NetStumbler

Digital World: Divorce, VOIP syle

Kristin Abraham — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 11:22:47 +0000

Is VoIP all it’s cracked up to be? Some users are finding problems with the system and have decided to forego the service entirely.

Users have cited differences between their needs and the actual services they receive as being a major problem. A lack of a stable internet connection can make you miss calls even when you’re at home and able to pick up the line. VoIP also tends to run about $25 a month, which is too expensive for some when they see the service as flawed.

There are other solutions such as Skype and Gizmo but each individual should carefully research their needs and what the providers offer so they can come up with their own personalized match.
Via [jpost.com]

Vodafone To Be Sued For VoIP Blocking?

Kristin Abraham — Mon, 14 May 2007 10:21:40 +0000

Vodafone is looking at some legal troubles for trying to stop VoIP. James Tagg, Chief Executive of Truphone claims that Vodafone is failing to meet interconnection obligations, blocking competitor websites and disabling internet telephony. He also claims that Vodafone blocks calls coming to their customers from people using Truphone services. Vodafone’s official stance is that VoIP services do not have quality guarantees and therefore their customers may be disappointed with the experience. For now the controversy is still brewing but as technology progresses these details will have to be ironed out.
Via [pcworld.com]

Which Verizon Patents Did Vonage Violate?

Kristin Abraham — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 12:53:00 +0000

Vonage was found guilty of violating three of Verizon’s business method patents. Two of the patents define VoIP traffic and how it’s handled on traditional Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN). The third patent covers the spectrum from wireline to Wi-Fi VoIP support.
Via [networkworld.com]

Bangladesh Stuck In Telecoms Jam

Eliza Villarino — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 07:02:00 +0000

The VoIP sector in Bangladesh is under threat. The technology, though used widely in many countries around the world, is illegal in Bangladesh and will likely remain so as the government hopes to shield the state-owned telephone company, the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board, from any competition. And its future becomes bleaker now that the country is under a state of emergency. The government is cracking down on illegally set up shops, including VoIP service providers. As such, Bangladeshis overseas find it hard to call home. “It used to cost one or two pence a minute to call home. Now we call but we cannot get through, we try again and again, but we just can’t get through,” said Hossein, a Bangladeshi working in London. Lt. Col Zia Safdar, who is spearheading the raids, said authorities were quite surprised at the enormous size of industry. Revenues from the VoIP calls were not taxed and the government is making every effort to address the problem.
Via [news.bbc.co.uk]

The Ins And Outs Of Using A Wi-Fi Smart Phone

Kristin Abraham — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 09:02:00 +0000

Technology has now made gaps in cell phone coverage a thing of the past, that is if there is a Wi-Fi Hotspot nearby. Smart phones, complete with Wi-Fi capabilities are hitting the market, albeit slowly, and allow you to make VoIP phone calls, check email, read the latest news and other activities via the internet. As with all new technology, there are plusses and minuses to using smart phone but the biggest plus is you have the option of using the phone in a traditional cellular mode or switching to a Wi-Fi connection. Look for future improvements to include more options that are less expensive.
Via [computerworld.com]

Court Backs FCC In VoIP Case

Kristin Abraham — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 09:22:00 +0000

The FCC’s decision stands. A three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in Minnesota agreed with the 2004 FCC decision that companies, such as Vonage, provide interstate services, which put them out of an individual state’s control. This decision and its reaffirmation is mainly focused on Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, which lets customers make phone calls over broadband internet connections. The reason for this review of the FCC decision is Minnesota’s Public Utilities Commission was looking for increased state revenue, and by registering Vonage as a phone company they would be required to pay state tariffs and adhere to rate regulations. Vonage CEO, Mike Snyder, is happy with the decision and believes his company can now grow without the constraints of pre-Internet regulations.
Via [usatoday.com]

EarthLink To Offer Wi-Fi Handsets

Kristin Abraham — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 08:11:00 +0000

