iSkoot Reboots, Looks at a New Mobile Future

With its core functionality – Skype calling — getting commoditized, it makes perfect sense for San Francisco-based iSkoot to look at new horizons and reboot itself. With a technology underpinning that is more valuable than just a conduit for cheap calls, the company is transforming itself into a mobile platform that helps bring the web services common on expensive superphones to cheaper and more mass market phones.  It is a smart and logical move – especially if you consider the mortality rate among VoIP-related startups. iSkoot is lucky to have the cushion of $32.5 million in funding from the likes of Khosla Ventures and Charles River Ventures while it executes its reboot.     iSkoot got started with the idea of delivering Skype services to mobile handsets. It wanted to sell the whole solution to mobile carriers who could in turn deliver Skype to their customers. Talk about mission impossible – the company signed up 3, a 3G mobile service provider in the UK, and eventually expanded to eight countries. It has struggled to find larger acceptance among carriers. Skype recently introduced its own mobile client for Android (Skype Lite), and it is only a matter of time before other variants show up. In other words,  a reboot makes perfect sense for iSkoot. And they have the technology for it. When building its Skype-only offering, iSkoot built a network and developed an architecture that had all the location and presence information about the users. It also had the ability to run a Skype-client in the server but allow the thin client on the phone to control (and use it.) Then, in September 2008, it acquired Social.IM  which had developed real-time communication and desktop notifications that allowed it to deliver new message alerts, information and content to social network or online community members. iSkoot wanted to extend that to the mobile. By marrying its location and presence information with Social.IM's notification and push technology, iSkoot has now developed a mobile client that can receive live updates, multitask and use many web applications on lower-priced phones. Push, pull and multitasking are extremely hard. Only a handful of mobile operating systems such as BlackBerry are able to do it well. iSkoot recently launched the fruits of its efforts without much fanfare. You can use the application, dubbed Notifier, on some of AT&T's phones by downloading it from the AT&T Media Mall. It allows folks to access web services such as Gmail and Facebook on their feature phones. However, to understand where iSkoot is going, one needs to look beyond the client. What iSkoot has done is developed a platform for mobile phone companies to offer many services. On a PC, we can download many different applications – browser, email, instant messaging and others – and each one creates a separate connection to our network. Each one consumes a lot of CPU power and quite a bit of bandwidth, though only rarely do we kill the network. Wireless networks, by comparison, are bandwidth constrained, and featherweight processors power lower-end mobile phones. In order for these phones to mimic their smartphone brethren, the iSkoot client creates a single connection to the network and acts as a conduit to all types of web services. (Citrix does something similar on the desktops.) The next step for iSkoot would be to marry its client with a mobile OS and deliver an experience very much like the INQ's Facebook Phone. For mobile carriers, an iSkoot-type solution would be a good way to offer more lucrative data services to its clients, all the while controlling bandwidth consumption — and, more importantly, keeping a tight leash on their customers. Mobile carriers are scared of a future in which devices such as the iPhone reduce them to a dumb pipe provider. Unlike the wired web, where carriers have little control on what services we use, mobile operators are fighting to control the mobile web experience. They tried it with things like their on-deck stores and WAP. And I wouldn't be surprised if they use technologies like iSkoot to create a new walled garden, though one with a perception of openness. In that process, there's a good chance iSkoot might actually find a better future for itself.

 

Verizon Shutting Down VoIP Service

Five years after it launched Voicewing by rebranding DeltaThree, Verizon is shutting down the VoIP service that never managed to get any traction. It was launched to compete with Vonage. AT&T stopped signing up new customers for CallVantage, another Vonage competitor, in 2008. Voicewing will be shut down on March 31, and will most likely be replaced by FiOS Digital Voice, a new offering. The decision will almost certainly push DeltaThree over the edge — the company has been running out of cash and has already been delisted from Nasdaq.

 

LaunchBox09: Entrepreneurs Invited

Early-stage businesses looking to bring their idea to market — or build a bigger market for their existing products — can now apply for some cash, advice, and practical guidance courtesy of LaunchBox Digital. The Washington, D.C.-based business incubator and investment firm is accepting applications for its Summer 2009 business accelerator program, LaunchBox09. Up to 10 successful applicants to LaunchBox09 will receive seed investment and help in establishing and building their new business. For more information on LaunchBox and how to apply, visit www.launchboxdigital.com.

