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Category: voip

  • Vonage Mobile App Provides Free Wi-Fi / 3G Calling For Facebook Users Worldwide

    Vonage has just introduced the Vonage Mobile application for Facebook, a new service that allows users to make free mobile calls to all of their Facebook friends who have the app, anywhere in the world, directly from their friends list.

    The downloadable application is free to get and free to use. According to Vonage, the new service enhances the ability to connect with Facebook friends through the addition of voice calling.

    It is available for iPhone, iPod touch and Android devices and works over Wi-Fi and 3G /4G networks in most countries.

    “The new service is easy to use,” says Vonage. The app works with a user’s existing community of Facebook friends, so there’s no need to remember screen names or to input numbers. The application eliminates dialing – users can just click on a friend and start talking. When placing a call, the friend’s profile picture and status update display on the screen.

    "The Vonage Mobile app for Facebook is a tangible example of our commitment to deliver extraordinary value and a better communications experience for individuals and their social networks, across broadband-enabled devices, around the world," said Marc Lefar, Chief Executive Officer of Vonage.

    "This is just the start. In the future we will expand on this service to include a wide range of integrated voice and messaging services that change the way people communicate," he added.

    The application can be downloaded from the Android Market in 48 countries and from the iTunes Store in 87 countries. Users who don’t have an unlimited data plan should check with their carrier to see if any charges apply.

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  • Global Crossing Launches Telepresence Solution

    Global Crossing has announced it is launching an immersive telepresence solution and collaboration tools for high-quality virtual meetings with Teliris.

    The solution is provided on Global Crossing’s Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS)–based global Virtual Private Network (VPN) and tier-one global public Internet network, “ensuring a reliable and secure connection for this premiere video communication technology.”

    According to the companies, through these innovative collaboration tools, “customers will experience enhanced decision-making, reduced travel costs, lower carbon footprints and increased productivity.”

    “From single screen personal solutions to fully custom engineered meeting environments, Global Crossing’s telepresence solution is easy to use, schedule and initiate, and is fully interoperable with other telepresence systems and traditional videoconferencing services,” as the company claims.

    As an added benefit, customers using Global Crossing’s telepresence solution will be able to video stream telepresence meetings through ON24’s Webcast Center platform that delivers HQ video.

    According to Gartner, the global market for telepresence systems endpoints is projected to grow at a compounded annual rate of 25.7 percent between 2008 and 2013.

    Global Crossing has informed that the volume of its collaboration services grew by 13 percent in the first half of 2010 compared to the first half of 2009. Increased usage was driven in large part by the rising cost of energy, business travel restrictions and other global economic factors, the company said.

    "Our telepresence offer represents a milestone in our collaboration portfolio," said Dave Carey, Global Crossing’s chief marketing officer. "Customers around the world continue to demand a wide range of collaboration tools to conduct meetings without boundaries. This new capability transforms the video conference into a true-to-life interactive experience, leading to better global communications."

    Marc Trachtenberg, Teliris CEO and co-founder, said: "We are thrilled to extend our market-leading immersive telepresence and collaboration experience to Global Crossing and its customers. This partnership is the latest example of how Teliris is providing companies around the world with maximum flexibility through a broad continuum of affordable telepresence solutions that wrap around any business requirement."

  • VoicePulse Announces SIP Trunking Interoperability with IPitomy PBX Products

    VoicePulse and IPitomy announced that they have successfully completed interoperability testing between SIP products and services. VoicePulse is now interoperable with IPitomy’s Pure IP PBX platform.

    IPitomy designs and manufactures IP telephony equipment for businesses. VoicePulse delivers SIP trunking, worldwide termination, origination, and phone service to residential and business customers.

    According to the companies, IPitomy’s PBX combined with VoicePulse’s SIP origination and termination services “create a complete phone solution for businesses of all sizes.”

    VoicePulse can now provide new customers using IPitomy’s IP PBX with official configuration guides when setting up VoicePulse VoIP services on their PBX. Businesses using IP PBXs such as Digium’s Asterisk, AsteriskNow, Fonality’s PBXtra, trixbox, FreePBX, FreeSwitch, Switchvox.

    “And now IPitomy can benefit from VoicePulse’s competitive international rates, toll-free services, and failover features all on a “Tier 1” back bone network,” as the company claims.

    “We are confident that with this new relationship, we will see an increase of resellers and new customers combining IPitomy’s IP PBX products with VoicePulse VoIP services,” said Monica Haley, Marketing Associate at VoicePulse.