EarthLink has a new Wi-Fi phone, which may be hitting the market this summer. Currently in beta tests, the phone will let you make calls over the Internet through wireless broadband connections. To push this initiative along, EarthLink has been working with a number of cities to establish municipal Wi-Fi networks. The EarthLink phone and the service was designed to be a less expensive alternative for traditional telephone services and, in Wi-Fi hotspots, it can replace your cell phone. EarthLink is investing heavily in the Internet telephony market but faces some stiff competition from other providers such as Vonage and Skype and, across the board acceptance may be more of a long-term goal.
Via [informationweek.com]

Qualcomm Reveals New EV-DO Chipset For VoIP Handsets

Eliza Villarino — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:26:00 +0000

Qualcomm Inc. has developed a modem chipset for its CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rev. B, which it claims can deliver average downlink data rates of 9.3 Mbps via the 5 MHz spectrum. The company expects the Qualcomm Mobile Station Modem MSM7850 chipset to enable mobile TV, music streaming and VoIP calls. The device, which is due for sale later this year, is backward compatible with older EV-DO versions. Qualcomm announced it will release software upgrades for earlier Cell Site Modem CSM6800 to support Rev. B within the week. Qualcomm also unrolled single chip Rev. A systems including the QSC6085, which it is providing to WiFi provider China Unicom and phone maker Sanyo. India’s Tata Teleservices and China’s Huawei Mobile and ZTE are also QSC family clients.
Via [informationweek.com]

Seven Business Reasons For Wireless VoIP

Eliza Villarino — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 08:07:00 +0000

King’s Toyota reported a 48 percent growth in sales since July 2006, a development that Gerry Carmichael, its general manager, mainly ascribed to the showroom’s new wireless VoIP system from Spectralink. According to Carmichael, because the system operates with the existing switchboard and voicemail, it allows him to reach a sales or service person anytime and affords a salesperson more mobility. Carmichael said VoIP streamlined internal communications and led to a quieter environment as it removed the need for paging over a loud speaker system. He also credited the technology for the improvement in customer service because service agents can now go into the garage and explain the progress of repair to a customer over the phone. Since the system supports call forwarding, customers can reach sales people even during their days off. “In our business, being available is everything. If you have been working with a customer for a week and they call you with the one question that will get you the sale on your day off, and they can’t get you but they can get your competitor, you miss the sale,” Carmichael said.
Via [computerworld.com]

Siemens Teams With Nokia On Wi-Fi-GSM Handover

Eliza Villarino — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 10:14:00 +0000

Siemens and Nokia are collaborating to perfect the handover of voice calls between corporate Wi-Fi and GSM networks. The two companies will work on certifying the compatibility of software in their products for business clients such as Nokia’s E-series mobile phones and Siemens’ fixed-mobile convergence server called MobileConnect, which is compatible with its HiPath 8000 SoftSwitch. According to Marcus Birkl, vice president of sales for HiPath Wireless LAN at Siemens, Nokia will send some of its handsets to Siemens laboratories for interoperability and quality-of-service tests. To date, Nokia’s E60 phone has been certified to be compatible with MobileConnect, and two other E-series phones, the E61 and E70, are now being tested in Siemens labs.
Via [infoworld.com]

Tesco Expands Into VoIP Market

Eliza Villarino — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 10:13:00 +0000

Tesco has begun offering VoIP service, allowing subscribers to call each other for free. Calls, however, to U.K. landlines and select international destinations entail a fee of as little as 2p per minute while those to U.K. mobile numbers require payment of 10p per minute except for Hutchison 3G, which is costlier by 15p. Costs of international calls and services like 0845 numbers range from 10p to 30p depending on the destination country and whether the user is contacting a landline or mobile phone. Calls to satellite phones are the priciest, starting from Â£2.70 per minute to dial an Inmarsat phone in the Indian B area, to Â£60 per minute to ring a Thuraya phone. Tesco provides a headset and three handsets that plug into a PC one of these is a cordless variant – for the service.
Via [vnunet.com]

Two Vendors Bridge Cellular And Wi-Fi Nets

Eliza Villarino — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 12:58:00 +0000

Siemens Communications and DiVitas Networks have launched solutions that enable seamless call switching between corporate cellular and wireless networks.

