Nokia N82- The Power to do much more

Nokia N82 is another device that its manufacturers believe will
empower people not only to connect with each other but give them the
ability to do much more. This device that is featuring A-GPS, 5
megapixel camera, Xenon flash, Carl Zeiss optics and WiFi internet
connectivity, incorporates all the multimedia computer features common
to Nokia Nseries.
Like its predecesor the Nokia N95, the Nokia N82 is the latest epitome
of a truly converged device that is not one thing but is many. With a
powerful Xenon flash and Carl Zeiss optics, the Nokia N82 delivers
remarkably vidid photographs , even in low light conditions. The
powerful A-GPS and Nokia Maps help you explore and locate new places.

Archos 605 Wi-Fi now Available

The much anticipated wireless portable player- Archos 605 Wi-Fi has
been released and now available for use. The The Archos 605 WiFi
allows users to wirelessly download movies, TV shows, and (soon) music
on the spot, as well as stream the latest YouTube videos.
The Archos 605's screen is big enough to do video justice, yet small
and thin enough to comfortably fit in your pants pocket. The recessed
4.3-inch TFT LCD screen is not only bright, colorful, and
glare-resistant, but it displays at a resolution of 800x480, making it
one of the highest-resolution PVPs on the market. Plus, the screen
valiantly resists smudges despite its dual-duty as a touch screen. It
also has a built-in kickstand and an internal speaker really put this
player over the top.

There are a few disappointments: The battery is non removable and its
life is only average. Many users will need to shell out extra for
software and hardware accessories they'll wish were included.

The Archos 605 WiFi is one of the most impressive portable video
players we've seen all year and its low price tag makes it very hard
to resist. You may end up spending another $100 or more on extra
features and accessories, but 605's ability to take the sting out of
road trips and air travel should make the investment all worthwhile.
Below are the specifications that make the device such an essential gadget:
• Device Type: Digital AV player
• PC Interfaces: Hi-Speed USB, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
• Display Type: TFT 4.3 in - Color
• Memory / Storage: HDD Capacity 160 GB
• Supported Still Images Formats: BMP, PNG, JPEG
• Supported audio formats: MP3, PCM, WAV, WMA, ADPCM, Protected WMA (DRM)
• Video Playback Formats: WMV, MPEG-4, Protected WMV (DRM)
• Connections: Headphones - Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm, Hi-Speed USB,
Audio / video output
• Battery: Internal, Rechargeable
• Firmware Upgradable: Yes
• Included Accessories: USB cable, Carrying pouch, Stereo headphones

M930W Communicator Released

Asus has finally released its M930W, a Communicator-like device that
is believed would compete with E90 from Nokia, this was made known
through the French site GPS & Co.
According to the report, the upcoming device will use Marvell's
PXA270M 520 MHz CPU, boasting such specs as tri-band GSM, GPRS, EDGE,
and HSDPA connectivity support, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, WiFi, 256 MB ROM
and 128 Mb of RAM, and of course the microSD slot that can read
MicroSDHC cards. One thing we're not sure is whether the upcoming
device also sports the GPS receiver, although we wouldn't be surprised
to see it on-board as well. As expected, Windows Mobile 6 is running
the show.

UT Starcom Partners Markwell to Deploy IPTV Service

In collaboration with Markwell Industrial Co. Ltd, UT Starcom has
revealed its intention to offer IPTV services throughout Taiwan
territory.
Markwell is a cable and internet provider and the signed contract
includes system capacity for 500,000 subscribers and initially 20,000
set-top boxes. Markwell plans to deploy an additional 480,000 set-top
boxes in the next two years.
Alameda-based UTStarcom , a provider of Internet-protocol television
networks and services, said it is also in discussions with other cable
operators in Taiwan who are interested in IPTV systems.
Cable TV has grown popular across the island of Taiwan since it was
introduced in the mid-1990s. Taiwan has a population of 22.9 million.
UTStarcom has major deployments on mainland China with China Netcom
and China Telecom. It also has deployments in India with Bharti Airtel
and MTNL/Aksh and in Japan with Softbank. In addition, the company
just announced Dec. 10 its first deal in Latin America with Brasil
Telecom.
UTStarcom says it has 600,000 IPTV subscribers worldwide.

ITU Announces First Set of Standards for IPTV

With a view to protecting the IPTV market, the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) has announce the firs set of standards
to be followed globally for the Internet Protocol Television (IPTV)
and it is believed that this will protect the interests of all the
shareholders.
As part of the innovation for next-generation networks, NGN, IPTV is
one of the most visible services to emerge recently and it has
received a loud acceptance from the populace.
According to ITU, both the business case will be the principal driver
for accelerating deployment of NGN. The standards were built with
technical contributions from leading service providers and
manufacturers from the information and communication technology - ICT
sector.
Director of ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, Malcolm
Johnson said, the standards are crucial for IPTV to reach its market
potential and global audience.
He said they are also necessary in order to give service providers,
control over their platforms.
The standards will help to encourage innovation, mask the complexity
of services, guarantee quality of service, ensure interoperability
and, ultimately, help players remain competitive.
The announcement was made at the seventh meeting hosted in Malta by
the Maltese Ministry for Competitiveness and Communications.
Operators consider IPTV a key element of a triple-play package of
voice, video and data services.

Fring Adds Yahoo!™ and AOL’s AIM to its Free Wi-Fi Mobile

Joining Skype, Google Talk, MSN, ICQ, and Twitter to provide its users
with more options of staying connected with all their buddies online,
Fring has announced that it has added Yahoo!™ and AOL's AIM(R) instant
messengers to their growing world of online communities.
As a result, users of a Yahoo! or AIM account and a Fring-enabled
handset will be able to take all of their buddies mobile and benefit
from Fring's IM-style chat and live presence features, enabling them
to bring y IM and mobile phone contacts into one easy-to-use list on
your handset. Users will be able see whether they're on, offline or
away and enjoy rich chat sessions from their mobile or whenever they
are away from their PC.
By using Fring's mobile VoIP application, users can make voice calls,
chat and check out the status of their contacts before dialing
irrespective of their location and they can do this using through the
lower cost data plan and free Wi-FI.

GN Launches Jabra GN9350

GN has recently announced the release of Jabra GN9350, a dual function
wireless headset which combines both landline and VoIP mobility in one
small and neat package. The GN9350 main features include the ability
to be linked to a PC for VoIP connections while also connected to the
landline for your normal phone calls. By simply pressing a button on
the base station or the headset, the device can be used to switch
between the PC audio and the telephone.
During the trial, it was discovered that transitions between the
telephone line and PC audio were smooth with only a slight pause
between switches. The Jabra headset also provides connectivity for
Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication (DECT) phones which must
be paired to the base station.
The GN9350 allows up to 4 headsets to be set up in conference mode for
conference calls. The GN9350 also boasts of a wireless range of up to
300ft (91.4m). Walls may restrict the signal somewhat but testing done
around the office gave a decent range from which to roam about. Audio
quality is something that Jabra has always excelled in and the GN9350
is no different. Audio streaming in from the PC was pretty clear with
no discernible static due to the Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
capabilities of the unit. The volume is suitable for a quiet office
environment, and does not leak out of the headset.
In addition, VoIP quality is very clear, and calls via Skye to a VoIP
phone were clear on both the receiving and outgoing end. However on
testing the telephone line, we got mixed results. While we had very
clear incoming audio, the outgoing voice was distorted by static. This
occurred both times when we tested with a landline and a mobile line.
While the GN9350's microphone has noise-canceling functions, it didn't
seem to work for our outgoing calls.
The devise is housed in black and silver and by removing the back
cover reveals a LCD menu with buttons at the side for configuring the
various features of the GN9350; the cover itself is easy to remove and
conceals the LCD screen and connecting ports.
The headset is a long sleek affair keeping to the black and silver
theme and fits snugly in a slot at the top of the base station. The
base station also acts as a charger for the headset when not in use.
The headset is rated to have 43 hours of standby time and up to nine
hours of talk-time for telephony and six hours for PC audio. The unit
also comes with a headband and neckband attachments for users to
choose from.

Foundry to Update Le Figaro’s Converged VoIP

As part of the commitment to offer its audience with the latest and
authentic information available, Le Figaro has chosen Foundry
Networks(R), Inc, and total solutions leader for end-to-end switching
and routing to update its VoIP subscription and this includes its
Ethernet network infrastructure.
Le Figaro is France's leading daily newspaper and a unit of Groupe
Figaro which is a major leader in French journalism. In mid-2005, Le
Figaro decided to relocate its operations in a move to centralize all
the newspaper's services (editing, production, advertising and
administration). However, this also required an update of its Ethernet
network infrastructure and Le Figaro therefore called upon Foundry
Networks.
However, before its move, Le Figaro was operating its own fiber-optic
network with more than 1,500 PCs and 250 switches scattered between
seven sites. In late 2004, Le Figaro began to regroup its different
sites to a central one located on boulevard Haussmann in Paris.
Foundry, whose solutions were already in use in Le Figaro, was called
upon to offer technical support.
While improvising the best solution available, Foundry took account of
a complex set of user requirements to best meet Le Figaro's
expectations. In addition to great tolerance for any connection breaks
and very high service continuity, the Ethernet network also had to
carry and route television data flows broadcast over multicast IP. The
network also needed to deploy VoIP companywide, as the business was
planning to partially deploy this service at all its sites. Also,
since the editorial office remains open until one in the morning
during the week and on Sundays, Foundry also installed a
high-availability solution for interconnection links, active network
equipment and production servers.
Recognizing the effect this has on his company, IS director for Le
Figaro, Mr. Hernandez said that they are happy with their equipment
and that Foundry's technology has allowed them to homogenize their
network, reducing risk of breakdowns and making system administration
simpler.
In anticipation of future growth in network traffic, coupled with more
diverse data sources and the arrival of new application flows, Foundry
and Le Figaro's DSI decided to install a 10 gigabit Ethernet (10GbE)
backbone network, consolidating GbE and 100 Mbps data inputs.
"Foundry Networks is very pleased to have been selected by Le Figaro,
an undisputed leader in French journalism, for its extensive network
installation," said Bob Schiff, vice president and general manager for
Foundry Networks' Enterprise Business Unit. "We have built a
high-performance, scalable and cost-effective networking solution for
Le Figaro, which needs the reliability and power of high performance
networking without the hefty price tag of specialized systems. As Le
Figaro continues to inform the French public with breaking news, we
are confident that Foundry's networking equipment will scale to meet
the demands of its extensive publishing requirements and high
journalism standards."
Foundry fitted the Le Figaro network with FastIron switches and the
core of this new Ethernet network is made up of four FastIron SX 800
switches used to manage the multicasting of digital video stemming
from telebroadcasting channels. The FastIron SX 800s are locally
connected by 10GbE multicode fibers to 48-port 10/100/1000 Mbit/s
switches. The production servers use 100 Mbit/s or GbE connectivity.
Some of these switches have a federating function via GbE multimode
fibers while other 24-port switches are used to serve PCs. Three VLANs
were set up by stage to separate the different data traffic flows
passing through the network for VoIP, data and video

Unlimited calling rate to be introduced to Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Vietnam and Russia thanks to QuantumTone

            In an announcement some days ago, QuantumTone made it known that it's finally going to launch the long awaited unlimited calling plans for Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Mexico, Vietnam, Turkey, Europe, Asia, and other South and Central American countries for flat monthly rates.

            With this in place, users will not have to pay at per minute rates for international calls. Instead they can call with their mobile or home phones, to use the service. The other alternative is to get a new digital home phone service from QuantumTone.

The QuantumTone phone can be used without any internet connection. You can get it from online portal and some select local retail storefronts in major metropolitan cities throughout the country. With time, this product will be introduced to consumers in Europe and the Middle East.

According to Monica Kish, the CEO of QuantumTone, "Our service transforms any mobile or local land phone into an instant world phone with unlimited calling capabilities. The advent and perpetual developments of QuantumTone VoIP Technology has simplified international telephony. Realizing how agonizing, time consuming, and expensive for ethnic frequent callers to use long distance services and deceptive, gray-route prepaid calling cards, we felt the need for such flat rate unlimited calling plans. 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 anywhere in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mexico, Columbia, and other destinations."

The introduction of a new calling plan by QuantumTone actually brings in a new era of VoIP connectivity and IP telephony sophistication that has never been seen before in home and mobile device until now. In the actual sense, it show us a clearer picture of what a mobile phone and digital home phone can do with the IP technology from QuantumTone. You also get multiple unlimited domestic and international calling plans for residential and business use from QuantumTone.

The VoIP Home and Q-TONE Mobile/Home offers you the convenience of registering either your existing mobile phone or local home phone or choosing QuantumTone VoIP so as to make free calls to any overseas country you want. Our domestic country, the US is not left out, not to mention Canada which is a long distant country. To wrap it up, QuantumTone also provides digital quality, enterprise grade VoIP solutions which comes with a lot vital calling features with no added cost.

 

 

Support increased in Polycom IP handsets thanks to Ipcortex

To create more support for the Polycom range of SIP handsets, Ipcortex Ltd of Milton Keynes has upgraded its VoIPCortex IP-PBX platform. With this upgrade, users and resellers of ipcortex products will now have more choice and simplicity at the same time.

The handsets are very quick to configure. It is distributed by more than 6 different vendors, including Aastra, snom and Linksys. This ensures compatibility.

The Polycom SoundPoint and SoundStation IP handsets can best be used with the VoIPCortex range of IP-PBX units, since they support a high level of functionality. The VoIPCortex IP-PBX platform has advanced features as standard. Deployment of the Polycom IP handsets can be easily done throughout an organisation, making the advanced features of the VoIPCortex IP-PBX platform available to all.