 

Moto Backing Away From Windows Mobile

Earlier this month reports emerged that Motorola would cut as much as 50 percent of its handset division, as it slashes down the number of phones it sells to a dozen and focus solely on Google's Android Operating System. The decision, made us wonder if Microsoft's Windows Mobile OS might be a big loser because of that focus on Android. The Wall Street Journal today reports that Motorola indeed might be saying sayonara to Windows. Now there are signs Motorola is shifting away from Windows as well. Its recent job cuts included a team of more than 70 employees working on the Windows Mobile platform at its facility in Plantation, Fla. Telecom analyst Ittai Kidron of Oppenheimer & Co. said delays in releasing a new version of the Windows platform may have caused Motorola to alter its plans in the short term. Chart courtesy of The Wall Street Journal. Motorola denies it and said they will continue to support Windows Mobile and will have devices out this year. Motorola cut Yvonne Verse, vice president of handled strategic partnerships, business development and intellectual property, and Tracey Koziol, vice president in charge of product development as part of these cuts. In addition, Motorola has shifted its market focus to Americas and China, pulling back from Europe, Middle East and Asia. But WSJ points out that in Latin America, Motorola is relying on distributors instead. All these cuts are not going to be enough for Motorola, which is the weakest player in the increasingly Darwinian handset business.

 

Goodbye Kevin Martin

Today is a great day for the future of communication innovation in America. I applaud Kevin Martin's decision to step down as FCC Chairman on January 20th and wish him well at the Aspen Institute and in his future endeavors. I look forward to the new administration and for an America that once again embraces technology innovation and communication platforms that challenge the status quo. With the right approach to public policy, the new FCC will be able to put a shot of adrenaline into the arm into the Tech Sector and jump start a new generation of communication innovation. I look forward to watching the future unfold.

 

Conjungo Helps SMBs Understand VOIP

Midmarket companies may be intrigued by voice over IP, or VOIP, technology but not all understand how it can lower their business costs. Conjungo wants to solve that problem.

Small businesses under pressure to cut costs and save money in the face of a worldwide recession and falling demand are looking to new technologies to help improve efficiency and streamline costs. Voice over IP, which allows users to make phone calls over the Internet, is one of the ways midmarket companies can reduce communications expenses.

Don Witt, president of VOIP telephony distributor cyLogistics, recently wrote that the down economy will actually boost VOIP usage in the small and midsize business market in 2009 and show growth rates between 4 and 12 percent. But for the average small-business owner whose knowledge of VOIP may be limited to a few trial calls on Skype, where can one turn for information on business application of Internet telephony?

One option for midmarket business owners is Conjungo, a Web-based technology supplier search portal. The UK-based company recently announced a new series of guides on VOIP as part of its "Go Understand" resource pool, aimed at SMB decision makers. The resource offers guides to the technology underpinning as well as key business benefits and implementation considerations. The guides also provide disadvantages and potential pitfalls as well advice for conducting a trial and evaluating various vendors and products.

"Technologies such as VOIP [have] been a de facto requirement for larger enterprises for over a decade, but as licensing costs for the software have declined over the last few years, adoption by SMBs has risen dramatically," said Conjungo CEO David Cruse. "For many small-business users, it is difficult to get independent advice and to understand what these technologies mean in business terms. Our new guides provide a useful resource, written in clear English, to help buyers find the best solution without bias toward any particular vendor or service."

Cruse, whose company is currently exploring options for a hosted VOIP solution, said the basic dilemma facing SMBs is the lack of understanding of technologies such as VOIP. If they don't understand what a technology can do for their business, he said, they simply won't buy it. "It's a term often bandied about, but if you ask SMBs about VOIP, they probably align it to Skype, and that's as much as they know," Cruse said. "You don't buy something you don't understand."

Several large vendors have extended VOIP offerings to the midmarket space, including Dell, which partnered with Fonality in January 2008, and Speakeasy, a Best Buy-owned company, which launched its Integrated Voice offering a month later. Cisco, which rolled out its Business Communications Solution aimed at SMBs in 2005, has long targeted the midmarket VOIP space.

Cruse said VOIP is a big part of cost reduction for any business, but knowing how the technology can work for your business is only half the battle. "If we can break down the fundamental barrier to buying it, then we can help SMBs access the local suppliers who can provide VOIP solutions," he said. "That's why we provide a search interface that allows businesses to access local providers."

The basic issue of education is the same in the United Kingdom and the United States, Cruse said. "If SMBs don't have IT departments that the people running that department are business people," he said. "From our limited research, we have established that the issue is the same on both sides of the pond."  

