Business News Holding

Category: voip

  • SIP Print Enters UK With FSA-Compliant VoIP Call Recording Solutions


    SIP Print has announced the availability of its voice recording appliances for the UK financial services market. 

    The move marks the preliminary entry into the UK market for SIP Print. 

    creator of the first SIP-based VoIP call recording platform, its systems are fully compliant with the new call recording mandate set forth by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), including a future requirement to record calls originating from mobile phones. 

    According to the FSA policy statement, effective 6 March, 2009, all UK financial institutions must record and archive all telephone conversations and electronic communications relating to client transactions for a period of no less than six months. 

    The new regulations apply to any UK firms participating in the equity, bond and derivatives markets. 

    The FSA has applied an 18-month exemption for the recording of voice conversations from mobile phones and other handheld devices. 

    Don Palmer, CEO of SIP Print, said the need to record calls continues to increase, driven both by internal quality assurance programs and by regulatory compliance requirements. 

    SIP Print specialises in on-premise systems to record and store calls on VoIP systems. 

    "In the United States, the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) and Sarbanes-Oxley legislation have dictated the recording of certain phone calls by some businesses, and many other firms choose to record calls for internal compliance purposes or for training and customer services needs," he said. 

    "The new FSA regulations for the UK financial services community are yet another example of the trend towards increased regulatory oversight and improved corporate security and protection."

  • HD Communications Launches All-in-one Data Port


    HD Communications has unveiled a new In-Wall Wi-Fi, Data, VoIP, and PoE device. 

    The HD27000 is an all-in-one device designed specifically for hotels, motels and the enterprise market. 

    Don Davis, president and CEO, said these types of enterprises needed good Wi-Fi, a wired ethernet connection, and the ability to plug in a VoIP phone as well as power it. 

    He said the HD27000 is a small, PoE-powered 802.11b/g access point that is IEEE 802.3af PoE-compliant and is designed for locations wired or planning to wire for Category5/Cat5e/Cat6 cable. 

    The HD27000 offers up to four SSID, so customers can set up both public and private networks. The device also has an RJ45 jack on the front that is PoE (IEEE 802.3af-compliant) that can power a VoIP phone or just provide a data port to the location. 

    It also has the latest in security available. 

    "The HD27000 is a result of over two years of working with customers with our earlier in-wall product, the HD24613," said Davis. 

    HD Communications has enjoyed healthy growth in the broadband wireless arena over the past few years, more than doubling its sales in 2008.

  • Digium Adds New US Features To Latest Version of Switchvox IP PBX


    Digium has introduced a new version of Switchvox SMB, its IP PBX designed for small- to mid-sized businesses (SMBs). 

    Switchvox’s web-aware capabilities allow its integration with web and back-office applications, effectively turning the phone system into a unified communications (UC) platform. 

    Switchvox SMB 4.0 adds various UC capabilities, including support for fax, chat and video calling, which the company says improve users’ productivity and efficiency. 

    Josh Stephens, general manager of Digium’s San Diego operations and a co-creator of Switchvox, said the IP PBX has always leveraged web technologies more than other competing products. 

    He said they had integrated Switchvox with Google maps and web-based CRM software such as Salesforce and SugarCRM. 

    "We’ve also provided easy-to-use APIs that enable businesses to quickly tie together their back-office software that they rely on day to day with their Switchvox IP PBX," he said. 

    "Now, support for instant messaging, fax and video calling, plus additional IVR functionality and a range of new benefits for administrators and users alike make Switchvox SMB 4.0 a truly web-aware UC solution." 

    To add to the appeal of the latest version of Switchvox SMB 4.0, it is available free of charge to customers with a current Switchvox SMB software subscription. 

    For new customers, Switchvox SMB USD $3,390 for a 10 user system, including hardware, software, a one-year subscription and warranty. 

    The entire line of Switchvox SMB appliances, the largest of which scales to serve 400 users, will be available from Digium and partners world-wide beginning on 3 March, 2009. 

    Danny Windham, CEO of Digium, said Switchvox is the first time that advanced unified communications features have been made available to SMBs that might not have big-company budgets. 

    He said these organisations are as reliant as anyone on their phones, e-mail, fax, chat and video and on the web to improve employee communications and efficiency. 

    "With Switchvox SMB 4.0, Digium brings all of these elements together and significantly integrates the business phone system with web applications in a way that we believe is unique today."

  • Verizon To Close VoiceWing VoIP Service


    Verizon is to shut its VoIP service VoiceWing on 31 March.

    Existing VoiceWing VoIP service customers have been contacted by Verizon Communications to inform them that it is withdrawing the offering from the end of March.

    The company does not report how many VoiceWing subscribers it has on its books.

    VoiceWing is likely to be replaced by a new venture, FiOS Digital Voice.

    Verizon recently launched ‘The Hub‘, a multifunction touch-screen home phone that connects to a broadband line.

    It also has plans to introduce a new VoIP package utilising its own fibre-optic connections.

    VoiceWing was launched five years ago by rebranding DeltaThree. It was set up to compete with Vonage.

    DeltaThree, which ran the back-end services for VoiceWing, has also been a victim of the times and has been running out of cash. It was recently delisted from Nasdaq.

  • SpiriTel wins EURO 1.1m VoIP contract


    SpiriTel has announced that it has won a network services and hosted VoIP contract with a major European hotel group.

    The business communications service provider said the value of the three year contract is expected to exceed £1 million.

    Under the terms of the agreement SpiriTel will provide integrated network services across all of the group’s UK estate of 21 hotels and its head office.

    The hosted VoIP solution is a managed service which includes the provision of teleworking facilities for field based staff.

    The deal is SpiriTel’s second significant cross sale contract win this month.