The variety of handsets available are the desk, executive and receptionist phones or conference units. Ipcortex provides services like converged network products and expertise to resellers and end users, from small businesses to major enterprises

‘Voice on the Net Coalition Europe’ a new Lobby Group

A new lobby group know as the 'Voice on the Net Coalition Europe' was set up and launched on 14 December. It was set up to try to influence the regulation of the Internet in Europe. The group is made up of large suppliers like Google, Intel, Microsoft, and Skype.

.           The new group, Voice on the Net Coalition Europe also known as VON Coalition Europe has stated that it will work to educate, inform, and promote responsible government policies that enable innovation and the many benefits that Internet voice innovations can deliver.

Earlier on, precisely in November, the European Commission brought forth a proposal on regulatory changes that would require VoIP providers to enable calls to emergency services. In this light, the Office of Communications, which is the telecommunications regulator in the UK, has now mandated that such access must be made available by September 2008. Top VoIP providers such as Skype, did not agree with the proposal. Their argument was that VoIP is a complement to, and not a replacement for the conventional telephony services.

From what we gathered from Stephen Collins, the director of global governmental and regulatory affairs at Skype, the company says that Internet-enabled communications are an entirely new genre of communications products, services, and applications and a new frontier in communications for individuals and businesses alike. In the opinion of Skype, in order to unleash their vast benefits, policymakers need to embrace forward-thinking policy approaches.

In a further statement, Stephen Collins has this to say, "If we automatically subject this new technology to legacy telephone regulation, consumers, and business users could miss out on the new services, increased choices, better prices, and improved features that VoIP, for example, can deliver.

In a statement made at the launching of this lobby group, the coalition claimed that the premature application of emergency call rules to Web sites, click-to-dial services, one-way public switched telephone-network voice services, and other VoIP services that are not a replacement for traditional home or business phone services could actually harm public safety, stifle innovations critical to people with disabilities, stall competition, and limit access to innovative and evolving communication options where there is no expectation of placing a 112 call.

 

 

 

Huawei selects Spirit IMS-ready PC VoIP software

China 's largest provider of Next Generation Telecoms networks, Huawei Technologies, is one of the fastest growing suppliers of mainstream NGN solutions. It is currently serving 31 out of the world's top 50 operators.

The giant provider has just given licence to Spirit's TeamSpirit 3.0 Voice Engine PC to offer the highest quality PC VoIP solution to its operator and service provider customers. You will find out that Huawei's products and solutions are deployed in over 100 countries. Infact they serve over one billion users in the whole world. With its fast growth in the overseas markets, the company will earn close to $16bn this year.

Picking TeamSpirit Voice Engine PC by Huawei will advance the adoption and widespread deployment of embedded Internet Telephony over IP networks for IMS/NGN. The Spirit software allows broadband operators and service providers to offer their subscribers an easy PC-download with a rich voice experience, an unprecedented quality and  a reliable back up.

The TeamSpirit Voice Engine PC is backed up by the award-winning proprietary technology which gives one an unprecedented quality. With this in place, operators can now get new customers easily and also deliver new exciting, rich, interactive, multimedia services on market demand.

Pay Platform Providing Frequent Flyer Miles launched by VoIP-PAL.com

In the first quarter of 2008, VoIP-PAL.com Inc. will launch its transactional pay platform. This information was obtained from an announcement made by the company itself. With the pay platform, customers can receive frequent flyer miles from a variety of renowned airlines. It becomes possible once they buy VoIP products from any of the designated VoIP-PAL.com Web sites.

As an incentive program, the Frequent flyer miles has helped to improve customer sales and loyalty. It has been proven to be one of the world's most successful incentives to buy consumer goods. It has also been proven to be a customer motivator. Since we are in an era where companies are struggling to gain their customer's money, as well as attention, innovative and proven methods is necessary. The implementation of a frequent flyer incentive program by VoIP-PAL.com, benefits any one that is a part of it.

This is how it works. Once products from VoIP-PAL.com are bought from any of the designated VoIP-PAL.com Web sites, customers will get a mileage code, either on a gift certificate or through e-mail. After this, the customer will now have to visit VoIP-PAL.com's custom branded redemption site to enter their codes. On selecting an airline program of choice, the consumer can now enter their account details for that airline program. The frequent flyer miles will appear in their airline account just in a space of 24 to 72 hours. It is after this that the customer can now start making travel plans.

            Here is what the CEO of VoIP-PAL.com Inc., Richard Kipping, has to say from News - Alert, "Launching the platform is a goal we have set for early 2008. We are excited to be able to offer airmile incentives to our customers and plan on developing future incentives that market our VoIP products as alternatives to expensive long-distance telephone costs."

            A nationwide teleconference was held recently by VoIP-PAL.com to update shareholders on recent developments, discuss the company's unique contract to sell its VoIP product and its position on becoming an acquisition candidate. 

            In a bid to help businesses and individuals worldwide to communicate more effectively, VoIP-PAL.com, Inc. focuses on selling cutting-edge VoIP products and services. It also tries to cut costs by providing the greatest cost savings that is possible. VoIP-PAL.com wants to be marketing the highest quality, most innovative, best priced products and services available continuously.

            Even though not everybody will think frequent flyer miles when shopping for VoIP products and services, we all know that consumers always want a good value for anything they buy. As the fare for airline travel continues to be more expensive, programs that provide lower cost or even free travel has been known to act as an incentive for purchase. Since VoIP-PAL.com understands what is happening, they implemented a plan to capitalize on the concept, which you will consider a smart and strategic move.

 

Mobile Operator 3 launches Skypephone in Sweden, Denmark and Austria

            After introducing the Skypephone in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Hong Kong and Italy, Mobile operator 3 is at it again. It wants to launch its Skypephone in Sweden, Denmark and Austria.

            With the 3 Skypephone, which is a 3G device Internet phone, you get to make free Skype-to-Skype calls to any place in the world. You can also make conventional calls using the handset. One very good thing about this phone is that it allows users to use free Skype calls not just when they are connected to a PC but also while on the move.

            The phone is slim and lightweight. It comes in either a black or white colour, with a dedicated button for launching the Skype software. You will find a digital camera in it. There is also internet connectivity. That does not end there. You also get to download music and video.

            Sending text messages is quite easy. Instant messages can also be sent free of charge using Skype. Skype chat that is started on the phone are automatically synchronised to the users PC and the other way round.

            Presently, the first 5 call destinations for UK 3 Skype customers are the UK, USA, Poland, Germany and France.

 

Euro regulators sets rule on VoIP

            In a bid to harmonise VoIP standards and services across the union, a number of measures have been put in place by European regulators. The Group had a joint agreement on the regulation of IP telephony. With this regulation, a time will come when all users will tap into their service and use the very same number across the 27 member nations.
            According to Roberto Viola, the chairman of the European Regulators Group, "Our network of regulators will continue to set the pace in driving more effective regulation in Europe. Our common position on VoIP will help providers roll out their services across Europe more rapidly, whilst ensuring that consumers enjoy consistent levels of protection in terms of access to emergency services."
            He further said that the group will "continue to work closely" with European commissioners to smooth out regulatory issues that are holding back consumer enjoyment of telecoms services such as VoIP.

 

 

VoIP to gain from emergency calls

            Thanks to new government policies that would soon be implemented, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services would get better in the future. Ofcom, the Telecoms watchdog has just announced the plans that have been put in place to make all VoIP providers, provide access to emergency services. The IT Week thinks this would really be beneficial to VoIP users and also help take the service to a greater level. Based on reports from IT Week, the take-up and development of VoIP in the UK could be driven on by the new plans, which are set to come into force in 2008.
            The changes that will be put in place includes the creation of operator services and directory enquiries, in addition to special services for disabled people which would be charged at special rates.
            Though there has been some fear that the new addition might hinder the development of VoIP in the short-term by making providers less inclined to support incoming calls, Ofcom affirmed strongly that this will not happen because market forces will be too strong for providers to resist.
            Based on this, IT Week can now see that bringing in emergency call access on VoIP will greatly help in improving and widening the range of services provided by VoIP operators.

 

Uruguay Telecoms Market will be Worth US$1.07bn in 2012

            Come 2012, it is expected that Uruguay's telecommunications market will likely bring in revenues that is worth at least US$1.07bn. This was brought forward after a recent study by Signals Telecom Consulting. According to Signals, Uruguay's telecoms sector will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4% between 2007 and 2012.

            From what was gathered from the study, mobile telephony will experience a strong growth during this period and will continue competing with fixed line monopoly Antel. It also emphasized that revenues generated by mobile operators will exceed revenues from the fixed line business by the end of 2007.

            The mobile operators in Uruguay are América Móvil unit CTI Móvil, Telefónica unit Movistar Uruguay and Ancel, which is owned by Antel. Based on this study, the country will end 2007 with a mobile penetration rate of 76.5%. This percentage is expected to increase to 100% by 2011. The reason for mobile sector growth will be the launch of mobile broadband. This will allow mobile operators to compete with Antel in that aspect.

 

 

 

Andover Public Schools awards AT&T voice and data services contract

                Andover Public Schools has just awarded a five year voice and data services contract to the US communications holding company AT&T Inc. Andover Public Schools is a public school district which serves over 4,000 students in eight schools wthin Butler County, USA.

            Under the terms for the contract, AT&T has said that it will provide a Switched Ethernet solution to support the implementation of VoIP. This will widen its current relationship with Andover Public Schools. AT&T believes this solution will provide expanded bandwidth for educational applications at each school and support programmes across the network, including podcasts and United Streaming TV.

            The solution was designed to incorporate disaster recovery services, thus ensuring an increased network security and redundancy. It will also support streamlined communications that will ensure efficient voice and data network management.

According to AT&T, VoIP services will convert voice calls into data packets, which will allow the district to send and receive calls over a high-speed Internet connection, while VoIP will allow teachers to route calls to different rooms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vonage, AT&T to settle dispute over VoIP patents

            Just some few days back, Vonage and AT&T decided to settle the dispute between then over alleged patent infringement by the former's voice-over-IP (VoIP) service. The information came in from the announcement made by the two companies concerning the issue.

            Though the two companies refused to provide the precise details of the agreement, the deal came in some weeks after the two had agreed in principle to end the litigation which accused Vonage of infringing on patents for connecting phone service to Internet systems.

            It looks like in the settlement, there will be payment of a lump sum and royalties based on previous lawsuits settled by Vonage. Previously the Internet telephony company had to tackle multiple lawsuits that are relating to similar VoIP patents. They have even struck deals with Sprint and Verizon to continue running its existing service without any significant modification. The complaint brought forward by Verizon might have blocked Vonage from connecting to its phone network. It might have contributed to Verizon significantly curbing Vonage's ability to serve its American customer base.

 

 

 

Skype and 3 Partner to Launch Product

3, a mobile operator company says that it has entered partnership with Skype to launch Skypephone handsets in Austria, Denmark, and Sweden. This follows the successful introduction of the handset in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Hong Kong and Italy and means free mobile to mobile international Skype calls are available to 3 customers across eight countries.

The 3 Skypephone is a 3G Internet phone with free internet calling built-in. In addition to Skype calls the phone makes conventional calls and can be used to access 3's broad range of internet services.

Kevin Russell, CEO 3 UK, comments: "The 3 Skypephone has brought the worlds of home and mobile broadband together. Our customers are now able to enjoy the same Skype experience at home as on the move. The rollout across our international business underlines our commitment to offer innovative services that challenge the status quo."

Click Here now to Download the latest version of Skype and enjoy the best Quality Audio and Video calls for free

Over $750 Million Generated from IP Phone in the Third Quarter

Dell'Oro Group reported that the worldwide IP phone revenues exceeded $750 million in the third quarter of this year, growing more than 40 percent compared to the same period last year, due in large part to strong demand for IP lines to the desktop, according to a Dell'Oro Group report on the enterprise IP telephony market. Nortel and Avaya remained the top two vendors of worldwide line shipments, while Cisco bumped Siemens as the third largest vendor of worldwide line shipments in the quarter. Despite the upset in analyst ranking, Siemens enjoyed a strong fiscal year-end quarter.

The report indicates that IP phone revenues are becoming a larger part of a vendor's revenue stream as customers are opting for more expensive IP phones instead of keeping or replacing their older digital phones.

"IP Phone growth accelerated in the third quarter as large enterprises that have completed the first phase of revamping their voice infrastructure by upgrading their call control to IP are now entering the second, multi-year phase of upgrading users' desktops to IP phones," said Alan Weckel, Senior Analyst at Dell'Oro Group. "Vendors, such as Avaya, Cisco, and Nortel that are closely integrating voice into an enterprise's business processes -- such as deploying Unified Communications -- are seeing the greatest uptake in IP phone adoption," Weckel added.

Company Exposed VoIP Security Threats

In order to find lasting solution to security flaws in the company's services, Sipera Systems, after long investigaton, have been able to identify and list its top five VoIP vulnerability of 2007 which ranged from toll fraud to remote eavesdropping.

"By highlighting the top five vulnerabilities, issuing VIPER Lab Threat Advisories, and providing the Sipera IPCS product line, Sipera is helping enterprises and service providers secure their VoIP systems," said a statement by Krishna Kurapati, Sipera founder and CTO.

The other three security holes highlighted were the Skype worm, which utilised that software's chat function; Vishing, in which malicious users spoof their phone number to gain sensitive information; and VoIP hopping, which can give hackers access to VLANs by making a PC mimic a VoIP phone.

BlueNote Expands Services

Expanding it services, BlueNote Networks on Monday added two voice-interaction services to its VoIP web-services offering, allowing companies to build interactions such as automated phone calls or text messages into business applications.

The company added two new web services to its SessionSuite product: the Outbound Notification Solution Framework (ON-SF), for outbound notifications, and the Session Interaction Plugin Framework (SI-PF), for interactive sessions such as automated telephone communications.

Outbound notifications can be handled over channels such as voice, SMS, fax or email, and the application automatically handles aspects such as queuing, retries and filtering based on the time of day, BlueNote said.

