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Voxeo Corporation Announces Strategic Investment

(VoIP Monitor) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:12:37 +0100

Voxeo Corporation announces a $9 million minority investment by North Atlantic Capital and the Florida Growth Fund. Voxeo will use the funds to take advantage of rapidly growing opportunities in Unlocked Communications, including VoIP platforms, Interactive Voice Response, text and instant messaging, and unified communications, both by accelerating internal development and through corporate acquisitions. Voxeo has acquired three companies over the last 14 months.

This is the first investment made by the Florida Growth Fund, a $250 million partnership between the State Board of Administration of Florida and Hamilton Lane. Hamilton Lane is one of the leading private equity asset managers worldwide, with over $88 billion under management and supervision. The Florida Growth Fund was created in 2009 as a result of the passage of Florida State Bill 2310 with the goal of investing in technology and growth-based businesses in the State of Florida.

North Atlantic Capital is a venture capital firm dedicated to helping strong teams accelerate the growth of their expansion-stage, technology-based companies. North Atlantic Capital found and identified Voxeo as a high quality investment opportunity in 2007 and in addition to leading the investment, introduced Voxeo and the Florida Growth Fund. Concurrent with the investment, Mark Morrissette, Managing Director of North Atlantic Capital, has joined Voxeo’s board of directors.

Voxeo is an employee-owned company with headquarters in Orlando, Florida and offices in Beijing, Cologne, London and Silicon Valley. In 2009, Voxeo was named one of the 100 best places to work in Florida. Voxeo's offerings include:

Prophecy Interactive Voice Response and Unified Self Service platform helps enterprises and service providers automate their most common customer and employee interactions via phone, SMS, IM, Twitter, mobile web and more.
VoiceObjects Application Server helps enterprises and service providers design, create, deploy, manage, and analyze personalized self-service applications.
Micromethod VoIP platforms and solutions help enterprises and service providers deploy highly-scalable, customizable infrastructure for VoIP solutions.
IMified technology delivers a web service that enables applications to interact with any text messaging network, including SMS, IM, Twitter, Facebook, and more.

All of Voxeo's products and services are available as both an on-premise, traditional software license and as on-demand, hosted, Software as a Service solutions.

Continue reading Voxeo Corporation Announces Strategic Investment

Google Voice Now a Viable Skype Rival with Gizmo5 Buy (source: eWEEK)

http://www.feedzilla.com (Feedzilla - VoIP) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:24:08 +0100

Google Nov. 12 confirmed that it had acquired Gizmo5 for an undisclosed sum. Gizmo5 makes Web-based calling software for mobile phones and computers. Specifically, it provides a Web-based VOIP client that lets users make phone calls over the Internet, simi... (source: eWEEK) - RSS news feeds and Widgets on Feedzilla.com

Continue reading Google Voice Now a Viable Skype Rival with Gizmo5 Buy (source: eWEEK)

It's Official-Gizmo Goes to Google Voice

(Andy Abramson) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:47:11 +0100

The news, which we all have been waiting for, is now official.

Gizmo has joined up with GoogleVoice, as a result of the acquisition by Google, that went official today.

There's a lot I could say, but in an article based on an exclusive interview with Wired's Ryan Singel yesterday, much of what I would say here, is in his well penned article.

By calling GoogleVoice the "uncommon carrier" I made a pun on the 7Up campaign, of being the unCola. That was the clear soda's way of saying, "we're cool" and suggesting that if you're cool, you should be drinking 7Up.

Now with Gizmo, GoogleVoice and GoogleTalk have a key missing piece.

Read Ryan's story and realize how big of a deal this is.

Continue reading It's Official-Gizmo Goes to Google Voice

San Isabel Telecom Deploys XOP Networks' VoIP Based Voice Mail Application

(VoIP Monitor) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:56:08 +0100

XOP Network announces that San Isabel Telecom is using the XOP Networks' Universal Service Node with simultaneous T1 and SIP connectivity to provide voice mail to both traditional and VoIP customers. San Isabel Telecom is a facilities-based provider of voice and data services in several mountain regions of Colorado. The company was started by Doug Wagner in 1996 to meet the communications needs of the ever-growing Vail Valley. San Isabel also serves the Aspen and Basalt areas.

San Isabel Telecom has a TDM network with a Alcatel-Lucent 5ESS switch, and a next generation packet based VoIP network with a Cisco Gateway and Acme Packet Session Border Controller. San Isabel is meeting the challenge of providing voice mail to customers on the TDM network and the VoIP network at the same time by using the XOP Networks' USN to connect to the 5ESS switch and the VoIP based SBC equipment.

In addition to providing TDM and SIP connectivity, the USN based Voice Mail application allows voice mails to be accessed by telephone, web portal and PDAs such as iPhone and Blackberry. The PDA access is unique in that voice mails can be accessed in random order simply by a click on the PDA based web portal.

Continue reading San Isabel Telecom Deploys XOP Networks' VoIP Based Voice Mail Application

Broadcom Offers Open Source HD Voice

tomek@biz-news.com (Tomasz Czech) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:32:00 +0100

Broadcom announced that it is offering its BroadVoice family of voice codecs royalty-free and without any licensing fees.

“As a direct response to customer demand for advanced, high-quality voice solutions and development tools”, Broadcom is releasing its wideband and narrowband BroadVoice codecs in both floating-point and fixed-point C code as open source software under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), version 2.1, as published by the Free Software Foundation.

Continue reading Broadcom Offers Open Source HD Voice

Originally appeared on VoIP Biz-News.com on 12/11/2009

Cisco warns that Windows 7 support for UC products will be limited until 2010

(Mike Dolan) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:26:20 +0100

In a cautionary note to customers, Cisco has warned that most of its Unified Communications (UC) products will not support Windows 7 until first quarter 2010 when service releases become available. A number of additional products will not support the new Windows until Q3 2010. According to an article in Network World, most Cisco Unified Communications products will support the 32-bit version of Windows once the service releases are made available.

Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Office Communicator, Cisco IP Communicator and Cisco Unified Personal Communicator will all be compatible with the 64-bit version of Windows 7, but will require 32-bit emulation to work.

The news provides some UC buyers with the choice of either delaying any Windows 7 upgrades they might have been planning or trying to find another UC vendor who can support the new system sooner. Some users have commented on various websites that they've upgraded to Windows 7 and their Cisco UC products are working fine, but the company cannot guarantee that will be the case for everyone until the service releases make support official.

For more:
- read this Network World article

Continue reading Cisco warns that Windows 7 support for UC products will be limited until 2010

Avaya-Nortel deal clears more hurdles

(Mike Dolan) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:54:58 +0100

Avaya announced that it has secured approval for its acquisition of Nortel's Enterprise Solutions division under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act as well as from Canadian Competition Bureau.

Avaya's acquisition of Nortel's Enterprise Solutions division at first met a series of approvals from a U.S. Bankruptcy court judge and a Canadian court judge for the $915 million deal, but then more authorities got involved. Canadian authorities placed the deal under review, citing a provision in the "Investment Canada Act" that requires review of all foreign investments in Canadian companies exceeding $286 million. The deal could now close as early as December 7.

Meanwhile, Nortel has continued to launch product upgrades and improvements to keep its current VoIP customers happy. At Supercomm, the beleaguered communications vendor launched the CS2000a, an upgrade to its Communication Server 2000.

