World’s First Free SIP-VoIP Application for iPod Touch Released by Touchmods

Claiming that it is the world's first free SIP-VoIP application for the iPod Touch, Touchmods has announced the release of its version 1.0 SIP-VoIP for the iPod Touch which allows its users to make VoIP calls via a WiFi connection without having to go through much trouble that is often encountered from such connection.

 Though, lacking a microphone or any other audio input inlet, Touchmods has adequately made provision for that by releasing instructions for building such and can be easily attached to the device's dock connector by simply following the step-by-step set up instruction.

 However, for users who might find the set up quite cumbersome, the company is working on an alternative method which is the provision of a £22 bespoke iPod Touch microphone.

Touchmods also said that its software is compatible with a range of VoIP providers and with the Asterisk-open-source IP PABX.

 

Barbour Contracted VoIP Deal to Waterstons

The world famous outdoor clothing company, JBarbour and Sons has contracted a deal for the installation of VoIP system to Waterstons Ltd, a Durham-based IT consultancy. Phase one of the project, which is complete, involved installing a VoIP system at Barbour's three UK offices.

The second phase of the project will involve the installation of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and Microsoft Live Communications Server, providing workers with access to email, calendars and other data via their mobile phones and PDAs.

The system uses Barbour's IT network to route calls rather than the public telephone network. The system will be extended globally, significantly reducing international call charges for the company. Barbour has operations in 29 countries across the globe, it is expected that this will foster connectivity and facilitate transaction as well as increasing efficiency and improve communication with workers irrespective of their location.

 

The system would allow Barbour to standardize its telephone system, handsets and voicemail. Each phone can access an electronic telephone directory of numbers for all three sites, and staff can now make free site-to-site calls over the company's Wide Area Network.

New Skype Desktop Phone Released by Belkin

The new desktop internet phone for Skype would soon be ready for use; this was made known by Belkin, a recognized global leader in connectivity solutions which has its headquarters in Los Angeles , USA during the CES 2008 event hosted in La Vegas. This phone has been designed in a way that calls can be made and received through it without the need to turn on the computer.

 

The phone initiates automatic login to Skype and can be plugged directly into a wired or wireless router, or a live Ethernet port. Supporting about 500 sets of Skype and SkypeOut contacts in the contact list, the phone is embedded with features like a speaker, speed dial, call hold/release, call pickup/park, mute, redial, hold and call-timer display.

 Belkin said that arrangement has been concluded to launch the Desktop Internet Phone for Skype in March, 2008 in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Although UK pricing has not yet been mentioned, the phone is to be sold at the rate of $99.99 in the listed areas.

The new desktop internet phone for Skype would soon be ready for use; this was made known by Belkin, a recognized global leader in connectivity solutions which has its headquarters in Los Angeles , USA during the CES 2008 event hosted in La Vegas. This phone has been designed in a way that calls can be made and received through it without the need to turn on the computer.

 The phone initiates automatic login to Skype and can be plugged directly into a wired or wireless router, or a live Ethernet port. Supporting about 500 sets of Skype and SkypeOut contacts in the contact list, the phone is embedded with features like a speaker, speed dial, call hold/release, call pickup/park, mute, redial, hold and call-timer display.

 Belkin said that arrangement has been concluded to launch the Desktop Internet Phone for Skype in March, 2008 in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Although UK pricing has not yet been mentioned, the phone is to be sold at the rate of $99.99 in the listed areas.

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

Inclarity and NVT Collaborate to Offer VoIP

In order to fortify its internet based services, Inclarity Ltd has decided to enter into a channel partnership agreement with NVT Group.

 With this partnership, the hosted VoIP solution of Inclarity will be offered to the Scottish market by NVT Group thereby, for the first time, offering telephone service to its business customers. Inclarity's hosted VoIP service provided significant cost advantages in comparison with traditional telephony systems.

 NVT is an IT and support specialist and it has mapped-out plan on out to go about offering this service, the company is targeting SMEs and the public sector in Scotland as starting point. Inclarity's Hosted IP Telephony service features business grade IP Centrex functionality, telco capabilities and a complete service wrap around.

 NVT believes that Inclarity's hosted VoIP service provides significant cost advantages in comparison with traditional telephony systems, the company has already started negotiating significant orders and with the current progress, come February it will stat showcasing the solution to customers in a series of road shows.

Cambridge University Chose BT and Cisco for VoIP Deal

BT and Cisco in conjunction with PTS consulting have entered into an agreement with the University of Cambridge to offer IP telephony system that will service both the staff and students of the school. It is estimated that the converged voice and data network will serve some 17,000 users across 200 university institutions that have been selected to enjoy the service.

 

The deal is such that the IP migration project is to be carried out by PTS consulting while BT and Cisco will supply a start-up of 20,000 IP telephone handsets incorporating Cisco's Unified Communications Manager 6.0 technology.

 

Also, it is expected that the new system will provide advanced technology for the future, rather than simply replacing the existing telephone system. Also, the handsets will allow both standard and VoIP calls via the internet and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

 

In addition, it is foreseen that the system will help in the university's research activities, peer across the world can collaborate and exchange ideas as regards academics work through this channel. The system has the potential for streaming video to be added with an added advantage of being used for all-day conferences.