SessionSuite is based on SIP, the protocol which sets up multimedia communications, applying the same application programming interface (API) to text, voice and video interaction, BlueNote said.

The idea of ON-SF is to allow SIP messaging functions to be integrated with business applications so that various events can trigger a personalised notification. For instance, an airline could inform passengers of upgrade status or itinerary changes, or a financial institution could deliver stock alert messages.

BlueNote is targeting specific vertical markets, including healthcare and higher education. One of its customers, Northern Kentucky University in the US, is currently testing the system by offering notifications on university opening hours to students.

SI-PF is intended as a simpler alternative to the more specialised VoiceXML, allowing organisations to create interactive media applications using familiar web-service APIs.

 

Expanding it services, BlueNote Networks on Monday added two voice-interaction services to its VoIP web-services offering, allowing companies to build interactions such as automated phone calls or text messages into business applications.

The company added two new web services to its SessionSuite product: the Outbound Notification Solution Framework (ON-SF), for outbound notifications, and the Session Interaction Plugin Framework (SI-PF), for interactive sessions such as automated telephone communications.

Outbound notifications can be handled over channels such as voice, SMS, fax or email, and the application automatically handles aspects such as queuing, retries and filtering based on the time of day, BlueNote said.

SessionSuite is based on SIP, the protocol which sets up multimedia communications, applying the same application programming interface (API) to text, voice and video interaction, BlueNote said.

The idea of ON-SF is to allow SIP messaging functions to be integrated with business applications so that various events can trigger a personalised notification. For instance, an airline could inform passengers of upgrade status or itinerary changes, or a financial institution could deliver stock alert messages.

BlueNote is targeting specific vertical markets, including healthcare and higher education. One of its customers, Northern Kentucky University in the US, is currently testing the system by offering notifications on university opening hours to students.

SI-PF is intended as a simpler alternative to the more specialised VoiceXML, allowing organisations to create interactive media applications using familiar web-service APIs.

 

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Verizon Adopts Managed Nortel VoIP Service

Verizon has partnered with Nortel to offer managed service for Nortel's IP PBX. Verizon Business, which already offers a managed service for Cisco Systems' IP PBX products, on Dec. 10 added Nortel's Communication Server 1000 IP-PBX, Business Communications Manager branch-office IP PBX and CallPilot voice mail platform to its portfolio of managed services.

"What's unique about Nortel is that they've announced a very well-connected integration strategy with Microsoft. There is a lot of industry discussion related to using Microsoft's Office Communicator that launches the Unified Communication applications. Lots of people have that client on the desktop already," said Laurie Shook, manager of managed IP telephony for Verizon Business.

The new Nortel IP PBX managed service will include the full life cycle of on-premises equipment management, from implementation and deployment through fault, configuration accounting, performance and security management.

"We identify problems, fix and troubleshoot the network, configure servers and routers, and we manage it, take care of asset management and then do performance reporting. If there are not immediate but potential problems, we can identify and take proactive action instead of reactively fixing a break. Then we do a security assessment that looks at how those issues affect VOIP [voice over IP]," Shook said.

As a part of the new Nortel IP PBX managed service, Verizon Business will offer 100 percent platform availability service-level agreements and call completion guarantees, as well as guarantee actual voice quality based on a Mean Opinion Score of 4.0.

Verizon Business has to date provided implementation and deployment services for 155,000 Nortel Time Division Multiplexing-based Nortel PBXes and 4,800 IP PBXes.

The Nortel-based managed service, due in January, is aimed at large enterprises that prefer managed network services to in-house support.

In a separate announcement, Verizon Business also added support in its IP trunking services for Nortel's Communications Server 1000 5.0 release, and will allow customers to use idle trunk capacity in one location to accommodate an increase in traffic from another location.

New Application for Web Pages Launched

A new application that would enable developers to create telephony applications that can be embedded in websites has been launched by a Californian company.

The new technology branded Ribbit includes software switch that essentially connects Internet-based voice communication services with mobile phones, landlines phones and text messages.

On top of that connection is the Ribbit APIthat lets developers build applications that unify the wide variety of communication methods.

Developers can build applications that include functions such as recording, sending and receiving voicemail, and making and receiving calls. The applications can be built using Flash, embedded into any site, and integrated into existing web-based services. The platform supports many existing VoIP platforms such as Skype, GoogleTalk and MSN.

Developers can charge end-users for the applications, and Ribbit can handle the billing for them. There are several ways developers can offer and charge for their products, and in some cases Ribbit will share revenue with developers.

Ribbit showed off one application a developer has created that embeds phone capabilities into Salesforce.com. By keying a code into a mobile phone, users essentially replace their current voicemail with Ribbit for Salesforce. Then users can listen to or see text transcripts of their mobile voicemail messages within Salesforce. They can send the messages to colleagues and tag them for easy sorting later.

Users can also make and receive phone calls through their Salesforce page. Such calls are automatically logged in their Salesforce application.

Ribbit for Salesforce will cost US$25 per user per month for end-users. It is currently in a private beta with more than 90 companies, and should be widely available in February, Ribbit said.

Salute America's Heroes, a veterans' association, has built essentially a call center application that lets veterans who work for the group make and receive phone calls while at home through a browser. The capability is integrated into a website that also hosts tools they use while making the calls. The capability allows the association to take on the cost of the calls rather than reimbursing workers for the use of their home phones.

Ribbit designed its own softswitch, which runs on Linux blades and has been certified in an Alcatel-Lucent lab to meet the capabilities and reliability that telecommunications providers typically require, said Ted Griggs, CEO and co-founder of Ribbit. Ribbit's network operations center is hosted by a third party in Virginia, and the company is working on opening one on the West Coast to offer geographic redundancies. It can add capacity simply by adding more servers.

Ribbit says that more than 650 developers are working on new applications, although on Friday only two were listed on the developers site. "Dozens" are near release, a few additional applications should be available on Monday, and many more should be available in the early months of next year, Ribbit said.

NetIQ Says VoIP Companies Neglects Security Threat

In a recent study carried out by NetIQ, it discovered that many IT managers are turning blind eye to security threats that could compromise their VoIP infrastructure. It was discovered that among

About 66 IT managers, either using or planning to deploy VoIP systems in mid to large enterprises, found that more than half (59%) rated the threat of viruses or worms attacking their VoIP system as "low" or "very low".

Spam over IP (SPIT) and SIP compromises were equally low on respondents' radar with only 12% and 18% of respondents, respectively rating these as "high" or "very high" security threats. Just 24% of those surveyed were concerned with DoS or toll fraud.

While the majority of respondents had a firewall in place to secure their infrastructure, less than half had installed security management specifically designed to protect and secure their VoIP system.

Ulrich Weigel, chief security strategist for NetIQ comments: "The survey highlights a worrying complacency among organisations that have either already deployed or are about to install a VoIP infrastructure.

"The main focus for organisations has traditionally been on ensuring voice quality and performance, but vigilance with security - and taking measures such as encrypting voice services and performing regular security audits - is equally important."

The research findings come as the SANS Institute, in its annual round up of the most significant IT risks, recently announced that VOIP servers and phones ranked within the top 20 security risks for 2007. The organisation's experts have warned that the rapid adoption of systems in order to achieve cost savings has led many organisations to overlook vulnerabilities such as VoIP phishing scams, eavesdropping, toll fraud, or denial-of-service attacks.

 

Motorola Announces Launch of VoIP Service via its WiMAX Network by NeckarCom

Following the successful implementation earlier this year of WiMAX network in the Ulm region of Germany by Motorola, the company announced that NeckarCom Telekommunikation GmbH, an innovative German telecommunications provider, has launched its commercial Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service. NeckarCon was able to easily integrate all Motorola current standard voice and standard voices services across the WiMAX solution due to the flexibility of Motorola's WiMax solutions.

Explaining the importance of this development, the managing director, NeckarCom Telekommunikation GmbH said "We completed the roll-out of the WiMAX network in the Ulm region in October, which enabled us to offer wireless broadband data services in an area where fixed-line broadband services were not possible. We are now extending our services to offer VoIP, transforming communications in the region. The breadth and quality of Motorola's WiMAX product portfolio will support NeckarCom as we expand and bring further next-generation communications tools and services to our customers."

The corporate vice president & general manager, Motorola Home and Networks Mobility EMEA, Joe Cozzolino said "WiMAX is significantly disrupting traditional broadband business models and challenging providers to think about how they roll-out new communications networks and services in both metro and rural areas.

"The Motorola WiMAX network that NeckarCom chose to deploy a few months ago is already transforming its communication capabilities in the Ulm region. We are thrilled to be working with such a forward-looking provider as NeckarCom. Together, we are demonstrating the key benefits that WiMAX offers for voice and data communications today and in the future."

Customers in the Ulm region now benefit from a high-quality, low-cost, complete communications package from a single provider. NeckarCom's integrated voice and data service was the first 802.16e WiMAX-based offering in Germany and is based on Motorola's WiMAX technology. WiMAX 802.16e is a future-proof standard which can support fixed, nomadic, and mobile voice and data services and will allow NeckarCom to build a next-generation portfolio of communication offerings on its current WiMAX network.

 

IPTV Experience hall opened in South Korea

Enterone in partnership with Korea Telecom, Sony Computer and Entertainment Korea has opened an IPTV Experence hall in South Korea. This hall is a place where visitors can have hand on experience with IPTV services. Visitors can enjoy KT's Mega TV IPTV service which was adopted as a set top box for play station 3. This service will be formally launched next year.
This hall is situated on the 20th at MBC Edupark on the 6th floor of Shindorim TEchnomart building in Seoul, South Korea. The companies behind this hall believe it will help popularize IPTV adoption and translate to more sales of their IPTV services.

Complements of the Season

This is to wish all my readers and staff contributors a very merry christmas and a properous new year 2008.

Trai picks DoT to supervise IPTV services

 

            The telecom regulator Trai has just disclosed that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) would be the nodal agency to supervise IPTV services. This decision was taken disregarding the rule made by the cable industry that new media platform IPTV must be regulated by the 1995 Cable TV Act, with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) standing in as the nodal body.

            What then is IPTV? It is a way of delivering and viewing TV programmes using an Internet Protocol network and high-speed broadband.

            According to Trai, the rules for the operational procedures of IPTV would be made by the DoT, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. This development is very significant because presently, any service that involves the transmission of television channels over any platform is controlled by the I&B ministry. In its provision paper on Internet Protocol (IP) TV, Trai said that the DoT will now look into matters related to IPTV in consultation with other ministries concerned.

            Trai also added in its paper that, "Operational procedures like time to keep a copy of the contents shown on IPTV, monitoring requirements etc can be worked out by the DoT based on feedback from the respective ministries."

            A further addition in the paper by Trai was that, "DoT may perhaps seek the guidance of the respective ministries to ascertain the penalties for the breach to maintain uniformity and shall initiate suitable action for imposing penalties for violations in a time-bound manner."

            When it comes to giving out licenses, Trai said the telecom companies having Unified Access Service Licence and cable companies registered under the Cable TV Act would not require any fresh licence. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that have a net worth of Rs 100 crore have also been permitted by Trai to start these services.

            The IPTV package is interactive because of the presence of a return path i.e. consumers can interact by asking for offerings. This is where it has an upper hand when compared to cable services. It can also provide video-on-demand, time-shifted television (i.e. a show that can be watched days after being telecast) in addition to other interesting features. But when you try to overlook the arguments of the broadcasters and the cable industry, Trai has termed IPTV as a delivery platform and not a service.

 

 

 

 

 

Amino has been Chosen For Central America's First IPTV Service

            The Amino AmiNET125 multi-codec Set-Top-Box (STB) has been chosen by Panama's CTV Telecom for Central America's first IPTV service. The platform of AmiNET125 was fashioned in such a way to help operators in up coming markets to bring in IPTV services using a flexible and cost effective approach. AmiNET125 can also be used in European and North American markets for standard definition TV sets.
            In Panama City, CTV has a purpose built high-speed 100 per cent fibre optic network which is used solely for the delivery of the new IPTV service. The people that Subscribe to CTV get pure IPTV services from them. Such services include telephone, broadband internet and television, with a choice of over 100 broadcast, music and on demand channels. Right now an initial order has already been issued for a substantial volume of AmiNET125 STBs. More orders are likely on the way since the delivery area stretches to other parts of the country.
            According to Juan McKenzie, the director at CTV Telecom, "Amino is a valued partner and has gone far beyond just selling us a STB. Throughout the deployment we've benefited from Amino's vast IPTV knowledge and experience which has helped us to develop the business and avoid common pitfalls. The unrivalled interoperability of Amino technology has also enabled a quick and seamless integration with our other IPTV partners."

            To achieve the best combination of reliability, performance and cost, AmiNET125 combines proven hardware and software architectures with the latest processor and peripheral components. It actually adds the very best features of Amino's initial standard definition products but in contrast, it added a USB 2.0 and a programmable multi-codec DSP capable of MPEG-2, H.264 and WMV9.Through the use of a new System-On-Chip (SOC) solution, it also combines a powerful CPU and advanced, programmable DSP in a cost effective single package. This package can easily be field-upgraded in order to support the addition of new services and codecs, thus boosting the increase of average revenue per user (ARPU).
            This is what the Director of Sales for Amino in the East Coast & Latin America, Sandra Conejos has to say, "This deployment brings IPTV to a previously untapped market and demonstrates Amino's dedication to driving the geographic spread of IPTV technology to new areas. The AmiNET125 focuses on the core requirements of cost sensitive markets in the developing world to produce a lower cost, flexible multi-codec platform supporting advanced IPTV services. Through this technology consumers in Panama will soon be enjoying innovative IPTV offerings for the first time."
            Just recently, the AmiNET125 won the highly esteemed CSI Product of the Year Award under the category, "Best IPTV technology", before the Microsoft Xbox360 solution for IPTV. Note that the CSI award is actually the third international accolade given to Amino's multi-codec range of STBs in the last couple of years.

