News Archive - December 2009

An application war is brewing in the cloud
December 30, 2009

Cloud-computing vendors are quickly discovering that offering infrastructure-only is a losing battle, and so will acquire cloud-ready applications in 2010 to compete.
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Google Has Big Plans for Google Voice, Cloud Computing in 2010
December 30, 2009

Google's Bradley Horowitz, vice president of product management at Google, said Google Voice and cloud computing will be huge plays for the search engine giant in 2010.
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AT&T to FCC: Let My Landlines Go!
December 30, 2009

AT&T asked the FCC to eliminate regulatory requirements that it support a landline network and to provide a deadline for phasing it out. AT&T argues that VoIP and mobile alternatives means there is no value in POTS any longer.
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Genband Snaps Up Much of Nortel VoIP Assets
December 29, 2009

Genband and Nortel announced that they'd entered into an asset sale agreement that will have Genband shelling out $282 million to buy substantially all of Nortel's North America, Caribbean and Latin America (CALA) and Asia Carrier VoIP and Application Solutions (CVAS) businesses. The acquisition will realign the VoIP equipment and support market, pitting Genband against giants Avaya and Cisco.
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Cloud computing: Love it or hate it?
December 29, 2009

It seems that IT leaders are warming up to cloud computing, with its promise of elasticity, utility-based billing, multiple storage locations, and the ability to pull data directly from storage devices. In fact, cloud computing ranked second (behind virtualization) as the technology most beta-tested in 2009.
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Nepal: VoIP racket busted, equipment seized
December 28, 2009

Nepal continues punish people who use the Internet to place voice calls with fines and prison sentences. It seems the country is unable to understand Internet technology and how to use it in order to expand knowledge and human communication.
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Google's Chrome OS may be future of computing
December 26, 2009

This year, Google signaled it is ready to take Microsoft on on its home turf with an operating system called Chrome OS. It's an operating system that is designed to exploit the concept of cloud computing and to give users a whole new computing experience.
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Nortel: Carrier VoIP Officially on the Block
December 24, 2009

As the first anniversary of Nortel's bankruptcy protection filing comes over the horizon, the company is seeking court approval to sell its carrier VoIP business to Genband Inc. for $282-million, which has submitted a "stalking horse bid".
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Skype, Avaya Discuss Partnership
December 23, 2009

Skype's effort to crack enterprise corporate accounts may get a boost from major shareholder Silver Lake, which has been promoting talks between Skype and another Silver Lake investment, Avaya.
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Vonage Offers VoIP For iPhone, BlackBerry
December 23, 2009

Vonage said its VoIP calling applications for the iPhone and BlackBerry platforms are now available. The apps use cellular networks to connect with Vonage's VoIP infrastructure to enable users to make lower-cost international calls to mobile phones or landlines.
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Scalable Video Coding (SVC) to Impact Global Videoconferencing Market
December 23, 2009

Wainhouse Research released its latest study, "H.264 SVC: A Technical Assessment," an independent view of the Scalable Video Coding (SVC) standard, ratified in late 2007 whose benefits are gaining recognition and acceptance in multiple segments of the videoconferencing and unified communications markets.
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Cloud computing and the build vs. buy question
December 23, 2009

Is cloud computing nothing more than today's du jour term for outsourcing? Regardless, the decisions around and challenges regarding outsourcing should remain front and center all the way through the process.
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Cloud computing migration issues: What you need to know
December 22, 2009

When you migrate to the cloud, the issues you'll face fall into the following overall categories, including security, vendor management, integration, and process and culture.
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Vonage World Mobile Brings Holiday Cheer with Unlimited International Calling for Mobile Users
December 22, 2009

Vonage announced an enhancement to the Vonage Mobile application to include the Vonage World calling plan. Vonage World Mobile provides customers with unlimited mobile international calls to over 60 countries for one flat monthly rate when calling from their mobile device.
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5 Things Every CEO Should Know About Cloud Computing
December 21, 2009

Before you jump on the cloud computing bandwagon, there are several things you should know.
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O2 to buy VoIP start-up Jajah
December 20, 2009

O2, the mobile arm of Telefonica Europe, appears to be the winner of a bidding war for VoIP start-up Jajah.
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Skype Won the Protocol Wars
December 19, 2009

