News Archive - December 2005

Google is sued for patent violation over VoIP technology
December 31, 2005

Google is being sued by Jerry Weinberger, chief executive of Rates Technology Inc., who claims that it invented VoIP. — Yeah, right. This is precisely why patents are a bad idea. We could probably easily disprove his claims and others probably just paid him off to go away.
Permalink

GNU Telephony Stack Opens Up VoIP
December 30, 2005

The GNU Telephony stack, implementing H.323, is out and aiming to provide users of proprietary VoIP stacks with a free software alternative.
Permalink

Developer Perspective: The painful evolution of SIP
December 29, 2005

As this blog points out, the now 10-year-old SIP protocol is not what it is hyped to be... it is actually a very complex beast with a number of problems.
Permalink

Transitioning to VoIP via Hybrids
December 28, 2005

While the industry pushes IP as the future of telephony services, network professionals who manage business phone networks say hybrid IP/legacy PBXs are helping introduce productivity gains and cost savings without forcing networks to undergo dreaded R&R — as in "rip and replace" — upgrades.
Permalink

Microsoft, Softbank in Japanese VoIP deal
December 28, 2005

Microsoft, Softbank BB and Japan Telecom announced a partnership to develop communication services that combine Internet telephony, e-mail, Internet access, instant messaging and other services.
Permalink

Thomson Sets Standard for Wireless Voice over IP through Integration of Wideband Audio Functionality
December 27, 2005

Thomson announced availability of the world's first suite of wireless VoIP devices - multiple play residential gateways and IP DECT phones - that integrate wideband audio functionality for an enhanced telephony experience.
Permalink

Nortel Acquires Tasman Networks
December 27, 2005

Nortel has enhanced its ability to deliver end-to-end converged enterprise networks with the agreement to acquire Tasman Networks. Under the terms of the agreement, Nortel will pay U.S. $99.5 million in cash for Tasman Networks.
Permalink

VoIP Ranking by Subscriber: Q3 2005
December 27, 2005

While the number of subscribers each of the major VoIP players claims to have is interesting, it looks a bit odd. Skype has had over 2M users for a long time, but VoiceGlo?!? That is a surprise to us!
Permalink

Option, Nortel First to Achieve 3.6 Megabits per Second Call With HSDPA
December 23, 2005

Option, Nortel First to Achieve 3.6 Megabits per Second Call With HSDPA. — Great, now if we can just be allowed to use it for VoIP!
Permalink

AOL/Google: VoIP Buddies
December 22, 2005

While the newly announced alliance between Google and Time Warner division AOL may be mostly about advertising in the near term, it also represents a large VoIP peering arrangement between two potentially game-changing voice providers.
Permalink

VoIP Telephony: Benefits for Businesses
December 22, 2005

VoIP has been talked about for a number of years but is now being adopted by mainstream businesses in order to save money as well as deploy powerful new capabilities for end-users.
Permalink

Vendors Sign BT 21CN Contracts
December 22, 2005

Months later than expected, half of the eight preferred vendors for BT Group's next-generation 21CN network have finally agreed to contracts that tie them to the US$17.4 billion project.
Permalink

Get ready for the era of the virtual contact center
December 21, 2005

Fueled by VoIP technology, contact centers are becoming more versatile than ever before. They can be onshore, nearshore or offshore. They can be centralized, distributed or entirely based at home.
Permalink

3Com anticipates growth in VoIP sales
December 21, 2005

3COM has targeted a 200% growth in sales of VoIP solutions to small- and medium-sized businesses in the next six months.
Permalink

Cbeyond Reaches 20,000 Customers and Processes Four Billionth VoIP Minute
December 21, 2005

Cbeyond reached two important milestones: installing its 20,000th small business customer and processing the four billionth minute of VoIP traffic since the network went live in early 2001.
Permalink

BT Challenges VoIP Providers
December 21, 2005

Unlike many of its counterparts around the globe, BT Group has embarked on a plan to use its ownership of UK's largest broadband network to challenge VoIP service providers such as eBay's Skype division.
Permalink

LifeSize Secures $17.5 Million in Series C Financing
December 20, 2005

LifeSize announced that it has raised $17.5 million in Series C financing, bringing the company's total funding to date to $56 million.
Permalink

IntraISP Lands Green on the Emerald Isle
December 20, 2005

IntraISP announced it has entered into a License Agreement with Irish Broadband for their flagship IntraISP software platform release 6.0. Irish Broadband is also engaging IntraISP to integrate this new software system with its WiMAX wireless broadband and services platform to enhance billing processes, general customer services and back office controls.
Permalink

VoIP beyond the enterprise LAN
December 20, 2005

As the use of VoIP moves beyond the corporate LAN, the security challenges facing the enterprise look set to intensify.
Permalink