For more:
- read the release

Continue reading Avaya-Nortel deal clears more hurdles

Another telepresence company snapped up: Logitech grabs LifeSize

(Mike Dolan) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:25:09 +0100

Logitech--who up until this point focused primarily on computer peripherals and webcams--has just taken a cue from Cisco and snapped up Austin-based LifeSize Communications. Logitech purchased the HD video communications equipment vendor for $405 million in cash on Tuesday moving its video play from consumer desktops and into the enterprise.

With 9,000 customers in 80 countries, LifeSize will allow Logitech to put its presence in small- and medium-sized businesses, educational facilities, healthcare operations and in home offices. The move takes it to the big leagues in telepresence competing with Cisco--currently dealing with its own in-the-works acquisition of TANDBERG--and Polycom.

For more:
- read this article

Continue reading Another telepresence company snapped up: Logitech grabs LifeSize

Broadcom offers open source HD Voice

(Mike Dolan) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:37:55 +0100

Broadcom announced that it will offer BroadVoice codecs open source in order to lower the price of HD voice and encourage the technology's growth.

The BroadVoice codecs come in two varieties: BroadVoice32 and BroadVoice16 for wideband and narrowband telephony respectively. The company is releasing the C source code under the LGPL license from the Free Software Foundation. In eliminating the royalties and licensing fees from BroadVoice, Broadcom hopes to push for a cost effective transition for users to HD VoIP applications.

While making high quality calling cheaper is admirable, GigaOm is a little skeptical that it will be a game-changing feature. They point out that consumers have placed more focus on mobility and cost over quality in recent pushes for lesser-quality VoIP and cell phones.

For more:
- read the GigaOM article

Related news
Broadcom intros new VoIP chipset
Broadcom announces high-density VoIP DSP

Continue reading Broadcom offers open source HD Voice

Tips for installing VoIP

(Mike Dolan) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:56:35 +0100

Network World has some helpful tips on how to install a VoIP network and things to keep in mind like cables, power, switches and privacy. Article

Continue reading Tips for installing VoIP

Cisco-TANDBERG deal only has 9.37% shareholder acceptance

(Mike Dolan) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:29:09 +0100

The Cisco-TANDBERG deal is still up in the air and new numbers show why. Cisco has received acceptance from only 9.37 percent of TANDBERG shareholders which is much less than the required 90 percent they need to acquire the company.

Originally the deadline for the deal was Nov. 9, but since they were so far short of the necessary numbers, Cisco announced that they would extend the deadline. Hinting at withdrawing the offer, Cisco has not stated whether this will be the last deadline extension for the deal.

“Soon after expiration of the extended offer period on Wednesday, November 18, 2009, at 5:30 pm CET, Cisco will announce whether the 90 percent condition for the offer has been met. If not, Cisco will evaluate whether or not to withdraw the offer,” the company said in a statement.

In early October, Cisco Systems launched a bid to buy TANDBERG, the video conferencing equipment manufacturer, for $3 billion. The bid has been blocked though as TANDBERG's minority shareholders--who own just over 24 percent of the video conferencing technology provider--rejected Cisco's $3 billion bid as too small. With less than 10 percent of the TANDBERG shareholders agreeing to the purchase, Cisco has be debating whether it would be prudent just to walk away.

For more:
- read this Network World article

Continue reading Cisco-TANDBERG deal only has 9.37% shareholder acceptance

Cisco Needs to Buy Counterpath

(Andy Abramson) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:56:02 +0100

With Logitech buying LifeSize today, that makes for a very interesting development in the war in the desktop video market.

Cisco owns the high end market with Telepresence. While one would say that HALO is a competitor, offered by H-P, it's really not, and HP has nothing below it, making them also an ideal buyer of Counterpath, as well as Vidyo. But HP doesn't work that way, and more and more is moving into the services, not apps as services world.

Logitech, also as SightSpeed, the entry level, but like Lifesize, a service based on SIP and H.264 so with today's acquisition, they are building up from the bottom, while Cisco is working from the top down.

Counterpath, to whom I've become an advisor, has the desktop/laptop clients that are already doing SIP standards based H.264 video and already integrate nicely with Cisco voice platforms.

While Skype is playing around with their video strategy, with the promise of multiparty video, their strength is HD right now, but they're not standards based. What's more, with On2 being bought by Google, this puts Skype at odds with them, as Google's purchase of Gizmo means they now also have a very useful video application inside an IM client that does presence. Guess what? So does Counterpath.

In my view this is a natural fit.

Continue reading Cisco Needs to Buy Counterpath

Report: Worldwide VoIP Market Grew to $20.7 Billion; Strong Demand Continues

tomek@biz-news.com (Tomasz Czech) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:53:00 +0100

Infonetics Research released its biannual VoIP and UC Services and Subscribers report, which tracks business and residential/SOHO voice over IP services and includes a North America Business VoIP Services Leadership Matrix that analyzes and ranks the top service providers in the VoIP business services market.

The report shows that demand for residential and business VoIP services continues to grow even as spending in other communication areas tightens. For the first half of 2009, the worldwide VoIP services market grew to $20.7 billion. Residential VoIP services remain healthy, comprising the majority of worldwide VoIP services revenue, and subscribers are up 14% from the end of 2008.

Continue reading Report: Worldwide VoIP Market Grew to $20.7 Billion; Strong Demand Continues

Originally appeared on VoIP Biz-News.com on 11/11/2009

Empirix VoIP Monitoring Now Avaya Compliant

tomek@biz-news.com (Tomasz Czech) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:29:00 +0100

Empirix, a provider of VoIP monitoring solutions, announced that its products are now compliant with key contact center solutions from Avaya.

The Empirix Proactive Communications Assurance solution is now compliance-tested by Avaya for compatibility with Avaya AuraTM Communication Manager on Avaya S8700 servers with MCC1 Media Gateways and Avaya Proactive Contact with PG230RM.

Continue reading Empirix VoIP Monitoring Now Avaya Compliant

Originally appeared on VoIP Biz-News.com on 11/11/2009

Logitech Buys Lifesize

(Andy Abramson) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:09:33 +0100

Last year about this time, Logitech purchased client SightSpeed to move more deeply into the consumer video space.

Today the news came out that the Swiss company has purchased LifeSize.

This puts a company like Vidyo in play in my opinion. Vidyo, which has some of it's own Intellectual Property may be a good alternative for Cisco which is facing some challenges in its pursuit of Tandberg.

Continue reading Logitech Buys Lifesize

Clearwire to raise more than $1.5 billion to expand WiMax network

(Dal) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:45:41 +0100

Clearwire Corp said on Tuesday that it would raise $1.564 billion from its current investors including $1.176 billion from Sprint Nextel to help fund a high-speed wireless network it is building.

Along with Sprint and its cable partners, Clearwire, founded by wireless pioneer Craig McCaw, is competing with the dominant U.S. mobile providers Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc (T.N) in the race to sign up consumers to lucrative services such as mobile Web surfing.

Sprint the No. 3 U.S. mobile service and Clearwire's 51 percent owner has been struggling to stem customers losses from its own network, but it is banking on Clearwire's network for its next generation of wireless data offerings.

