            From the results of the test, Huawei now knows that EV-DO Rev.A accessed IMS is a significant landmark for the CDMA network to achieve an all-IP revolution. With the use of EV-DO Rev.A with IMS, service providers can now enjoy the benefits of an all-IP network and providing new services.

            The company said that it will include roaming from fixed telephones to mobile handsets. They further added that, with the all-IP network installed, operators can easily meet the communication needs in densely populated urban areas and sparsely populated rural areas without capacity problems.

The Third Quarter Revenue & Profit Reports by the Subsidiary of China VoIP & Digital Telecom, Inc.

A wholly owned subsidiary of China VoIP & Digital Telecom, Inc. Jinan Yinquan Technology Co., Ltd., has just released its operating results for the just ended third quarter i.e. September 30, 2007. The revenues generated were $1,899,854 as compared to $152,329 generated at the end of the same period in 2006. It shows an increase of 1147% or $1,747,525.
Throughout the nine months that ended on September 30, 2007, the company has recorded a revenue of $4,155,855. When compared to the $889,602 generated during the same period ended in 2006, there is actually an increase of 367% or $3,266,253.
Also the Net gain recorded is $854,878 for the nine months that just ended on September 30, 2007. It also shows a 388% or $679,773 increase as compared to $175,105 at the same period in 2006. <br> According to the company, the increase of revenue and net gain were actually due to the following reasons. First is the significant revenue increase due to the rapid development of users. The next one is because of the considerable decrease in the settlement cost with telecom carriers in comparism to the same period of the previous year. Then the last one is due to the better control on general, selling and administrative expenses.
The President and CEO of China VoIP & Digital Telecom, Inc., Li Kunwu, believes the sudden increase in revenue is as a result of successful marketing efforts and the swift acceptance of the Company's products and services in newly developed markets. Here is a list of the new markets- Zhejiang, Anhui and Huangshan.
In a statement, Kunwu has this to say, "We now have the capability to handle a significantly greater number of customers for our VoIP products. We have developed the Zhejiang Geely Group -- a Hangzhou-China-based auto manufacturer, as our key customer within this period, and we anticipate more and more key-customers as Geely will be developed in the following quarter, which will bring additional increase in revenue."

The Proposal of new rules in The Philippines to ease VoIP access requirements

Following a series of grumbling from some service providers on the deregulation of VoIP services in the Philippines, the National Telecommunications Commission is proposing some more rules for VoIP services within the country. In case you don't know, the National Telecommunications Commission is actually a regulatory agency. It provides an environment that ensures reliable, affordable and viable infrastructure and services in information and communications technology in The Philippines.

A public hearing will be organised by the agency on the additional rules within the month. The proposed rules would deal with making easier the requirements for interconnection agreements that VoIP providers are required to follow before they can offer their services.

As at the moment, potential VoIP providers were required to negotiate separate interconnection agreements with each telephone network. But with the proposed new rules, they will only need a single interconnection agreement with a telephone network.

Instead of separate agreements, routing charges will now be paid by the VoIP provider to course calls made to other telephone networks through the network that the VoIP provider has an interconnection agreement. There would also be set regulations on the rates that could be levied as routing charges. In addition, VoIP calls that are routed through a broadband connection would not be covered by any access charges with the proposed new rules.

Del Monte saves $75,000 pa thanks to VoIP

Thanks to the ever useful VoIP technology, Del Monte Foods will be able to save about $75,000 a year from maintenance costs on their Octel systems which is gradually getting to the end of its life span. Del Monte Foods decided to standardise its communications system by installing AVST's CallXpress communications system throughout its UK offices. The system will take the place of the two Octel voicemails system that was already there and also simplify the proposed transition to a company-wide VoIP service.

So far, the company has installed five CallXpress systems. The systems will have to support 28 facilities and 3,000 users on one enterprise VoIP platform. It is integrated with a new Cisco Call Manager IP switch. For the next two years, fourteen more facilities will be converted making the number of users get up to 4,000.

