Current News from IPTelephony.org July 30, 2012

 VoIP News  No Responses »
Jul 302012
 
  • Privacy on Skype maybe compromised

    New surveillance laws being planned in countries from the U.S. to Australia would compel makers of online chat software to build in backdoors for wiretapping. Since launch, Skype has been regarded as private, with its strong encryption and complex peer-to-peer network connections making calls almost impossible to intercept. For some time now, the popular video chat service has resisted taking part in online surveillance. However since Microsoft acquired it though, that may have changed today. And we won’t know about it.

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  • U.S. school district brings ShoreTel technology to the streets

    ShoreTel, the foremost provider of cloud-based business phone system and communication solutions with fully integrated unified communications (UC), revealed its participation in the deployment of Scottsdale Unified School District’s eCoach, a first of its kind mobile learning and technology training tech public bus.

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Current News from IPTelephony.org May 28, 2012

 VoIP News  No Responses »
May 282012
 
  • TelcoDepot offers discount phone systems for construction companies

    VoIP business phone systems and VoIP service provider, TelcoDepot.com, has launched a special bulk-buying discounts to all businesses in the construction industry which will allow them to access significant savings on bulk orders of the system phone, VoIP equipment/hosted VoIP services, access control systems, monitoring technology, networking solutions, and more, while also enjoying special technical support and additional incentives.

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  • VoIP Provider files Net Neutrality complaint With FCC

    A Florida-based VoIP carrier cites net neutrality and filed a complaint against a Georgia utility and broadband provider, after the utility company was accused of stealing VoIP services using the network to deliver voice services without even paying for it.

    L2Networks files a net neutrality complaint at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Tuesday, the first formal complaint for the FCC net neutrality rules passed last December 2010.

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  • FBI quietly forms a secretive Net surveillance unit

    News has spread that the FBI has formed a Domestic Communications Assistance Center, which is tasked with developing a new electronic monitoring technology, including intercepting Internet, wireless, and VoIP communications.

    The FBI has recently formed a secret surveillance unit in a grand goal of inventing a technology to let the police easily eavesdrop on Internet and wireless communications.

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Current News from IPTelephony.org April 30, 2012

 VoIP News  No Responses »
Apr 302012
 
  • Telefónica reduces mobile internet fares from twelve to three

    Telefonica will launch on May 1 its new pricing plan for mobile Internet – reducing its fares from twelve to three charges, which are common to all devices, from smartphones, 'tablets' or USB modems, according to the company.

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  • Top Stories of the Week – April 21, 2012

    netTALK releases low-cost wireless VoIP telephone device

    netTALK.com, a telecoms, consumer electronics and cloud technology company, said that the netTALK DUO WiFi, the world's first wireless VoIP telephone device, is now available online at their site and at major retail stores in the U.S.

    "With the launch of netTALK DUO WiFi, the company is continuing to be the first-to-market technology innovation leader, as compared to the competition," said Anastasios 'Takis' Kyriakides, President and CEO.

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Current News from IPTelephony.org March 12, 2012

 VoIP News  No Responses »
Mar 122012
 
  • Top Stories of the Week – March 10, 2012

    Cisco reveals third generation of UCS

    Cisco Systems is joining other server manufacturers in introducing new Intel Xeon E5-2600 series processors in its hardware. But unlike HP, Dell and other makes, Cisco is introducing a whole different system of compute, networking, virtualization and management technology in the third generation of its Unified Computing System (UCS) offering.

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  • Foxtel/Austar merger may unlock extras IPTV features

    Pay TV giant Foxtel in Australia has proposed terms relating to its proposal of $1.9 billion merger with fellow Austar pay TV, which may result in a number of premium content unlocked for use by competing platforms such as emerging Internet video and businesses FetchTV and Quickflix.

    The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said in a statement issued this week announced it had begun consultation on the compromise proposal offered by Foxtel regarding its proposed acquisition of Austar.

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  • Avtex completed integrating Sage Innovation’s contact center and VoIP business

    Avtex, a provider of integrated, interactive solutions, recently announced the completion of the acquisition of VoIP Contact Center and Innovation Division of Sage, a respected technology solutions provider and interactive intelligence reseller based in Chesterfield, Missouri in the U.S. As part of the acquisition agreement, Avtex acquired a portion of the intellectual property of Sage’s technical resources and most of the regional Interactive Intelligence customer base.

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Where the Candidates Stand – Technically Speaking

 Net Neutrality  No Responses »
Feb 052008
 

It’s Super Tuesday. Do you know where your candidate stands? While not a pressing issue for most Americans, technological innovation and Net Neutrality (or lack thereof) will shape the way we use the Internet for years to come.

Basically, there are two philosophies in the net neutrality debate: one is a hands off approach, the other proactive. Both can call themselves “neutral”.

Argument A: The Internet is no place for big government. It was built on the innovations of entrepreneurs and has benefited from a free enterprise environment. Regulation stifles development, and companies should be able to choose their own direction and regulate themselves. Market forces will determine who comes out on top, and the Internet will thrive on the competition provided for in a free market place, resulting in more choice for the consumer.

Argument B: Unregulated use of the public airwaves has led to a walled garden approach in the cell phone industry, where mergers and acquisitions have created a handful of conglomerates that control what the consumer can and cannot do on their network. Without regulation, ISPs could determine what the user sees, and what applications they can use. Development and competition would be stifled as partnerships for profits are formed by companies wanting to dominate the industry.

That said, here’s where the politicians stand on Net Neutrality, Science, the IT industry, and other issues concerning technological innovation in general.