 

Skype and Sony Agreed to Offer VoIP Service

This is good news for users of Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP), Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (SCEI) has eventually entered a deal with one of the leading VoIP providers, Skype, to offer VoIP service for the users of the PSP.

 

With the current agreement between the two companies, by the end of January the software download would be made available to these users and this would enable them to make free calls to their folks on the Skype network.

 

In addition, they would also be able to make low cost calls to mobile phones as well as landline numbers internationally at a very considerable rate that will soon be announced prior to the rollig out of the service.

 

The move highlights Sony's faith in the PSP handheld console, despite being second to Nintendo's DS in the sector. The company has sold approximately 14.5m units since launch in December 2004, while Nintendo has sold almost 54m DS consoles since November 2004.

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

BTTB Records High Profit Margin

The Bangladesh Journal reported that Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) has an increase in revenue of about 43% in the company's first six months of its current fiscal year and this brings the company's total revenue to BDT8.89 billion and this is about USD132.3million.

This large return has been attributed to the surge in earnings from international calls placed over its network following a major crackdown on the companies operating VoIP telephony services without license by the country's regulatory board. BTTB success between July-December is also partly due to the belated payment of interconnection charges from mobile operator GrameenPhone.

According to BTTB, the ongoing drive against illegal VoIP businesses, which started in December 2006, played a vital role in increasing the revenues of the state-owned fixed line incumbent, with international services turnover more than doubling from BDT1.1 billion in 1H 2006/07 to BDT2.5 billion in 1H 2007/08. Officials added that if the current trend continues, BTTB might reach the BDT19.27 billion revenue target set by the government for this fiscal year.

 

Embattled AKTEL Sources for Fund

The embattled mobile telephone operator, AKTEL, has announced that it will bounce back to business and to such effect the company has already concluded arrangement to use its listing on the stock market to raise fund later this year.

While blaming its recent failure in securing subscribers on the recent turmoil that almost drowned them as a result of the VoIP scandal, the company believes that by selling up their stock they will be able to stand on their feet again. With an asset valued at a little above 1 billion US dollars, they are more confident that their objective would be realized.

The CEO of Telekom Malaysia, which has the largest share of 70% with the remaining owned by AK Khan and Co in Bangladesh, Yusof Annuar Yaacob in a statement made available to The Daily Star said that the fall came at a time when its main rivals Grameenphone, the number one operator, and Banglalink were adding new customers and consequently breaking new grounds.

However, he admitted that the fall was partly a result of the destabilising effect the VoIP (voice over internet protocol) scandal had on the company. BTRC fined AKTEL Tk 145 crore for its involvement in VoIP, a technique used in Bangladesh to illegally terminate international calls. Its rivals GP, Banglalink, and CityCell were also fined. The other reason for the fall, according to him was a change in business strategy. Last year AKTEL decided to encourage more usage rather than new customers, because of new taxes on SIM (subscriber identification module) cards

He further explained how badly and psychologically affected they were. He said "I think the regulator did its job well. I have no problem with that. We should have been more conscious on regulatory compliance.

He concluded by saying that they will strive to achieve regulatory compliance within the new year with the hope that in the next couple of years the number of mobile operators will come down to three as against the present number of six.

V-Portal, New Product from Vonage

Vonage has announced its new product-the V-Portal that will replace the digital voice gateway that links home to cable/DSL modem or router. The new product is a relatively flashy adapter with a built-in LCD screen that helps with installation, troubleshooting, and diagnostic issues.

The device came with powerful features that include a 2.5-inch monochrome LCD which eases setup by suggesting fixes for common glitches.

The LCD's interface is easy to learn and with four buttons-up, down, back, and select--located below the screen make navigating the on-screen menus easy. V-Portal works with Caller ID and displays the phone number and (sometimes) the name of the person calling. This feature is convenient if your phone is tethered to the V-Portal, but less so if you use a wireless handset that's usually in another room. The call timer is convenient for attorneys and businesspeople who need to log phone times, and the voice-mail indicator shows when messages are waiting, though the latter feature is fairly common among phone adapters. The V-Portal has two phone ports, one for the main line and the other for an optional fax or second voice line. And since the V-Portal is also a single-port router, you can connect a computer or another networkable device to it.

If you plan to sign up for Vonage service, the V-Portal, for a mere ten bucks, is a worthy upgrade.

VoIP Attacks Expected to Increase this Year

According to the statement made available by the Korea Information Security Agency (KISA), there is likely to be an increase in VoIP attacks as the year runs by. It was said that the Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks which perpetrators use to paralyze a website to demand money are expected to increase this year to a great degree.

 

Last year, DDoS was reported to be the biggest threats on the internet with high rate of demanding monetary compensation and responses to deal with these attacks are called as well-known websites are more likely to be subject to attacks while there will be DDoS attacks against VoIP and IPTV.