Vonage Raises Another $250M
December 19, 2005

VoIP pioneer Vonage has raised $250 million in convertible debt funding — a move that is likely to be its last major financing before it goes public or is acquired.
Permalink

Texas to get broadband over its power lines
December 19, 2005

Two Texas companies have announced a plan to offer high-speed Internet service over the power grid.
Permalink

Jabber foundation publishes initial jingle protocol for VoIP
December 19, 2005

The Jabber Software Foundation published initial documentation of Jingle, which promises to simplify VoIP deployment for enterprises with Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol, or XMPP, infrastructure.
Permalink

Think Twice About VoIP
December 19, 2005

Mentions in consumer and business press are a signal that a new technology has entered the mainstream. Clearly, Internet telephony has. In addition to aggressive rollouts by Comcast and other cable players, Vonage has growing profile and Skype was recently bought by eBay.
Permalink

VoIP - enemy or friend?
December 19, 2005

VoIP is a technology that allows you to make telephone calls using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line.
Permalink

Australia: New VoIP Numbering
December 16, 2005

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is proposing changes to the Telecommunications Numbering Plan to accommodate VoIP services.
Permalink

Companies like VoIP but don't understand it
December 15, 2005

Large companies are starting to turn towards managed services for IP telephony because many believe they don't have the skills or knowledge to do IP convergence themselves.
Permalink

Jabber Jingles All the Way
December 15, 2005

Google and the Jabber are releasing the Jabber specs used to add VoIP to the Google Talk IM client.
Permalink

FCC chief backs Net phone taxes
December 15, 2005

Imposing new taxes on a wider swath of Internet phone users is likely to be one of the FCC's top priorities next year. — Taxes on top of taxes? Will they add phone taxes on top of broadband taxes?
Permalink

Will U.S. carriers switch mobile standards?
December 15, 2005

North American telecom operators may end up shifting to the GSM mobile standard from the rival CDMA system. — Most already have switched, actually.
Permalink

VoIP peering being roped in?
December 14, 2005

It makes sense for Australia's fledgling Internet telephony providers to work together.
Permalink

Google VoIP Apps Stare Down Startups
December 14, 2005

EStara made "click-to-talk" a Web reality long before eBay and Google expressed interest in the technology, but will there still be a place in the world for a small company like it once the big boys catch up?
Permalink

SIP can revolutionise telephony networks but must overcome interoperability issues
December 14, 2005

It is well-known that there are just about as many SIP variants as there are SIP implementations. Will SIP ever be interoperable?
Permalink

Vonage says it's E911 compliant
December 14, 2005

Vonage said it is now fully compliant with federal regulations requiring phone service operators to provide enhanced 911 services to their customers.
Permalink

HP's Halo seeks to go post-videoconferencing
December 13, 2005

Hewlett-Packard launched a new videoconferencing product, marking its new ambition to become a leading player in the enterprise collaboration market.
Permalink

Microsoft-MCI deal heats up VoIP market
December 13, 2005

Microsoft and MCI announced that they will work together to develop a network to allow people to place phone calls from personal computers to virtually any landline phone by using Windows Live software with its VoIP capabilities combined with MCI's global phone network.
Permalink

Telchemy Ships Over 2 Million Units of VQmon VoIP Analysis Software
December 13, 2005

Telchemy announced that it has licensed more than 2 million units of VQmon VoIP performance management software. License revenues for VQmon have more than doubled for the first three quarters of 2005, compared to the same period last year, and the Company forecasts this growth rate to continue in 2006.
Permalink

BellSouth Launches Residential VoIP
December 9, 2005

BellSouth has launched a residential VoIP service by reselling 8x8's Packet8 service. The service is called "BellSouth Digital Phone Service" and has already been launched in one market.
Permalink

BT to spend £££s plugging VoIP
December 9, 2005

BT plans to spend millions plugging its broadband telephony service next year as it looks to ramp up its investment in VoIP.
Permalink

Yahoo!'s VoIP Could Reach 'Critical Mass'
December 9, 2005

Yahoo's VoIP service was well-received by Wall Street, as people believe that its huge user base of more than 400 million unique users and 191 million active registered users, combined with its aggressive pricing (half the price of Skype for calls to the U.S.), give the company a solid base upon which to start building a critical mass in this service.
Permalink

IMS: A Poisoned Chalice?
December 8, 2005

The current world order in the telecom world is under threat, with the carriers under pressure from the online upstarts and vendors in danger of being usurped by more traditional IT firms. — And IMS is a concept that will never be able to enable a service provider to realize anything more than what small players can whip up during a long weekend.
Permalink

Yahoo Jumps Into Voice
December 8, 2005

Yahoo is ready to announce a new VoIP service, say company officials. With the new service, callers will be able to make calls to, and receive calls from, regular wireline telephones.
Permalink

