News Archive - February 2006

Avaya and Samsung Electronics Form Strategic Alliance to Jointly Deliver Enterprise IP Telephony Solutions
February 28, 2006

Avaya and Samsung announced a strategic alliance to collaborate on the joint development and marketing of IP communications solutions to businesses globally.
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C&W Stuns With Job & Customer Cuts
February 28, 2006

Cable & Wireless plans to cut between 2000 and 3000 of the 5500 jobs and disconnect service to 27,000 of its 30,000 current customers.
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Senators back new broadband taxes
February 28, 2006

New broadband taxes may be on the horizon, if an influential senator and his like-minded colleagues get their way. This is brought about by the dwindling Universal Service Fund money available resulting from the use of technologies like VoIP.
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Aussies ditch fixed lines in favour of VoIP and mobile
February 28, 2006

A number of Australian companies have ditched their fixed lines in favour of mobile and VoIP services as recent reports indicate the trend to VoIP, and away from fixed-line phones is gathering steam.
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CBS to offer subscription video for phones
February 27, 2006

Broadcast network CBS will start a new subscription service sending multimedia news and entertainment alerts to cell phones for a small monthly fee.
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Is Apple's Next Act VoIP iPod?
February 27, 2006

When Apple talks, people listen and chat among themselves-and the computer company's announcement about products to be unveiled Tuesday had watchers speculating about a VoIP-enabled iPod.
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Cisco Systems Completes Acquisition of Scientific-Atlanta
February 27, 2006

Cisco announced it has completed the acquisition of Scientific-Atlanta, a leading global provider of set-top boxes, end-to-end video distribution networks and video systems integration.
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Internet phoning security in doubt
February 25, 2006

While Internet calling programs from Skype and Vonage to Google and Yahoo! are getting more popular, security experts warn that they're not as secure as traditional land lines.
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SIPphone Gets $6 Million VC Investment
February 25, 2006

SIPphone announced that it has secured US$6 million in funding to expand its SIP standard service to non-PC devices such as adapters, routers, WiFi handsets and dual mode mobile phones.
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PacPhone Gets Voicemail, PBX Features
February 24, 2006

Packetizer APAC released a new version of PacPhone, enhancing security, adding voicemail, and adding multi-line PBX functionality.
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Increasing risk of acoustic shock for VoIP users
February 23, 2006

As IP telephony is largely embraced by call centres and individuals alike, asset tracking and management company, Nomadtrack is warning the industry of the increasing risk of acoustic shock injury.
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Google, EarthLink Team for SF WiFi
February 23, 2006

Google confirmed it has partnered with the ISP EarthLink to compete for a contract to build San Francisco's municipal WiFi network.
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Surf Announces General-Purpose Modular AMC Form Factor DSP Resource Board
February 23, 2006

SURF Communication announced that it has developed the SurfRider/AMC, a fully-integrated single size ROHS-compliant AMC DSP resource board that provides heavy-duty processing capabilities for developers of telecom, military, medical and other processing-intensive applications.
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Bills would boost unlicensed Wi-Fi
February 22, 2006

Wireless Internet service providers would be allowed to operate freely on new chunks of unused TV spectrum, according to two new bills in the U.S. Senate.
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Europe sees calling prices fall
February 22, 2006

The European Union has given itself a big pat on the back over falling prices in the continent's telecommunications market, but it also warns more regulation will be needed to keep the industry on track.
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Sprint Nextel profit falls on charges
February 22, 2006

Sprint Nextel, the No. 3 U.S. mobile phone service, posted a 55 percent drop in fourth-quarter net earnings as a rise in revenue failed to offset hefty acquisition-related expenses.
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VoIP Comes to the Rescue of 3G
February 22, 2006

The 3GSM World Congress 2006 was an eye opener about the impact of VoIP on the mobile phone industry, and how VoIP might actually end up aiding 3G service providers, many of which are still trying to find their audiences.
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XO Boosts Business-VoIP Target Market
February 22, 2006

