News Archive - April 2007
Videoconferencing: Nice to Finally Meet You
April 30, 2007
Thirty-eight years after the first videoconference took place, and almost 28 years since the first commercially marketed VTCs, or Video Teleconference, solutions became available, this concept still has not reached its full potential.
Videoconferencing is a comeback hit
April 30, 2007
The benefits of videoconferencing are obvious. It lets you reduce your travel budget, and it facilitates collaboration. But justifying the cost of the equipment and hiring the special expertise needed to operate it are disadvantages that have made some officials reluctant to try videoconferencing.
Brix Networks Integrates Service Assurance Technology With InnoMedia's Cable VoIP Devices
April 30, 2007
Brix Networks announced it is collaborating with InnoMedia to provide endpoint monitoring capabilities that will enable cable VoIP service providers to offer their subscribers an exceptional quality of experience (QoE) while delivering service visibility to the home.
April 27, 2007
Plans to deploy VoIP are soaring, but enterprises still have a hard time justifying costs to upper management.
The Future of Internet Telephony Could Hang on Vonage Case
April 26, 2007
The lawsuit against Vonage by Verizon for patent infringement is being closely watched by the VoIP industry, as the decisions made in this case could have far-reaching implications, perhaps eliminating competition in this fragile, young market.
Hosted VoIP Biz to Reach $416M in N. America this Year
April 25, 2007
The North America small and medium business segment for hosted business VoIP is set to reach US$416 million this year, up from about US$165 million in 2005. Between 2005 and 2010, the cumulative growth rate will cross 56.9%.
April 25, 2007
VoIP peering and ENUM specialist XConnect Global Networks says it received $12 million in Series A venture capital funding, a sign that VCs still see IP communications as a huge growth market.
Operators Lock Out VoIP Rivals
April 24, 2007
U.K. mobile phone network operators Vodafone and Orange have started blocking customers from using low-cost Internet telephony services such as Skype over their cellular phone networks, the latest sign that carriers are increasingly wary about the threat posed by third-party VoIP upstarts.
EU fails to agree on cell phone roaming rules
April 24, 2007
European Union politicians and officials failed to resolve important details of a plan to cut the cost of making and receiving cell phone calls abroad.
Vonage can keep signing up new customers
April 24, 2007
Vonage may continue to sign up new customers while appealing a patent infringement loss to Verizon, a federal appeals court ruled.
Orange and Vodafone cut VoIP from Nokia N95
April 23, 2007
Orange and Vodafone have disabled the internet telephony option in Nokia's flagship N95 handset. Nokia and Orange have both denied that the move is a deliberate attempt to defend voice revenue and head off competition from cut-price internet telephony.
Verizon Business Announces the Availability of Its VoIP Portfolio for the Australian Market
April 20, 2007
Verizon Business has expanded availability of its VoIP portfolio to the Australian market, offering Verizon IP Integrated Access and Verizon Hosted IP Centrex to customers in six Australian cities.
Skype: Revenue Doubles, Growth Slows
April 20, 2007
Skype is a wildly successful service, now with more than 196 million registered users, carrying more than 9 billion minutes of VoIP traffic this last quarter, and bringing in more than $192 million in revenue.
Cell phone becomes new town crier
April 20, 2007
Universities and some cities are starting to recognize cell phones as efficient tools for protecting and connecting students and citizens. — And they might be even more effective if people were not charged silly fees to receive those messages.
Google purchases Marratech conferencing software
April 20, 2007
Google has acquired the flagship software product of video-conferencing start-up Marratech, leading many to believe that conferencing software may become the next addition to Google's growing office suite.
April 18, 2007
Vonage's meltdown marks the end of the landline VoIP services as an investment opportunity. But investors who plowed over $2 billion on landline VoIP service are now targeting VoIP equipment suppliers and mobile VoIP service providers.
Sprint: Say Bon Voyage to Vonage
April 18, 2007
Sprint Nextel, beset by customer losses and lackluster products, has enough on its plate without going after Vonage.
Telecom veteran questions Verizon VoIP patents
April 17, 2007
Two of the three Verizon patents a jury upheld in a March decision were described in a standards group called the VoIP Forum before Verizon filed for the patents.
April 17, 2007
Juniper Research has published a study that claims the enterprise VoIP over Wi-Fi equipment market will reach US$15 billion by 2012.
Could Vonage Sprint to an Exit?
April 16, 2007
Vonage is in talks with Sprint Nextel about a way to resolve that carrier's patent lawsuit against the VoIP provider. Apparently, Sprint buyout of Vonage is on the table.
Skype to test VoIP service for the enterprise
April 12, 2007
Skype is in the early stages of testing an enterprise-class version of its service and is soliciting interest in an early adopter program by businesses with more than 1,000 employees.