Cable operators Comcast Corp and Time Warner Cable will invest $196 million and $103 million respectively. These companies rent space on Clearwire's network to offer high-speed wireless services. Chip maker Intel Corp's contribution to Clearwire will be $50 million.

Soleil/Nelson Alpha Research analyst Michael Nelson said the funding was good news for Clearwire but noted that it was less than half of a total $3.4 billion in funding that he estimates the company will need by 2013.

Nelson said in a research note that he has "significant concerns regarding Clearwire's business model and cash burn in the face of a weak macro environment."

Clearwire said it would get about $1.057 billion in cash from equity financing within five business days and $440 million by year-end, with the remaining $66 million to be funded during the first quarter of 2010.

Clearwire also said it would launch an offer of a minimum of $1.45 billion in senior secured notes and to use net proceeds to pay off its existing $1.40 billion credit facility.

In the latest funding round, Craig McCaw's investment firm Eagle River Holdings will also give Clearwire $20 million in new funding and Bright House Networks will contribute $19 million. All the participants will get newly issued shares priced at $7.33 per share in exchange for their investments.

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Continue reading Clearwire to raise more than $1.5 billion to expand WiMax network

VoicePulse Now Offers Numbers in 32 Rate Centers Across South Dakota

(VoIP Monitor) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:37:20 +0100

VoicePulse announces the immediate availability of phone numbers in the 605 area code for business and residential customers. VoicePulse now offers numbers in 32 rate centers across South Dakota, more than four times as many as well-known competitor, Vonage who currently has availability in just seven rate centers. VoicePulse now offers more coverage in the state of South Dakota than any other pure-play VoIP provider.

The addition of South Dakota's 605 area code allow consumers to port their current phone number to VoicePulse's residential or SIP Trunking services in addition to the option of choosing a new phone number. For those customers looking to port a number from a rate center not listed above, portability can be checked with VoicePulse's online availability tool at voicepulse.com/availability.

VoicePulse Residential and Home Office

Over 27 innovative features available, including:

Telemarketer Blocking, Do Not Disturb, Anonymous Call Rejection, and Call Transfer
Voicemail with optional e-mail delivery of messages as sound attachments
Free Local Number Portability

Plan Pricing:

Unlimited local, regional and US long distance calling for $24.99 per month
Unlimited local, regional and 200 US long distance minutes for $14.99 per month

VoicePulse SIP Trunking for Business and Wholesale

VoicePulse also offers SIP Trunking and origination/termination services to businesses and commercial users. VoicePulse services are highly compatible with PBX clients such as Allworx , Asterisk, AsteriskNow, Fonality's PBXtra, FreePBX, FreeSwitch, PBX-in-a-Flash, 3CX, Switchvox, trixbox and more. In addition, VoicePulse offers a trixbox/FreePBX based auto-configuration module, giving businesses the ability to fully configure their own PBX.

VoicePulse provides comprehensive support services for businesses of all sizes - knowledgeable support teams answer questions via email and phone while advanced technical support is available to optimize VoicePulse service for the company's IP PBX. VoicePulse has received industry recognition for its excellence in customer support and service.

Continue reading VoicePulse Now Offers Numbers in 32 Rate Centers Across South Dakota

Gizmo and Google-My Thoughts

(Andy Abramson) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:09:00 +0100

First off, congratulations to the team at SipPhone, the company behind Gizmo, and especially to neighbor Michael Robertson who has according to all accounts sold the company to Google for $30,000,000 dollars. All the world is waiting for is the official announcement, but here's what I have learned from sources other than Robertson, who has to be non-committal publicly.

1) The deal is for $30,000,000

2) It was done because Gizmo/Sipphone will provide both software and PSTN termination, billing, etc. to Google

3) The staff that Robertson has assembled will stay for the most part intact here in San Diego

4) Robertson will stay on with Google in a capacity where his "disruptive" talents can be well utilized, starting with telephony, but eventually in other areas

It was only last Friday when I hinted that this deal was likely going to happen, by suggesting that it made a lot of sense. In that post I explained why Google's acquisition made sense stating:

My take--this means that Gizmo, owned by neighbor Michael Robertson should be in the running for a company like Google to pick them up. The Google Voice, Google Talk platform could immediately gel and then become a major competitor. What's more if you factor in Android, with Google Voice, the troika becomes a killer combination, and may be the only service that can rival Skype, as all that Google ad space can get put to use.

What it would also mean is the first real viable option to go up against the broadband providers who are selling phone service.

If you look over most of the news accounts I think you'll see that they reflect those points and expand upon them, including PC World, which quoted me directly and was only one of the news outlets who called or emailed me yesterday to provide perspective.

Some more personal perspective-back in 2006/2007 my agency represented GrandCentral and I suggested to Craig Walker and Vincent Paquet that they interop using SIP with Gizmo, making it possible for GrandCentral users to receive their calls on Gizmo, and because the traffic was going to be on net, to reduce costs. That interoperability exists to this day and with an ever expanding user base (as they invite more people in) this means GoogleVoice users can add the Gizmo voice client and receive calls or have them bridged and originated using the Gizmo client. This has massive implications as in essence Google by purchasing Gizmo ends up saving money on both origination and termination, and backdoor onto the iPhone and into Skype immediately, at least when connected to WiFi, but also when users are mobile.

Here's why:

Already there are numerous SIP clients for the iPhone. Many of them are open, and accept SIP credentials, something every GIZMO user receives when they sign up. When you make Gizmo's ID one of your GoogleVoice termination points, that would make your iPhone an endpoint, presuming the application was running in the foreground as you can follow these instructions to set up GV to route calls to it. This post sums up what is also possible, though the details have magically been removed from Gizmo's web site.

Then there's Skype and the OpenSky gateway which makes Skype accessible. Now I wouldn't be surprised if GoogleVoice ends up adding a Skype direct feed, ala what exists with Gizmo already, as the OpenSky service is a back door into Skype and since Skype has an iPhone client already, well, you get my drift, especially when you think how Skype will eventually work over 3G and OpenSky has an SMS trigger already built in, and GoogleVoice already has SMS, so you can in theory have a callback type service that triggers a no cost call via GoogleVoice (or a lower than Skype rate International call) that rides reaches your iPhone over Skype, without a GoogleVoice client even being available.

Google bought a lot more than just termination to the PSTN and some well built software. They bought a very disruptive company with lots of good ideas and the ability to innovate and implement. Just like they did with GrandCentral.

Continue reading Gizmo and Google-My Thoughts

Nimbuzz Launches NimbuzzOut for Low-cost International Calling

(VoIP Monitor) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:00:57 +0100

Nimbuzz launches NimbuzzOut, offering great value international calls at the lowest possible rates, to complement its multi award-winning mobile application offering free VoIP calls, SIP calls and social IM aggregation.

NimbuzzOut Credits will be available for purchase, enabling users to save up to 95% on the cost of a traditional international mobile call.

Nimbuzz' free to download, free to use mobile IM and VoIP application, launched in May 2008, already enables millions of users worldwide to enjoy free calls and instant messaging with friends across both its own network, and users' favourite online social communities (Skype, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ, Google Talk (Orkut), AIM, Facebook, MySpace and many more)

The launch of NimbuzzOut, starting with Symbian, iPhone and iPod Touch handsets and rolling out to others later this year, adds great value and great quality calling from mobiles on 3G or Wi-Fi to any other mobile or landline worldwide.