With the system, staff can receive and also listen to voicemail messages through their email inboxes or even listen to emails over the phone. The system's automated attendant function can be used by the company to notify plant employees of any change in schedules.

Speakanet embarks on expansion in the UK

Speakanet AS of Copenhagen has raised the sum of $10 million in a new venture capital funding. The exorbitant amount of money was raised so as to bring about more development in Denmark, the UK and Switzerland and also for the international roll out of its technology.

Speakanet has a software that substitutes analogue and VoIP telephone systems with a hundred percent mobile, hardware-free, self-provisioned and web-enabled solution for enterprises. The company receptionist uses the Speakanet software switchboard whereas the employees use a standard GSM mobile phone.

The system has a lot of advantages attached to it. For one, it is designed in such a way to allow for easy useage. One does not need any special training to provision or activate it. It is something that can be done within a few minutes. With this companies do not have to buy, install, manage, upgrade and support their own telecoms infrastructure in the office. It is quite good considering the significant amount of money that will be saved.

In Denmark which is Speakanet's home market, there are already more than 15,000 business users. It also have offices in London and Prague that is apart from its headquarters in Copenhagen. The investors of Speakanet' are as follows Northzone Ventures, Via Venture Partners and Eqvitec Partners.

Microsoft and Cisco on Hoodlum over VoIP Service.

The ever existing rivalry between Cisco systems and Microsoft has entered another phase just as the later launched its unified communications portfolio in the market.
Already, Cisco has admitted that, Microsoft’s entering has imposed a somewhat slower rate in sales cycle. Cisco said that their sales cycle are getting longer as customers stop to consider the impact before deciding on what to opt for.
Although the Cisco’s CTO of unified communications expressed that the company is really not seeing significant slowdown in the sales cycle, he did concede that some Cisco Channel partners are now spending at least few extra days to walk potential customers through their options.
According to him, “…there’s a couple of days of extra conversation while we work through what does Microsoft actually have, what does Cisco have and what are the various ways they can work together”.

Regulatory Body in India Insists on Auction of 3G Spectrum

“Our thinking is that...all spectrum should be auction”. Those were the statements made by the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) during a workshop on Spectrum Management organized to address the recent misgivings over the body’s recommendations early August, on spectrum management.
The chairman, Nripendra Misra, stated that the regulator had favoured auction of 3G spectrum alongside with such policies as transparency, predictability, and administrative intervention free allocation of 3G licenses.
While expressing concern that the approach of auctioning might be misinterpreted by some, he confidently offered that this approach would be recognized by the department of Telecom and would definitely pave way for quality of service and penetration in rural and urban areas.
In a similar statement made by Rajeev Chandrasekher, a Member of Parliament and member of the parliamentary standing committee on IT, he described the current as needless and called for addressing it cleanly and transparently.
Starting the benefits the auction of 3G might bring to India , the MD, Analysis consulting, Andrew Wright, said that “The more open the auction, the higher the intensity of competition in the 3G mobile market. The government stands to benefit by way of realizing the economic efficiency and potentially higher revenues”.
Others who spoke in favor of 3G auctioning include Nick Schulz, the editor in chief, TCS Daily and research Scholar, American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Washington DC , Mahesh Uppal, director, Com First ( India ) PVT Ltd and a list of others.

BTRC Fined AKATEL over Unlawful Service

In a recent action to ensure that the illegal activities in the VoIP industries is reduced to an acceptable standard, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has imposed a fine on AKATEL, a subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia .
The fine is a sum of USD21.5million (about BDT 1.45billion in the local currency) and AKATEL is to pay a substantial amount if it wants to remain in business. Already, the company has taken necessary steps to ensure that it meets up to the imposed fine and as reported by the Daily Star, the Chairman of BTRC, the company had already paid about BDT72.5million to the national exchequer.
BTRC is indeed up and daring to sanitize the VoIP industry in that region, previously GrameenPhone and Banglalink has agreed to pay“compensation” to the government for their involvement in the usage of unlicensed VoIP telephony.
Other companies facing similar lawsuits are CityCell and fixed-wireless PSTN operator Bay Phones .

