News Archive - February 2005
Costa Rica May Criminalize VoIP
February 28, 2005
The growing surge in international VoIP calls has caused the state-owned telecommunications monopoly in Costa Rica to propose legislation that could criminalize the use of Internet telephone calls.
WiMax may pose fresh challenge to broadband
February 28, 2005
U.S. cities and companies are eyeing an emerging technology known as WiMax as a way to make high-speed wireless Internet services available in areas much larger that a typical Wi-Fi coffee bar or the local McDonald's.
VoIP in finance: Networks too 'rickety'
February 28, 2005
Financial-services companies are eager to embrace emerging technologies such as IP telephony for the business benefits they offer, but their networks are often not up to the task.
February 24, 2005
Voice over IP (VoIP) technology lets you use your Wi-Fi enabled PDA or smartphone to make phone calls over a wireless LAN (WLAN), home or work, or at a hotspot.
February 24, 2005
America Online is expected to launch an Internet phone service in the United States in March, leapfrogging rivals in a fast-growing market as it seeks to evolve from an also-ran provider of dial-up Internet access to a broadband services powerhouse.
FCC: AT&T should have paid fees on prepaid cards
February 24, 2005
AT&T on Wednesday lost a bid to shield some of its prepaid calling cards from paying connection fees and charges to subsidize other telephone services.
February 24, 2005
A free feature that lets users send short text messages to mobile phones from Internet phone service Skype was being made available for testing starting Thursday.
February 24, 2005
AT&T says its customers can now access Wi-Fi hotspots at more than 10,000 sites in more than 35 countries.
Time Warner spruces up VoIP for businesses
February 23, 2005
Time Warner Telecom announced new Cablevision rings in 270,000 phone customers
February 23, 2005
Cable operator Cablevision said on Wednesday that it now sells telephone service to more than 270,000 homes, another sign that VoIP is on the move and cable companies are leading the charge.
February 23, 2005
Adelphia Communications has selected VoIP solutions and Global Services from Nortel to extend a suite of telephone services to residential customers in selected Adelphia markets.
Open-Source PBX Battle Brewing
February 23, 2005
SIPfoundry has released a complete SIP PBX called sipX, based largely on code contributed by IP telephony vendor Pingtel. Now the popular, multi-protocol Asterisk PBX has some competition.
Mobile voice over Wi-Fi at 130 km/h
February 23, 2005
Service provider, Wi-VOD, claims it was able to make multi-party VoIP conference calls at speeds in excess of 130 kilometers per hour (80mph).
Marcatel to Deliver Consumer and Enterprise Voice Services with Sonus Networks
February 22, 2005
Sonus and Marcatel announced that Marcatel has chosen Sonus' industry-leading Open Services Architecture (OSA) to deliver VoIP functionality over Marcatel's fiber optic network in Mexico.
February 22, 2005
Pingtel announced the company's Solution Provider Program to extend its range and reach into the small and medium business and enterprise markets in the U.S. and abroad. — Can they really sell high-priced SIP-based IP phones when one can buy dirt cheap ones from dozens of manufacturers in Taiwan?
WilTel Provides Vonage National Reach with Voice, Data Solution
February 22, 2005
Qwest readies new offer for MCI
February 22, 2005
Qwest is expected to make a revised offer for long-distance phone company MCI sometime this week.
SBC, AT&T say Bell breakup doesn't work
February 22, 2005
The government-induced dismantling of AT&T 20 years ago, meant to spur competition between local and long-distance providers, is no longer viable, says AT&T and SBC.
White Paper: Voice Quality Measurement
February 22, 2005
This paper describes commonly-used call quality measurement methods, explains the metrics in practical terms and describes acceptable voice quality levels for VoIP network services.
VCON Announces Enhancements to Group Videoconferencing Products
February 21, 2005
VCON announces new versions of its HD5000 and HD4000 high-performance workgroup videoconferencing solutions
FCC Probes Blocking of Internet Phone Calls
February 17, 2005
The federal government is looking into allegations that as many as 200 people who switched from traditional telephone service to placing calls via the Internet had their new service disrupted by the local telephone company in their area.
Qwest Filing Details $8B MCI Bid
February 17, 2005
Qwest detailed the plans of its offer for MCI, which shows that it offered US$1.2B more than the winning bidder, Verizon.
Surf Announces Triple Play Integrated PCI Board
February 16, 2005
WiMAX Has Potential to Transform Telecom Markets
February 16, 2005
2005 to see all-singing, all-dancing 3G phones hit the big time
February 16, 2005
Mobile phone manufacturers say that 2005 will be the year that 3G mobile phones and services take off, with each vendor showing off its products at the 3GSM World Congress this week.
Qwest to Net-phone home a little late
February 15, 2005
Qwest will be months late in introducing Internet telephony for homes, apparently due to quality-of-service issues.
Vonage Complaining Of VoIP 'Blocking'
February 14, 2005
Vonage has complained to the FCC that competitors are blocking the use of its service.
Motorola phones to call on Wi-Fi, VoIP
February 14, 2005
Motorola said that it is developing cell phones capable of making calls using Wi-Fi networks, a big step for Internet phone forces now eyeing the wireless industry.
Verizon to Buy MCI in $6.7B Deal
February 14, 2005
Verizon and MCI announced that Verizon has agreed to acquire MCI for $4.8 billion in equity and $488 million in cash.
EU spur for online phone calls
February 12, 2005
The European commission and national regulators from the EU's 25 member states approved an explosion in cheap long-distance telephone calls over the Internet in a drive to promote competition.
February 11, 2005
It's every dater's nightmare: You're on a date, it's a disaster—but there's no way out. — Now we know why the company's name is "Virgin".