The Siemens HiPath Mobile Connect Appliance maintains an SIP registry of all client handsets like dual-mode phones or Wi-Fi VOIP handsets, thus allowing for round-the-clock monitoring of these devices. The appliance links with SIP-based PBX, which serves as a clearinghouse of all incoming and outgoing calls, via a built-in SIP server. It is already certified for the HiPath 8000 communications server, the HiPath WLAN product line, and also for the Nokia E60 and Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket LOOX dual-mode handsets. The company is due to release the product to the market in April. The appliance will come in three models that would support 10, 20 or 150 users and will cost $3,950 to $39,500, plus an additional $2,600 to about $18,000 in license fees.

DiVitas’s Mobile Convergence Appliance meanwhile is already available in the market. It operates with existing PBXs via SIP as well as with Microsoft Live Communications Server, Microsoft Exchange Server and other backend solutions for presence, instant messaging and collaboration.
Via [computerworld.com]

Coming Up: Vonage Wireless?

Eliza Villarino — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 15:56:00 +0000

VoIP startup Vonage announced plans to begin offering dual-mode handsets with support for both cellular and Wi-Fi access during the second half of the year. This is the latest in a series of steps taken by the company as part of its diversification strategy. It is selling V-Phone — a VoIP phone in a stick that enables users to make calls online when it is attached to a PC — and plans to go into resale deals with ISPs, similar to what it has with Charter Communications.

Analysts believe Vonage is making the latest movie because it suffered a decline in subscription growth over the last holiday season as rival companies such as Comcast, Cablevision, and Cox Cable companies started offering VoIP or Web-calling services. In addition, other VoIP providers have decided to go mobile (Norway’s Telco) or wireless (Skype).
Via [businessweek.com]

VoIP Systems Extend Workers’ Reach

Eliza Villarino — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 09:22:00 +0000

Reducing communication costs is not the only advantage to using VoIP. Some companies are now opting for the technology because it allows them to reach their employees even when they are not in the office or on the phone.

Jon Levey, broker/owner of ReMax Real Estate Advocate in Lincoln Park, Chicago is thanking the hosted VoIP telecommunications system from local firm Geckotech for not only saving him thousands of dollars but also helping him attract and retain real estate agents. For a flat monthly fee ranging from $35 to $55 per phone, companies subscribed to Geckotech’s solution get unlimited calling privilege and access to a variety of services including “Find Me/Follow Me,” which reroutes calls to a phone number of choice by the user. Sphere Communications’ VoIP system can also perform such service and be dovetailed with a company’s e-mail, customer-relationship marketing databases, and accounting and human resources applications to boost communication within and productivity of the organization.

Because of the advances, the growth of the VoIP market is expected to be sustained. According to Boston-based research firm Yankee Group, this section will see a compounded annual growth rate of 31 percent, reaching nearly $3.3 billion by 2010 from $840 million in 2005. Hosted VoIP will have the fastest expansion with $1.2 billion in 2010, or 400 percent greater than the 2005 level.
Via [chicagotribune.com]

Beginner’s Guide To Internet Phoning

Eliza Villarino — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:33:00 +0000

There are several ways to make calls online. Vonage allows unlimited calls from anywhere in the U.S. to Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Britain for a monthly fee of $25. But a user needs to plug an existing home telephone handset into a little adapter box — worth $60 after rebate — and plug this into a broadband Internet jack such as a cable modem. The company also offers V-Phone and this would do away with the use of a telephone line. The service, however, requires an additional fee of $25 per month. Skype Out, meanwhile, enables a Mac or PC to call normal telephones for $30 a year. But Skype charges another $38 if users would opt to have a phone number for incoming calls.
Via [iht.com]