Conjungo's guides cover basic concepts such as hosted versus on-site deployment, steps required for integration, and explanations of the various modules that make up modern ERP and CRM systems—the focus of two other new guides. Although this won't be of much use to stateside SMBs, the company also said it plans to carry out an e-mail campaign through January to 250,000 small businesses in the United Kingdom to highlight the availability of the guides. 

 

FCC Questions Comcast's VOIP Policy

The Federal Communications Commission raises the possibility of further network neutrality violations by Comcast. The agency is investigating concerns that Comcast's new network management practices degrade the sound quality of VOIP services such as Vonage and Skype that compete with Comcast's own VOIP service.

Cable giant Comcast may again be in network neutrality hot water with the Federal Communications Commission. The agency is investigating concerns that Comcast's new network management practices degrade the sound quality of VOIP (voice over IP) services such as Vonage and Skype that compete with Comcast's own VOIP service.

In a Jan. 17 letter to Comcast, the FCC told Comcast to provide "a detailed justification for Comcast's disparate treatment of its own VOIP service as compared to that offered by other VOIP providers on its network." The FCC also wants to know why the company has failed to disclose "the distinct effects that Comcast's new network management technique has on Comcast's VOIP offering versus those of its competitors." Comcast's network management practices have been under review since the FCC declared Aug. 1 Comcast was violating the agency's Internet policy when it blocked P2P traffic by BitTorrent. The agency also found that Comcast misled consumers when it did not properly disclose its P2P policy. While Comcast was not fined for the network neutrality violation, the FCC ordered Comcast to cease the practice and to keep the public informed of its future network management plans.

According to Comcast, its new protocol-agnostic network management policies allow for slowing network traffic during heavily congested traffic periods that could make "VOIP call sounds choppy" when routing packets through congested areas of the network. Comcast's own VOIP service, though, will be unaffected by the network policy.

"Critically, [Comcast] draws no distinction between Comcast's VOIP offering and those offered by its competitors," the FCC said in the letter to Comcast. "To the extent that Comcast maintains that its VOIP offering is a telephone service offering transmission facilities for VOIP calls distinct from Comcast's broadband offering, then it would appear the fee Comcast assesses its customers for VOIP pays in part for the privileged transmission of information of the customer's choosing across Comcast's network."

The FCC ordered Comcast to reply to the inquiry by Jan. 30. A Comcast spokesman said, "We have fully complied with the FCC's order regarding our congestion management practices. We are reviewing the FCC staff's letter."

Free Press, which successfully pursued the BitTorrent network neutrality case before the FCC, outlined similar VOIP concerns in an October letter filed with the FCC after Comcast made its new network management practices public. Free Press also expressed concern over Comcast's different treatment of video services and urged further investigation into the company's new practices.

Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press, said in a Jan. 19 statement the FCC letter to Comcast "is a positive sign that the FCC's Comcast decision was not a one-and-done action on net neutrality. An open Internet cannot tolerate arbitrary interference from Internet service providers. Congress and the FCC must close any legal loopholes that permit anti-competitive behavior to thrive."

In August 2005, the FCC declared that consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet content of their choice, run applications and services of their choice and plug in and run legal devices of their choice. The FCC also said consumers have a right to competition among network providers, application and service providers and content providers.

 

Westcon Group Signs Agreement with RedSky Technologies to Deliver E911 Solutions

Westcon Group has signed an agreement with RedSky Technologies to distribute two of its high-performance E911 software solutions. These solutions E911 Manager and E911 Anywhere are both now available through Westcon Group North America. In addition, RedSky is participating in Westcon's ConvergencePoint program. RedSky's flagship product, E911 Manager, is a high performance enterprise-wide server-based E911 solution that works within Avaya, Cisco and Nortel networking environments. Meanwhile, RedSky's E911 Anywhere Hosted solution, delivers E911 functionality to SMBs through a monthly service plan. Effective E911 services that help pinpoint a user location are critical to public safety since a caller could be located anywhere. Traditional wireline phones, which are being used at an increasingly diminishing rate, rely on a physical network to determine caller location. RedSky solutions facilitate effective emergency response in these environments as well as in IP-based wired and wireless networks.

