News Archive - September 2004
Fuel cell's got the power for 3G handsets
September 30, 2004
NTT DoCoMo announced that it has developed a prototype micro fuel cell that will recharge a third-generation mobile phone.
NetCentrex Claims VoIP Milestone
September 30, 2004
September 30, 2004
Nortel outlined its layoff plans: 1400 in the United States, 950 in Canada, 650 in EMEA, and 250 elsewhere. — What a wonderful Christmas present the company gives once again!
Lucent Offshoring Wave Hits Hard
September 30, 2004
Lucent is in the midst of a steady reduction in headcount, and it's shipping hundreds of development jobs overseas to India and China. "We're starting to drop like flies," says one employee.
AT&T, Vonage Cut Prices on Internet Calling
September 30, 2004
The strongest signs yet of a price war in the nascent market.
AT&T slashes Net telephony rates
September 30, 2004
In an attempt to spark growth in its Net phone offer, the company reduces rates and offers new customers a month free.
Linksys, Verizon team on Net telephony
September 30, 2004
Linksys announced that Verizon will use Linksys home networking adapters with Verizon's VoiceWing broadband phone service.
Circuit City picks up AT&T Net phone plan
September 29, 2004
Circuit City will sell AT&T CallVantage Net phone services in many of its outlets and through its Web site.
September 29, 2004
Some specialized service providers, particularly those focused on voice wholesale and long-haul traffic, are finding new friends in the cable industry.
September 29, 2004
Agere Systems has reacted to its trading slump by cutting 500 jobs and putting a deadline on another 600.
Time Warner Cable Launches Videoconferencing Initiative
September 28, 2004
Viseon announced that Time Warner Cable of Northeast Ohio has chosen to utilize the H.323-based Viseon VisiFone in its VidiFone Eye-to-Eye videoconferencing service, a new value-added service for its Road Runner Business Class broadband Internet customers.
Cell phone talker's arrest stirs etiquette debate
September 28, 2004
A transit police officer in Washington, DC thought that a woman was disturbing the peace with loud cell-phone talk, wrestled her to the ground as he made the arrest. — I don't know... this sounds like the officer was a pervert.
AT&T Expands Global Networking Capabilities
September 28, 2004
AT&T today announced a new series of enhancements to its industry-leading global Internet protocol (IP) network to address the reach, performance and security requirements of the Fortune 1000 customers it serves worldwide.
iBasis Lands on Financial Cushion
September 28, 2004
VoIP carrier iBasis has made the most of the IP telephony boom by raising $31.5 million with a private placement of 15 million shares to unidentified shareholders at $2.10 per share .
European court overturns MCI merger ban
September 28, 2004
The European Commission was wrong to bar the takeover bid by U.S. telecommunications company WorldCom for rival Sprint, a European Union court said Tuesday, annulling the action taken four years ago.
September 28, 2004
Telecommunications equipment maker Motorola said Tuesday that it would cut 1,000 jobs and take related charges of about $50 million to focus on its wireless business.
Cisco notches new Net phone deal
September 28, 2004
Cisco announced a deal with Bank of America to begin deploying 180,000 Cisco IP telephones throughout 5,800 banking centers and enterprise locations in 29 states and the District of Columbia.
Cisco IP Telephony Solutions Pass Deployment Tests for U.S. Department of Defense
September 27, 2004
Cisco announced that it has passed U.S. Department of Defense VoIP interoperability tests, with the Joint Interoperability Test Command confirming that all aspects of Cisco's IP telephony solutions conform to the interoperability, reliability, resilience and security requirements of the DoD's multi-vendor voice network
Cingular Wireless plans to sell interactive unit
September 27, 2004
Cingular Wireless said that it plans to sell a wireless data network that supports about a fourth of the world's BlackBerry users to a New York-based fund manager.
September 27, 2004
Lucent Technologies has been sharpening its knife again, and this time the target of layoffs and progam cuts appears to be in its Integrated Network Services (INS) division.
MERA Systems Named to the 2004 Pulver 100
September 27, 2004
Dynamic Growth & Increasing Demand for MERA Session Controller Technology Enable MERA Systems to Win Pulver 100 Award.
Sony’s PCS-TL50 video conferencing unit for the rich and famous
September 27, 2004
Sony's new PCS-TL50 broadband video conferencing unit is an LCD TV with an integrated camera and mic, which you jack straight into your broadband connection.
Telcordia CEO $trikes $ell-Off Deal
September 24, 2004
Telcordia Technologies Inc. CEO Matt Desch is in line for a bonus potentially worth millions of dollars if he can find a buyer for his company.