    “IPitomy sets itself apart from its competitors by providing enhanced features beyond the typical key systems and PBXs of the past,” she added.

    Nick Branica, President and CEO of IPitomy, said: “IPitomy is happy to add VoicePulse to our growing list of qualified SIP providers. SIP providers are a very important component to the growth of the IP PBX market and VoicePulse adds value to our total overall product offering. Open Standards SIP based systems are all about choice.”

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  • Wananchi Takes Triple Play Services to the Next Level

    Wananchi Group, Africa’s provider of triple-play (broadband, multi-channel cable television and voice telephony) and VSAT (broadband data and internet) services, has signed a contract for the purchase of Cisco network technology solutions and services in East Africa.

    The agreement is supported by Cisco Capital, a subsidiary of Cisco Systems, specializing in providing financing solutions.

    Wananchi Group, currently the only triple-play operator in East Africa, will roll-out its new services in nine countries in the eastern African region – Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi, Ethiopia, Sudan and Zambia.

    According to the companies, the contract will also enable the Wananchi Group to deploy Cisco’s integrated end-to-end network technology solutions, encompassing Cisco’s Borderless Networks, Collaboration as well as Data Centre Virtualisation solutions, as their customer base expands and technology advances.

    Cisco has been selected as the Wananchi’s preferred supplier as the full end to end network solution provider encompassing the access technologies (fibre and cable), IP Core Infrastructure, Optical Transport up to Video Head-End, Data Centre and Multimedia Set Top Boxes.

    The companies also informed that under this agreement, they will provide “a number of innovative and competitive managed and hosted communications and collaboration services for residential, corporate and government sectors.”

    “The Wananchi Group’s key objective is to expand our portfolio, enhance our commercial proposition, revenues and reputation. Cisco will help us to continuously deliver the necessary technology enhancements to our infrastructure to service our ever growing customer needs and remain at the forefront of delivering new and innovative services to our customers,” said Mark Schneider, group chairman, the Wananchi Group.

    Paul Mountford, President for Cisco’s Emerging Markets, stated: “This agreement with Wananchi is significant for Cisco’s business in Africa because it demonstrates our strong business partnership and consultancy capabilities beyond just being an end-to end network solutions technology provider. This is becoming increasingly important for our customers in Africa where we are witnessing major developments in the information, communications and technology (ICT) landscape.”

  • VoIP Innovations Launches Canadian Origination

    VoIP Innovations, a provider of wholesale VoIP service, is introducing Canadian origination this week, giving customers the ability to receive calls, purchase DIDs, and port telephone numbers in Canada.

    The company plans further growth with Canadian termination coverage, with service in Puerto Rico and Hawaii to follow later this quarter, making for a complete North American service package.

    According to the VoIP Innovations, “customers will be able to enjoy a full array of domestic VoIP services from a single wholesale provider,” including origination, termination, local and toll-free number porting, and features such as CNAM and T.38 faxing.

    "Through our tremendous growth, it has become very clear who we are and who we want to be," says Jason Tapolci, Product Manager at VoIP Innovations. "We are a wholesale VoIP provider with an unparalleled aggregation model. Our goal is to become the premiere VoIP carrier in North America."

    The company now offers an origination footprint covering most of the United States and Canada. They have 7,500 rate centers and boasts a DID warehouse with over 110,000 numbers.

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  • IBBS to Acquire SinglePipe

    Integrated Broadband Services  (IBBS), a provider of managed communications services for cable companies, has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire SinglePipe, a provider of voice over IP solutions for cable.

    Combined under the IBBS brand, the company is said to offer “fully integrated voice and data solutions for cable companies that seek to expand their residential and commercial service offerings.”

    IBBS provides back office systems, technical support services and data and voice applications to cable operators.

    SinglePipe offers voice over IP- enabled communications through its owned and operated facilities-based network to cable companies throughout the United States.

    According to the companies, with the acquisition, IBBS will deliver “a fully integrated platform combining the industry’s leading back office systems and technical support services with a robust portfolio of voice and data services.”

    Supported by the proprietary Broadband Explorer (BBX) operational support system, IBBS will offer a single platform from which cable providers can launch and manage their services for residential and commercial customers. IBBS will back its services with its advanced Network Operations Center and 140-person U.S.-based Technical Support Center.