 

ABA to make an appearance on NeuLion's iPTV service

            This announcement was made at the same time with Sports Video Group's League Technology Summit in New York City on December 11. It follows NeuLion's successful launch of other IPTV networks for the National Hockey League, New York Knicks, National High School Coaches Association and others.

            This will make NeuLion's iPTV platform to be able to broadcast live and video on demand content, which is streamed straight to the TV. ABA will now be able to offer Chinese basketball games and other game footage through KyLin TV, NeuLion's Chinese media network.

            Since after launching KyLin TV in 2005, there has been more than 25,000 subscribers in all the U.S. State and Canadian providence. With KyLin TV, they have direct access to the largest collection of Chinese television entertainment and most popular broadcasts from China and Hong Kong in North America.

            KyLinTV will now cover the ABA games. NeuLion's iPTV service allows KyLinTV subscribers to watch television programming through NeuLion's set top box via the internet. The Pay per view games has been available since this December at the rate of $2.99. Just watch out because at least two games are scheduled per week. It will feature the Beijing Aoshen Olympian vs US/Canada teams. You will find teams from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Beijing in ABA. Though the Beijing Aoshen Olympian were once based in Los Angeles, this season, they will be playing in Singapore. Throughout this season, the ABA teams from Canada and the U.S. will be playing games which will be featured on KyLinTV.

            According to Charles Key, the ABA's Vice President of media and marketing, "Basketball is quickly becoming the number one sport worldwide and the Beijing Aoshen Olympian is gaining incredible fame. We are thrilled to reach the growing Chinese audience in North America and are eager to bring them this basketball coverage on KyLinTV."

            Chris Wagner, the Executive vice president and co-founder of NeuLion also said this, "NeuLion Sports Networks continue to grow. We are excited to have the ABA as a new basketball content provider and partner. Consumers prefer to have a choice in watching sports on either TV or the PC and that is a slam dunk for us, since our platform can deliver to either device."

            To round it all up, Joe Newman, the CEO of ABA said, "The ABA recently signed a 15-year agreement with the Beijing Aoshen Olympian to develop teams in Asia, including mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao. We are very excited about this season as being the first step towards bringing the excitement of ABA basketball to the world and having a wonderful parner like NeuLion is very important to us."

 

Xilinx yearns for wireless communications market in India

 

            A player in the programmable logic devices (PLD) market, California-based Xilinx Inc, has foreseen a lot of prospects in the wireless communications market in India, especially with regards to Wimax and IPTV. They have been catering to wireline communications, aerospace and defence, in addition to industrial and medical verticals in the country.

            Some days back, Krishna Rangasayee, the senior director of vertical markets and partnerships Xilinx Inc, said this "We are targeting the booming wireless communication and networking market in India. Though IPTV technology is in its initial stage in the country, India is expected to be the fastest-growing markets for this technology and we see growth opportunities in this arena too, in one or two years down the line."

            Xilinx, which is worth $2 billion has various projects at hand. It has already tied up with companies that use its programmable chips to develop technology for equipment and implement wimax networks. They are also at different levels of negotiation with other companies too. Right now, they are in the process of developing their Hyderabad centre, which is its largest facility outside the US, into a global R&D hub. According to Mallik Moturi, the managing director of Xilinx, they are now building a systems and applications development, and customer support teams, as part of this program.

            As of now, the Hyderabad centre has developed 60 full product development lifecycle of intellectual property (IP) cores which includes gigabit ethernet, networking, automotive and process-related cores.

            Mallik further stated that, "The Hyderabad centre currently employs about 100 high-end design engineers and we plan to increase the strength of the R&D manpower here to 300 in the next couple of years."

            "On the company's $75-million Asia Pacific venture capital fund, which was designed to seek opportunities to invest in companies in the Asia region including India, Xilinx was planning to invest in companies that are creating innovative applications based on programmable logic". Rangasayee said

            He also added that, "Investment opportunities are all there and Xilinx is currently evaluating a couple of them. It will take a year or so to finalise the investments."

 

 

 

 

SoonR now gives file access and Skype from iPhone

            In a recent announcement, SoonR made it clear that its remote file access service now works with the iPhone.

            SoonR is a company that links mobile phones with the data on a remote Mac or PC. Anyone that uses it can easily access documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Even if you like, you can access more than 40 different document types with the help of a slideshow style interface. Apart from this, it can also be integrated with Outlook e-mail, calendar and contact information where Mac users can access their Mail account, mail attachments and contacts.

            It also leverages AJAX technology, which the iPhone supports. SoonR was enabled on the iPhone by the developers so as to scale fonts and pictures and also make adjustments just to check if the iPhone is being held in the portrait or landscape modes.

With the iPhone's "pinch" action, Users can easily zoom and also pan.

            One other thing is that SoonR enables users to make Skype call using the iPhone. The Mac or PC will be used to bridge the call. With SoonR Talk, users can make Skype chats and also show user status or presence information.

            SoonR offers basic accounts for free. This is because they are still beta-testing the software. Very soon, they plan to introduce the premium account.

 

 

 

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As AdultVest， Inc. Finishes 11 Studio IPTV Deals, More are still on the Way

            The exclusive licensing agent for "FyreTV", AdultVest, Inc. has just announced that it has inked a non-exclusive license agreement with Redlight District, VCX, TeraVision, Combat Zone, Mercenary Pictures, Channel 69, Critical X, KBeech, Acid Rain, Digital Sin, and New Sensations to utilize their adult movie titles for the FyreTV platform. Note that FyreTV is a new adult IPTV platform

            There are close to 60 other major labels in the works for FyreTV's soon-to-be released IPTV service in the Beverly Hills office of AdultVest. You can easily access the service through a set-top box. It is hooked up through a standard DSL line and it also features true streaming video that has no buffering, boasting DVD quality movies and trick play functionality, providing the ability to fast forward and rewind at DVD speeds.

            With the FyreTV platform, users can search inside movie titles for a particular performer and even scenes. It also enables them create playlists and favourites that are like iTunes. Since the content of the FyreTV system is not for once ever downloaded to a computer, studios are confident that their valuable titles are protected.

            FyreTV had decided before time that when it starts up the launch of their multi-million dollar national consumer advertising campaign, they will have their very own firefighters on board their big red fire truck. The truck will be parked on the floor at AEE''s 2008 conference which is actually taking place the same time as CES (the consumer electronics show) from January 9-12 at the Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas.

            Al Jones, the Business Development Associate for AdultVest's content licensing division was the one that made the announcement. This is what he had to say, "AdultVest, Inc. is the first and only investment firm to focus exclusively on the Adult Entertainment Industry. With an estimated +70 million unique visitors daily over the internet and has an estimated $65 Billion Dollars in worldwide revenues, the adult industry has been a consistent leader in the development, adoption, and expansion of new technologies. The new FyreTV technology demonstrates just how important the Adult Industry has been to the global development of ground breaking new technologies. Our firm welcomes the opportunity to help main stream technology companies tap into the adult entertainment market. It's clearly one of the most profitable ways to get your new product off the ground."

      The CEO of FyreTV, Estefano Isaias added, "AdultVest, Inc. has done a phenomenal job of assisting us to navigate the industry. They've successfully secured contracts with 11 major adult studios and have nearly 60 more contracts in the works with the industry''s top producers. We look forward to AdultVest's continued assistance as we expand in this dynamic marketplace. By securing the best content the Adult Entertainment Industry offers, our platform is sure to be a major success. People from all over the world will be able to watch thousands of their favorite adult movies, stars, scenes and genre at home in High Definition on FyreTV with just the push of a button."

            Get more information on this by registering on their website http://www.AdultVest.com. The other alternative is to call this number 1-323-330-6480.

 

 

 

 

Coyote to launch a new website come 2008

            Come this New Year, Coyote bikes which is a division of Avocet Cycles accessory division intends to launch a fresh website. Though the site was supposed to start functioning just before the dawn of 2008, the 1st of January has been chosen as the day it must start working fully.

            They intend to protect the website with a password. Dealers can view the extensive portfolio and also download images, information and offers. The website will offer a unique service known as the 'text and collect' service. Here, the dealer can text Coyote their order and also include a date on which they will collect the products from the warehouse. In case you need information on this service, you can check their website, www.coyote-sports.com.

            In a statement, this is what Ian Pollitt Walmsley, the Managing Director of Coyote told BikeBiz, "The website is simple yet effective with the aim to give dealers an easy option to receive the information that they really need, product images, product information , price and the ability to order. We want this site to develop over the coming months and improve the information provided, we are here to serve the dealers and if there are any areas that we can improve on, suggestions will be welcome"

 

 

 

 

ZTE Won the Bid to Build AVS-IPTV

The much speculated bid to build what it believes to be the and first's AVS-IPTV commercial network offered by China Netcom Group Corp. has been won by ZTE Corp.

After much speculations and deliberations and amidst several other bidders, ZTE has been finally chosen and  according to the contract awarded it will be the sole providers of the IPTV network solutions for the project which is believe to be the world's largest.

AVS which is the national audio/video coding and compression standard is China's initiative and intellectual property that protects local service providers' interest and would enable them to save on high patent fees imposed by foreign operators.

Based in China, China Netcom Group Corp. is a broadband communications and fixed-line telecommunications operator and the company has been collaborating with China's Ministry of Information Industry to drive the industrial implementation of AVS standard Trial tests on the use of AVS-IPTV for commercial purposes in Dalian. Since last year November the campaign has been hot and the collaboration has yielded a good result establishing a very firm foundation for the IPTV developments in both the national and international markets.

JumpTV Collaborates with AETN and Endmol to Offer IPTV

This is good news for subscribers of JumpTV, this company that has been offering international and sports programming has been able to secure content deals with AETN International and Endemol thereby bringing a possible increase in its subscription base.

This agreement would enable JumpTV to carry Endemol's Russian production of Deal or No Deal throughout North America. In a similar manner, the AETN programmes; The History Channel and A&E Network libraries, including Mysteries of the Bible, Ancient Mysteries, The History of Sex, Weapons at War and Modern Marvels would be offered through JumpTV's broadband VOD service.

Arrangement has been concluded to make the programmes available in four other languages and these are French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish language. The AETN's programming will be geo-blocked and will only be carried out in territories where a good number of immigrant communities for each language reside.

Also, plan has been concluded on pricing, it will be offered through ad-supported free-to-consumer, pay per view and subscriptions models and the paid services will be as low as $0.49 per episode and for those who would be interested in series of episodes it will be available at$5.99.

Also, as part of their marketing plan, the content will be marketed alongside with JumpTV's live sports and VOD content from Portugal, Spain, Latin America, Russia and the Ukraine.

Telco Launches IPTV in Korea

Telco LG Dacom has joined the race of providing IPTV services in South Korea market making the company to be the third to offer such service after the fore runners, Hanarotelecom and KT with their respective Hana TV and Mega TV.

Although, the company is currently offering about 3,000 programs which include the high-definition content, it said that it has already mapped out plans to increase the number of programs available to be offered to over 20,000 subscribers  before June next year.

The product, branded myLGtv, will not be offered to subscribers as a stand-alone service but it will be bundled in with the its broadband internet and internet telephone services which would attract discounts for intending users choosing all the three services.

Meanwhile, IPTV operators are still banned from offering real-time broadcasting there is indication that this ban will be lifted by next year. As it stands, Teleco is number the third largest company offering IPTV with some 1.6 million subscribers trailing behind KT's 6.5 million and Hanarotelecom's 3.7 million.

 

Alcatel-Lucent and Wind Partner to Offer IPTV

In collaboration with one of the leading telecommunications companies in Italy-Wind, Alcatel-Lucent  have completed arrangements to offer IPTV  on commercial ground to the nation at large. This service will be offered based on Alcatel-Lucent's solutions and the Microsoft Media room Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and multimedia platform.

Already, Wind has been offering about 2 million households its IPTV service as part of its first phase arrangement and the service has been described as being user friendly due to the fact that the company has incorporated such features like instant channel change, multiple picture-in-picture, personal video recorder (PVR) functionality and video on demand (VoD)  at a reasonable pricing.

The chief operating officer at Wind, Khaled Bichara, said that it has partnered with Alcatel-Lucent because the latter's IPTV solution contains an IP/MPLS network infrastructure based on its 7750 Service Router (SR), combined with integration and implementation expertise. Alcatel-Lucent's solution integrates the Microsoft Media room platform for TV service delivery. The solution leverages Alcatel-Lucent's IP Transformation Centers (IPTCs) resources encompassing network, service platforms and OSS/BSS systems.

 Bichara further stated that "As our long term partner for triple play deployment and IP network transformation, Alcatel-Lucent is helping us to enhance our service offering and pioneer advanced and innovative IPTV features to our customers.

. "This effort will create sustained value for Wind through increased revenues and customer loyalty, strengthening our competitive position in the Italian marketplace."

While making her remark about the partnership, Frederick Rose, president of Alcatel-Lucent's business in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific said that "The successful delivery of advanced entertainment service by a leading European carrier such as Wind is a milestone for Alcatel-Lucent, enhancing our real-world experience in bringing IPTV and entertainment services to the market."

The Alcatel-Lucent's end-to-end solution for IPTV also includes an overlay IP network, based on the Alcatel-Lucent 7750 SR to facilitate the seamless transition of Wind'sTDM (time division multiplexing) network to IP. In addition, the solution comprises proficiency in end-to-end IP-based network, services and OSS/BSS re-engineering and integration using best-of-breed products from Alcatel-Lucent and a range of strategic partners.

Verizon Announces Expanded FiOS TV Service

 The people of Oregon will soon enjoy the FiOS TV service from Verizon. Sensing the yearning of consumers wishing to enjoy the benefits FiOS TV can offer, Verizon has concluded a plan to include the greater Portland among the regions it offers the service and this would bring them to 13 states.

