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  • Intelecom Launches CoIP Handset Combo


    Intelecom has announced that it has obtained the rights to sell the 1World1Phone mobile phone.

    The VoIP communications provider will sell the handset separately as well as a package with the 1Button to Wi-Fi adapter.

    The latter is a consumer located, VoIP switching device developed by WorldTel Xchange that enables both fixed VoIP (Home phone) and cellular VoIP (CoIP) wireless calling for the individual and commercial enterprise consumer.

    Intelecom said the new phone is 3G, Quad Band compatible and has dual SIM cards and it functions like two phones with an unlocked GSM.

    It also features a removable back so that the batteries can be changed for longer usage when charging facilities are not available.

    1World1Phone is compatible with all the 36 carriers operating in the US. It can also work with all GSM carriers worldwide.

    The phone has a memory of 2 Gigs and the device is capable of supporting 4 Gigs, 8Gigs or16Gigs memory cards. The company plans to sell memory cards and also SIM cards suitable for 130 countries.

    Earlier this year, Intelecom entered into a strategic alliance with WorldTel Xchange which developed the 1Button to Wi-Fi COIP (Cellular Over Internet Protocol) technology which allows it to sell the product.

    It can be used on any cell phone, PDA, BlackBerry or Apple’s iPhone to convert it into a Wi-Fi phone for covering large areas.

    Customers will be entitled to five hours of international calling which comes with the adapter.

    Intelecom also announced its entry into the Web 2.0 and social network arenas by launching a fully monetized green social platform called My Social Income or MSI, where up to 50 per cent of the advertising revenue and the profits received from the sale of its 1 Button to Wi-Fi COIP, 1World 1Phone, Web 2.0 communications and marketing suites will be shared with all its members.

  • Cost Savings Drive SMBs To IP Telephony


    Small to medium-sized businesses primarily shift to VoIP services because of the cost savings they offer.

    That’s the conclusion of a new report from Infonetics Research, which also points to powerful features as a secondary motive for SMBs to switch to IP telephony.

    It cites the fact that the growth of SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) trunking is outpacing other VoIP services as evidence of the importance of price in enterprises’ decision-making.

    The report found that global VoIP services grew 33 per cent in 2008 to USD $30.8 billion. The researchers include hosted VoIP, hosted UC (unified communications), integrated IP access, managed IP PBXes, residential VoIP, SIP trunking and other types of IP voice access in its definition of VoIP services.

    They found that while business VoIP services represented only 31 per cent of the total, they grew faster than residential services during the year.

    Managed IP PBX, hosted IP PBX and hosted UC services accounted for three-fourths of the business VoIP total.

    Diane Myers, directing analyst at Infonetics, said demand for residential and business VoIP services continues to grow through the economic downturn because of the cost savings they provide.
    She said that as a result, in 2008 the VoIP services market had healthy growth of 33 per cent to USD $30.8 billion.

    "For the first 3 months of 2009, service providers experienced an average of 40-50 per cent year-over-year growth for IP Centrex, indicating the demand for outsourcing and managed solutions remains healthy," she said.

    "We expect hosted UC services to take off, with worldwide revenue doubling between 2009 and 2013, and we forecast SIP trunking service revenue to hit an 89 per cent compound annual growth rate from 2008 to 2013."

    Other highlights of the report include:

    • NTT, France Telecom, and Comcast took the lead as the world’s largest VoIP service providers in 2008
    • Deregulation plays a significant role in the adoption of VoIP in some countries, such as France, where it costs only USD $0.02 per minute for fixed-to-fixed line calls worldwide, making PC-based services such as Skype irrelevant
    • Residential VoIP growth in Central and Latin America has grown stronger in the past year, particularly in Brazil where Embratel ended 2008 with 1.8 million subscribers to its NetFone service
    • In 2008, there were 106 million residential VoIP subscribers worldwide, the majority in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) and Asia Pacific, where competitive operators and incumbent carriers are in an aggressive battle for subscribers

  • Microsoft Includes VoIP Ban in App Store Restrictions


    Microsoft is to ban apps that enable VoIP services over carriers’ networks from its Windows MarketPlace for Mobile store when it launches in the second half of this year.

    The VoIP app restriction is among the 12 application types forbidden in a list of "rules" announced by Microsoft.

    Earlier this week, a Gartner report forecast that traditional network-based mobile carriers face the real prospect of losing a major slice of their voice traffic and revenue to new non-infrastructure players that use VoIP.

    While the Microsoft ban is limited to VoIP services it is unclear whether developers will be able to offer VoIP apps using Wi-Fi.

    That will not be known for sure until the store is up and running with apps.

    InformationWeek points out, however, that Skype already works over 3G on Windows Mobile phones.

    It suggests the ban on them must be a concession that the carriers wrung out of Microsoft in return for carrier billing.