Puma takes on SwyxWare IP telephony

The Sportswear firm, Puma has linked its UK operations with SwyxWare IP telephony. This latest technology will take the place of the company's archaic BT Meridien telephone system. In a bid to make it work effectively, the new system was installed in all Puma offices. It connects the Puma head office in Leatherhead with a distribution centre in Batley, Yorkshire and a showroom in ManchesterWith this, Puma has been able to successfully fuse two different receptions into one, at its Batley site.
So why did Puma chose this system from Swyx? A good question there! We will look at the reasons for this choice shortly. SwyxWare IP telephony as the name implies is completely IP-based. It fulfils all of the company's selection criteria and can be supported in house. Another reason is that it offers call routing, which is an attribute that was absent in the archaic Meridian telephone system. This is what safeguards against losing of any calls. It also ensures much more flexibility making it possible for sales staff to be able to work even from remote places.
With this system, Puma can now handle voice as a standard business application and also integrated into its already existing IT infrastructure. The one that has already been integrated is the Lotus Notes. Very soon Puma's order processing system will also be integrated. At the end of the day, Puma is expected to gain a return on its investment in the short to medium term.

Challenger in VoIP partnership with a UK Carrier

The Sweden-based Challenger Mobile has decided to go into a joint venture with a UK carrier. The UK carrier is not yet known but the partnership is so as to offer free VoIP calls from any standard cell phone. The Swedish company's VoIP service operates on Wi-Fi as well as with 3G and GPRS networks. With this, free mobile VoIP calls can be made in any country in the world. But for this to work, the recipient of the call must have a cell phone that supports this technology. The service is actually based on SIP (Session Initiation Protocol). Since SIP is compatible with most cell phone service standards, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. If on the other hand a recipient's phone does not support SIP, the call would be routed to a standard telephone network (PSTN).You don't have to worry too much about the cost of the calls because most of the calls are made free on the Internet. The VoIP platform of Challenger mobile supports remote mobile handset configuration, call detail record (CDR) and flexible billing system integration. Just watch out because this service will be launched sometime within the month.

SightSpeed Launches Video Conferencing Solution for Business. Free Trial Available

Video conferencing has undergone what seems like a revolution in the past few years. Business had to invest six figure in video conferencing hardware and software in order to enjoy video conferencing services but this has changed considerably thanks to voip technology. The trend now is to provider video conferencing solutions that require no harware, just a small software application installed on employees PCs and they are ready to go.
Sightspeed is playing a significant role in this no hardware movement and this is demonstrated by the launch of SightSpeed Business at the just concluded VON. With SightSpeed Business, businesses can make high quality video conferencing for a price as low as $20 per month. No expensive hardware is required to use SightSpeed Business, just a webcam and sightspeed software on employees PCs.
More information about SightSpeed Business and its amazing features are available at Here.

Skype 2.0 for Linux released. Includes Video Calling

This is a great news for Linux users, their most asked for Skype feature video calling is now part of the latest skype 2.0 for linux released recently by skype. The vocal minority of skype users has been asking for this feature for a long time and skype has at last decided to answer their call. Users of skype on linux platform can now make video calling like all other skype users.
I am yet try out this latest release for obvious reason, i am not a linux user!. I know open source is great and its the way of the future but i have just not ready yet to take out the time to learn a new operating system. I tried 2 years ago to use ubuntu linux but i quickly reverted back to windows and i have not tried again since them, so i am kind of stuck with windows for now. Linux users confess that multimedia on linux has been a challenge for a long time but that things have greatly improved with the latest edition of Ubuntu.
If you are a linux user you can click here to download the latest version of skype for linux. More information about this latest version of skype for linux are available here.