Nimbuzz technology has pioneered next-generation mobile calling, with over 3million Nimbuzz calls made every single week! NimbuzzOut represents the company's first revenue-generating feature, launched in direct response to user requests of whom 69% recently surveyed* said they expect to use mobile VoIP more than ever in the coming 12 months.

NimbuzzOut comes at a time of phenomenal growth for Nimbuzz, with more than 10million registrations of the application since launch, a current growth rate of more than a million new registrations each month (that's a new Nimbuzz user every 3 seconds!), a daily active user base of over 30% and an international user footprint covering every corner of the globe.

Adopting a standard pay-as-you-go model, NimbuzzOut credits will be sold in bundles of 10, 20 and 40 Dollars or Euros. Users can learn more and check call savings per country via the rate calculator on the Nimbuzz web and wap sites.

Continue reading Nimbuzz Launches NimbuzzOut for Low-cost International Calling

Doddle Makes VoIP Easy as Pulling up a Website

(VoIP Monitor) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:52:12 +0100

Doddle allows users to make VoIP calls anywhere in the world via Doddle’s web based SIP phone directly from their webpages. With Doddle’s free online phone service, no registration is required and VoIP is as easy as accessing a webpage. Users just begin using.

Doddle’s web based phone allows anyone to add phone capabilities to their web applications, including websites, portals, social networks and blogs such as Facebook, MySpace, Orkut, Blogger and more, so that web visitors can make calls directly from the webpage. Twitter tweets can truly make sounds with an instant call link.

All that is required is to embed Doddle’s free linked phone gadget, which empowers users’ webpages with a webphone / click2talk feature. The options and features provide a completely customizable solution for both personal and business use:

Webphone for blogs, homepages, social networks and virtual business cards
Internet service and VoIP providers, IT companies, SOHO
SIP compliant phone: seamless integration with VoIP providers
Compatible with VoIP Analog Telephone Adapters (ATA/Hardware)
Server side integration: J2EE (Java) /.NET / PHP / Database
JavaScript API (Mac OS X, Windows, Linux)
No need to keep computers powered on to receive calls
WebPhone, Click2Call, Call Me Button, PhoneBooks, etc.
VPN Support

Doddle’s web-driven phone makes it possible to quickly add SIP-based calls features in web applications. There is no desktop application to be downloaded. Doddle’s webphone is supported in all major browsers for both PC and Mac. Doddle offers several free widgets: webphone, call button, and iGoggle. Fully customizable versions are also available.

Continue reading Doddle Makes VoIP Easy as Pulling up a Website

Forget Skype, Google acquires Gizmo5 VoIP startup instead

(Mike Dolan) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:13:50 +0100

Wow, remember a few weeks ago when Skype was beset by multiple legal actions from its founders and was in talks to acquire VoIP startup Gizmo5 to replace the underlying codebase that they were being sued over? Well things seem to be moving fast in the VoIP world because today, not only did Skype and its founders come to an agreement and save the underlying codebase, but Gizmo5 got acquired after all--just not by who'd we expect.

Google pounced on the the peer-to-peer VoIP provider Gizmo5 just as its chances of being acquired by Skype had been dashed. Gizmo5 is an unscaled, but proven peer-to-peer VoIP provider. It has six million users for its SIP-based P2P VoIP service. The service would add the a PSTN link to allow incoming or outbound calls to real phones which Google Voice currently lacks. According to TechCrunch sources, Google has bought Gizmo5 for $30 million, but the official announcement has yet to be made.

According to the Washington Post, Skype was going to purchase peer-to-peer VoIP startup Gizmo5 for around $50 million. The purchase was part of a back-up plan in the event that it's lawsuit with Joltid resulted in the company not having access to the underlying code Skype uses to make VoIP calls.

For more:
- read the TechCrunch article

Related articles
Skype may by Gizmo5
Gizmo5 builds (yet another) bridge to Skype
GizmoCall - VoIP a la Adobe Flash
Gizmo5 adds free conference calls

Continue reading Forget Skype, Google acquires Gizmo5 VoIP startup instead

Mobile VoIP crushed by OneVoice?

(Mike Dolan) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:54:42 +0100

VoIP Survivor has an article with a similar theme to what we were talking about in the last week's Editor's Corner. He brings up the emergence of the OneVoice standard supported by AT&T Inc., Telefonica, TeliaSonera, Verizon, Vodafone, Orange, Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. The standard would put voice and SMS over LTE based on SIP and, according to the blog, poses a threat to mobile VoIP apps' relevance. Article

Continue reading Mobile VoIP crushed by OneVoice?

Skype and eBay Settle with Joltid

tomek@biz-news.com (Tomasz Czech) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:42:00 +0100

Skype and eBay announced they has reached a settlement agreement with Joltid and Joost N.V. that gives Skype ownership over all software previously licensed from Joltid.

It also ends all litigation currently pending against the investor group and eBay at the closing of the acquisition (the investor group led by Silver Lake had previously entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Skype from the company).

As part of the settlement agreement, Joltid and Skype founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis will join the investor group, contributing Joltid software and making a significant capital investment in exchange for a 14 percent stake in Skype.

Continue reading Skype and eBay Settle with Joltid

Originally appeared on VoIP Biz-News.com on 09/11/2009

Is Apple Stopping Progress?

(Andy Abramson) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:41:24 +0100

It's time not to put the hammer down, but to throw it up again. Yesterday Nimbuzz made noise via GigaOm's Om Malik, with news of their client now offering what is called Nimbuzz Out, which is in many ways a clone of Fring, Skype Out and Truphone combined, as the new feature it allows calls to real telephone numbers on the iPhone, just like Truphone, as well as how Skype works with their own client that works on Nokia phones in the UK and a few others where Three already has installed the iSkoot gateway technology.

One of the assertions in Om's post was that:

"If you are using it on an iPhone, then you have to use the Wi-Fi connection, which makes me a tad upset because you can make Skype calls over 3G. You can make NimbuzzOut calls via 3G on Symbian phones, however."

While it's known that on jailbroken phones that applications like Skype will work over 3G, for the rest of us who play by the rules, calls like that just won't happen as Apple's current software prevents that from occuring.

Om later in the day came out with some clarification in his next post about Apple, basically laying placing fault on their doorstep and putting them under the bus for the lack of 3G Data network access for applications like Skype, Fring and client Truphone, as well as Nimbuzz. Om clearly points out that the apps like Nimbuzz (and Truphone) have worked for some time on 3G on Symbian devices-like the Nokia N95 or E71, and I'll add, where permitted by the carrier agreements.

The fact that on the iPhone calls over 3G are not yet possible is more than likely tied to the fact that Apple's Terms and Conditions, which sets the ground rules for developers, to program under have not yet been updated to reflect that capability, so while possible, the apps can't yet do what we all know is possible.

Is this defensible? Well if you're Apple, you take the perspective that you have more customers of iPhones in the carriers who do not permit 3G calling, and that AT&T is just one of them that want's to. But then that's where Apple loses. And again, the proof point is voice, and specifically Skype, which was barred from being available in Canada while a patent rights issue was resolved. At that time, those of us in the good old USA and in other countries around the world were able to enjoy Skype on our iPhones. That meant Apple has the ability to localize where certain versions of applications are available, or even to be available at all. This is no different than with music, TV programs or movies, all of which have various rights issues that involve borders and regions.