    Other prohibited apps include those larger than 10MB, those that promote or send users to alternative app stores for the same application, and ones that change the default browser, search client or media player on the device.

  • Virgin Tests 200Mb Broadband, Plans To Boost HD Channels


    Virgin Media has just begun a broadband customer pilot to test real-world deployment of 200 Mbps speeds – making it the fastest implementation of Docsis 3.0 technology in the world.

    Services offered in Japan and the US currently reach 160 Mbps and 101 Mbps respectively.

    Through the pilot, Virgin Media will be testing applications consumers may be using regularly in the future, including entertainment services using HD and 3D TV and broadband content.

    Virgin said the pilot will be running for at least six months before results are analysed to understand potential consumer usage and to assess the commercial viability of such ultrafast services.

    A significant part of the pilot will also involve assessing related in-home technologies.

    In a separate announcement, the UK digital cable TV operator said it plans to add up to five new HD channels this year to keep pace with growing demand for high-def programming.

    Virgin Media, which just announced first quarter net losses of GBP £154m, said it is in discussions with a number of HD programmers.

    Currently the operator only carries a single linear high definition service, BBC HD, but offers further HD content solely on an on-demand basis.

    It has added 270 hours of HD material to its VOD system.

    Virgin said that 611,900 customers – 17 per cent of its digital TV subscriber base – currently take the V+ high definition PVR. This is up from 521,500 at the end of December.

    The need to beef up its HD content should be a priority.

    Virgin rival, BSkyB, last week announced it added 80,000 net new subs for its Jan-Mar trading and saw HD premium subscribers to its 32-channels of HDTV pass the 1m mark.

    Virgin Media’s total revenue in Q1 2009 was down to GBP £935.7m, compared with GBP £948.5m for the same period a year earlier. Its net loss widened to GBP £154m, from £104m.

    In its first quarter results announcement, Virgin said: "We are working to ensure our TV service stays ahead of changes in consumer behaviour.

    "We expect to increase our High Definition content steadily to complement our existing linear and on-demand line-up.

    "We are currently negotiating with several broadcasters with a view to launching at least five new HD channels in the third quarter of 2009."

  • Vudu Extends Content To 3rd Party Hardware


    Vudu is to make its 14,000-plus movie library available on Entone set-top boxes and DVRs.

    The deal is the first time Vudu’s content, including around 1,500 HD movies, has been made available on third-party hardware.

    Entone supplies set-top hardware to smaller regional US telco video providers, many of whom have limited or non-existent video-on-demand offerings.

    Users of Entone units will only require a software upgrade to add the entire functionality of the Vudu BX100, including on-demand access to HD and HDX movies.

    While Vudu has cut the price of its entry-level box to USD $149, the possibilities offered by extending its pay-per-view content to a much wider audience are huge.

    By moving from being a box manufacturer to a service provider, Vudu could extend itself into network-enabled consumer electronics.

    This would allow it to join the likes of Netflix and Amazon Video-on-Demand as a supported feature in everything from HDTVs and Blu-ray players to home theater systems and game consoles.

    Entone said Vudu-compatible Entone set-top boxes are expected to get the software upgrade sometime this summer.

    It should include all the features available on the existing Vudu hardware, including the Vudu Labs features that include access to YouTube and Flickr.

  • Mass Adoption of Web-to-TV Video Will Be "Rapid"


    Millions of viewers already watch Internet video on their TVs but that number is set to climb dramatically, according to In-Stat.

    It forecasts that by 2013 web-to-TV video streaming services will drive nearly USD $3 billion in revenue.

    The under-35 adult population in the US has already adopted Web-to-TV video capability, with over 40 per cent viewing Internet video on the TV at least once per month.

    But within five years, the number of US broadband households viewing Web-to-TV content will grow to 24 million.

    Recent research from the Consumer Electronics Association showed that nearly half of prospective TV buyers in the US intend to purchase an Internet-ready TV in the next year.

    Keith Nissen, In-Stat analyst, said that once Web-to-TV video becomes simple and convenient, mass consumer adoption will follow quite rapidly.

    "Our primary research shows that users want a variety of their consumer devices to enable a web-to-TV video experience," he said.

    Other In-Stat findings include:

    • Already, 29 per cent of US 25-34 year olds with game consoles use the devices to watch streaming video off the Internet
    • In five years, there will be 7.4 million US broadband households that use media center PCs for streaming Web-to-TV content.
    • TV networks and pay TV operators currently view online TV as additive to pay TV services, but Web-to-TV will ultimately force a complete restructuring of today’s video services.
    • Video content will be optimized for broadcast or Web-to-TV based on content type

  • Customised Mobile Banking Key To Future Success

    Lukasz Michalkiewicz, from smartphone software developer eLeader, tells smartphone.biz-news about developments in mobile banking and the importance of tailoring applications to mobile platforms.