Thus warns of VoIP dangers
December 7, 2005

Telecoms provider Thus warned today that some consumer VoIP products use a peer-to-peer model which results in bandwidth being used to carry other individuals' voice and data traffic without the user's consent or knowledge. — Skype, Skype, Skype, Skype... and now there is a P2P activity in the IETF for SIP!
Permalink

GLOOTIX turns over VoIP
December 7, 2005

GLOOTIX announces the availability of secure VoIP services in Europe.
Permalink

To VoIP Or Not To VoIP
December 6, 2005

The materialisation of consumer VoIP services in 2005 has seen more than 50 million people register for a service across the globe. However, with all the advantages that come with a VoIP service there can be drawbacks when a consumer VoIP service is used in a business environment.
Permalink

AT&T Wins $1.8M VoIP Deal
December 6, 2005

AT&T announced it has won a three-year, $1.8 million networking contract from Littelfuse Inc., one of America's leading manufacturers of electrical components and circuit protection products.
Permalink

Cingular launches 3G network
December 6, 2005

Cingular Wireless launched its third-generation network, which it says will give mobile customers high-speed Internet access while on the road.
Permalink

Packetizer APAC Announces PacPhone Beta Availability
December 5, 2005

Packetizer APAC announced the immediate availability of the Public Beta release of PacPhone, an advanced Windows softphone, enabling companies to communicate securely, through firewalls, and with other vendors' equipment.
Permalink

Time Warner Cable's VoIP Service Tops One Million Subscribers
December 5, 2005

Time Warner Cable said the number subscribers to its Internet telephony service has topped one million, with 75 percent of them also getting the company's digital cable and broadband services.
Permalink

Cingular Finally Joins Push-To-Talk Party
December 5, 2005

Cingular Wireless, the largest mobile operator in the U.S., said that it will finally offer push-to-talk (PTT) service, claiming its service has several advantages over its competitors.
Permalink

Cisco Warms Up to IMS
December 5, 2005

After a healthy amount of skepticism, Cisco is embracing the idea that carriers want to migrate their networks towards IMS. — Some carriers, anyway... there are a few who recognize that IMS is, well... a boat anchor.
Permalink

Cisco Integrates Session Control
December 5, 2005

Cisco plans to announce it's adding a SBC to the XR 12000 router, the edge router based on the new IOS XR operating system. The technology, which will be available to all XR 12000 models, is in trials now, with production shipments slated for the first quarter of 2006.
Permalink

VoIP: A Type of Vodka?
December 5, 2005

The VoIP consumer mass market has different needs, requirements, and interests that weren't crucial to the early adopters with their high geek-factor quotient.
Permalink

WiBro to get a workout at Turin Olympics
December 5, 2005

Telecom Italia has signed a deal with South Korea's Samsung Electronics to run trials of new WiBro mobile technology at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
Permalink

Brix Networks has announced an enhanced IP video quality algorithm
December 5, 2005

Brix Networks announced an enhanced IP video quality algorithm — the Brix Video Quality Index (Brix VQI) — that ensures providers' success with their IPTV rollouts.
Permalink

Message to FCC: Stop Hurting VoIP
December 1, 2005

When the FCC mandated enhanced 911 capabilities for VoIP providers, it opened a potentially anti-innovative can of worms commissioners can't solve with one punitive pen stroke.
Permalink

Nortel chief makes room for new blood
December 1, 2005

Nortel Networks' new chief executive officer, Mike Zafirovski, cleaned house this week, as two longtime executives left the company.
Permalink

Nokia expects continuing mobile-market growth
December 1, 2005

Nokia expects global handset sale volumes to grow by more than 10 percent in 2006 compared to this year and sees slight to moderate growth in mobile networks.
Permalink

BT Calls for IMS Support
December 1, 2005

The IMS revolution needs the support of the world's IT solutions companies and applications developers if it is to deliver the full potential that telecom carriers are looking for, believes Malcolm Wardlaw, one of the most senior next-generation networking executives at BT.
Permalink

Is VoIP's Main Value Cutting Costs or Generating Revenue?
December 1, 2005

The answer is that right now it is mostly about cost cutting, but that is beginning to change.
Permalink

UK: VoIP for Business Event Expected to Grow 50%
December 1, 2005

The number of exhibitors at the second VoIP for Business show is expected to be around 50% higher than the inaugural event, according to Imago Communications, the event organizer.
Permalink

Unstoppable VoIP
December 1, 2005

The communications market is noisy and churning. Once again, a regulator, the Israeli Ministry of Communications this time, has made a desperate and utterly hopeless attempt to stop technological progress.
Permalink

With E911 deadline past, what's next for VoIP firms?
December 1, 2005

The deadline for Net phone providers to have their customers outfitted with enhanced 911 capabilities has come and gone. So what now?
Permalink

Skype does video VoIP
December 1, 2005

Skype, which is being acquired eBay for US$2.6B, is to offer video calls as part of the latest version of its internet telephony software.
Permalink