February 11, 2005
Times were tough for VOIP systems vendor VocalTec last summer as it shifted away from its end-to-end, all-in-one VoIP system strategy, but things have only gotten worse. — This is truly unfortunate, as VocalTec represents one of the original, true pioneers and visionaries in this market.
MERA and EyeBill Partner and Announce Joint Customer Win in Asia
February 11, 2005
MERA and EyeBill announced that Dubai-based NTC has deployed MERA's MVTS Session Controller and EyeBill's Billing Platform for delivery of VoIP services in Middle East and Asia.
AT&T Corrects The Record Concerning Vonage Suit
February 10, 2005
The settlement may have been reached, but AT&T is claiming that Vonage breached the confidentiality provision in the settlement. What could be next?
Sprint/Nextel merger favoring Qualcomm standard
February 10, 2005
The future of Motorola's cell phone standard remained on shaky ground Thursday, after Sprint executives unveiled more detail about its proposed merger with Nextel Communications.
Cisco and Avaya vie for VoIP dominance
February 10, 2005
Merrill Lynch is the prize in an increasingly competitive tug-of-war between Cisco Systems and Avaya over emerging Net phone services.
Report: Verizon makes play for MCI
February 10, 2005
Verizon Communications has reportedly made an informal offer to buy long-distance carrier MCI.
Lehman Brothers Takes VoIP To The Next Level
February 8, 2005
Lehman Brothers Inc. is aggressively building business applications that take advantage of its VoIP and conventional data networks using software from Metreos Corp. to further leverage its Cisco Systems IP Communications infrastructure.
Virgin Mobile USA hits 3 million subscribers
February 8, 2005
Virgin Mobile USA, one of the first virtual cell network operators to hit the U.S. shores, said that its subscriber base has swelled to 3 million in less than three years, making it a successful venture in the emerging business.
February 8, 2005
Wi-Fi phones don't add up to much
February 7, 2005
A new study suggests it will be a number of years before Wi-Fi phones, supposedly a revolutionary telephone technology, manage to fulfill expectations.
Skype Rings on Hong Kong Market
February 7, 2005
Skype announced a deal with Hutchison Global Communications to offer Skype's Internet Telephony product to the Hong Kong market.
February 7, 2005
Recent developments at Level 3 underscore the importance of choosing a scaleable business strategy for delivering hosted VOIP services.
Merger mania promises fewer, bigger telcos
February 7, 2005
For years, analysts and industry execs have warned it was only a matter of time before the glut of U.S. telephone operators caused a market collapse. There simply weren't enough people, homes and offices to keep every existing phone company in business.
Alliance wants to beat spam to Net phones
February 7, 2005
Nearly two dozen companies say they have allied to address spam and security risks of Internet telephones, even though there's little evidence suggesting any threat (yet).
New cell networks seen as risky bets
February 7, 2005
U.S. wireless companies are investing billions of dollars in networks that deliver video and music to cell phones, but some investors worry whether the new services will turn a profit. — And for good reason: most people will only use those new services if they're free.
VoIP Leaders Form Alliance for VoIP Security Research and Testing
February 7, 2005
The group, which includes companies like Siemens and Qwest (but not Vonage) was created to address "security threats" related to VoIP, but they're also concerned that "spit," or "spam over Internet telephony" is going to be a huge problem once large numbers of people are using VoIP.
February 7, 2005
February 4, 2005
Sprint said it plans to start testing WiMAX equipment later this year with the intent of providing high-speed wireless broadband services in metropolitan areas.
AOL Marches Toward VOIP Rollout
February 4, 2005
AOL has been testing its VOIP service for months, and the service's debut may be only weeks away.
For MCI, Qwest may not be most desirable
February 4, 2005
Michael D. Capellas is at it again. As chief executive of Compaq, Capellas successfully engineered the sale of that troubled computer maker to Hewlett-Packard three years ago.
February 3, 2005
The French vendor's fourth-quarter revenues of €3.81 billion hit the top end of analyst estimates, but profits of €40 million fell far short of analyst estimates between €163 million and €218 million.
February 3, 2005
The equipment vendor is suing its former CEO, Frank Dunn; its former CFO, Douglas Beatty; and its former controller, Michael Gollogly, collectively, for more than $13 million in salaries, bonuses, and stock related to the company's "Return to Profitability" incentive program.
MCI weighs Qwest bid, talks with Verizon
February 3, 2005
MCI has received a $6.3 billion takeover bid from Qwest Communications International and has held talks with another potential suitor, Verizon Communications.
SBC to cut nearly 13,000 jobs in AT&T deal
February 3, 2005
SBC Communications said it expects to cut around 12,800 jobs as a result of its $16 billion acquisition of AT&T.
February 2, 2005
Verizon is moving forward with its plans to offer TV service and to provice FTTH service to residents in Texas, entering into a market dominated by Comcast and SBC.
February 2, 2005
The number of cable VoIP subscribers exploded by 900% in 2004, giving cable companies much to smile about as they compete against upstart VoIP vendors.
FCC Faces Another VoIP Deadline
February 2, 2005
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will face another crucial VoIP decision next month when it will decide if IP-based carriers must pay the same access fees as long distance companies to interconnect with the PSTN.
February 2, 2005
Internet phone company Skype is testing a voice mail service, a sign its set to catch up to competitors when it comes to taking messages.
FCC lets SBC dial direct to get Net phone numbers
February 2, 2005
The nation's top utility regulator has made it easier and cheaper for SBC Communications and other Internet phone service providers to get 10-digit phone numbers—another federal boost for the mushrooming broadband phone industry.