 

Edgewater Networks Announces Active Line VoIP Testing for Products

Edgewater Networks announces the availability of active line VoIP testing for EdgeMarc Network Services Gateways and the EdgeView VoIP Support System. Active line VoIP testing is an integrated on-demand troubleshooting tool offered in the EdgeMarc and EdgeView products that allows Service Providers and Enterprise customers to place test VoIP calls to and from deployed EdgeMarcs without requiring remote assistance from field technicians or end-users. Active line VoIP testing works in conjunction with existing passive call quality measurement features to provide both call path validation and listening quality measurements to network operators. This powerful combination of integrated tools in the Edgewater Networks solution simplifies VoIP installations and reduces the complexities usually associated with troubleshooting distributed VoIP networks. Active line VoIP testing is performed using the EdgeMarc Network Services gateways as a testing endpoint to make or receive VoIP calls that are initiated using the EdgeView VoIP Support System or by any standard IP phone, cellular phone or analog phone. Network impairments that negatively affect overall call quality are sent in real time by the EdgeView system to network operators and a complete picture of call quality is reported at the completion of the test call. These quality metrics include Mean Opinion Scoring (MOS), jitter, packet loss, latency and much more. Network operators use these testing methods to validate new installations, troubleshoot real-time call quality problems and monitor VoIP connectivity without having to involve end-users, dispatch field technicians or install and manage external testing probes. Active line VoIP testing in the EdgeMarc and EdgeView products is a part of a comprehensive solution from Edgewater Networks that also includes EdgeConnect managed Power over Ethernet switches and the EdgeView Reports server. EdgeMarc Network Services Gateways are flexible, all-in-one devices that reduce cost and simplify the deployment of converged voice, video and data services for enterprises and service providers. The EdgeMarc Network Services Gateway combines multiple voice and data features including IP routing, a VoIP aware NAT/Firewall, VoIP survivability, traffic shaping, prioritization, passive call quality monitoring, active line VoIP testing and more. EdgeView is a troubleshooting and setup tool that allows service providers to proactively manage and support their communications services. EdgeView Reports is an advanced yet easy-to-use reporting tool that provides valuable VoIP performance information to network planners, operators, product managers, executive management teams and end-users.

 

4PSA VoipNow to be Distributed in Asia-Pacific Markets

Rack-Soft announces their partnership agreement to distribute 4PSA VoipNow, the Integrated Communications System in Asia-Pacific region. Digital Techniques (Asia) provides a highly refined selection of quality hardware and software products developed and implemented using innovative engineering techniques, primarily based on Open Source. The company is the regional distributor for many other VoIP products. 4PSA VoipNow is a PBX solution for service providers and enterprises that allows these to deliver advanced IP telephony services at a very attractive cost of ownership

 

Truphone Anywhere Launches on Android G1

Truphone announces its Truphone Anywhere application for Android-enabled mobile handsets, including the recently released G1 phone. The application is available now as a download on the Android Market in the UK and the US. To coincide with T-Mobile's announcement earlier this week of the availability of the G1 mobile phone in March 2009, a German version of Truphone Anywhere for Android is available and will be the first native language multi-communications application in the Android Market in Germany and Austria when it launches at CeBIT 2009. Truphone Anywhere for Android delivers an all-in-one conversations hub that allows customers to take advantage of Truphone's low international call rates, in addition to the cost of a local call. As well as being able to make low-cost international voice calls, Truphone customers can also easily Instant Message their friends across a variety of networks including MSN, Yahoo!, Google Talk and Twitter from within one Android application. Customers can also call friends anywhere in the world on Google Talk for the price of a local call, and similarly will soon will be able to Instant Message and call their friends on Skype. Truphone is now available on Android, the Apple iPhone, the Apple iPod touch, Blackberry and Nokia devices.

 

Telecommunications Companies Get Behind .tel

Telnic Limited, the registry operator for the new .tel top level domain, announced that a significant number of telecommunications organizations were not only registering their brands for .tel domains but were investigating the .tel as a platform for added-value services themselves. Numerous operators, including fixed-line, mobile or VoIP companies, including Orange, Vodafone, Hutchison 3G, T-Mobile, Sprint, Virgin Mobile and Skype, have all supported the new communications-focused .tel TLD by securing their brands. "We'd like to thank those telecommunications providers who've registered their brands for understanding that .tel is not just another top level domain but that instead it provides an innovative and neutral platform for service interoperability," said Khashayar Mahdavi, CEO of Telnic Limited. "Several operators, especially those concerned with VoIP, are moving to become ICANN-accredited registrars in order to use this platform to deliver value-added services to their customers." Applications from trademark holders are still being taken during the protected Sunrise period until February 2nd 2009, after which time anyone may purchase any available .tel domain in a first come, first served manner.