Being the nation's largest company that offers digital FiOS TV, Verizon has earned certification from the independent Fiber to the Home Council for providing all the way to customers' homes.

With the launch of this service, the company has succeeded in providing options for users living in Oregon and this would cause them to have access to more range of programming choices and at the same time make available superior picture quality desired by as much as about 152,000 households accounting for over 400,000 potential viewers who have already subscribed to Internet service and FiOS voice services.

Going by this recent move, Verizon may be on its way to snatch customers from other local cable providers and it is hoped that their services would protect the customers they jealously value.

Skype lays off 30 employees

 

            I have just heard that Skype has decided to lay off 30 of its employees in Tallinn and London. As you all know, Skype is a company that deals with online calls. With Skype, users can make phone calls using their computer to other Skype users free of charge through the internet.

            This information was revealed in the Estonian newspaper, Eesti Päevaleht. This is what Sten Tamkivi, the Estonian manager of Skype said, "Dismissal is not the right word since the company was always being "reordered". So we had a little restructuring last week as well."

            In another statement, Sten denied the allegation that the lay off was influenced by the manager of eBay. Before this development, the manager was quite disappointed by the low profitability of Skype which eBay bought in 2005 for 2.6 billion USD. So this might have spiced up the speculations.
            Sten Tamkivi further stated that a few people were also dismissed in the Skype Estonian office. He also mentioned that it does not mean Skype had enough employees. Infact, if you go to the Skype website, you will still see announcement for 45 new employees. Amazing, isn't it. One will wonder what they are actually looking for.

 

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Introducing Logitech’s USB Headset

            A new USB Headset is in town. It is the ClearChat Pro USB Headset that has just been launched by Logitech. It is most ideal for PC-Internet calling applications such as Skype. You also cannot leave out using it to listen to music, watch movies, or play games on the PC.
            It features proprietary laser-tuned audio drivers, an audio equalizer switch, and a noise-canceling microphone. The USB Headset can be connected to the PC using a USB port. It produces a high-quality digital audio, which does not depend on the quality of the computer's sound card. The laser-tuned audio drivers in the headset also allows for high-performance audio. It is also more comfortable to use.

            The SoundSwitch equalizer is a headset-based switch which enhances audio performance for PC-Internet calling, music listening, and gaming, instantly.
From what Logitech said, the PC calling mode accentuates the human voice while the music mode provides well-balanced sound, and the gaming mode enhances gaming audio, increasing the level of realism.

            You can easily find controls on the headset. It gives people a speedy access to volume and mute functions. With the adjustable noise-canceling microphone, you get a more personal fit. There is also a flexible boom which adjusts easily to the desired distance from the mouth. The microphone boom usually emits a soft, Red glow when it is muted. This is so that anyone using it will be sure no one else is listening-in while they talk.
            The price of Logitech's ClearChat Pro USB Headset is Rs 2,995. It can be obtained through Rashi Peripherals and Savex. The good thing is that you get a two year warranty.

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Vuze IPTV gets exclusive right to anime deal

 

            Since after its signing of an exclusive right to a Japanese anime series, the online television service Vuze has claimed an internet first. By this pact, it now has the sole right of globally distributing episodes of Neko Rahmen that was created by the producers, Think Corporation. But for now the series is yet to be accredited outside Japan. Vuze IPTV works by means of the Azureus BitTorrent client, which shares files on a peer to peer basis.
            According to the company, this will be the very first time an online video service would have an exclusive right to Japanese anime. Right now, they are putting 13 full episodes of this video online for you to see. You don't have to worry because it is free of charge. It is going to come with English subtitles. Hopefully they will add other subtitles in French, German and Spanish by the beginning of next year.

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IPTV would Generate More Income

According to a report made available by Informa Telecoms & Media titled "IPTV-A Global Analysis", the television service delivered by internet protocol-IPTV has the potential of being used by an estimated number of  38.4 million homes worldwide by the year 2012 thereby a possibility of generating huge income from the service.

As stated in their analysis, IPTV subscriptions and video-on-demand services would be generating an estimated amount of $14.7billion in the international market by the year 2012, with about $13.6 billion from subscription revenues and $1.1billion from VOD.

The media research manager at Informa, Adan Thomas said that the forecast for the short term is of about 10.6 million by the end of this year which double the figure they had in 2006-$5.3 million.

He further stated that "Much of the recent growth has come from service launches by European telcos, although US cablers are also starting to look anxiously over their shoulders at the success of U-Verse and FiOS,"

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Canal Digital Increases its IPTV Base

With the sole reason to broaden its horizon in terms of service delivery, the Sweden based company Canal Digital has extended its service by about 150% to accommodate more users in Sweden and this would definitely cause an increase in the number of the households that can receives its packages.

This would be made possible by a new distribution agreement Canal Digital entered with Svenska Fibemat and it is expected that the deal will bring the IPTV footprint to about 500,000 households. The agreement between these two companies implies that subscribers to Svenska Fiberna will be able to receive a package of channels that mirrors Canal Digital's DTH satellite service.

In addition, users are being given the chance to access the Basic, Family and Canal+ Total packages and three on demands offers from CMore Select, Film2Home and SF Anytime. Click Here now to Download the latest version of Skype and enjoy the best Quality Audio and Video calls for free

M&A Continues to Record Hug Turn Over

Activities at M&A has gained considerable momentum just as the year closes-up leading to a successful transaction that involved two established names selling up to international companies. A US-listed mobile technology firm, Roc, has bought a majority stake of about 51 % from system builder Rock with the promise of sharing expertise in IPTV, place shifting, mobile internet and mobile entertainment platforms.

 The other involves security distributor Tekdata which has been acquired by Micro Perpherals (Micro-P).

The founder of Rock, Nick Boardman told CRN that though they are one of the last men standing in the system builder space and are doing okay, the market is not getting any easier. He said that rather than trying to fight it and stay independent, they believe partnering with a company that could add value to their company would be of mutual benefit to the two parties involved.

Boardman revealed that the pair would launch their first jointly developed product which is an ultra mobile PC incorporating 3G technology hopefully by March next year. He said "The deal may not make sense now, but two years down the road the rationale will become clear"

In a similar development, SonicWall distributor Tekdata also got in on the act by selling up to Micro-P – a unit of Dublin-listed DCC Group.

Keith Bird, vice president of EMEA at SonicWall, said: "This enables Tekdata to take the business to the next level. All Tekdata's management will still be there. It will be business as usual, but with the added benefit of a bigger company behind them."

 

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Orange’s Video-on-demand Launch Suspended

From all indications, the much anticipated video-on-demand service from Orange, a unit of France Telecom, is being delayed to enable the company put some logistics as regard the service in order. The commercial launch of Orange's UK fixed-line broadband television service has been scheduled to be made available for use before the end of the year.

This service allows its users to watch video-on-demand content through their Orange Broadband connection on their home TV and for a start, the company has chosen to partner with MGM and Disney-ABC International as content partners with the promise that more company would be involved by early next year.

Although, there have been much speculations about the service from different analysts, some believe that company's broadband network is not yet developed enough for a full roll-out and they doubt the potential profitability of internet protocol television.

Speaking on the need for Orange to wake up to the task, Ian Maude of Enders Analysis said that "''It's important for them to protect the broadband base from other service providers particularly Sky [which has more than 1m broadband subscribers]"

He further stated that ''They are not going to make any money out of IPTV - we estimate for example that Virgin Media makes around £2 to £3 a month per video-on-demand subscriber.

''But Orange needs to offer it because everyone else is and to prevent broadband and telephony customers leaking to the competition." The Analyst concluded by saying that To offer the service Orange needs to install broadband equipment in BT's exchanges. By September it had covered only 40pc of the population whereas rivals have coverage of around 60pc"

But the people at Orange believe that it is mere speculations and they strongly hope that the service would strive well in UK market, already the France launch of the service has been successful.

The Orange's service is expected to be a hybrid of Freeview channels offered over the air and on-demand content down the phone line, similar to BT Vision.

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O2 Extends Broadband to TV service

The on-going plans of extending the broadband agreement it has with media companies to include the TV market means that O2, a mobile phone company, is battle ready for the stiff competition it is about to enter with companies offering such services and these include the big shots like, Sky, BT, Virgin Media to mention a few.

O2 is looking forward to moving beyond Czech Republic and the Telefónica Spain's owned company has included the UK among the area it wants to cover, where it has already secured a residential broadband. The TV broadband service would enable its users to receive the TV service through broadband and arrangement has been made for the trial to commence commence next year.

O2 might be heading towards a good business initiative; the company already has the right to the national ice hockey league which happens to be the country's favorite sport. It is expected that more users will patronize the service considering the overwhelming number of users it attracted when it launched its Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) last September, during which it's been able to attract over 70,000 users out of the total population of 10 million.

O2 TV offers 55 channels and has video on demand content from Warner Bros, Sony Pictures, Disney, Paramount and HBO and possibly the O2 IPTV service will pitch the company up against its former parent BT, whose BT Vision hybrid Freeview and video-on-demand service has attracted 100,000 customers. The company maintains this is in line with its target, although rivals say it targeted "hundreds of thousands" by the end of this year.

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VRINGO WINS SPECIAL RECOGNITION SONY ERICSSON CONTENT AWARD

Vringo, the pioneer in video ringtone sharing, has won the Special Recognition award in the Sony Ericsson Content Awards ’07—the company’s first-ever awards for development of outstanding content and applications for mobile phones. Sony Ericsson made the announcement in an online awards ceremony. Vringo won for “Best Use of Phone Functionality.”
Vringo was selected for its video ringtone-sharing application that enriches and personalizes the experience of users of Sony Ericsson mobile devices, as seen in this video clip.
In selecting Vringo, the Sony Ericsson judges said: “Vringo is a rich and deep application that makes extremely good use of the capabilities available in Sony Ericsson Mobile phones—from voice, video, camera and buddy lists. And with its community features, it adds a new dimension to the consumer experience.”
Subscribers to the Vringo service use their buddy lists to deliver personalized, 2- to 10-second video ringtones (“Vringos”) announcing callers to the people being called or to identify incoming callers. Users select their personal Vringo video clips through their mobile handsets or online, or they can make their own. Subscribers can share Vringos with any other subscribers in the Vringo community who have compatible wireless phones.
“Winning this award is especially meaningful to all of us at Vringo because of Sony Ericsson’s stature as one of the world’s top mobile-handset providers,” said Vringo CEO Jon Medved. “We’re extremely proud to have this recognition from one of the true giants in our industry.”
This award from Sony Ericsson is the latest for Vringo, which also received the award for “Best Mobile Service for Social Community & User Generated Content” at the 23rd Annual MIPCOM conference in Cannes, France, in October.
Vringo recently added Agence France-Presse, WeeWorld and Discovery Channel to its growing catalog of content partners that already includes Universal Music Group and Meez, an online animated avatar service, among others. Vringo subscribers now have access to a wide variety of video ringtones ranging from comedy to sports to cartoons and more.
For further details about Vringo, to preview video ringtones or to see a list of supported handsets, please visit www.vringo.com.
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SPIRIT DSP to Offer VoIP Services

With a view to extending VoIP services to its customer, SPIRIT DSP (a telecom service provider that is based in China) has agreed to adapt VoIP software and to this effect, Huawei Technologies, a provider of next-generation telecommunications network solutions in China, has licensed SPIRIT's TeamSpirit 3.0 Voice Engine PC.

With this software, broadband operators and service providers would be able to offer their subscribers an easy PC-download with a rich voice experience service. There is also the possibility that this move would contribute to the adoption and widespread deployment of embedded Internet Telephony over IP networks for IMS/NGN without compromising on the quality of service.

While enumerating the benefits of the software, Alex Kravchenko, VP Sales & Marketing at SPIRIT DSP, said that"Huawei's choice underscores the enormous demand for wideband VoIP. TeamSpirit Voice Engine PC is backed by award-winning proprietary technology that offers unprecedented quality. We are proud to partner with such a significant player in the global market to help operators to attract new customers and deliver new exciting, rich, interactive, multimedia services on market demand."

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NHS Trusts Gets Free VoIP Calls Courtesy BT

NHS Trusts which is based in London would be offered free VoIP calls courtesy BT and this service available to all the members of the Trust who would like to try out this channel of communication.

The free VoIP service involves a free connection to the 3N Local Gateway Service and it is a pilot project of BT which after the trial would be extended to other groups that might want to indulge in the benefits of such service. The only charges that NHS Trusts have to pay are the cost of a signaling interface card to connect to the N3 gateway, software configuration charges and a monthly management fee.

The fact that the N3 Local Gateway Service acts as an interface between a local telephone switch and the N3 Voice Core Services Central platform could only mean one thing to this health community and this is the fact that it allows free VoIP calls to be made over the N3 network and provides access to the central mobile gateway, enabling reduced rate calls to mobile phones. The network has been configured in such a way that it connects surgeries, hospitals, community pharmacies and other NHS sites that share resources with these units.

It is expected that the service would reduce Trust's phone bills by at least twenty percent and already about twenty-one London NHS Trusts have been participating in this pilot scheme since the last sixty days with another twenty-six to soon join the list.

 

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Cisco Tightens-up on VoIP Security

Recently, it has been discovered that it is possible for hackers to eavesdrop on conversation that over the VoIP and this is actually posing as a threat to Cisco Systems where one of their VoIP services is being infiltrated by hackers who eavesdrop on conversation among innocent users and use the information to rob them of their valuable.

Discovering this is a researcher working for Telindus, who during the course of his research found that the threat allows hackers to remotely eavesdrop on Cisco Unified IP phones. This has also been confirmed by Cisco.