September 24, 2004
Cell phones are giving employers new ways to check up on employees in the field—and raising fresh workplace privacy concerns as a result.
Cisco to invest more heavily in Asia
September 23, 2004
Networking giant Cisco Systems this week announced plans for increased investment in Asia, including a new research and development facility in China and a venture investment program in India.
September 23, 2004
OK, just how many times can Nortel declare a dividend and how much of a dividend can Nortel give every few months when the stock is in the toilet and their forcasts are not good?
September 23, 2004
VoIP carrier Net2Phone is trimming its board of directors and changing CEOs, moves intended to create some independence from former parent company IDT.
September 23, 2004
AT&T is betting its future on VoIP, making several announcements aimed at dominating and promoting enterprise interest in VOIP service.
September 23, 2004
Nokia plans to release next month a new smart phone with a built-in megapixel camera, as part of an effort to expand its product portfolio.
September 22, 2004
Rumor floating around at the Broadband World Forum Europe 2004 in Venice is that both Alcatel and Cisco are interested in taking a majority stake in Italtel.
Swedish 3G sign language cellphones
September 22, 2004
The Scandinavian mobile video communications company 3 (named after 3G) has teamed their Swede crew with the Swedish deaf organization, Sveriges Dovas Riksforbund, to create future 3G services for Swedish signers.
September 22, 2004
Siemens wants to sell phones that can detect whether a user has bad breath. — I do not even want to speculate what might come next.
Nokia lets parents filter out mobile smut
September 22, 2004
Nokia will add new capabilities to mobile phones that allow parents to control the content to which their children can access.
September 22, 2004
VCON has become a corporate member of Internet2, the university-led advanced networking research and development consortium. VCON will collaborate with Internet2 universities to develop and deploy advanced videoconferencing applications and solutions.
Former Freeserve duo Take Helm at Callserve
September 21, 2004
Callserve Communications, Europe's largest VoIP services provider announces that Freeserve co-founder, Ajaz Ahmed, has taken the helm as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He is joined by fellow Freeserve co-founder Robert Wilmot in the position of Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
VoIP Fans Raise Regulatory Issues
September 21, 2004
Nuvio Corp. CEO Jason Talley is calling for the US government to impose regulations, arguing that it would help the industry more than it would hurt it. — Just wait until they pull out the red tape and he will change his mind.
Tekelec Connects With VocalData
September 21, 2004
Tekelec said that it will acquire VocalData in a deal worth US$14.5 million and 780,000 shares of Tekelec, for a total value of US$27.5 million.
September 21, 2004
Auto giant Ford Motor plans to install 50,000 VoIP phones at 110 offices in Michigan, in one of the largest installations of the technology to date by any corporation, SBC Communications said Tuesday.
Broadcom buys into cell phone graphics
September 20, 2004
Broadcom said that it would pay more than US$120 million to acquire Alphamosaic, a British maker of chips for cell phone graphics.
September 20, 2004
Cable operators are expected to provide VoIP phone services to more than 600,000 subscribers by the end of the year and they'll rope in 15 million new phone customers in the next five years, according to a new research report by Kinetic Strategies Inc.
VoIP provider fears predatory practices
September 20, 2004
Nuvio, a Net phone service provider, has asked federal regulators to ensure that broadband providers that also sell phone services don't engage in predatory practices to stifle competition.
Cingular handset talks to users
September 17, 2004
Cingular Wireless is offering a software application intended to help the visually impaired make full use of their cell phones.
September 17, 2004
Alcatel today announced it has acquired privately held US-based eDial, Inc. for $27 million in stock and cash. eDial makes an open, SIP software-based platform and applications for conferencing for voice, data and video.
September 17, 2004
"This project explores the possibility of creating a completely decentralized telephone network. A phone network without a hierarchy of mega-switches and no requirement for fault-tolerant central offices. Ultimately, voP2P can become the basis for a phone network with organic growth properties. One in which the user experience improves as the number of worldwide user increases."
MERA Unveils High Capacity SBC for Large-Scale VoIP Networks
September 17, 2004
MERA's new distributed session controller architectire is designed specifically for large, Tier 1 carriers. With this new architecture, MERA Session Controller provides for unprecedented scalability and can handle up to 40,000 concurrent calls.
BT, Nortel Win Government VoIP Contracts
September 16, 2004
BT has been awarded three separate contracts to provide converged IP telephony solutions from Nortel Networks for South Cambridgeshire District Council, City of Lincoln Council and Brentwood Borough Council.
September 16, 2004
VoIP's just about the hottest topic around these days, but most carriers in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region are far from offering commercial IP telephony services to their end users.