 

Digium to Host Two New Asterisk Training Courses at Digium|Asterisk World

Technology Marketing Corporation and Digium announce they have teamed up to host two new training courses at Digium|Asterisk World, February 2-4, 2009 in Miami, Florida. Digium|Asterisk World is collocated with TMC's popular INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO East 2009 (ITEXPO) at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The two new training courses offered by Digium are as follows: Tuesday, February 3, 2009: Switchvox Training This course serves as a one-day introduction to the Switchvox system. The goals and objectives of this class are to: Explain the role of a Switchvox system within a corporate IT/telephony infrastructure Familiarize the student with the initial setup and configuration of their Switchvox system Describe the telephony connections which Switchvox supports and identify the hardware needed to effect this connectivity Identify the basic characteristics of analog and digital PSTN connections and how VoIP compares and contrasts with these Configure Switchvox to deliver basic PBX functionality including basic call routing, voicemail and directory services Connect Switchvox to a Voice-over-IP service provider Show how to use the Switchboard application to give users a rich interface with which to interact with the telephone system l Wednesday, February 4, 2009: Asterisk 123 The Asterisk 123 course is a gentle introduction to the Asterisk Open Source PBX. It introduces the student to the many roles that Asterisk can play and walks them through setting up Asterisk for the first time. At the end of the course, the student should be able to: Identify the purpose and primary functionality of Asterisk as a PBX and as an application development platform Describe the telephony connections which Asterisk supports and identify the Digium hardware needed to effect this connectivity Identify the basic characteristics of analog and digital PSTN connections and how VoIP compares and contrasts with these Configure Asterisk to deliver basic PBX functionality including basic call routing, voicemail and directory services Learn the basics of becoming an Asterisk administrator For both classes, each participant receives a student kit which includes: Digium TDM411B Analog card (1 FXO port + 1 FXS port) Polycom SoundPoint IP 330 SIP Phone Asterisk Tote Bag Asterisk T-shirt Asterisk SWAG Kit Calculator, pen, mouse pad, etc. Attendees can sign up each training course at the Digium|Asterisk World Web site: www.digiumasteriskworld.com.

 

FreedomVOICE Improves Outlook Integration for FreedomIQ Hosted PBX

FreedomVOICE Systems released their FreedomIQ Dialer, a new and improved contact dialing add-in for Microsoft Outlook. This add-in is compatible with their FreedomIQ hosted VoIP PBX and provides users with an easy way to reach contacts without having to dial a phone number. What differentiates FreedomIQ Dialer from many other contact dialing add-ins is the ability to automatically connect with a wireless headset. Users with such headsets can select the number to dial and immediately hear the outbound call being placed. FreedomIQ Dialer is being made available to all existing FreedomIQ subscribers at no added charge.

 

Report: VoIP Sector Analysis

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "VoIP Sector Analysis Report" report to their offering. Once viewed as a novel, only glibly "game-changing" technology, VoIP has since gone mainstream. Residential and business VoIP subscriptions and product sales are now out-pacing their circuit-switched counterparts by nearly 90% year over year. This trend not only reflects the growing demand for VoIP and VoIP-related services, but also expresses consumer confidence in telephony's newest iteration. Our VoIP Sector Analysis Report is a crucial piece of business intelligence, exploring every segment of the industry. New entrants are developing ever more innovative networks and software applications; not only to meet end-user demands for better products and more reliable service, but to bridge the ever-broadening migration landscape - as legacy networks washed away by a wave of IP-based alternatives. As a result, the sector continues its expansion and remains far from settled. You should purchase this report if you: Need to understand the sector from a strategic perspective Are identifying and evaluating M&A and investment opportunities Need critical insights for your decision making in this sector Want to benchmark your company's progress against the sector's Need to develop a deep understanding of the sector as well as its market drivers impacting it Key Topics Covered: The State of the VoIP Sector Forecasts, Projections and Outlook Key Market Drivers and Strategic Trends Indepth Discussions of the Latest VoIP Technologies Critical Data and Analysis on this Dynamic Sector

 

