Multimedia Communications, Security, Mobile, and Cloud Computing News
AT&T now says data breach impacted 51 million customers
April 10, 2024
AT&T is notifying 51 million former and current customers, warning them of a data breach that exposed their personal information on a hacking forum. However, the company has still not disclosed how the data was obtained.
Microsoft to separate Teams and Office globally amid antitrust scrutiny
April 2, 2024
Microsoft, will sell its chat and video app Teams separately from its Office product globally, the U.S. tech giant said on Monday.
What we know about the xz Utils backdoor that almost infected the world
April 1, 2024
A lone Microsoft developer rocked the world when he revealed a backdoor had been intentionally planted in xz Utils, an open-source data compression utility available on almost all installations of Linux and other Unix-like operating systems.
September 21, 2023
Cisco and Splunk, the cybersecurity and observability leader, announced a definitive agreement under which Cisco intends to acquire Splunk for $157 per share in cash, representing approximately $28 billion in equity value.
Avaya files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
February 15, 2023
Avaya Holdings Corp has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and secured a financing of $780 million as it restructures its business, the IT firm said on Tuesday.
March 28, 2022
HP Inc. announced a definitive agreement to acquire Poly, a leading global provider of workplace collaboration solutions, in an all-cash transaction for $40 per share, implying a total enterprise value of $3.3 billion, inclusive of Poly’s net debt.
Ericsson to acquire Vonage for USD 6.2 billion
November 24, 2021
Ericsson to acquire Vonage for USD 6.2 billion to spearhead the creation of a global network and communication platform for open innovation
8X8 Acquires Jitsi Video Communications Technology from Atlassian
October 29, 2018
8x8, Inc. announced that it has acquired the Jitsi open source video communications technology and its highly skilled team of open source video technology experts.
WhatsApp could add voice calling very soon
April 9, 2014
Line goes live with calls to cell phones, landlines
March 17, 2014
Line, the Japan-based mega messaging app, said that it's giving its audience in eight countries access to a new product called "Line Call," a service that lets people dial landlines and cell phones from the application for a fee.
FCC votes to begin testing an overhaul of US phone system
January 30, 2014
The Federal Communications Commission unanimously voted to launch a series of trials to investigate how best to update the telephone system in the United States. The idea is to replace the system's traditional phone lines with networks that are based on Internet Protocol.
Verizon will buy video conferencing company BlueJeans
April 16, 2020
Verizon is buying the video conferencing platform BlueJeans for $400M. BlueJeans' founders and management team will join the company to continue the platform's growth and its employees will also become part of Verizon.
InFocus unveils new video collaboration platform
February 11, 2016
Chromebox For Meetings Set To Disrupt Enterprise Video Conferencing
February 6, 2014
Google just introduced Chromebox for meeting, a new integrated system that lets users easily arrange virtual meetings whether scheduled in Google Calendar or spontaneous. Based on Chrome OS, Chromebox for meeting is a dedicated enterprise/SMB virtual conferencing appliance that is designed to be much more affordable and easier to setup than existing solutions.
February 6, 2014
With a simple cloud solution, Blue Jeans takes on video conferencing giants
October 23, 2013
Blue Jeans' simple cloud-based solution plugs the gaps in video conference systems across the globe is what makes Blue Jeans one of the hottest tech start-ups of recent times.
Google sells Motorola unit to Lenovo for $2.9B
January 29, 2014
Google confirmed that it has sold Motorola for $2.91 billion, consisting of $660 million in cash and $750 million in Lenovo shares, with the remaining $1.5 billion paid in the form of a three-year promissory note.
Tata Comm Launches Mobile VoIP Platform
January 20, 2014
Tata Communications Ltd. (Tata Comm) announced the launching of its mobile VoIP platform, a hosted, white label solution that allows mobile network operators (MNO) and other retail voice providers to deliver and monetize innovative converged IP communication services.
Verizon to pay Vodafone $130B for stake in Verizon Wireless
September 2, 2013
Verizon Communications has reached a deal to acquire Vodafone's stake in their Verizon Wireless joint venture for $130 billion.
Microsoft to acquire Nokia's device and services division
September 2, 2013
Microsoft will acquire Nokia's devices and services unit and license the company's mapping services in a deal worth US$7.2 billion in a bid to bolster the company's position in the smartphone market.
Cisco Launches Webex Hologram, An Augmented Reality Meeting Solution
October 26, 2021
Cisco unveiled a preview of its next-generation hybrid work collaboration product called Webex Hologram. It is the industry's only real-time meeting solution that takes advantage of augmented reality headsets to combine feature rich Webex meeting functionality with immersive 3D holograms.
April 5, 2018
Logitech launches camera that turns any place into a video collaboration room
January 28, 2014
Logitech is launching a new conference camera that turns any meeting room into a video collaboration place.