 

Although most of these attacks were perpetrated to owners of small websites such as online game, travel sites, video chatting among several others, it is expected that new DDoS attacks, in particular large attacks (tens of gigabyte grade) will be done against well-known websites this year with possible attack to be targeted at services that are currently getting people's attention and such services include the VoIP and IPTV services.

 

Broadcom and Trolltech Partner to Offer Linux-Based VoIP

In order to create a multimedia VoIP that would be based on Linux Platform, Broadband and Trolltech has entered into a partnership. Broadband is a chipmaker and Trolltech is a software developer, the two companies believe that by combining the former's VoIP technology with the latter's Otopia Linux platform and user interface for mobile devices, the result would enable original equipment manufacturers to build " next-generation" IP phones.

The companies announced their plans at this week's Consumer Electronics Show taking place in Las Vegas , where Broadcom also partnered with Microsoft to develop technologies that will let consumers hook their TVs to the Internet for interactive digital television offerings. Microsoft said its Mediaroom Internet television client software will be used on set-top boxes with Broadcom's system-on-a-chip technology.

 

Being described as the next-generation technology, the Otopia software supports advanced technologies such as the unified communications, which links business processes with presence information, e-mail, voice mail, instant messaging, and video conferencing to facilitate communications. Also, it allows mobile users to access web sites and multimedia on IP phones via its web integration capability.

In a statement made by the Trolltech's CEO, Haavard Nord "Our Qtopia software is the foundation for 10 million-plus consumer electronic devices worldwide so this partnership with Broadcom will enable their customers to build customized next-generation IP and mobile devices with robust voice, video, web, and multimedia features.

"Qtopia has been optimized for Broadcom's BCM1103 VoIP processors and BCM1180 multimedia co-processor intended for improved voice quality and rich graphical content on devices. The processors use low power and can enable applications such as two-way video calling."

AllWorx' Offers VoIP Switch at Low Charging Rate

AllWorx'6X is offering a low cost VoIP switch for both the small and medium business owners. Among the powerful features that are embedded in the device for its high functionality include its ability to automatically push users' call to their cell phone if for any reason their incoming calls are not answered and the call would be pulled back through its own voice mail system by 6X.

The AllWorx CEO, George Daddis Jr said that " the 6X supports up to 60 people simultaneously and is dirt simple to connect to other 6X switches in remote offices. Everyone gets a 4-digit extension and voice mail and calls routed between branches are routed over the Internet. "

There are six-inbound ports for phone lines and two others for faxes and Polycom-type conference room devices. There's a WAN port and LAN port. The WAN port goes out to the Internet for connecting to other branch offices. The LAN port is there for the switch to connect to the same LAN that all of your handsets would connect to.

Raketu Launches New Application for Blackberry Users

Being a start-up in the VoIP market, Raketu has just launched a new application that will help optimized the BlackBerry (R) allowing its users to make free call, send SMS internationally and send email within the Raketu BlackBerry Application. The new innovation is a web-based Application and the configuration is such that users of the BlackBerry Curve (TM), BlackBerry 8800 Series, and BlackBerry Pearl (TM) can make use of the services earlier mentioned.

Intending users would not need to download any software before they can utilize this service; this is because it is entirely a web-based application, for BlackBerry users all they need to do is to sign up using the web browser at BlackBerry.raketu.com

Raketu is known to be one of the leading global Internet communications, information, and entertainment company and the company has decided to make these services available almost for free, Raketu users who sign up and make a payment of $9.95, $24.95 or $49.95 to their Raketu account are eligible for up to 600 free calling minutes per month towards BlackBerry initiated phone-to-phone calls.

Speaking on the new development, the president and CEO of Raketu, Greg Parker said that "With over twelve million users of the BlackBerry worldwide, the

introduction of our Raketu BlackBerry Application marks our definitive

entry into the mobile business market. For businesses whose employees initiate a significant number of international calls from their BlackBerry mobile devices, Raketu's BlackBerry Application is a great way to reduce monthly calling costs."

More Chances for VoIP Using UK’s High Broadband Network

During the occasion of the launch of BBC new iPlayer service, a
service that allows UK broadband users to watch any BBC recent show
broadcast over the past seven days on demand via its website, the
Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA) observed that there
might be more benefit from advances in the UK's broadband network for
VoIP telephony industry.
Observing the recent trend in the growth of IPTV market, the experts
stated that as demand for high-quality online TV grows, broadband
providers will increasingly warm to the idea of upgrading their
connections and this would definitely open door for more opportunities
as regard VoIP usage.
Realizing the need to meet up to this challenge, countries like
France, Germany and South Korea have already begun investing in
ultra-fast 100 megabit broadband networks, capable of streaming up to
a dozen high-definitions TV channels. And with the industry regular
Ofcom warning that the UK economy stands to suffer if it cannot keep
up with the pace, the ISPA says the benefits of faster connections
will ripple throughout the wider industry into filesharing, gameplay
and IP telephony sectors.
The spokesman of ISPA said that "Broadband has made these web
technologies such as streaming media, such as telephone over the
internet [possible]. There are developments going on all the time to
improve connectivity and that has a consequence of driving
technological innovation on the content and applications side."