    The IBBS/SinglePipe deal is expected to satisfy cable operators’ demands on multiple fronts. According to IBBS’ 2010 annual customer survey, finding new revenue streams and creating additional service opportunities ranked as top priorities. Nearly 70 percent of customers polled seek new services and support to penetrate business markets. Forty percent of customers stated that tapping new revenue opportunities is a strategic priority, with commercial services and VoIP identified as top drivers for growth.

    “We have heard our customers loud and clear. They seek a single source of expertise to launch new services and accelerate bottom-line growth with a proven company they can trust. Our acquisition of SinglePipe and the addition of voice services to our portfolio will enhance our ability to support operators as they deploy voice and commercial services – two of the fastest growing opportunities in cable,” said Dave Keil, CEO of IBBS. “With the addition of a superior voice service, we are even better equipped to develop innovative solutions and to support operators in their quests to be market leaders.”

    “SinglePipe and IBBS have collaborated during the last two years to serve our common customers with individual expertise in voice and data,” said Jeff Carr, CEO of SinglePipe. “Now, with the combination of our companies, customers will be well-served with united capabilities and an innovative approach.”

  • TELES Adds Media Gateway to Portfolio via New Tech Partner NewGrid

    TELES, the Berlin based Next Generation Networks and Access Gateway vendor, has announced its technology partnership with Korean converged network solutions provider NewGrid for their carrier-grade, low-power-footprint, and high density media gateway.

    As part of the TELES NGN Solution, the NewGrid Compact Media Gateway will serve as a scalable and reliable building block for carriers and providers looking to deploy high-density, high availability VoIP systems.

    According to the companies, combined with the TELES C4 softswitch and its extensive and comprehensive standards of protocol conformity, providers can expect “smooth and seamless” integration with the media gateway thanks to the rigorous interoperability tests conducted successfully prior to the agreement.

    The Compact Media Gateway offers either 16 or 32 E1s or an STM-1, provides carrier-grade reliability, and complies with industry standard protocols (MEGACO, SIGTRAN, etc.) Its compact size is also an important factor, with lower power consumption requirements and less rack space required, it combines with the TELES NGN solution to reduce not just costs, but also environmental impact and carbon footprint, as the companies claim.

    TELES C4 Softswitch meets all carrier-grade requirements including full component redundancy, multi-protocol support, and five-nines availability. TELES says that the C4 Softswitch is “one of the most highly scalable solutions available” – suitable for small and large-scale configurations alike, offers cutting edge performance, and is ideally suited to high peak loads and short call duration value-added services.

    NewGrid’s Marketing director, J.S. Park, is confident that the partnership with TELES will be very productive: “We are really impressed with the TELES solution, and it was clear to us from the beginning, that our Compact Media Gateway would fit nicely into their solution. The broad flexibility the TELES C4 softswitch with its proven outstanding reliability makes it the perfect match for our Compact Media Gateway.”

    TELES Product Marketing Director, Thomas Haydn, is strongly encouraged by the new technology partnership: “Our partnership with NewGrid, and the inclusion of their excellent Compact Media Gateway alongside a TELES NGN softswitch, will see our carrier and provider customers benefit from a major increase in its price-performance ratio in addition to improved services for growing traffic. NewGrid’s media gateway only takes up a single unit of rack space, and together with our softswitch represents an ideal solution for conserving power and resources. It fits perfectly into the gap between the small and mid-sized media gateways in our NGN portfolio, so that we are now in an excellent position to meet the requirements of a whole host of scenarios.”

  • Skype for iPhone Now Supports Multitasking, No Charges for Calling Over 3G

    In May, Skype upgraded their iPhone app to allow users to make calls over 3G data connections. Yesterday, the company introduced a new version of the app that now supports multitasking.

    This means users can receive Skype calls while other apps are running, even when the iPhone is locked. And during a call, users can keep the conversation going while they switch to another task, such as checking a movie listing or reading an email.

    Skype has also updated the app’s graphics to support iPhone 4’s Retina Display.

    “At Skype, we believe that better call quality and better availability (which is achieved with an app capable of multitasking and/or making calls over 3G) lead to increased call frequency and longer calls. We also believe that the mobile world is in a period of significant change, for example, with some operators starting to move to tiered pricing models,” said Peter Parkes on Skype’s blog.

    In light of that, Skype no longer have plans to charge a supplement to make calls over 3G. “We’re delighted to make it easier for you to talk for even longer and do even more together using Skype,” a post reads.

    Skype’s multitasking requires iOS 4 and an iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, or a third-generation iPod touch.