News Release: Voxitas Becomes Newest National Service Provider for Linksys One Solution

Voxitas, formerly NetLogic, today announced that it is becoming the newest national service provider supporting the Linksys One series of Internet enabled phone systems for small to medium businesses by Linksys, a division of Cisco.
Voxitas is an ITSP (Internet Telephony Service Provider) and a leading provider of Quality of Service (QoS) Business-Class VoIP services. Linksys One is a comprehensive Internet protocol (IP) hosted communications platform for small and medium business customers.
"We are pleased to be one of four Linksys One service providers in the nation," said Michael Morey, president and CEO of Voxitas. "When Linksys One IP PBX products are connected to the Voxitas business-class network, customers will experience a superior voice over Internet solution because we can provide end to end management of the network connection, thereby eliminating the quality problems associated with many conventional VoIP deployments."
Voxitas is an ideal service provider partner to host the Linksys One platform," said Mark Monday, VP, Linksys Connected Office Business Organization. "Voxitas nationwide IP network coverage well positions the company to successfully launch the Linksys One platform into the Linksys certified VAR channel and capitalize on the sizeable opportunity in the small business communications market."
"The Linksys relationship extends our capability in terms of the number of Internet enabled telephone systems that Voxitas supports," explains Matt Siemens, V.P. of sales and marketing for Voxitas. "With the Linksys One IP platform, we now support over a dozen IP PBX systems from a variety of manufacturers."
In support of the new offering, Linksys and Voxitas have embarked on a national VAR (value added resellers) recruitment campaign, at which together they are recruiting VARs to sell Linksys One IP PBX systems over the Voxitas voice network.
The national tour kicked off November 6, 2007 in Chicago followed by an event in Washington D.C. the next day. "We were particularly pleased by the reception we received from interested retailers at our first two presentations," said Siemens. "The tour is proving to be a major success. We look forward to demonstrating the Linksys One IP PBX system over the Voxitas voice network to even more retailers during the coming weeks".
In addition to the presentations in Chicago and Washington D.C., the first wave of activity includes events in Dallas, San Francisco, Sacramento and St. Louis during the first half of November. Other markets will follow. All events are being held in local Cisco offices and include presentations from Voxitas and Linksys personnel.

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.

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.

NEWS RELEASE : JAJAH's new, patent pending in-call advertising engine: Advertisers to overlay messages on phone calls. Consumers and telecommunication

JAJAH, the world's most innovative phone company, today revealed an extension to its business model that is likely to effect the advertising business on a global scale. JAJAH's patent pending in-call advertising platform turns the inventory of the world's telephone calls into an advertising market place.
"We spend more time on the phone than consuming all other types of media, TV, reading papers and radio included. However, advertisers spend very little budget advertising on telephone calls - phones haven't been considered as a viable channel yet. We are going to change that." says Roman Scharf, JAJAH's co-founder. "In tests over the past months we have identified a method to overlay advertising content on phone calls in a way that users find acceptable. We turned it into an open platform so that everyone can benefit. Consumers get a better deal and telecommunications companies monetize their inventory."
How does in-call advertising work? JAJAH has developed a non-intrusive approach. Whereas in-call advertising would normally interrupt a call and disturb the caller, JAJAH simply overlays the messages above the ring tone right before the call starts. Businesses get guaranteed caller attention, whilst at the same time not alienating the consumer with intrusive messages that break the rhythm of a telephone call.
"Google paved the way around a decade ago with Google AdWords. Their approach was revolutionary, as they respected the users' common sense and reactions. We are now trying to do the same for the massive amount of phone call inventory. Think AdWords for the phone." says JAJAH co-founder Daniel Mattes.
JAJAH in-call advertising will be made available to JAJAH users shortly. It's an opt-in solution where users hear and see very targeted advertising content and receive monthly credit. Users can effectively earn back their entire phone bill, or even make money while talking to their friends and family. "In a next step we will increase the reach of JAJAH in-call advertising by allowing telecommunications partners to use our platform to monetize their inventory as well", says Trevor Healy, JAJAH's CEO. "Operators will have the opportunity to install our advertising appliance in their environments and connect to the platform. We will turn call wait time into value add, and the end user and partner will both see a return."
With JAJAH's new in-call advertising, businesses of any kind can target their audience on any given scale. Small, local companies can play their messages to the local JAJAH users. "If you own a furniture store that you want to introduce to your local community, your messages will be played to your prospective customers next door - not someone a thousand miles away." explains JAJAH co-founder Roman Scharf.
In a separate press release today JAJAH announced a strategic partnership with Oridian - Online Media Solutions, Ltd., the largest privately-owned advertising network. By partnering with Oridian, JAJAH gets immediate access to a large number of companies to introduce and jump-start the new service.