To be clear, if I'm a USA Apple iTunes user who subscribes to downloading of MadMen in the the USA, I can get the current third season from Apple's iTune's store as long as I have a valid USA credit card and billing address. However, if I'm in the UK, with a UK credit card and billing address I could only get season two of Mad Men from iTunes and I'd not have any visibility to year three. On the other hand, if I had bank accounts and addresses in both nations, I could simply switch between the two accounts and have the best of both worlds. Those two sceanrios in effect negates the potential argument from Apple about not being able to allow in the USA 3G Data Network accessible versions of Skype, Nimbuzz, Fring and Truphone from being in the App Store now.

So with all that as history, precedent and color I ask the question, is Apple's stopping progress? Or better put, who is going to be throwing the hammer.

Continue reading Is Apple Stopping Progress?

Empirix monitoring rated compliant with Avaya contact centers

(Mike Dolan) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:37:59 +0100

Empirix, a Mass.-based VoIP monitoring solutions provider, announced today that its products have been rated compliant with Avaya's contact center solutions. The new rating means an increase in the number of vendors the VoIP monitoring company will be able to serve.

Empirix has stated that their solution is now compliant with Avaya Aura Communications Manager on Avaya S8700 servers with MCC1 Media Gateways and Avaya Proactive Contact with PG230RM. The Empirix Proactive Communications Assurance solution allows companies to test outbond contact center calls for performance and end user experience.

Empirix was a Fierce 15 winner for its Hammer product line which makes sure IMS devices perform to spec.

For more:
- see the article

Continue reading Empirix monitoring rated compliant with Avaya contact centers

Euro-VoIP Telio posts strong Q3

(Mike Dolan) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:31:01 +0100

European VoIP provider Telio posted strong numbers in its recent earnings release. Operating profits increased by 43 percent in third quarter 2009 while revenues were up NOK 3.3 million coming in at NOK 96.3 million from NOK 93 million from the same quarter last year.

"We have continued to deliver record results for the last 10 quarters, and we are naturally very satisfied with revenue growth and 43 percent growth in operating profit compared to third quarter 2008," said Eirik Lunde, CEO of Telio Holding ASA in the release.

The Norway based VoIP provider has recently expanded its business into Holland and Denmark. Blogger Jon Arnold calls them the Vonage of Europe and has made a number of comparisons between the two companies offering that Telio is doing a number of things Vonage could do to increase their success. Vonage recently posted losses for Q3.

For more:
- read the release
- read Arnold's blog post

Continue reading Euro-VoIP Telio posts strong Q3

Let's make a deal: Skype founders are back and now own 14%

(Mike Dolan) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:18:16 +0100

According to the Skype blog, a deal has been made. Skype, eBay and their investors will no longer be sued by Joltid and the former Skype founders while Skype will now own the underlying codebase that makes its VoIP calls possible.

Skype President Josh Silverman's blog post explains that the deal means Joltid and Skype founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis will join the investor group and the Skype board with a 14 percent share in Skype. They get this deal in exchange for handing over the Joltid software that Skype runs on as well as a cash investment in the company.

Given that the Skype founders wanted all along to get back into the ownership of Skype, it looks like they've succeeded in their original goals.

Friis and Zennstrom originally sued eBay and the consortium of investors that recently purchased a 65 percent stake in the VoIP calling company for copyright infringement over the use of the underlying technology in Skype, which was held by another Friis-Zennstrom entity called Joltid. The founders recently filed an injunction against Mike Volpi and Index Ventures who were part of the consortium to block them from participating while derailing the purchase. Volpi allegedly had made-off with a computer containing Joltid source code. It seems like these legal maneuvers paid off for the founders after all.

For more:
- read the blog post

Continue reading Let's make a deal: Skype founders are back and now own 14%

Impressions of The Droid (on Verizon)

(Andy Abramson) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:14:26 +0100

I've now had the good fortune or misfortune to have my hands on three different Android devices. Given I adopt early, I expect some disappointment, and was with the G1, so while I saw promise, the delivery was short, but the potential was clearly visible.

Next was the recently released MyTouch3 from T-Mobile. While it showed improvement, the lack of a keyboard was keeping it from being more to my liking, as I do more than just read on my phone.

Now comes the Droid, from Motorola. Nirvana? No. iPhone replacement. I think so, mostly because the Verizon network just rocks. Once I learned about Touchdown, a third party Exchange App, everything just sync'd and what's more, the speed of the Android on WiFi or EVDO smokes the iPhone.

One of the features I like is that Skype works ala Skype on Three in the UK. And while it uses your Skype Out credit, if you have Skype Unlimited and keep Skype loaded, (no one app at a time hassle ala the iPhone) you can do a lot more. One catch is to advise GoogleVoice to not be your default calling service, but to make it selectable call by call, otherwise Skype gets lost.

Is it perfect? No. But for someone who loves the Nokia E71, and wanted something much more like it, with a wide range of apps, but on Verizon, I have found the first true open device for Verizon, and have to say, it rocks.

Continue reading Impressions of The Droid (on Verizon)

Video: Cisco Telepresence invades 30 Rock

(Mike Dolan) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:57:41 +0100

Check out this skit on the tv show 30 Rock featuring Cisco Telepresence:

Continue reading Video: Cisco Telepresence invades 30 Rock

My T-Mobile UMA Experience and My CDMA Data Experience

(Andy Abramson) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:48:40 +0100

Traveling to Seoul Korea meant that being savvy and frugal with my mobile usage. I took along a battery of phones, but really at the end of the day ended up using my RIM Blackberries to stay connected most of the time.

Sure I used the Nokia E71 with Truphone, but I wanted to put the RIM Blackberry Curve through its paces with UMA in a part of the world where broadband is like water and air. And when I say broadband, I mean blazing fast, no latency broadband, where WiFi is one of the standard ways of staying connected.

The RIM Blackberry Curve with UMA via T-Mobile performed like a champ. The connectivity was super fast, and the call quality better than what I get back in the USA. Given the fact that this is a route around roaming charges, the approach couldn't be beat, as the minutes fall under my "unlimited" plan from T-Mobile in the USA.

For email though I had to use the RIM Worldphone that has Verizon as the carrier. Being CDMA it was an easy connection to whatever network was available, and while the Curve was great on WiFi, without any GSM to latch onto, when out and about, it was not much help. The Worldphone was though and I never missed an email.

The bottom line is simply this. With some planning you can stay very connected, without a lot of hassle.

Continue reading My T-Mobile UMA Experience and My CDMA Data Experience

Traveling Lighter

(Andy Abramson) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:22:58 +0100

As a true road warrior I'm always keen to find tips from others like me. One of my favorite travel industry writers to read is Joe Brancatelli who besides his must read JoeSentMe.com newsletter, also authors a business travel column for Portfolio Magazine.

In the most recent issue JB shares what he considers his "essentials" for staying connected on the road.

Over the past month I've been in London (twice), Barcelona, Amsterdam, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles and Seoul, Korea. I've used two different Macs (a 13" Mac Book Pro and my Mac Book Air), the Asus eee PC 1008 HA, a Viliv V7 Mid, as my laptop, my Nokia E71, an Apple iPhone, RIM Blackberry Curve, RIM Blackberry Worldphone, an iPod Touch and even a Skype Phone. I've also spent time both on audio and video calls via Skype, made phone calls over Truphone (a client), used the UMA calling from T-Mobile on the Curve as well as calls via Skype on the Skypephone from INQ when in London.