Verizon Hub Touch Screen Home Phone Available on Feb. 1

In a dynamic move sure to rattle devotees of plain old home phones, Verizon Wireless will introduce the new Verizon Hub on Feb. 1. Only Verizon Wireless can launch a new touch screen home phone system designed to replace old-style home phones with a souped-up home communications system, bridging wireline and wireless connectivity in one simple service, that runs on any broadband connection – whether supplied by Verizon FiOS Internet or DSL or any other high-speed service provider. Families with active lifestyles and virtually anyone who wants to stay current and connected need a tool that helps manage their communications, contacts and calendars simply and smartly – all from one easy screen. The Verizon Hub is poised to help pave the way for people to stay in touch and up to date with the information they need to navigate their increasingly busy days and nights. The Verizon Hub uses your existing broadband connection, and it's quick to get it up and running. It will work with any open broadband connection from virtually any broadband provider – telecommunications or cable – anywhere in the United States. Out of the box, the Verizon Hub will have all the calling features users expect from the most advanced home phones, plus visual voicemail and robust contact list management. Verizon Wireless has also added exciting messaging options, including text message calendar alerts and audible turn-by-turn directions delivered to Verizon Wireless phones from the Verizon Hub – with just a few simple taps on the screen. Information will be at a family's fingertips, literally from an easy-to-navigate touch screen with clear icons on the Verizon Hub. Families will start and end their days with nuggets of customized information from the Verizon Hub: Check local traffic and weather in the morning before leaving the house Update your calendar and automatically receive a text when an appointment changes or as a reminder not to be late Get directions to the new site when the location for soccer practice is moved Find the number of the new pizza parlor to order a pie Preview the trailers from an upcoming movie that you might want to take the family to over the weekend, then purchase tickets using the Verizon Hub Families on the go can access all the information and functionality of the Verizon Hub remotely from a companion Web site, even adding calendar entries for family members and inputting new contacts from the Web site. The home-based Verizon Hub is instantly updated. Verizon Wireless customers who bring the Verizon Hub into their homes can connect to popular applications including VZ Navigator and Chaperone, as well as incorporate their wireless devices through text, picture and video messaging between wireless phones and the Verizon Hub. New and exciting V CAST content will also be available on the Verizon Hub, and when not in use, the Verizon Hub doubles as a digital picture frame displaying all of your favorite photos.

 

Sigma Systems to Lead Panel at SCTE Canadian Summit

Sigma Systems will play an active role in the SCTE Canadian Summit in Toronto from February 3-4 at Toronto Congress Centre. Sigma will lead a panel discussion, and conduct live demonstrations of its solutions for Hosted Business VoIP and Advanced Video. Sigma Systems is dedicated to helping operators deliver advanced IP service bundles, including voice over IP, digital video and high-speed data, for business and residential users. "In today's challenging economic climate, it is more important than ever that operators expand their portfolio service offerings, while also continuing to add value for consumers," said Preston Gilmer, vice president of Product Marketing for Sigma Systems. "Having a trusted industry solutions partner like Sigma enables MSOs to implement business transformation projects quickly in order to manage all services on a single platform and to create high-value service bundles." During the SCTE Canadian Summit, Gilmer will lead a panel discussion on "Improving the Customer's Quality of Experience" on Feb. 3 at 10:30 a.m. Also participating on the panel are Brian Capellani, CTO of Sigma Systems; Jürgen Hatheier, Senior Director of Product Line Management for ARRIS; and Alan Quayle, CEO of Alan Quayle Business and Service Development. Sigma leads the industry in VoIP provisioning and activation and management of advanced video services. SCTE Canadian Summit attendees can view live demos of Sigma's award-winning Hosted Commercial Voice and Advanced Video solutions. Sigma's Hosted Commercial Voice solution was recently named Product of the Year by Internet Telephony magazine. Also on display will be Sigma's Subscriber Information Service for Advanced Advertising, which adheres to the SCTE 130 standard.

 

fring Launches Last.fm Add-on

fring announces the launch of the Last.fm music radio add-on, the first in a new series of groundbreaking developments designed to enable friends to share experiences, connect and enhance their communities together on fring's award-winning mobile community and communication platform. Millions of fringsters will now be able to launch fring's specially mobile-optimised version of Last.fm inside the fring client, enabling them to tune and listen to streamed music radio channels, including their own Last.fm library, tag favourites or ban disliked tracks, view album artwork and take their Last.fm music account mobile. But the real magic lies in fring's ability to mash it's existing social and communication capabilities into the Last.fm music experience; friends are able to view in real-time what each other are currently listening to, via a dynamic, media-rich friends list embedded into the Last.fm add-on. They can share the music experience together and connect with each other via fring's inherent communication services such as instant messaging chat via Skype, MSN Messenger, GoogleTalk, Yahoo!, AIM and ICQ, from inside the Last.fm add-on experience. And, in common with fring's core functionality, the Last.fm add-on is able to run in the background, continuously serving new music tracks from Last.fm's service and sensing changes in both the listening and presence status of friends to provide rich, real-time info and displays about your Last.fm community. Based on this principle and fring's belief in openness, fring's API, released last year and available at http://developers.fring.com, provides the tools for any third party developer to create an add-on of its own. The Last.fm add-on is the newest in a range of fring Experience projects currently in development, which include a number of third party-branded add-ons which will be brought to market during 2009.