When explaining how the threat works, Cisco said that an attacker with valid Extension Mobility authentication credentials could cause a Cisco Unified IP Phone configured to use the Extension Mobility feature to transmit or receive a Real-Time Transport Protocol audio stream. The company further stated that Extension Mobility authentication credentials are not tied to individual IP phones, and that any Extension Mobility account configured on an IP phone's Cisco Unified Communications Manager/CallManager service can be used to perform an eavesdropping attack.

However Cisco has given the assurance that its customers' interest would always be protected and it said that help is on the way to tackle this security problem.

 

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Verizon offers New Managed Service for Nortel’s IP PBX

Verizon has enlisted Nortel to be among the companies it offers managed service for IP PBX. The company has chosen Nortel's Communication Server 1000 IP-PBX, Business Communications Manager branch-office and CallPilot voice mail platform as points of delivery for the services.

The service has been restructured to include new features that will ensure the full life cycle of on-premises equipment management, from implementation and deployment through fault, configuration accounting, performance and security management. With all technical issues put in place, the new managed Nortel-based service has been scheduled to be available by early next year (January, 2008.) and the market is targeted at large enterprise that would prefer in-house support for their managed network services.

The Verizon Business identifies problems, fixes and troubleshoots the network, configures servers and routers, and manages it, takes care of asset management and then does performance reporting. If there are not immediate but potential problems, they can be identified and proactive action can be taken, instead of a break being reactively fixed.

Speaking on the effectiveness of the new managed service, Laurie Shook, manager of Managed IP Telephony for Verizon Business said that "Nortel is unique in that it has announced a very well-connected integration strategy with Microsoft. There is a lot of industry discussion related to using Microsoft's Office Communicator that launches the Unified Communication applications. Many people have that client on the desktop already."

By way of encouraging its customers Verizon has promised to offer 100 percent platform availability service-level agreements and call completion guarantees, it also will include guaranteeing actual voice quality based on a Mean Opinion Score of 4.0. It is hoped that this will improve overall service delivery.

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Skype Remedy Security Flaw

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Skype has announced that it has initiated a remediation to combat a critical security hole in version 3.6 of its VoIP software for windows.

It was earlier discovered that when a specially crafted website is visited, attackers are able to inject malicious code onto a PC and execute it with the user's privileges. It would then be possible to infect the computer with contaminants. As a result, it was discovered that there was a flaw in the URI handler skype4com, which is created when Skype is installed. Short strings can then be used to provoke a memory violation in this handler, allowing code to be written into memory.

With the Zero Day Initiative, it will be possible to correct this anomaly and for users with old version of Skype, they are advised to install the latest version as soon as possible in order to be free of infiltration by hackers. It is not clear whether this flaw entered the software with the update for the URI hole that was made public just prior to this update. But it is clear that Skype has once again closed critical holes furtively without informing users at all.

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Jaxtr, the Fastest Growing VoIP Provider

With a skyrocketing number of registered users of about 5 million as against the 500,000 that was recorded in July, Jaxtr may be on its way to make history as the fastest growing internet communications service in history and as a result beating the forerunners like Skype, Hotmail and ICQ. The implication of this is that the company might be o his way to record huge financial result based on the quality of services it offers to its customers.

Jatrx offers telephony service that connect ordinary landline and mobile phones over the Internet, and each caller is identified by the email addressed improvised during the course of subscribing for the service. One unique thing about Jatrx is that an internet or Wi-Fi enabled phone is not required before one can use the service and in addition to this there is no need to download any software before the use of the service.

Each registered user of Jatrx is assigned a link which connects their contacts to them when they click on it and there is a provision for the contacts to enter their numbers before they can be connected. Another interesting feature of Jatrx is that members can dial a local number provided by Jaxtr to reach friends or family overseas, without having to keep returning to a computer to manage their account.

With the believe that his presence will add value to services it offers, the company  is hiring Taneli Otala as its vice president of engineering, in order to keep pace with the services phenomenal growth. Mr Otala led the technology team at both MySQL, and Various, the owner of AdultFriendFinder.com. He will address system problems presented by the service's current growth rate.

 

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Maxroam Launches New Product

With the aim of expanding on terrestrial based services it offers to its customers in the UK and Ireland, MAXroam has officially launched a roaming service that would enable it users to make call from their mobile phones at a more cheaper rate when they are abroad. This global GSM SIM provider announced that they are going to shoot out in a big way by making the SIMs available at Malphin, a popular High Street electronics retailer in the UK and Ireland.

Already, plan is on the way to make the SIM available in the Malpin shop and it will be sold for €29.99 and this price also includes a €5 call credit that will be available on the SIM on first activation. This service will also be available online and would be obtainable from Malpin's website.

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Skype Offers Skype Pro to Users in the US/Canada

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Users of Skype in the US and Canada are being offered new features in addition to the existing services they have been enjoying. The new product, named Skype Pro makes it possible for their clients to get unlimited calling for just 2 Euros/ 3 USD per month for those within the 29 selected countries with a small per-call connection fee.

According to them, this new plan would ensure that subscribers within the US and Canada would get unlimited calls to the US /Canada without any sub-charge connection fee. Not only this, users would also get voicemail, a Skype-To-Go number (this is Skype offer for their loyal customers to make cheap calls from their mobile device) and 60% service is a little more costly than their now discontinued unlimited calling plan which was about $29.95 a year, but then overall the service seems to be better off.

A subscriber who has tested the product agreed that it is better and cool to use, he said "My unlimited calling was going to expire at the end of next month, but I went ahead and signed up for Skype Pro anyway. They simply deducted the $3 out of my existing Skype balance and that was that. Now I've got Skype Voicemail again and I am considering getting a SkypeIn number, which only costs $24 a year as a SkypePro subscriber."

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Forbearance from Regulation is sought through Verizon’s Petition

            So many citizens might actually want to just file a petition with the government to request to be excused from some of its rules. In a situation where the government is unable to answer within the stipulated time frame, which is a mistake most bureaucracies make, the petitioners can be excused  in just the same way they made the request.

            Forbearance is the telecom exemption being talked about. It is something Verizon has been seeking from the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). Not once but several times. Their most recent trial which covers six significant East Coast markets is quite controversial. The petition deadline was on Dec. 5, 2007. We will find out later about the outcome. If they get what they wanted, it means a lot of telephone, broadband and other communication bills in those markets might increase.

            The procedure for forbearance goes way back to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which authorises the FCC to effectively cancel any regulation it finds is counterproductive or not needed, without having to look for changes in the law. Here is how it works, it permits the agency to forbear, or refrain, from enforcing regulations if doing so won't harm consumers, competition or the market in general. It was particularly the incumbent operators who discovered that forbearance might be a very good way to get out from what they thought to be oppressive or troublesome rules.

            Immediately they accomplished these, the carriers started filing all kinds of petitions. The carriers will see themselves in the enviable position of essentially having rewritten the law as they wanted once FCC did not reply them within the next12 months, in addition to one 90-day extension. This has happened at best one time, when a political deadlock at the FCC stopped the agency from meeting a petition deadline. This was what gingered Verizon to go ahead in stopping the publication of tariffs, or rates, that it was charging for some high-speed optical-fiber connections.
            Just some few weeks back, on Nov. 30, to be exact, FCC said it was going to look for comments on the forbearance process itself. Though any changes that will be made now will come in too late to actually affect the current petition, which focuses mainly on whether competitive telecom carriers in the six markets should continue to be able to use Verizon's subscriber lines under provisions for so-called cost-based tariffs authorised by the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

            The provisions known as UNE-L (Unbundled Network Elements Loop) rules. They allow local phone companies called CLECs (competitive local exchange carriers) to offer voice service at a competitive price. In addition, they also allow DSL providers such as Covad Communications Group to offer competitive broadband service. In this way, cheap consumer VoIP service will be made possible.

            With this petition, Verizon would be able to charge market rates. In other words what it feels its lines are worth, whether in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence R.I. or Virginia Beach, Va. The real rationale for the petition by Verizon is its contention that there already exists a lot of voice competition in the six markets, so enforcing the UNE-L rules is pointless.
            As expected, Covad Communications Group disagreed with the petition.

One of the reasons for disagreeing being that from studies, granting Verizon's petition would increase competitors' costs by $2.4 billion per annum. In the event that the competing carriers passes the costs to their customers, the hit would amount to $10 per household per month. Many other organizations are also queued up in an effort to make their opposition known. The organizations range from companies like CLECs to business groups and then to state regulators.

            The assistant general counsel of Covad Communications Group, Angela Simpson also argues that Verizon's petition makes use of many questionable assertions and statistics. More important, she argues, the very basis by which the FCC evaluates the level of competition is inadequate.

            At the moment, the agency only considers competition in voice services in its decision making. It doesn't say anything on the potentially major impact on competition in broadband services, which also means it keeps VoIP absolutely out of the picture. Just known that inspite of all this, VoIP is still very much in the picture but in another way.

            With the Verizon's petition we know that consumer VoIP services exists which is a proof that there is a lot of competition in the voice market. Even though Verizon has been going after the petition for the past year or so, it has been suing Vonage for patent infringement , thereby trying its very best to destroy the top most consumer VoIP provider. Don't know if there is a regulation that is against having it both ways.

 

Group Releases QoS Guidelines for VoIP Providers

A concerned group in Australia, Australia 's Communications Alliance, has released new guidelines that would assist operators of the Voice-over Internet Providers to meet QoS targets VoIP and IP networking, and it is believed that these would facilitate service delivery.

 

The guidelines were claimed to have been carefully drafted and covered wide area that include the challenge of using a single broadband connection to combine voice and/or video applications with less time sensitive applications such as Web browsing and e-mail, while not compromising the experience of the voice/video.

 While commenting on the guidelines, Anne Hurley- Alliance CEO said at present some network operators may manage the user experience of this within their respective networks, but doing so across different networks might be difficult.

According to her "The next important step will be the implementation and successful use of the guidelines by the industry. We would then expect improvements to end user experiences, particularly when calls traverse multiple networks.

Vyke Now Offers Mobile VoIP Services to Public

Joining the race of making VoIP services available to consumers as cheap as possible is Vyke, a UK-based mobile VoIP service provider. The company has recently launched a commercial mobile VoIP services that would be available for subscribers from any of a The Cloud UK and European hotspots and metropolitan area networks.

One of the advantages of using Vyke's mobile VoIP service from a The Cloud wireless network is that, users only need to connect to Vyke from their mobile phone without the need to have any separate The Cloud account.
In addition, Vyke Mobile IP claims to offer users up to 95 per cent discount compared to other mobile operator pricing structures and it offers automatic configuration services with easy mobile oriented sign-up steps.

Access to Emergency VoIP Calls Should be Mandatory for UK Service Provider

 

The proposition made early September to enable VoIP users to have full access to emergency numbers 999 and 112 has been confirmed few days ago by Ofcom.

In a recent research to evaluate the use of these emergency numbers by subscribers of VoIP services and to ensure that these users of mainstream VoIP services are not put in danger as a result of trying to call 999 or 112 using a service that does not offer them access, Ofcom found out found that as many as 78% of VoIP users who cannot currently use their service to call 999 or 112 either thought an emergency call was possible, or did not know whether or not this was the case.

In order to ensure that customers' interests are protected while using the VoIP's emergency numbers, Ofcom proposed that the rules on the provision of emergency calls via VoIP should include the following service providers:

·         The VoIP providers, which allow users to make calls to normal phone numbers but not receive them.

·          The Two-way VoIP providers, which allow users to make and receive calls to and from normal phone numbers.

·          VoIP providers that only offer calls over the Internet, usually to users with the same VoIP product, and providers that only allow users to receive calls from normal phone numbers are unaffected by the new rules. Services that only allow users to call international numbers and Click to Call services, where users can only call a pre-selected number or limited set of numbers, are also excluded.

 While recognizing the fact that the rules if well monitored would go a long way to protect consumers of VoIP services, the chief executive at Ofcom said that " As new voice services develop and become more mainstream, regulation must evolve too. In the future, consumers will be confident that if they can make calls to ordinary national numbers using their VoIP service then they will be able to call 999 or 112 in an emergency"

Cisco IP phones are susceptible to eavesdropping

            It has been shown that Cisco's 7900 Series of IP phones has a weakness in regards to the Extension Mobility. With this weak link, a hacker can easily listen in to other people's calls.

            Users use Extension Mobility to configure a Cisco IP phone as their own. Once it is enabled, it is unable to encrypt signalling communications that occurs between a device and an internal web server. It creates a lot of security problems because hackers can now have access to authentication credentials which they can now use to cut off users and also listen in to streaming media connections that has to do with calls. Though this looks very concrete, it is only possible if the hacker has a valid Extension Mobility authentication credentials and also have access to the targeted network.

            Internal attacks might actually pose a greater threat. An indication that the attack went through is the presence of noise on the wire. There will also be static noise on the phone while the attack is on. Thanks to the researcher, Joffrey Czarney of Telindus who discovered this problem, it wouldn't have been known. He presented a paper on this research at the Hack.Lu 2007 security conference, held in Luxemboug last month.

 

Pingo VoIP service upgraded by iBasis

            iBasis, the globally recognise VoIP leader, has upgraded Pingo, its online calling service. Pingo provides VoIP calls through a fixed-line or mobile phone. It doesn't necessarily need an extra equipment or software to work.

            In an effort to upgrade Pingo by iBasis, new features have been added to it. The first one is an interactive voice response system which allows users to know when their account balance is low. All they have to do to top it up is to push the star button. The other feature that has been introduced is a more improved speed-dialing capability for both consumers and business users.

            There is a provision for SMEs in the Pingo Business. What with about 999 employees to make international calls on an on-demand basis. This service makes it possible for account limits to be fixed for each employee, with balances and usage managed from a central account.

            With Pingo, users will be able to save a lot on calls made to both land and mobile phones in most countries around the world. For users of mobile phone, you can even save up to 90 percent on international calls.