    The Polish company has developed the first mobile banking solution customised for specific mobile operating systems.

    Polish software developer eLeader isn’t the first to realise that the mobile world’s different operating systems make it advisable to develop applications tailored to each platform.

    It is, however, the first to develop a mobile banking solution that actually does just that. The user interface of its MobileBanking platform has been designed specifically for smartphones with Symbian, Windows Mobile and Blackberry operating systems.

    The solution has just been deployed by Raiffeisen Bank Polska SA, a subsidiary of Raiffeisen International – making it the first time a tailored mobile banking app has been used in Europe.

    While the development hasn’t exactly sent shock-waves around the mobile world, it does point to the growing acceptance and increasing adoption of mobile banking.

    In the US, the majority of the major banks now offer mobile services, including Bank of America Corp., which has signed up 2.4 million mobile banking subscribers.

    It also highlights the importance of paying attention to user experience when devising potentially complex mobile applications.

    Mobile is Different

    Lukasz Michalkiewicz, account manager with eLeader, told smartphone.biz-news that too often developments for the mobile are treated in the same way as for the PC.

    He said the variations in operating systems, user interfaces, internet browsers, screens and methods of data entry all had to be taken into account.

    "In the PC world there is a dominant operating system and browsers, but in the mobile world it’s different," he said.

    "A really intuitive mobile experience comes from applications tailored to all the different operating systems, browsers and so on.

    "We see that as the way to ensure an intuitive and truly user-friendly mobile experience."

    eLeader plans to roll the solution out to the iPhone in the next few months.

    m-Banking’s Extended Functionality

    As well as improving the UI, the application gives users to access to services, such as being able to contact their financial adviser directly.

    Michalkiewicz said Raiffeisen Bank’s VIP Mobile mobile banking solution extends the scope of m-banking to include advanced functionalities once only found in internet banking applications.

    He said it allows the bank’s customers to conduct the full range of common financial operations via their mobile handset in a very intuitive way.

    "Everything you can do on your PC, you can do on your mobile," he said. "But functionality is extended because with a mobile you can do it anywhere."

    Raiffeisen Bank is a part of Raiffeisen International, a banking group operating in 17 markets of the Central and Eastern European region (CEE) and with 14.6 million customers.

    Mariusz Glinski, head of electronic banking at the bank, said it has developed its mobile channel over many years, initially offering simple SIM-based software and later Java-based applications.

    He said that if m-banking is to be taken seriously then it has to be accepted that the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to mobile applications will only go so far in today’s market.

    "To create truly usable applications we must take into account the characteristics of each type of mobile device," he said.

    "This is the only way to provide successful solutions which consumers really want to use on their handsets."

    It certainly seems as though mobile banking is moving towards wider acceptance and uptake. Please let us know your thoughts on the technology and available solutions.

  • Mobile VoIP Huge Challenge For Mobile Operators


    Traditional network-based mobile carriers face the real prospect of losing a major slice of their voice traffic and revenue to new non-infrastructure players that use VoIP.

    This could mean that within 10 years, more than 50 per cent of mobile voice traffic will be carried using end-to-end VoIP, according to Gartner.

    Its says that the threat posed by mobile portal VoIP is likely to have a huge and direct impact on the USD $692.6 billion global mobile voice market.

    If that all seems a little bleak for mobile operators, there are some bright spots.

    Gartner suggest that despite the significant potential for mobile VoIP, conditions for the rapid expansion in its use are not yet right.

    What’s more, the analysts reckon they aren’t likely to be so for at least five years – and perhaps not for as much as eight years.

    Tole Hart, research director at Gartner, said that mass-scale adoption of end-to-end mobile VoIP calling will not happen until fourth-generation (4G) networks are fully implemented in 2017.

    But he said that once the basic market conditions are in place, transition to mobile portal VoIP should be fairly rapid because of the inherent convenience and end-user cost savings.

    "In 10 years time we expect that 30 per cent of mobile voice traffic will be carried out through third-party mobile portals, such as Google, Facebook, MySpace and Yahoo, which will adopt wireless VoIP service as a voice option to their current communications hub," he said.

    A number of third parties, such as Skype, Truphone and fring, which carry VoIP traffic using a mobile phone, have cropped up in the past couple of years.

    These offer access to voice services via Wi-Fi and/or the carriers’ wireless voice networks.

    This has been the most efficient way to offer the service to date because of the inconsistencies of voice services over third-generation (3G) data networks.

    However, with the advent of 4G networks (WiMAX and Long Term Evolution [LTE]), and increased use of smartphones with open operating systems, Gartner says that it is conceivable, perhaps even inevitable, that wireless voice services will be run completely over VoIP.

    "Ten years from now, more than half of mobile voice traffic will be carried end-to-end using VoIP," said Akshay Sharma, research director at Gartner.