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Terahertz Wireless through Quantum Tunneling

 New Products  3 Responses »
Jan 312008
 

Jason Lee Miller from Web Pro News recently wrote about a company that is using Quantum Tunneling technology to develop microchips that would operate in the Terahertz region, wirelessly transmitting huge amounts of data at blazing speeds.

The appropriately named Phiar Corporation, located in Boulder Colorado, is developing metal insulator diodes that can be integrated into existing CMOS technology, resulting in what is basically a chip with an antenna. As posted  on the thznetwork.org weblog, “Phiar and Motorola Labs (Tempe, Ariz.) recently completed joint development of a 60-GHz antenna based on Phiar’s metal-insulator diode in a bid to enable multigigabit wireless radios that would stream multiple channels of uncompressed high-definition video”.

The diode is compliant with the emerging IEEE 802.15 T3Gc standard, or WPAN (Wireless Personal Area Network). WPAN is concerned with the use of the unlicensed 60GHz spectrum for high speed wireless data transfer between devices, theoretically up to 7 Gbps. According to a report previewed on TMCnet.com, the 60GHz band is the only range capable of transferring uncompressed HDTV signals.

Unlike WiFi, WiMax, and the 700MHz spectrum, the 60GHz band does not penetrate barriers, and in fact, would be confined to a single room. Interference with other radio signals is pretty much a non issue, as well as neighbors piggybacking on your network.

While the idea of being able to transfer an HDTV movie to your handheld in seconds is certainly appealing to the consumer, Phiar has other ideas for their Quantum Tunneling technology as well.

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Clearwire, Nortel Partner for VoIP over a WiMax Network

 VoIP News  No Responses »
Jan 242008
 

Wireless Broadband provider Clearwire Corp. announced this week that it was partnering with Nortel Networks to offer VoIP telephony services to its customers over its own network infrastructure. Presently, the WiMax Internet Service Provider offers VoIP in 37 of it’s 46 markets through partnerships with 3rd party carriers.

The VoIP solution will include Nortel’s Application Server 5200, delivering services such as voice, desktop video calls, presence, and other applications based on the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). Nortel’s IP multimedia softswitch, Communication Server 2000, will handle calls to the PSTN and number portability.

“Clearwire’s customers require high quality voice service in addition to the robust broadband data service we provide,” said chief technology officer of Clearwire, John Saw. “Nortel’s market-leading voice technology best meets Clearwire’s current needs while providing a simple migration path for our future voice communication requirements.”

Nortel and Clearwire see this as a first step, leading to the deployment of new products and services as they become available, with the potentiality of attaining a fixed/mobile convergence on the WiMax network.

Clearwire currently offers a voice and Internet bundle for $29.00 a month with an activation and cancellation fee of $50, according to VoipReview.org. The Clearwire Internet Phone Service user rating on the site is 3/5, with sound quality and customer service seemingly lacking.

As an emerging technology, it has been said that 2008 is to be the year of WiMax. Early adopter Clearwire has called its wireless technology “WiMax like”, and it did indeed start out as proprietary. With the WiMax Forum just recently announcing it would begin testing devices and applications for WiMax certification this year, Clearwire has been working hard to get into the standards fold. 

Last summer, Clearwire struck a deal with Satellite TV providers DirecTV and Echostar that would allow each of the companies to sell a bundle of Internet, voice, and TV services. If they can make it work, another player in the triple play market can only be a good thing for the consumer.

Looking Back at VoIP in 2007

 Articles  1 Response »
Jan 042008
 

As we move head strong into the New Year, I would like to take this time to look back at the past 12 months as they relate to VoIP and the Telecommunications industry in general. 2007 was a year of upheaval and innovation, as VoIP became more of a mainstream technology and less of a novelty, the growing pains experienced define the winners and losers in a tumultuous year.

The Pure Play VoIP providers were hit especially hard in 2007. The sudden and unannounced disappearance of SunRocket left subscribers in the lurch as other providers scrambled to fill the void. The once leader of the residential VoIP market, Vonage, was hit by multiple lawsuits for patent infringement, causing its stock to tumble as customers bolted like rats from a sinking ship. To add insult to injury, cable giant Comcast Communications gained the lead for residential market share with its triple play offerings of voice, video and Internet access. Packet8 faired well in 2007 reaching the 10,000 subscriber mark, albeit more due to the SMB than residential market with its hosted IP PBX services.

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Secure VoIP

 Articles  3 Responses »
Jun 232007
 

This article stresses call accounting software as a means to secure a VoIP network.

VoIP Vulnerable to Telecom Security Threats
By Peter Verhoeff

While Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is gaining popularity due to its impressive cost savings, there are certain risks associated with this new telephone technology. Businesses that are considering switching to VoIP services, or already using VoIP, should be aware of these risks and prepare to deal with them through the use of call accounting software.

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WiMAX, VoIP, Killer Apps, and the Digital Divide

 WiMax  No Responses »
May 142007
 

The emerging standard 802.16 defines a network of wireless broadband at speeds capable of delivering triple play access to voice, data, and multimedia internet services. As a disruptive technology, WiMAX stands to compete with cable companies, the Telco’s, and the 3G cellular networks. Thanks to the IEEE standards committee and the WiMAX Forum, the fledgling technology that got serious in 2004 is now being deployed in regions around the world.

Companies like Intel with their World Ahead program have formed partnerships for WiMAX deployments in Asia, Africa, and Europe, in an all out effort to bridge the digital divide. The cost effectiveness and ease of a WiMAX deployment is significant compared to implementing a wireline infrastructure, making the technology a natural choice for underdeveloped townships and hard to reach localities.
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