Vonage Launches Mexico City Virtual Numbers
September 16, 2004
Vonage announced the availability of virtual numbers with Mexico City-based phone numbers, allow people in Mexico to make a local call to reach family or businesses in the US and Canada.
Airbus: In 2006, keep your cell phone on
September 16, 2004
Plane maker Airbus reported progress Wednesday in plans to enable passengers to use mobile phones in flight, beginning in 2006.
Bells' broadband lines in TV's future
September 16, 2004
FCC Chairman Michael Powell said technology and telecommunications companies, especially the baby Bells, are racing to develop ways to pipe television shows into consumers' homes via high-speed Internet lines.
September 16, 2004
Nortel Networks said Thursday it expects third-quarter revenue to fall short of the $2.6 billion sales it posted in the second quarter of 2004. Nortel's stock price dropped by 8% during heavy trading.
RIM takes new BlackBerry design overseas
September 16, 2004
Research In Motion is targeting European and Asian markets with a phone-and-messaging device that uses the company's new SureType keyboard design.
September 16, 2004
Amstrad (remember their PCs from the 80s?) has just released a multi-function videophone in the UK. — I'm guessing this one supports H.324 and the broadband model will support H.323.
Earthlink Releases SIP Based P2P File-Sharing App
September 16, 2004
"We believe that if peer-to-peer flourishes, the Internet flourishes." Earthlink's Research and Development division has released SIPshare, a prototype file-sharing application based on SIP. The code is available under a BSD-style license.
Canada to Decide how VoIP Can Be Sold
September 15, 2004
Tuesday, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission will begin a three-day hearing in Ottawa to determine how VoIP can and can't be sold to Canadians.
Net service will cater to camera phone users
September 15, 2004
OurPictures plans to introduce a new service for camera phones, a move that hints at the day when cameras in handsets could represent the mainstream way of snapping photos.
Philadelphia expands free Wi-Fi access zone
September 15, 2004
Philadelphia expanded free outdoor wireless Internet access on Tuesday as part of a multimillion-dollar plan to connect the entire city by early 2006. — What was this discussion of taxing IP phone services? Here, even the government provides the VoIP capability at no cost. One cannot tax $0.
September 15, 2004
Cisco Systems has formally joined the ranks of a wireless broadband group, the WiMax Forum, according to a Cisco representative and the chairman of the coalition.
September 15, 2004
AT&T announced new feature enhancements for its CallVantage service, including the capability to allow subscribers have up to nine additional telephone numbers in any available area code.
Nortel Wins Mexico VOIP Contract
September 14, 2004
Mexican Wireless Operator Iusacell and Nortel Networks have completed deployment of a VoIP core network to support the operator's long-distance traffic.
September 14, 2004
Nuvio announced that it has filed an ex-parte letter with the FCC to address and combat potential discriminatory practices by broadband Internet access providers and preserve competition in the VoIP market.
September 14, 2004
BT is in the advanced stage of choosing the vendors that will help it build its next-generation 21st Century Network (21CN), but the shortlisted systems suppliers are finding it hard to meet the carrier's requirements for openness and flexibility. — Sounds like they chose SIP.
September 14, 2004
VoIP's taking the marquee position among new telecom services taking shape, according panelists and speakers at Light Reading’s Next Generation Services (NGS) 2004.
Telica/Lucent Combo Bags Oz Deal
September 13, 2004
Telstra is to use Telica's softswitches and media gateways in its broadband VoIP trials, and plans to redirect its current annual outlay of $56 million towards investment in the VoIP equipment as it rolls out the service.
September 13, 2004
Session border controller vendor Kagoor Networks has banked $9 million in a new round of funding that will help the company keep pace with current market growth.
Polycom and Microsoft Partner on Multimedia
September 13, 2004
Microsoft and Polycom announced a multiyear joint marketing and development agreement to deliver rich collaboration solutions across communication devices, applications and services that will empower customers to connect and share information in real-time regardless of location or type of call.
Nortel Upgrades Communication Technology
September 13, 2004
Nortel Networks says new enhancements to its products will let employees of large companies more easily communicate with colleagues down the hall or across the world.
Cisco Systems to Acquire dynamicsoft
September 13, 2004
Cisco will pay $55M for this privately held dynamicsoft, as it tries to strengthens its solutions portfolio for the broadband communications market.
VCON First to Introduce Software-Only Group Videoconferencing Application
September 13, 2004
VCON's HD4000 software-only group videoconferencing application offers full flexibility for any application use.