NEWS RELEASE : VOXITAS AND ALLWORX PARTNER TO DELIVER END-TO-END VoIP SOLUTIONS FOR RESELLERS TARGETING SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES

Allworx, the Small Business Voice and Network Company, and Voxitas (formerly NetLogic) today announced an alliance to provide resellers that service small and medium businesses with an all-inclusive VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) solution that delivers significant cost savings, extensive feature sets, and exceptional customer service.
Voxitas is an ITSP (Internet Telephony Service Provider) and a leading provider of Quality of Service (QoS) Business-Class VoIP services nationwide.
Allworx’s family of IP-PBX/Key systems include the award winning Allworx 6x, 10x, & 24x offerings, which are designed for businesses from 2 to 100 employees per site. Allworx was recently ranked in the top 10 Alternative VoIP/voice networking vendors by VAR Business Magazine, ahead of companies such as Mitel, NEC, Panasonic, Toshiba and many others. Allworx is the only solution that combines the feature set, reliability and price point of traditional systems, with the benefit of VoIP. Thousands of SMBs have already transitioned to VoIP with Allworx, leveraging simple and straight-forward installation and administration capabilities.
The combination of Voxitas SIP trunking capabilities and Allworx’s hardware allows SMBs to maximize their voice and data services, and realize additional savings by getting rid of the cost and maintenance associated with legacy phone systems. When delivered via Voxitas network, the combination provides end to end control of the customer’s voice traffic, thereby eliminating the jitter and garble associated with many deployments.
“Our combined offerings provide the type of full-featured telephony solution that enhances the way a small business operates, while also bolstering their bottom line in the process,” said Michael Morey, president and CEO of Voxitas. “We’re excited to partner with Allworx because their systems provide the right mix of features for the SMB marketplace, and they’re easy to use and maintain - which results in successful, and long-lasting engagements with our customers.”
“We’ve completed extensive interoperability testing, and we’re thrilled to work with Voxitas to simplify the process for our channel partners that are serving the communications needs of the SMB marketplace,” said George E. Daddis, chief executive officer for Allworx. “Our award winning hardware and Voxitas’ services provide customers with a seamless transition from traditional telephone service to VoIP, and we’re doing everything we can to make it easier for our channel partners to bring this solution to the SMB marketplace.”

Nonoh doing Great. Lot of FREE Calls and Low rates for paid destinations

The betamax of germany web activated telephony platform nonoh has been working really great since i have been using it for about 3 months. Not a few people have issues with betamax business models in past and still do now but nonoh has been a great success and an improvement. The audio quality has been really great, no connection few is charged when u make calls and the free destinations list don't change as often as they do with other betamax applications. Its also very easy to use, just enter your phone number and the phone number of the person you wish to call and click call. Your phone will ring and when you pick you will immediatelly be connected to the person you want to call. It helps to not just use nonoh for the free destinations only, have one or two destinations that you have to pay for. Their rate is still the lowest in the market so that should not be a problem. Once you keep buying credit your number of freedays will keep increasing and you can make lots of free calls you want. Its all about understanding how to use betamax products, there are lots of free calls to enjoy with them. The customer support has not improved much, so if you send them e-mail you might not get the reply quickly but i am here to help you out, just leave your questions in the comments and i will do best to answer them. check out nonoh at www.nonoh.net.