XO Communications is expanding the availability of its small-business-oriented XOptions Flex VoIP services bundle to include enterprises with as many as 160 employees at each location.
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SIP: The way forward for VoIP?
February 22, 2006

SIP has become the new standard for VoIP and is expected to become more and more ubiquitous, but there are a number of issues must be tackled before SIP will take off. The bugbear of application interoperability will need to be worked out.
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Level 3 dials into VoIP with boost to network
February 21, 2006

Broomfield-based Level 3 Communications plans to jump on the Internet phone-call bandwagon to increase revenues in the next two years, spending about $350 million in 2006 to beef up its infrastructure.
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Inquant Lanches Skype WiFi Handset and Skype on Mobiles
February 20, 2006

It is now possible to pre-order the first WiFi handset with Skype in the United Kingdom, the Netgear WiFi Skype Handset, from Inquant. They are also offering the IP Drum Mobile Skype Cables which enable making and receiving Skype calls on Nokia or Sony Ericsson Mobile Phones connected to your PC.
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BT to invest in global VoIP
February 20, 2006

BT plans to invest $21 million in a global VoIP platform, about half of which will go towards developing the platform for the Asia Pacific region.
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New VoIP wholesaler launched
February 20, 2006

ISPhone has launched a wholesale 'white label' VoIP service designed for the SME market that it will offer via channel partners such as ISPs, systems integrators and IT consultancies.
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Microsoft releases VoIP for Windows Mobile
February 18, 2006

Microsoft extends reach of Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005's real-time collaboration features to Windows Mobile-based devices, helping people work virtually anytime, anywhere.
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3GSM: It's an IMS Thing
February 17, 2006

IMS has, not surprisingly, been one of the dominant acronyms at this year's 3GSM event, with all the major, and many of the minor, vendors talking up their network and service convergence capabilities.
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IDT to Acquire Net2Phone
February 17, 2006

Internet telephone provider Net2Phone has agreed to be acquired by communications company IDT for $28.1 million in a deal that would make Net2Phone a private company.
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Surf adds 3G-324M Support to Latest Media Processing Packages
February 16, 2006

SURF announced the general availability of version 4.1 of Surf enVoip, which features support for the 3G-324M protocol as well as enhanced audio/video synchronization and inter-DSP communication. This functionality allows for optimized video conference performance with a larger number of participants, specifically addressing the advanced requirements of IMS networks.
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Oracle Buys HotSip
February 15, 2006

Oracle announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Sweden-based HotSip.
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23K Jobs To Go In France Telecom’s VoIP Revolution
February 15, 2006

About 23,000 jobs will be eliminated as no longer relevant – the workers expected to leave voluntarily – while 6,000 new wave jobs will be created and 10,000 other positions reshuffled at France Telecom as the company positions itself to cope with the VoIP revolution.
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Skype and Vonage: thank you, and goodnight
February 15, 2006

It's small, it's boring and won't turn any heads - but it probably spells the end of the road for Skype, Vonage and any other hopeful independent VoIP companies. It's Nokia's 6136 phone, which allows you to make calls over your home or office Wi-Fi network, as well as on a regular cellular network.
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3GSM: Skype Gets Into 3G
February 14, 2006

Skype struck a deal with Hutchison Whampoa's 3G operations to have its VoIP services trialed and then made available to the operator's mobile customers in up to eight markets around the world.
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Skype was nice, but iglance takes it to the next level
February 14, 2006

If you have not seen iglance, you really owe it to yourself to download this and give it a try. It has push-to-talk, video support (even live video in the buddy list), and much more. It's also entirely open source.
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Nortel Announces Carrier Class ATCA IMS Platform
February 14, 2006

Nortel announced aggressive plans to evolve its wireless and wireline platforms to the Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (ATCA).
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Nokia goes VoIP crazy
February 13, 2006

Nokia spelt out in great detail how it plans to sell total VoIP solutions to everyone.
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Egyptian mobile provider treads where others won't
February 13, 2006