 

 

A New Flash Phone Launched by TringMe

TringMe has recently launched a new flash phone that will enhance
web-based phone services. The new phone is part of the latest
innovation in the VoIP world and unlike the older applications where
most web-based phone services require a separate application like
Skype, Gizmo or any other related applications where the web is
primarily used to initiate a call on a regular phone, the Flash-based
web phones have been designed in such a way that VoIP calls are
directly routed through the browser in the phone.
The product called TringPhone is India's version of the Russia's
Flashphone released last month. Although, it is still in its pilot
phase, the full fledge service will kick-off as the product is
licensed to VoIP providers.
Its workability has been tested and found that it can work very well
with any existing account on a SIP-based phone service, and its
configuration likewise support any VoIP provider.
A user tried out a demo and found that TringPhone completed a call to the
user's U.S. cell phone.
The TringPhone is already available on TringMe's website.

Sutus Adopts ThinkTel's VoIP Services

In a bid to maximize product sales and recurring revenue, Sutus Inc.
revealed that it will integrate ThinkTel's VoIP services with its
Sutud Business CentralTM to facilitate telephony over the internet. By
completing interoperability testing with ThinkTel, Sutus has greatly
increased the range of VOIP services available to its rapidly growing
network of resellers.
The Sutus Business CentralTM is a unique appliance that combines
advanced data and networking features with business-class phone
system, designed specifically for small business.
With a super design plan to support businesses with not more than 25
employees, Sutus Business Central™ integrates all essential IT and
communications tools a small business needs into a single, easy to use
appliance. It is a business-class phone system with a wide array of
advanced data and networking functions such as: file server, email
server, router, firewall, wireless access point, VPN remote access
server, automated backups, and with the ability to simultaneously
support both standard phone line and VoIP connections.
Among the new service features are SIP trunks for POTS line
replacement and additional calling capacity, local numbers in 45+
Canadian markets, attractive wholesale long distance, cellular
dial-around and unified billing for both ThinkTel and other services.
Speaking on the expectation of the new product, John Wigboldus, VP
Sales and Channel Development for Sutus said that "ThinkTel is a major
player in the VOIP services market. Integrating their offering with
Business Central opens up a host of new services to our resellers and
supports our position at the forefront of advanced phone, data and
networking solutions for small businesses."
The President of ThinkTel also while commenting on the recent
development said that "Sutus Business Central is an ideal product for
any small business looking to gain maximum efficiency and flexibility
from their phone and IT infrastructure. It is a natural fit for our
wide range of VOIP services"

SMC Networks Selects Miltron to Market Product

The Australia VoIP users now have more options as to the use of telephone to route their VoIP calls, Miltron, a communications technology distributor, has been chosen as the sole distributor of the SMC Networks Wi-Fi Phone, a new phone that links Skype's users together.

This phone gives Skype users access to their account over any internet-enabled wireless access point, thereby removing the need to connect via a PC and making mobility quite easy for users of Skype's VoIP telephony.

The choice of Miltron is partly based on the fact that the company understands the internet landscape of Australia and partly because of its depth contacts within the local channel and their expertise with communication enabling devices and this has led to a signed agreement between the two parties.

Speaking on this agreement the General Manager of SMC Networks Asia Pacific said that the relationship with Miltron is a "terrific" step towards bringing world's renowned communication technology to Australian market and the VoIP users.  The manager said "This product is a great solution for customers looking to take advantage of low cost, convenient phone calls, and we are very pleased that Mitron will partner with us to spearhead the Australian distribution. They have excellent credentials within this industry and we are looking forward to a very successful relationship with this product."

While making his own explanation, the Managing Director of Mitron, Michael Boorne said they are proud to have been appointed as a distributor for the Wi-Fi Phone or Skype in Australia. Michael also recognizes the fact that working with the company that is known on the international scale would bring fame to them. He said "With more than three million Skype users in Australia, there is a large potential market for the SMC WSKP100. Its prospects look bright in Australia particularly as connectivity becomes a necessity. Consumers are increasingly tapping the potential of wireless networking drawn by its convenience, flexibility, as well as being compelled by the rising need for mobility. This innovative and cost-effective product will meet these changing needs."

 

SMC Networks is a leading global technology provider of LAN hardware, broadband connectivity devices and SOHO/Home wireless products and the SMC's Wi-Fi Phone is Skype Certified and comes embedded with the widely recognized Skype Internet calling functionality.

Eircom Launches VoIP Network for Bank

According to a report made available by siliconrepublic.com, the Irish former monopoly eircom has decided to launch a VoIP network and it is believed that it is going to be the country's largest VoIP in terms of service delivery.

The telco is working on behalf of Allied Irish Banks (AIB) to develop the latter's next generation integrated data and voice network. The new network is being deployed as part of the bank's 'One Network IP Telephony Project' and will serve AIB's Bankcentre 1 and Bankcentre 2 campuses, using 5,000 Cisco IP phones to support it.

More details can be obtained from www.siliconrepublic.com

Three VoIP Companies Face Legal Prosecution over VoIP Patent Infringement

Three companies providing VoIP services are being prosecuted by Klausner Technologies over its voicemail patent infringement. The three companies are; Cablevision, Comcast and eBay Inc.'s Skype. It estimated that about $300 million worth damages and future royalties are to be provided by these companies.

Klausner alleged that the said companies infringe its VoIP voicemail products and services of U.S. Patent 5,572,576. The company claimed that the patent has already been licensed to other companies which provide the same visual voice messaging services and these include Time Warner's AOL for its AOL Voicemail services, Vonage Holdings for its Vonage Voicemail Plus services as well as others, under the Klausner Patent.

Soliciting for this lawsuit in a federal court in the Eastern District of Texas on behalf of Klausner is a California law firm of Dovel & Luner, and while commenting on the filed lawsuit, Greg, the counsel of Klausner Technologies said that "We have litigated this patent successfully on two prior occasions, and with the signing of each new licensee, we continue to receive further confirmation of the strength of our visual voicemail patents."

 

Cablevision's Optimum Voicemail, Comcast's Digital Voice Voicemail and eBay's Skype Voicemail each violate Klausner's intellectual property rights by allowing users to selectively retrieve and listen to voice messages via message inbox displays.

 

Deltathree Collaborates with VSNL Solutions to Offer VoIP in Asia

With a view to strengthening their services in Asia, deltathree has decided to partner with VSNL Solutions for support over direct international Voice Termination Services (VTS) across its extensive international network. It should be recalled that deltathree is a major player and a leading provider of SIP-based VoIP solutions for both service providers whose objectives is to provide VoIP service in commercial quantity and as well as consumers that need the service for personal engagement.

It is hoped that by collaborating with VSNL Solutions (a leading communication solutions provider), deltathree would make a name for itself in that region which has been described as one of the most populated VoIP users.

Confirming this is the deltathree's vice president of operations, Yaron Globus. He stated that

"We are thrilled to be working with a market expert such as VSNL to strengthen our position in Asia , a region that is today at the forefront of VoIP utilization and development, Asia is a key target for deltathree in terms of growth, and with this collaboration, we look forward to intensifying our expansion strategy in the region. Now that joip, deltathree's newly formed consumer brand that powers the VoIP line of Panasonic's new hybrid landline/VoIP phone, will be launching in Hong Kong with plans to develop in nearby locales, deltathree has increased its focus on heightening its presence across the Asian market."

In his own remark, the president Global Voice Solutions for VSNL said that "VSNL is pleased to have been selected by deltathree to support the company's expansion initiative throughout Asia, our longstanding commitment to serving the market with high-quality, high-performance services in addition to VSNL's extensive global footprint, multitude of carrier relationships, and significant expertise in Asia makes us an ideal partner for deltathree, as they share our vision of expanding the market through innovation and commitment to quality."

SoliCall’s PBXMate, a solution to background noise on VoIP networks

            There is now a solution to help reduce the background noise on calls made over VoIP networks most especially conference calls. This is all thanks to SoliCall's PBXMate. It helps lower the background noise and also makes the voice quality better.

            For any VoIP Network that supports SIP, one can comfortably use SoliCall's PBXMate. It can also be used on Linux and Windows. With SoliCall's offer, there has been a tremendous improvement in the quality of phone calls. The PBXMate can be used in many ways just by a simple configuration. It is able to filter all calls going into a conference room. Once it is there, it makes the audio quality of conference calls better. It also lowers the background noise that comes from external cellular phones or any other external systems.

            With this product, Solicall intends to raise the quality and standards of any technological conversation irrespective of wherever the speaker is.

One can tell that Solicall's PBXMate has been a great success with what the customers have to say. There has been a great improvement in the voice quality, not to mention a whole new conversation experience.

 

 

 

 

27-Year old Telecom Veteran, Bob Harrison hired by IP5280 Communications as the Vice President of Sales

            Colorado's business VoIP specialist, IP5280 Communications, has just announced their decision to hire a 27-year old telecom veteran, Bob Harrison to be the vice president of its Sales Department. We will look at his achievements.

            Not too long ago, Harrison assisted in the launching of hosted solution eOnIPVoice for parent company eOn Communications which is centered in San Jose, California. Apart from this, he was also in charge of the launching of the Connecticut-based OneIPVoice's Hosted IP Solutions found in the Western part of the US.

            Just before he became fully involved in the VoIP world, he was the president and CEO of International Fiber Con in Phoenix, a company that was made up of over 600 employees across its 13 offices.  He played a very important role in the consolidation and acquisition of three profitable telecom companies into one entity.

            This is actually the second time Harrison is venturing into a Denver-based company. In the 90s, he served as the vice president of Sales and Marketing for Integrated Network Services in Denver. Here, he was able to raise the company's income from $100,000 to more than $52 million. Due to his great efforts, the company became the largest Qwest master agent in the United States. Quite an achievement for a 27-year old!

            According to John Scarborough, the managing partner of IP5280, "We are pleased to bring aboard the high caliber, telecom expertise presented by Bob Harrison. He will be instrumental in continuing our growth in the Colorado Internet voice and data industry as more small and medium-sized businesses drop phone service from Ma Bell and switch to the feature set, flexibility and quality of service they get from VoIP."

            With IP5280, you get a variety of unlimited local and long distance VoIP calling packages, not to mention data solutions such as Hosted VoIP and IP Business Trunking services which deliver full user mobility and email integration. The more enhanced features include sending voicemail to an email inbox, simultaneous ring on multiple phones, automatic logging of calls, auto attendant that greets callers and delivers calls to different employees. The conventional features like making conference calls and three-way calls are not exempted.

Allied Irish Bank proposes VoIP upgrade

 

            According to reports, Allied Irish Bank (AIB) will soon have a major upgrade in its communications systems. With this move, the company can now move up to a VoIP telecoms network. The bank intends to conduct all its voice communication over IP telephony which is provided by Eircom starting from March 2008.

            About 5,000 IP phones will provide infrastructure for the firm throughout its two major sites in Ireland. In the subsequent phase of the project, the IP contact centre will spread the IP contact centre functions to all AIB agents that deal with customers. There are some other features lined up for the future. They include call recording, a better routing capability and a system of alerts.
            According to reports, the IP telephony infrastructure that was created for AIB is the biggest and is very close to being the most advanced in Ireland. This because it also features links to the normal analogue phone networks and line monitoring technology which allows for the best use of the broadband bandwidth available.

 

News Release: VoSKY Takes Co-branded PBX-to-Skype Gateway to Businesses Worldwide

The Skype™ VoSKY Exchange range of rack-mountable PBX-to-Skype gateways are now available worldwide, VoSKY announced today. These gateways allow businesses to save money by making and receiving free Skype-to-Skype calls with customers and partners, as well as between company offices. The Skype VoSKY Exchange also provides a convenient bridge to landlines or mobiles by enabling inexpensive SkypeOut™ calls using standard office phones.
The co-branded Skype VoSKY Exchange 9040 and 9140 enhance business communications by adding VoIP applications like Web Click-to-Call, PBX Remote Access, Multi-site PBX Networking and Skype Trunking to existing phone systems.
The Exchange enables companies to make free Skype-to-Skype calls between company offices in different locations worldwide, free Web Click-to-Call for Skype users calling from corporate websites and free inbound calls to the PBX from remote and mobile Skype users. Businesses will also benefit from inexpensive SkypeOut rates for long-distance and international calls from the PBX to landlines or mobiles.
“About 30 percent of Skype's 246 million registered users run Skype for business purposes,“ said Enrico Noseda, director of telecom business development at Skype. “It makes perfect sense – with Skype a business can reduce communication costs and increase productivity in an easy and simple way. The Skype VoSKY Exchange offers a businesses-class solution that integrates with a company’s phone system, allowing them to communicate and collaborate for free with Skype users anywhere in the world.”
There is an increasing business demand for Internet-based voice communication as an additional means of reaching new customers and significantly reducing telecoms costs.
“The worldwide roll-out of Skype VoSKY Exchange solutions will help address this growing demand for businesses that want to connect their phone system to Skype,” said David Tang, VP of Global Marketing at VoSKY. ”Small and medium-sized businesses are an important market that offers substantial growth opportunities, and we are excited to work with Skype to further penetrate this market through our global distribution channels.”
The Skype VoSKY Exchange is a family of VoIP gateways that integrates Skype with a company’s existing phone system without replacing their existing telephony infrastructure. They also centralize Skype provisioning and management, giving IT managers and network administrators full control over Skype use.
There are two models of the Skype VoSKY Exchange. The 9040 FXS gateway model offers trunk-side connectivity to the PBX. The 9140 FXO gateway connects on the station-side and adds the ability to transfer Skype calls between offices by extension without dialing the full office number. Both models of Skype VoSKY Exchange add four Skype lines to the office PBX.