I've swapped SIMs in the UK, Spain and Amsterdam, used my 3G Dongles in those countries and even pulled out the MiFi from Novatel to be data and voice connected.

At the end of the day, Truphone and Skype have been my most used services for voice while the Microsoft Exchange server kept me in sync regardless of which device I was using for email. Services like Basecamp and Dropbox remain essential for me as I can freely switch between computers and have all of what i need, wherever I may be.

Joe's list is worth a read, but like any topic, being a true road warrior means getting the technology and services you need and like to work best for you. It's a personal thing so figure out what you need before you travel and you'll enjoy your travels more.

Continue reading Traveling Lighter

The Skype Suit Is Settled-Now Business Can Get On

(Andy Abramson) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:36:32 +0100

I'm just glad the suit is settled between ebay and Skype. Now a lot of things that have been held back can finally move forward. In many ways the settlement is a good thing. The return of the original founders means disruption will continue, and new ideas will flourish. It also means Skype as a business or brand will now have a chance to prove its worth.

Om has a pretty good scorecard on the details.

My take--this means that Gizmo, owned by neighbor Michael Robertson should be in the running for a company like Google to pick them up. The Google Voice, Google Talk platform could immediately gel and then become a major competitor. What's more if you factor in Android, with Google Voice, the troika becomes a killer combination, and may be the only service that can rival Skype, as all that Google ad space can get put to use.

What it would also mean is the first real viable option to go up against the broadband providers who are selling phone service.

Continue reading The Skype Suit Is Settled-Now Business Can Get On

Vonage posts 3Q loss

(Mike Dolan) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:46:50 +0100

Vonage posted a wider third-quarter loss of $54.6 million this week and blamed it on the stock rally they had that inflated share prices and resulted in a $63 million charge. The year-ago loss was only $7.8 million. Its share price spiked in August when Google announced its Voice application and investors took that move as a vote of confidence in the VoIP market--driving up Vonage's stock.

Vonage's revenue for the quarter was $221.5 million down two percent from $225.8 million a year ago. Revenue per user was up to $29.89 from $28.75. Although the company posted a net loss for subscribers, they claimed that new subscriptions were coming in at double the rate since the beginning of the quarter. Customer churn also increased to 3.4 percent.

Despite the down numbers, Vonage has been making some serious moves lately, launching its $24.99 a month unlimited international calling plan and putting out an innovative smartphone app for Blackberry and the iPhone.

For more:
- read this article

Continue reading Vonage posts 3Q loss

FreedomVOICE Proposes Telecommuting to Tackle the H1N1 Virus

(VoIP Monitor) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:42:51 +0100

FreedomVOICE has proposed telecommuting as a viable option to control the spread of the H1N1 virus in the workplace.

Whether we like it or not, the H1N1 virus is among us. While the virus affects our health, it can also affect our business. But smart CEO’s are taking precautions to end the virus’s daily commute.

“If an employee is feeling ill, they should be given the opportunity to work from home if they can still be productive,” said Eric Thomas, CEO of FreedomVOICE systems. “If the entire company is infected with the flu at the same time it could be devastating.”

Telecommuting is a weapon being used at the forefront of the fight against H1N1. And with today’s advances in telecommunications technology there are a variety of options available to business owners who want to enable their employees to work from home. A popular telecommuting technology is hosted VoIP PBX phone systems. These Internet based phone systems allow you to seamlessly connect all members of your office, regardless of where they are located. One such product is the FreedomIQ Hosted VoIP PBX by FreedomVOICE.

“FreedomIQ is a VoIP phone system that you can utilize anywhere you have Internet access,” explains Thomas. “The device is perfect for telecommuters. It enables unified messaging, advanced call reporting, automatic call distribution, and more for a value driven rate.”

While working from home used to be frowned upon, today, the practice has been largely adopted by companies in the US.

“According to recent research conducted by Techaisle, currently over 80% of businesses in the US have a work at home policy,” says Thomas. “But all businesses have the ability to help alleviate fears associated with the H1N1 virus by allowing those concerned to work from home.”

FreedomVOICE offers the following as a basis for companies to evolve their own H1N1 work at home policy from.

How Managers Should Handle Employees Feeling Ill

Employees feeling ill should immediately be given the opportunity to work from home.
Employees can continue to work from home as long as their manager feels they are being productive.
The manager should delegate a set amount of work to the employee each day.
Each day the employee should submit a list of what they have accomplished.
Based on the accomplishments, the manager can decide whether the employee can work at home again or should take a sick day.
Employees should only return to the office once they have been cleared by a doctor.

What Employees Need to be Productive While Working at Home?

Employees must be able to access all of the same items they can when they are in the office.
Employees should be able to take their computer home or connect to their work computer remotely.
Employees must set up their call forwarding to forward to a line that can be answered from home.
Employees must have an area at their home where they can work without being distracted.

Other Important Items

Employees should be able to be reached by phone at all times.
Employees should be able to be reached by email at all times.
Employers should be able to be reach employees by dialing their work extension.
If an employee misses a call they should call the employer back ASAP.

FreedomIQ is a business phone system which allows employees to access all of the same VoIP phone features at home as they can at the office. Managers can see how long employees have been on calls, who they have been on calls with, how many calls they’ve missed, how long they’ve been logged into their phone, and other important information. With these tools, managers can keep a close eye on employees, and employees can have all the advantages of office right at home.

Continue reading FreedomVOICE Proposes Telecommuting to Tackle the H1N1 Virus

Skype founders may have a deal

(Mike Dolan) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:29:07 +0100

According to GigaOm, Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the founders of Skype and now Joltid, are on the verge of an agreement with Silver Lake Partners and eBay that will allow the sale of Skype to go through and settle the grievances the two had with the company. Friis and Zennstrom had sued eBay and the consortium that recently purchased a 65 percent stake in the VoIP calling company for copyright infringement over the use of the underlying technology in Skype, which is currently held by another Friis-Zennstrom entity called Joltid. The founders recently filed an injunction against Mike Volpi and Index Ventures in an attempt to derail the purchase.

As part of the deal Zennstrom and Friis will probably get board representation at Skype while the investors they've had issues with will not be allowed to participate in the purchase of the 65 percent share in Skype. Originally the founders were angry with eBay and Mike Volpi, former CEO of Joost and part of the Index Ventures investment company, for allegedly not paying royalties on the underlying technology that allows Skype to make VoIP calls. As part of the agreement, Volpi won't be able to be part of the investment group buying the company while Skype will get to use the Global Index software that Skype runs on and the two founders own.

For more:
- read this GigaOm article

Continue reading Skype founders may have a deal

Cisco reports earnings, highlights IP communications

(Mike Dolan) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:26:37 +0100

Let's set aside all the rumors and speculation about Cisco's potential mergers and acquisitions. We've got some cold hard figures to report as the company just released their first quarter financial results.

Cisco, a networking solutions vendor that's incorporating more telepresence offerings into its product suite, today reported its first quarter results for the period ended October 24, 2009 with net sales of $9.0 billion (down 13 percent year over year). Cisco's GAAP net income was down almost 19 percent year over year coming in at $1.8 billion. Despite the year over year declines, CEO John Chambers said the "Q1 results continued to reflect strong sequential growth trends that meet or exceed expectations during normal economic times."