 

InPhonex VoIP Service Selects Acme Packet to Enhance Offerings

Acme Packet announces that InPhonex has chosen the Net-Net 9200 session border controller to help expand its subscriber base and further enhance its service offerings. An existing Acme Packet customer, InPhonex currently services approximately 200,000 direct VoIP subscribers and plans to exceed one million subscribers by the end of calendar year 2009. In addition to its retail business, InPhonex markets its services through a worldwide network of more than three thousand resellers under the VARPhonex brand. InPhonex's business and residential subscribers are able to place VoIP calls to over 140 countries, choosing from a growing portfolio of fixed and variable rate service plans. To support its recent and forecasted growth, InPhonex has chosen Acme Packet's Net-Net 9200 platform, citing four primary factors: Media capacity – A single Net-Net 9200 SBC supports up to 128,000 media sessions, which InPhonex believes will be necessary to support the incremental VoIP traffic generated as the result of the subscriber growth it is forecasting. High availability – The Net-Net 9200 provides 100% hardware redundancy in-chassis with check-pointing of signaling, media and configuration state for no loss of service. Security – InPhonex was particularly concerned with protecting its service infrastructure against Denial of Service attacks, which are potentially catastrophic to revenue-producing VoIP services. The Net-Net 9200 incorporates Acme Packet's Net-SAFE architecture, providing InPhonex with the necessary protection against service outages and/or loss of revenue caused by malicious or even non-malicious attacks. Service reach maximization – The Net-Net 9200's ability to adapt to a wide range of devices through capabilities such as transcoding, transrating and telephone number and DTMF manipulation was critical to InPhonex. They also required a platform that could provide highly scalable hosted NAT traversal along with significant amounts of signaling protocol translations and fix-ups.

 

Broadvox Launches ''SIP Trunking as You Are'' IP Man Adventure!

Broadvox launched a new IP Man adventure at www.IPManAdventures.com. This is #5 in the series of IP Man Adventure stories about the Broadvox superhero; this one features AudioCodes. In this episode, a SMB somewhere in North America is feeling the crunch of the recession and wants to transition to SIP Trunking saving them up to 70% of their telecom costs. Their technician is unable to find a solution to the high cost of telecom because their equipment is not IP-enabled and there is no budget to purchase a new PBX. The company is doomed and locked into high cost TDM service and equipment! Just when everything seems hopeless, IP Man and Metoo reveal how companies can enable SIP Trunking with legacy PBXs using the AudioCodes Mediant 1000 Gateway. Visit www.ipmanadventures.com and enjoy IP Man's exploits. Find games, comic strips, videos and maybe even learn a thing or two! Visit the shield room on IP Man's website to read more about IP communications fundamentals and stay tuned because there are more IP adventures on the way!

 

TalkSwitch TS-850i DECT 6.0 Phone

TalkSwitch announces the availability of its TS-850i high-performance cordless DECT phone. The feature-rich TS-850i provides the ability to break away from the desktop while retaining full TalkSwitch IP-PBX phone system functionality. The TS-850i sports a sleek design and sturdy construction. It's ideal for warehouses, retail stores, manufacturing facilities, teleworkers and any small business user on the move. It uses SIP for standards-based VoIP connectivity and also works with a landline. A TS-850i extension can be located anywhere in a home or office without a nearby phone jack. The TS-850i boasts superior sound quality, a high-quality speakerphone and 8 hours talk time or 240 hours standby time per charge. Its range is up to 1000 feet outside and 150 feet inside. Additional features and benefits of the TS-850i include: auto-detection and configuration of the handsets, multiple handset per base capability (with up to three simultaneous calls per base) and excellent clarity. Using DECT 6.0 technology, the TS-850i is less expensive and easier to deploy than comparable WiFi sets, and bases can be located anywhere on the LAN for maximum coverage in the office. The TS-850i is also loaded with the functionality that small business customers demand from their business phones, like caller ID, backlit color display, message waiting light, 6 levels of ringer volume, adjustable key sounds, call log for incoming, outgoing and missed calls, 170-entry phone book, speed dial, and much more. The complete TS-850i set, base plus handset, is MSRP$299 and extra handsets with chargers are MSRP$149 each. Each base supports a maximum of 8 handsets and you can use up to 5 bases per location. The TalkSwitch TS-850i requires a TalkSwitch VS or CA/CVA phone system running system software 6.11 or higher. TalkSwitch system software is available for free download at http://www.talkswitch.com/us/en/support/software/.