Skype has captured the mind share and market share to be called the King of VoIP protocols. Service providers do not seem to be able to keep up with the growth of Skype. What will the future hold? Will we see a major shift in technology again as service providers try to find a business model that works?
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Orange announces enterprise cloud computing one-stop-shop
December 18, 2009

France Telecom subsidiary Orange announced that it will launch a dozen new cloud computing services over the next two years, ranging from real-time business applications to infrastructure.
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Cloud Security Alliance Issues New Guidelines
December 17, 2009

The Cloud Security Alliance published the second edition of its guidelines for secure cloud computing, delivering a voluminous document that sets out an architectural framework and makes a host of recommendations around cloud security.
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CERN Selects Platform Computing for World's Largest Scientific Collaboration Cloud
December 17, 2009

Platform Computing announced that CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, has selected its current Platform LSF grid infrastructure to pilot the world's largest cloud computing environment for scientific collaboration.
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iPhone beats Windows Mobile in market share
December 17, 2009

Apple's iPhone has topped Microsoft's Windows Mobile in U.S. market share of smartphone operating systems for the first time, putting it in the No. 2 spot.
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Amazon's Virtual Private Cloud goes public
December 15, 2009

Amazon.com is opening up its Virtual Private Cloud to all users of its EC2 cloud-computing services as part of a public beta.
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Announcing Amazon EC2 Spot Instances
December 14, 2009

Amazon introduces a new concept called "Spot Instances". Spot Instances allow customers to bid on unused Amazon EC2 capacity and run those instances for as long as their bid exceeds the current Spot Price.
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Is Apple Buying VoIP Provider iCall?
December 12, 2009

Rumors has it that Apple is in talks to acquire VoIP company iCall in a $US50 million to $US60 million deal. Is competition heating up between Apple and Google? And just who are the phone "carriers" these days?
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Google employees given HTC-made Google Phones, January launch imminent?
December 12, 2009

TechCrunch was certain that rumors of a pending honest-to-goodness Google Phone were the real deal, and now according to the site, Google employees are already tweeting with the devices in hand.
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Nokia Siemens, Alcatel-Lucent Complete VoIP Over LTE Calls
December 10, 2009

Supporting voice over LTE is a big nut that most vendors are trying to crack, and two big milestones have been crossed this week in the quest to make VoLTE truly commercially viable.
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New Skype betas for Windows, Nokia phones
December 10, 2009

Skype announced Skype 4.2 for Windows beta and a new beta build for Symbian phones. Skype 4.2 beta for Windows desktop users is small as updates go, reinstating Skype Access—a Wi-Fi hot-spot connector—and call transferring that Skype had removed when overhauling its app and updating to version 4 (now in version 4.1), a build that includes screen-sharing.
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Wired for sound: how SIP won the VoIP protocol wars
December 8, 2009

This article is a first in a series of in-depth articles that look at the SIP protocol, its beginnings, evolution, and future, as well as its use in building VoIP networks.
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Android Uptake Slow in Europe as Google Phone Rumors Persist
December 7, 2009

Uptake of Google's Android operating system in Western Europe Android OS is below expectations despite the fact that Android market share grew from 4.2% in the second quarter to 5.4% in the third quarter.
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Cisco Controls More Than 90% of the Shares in TANDBERG
December 4, 2009

Cisco announced that it now controls more than 90% of the TANDBERG shares, which is enough to allow it to proceed with the acquisition of the Norwegian videoconferencing equipment manufacturer.
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Google, Skype Put Cable Biz Phone Service at Risk
December 3, 2009

The ability to sell commercial phone services to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) represents a big growth engine for MSOs, but open-source and over-the-top products such as Google Voice and Skype pose a threat to cable operators.
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Comcast snags NBC Universal to build $37 billion venture
December 3, 2009

It's official. Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, announced that it is buying a controlling stake in the TV network and movie studio NBC Universal.
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New cell phone technology allows deaf people to communicate anytime, anywhere
December 2, 2009

Cornell researchers and colleagues have created cell phones that allow deaf people to communicate in sign language. The phone sits up such that one can interact directly. In fact, the design would be excellent for hearing people, too, as it addresses the problem of having to hold the phone while sitting stationary for a long period of time.
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The FCC Sees the Future - and It’s VoIP
December 2, 2009

The FCC is prepping for a future without the circuit-switched network that currently handles most of the landline and wireless calls in this country. The Commission released a public notice seeking comments on how to lay the regulatory groundwork for an all-IP communications network.
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