Employee demand for videoconferencing on the rise
April 12, 2007
Over 70% of businesses have noted employee demand for desktop collaboration tools, such as videoconferencing within their organisations, but only one in five companies are significantly investing in this technology, new research has found.
VoIP adopted by one in five US firms
April 12, 2007
VoIP technology has rolled out to one-fifth of all US business, and adoption is expected to continue to grow at a robust rate.
Vonage CEO Snyder out, spending to be trimmed
April 12, 2007
Vonage announced that Michael Snyder has stepped down as the company's chief executive and also said it would make roughly $140 million in spending cuts over the next several months as it reduces spending on marketing and eliminates jobs.
VoIP 'not ready for mainstream adoption' says Forrester
April 11, 2007
A report from Forrester research says that, while many have heard of VoIP, only a small percentage of people have tried it and many of those who used the technology abandoned it for a variety of reasons.
Which Verizon patents did Vonage violate?
April 10, 2007
The Verizon patents at issue cover technology for transferring voice calls, supporting features such as call waiting, and providing wireless handset support for VoIP customers.
China Mobile 3G Contracts Awarded
April 10, 2007
ZTE and a partnership between Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co. and Alcatel Shanghai Bell have struck the first blows in the vendor battle to win high-profile and potentially lucrative 3G infrastructure deals in China.
KDDI to offer cell phone service in U.S.
April 8, 2007
Japan's KDDI said on Sunday that it aims to offer a cell phone service in the United States using a network operated by Sprint Nextel.
Why do we have a VoIP patent mess?
April 8, 2007
Vonage has gone from fighting the regulatory morass to fighting the patent morass. The ability of Verizon et al to play the dimensions of uncertainty associated with patents makes one nostalgic for the ability of Verizon et al to play the dimensions of uncertainty associated with the regulatory pronouncements of the FCC.
Listen Up, Enterprises: Open Source VoIP's Voice Is Stronger
April 8, 2007
Soon enough, as more companies become comfortable widening their search beyond commercial fare, they will find that open source dial tone is a worthwhile alternative, in it for the long haul. The cost savings are that compelling, as is the promise of greater customization and control.
Charter: Vonage Friend or Foe?
April 6, 2007
Charter Communications is launching a new marketing campaign designed to help worried Vonage subscribers quickly become Charter voice customers. But, demonstrating the irony of the situation, Charter also has been piloting a voice and data bundle in conjunction with the troubled pure-play VoIP provider.
New technology lets you read your voice mail
April 6, 2007
Why listen to your voice mail messages when you can read them? That's what a new crop of companies is asking—they're developing software that turns voice mail messages into transcribed e-mail or text messages.
After setback, Vonage wins temporary relief
April 6, 2007
A federal appeals court granted Vonage a temporary reprieve late Friday from an injunction granted earlier in the day that would have prevented the Internet phone provider from signing up new customers.
For many colleges, VoIP doesn't make the grade
April 5, 2007
Even the lure of phone systems that withstand disasters combined with the benefits of unified messaging don't outweigh the costs to bring IP communications to college campuses, according to a survey by the Association for Communications Professionals in Higher Education.
April 4, 2007
Internet telephony startups such as SunRocket, Packet8, JoiPhone, and VelocityTel are in danger of being overrun by cable operators and tripped up by a patent dispute involving market leader Vonage.
VoIP Takes Initial Steps to Protect Intellectual Property
April 4, 2007
VoIP, Inc. announced that it has taken initial steps to protect the intellectual property surrounding its web-based calling services. The Company has sent letters to parties that VoIP believes is currently infringing on its intellectual property. VoIP was granted U.S. Patent 6,501,837, covering a method for making a telephone call between two parties, and a method for making a telephone call utilizing a call-back feature from an intermediate point. — And how this was granted, we don't know. The FCC has had rulings on call-back services where calls are connected between two parties using an intermediate point years before. This has been around since at least the 80s.
SunRocket VoIP customers top 200,000
April 3, 2007
SunRocket is reporting that it has surpassed the 200,000 subscriber mark, doubling its subscriber base in just nine months.
FCC: In-flight cell phone ban to continue
April 3, 2007
The Federal Communications Commission issued a brief order revealing that it plans to drop an ongoing inquiry into relaxing a prohibition dating back to 1991 on cell phone use in airborne aircraft.
April 3, 2007
Internet telephony provider Vonage, which is facing a possible shutdown of its service this week because of a patent dispute, may have gotten a stay of execution.
AT&T Closes In on Telecom Italia Stake
April 2, 2007
After weeks of speculation about potential new investors, AT&T and Mexican mobile giant América Móvil look set to each buy a stake in Olimpia, the holding company that controls Telecom Italia.
Nokia Siemens Network struggles out the gate
April 2, 2007
Nokia Siemens Network, the joint venture formed between Nokia and Siemens, got off the ground Sunday, but the company is already warning it won't meet financial expectations.