    "Carriers will adopt voice services because of the increased capacity and reduced cost of delivering voice over 4G networks.

    "Third parties will adopt a voice option for their communications hub."

    The Gartner analysts warn that there will also be a number of factors that will inhibit the adoption of third-party, end-to-end VoIP services.

    These include:

    • the delay in rolling out 4G networks because of current economic conditions
    • the general plan to put 4G only in the main cities and build out from there

    Nevertheless, they conclude that in five to 10 years time, as 4G networks become common, mobile VoIP services will have a strong impact on the communications market.

    Competing with mobile portal VoIP will be wireless carriers that offer circuit and VoIP voice and data services, and resellers and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) that also offer services off the carrier networks.

    Gartner expects this opening of the VoIP channels to spawn a number of voice services from companies that offer voice services to communities using voice as a communications link.

    This means that the biggest competitors to mobile VoIP may be text messaging and e-mail, as people may prefer to use these types of communication because of their non-intrusive, less emotional and less time-consuming nature.

    Although the impact of the technology shift will be gradual as 4G networks roll out, Gartner advises carriers to start thinking now about how the transition will occur and how they might cooperate and partner with other types of service providers.

    It suggests that third-party providers, such as Google and Yahoo, should look to offer voice services today using the carriers’ networks and Wi-Fi to leverage their portfolio of services.
    Mobile social communities, such as Facebook and MySpace, which benefit from messaging traffic as it keeps eyeballs on their sites, should also have a voice option.

  • Blackberry Curve Overtakes iPhone To Be Q1 Best-Seller


    Helped in no small part by aggressive promotions, RIM’s Blackberry Curve became the best-selling US smartphone in the first quarter of 2009 – overtaking Apple’s iPhone.

    The Curve’s popularity helped increase RIM’s consumer smartphone market share by 15 per cent over the previous quarter to almost 50 per cent, according to market research firm NPD.

    Apple’s iPhone – the previous top-seller – and Palm each saw their market share slip by 10 per cent during the three-month period ended March.

    NPD’s director of industry analysis, Ross Rubin, attributed the changes to an aggressive "buy-one-get-one" promotion by Verizon Wireless.

    "The more familiar, and less expensive, Curve benefited from these giveaways and was able to leapfrog the iPhone, due to its broader availability on the four major US national carriers," he said.

    The promotion also helped RIM secure two additional top five positions.

    In the third slot was the BlackBerry Storm, and the fourth was made up of all BlackBerry Pearl handsets with the exception of flip models.

    T-Mobile’s G1 handset running Google’s open Android software was the fifth most popular smartphone during the quarter.

    Based on US consumer sales of smartphone handsets in NPD’s Smartphone Market Update report, the first-quarter 2009 ranking of the top-five best-selling smartphones is as follows:

    1. RIM BlackBerry Curve (all 83XX models)
    2. Apple iPhone 3G (all models)
    3. RIM BlackBerry Storm
    4. RIM BlackBerry Pearl (all models, except flip)
    5. T-Mobile G1

    Smartphones, which represented just 17 per cent of handset sales volume in Q1 2008, now make up 23 per cent of sales.

    Rubin said this showed that even in a challenging economy, consumers are migrating toward Web-capable handsets and their supporting data plans to access more information and entertainment on the go.

  • Verbatim Launches Encrypted Products at Infosecurity


    Verbatim has introduced its new range of hardware encrypted USB drives, solid state drives (SSD) portable drives and software encrypted DVD discs at this year’s Infosecurity Show.

    The storage media specialist said its new products will be aimed at anyone carrying sensitive material since the encryption prevents unauthorised accessing of the contents of the storage device.

    Hans Christoph Kaiser, business development manager for Flash Memory, Verbatim EUMEA, said: "There have been many embarrassing instances in recent years of USB drives or other storage products being mislaid or lost, and the confidential data contained within them compromised."

    "It is crucial that confidential information remains confidential, especially if it falls into the wrong hands.

    "Encrypted storage devices have become an essential part of life to huge numbers of people who need to keep their sensitive data private, this includes government officials, hospital staff and lawyers to name just a few.

    "Verbatim offers a comprehensive range that provides a solution to any storage problem requiring confidentiality."

    The new range includes:

    • Executive Secure USB Drive – with a 256-bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) hardware encryption coupled with integrated password protection
    • ExpressCard SSD Secure – Verbatim is launching a range of Secure SSD ExpressCards that guarantee the safety of the stored data if accidentally lost or mislaid
    • Encrypted Hard Disk Drive – Verbatim’s 128-bit hardware encrypted 2.5" hard disk drive offers real-time full disk encrypted storage without performance loss during data transfer
    • SecureSaveDVD – protects files for up to 100 years using AES 256-bit encryption