From an office on the 26th floor of his family's gold-domed twin towers overlooking the Nile, Naguib Sawiris, chief executive of Orascom Telecom, scans the world for opportunities to expand his telecommunications empire.
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VoIP boom heard across state
February 12, 2006

Small Internet phone-calling companies in Colorado are booming, part of a nationwide trend away from traditional phone service.
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Drawbacks to VoIP
February 11, 2006

VoIP technology still has a few shortcomings that have led some to believe that it is not ready for widespread deployment.
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When Intel calls, Skype listens
February 9, 2006

The latest version of Skype's Internet-calling software can host up to 10 users on a conference call, but only if your PC has a dual-core processor from Intel.
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VoIP kit sales on the rise
February 8, 2006

Carriers' transition to VoIP may not begin in earnest until 2010, though spending on gear for the technology will roughly double over the next five years.
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Vonage files for IPO
February 8, 2006

Internet phone provider Vonage is going public, hoping to raise $250 million in new investments.
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Telcos take lead in VoIP provision
February 7, 2006

Telecoms carriers in Europe are now supporting more VoIP minutes than providers of free PC-to-PC VoIP services such as Skype.
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Earthlink Launches DSL, VoIP
February 7, 2006

EarthLink announced its latest voice offering for consumers, EarthLink DSL and Home Phone Service.
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Skype's Still Talking to Itself
February 7, 2006

Now that it's owned by eBay, Skype may be close to reversing its long-held policy of not allowing its VoIP calling and instant messenger services to work with other IM and VoIP software clients.
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USB Phones: VoIP's Best Kept Secret
February 7, 2006

Tired of using a clunky microphone and PC speakers to make VoIP calls with your computer? USB Phones promise a much improved user experience for PC VoIP users.
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Brix Networks Unveils Comprehensive IPTV Service Assurance Portfolio
February 6, 2006

Brix Networks unveiled its new BrixVision IPTV service assurance portfolio, a comprehensive offering that gives service providers complete visibility into the quality of video content, the underlying delivery infrastructure, and the overall customer experience.
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Celebrating SIP's 10th Birthday (Part 2)
February 6, 2006

It is hard to believe, but SIP is now a 10 year-old protocol. It's actually quite odd how some media outlets continue to refer to SIP as an "emerging" protocol given its age. This series of articles tries to provide some rationale.
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DyLogic announces new Mirial 4.5 softphone with H.264 video support
February 6, 2006

DyLogic unveiled release 4.5 of its MIRIALTM softphone. This new release includes support for H.264 high-quality video as well as many other features, such as 4CIF video format, DV camera inputs, high resolution capture, video noise filtering, videocall recording, and support for Microsoft Office LCS with Digest (MD5), Kerberos and NTLM authentication.
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No ban on taxing VoIP in Colorado
February 2, 2006

Colorado legislators shot down a bid to prevent state and local municipalities from taxing Internet-based phone services, the second year the measure has failed.
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8x8 Rolls Out New Features and Enhanced Phone Adapter for Packet8 Residential VoIP Phone Service
February 2, 2006

8x8 (aka, Packet8) announced it has released several new calling features for its Packet8 voice and video residential phone service and the Packet8 BPG510, a new terminal adapter with an integrated router.
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Skype losing out to broadband VoIP offers
February 2, 2006

The name most associated with VoIP at the moment is Skype, but according to a report by broadband network monitoring company Sandvine Incorporated, the once dominant Skype service has lost its hold on the European market.
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Wanadoo's VoIP service falls over
February 2, 2006

Wanadoo, which claims to be the UK's largest VoIP outfit with more than 80,000 users, has apologised to punters after its broadband telephony service went on the blink.
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VoIP Finds Home in Eastern Europe
February 1, 2006

VoIP is now a mainstream telecom service in Central and Eastern Europe following a raft of deployments by service providers in the region, with IP telephony system vendors Cirpack and NetCentrex the main beneficiaries.
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