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  • Click & Call Advertising with Skype Now Available

    Skype has expanded its pay-for-call offerings for advertisers: Click & Call Advertising with Skype supported by Marchex, is an advertising program which provides an “efficient and measureable” way to acquire new customers by using Skype to drive inbound calls.

    Skype is launching this offering for the first time in the U.S., Canada and Western Europe through a partnership with Marchex, a call advertising company, which will help manage, operate and sell Click & Call Advertising with Skype.

    Participating advertisers can have their phone numbers highlighted with a blue Free Call button anywhere online their numbers are displayed. When the button is clicked, the Skype software launches and the call is connected – at no cost to the caller.

    Advertisers pay for qualified inbound calls via Skype on a pay-for-call basis. Call volumes are tracked by Marchex so advertisers can monitor the results of their campaign and also view detailed call analytics.

    Click & Call Advertising relies on a user having Skype software installed on their PC and Skype’s browser plug-in which is downloaded automatically in Skype for Windows 4.0 or later. The service is currently not available on Mac or mobile versions of Skype software.

    Skype has informed that Click & Call Advertising commences with an initial group of customers, including agencies like Razorfish, national advertisers like DISH Network and Extra Space Storage, and channel partners like PRIMEDIA.

    The company says the program is available to all advertisers, agencies and marketing services providers, including companies that have a large number of local and/or national business advertising customers, such as Yellow Pages companies, Certified Marketing Representatives (CMRs), independent local advertising services providers, direct marketing providers and newspapers.

    “Working together with Marchex, our objective for Click & Call Advertising is to deliver a performance advertising tool that turns the Web surfing behavior of Skype users into calls to advertisers,” said Andy Sims, Skype’s director of advertising.

    “Businesses will now have the opportunity to acquire potential new customers by using Skype in a highly efficient and measureable way. The experience is also beneficial for Skype users because it’s fast, convenient and the calls are free,” he added.

    How it Works

    There are four steps to the program:

    1. Advertisers agree to pay a fixed amount per call, along with a budget. Rates are determined based on advertiser categories.
    2. Users with Skype software installed on their PC and Skype’s browser plug-in enabled see participating advertiser phone numbers graphically highlighted as a blue “Free Call” button across the entire web.
    3. Users who see the blue “Free Call” button respond by placing calls to the advertiser by clicking on the “Free Call” icon.
    4. Advertisers pay only for completed phone calls.

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  • XO Communications Debuts XO Enterprise SIP Savings Estimator

    XO Communications has released a new Savings Estimator tool that gives enterprises the ability to calculate an approximate cost-savings benefit of utilizing XO Enterprise SIP.

    According to XO, designed specifically for multi-location enterprises, the XO Enterprise SIP enables customers to “simplify, streamline and achieve better cost savings by transforming their distributed voice network architecture to a more centralized and cost-effective VoIP solution.”

    The Savings Estimator tool provides a snapshot of potential savings by factoring in the number of employees, network locations and intra-company long distance calls. The tool also takes into consideration the multiple cost-savings benefits of XO Enterprise SIP, including increased network management efficiency and lowered operating costs as a result of reducing equipment, local voice trunks, long distance and multiple voice and data network charges.

    “Now, more than ever, companies need to allocate their IT and network budgets as strategically as possible while still maintaining the highest standards of network quality and performance,” said Mike Toplisek, chief marketing officer for XO Business Services at XO Communications.

    “This new Savings Estimator is an innovative tool that will enable enterprises to quickly and easily assess the potential cost-savings impact that XO Enterprise SIP can have on their bottom line,” he added.

    XO Enterprise SIP

    The XO Enterprise SIP enables customers to utilize a centralized IP-PBX architecture in key locations and deliver VoIP services to branch locations across an existing wide area network (WAN) or using the XO MPLS IP-VPN solution.

    According to the company, utilizing XO Enterprise SIP customers can achieve a number of benefits including:
    • Lower Total Cost of Ownership by using a single or fewer IP-PBXs to support all locations;
    • Reduced Operating Costs by not having to maintain costly PRI facilities or local voice trunks at each location, and eliminating the operating expense of managing separate voice and data networks;
    • Greater Flexibility by allowing locations to burst above their normal call capacity and sharing idle voice trunk capacity from other locations across the enterprise;
    • Increased Efficiency in network management through simplified and converged network operations, significantly less effort to connect new locations to the public switched telephone network;
    • Business Continuity with redundant Enterprise SIP connections and the ability to automatically re-route calls to alternate locations;
    • Extensive Nationwide Availability of XO VoIP services in all 50 states and more than 2,700 cities.

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