    Earlier this month, the Company signed an agreement with another international hotel group, under which SpiriTel replaced BT as the provider of a private UK voice network.

    The two deals take the total value of cross sales orders since the company’s April 2008 year end to over £3 million, according to a company statement.

    Alastair Mills, CEO of SpiriTel said: "I am delighted to have secured another significant contract win for SpiriTel which provides further evidence of the viability of our integrated model in a challenging economic climate."

  • Snom To Reveal First Touchscreen VoIP Handset


    Snom Technology is to unveil the world’s first touchscreen VoIP handset at this year’s CeBIT tradeshow.

    Called the snom 870, the German VoIP telephone maker said the device has an intuitive drag-and-drop interface.

    This allows users to easily connect calls and set up telephone conferences.

    The latter are set up by dragging and dropping the button icons of contacts onto the relevant area of the display.

    Snom will also be exhibiting its entire VoIP product suite at CeBIT, which runs from 3-8 March in Hannover.

    This includes the MeetingPoint model, snom’s first VoIP conference handset.

  • eBay To Sell Skype?


    Skype’s future as an eBay company is looking increasingly unsure as speculation mounts over its possible sale.

    eBay’s chief executive, John Donahoe, has done nothing to ease expectations of a sell-off. Last week he told analysts that "synergies between Skype and the other parts of our portfolio are minimal" and that it is "a great standalone business".

    This follows his comments early last year when he said the company would be reassessed and sold if it did not benefit eBay or Skype.

    Analysts point to the lack of a logical integration between the telephony service and the auction site.

    Names being touted as potential buyers, include Google, which has shown interest in Skype in the past, and US telecoms giants AT&T and Verizon.

    eBay purchased Skype for USD $2.6bn purchase of Skype in 2005.

    In the auction company’s financial results for the last quarter of 2008, revenue fell 7 per cent to USD $2.04bn, below market expectations.

    Skype has seen revenues rise by 26 per cent.

    Skype is also said to be preparing new applications for its VoIP software which could be introduced at next month’s Mobile World Congress in Spain.

    These are expected to involve a dedicated application for Apple’s iPhone, a similar app for the BlackBerry Storm and via an update to Windows Mobile 6.5 itself.

    This month, the company introduced Skype lite, a no-frills client meant for Android-powered devices and the many mobile phones that are capable of running Java applications.

  • Final Chance to Nominate VoIP Person/Product Of The Year


    The new year is firmly underway and time is running out for submitting your nominations and votes for voip.biz-news’ 2008 Man and Product of the Year awards.

    But with voting expected to be close in both award categories there’s plenty of opportunity for latecomers to make their mark.

    In the product section, submissions can be made for any product launched in 2008 that has particularily impressed.

    Among the leading contenders in this category are Ifbyphone, HelloSoft, ShoreTel and Cypress Communications.

    Described as an "innovative telephone application platform" Ifbyphone is praised for the introduction of its "innovative new data mash-up, which links phone call data to web-based ad information".

    Fans of HelloSoft particularily highlight the company’s move from desktops to mobile handsets and the potential that offers.

    ShoreTel is picked out for showing it "can stand up to the big boys and dominate". Readers have no doubt this is a growing company people are going to hear a lot more about.

    Eli Katz, CEO XConnect

    Equally, Cypress Communications is praised for its hosted and managed IP Telephony solutions, which are "unmatched by any within the VoIP industry today".

    For Person of the Year, XConnect’s founder and CEO, Eli Katz, is vying with Peter Dietrich, CEO of Mobivox, for the honor.

    They may be favorites but don’t let it stop you putting forward other contenders.

    But please don’t delay – we need your product or person nominations before the end of January.

  • Truphone Anywhere Launches on Android G1


    Truphone has announced its Truphone Anywhere application is now available for Android-enabled mobile handsets.

    The offering coincides with T-Mobile’s announcement earlier this week that the G1 mobile phone is be rolled out into various continental European markets.

    A German version of Truphone Anywhere for Android is being made available and will be the first native language multi-communications application in the Android Market in Germany and Austria when it launches at CeBIT in March.

    The application is available now as a download on the Android Market in the UK and the US.

    The company says Truphone Anywhere for Android delivers an all-in-one conversations hub that offers customers low international call rates, in addition to the cost of a local call.

    Truphone customers can also Instant Message their friends across a variety of networks including MSN, Yahoo!, Google Talk and Twitter from within one Android application.

    Users can acces 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.

    The launch means that Truphone is now available on Android, the Apple iPhone, the Apple iPod touch, Blackberry and Nokia devices.

  • VoIP Phones Help Polycom To $ 1.1 Billion Revenue Record


    Polycom has announced record revenues of USD $1.1bn for 2008.

    The company said VoIP phones continued to be one of its fastest growing product lines in 2008, as customers put out dollars to implement a "money saving solution".

    Robert Hagerty, Polycom’s president and CEO, said the revenue figure represented growth of 50 per cent for the full year and generated a record USD $165 million of positive operating cash flow.

    He highlighted Polycom’s line of desktop VoIP phones as "one of Polycom’s fastest growing product lines".

    "Driven by the significant ROI typically achieved through a transition to Voice over IP, many customers are allocating budgets to deploy this money saving solution," he said.

    "With Polycom’s IP telephones customers are enjoying HD voice and a level of features and functionality that we believe is unparalleled in the market."

    Hagerty said that,as with Polycom’s conference phones, they had a broad array of strategic partnership including Microsoft, Digium, AT&T and Telstra.

    He said the sales cycle had lengthened and budget priorities sometimes moved to video collaboration.

    "However, we are pleased with the market gains we’ve made in Voice over IP and expect to leverage our Microsoft and other go-to-market relationships in 2009."