In its earnings release, Cisco highlighted its video and IP plays as positive moves stating that they "believe that key market transitions across collaboration, virtualization and video will drive productivity and growth in network loads for the next decade." The vendor's recent acquisition of Starent and pending acquisition of TANDBERG reflect the company's growth strategy that envisions a greater demand for more robust networking technology to meet the needs of video and IP communications applications.

Cisco also noted that it expanded its Cisco TelePresence portfolio with the single-screen, single-camera Cisco TelePresence System 1100 for multipurpose rooms with service providers AT&T, BT, Orange, NTT, Tata Communications, Telefonica, Telstra and Telmex announcing commercial intercompany Cisco TelePresence service offerings.

For more:
- read the Cisco release
- see this video of Cisco CEO John Chambers discussing the report

Related articles
Scare tactic or serious? Cisco may drop TANDBERG bid
New Global Telecom to offer Cisco IP phones for SMBs
Cisco's TANDBERG purchase rejected by shareholders
How will the Cisco/Tandberg purchase affect Polycom?

Continue reading Cisco reports earnings, highlights IP communications

Video: Cisco announces earnings

(Mike Dolan) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:22:24 +0100

Watch the CEO of Cisco discuss the latest earnings report...

Continue reading Video: Cisco announces earnings

Video: Your life could be so much better with UC

(Mike Dolan) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:01:22 +0100

As part of a new marketing plan, Canadian telecommunications company and unified communications provider Telus has created a viral video of sorts. Following the day-to-day activities of UC evangelist Hugo, the video shows how with UC technology workers are happier, more productive and...well can work from the park or the hot tub while still getting the job done early. Video

Continue reading Video: Your life could be so much better with UC

Video: Telus shows how great life is with UC

(Mike Dolan) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:44:57 +0100

Check out this video about life with UC:

Continue reading Video: Telus shows how great life is with UC

Cisco responds to 'walk-away' tactic speculation

(Mike Dolan) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:37:18 +0100

Cisco's Chief Strategy Officer, Ned Hooper wrote a blog post to inject some Cisco feedback into the TANDBERG acquisition rumor mill. Was the move a scare tactic to get investors to give in or was it just a savvy decision made on a risk vs. reward basis? According to the blog post, Cisco's initial offer took many things into account that a raised bid would disregard.

Cisco's current bid that TANDBERG investors have rejected took into account the value of the merger, but also "the risks, from capturing synergies and executing on our first ever acquisition of a European public company, to the overall integration complexity associated with engineering and sales spread across both Norway and the UK, are also important," claimed Hooper. Increasing the bid would begin to disregard this risk analysis.

Hooper asked and answered readers about the fairness of the original bid saying "Is a 38.3% premium fair for TANDBERG shareholders? Absolutely. Does it lock in a superior return for TANDBERG shareholders and protect them from future market risk? Yes. Does it also fairly reflect risks borne exclusively by Cisco shareholders? Yes."

The post did not say whether the move was a bluff or whether this really was Cisco's final offer, but the post went to lengths to explain why Cisco has threatened to walk while also pointing out the reasons they disagree with the TANDBERG investors currently blocking the merger. Basically Cisco's stance is that they will behave fiscally prudent for their investors and if the TANDBERG purchase fails to make financial sense, Cisco would have no choice but to look elsewhere to complete their video offerings.

For more:
- read this blog post

Continue reading Cisco responds to 'walk-away' tactic speculation

Telanetix Announces New Cordless Handsets for Small Business VOIP Market

(VoIP Monitor) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:07:10 +0100

Telanetix announced the addition of cordless phones to its Digital Phone System suite of services based on the DECT standard. The Digital Phone System, marketed under the AccessLine brand, is available in several configurations and models for either home or small business offices. The system comes bundled with service that includes a complete business phone application suite that is based on the Telanetix nationwide VoIP Network.

The new cordless handsets offer more than 30 important business features, including: inter-extension dialing with non-cordless handsets on the same phone system, intercom, call park/pickup, headset compatibility, and many more. As with all AccessLine Digital Phone Systems, the cordless handsets arrive custom-configured to the specific business needs of each individual small business.

Continue reading Telanetix Announces New Cordless Handsets for Small Business VOIP Market

Telanetix Announces New Cordless Handsets for Small Business VOIP Market (source: Telco 2.0)

http://www.feedzilla.com (Feedzilla - VoIP) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:07:10 +0100

InCharge Systems Announces Reference System for SIP Security Interoperability Testing

(VoIP Monitor) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:59:12 +0100

InCharge Systems released a hosted reference system of its ACerted Trust solution, available immediately for interoperability testing. The reference system, will be demonstrated Thursday, October 29, 2009 at the Illinois Institute of Technology 5th Annual VoIP Conference and Expo.

ACerted Trust is a solution for assuring the identity of end users and their operators that originate SIP requests for voice, video, presence or messaging communication sessions, based on the Internet Engineering Task Force standard RFC 4474, “Enhancements for Authenticated Identity Management in the Session Initiation Protocol”

In VoIP telephony today, the calling line identity presented to the receiver of a phone call can be easily altered if the communication traverses the open Internet, making those communications subject to abuse by unscrupulous telemarketers, vishing attacks for financial and identity information, theft of toll service and other serious problems. ACerted Trust assigns a cryptographic signature to SIP:INVITE messages, allowing receiving entities to check with a trusted certificate authority to verify the identity asserted by the caller. This enables the identity of the caller to be verified at any point in a communication, regardless of network operator.

The reference system released today is intended to support the implementation by the industry of RFC 4474 in various VoIP and SIP products and services, such as:

IP-PBXs, SIP-aware firewalls, session border controllers and softswitches.
End user devices such as IP phones, analog telephone adapters and software user agents such as PC softphones and mobile VoIP clients on smart phones.
Services and gateways such as SIP peering federations, SIP call termination providers and VoIP communication services providers
Consumer Internet and business process applications using SIP to embed voice, instant messaging and presence.

Today’s release for interoperability testing comprises the following hosted elements: a public / private key provisioning system, a certificate authority and a SIP proxy server that will allow the validation of calls based on their digital signature, as well as demonstrate the signing of SIP messages.

In addition to the reference system, ICS has contributed to the popular open source Asterisk IP PBX system a software module that implements support for RFC 4474 and interoperates with the ICS hosted reference system.

Continue reading InCharge Systems Announces Reference System for SIP Security Interoperability Testing

VOIPFUTURE First to Monitor Multiple GB/s Links at Full Line Rate

tomek@biz-news.com (Tomasz Czech) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:08:00 +0100

VOIPFUTURE, a vendor of Next Generation Technology (NGT) for the analysis and diagnosis of voice quality in VoIP networks, claims the company’s Smart Monitoring Probes are the first to monitor multiple GB/s links at full line rate.

RTP Monitoring Probe generates detailed diagnostics for every 5-second of a call stream. The company says this innovative voice quality evaluation technology provides precise information about individual in-call quality as well as network-wide service status.