News Release: FORMER ELECTRONIC ARTS COO AND UBISOFT EXECUTIVE JOINS MOBIVOX TEAM

MOBIVOX, which makes it possible to connect with family and friends around the world for free from any phone, today announced that Maxime Julien has joined the company as Senior Vice President, Research & Development.
Maxime Julien has more than 15 years of management experience in the high tech and engineering sectors. Prior to joining MOBIVOX, Maxime was COO of Electronic Arts' Montreal studio and VP, Operations at Ubisoft Entertainment. Earlier in his career, Mr. Julien held several executive positions with industry leaders CAE, Motorola, Teleglobe and Ericsson. Maxime Julien holds an MBA (Finance) from HEC Montréal and a B.Eng. (Electrical) from Université Laval.
"I'm very excited to be joining the MOBIVOX team at this time of accelerated growth," said Maxime Julien, SVP R&D, MOBIVOX. "This is an unparalleled opportunity to build a world-class company - based in Montreal - that creates innovative communications services for consumers worldwide."
With several hundred thousand subscribers, MOBIVOX continues to expand its customer base in 44 countries. In addition to recently appointing the former head of Mobile from Skype as COO and opening an office in Boston, MOBIVOX is expected to hire about 25 programmers and developers in the coming months.
"Maxime's energy and track record of success in building and leading world-class R&D teams in Montreal makes him a perfect addition to our senior management team," added Stéphane Marceau, President and CEO, MOBIVOX.

New VoIP server standards to be Managed by Nominet

Nominet, the UK domain registry has been given the mandate to manage the implementation of a new internet protocol which allows web networks to convert a phone number into a web page address, thereby making it compatible with a number of VoIP services.

Enum, as this protocol is called will allow internet users to directly make phone calls without having t o do so through a third party applications such as Skype.

Speaking at Nominet registrar conference, Jay Daley, the Nominet's IT director said that "like internet before and after the World Wide Web – things will never be the same once convergence hits in its biggest form".

With this new application, the UK has been able to enlist itself among other countries such as the US and Germany that have been offering the features.

iRiver has been Selected to Feature Team Spirit 3.0 Voice & Video

Owing to their effectiveness in terms of service delivery, the Team Spirit 3.0 Voice & Video Engine Mobile of SPIRIT DSP has been chosen by Reigncom, the owner of MP3 player, to handle the voice and video performance in its upcoming iRiver Unit2 portable media player.

This new product comes with a tablet style player and base station that will incorporate a Video & VoIP conferencing terminal, a DVD player TV tuner , WiFi access point, will support an SD slot and USB connectivity, and will handle voice and video over IP calls and conferencing, music, movies, photos, eBooks, and WiFi streaming for the home.

TeamSpirit 3.0 Voice&Video Engine Mobile is a complete solution that delivers a rich voice and video experience for mobile OEMs. Due to sophisticated algorithms the engine enables best-of-breed voice, as well as three-way video conference calls with 10 fps on a low cost 200 MHz mobile phone for 3G VT and V2oIP applications.
The engine provides longer battery life thanks to extremely low MIPS consumption. TeamSpirit Mobile is specifically designed for next generation mobile devices like portable players with Wi-Fi adapter, dual mode phones (cellular + WiFi), WiFi phones, softphones on mobile platforms, IP voice and videophones, and 3G mobile phones (with video telephony support).
TeamSpirit 3.0 Mobile is available on all ARM9 and ARM9E based processors (XScale, OMAP and others), along with ARM AudioDE and TIC64x

Commenting on the effectiveness of the product, the VP Products of Reigncom said "iRiver has always been an innovator- both in user features set and design. To keep pace with today's rapidly growing and very demanding personal communication and home entertainment market, we need to work with industry leaders - that's why we have chosen SPIRIT. We would like to emphasize the high quality and excellent integration support we received from SPIRIT,"

In his own contribution, Alex Kravchenko VP of Sales of SPIRIT said ""We are pleased to contribute the development and further market success of the fabulous, innovative design of SPIRIT's world leading Voice and Video Engine, "iRiver Unit2, being powered by SPIRIT, is another acknowledgement of SPIRIT's world leadership in high-quality voice and video over IP and WiFi communication on mobile platforms."

Aculab Launches a SIP to TDM Gateway

As part of its commitment to ease the transition and extend the life of existing TDM equipment, Aculab has launched its own version of ApplianX IP Gateway which is a SIP to TDM gateway. And it has been designed to include features like video IP gateways, SIP trunking gateways, media servers for both the requirements of enterprise and carrier class.

It is expected that the ApplianX IP Gateway would help enterprises reduce operational costs, extend the life of existing TDM based equipment and take advantage of new IP based services.

The ApplianX IP Gateway comes with 1, 2 or 4 E1 or T1 trunks supporting a wide variety of E1 and T1 protocols and approvals so that it can be deployed worldwide and connected to globally dispersed remote offices and service networks.

In addition, the ApplianX IP Gateway provides comprehensive support for many PBX inter-working protocols, such as Q.SiG and DPNSS, allowing investment in legacy equipment such as PBXs to be protected - they can remain in service while new IP based services and endpoints can be taken advantage of.

It is expected that operational cost will be reduced through the new features incorporated into the application.

Connection to a diverse mix of endpoint devices are guaranteed because it supports a broad range of voice codeds and they include G.711, G.723, G.726, G729A&B and iLBC.

VoxBox World Telecom Inc declares its intention to change its name and symbol

            Exactly on the 21^st of November, the board of directors of VoxBox World Telecom Inc announced that the company has decided to change its name without much delay. This was according to PowerRating. The new name will now be Internet Media Technologies Inc. A new symbol has also been adopted for the new name which is, Pink Sheets:IMTG.

            According to the company, the new name change portrays its diversification strategy. It will soon be summarised in a president's letter, probably in the next few weeks time. Inspit of this, it will still function in the VoIP industry through its subsidiary which is VoxBox Telecom Inc.

            A change in strategy was adopted by the company so as to help them form a more diversified company, which is less reliant on a single product or industry. With this, Internet Media Technologies Inc will now be a holding company, developing interests in a wide range of industries that are rising up like the VoIP and Internet media applications within the entertainment industry.

            To make this all possible, the company intends to build a synergistic network of innovative, profitable and global businesses so as to help its stance in the market.

 

 

 

 

The multimedia future is supported by Rostrvm release 7

Rosrrvm release 7 of the rostrvm contact centre suite is out now. It was just announced by Rostrvm Solutions. The new release is a continuation of 21 years of organic development and the ongoing support of the rostrvm inbound and outbound technology. It ranges from skills-based ACD systems to multimedia predictive dialling.

            Apart from the over 100 customer-requested enhancements and the new "21st Century" look, Rostrvm 7 delivers so many other things. We will look at them gradually.

            It provides support for the new consumer with integrated inbound and outbound capability for multi-media channels that includes email, SMS and web-call. The ControlCentre 7 combines all the management information and administrative functions into a single environment that can be easily accessible. Another one which is the CallGuide Designer aids in unleashing the true potential of call process management. It makes even the most complicated desktops easy to navigate and use. Then finally, its support for informal call handling makes it possible for "formal" call centre process control and performance measurement to cover any aspect of the business.

The new Release 7 is a continuation of Rostrvm Solutions' long term history of meeting current call centre operational and business challenges. It also at the same time establishes a platform for new communication channels that is anticipated to be influential in years to come. Rostrvm's Voice over IP (VoIP) call centre serves as a central component in the development and delivery of a multiple of newer and better services to the call centre and its customers. It particularly takes advantage of SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) to combine voice and data transactions delivering joined-up call handling.

Presently, Multimedia Call Centres are built based on the fact that any caller will

have to get in touch with the call centre using an intelligent device, which is usually a PC. The theory is just perfect since a PC normally supports sophisticated contact such as web browsing, co-browsing, chatting and email. The only thing here is that for quite a number of users, the PC is just not the same as picking up the phone. The latter is much more convenient than the former.

With the worldwide adoption of mobile and consumer VoIP telephones, there will be new consumer interfaces that runs sophisticated applications and equally turn around the way callers interact with the call centre. This will also be as important as the evolution of the PC as an alternative to the dumb computer terminal.

            You will find more useful information in the Rostrvm Solutions' web site below www.rostrvm.com/release7.shtml.

 

 

 

 

 

Charter welcomes SDV

            Cable operators will have to employ a certain amount of bandwidth saving tricks between now and during the upgrading of DOCSIS 3.0. This is in order to control the capacity and meet the HD and broadband bandwidth demand.

            To achieve this, one of the solution is SDV i.e. switched digital video technology. SDV helps free up bandwidth on cable systems. It works by delivering fewer channels to the cable-box and making the rest of them wait at the edge router.

            The latest cable operator to embrace this technology is Charter. According to Light Reading reporting, they have picked Bigband Networks to be the one to make available their SDV solution in the Los Angeles market. In order to increase HD capacity, SDV will be deployed in Malibu, Burbank, and Glendale.

 

News Release: TeamSpirit® Voice&Video Engine is now HD-enabled

SPIRIT DSP, the world's leading provider of voice and video software engines, announced today the HD-enabled version of its flagship product TeamSpirit® Voice&Video Engine. The engine, available for both PC and mobile platforms, is now upgraded with new features to empower high definition video conferencing terminals and mobile devices with outstanding quality wideband voice and seamless video.
The industry today is enriching user experience with new exciting media formats. This trend concerns not only high definition television but such emerging applications as high-definition video conferencing, telepresence systems and next-generation mobile gadgets. Being the media processing core of such systems, TeamSpirit Voice&Video Engine is the product to meet the requirements of high definition communication.
TeamSpirit Voice&Video Engine provides a new real-time experience for interactive communication with crystal clear voice and video. The upgraded version of the engine features wideband codecs (like SPIRIT proprietary IP-MR™, GSM AMR WB) and ultra wideband codecs (like audio AAC LD) as the most advanced audio technology for high-end video telephony. In addition to video engine and software video codecs, the TeamSpirit Engine easily integrates with external hardware accelerated video codecs and increases video quality and robustness of the entire solution. The engine also features all music format codecs including WMA, MP3, etc.
"Today HD is the fast-moving trend, leaving grainy and blurry video conferencing behind. It allows users to see everyone in the room, and the resolution is high enough to detect even an eye roll. Full duplex audio allows people to talk at the same time without muddying the sound," said Slava Borilin, VP Products & Marketing at SPIRIT. "SPIRIT, as the market leader in voice and video engines, contributes to the development of the HD market with its engines. SPIRIT customers represent both infrastructure like videoconferencing MCUs by Radvision, Tandberg(Codian), Haivision, ZTE etc., and high-quality voice/video terminal devices like recently announced iRiver device by Reingcom or Apollo design by Inventec; they all use SPIRIT's technologies to guarantee perfect-quality voice and video, raising the bar of global communication and making the latter more impactful, enjoyable and memorable."

Optus and Motorola Partner to Launch New Product

The new MOTORAZOR V8 Luxury Edition is out and it is a combined effort of Optus and Motorola. The new product combines functionality with an outstanding appearance.

The V8 comes with in-built 2.0 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom, an incorporated Window Player 11 with access to over 200 online music stores and an Opera 8.5 mobile version browser that facilitates internet connection from the mobile device.

With a storage capacity of 2GB, V8 can accommodate up to 1000 songs and the power house processor enables fast over the air-download.

The Motorola crystal talk improves the audio quality by automatically adjusts to audio level to account for background noise. Other interesting features are large, colour external display that provides touch-sensitive music controls, picture caller ID, album art, self-portrait camera display and the external screen makes it quite easy to manage music and access text messaging without opening the flip.

Commenting about the product, Andrew Volard, Managing Director, Motorola South Pacific said: "This exciting new phone offers a complete luxury experience for fashion conscious consumers. Australians can now enjoy the full suite of capabilities when it comes to messaging, music and web browsing, wrapped up in a glamorous design that will make others green with envy."

sBluetooth headset with 8 hours talk time and up to 8 days on standby, for stereo though, the package includes a wired headset. The phone comes with a patent leather carrying case and a polishing cloth!

Skype Has More VoIP Traffic than Any Other VoIP Company

A recent study by iPoque, a German traffic management company, has revealed that Skype has many VoIP traffic than any other VoIP company.

According to the report on the outcome of the study conducted by iPoque, ninety-five percent of all the internet VoIP traffic is Skype. The research covered the major VoIP services and they include P2P traffic, video streaming, instant messaging and file hosting.

Five regions of over one million users were considered and these are Australia, Eastern Europe, Germany, The Middle East and Southern Europe. The outcome from all these regions was found to be considerably different from one another.

The study also revealed that, of the IP Telephony, VoIP is used by some 30 per cent of all users and Skype is by far the most popular.

As put in the report, "The success of this strategy is reflected in the analysis results. They show that 30% of all monitored Internet users in Germany use Skype. In the Middle East, the number is with only 7% much lower. SIP follows far behind with only 1% users in Germany and in the Middle East. The user numbers for H.323 and IAX are negligible".

Skype's success could be attributed to its ability to get around restrictive network practices such as firewalling. Skype has many built-in mechanisms to automatically deal with such network conditions and to offer an as seamless as possible operation in most environments.

Detail of the report can be obtained from http://www.ipoque.com/media.

IOL Broadband and MTNL Agree to offer VoIP

Recently, VoIP companies have been partnering with one another to ensure that the best quality of service is offered to their valued customers. The new entering is between IOL Broadband Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL).

The two have decided to offer quality VoIP services with the best service delivery available. This would enable subscribers to make full use of the basic features of VoIP service which include, voice data calls at cheap rate.

MTNL is a state own telecom and it already has an agreement with Aksh Optifibre Ltd to offer VoIP services and with this new agreement with IOL, it is expected that more customers' oriented service would be offered.

IOL envisage that, they will start with a capacity of 100 million minutes from which they will probably increase to 1 billon in the next couple of years.

Videophones, VoIP phone and teleconferencing services are among other services to be offered to all broadband subscribers.