Intel calls for Internet overhaul
September 10, 2004
Intel believes that PlanetLab will solve many problems with the Internet today. —There are problems, but where in the OSI stack does this commercial service lie? How about fixing problems by introducing IPv6, adding capacity, and enabling multicast?
Microsoft Hears Handset Market's Siren Song
September 10, 2004
Microsoft is aiming to get its audio and video software into mobile phones before it is beaten to the market by rivals like Apple Computer.
September 9, 2004
With VoIP comes the potential for "VoIP spam", something that many in the industry fear will become a reality in the not-so-distant future.
Nokia to offer phones with 'old-world' styling
September 9, 2004
At a fashion event Thursday in Shanghai, Nokia showcased three new camera phones designed to combine "old-world, art deco styling" with modern features.
September 9, 2004
A ramp-up in demand from its equipment vendor customers helped Ulticom easily beat analysts' estimates for its second fiscal quarter.
Nortel Networks Brings New Voice to Web Pages
September 9, 2004
Nortel introduces its Web-Centric Self-Service (WCSS) solution designed to redefine how enterprises and service providers deliver secure, self-service voice applications through Web pages for their customers.
One Voice Network Deploys MERA's SBC
September 9, 2004
One Voice Network has deployed MERA's MVTS Session Controller for delivery VoIP wholesale termination as well as prepaid voicemail and value-added services to consumers in the developing world.
Global Crossing Chooses Lucent
September 8, 2004
Lucent announced a three-year agreement with Global Crossing to enhance Global Crossing's optical transmission throughout its worldwide IP network.
September 8, 2004
Primus, the company behind Lingo, has agreed to pay the FCC US$400,000 for violating the rules regarding telemarketing calls to people on the national "do-not-call" list.
New BlackBerry features smaller keyboard
September 8, 2004
Research In Motion launched a new version of the phone-and-messaging BlackBerry device that has a smaller revamped keyboard.
T-Mobile tries on start-up's wireless gear
September 8, 2004
T-Mobile is testing wireless broadband gear from Flarion, allowing users to download at rates of 1Mbps and upload at rates up to 500Kbps.
Start-up says it can deliver secure VoIP
September 7, 2004
A start-up called Net6 claims that its virtual private network products offer companies high-quality, secure voice communications over any network from anywhere.
September 7, 2004
The FCC chairman, Michael Powell, has been a staunch supporter of VoIP and is pushing hard to make sure the emerging service can grow and prosper.
Airline's interest in mile-high Wi-Fi dives
September 7, 2004
British Airways has backed off from plans to install in-flight Wi-Fi broadband connectivity on its planes, claiming the technology is still too immature and expensive.
September 7, 2004
VoIP is reaching a stage where its popularity could hamper its progress with carriers, according to a recent report from Heavy Reading.
ITU Report Foresees Wire Free Future
September 6, 2004
"Portable Internet" appears to be a new phrase to describe new advanced technologies that promise to bring affordable, high-speed Internet access to the masses.
September 6, 2004
U.K. telecom regulator Office of Communications effectively gave the green light to voice-over-broadband competition today by ruling that service providers could provide geographic numbers (ones with area codes) to VoIP customers.
September 3, 2004
Orange tried to launch it's Push-to-Talk service, but were embarrassed to find out that the message was not conveyed with the correct meaning. — This is a funny. one
September 3, 2004
In the world of softswitches, Cisco Systems I remains conspicuously absent, relying on companies like Italtel and Ericsson.
AT&T Wireless: Sun, sand and 3G, anyone?
September 2, 2004
AT&T Wireless said its 3G wireless broadband service is now available in San Diego, offering download speed from 200 to 500Kbps.
September 2, 2004
Global mobile sales for the second quarter of this year rose by 35 per cent, compared with the same period last year.
September 2, 2004
Kagoor Networks says that SingTel has deployed Kagoor's VoiceFlow series of session border controllers to deliver its i-PhoneNet, an advanced IP Centrex service. — Is this yet a new definition of what an SBC is? Can you say "hype"?
Lucent Expects Monster Tax Rebate
September 2, 2004
Nortel Restates Delay of Restatement
September 2, 2004
Nortel says that it needs another month in order to complete the paperwork necessary to file its restated results.
Vonage Now Available Nationally at Office Depot
September 1, 2004
Vonage has signed up Office Depot as another distributor of the telephony gear required to provide services through its network.
September 1, 2004
Microsoft wants the telecom industry to play to its strengths: Software Development and end user applications.
Verizon Wireless opens global phone to consumers
September 1, 2004
Verizon Wireless said on Wednesday that its stores have begun selling a phone from Samsung that's designed to work on mobile networks around the world. — Ooooo... so they finally discovered GSM. Can you hear me now?