 

Mark Collier Looks into his Crystal Ball, VoIP Security Trends and Predictions for 2009

Mark Collier, a leading telephony and VoIP security scientist, author, and blogger, announces the release of his "VoIP Security Trends and Predictions for 2009." The latest edition of Collier's annual prognostications was posted today to his popular VoIP security blog at www.voipsecurityblog.com, alongside a "2008 VoIP Security Year in Review" companion discussion posted on January 13, 2009. Collier is CTO and VP of engineering of SecureLogix Corporation, an enterprise telephony security, optimization, and management company. In summarizing his predictions, Collier noted "the poor economy will slow the adoption rate for VoIP and Unified Communications, and the rate of pure VoIP attacks will be basically the same as in 2008. Denial of Service, including floods, fuzzing, etc., will continue to be the biggest vulnerability for VoIP/UC deployments, though attacks will not be very common. However, I think the real voice security story through 2009 will be the continued increase in the types, frequency, and severity of application-level attacks against traditional and VoIP/UC voice systems, such as toll fraud, data network penetrations via modems, phone-based social engineering and identity theft, fax spam, and harassing or threatening calls." Collier added that "a larger transition to VoIP/SIP trunking at the enterprise network edge is the real lynchpin that will escalate the number and frequency of pure VoIP attacks in the future. While I think we'll see a small increase in the adoption of SIP trunks in 2009, most enterprises will continue to use T1 or ISDN/PRI trunks for off-campus calls, thereby keeping VoIP security threats as largely an internal network risk or concern."

 

Digium and Braxtel Announce Software Partnership

Braxtel Communications has become a Digium Software Partner. As a partner, Braxtel will be able to offer its powerful open source Contact Q contact center solution to small- to mid-sized businesses via Digium's extensive base of channel partners. Braxtel created the Contact Q contact center software by building on experience gained from developing its established offering, the Fluency Communications Suite. In addition to world-class contact center software, Braxtel delivers installation and support services to its business partners worldwide. The company has over 12 years of experience implementing automated call distributor, interactive voice response, call recording and dialer applications and has long worked with traditional PBX vendors such as Avaya, Cisco and Nortel. Digium is the creator and driving force behind Asterisk, the open source voice communications software deployed by millions of servers worldwide to manage VoIP calls for businesses and individuals. More resellers, telecom professionals and software developers choose Digium's products than those of any other open source telephony company because only Digium delivers the technical superiority, security and flexibility associated with Asterisk. Asterisk powers Digium's family of software and hardware appliances, including AsteriskNOW, Asterisk Business Edition and Switchvox.

 

Learn About the Enterprise VOIP Equipment Market

Reportlinker announces that a new market research report, "Enterprise VOIP Equipment Market 2008-2011". VoIP is the routing of voice conversations over the Internet or through any other IP-based network. Equipment used for the deployment of VoIP services are referred to as Enterprise VoIP Equipment, which typically includes enterprise IP PBX/KTS Equipment, VoIP access points and gateways, VoIP adapters, VoIP Phones etc. The primary factors driving enterprises to deploy Enterprise VoIP Equipment in their core enterprise network systems are cost savings on long distance calls (through the use of toll bypass), ability to integrate with existing business applications, ease of use/manageability and flexibility, and relatively reduced operational costs in comparison to legacy equipment. The report forecasts the market size of Enterprise VoIP Equipment Market over the period 2008-2011. Further, the total market is segmented into various geographic regions and verticals. The report also presents market size for major countries in various regions. In addition, the report identifies key selling drivers for the Enterprise VoIP Equipment Market solutions for major verticals. This report can help IT vendors identify target geographies and verticals. Further, the sales drivers can be used to penetrate the identified vertical or increase the current share of the customer's wallet.

 

Raketu VoIP Calls Up to 65% Savings Over Skype

Raketu announces Raketu calling at rates at up to 65% lower than Skype, perfect for consumers and businesses alike. Raketu provides the most flexibility of calling with computer to computer, computer to phone, and phone to phone calls. Raketu users can even make calls directly from any browser, without a download, or from any SIP device connected to Raketu. And it's all available using Raketu's calling plans or at Raketu's ultra-low rates all from any device, anywhere in the world, mobile or desktop/laptop. Raketu's Rates and Plans Raketu also has 3 calling plans: $2.95 for 1000 minutes to our free calling zones, $4.45 for 1500 minutes to our free calling zones, and $9.95 for unlimited calling to our free calling zones. Raketu's free calling zones include locations in over 46 countries around the world. Plans are valid for 1 month from activation, and are subject to the Raketu Fair Use Policy. There are no hidden costs or additional connection charges.