Patent licensing terms still murky for next-gen video
January 17, 2014
A patent licensing group has revealed many names of the corporate muscle behind H.265/HEVC — but the license itself remains elusive even as the technology arrives in the marketplace.
Beam+ robot heads for homes, waving $995 price tag
January 15, 2014
With the unveiling of Suitable Technologies' Beam+, telepresence robots are becoming more affordable for many of the people who need them most.
US: Appeals court strikes down FCC's Net neutrality rules
January 14, 2014
Broadband providers aren't "common carriers," court says, and that makes all the difference in a decision certain to shake up the fixed broadband and wireless industries.
AMS: An Update on the Next Generation Multimedia System from the ITU-T
January 9, 2014
AMS (also known as H.325) is the next-generation multimedia system coming from the ITU-T, enabling a plurality of devices and applications to work harmoniously together in order to provide a richer communication experience. Get the latest information about this emerging standard.
VoIP centres raided‚ father-son duo held
November 28, 2013
I read stories like these and wonder... Why?!?!? Money? Greed? Oppression? National security? Just what in the world could lead to continued enforcement of a law like this?
FCC VoIP Ruling Bound to Disappoint Someone
November 18, 2013
Tom Wheeler is showing willingness to wade right into things as the new FCC chair, but there's one pot he doesn't have to stir. The telecom industry is already in hot debate over the Federal Communications Commission's plans to consider changing how voice services should be regulated in the IP era, an action that could have far reaching impact.
Open-Sourced H.264 Removes Barriers to WebRTC
October 30, 2013
Cisco plans to open-source our H.264 codec, and to provide it as a binary module that can be downloaded for free from the Internet. Cisco will not pass on its MPEG LA licensing costs for this module, and based on the current licensing environment, this will effectively make H.264 free for use in WebRTC.
REACH Introduces an Recording and Streaming Device for H.323 Video Conferencing
August 30, 2013
REACH manufactures professional solutions for video conferencing recording and streaming. The H.323 Network Recording and Streaming Server is the latest-generation device developed by REACH. By supporting the standards H.323, H.225.0, H.245 and H.239, the recording server is compatible with various brands of video conferencing systems, such as Polycom, Cisco/Tanberg, Lifesize, RadVision, HUAWEI and ZTE.
ITU Readies New 1Gbit/s Broadband Standard
July 16, 2013
G.fast, a new ITU broadband standard, that promises up to 1 Gbit/s over existing copper telephone wires, is one step closer following a meeting of ITU-T Study Group 15 this week. G.fast is designed to deliver superfast downloads up to a distance of 250 meters, thereby eliminating the expense of installing fibre between the distribution point and people’s homes.
Skype says it will kill its Desktop API by end of 2013
July 13, 2013
Skype, the Microsoft-owned internet telephony service, is planning to kill its Desktop API (application programming interface), according to an email sent to developers by Chris Andrews, Head of Skype Developer Program.
June 25, 2013
WebRTC may sound like yet another Internet acronym, but what it brings to browsers could be the death knell for plugins — and it just landed in the latest version of Firefox.
Stay away from meetings with iRobot Ava 500 telepresence bot
June 10, 2013
Trundling along on the heels — or wheels — of its RP-VITA medical robot, the AVA 500 was introduced Monday by the company as an enterprise-grade telepresence robot.
ITU-T H.265 now available for download
June 10, 2013
The highly-anticipated video coding standard, ITU-T H.265 "High Efficiency Video Coding" (HEVC), is now available free of charge on the ITU website here.
Sprint Q4 loss widens to $1.32B as Nextel customers flee
February 7, 2013
Sprint's Nextel platform lost more than 1 million subscribers, offsetting progress made by its core business. Sprint posted a loss of $1.32 billion, or 44 cents a share, compared with a year-ago loss of $1.3 billion, or 43 cents a share. Revenue, however, rose to $9 billion.
Oracle to buy network gear maker Acme Packet for $2.1 billion
February 4, 2013
Oracle Corp will buy network equipment maker Acme Packet Inc for $2.1 billion, putting it in a better position to compete with Cisco Systems Inc in moving data securely over internet networks.
New video codec to ease pressure on global networks
January 25, 2013
A new video coding standard building on the PrimeTime Emmy award winning ITU-T H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC was agreed by ITU members. The new codec is informally referred to as "High Efficiency Video Coding" (HEVC) and was assigned the official name ITU-T H.265.
Surprise, surprise: Nokia's Q4 rides high on Lumia sales
January 10, 2013
The mobile phone business exceeds expectations and, hallelujah, Nokia shows signs of "underlying profitability." Moving 4.4 million Lumia smartphones had to help.