Continue reading VOIPFUTURE First to Monitor Multiple GB/s Links at Full Line Rate

Originally appeared on VoIP Biz-News.com on 04/11/2009

eOn Communications launches Linux-based eConn IP-PBX

(Mike Dolan) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:25:36 +0100

eOn Communications used this week's VoiceCon show to debut eConn, an IP-PBX server-based IP communications platform. eConn IP-PBX uses commercial off-the-shelf hardware and the Linux operating system with support for SIP VoIP and TDM voice.

The system offers all the services eOn's Millennium Converged Communications Platform provides and works with eOn's eNterprise 7000 Series IP Telephones, audio conferencing units, analog sets and 3rd party SIP-compliant devices like softphones, desktop phones, WiFi and IP DECT wireless handsets. It can also be combined with eOn's eConn IP Messenger platform for more UC capabilities. The platform can scale to serve companies with 10-1000 employees.

Back in July, eOn launched a mobile UC BlackBerry app that shared corporate IP phone system functionality with employee handsets.

For more:
- read the release
- read TMCNet's article

Continue reading eOn Communications launches Linux-based eConn IP-PBX

T-Mobile- You Got Some Explaining To Do

(Andy Abramson) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:36:22 +0100

Yesterday, on Monday around 1230 PM I was in Silicon Valley and couldn't call any of my staff on their T-Mobile phones. What I was getting was "sorry, all circuits are busy." Well it seems by today, the problem I first detected had gotten much, much worse.

I tried calling from my T-Mobile phone, then my iPhone on AT&T with the same result. So, I called T-Mobile and ran into customer service attitude. I mean, here I am, suggesting they have a network problem, and they're asking me to run tests on MY phone because that's there procedure. Let's face it. If I was able to call them, my phone was working fine. But even one of my staff who was with me couldn't call another team member, and that team member couldn't call out, even though her Blackberry services were working fine.

When I mentioned that as a member of the press world I was going to record the call, the T-Mobile rep simply HUNG UP on me. Here I am trying to help them by reporting a real problem, and they hung up. So I called back, asked if there was any network issues, and they said "No, sir. We don't have any network issues." I said I was going to record that and again, they hung up on me. Funny thing is, they can record the call for their own protection, but as the paying customer, we are not supposed to.

At the end of the day, mobile operators should listen more to their customers who are live and in the field using what they offer. Like with power companies, the customers will be the first ones to notice the service having a problem, and we'll be the first ones to report it.

T-Mobile---time to realize, your customers do know.

Continue reading T-Mobile- You Got Some Explaining To Do

Ribbit Announces Cloud-Based Service Ribbit Mobile

(VoIP Monitor) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:45:36 +0100

Ribbit announces the release of Ribbit Mobile, a cloud-based service that provides a new way to manage calls, messages and phones. Ribbit Mobile's core set of features - including voicemail transcription, smart call routing and Web-based calling - transforms the way people communicate by letting them decide how, when and where they want to stay in touch.

Ribbit Mobile lets users communicate in ways never before possible by enabling them to merge multiple phones, route mobile calls to other phones and even answer their mobile calls on the Internet. Ribbit Mobile users can stay connected on their own terms-wherever they are-so they never miss another important call.

Unlike other Internet voice services, Ribbit Mobile doesn't require a new phone number, a new phone or a software download-and the service can be made active on any mobile phone in less than five minutes. Ribbit Mobile also converts voicemail to text and sends it to users via SMS and email, eliminating the need to dial into voicemail and listen to messages. It also provides an online message inbox where messages can be managed and stored forever.

Ribbit Mobile also offers users a back-up phone online for those times when a users' device is lost, stolen, broken or mobile service is unavailable. The Web-based version of the mobile device enables Ribbit users to continue to make and take "mobile" phone calls via an Internet connection, regardless of their location or device accessibility.

Service Increases Mobile Professional Productivity
For mobile professionals dependent on their phones to close deals and win new business, Ribbit Mobile is a must-have service. "Ribbit Mobile gives me a competitive advantage and helps me close deals faster," said Mortgage Loan Officer Jerry McClain. "I receive over 30 voicemail messages a day, and Ribbit Mobile gives me instant visibility into which ones are important so I can focus on what matters most."

Open Platform Drives Telephony Innovation
Ribbit Mobile is built on the Ribbit Platform - a robust, extensible platform with open APIs that lets developers add features to Ribbit Mobile. As more developers create applications, the service will become increasingly powerful and innovative.

Ribbit is also announcing the "Developer Rewards" program which will compensate developers based on how much their applications are used, even if their applications are offered for free to end users. Unlike traditional app stores, Ribbit developers are rewarded on creating the most useful and popular applications that drive platform and network usage.

During the introductory beta period, Ribbit is making its "Professional" package free for everyone on a trial basis, available via download at http://www.ribbit.com/mobile.

Continue reading Ribbit Announces Cloud-Based Service Ribbit Mobile

Ribbit Mobile Launches Today

(Andy Abramson) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:36:25 +0100

Looks like Ribbit is chasing the GoogleVoice market with their launch of Ribbit Mobile, in beta, today.

Ribbit Mobile is built on the Ribbit Platform, that BT paid over 100 million dollars for. Key point is the service is free (for now) but has a monthly value of $30.00.

From the announcement the key feature that Ribbit Mobile offers vs. Google Voice is Voice Memos. Here they are going after the market that JOTT has staked out a while back, and going farther back, where both MobileWord and SpeechMachines both tried and failed.

Once my account goes live, I'll have a better perspective on just how much different, or similar to Google Voice Ribbit Mobile really is.

Continue reading Ribbit Mobile Launches Today

Google and Skype Beware-You're Getting Taxed

(Andy Abramson) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:33:19 +0100

It seems the city of Vallejo California wants to tax texting, other wise known as SMS.

So why is this important? Well if you use GoogleVoice you have the option of having your messages delivered via SMS, as well email. Skype has a similar function, as do other companies which work with middlemen like Syniverse that make it possible to send and receive texts not simply for those sent to or from a mobile handset.

How a city can actually determine the tax on texting will be complicated, as mobile operators offer all kinds of bundles, and rarely break out the breakdown of services costs for things like SMS, Voicemail, and other features that are sold in the all in one offerings these days.

What also interesting is that the tax is going to include VoIP services, a path we've seen before here in California. How this impacts Skype will be interesting, as they continue to contend they're not a VoIP service, while still failing the duck test.

Continue reading Google and Skype Beware-You're Getting Taxed

Are Corded Phones Endangered?

(Andy Abramson) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:47:45 +0100

Yesterday at VoiceCon in SF a debate between industry pundits ensued over the potential of cutting the cord in the enterprise market.

My take is we will start to see more and more use of mobile convergence devices from the likes of RIM, Nokia and especially Android. Here's why.

Cost.

WiFi is cheaper to install than wired connectivity. With more and more office space becoming "temporary" and with lots of new construction thats been stalled or just not finished internally, a WiFi based converged platform becomes far more economical. Enter PBX based services from companies like Agito Networks who already announced their RIM Enterprise play and a few others and you have inside the campus cordless connectivity.

The second reason why converged devices or even PC based calling vs. a real IP Desk Phone is cost here too. Look at the price for basic IP phones and compare that to DECT phone or subsidized mobile devices.

I just wish a real Mobile PBX would come to life.....with all you need in one service...Mobile, FMC, Unified Communications, PBX extension based calling and more.

Continue reading Are Corded Phones Endangered?