Business News Holding

Category: voip

  • The Future Of HD VoIP Is Video


    HD VoIP is rapidly gaining followers but the possibilities for excellent sound quality aren’t its only benefits.

    Jeffery Rodman, Polycom co-founder and CTO of the Voice Division, believes that video will quickly become a "must-have" feature of HD voice technology.

    In an interview on HD VoIP with smithonvoip he said the proliferation of HD calling was being driven by people’s need to communicate effectively.

    But as it became more mainstream the benefits of adding video to the mix would become glaringly apparent.

    "Because it’s an IP network, video is coming sooner than anyone thinks," he said.

    "It’s interesting how that works; seems like video might just be a frill, but when you actually see and use it, there’s a part of you that leaps forward and thinks ‘that’s what I’ve been missing’.”

    Rodman said virtually everything listened to today, from FM radio and CD’s, to television and even oven timers, is already wideband audio.

    The phone – a critical tool in business – had become the last holdout of poor audio.

    He said once people heard about HD Voice, they discover that it’s a simple, robust, and economical enhancement of the system they already have.

    "More and more VoIP telephones are including HD Voice in their basic function sets because it adds value and helps efficiency without significantly affecting cost," he said.

  • Ifbyphone Secures $4.6 Million in New Round of Funding


    Times may be tough but Ifbyphone has defied the apparent drought in venture capital funding and secured USD $4.6 million in a second round of institutional funding.

    The capital infusion for the hosted telephone application platform company was jointly led by Apex Venture Partners and Origin Ventures, who also invested in Ifbyphone’s first round of institutional funding.

    They were joined by three other venture capital firms:Spring Mill Venture Partners, i2A and Blue Crest Capital Finance, L.P.

    Irv Shapiro, Ifbyphone founder and CEO, said the new round of funding was a strong endorsement of the company’s growth and expansion strategy.

    Ifbyphone provides small and medium-sized businesses with telephony features that enable them to create phone solutions.

    “It positions us extremely well to continue our expansion during these complex economic times,” he said.

    Ken Green, co-founder and managing partner at Spring Mill Venture Partners, said he believed Ifbyphone represented the next great wave of Internet-enabled business services.

    He said it allowed small and medium-sized businesses access to capabilities previously only available to their larger competitors.

    "This kind of service offers an opportunity to level the competitive playing field,” he said.

  • Skype Launches Computer-free Videophone


    ASUS has launched the first Skype certified videophone allowing unlimited video calling over the Internet.

    The AiGuru SV1, part of the Eee Phone product family, has a 7" display and a built-in webcam, speaker and microphone.

    WiFi-capable, the videophone lets users make unlimited video calls for free to other Skype users without the need for a computer.

    The AiGuru SV1 is Skype’s first foray with a partner into the videophone category.

    But with more than 25 per cent of Skype-to-Skype calls including video, it would seem like a logical step.

    Designed to be simple to use, the AiGuru SV1 has an icon-based interface and intuitive button layout which should make it easy for anyone to make and receive Skype-to-Skype video and voice calls.

    Users can also join voice conferences, which could make the videophone attractive as an all-in-one voice and video conferencing solution for small businesses.

    The AiGuru SV1 also allows users to make and receive calls to and from fixed and mobile lines at cheap rates.

    Priced at USD $299.95, the ASUS AiGuru SV1 is now available in North America from Skype’s online shop, and will be available from ASUS authorized resellers later this year.

    Consumers in Europe can pre-order the videophone from Skype’s shop, priced at €269.95/£219.95, with shipment beginning next week.

    The videophone will also be available in retail outlets in Asia Pacific later this year.

  • EU Investigating Mobile Operators Blocking VoIP


    An inquiry has been launched by the European Union into whether blocks on VoIP service by Europe’s mobile phone operators are in breach of competition laws.

    The EU’s antitrust authority has written to every mobile phone operators how they deal with internet based voice calls.

    The deadline for responding to the letter was Wednesday.

    Several phone operators have clauses in their contracts which either block VoIP services over their 3G networks, or exclude VoIP traffic from monthly data bundles included with the tariffs.

    Some operators have also tried to block the VoIP over Wi-Fi capabilities in some handsets.

    Last year, VoIP provider, TruePhone threatened to sue Vodafone after the operator was alleged to be blocking calls over its VoIP network.

  • World's First WiMax/GSM Mobile Supports VoIP


    HTC has announced the launch of the MAX 4G, the first dual-mode WiMax/GSM Windows Mobile device.

    Undoubtedly the best specced WinMo device so far, calls between MAX 4Gs will automatically be routed over the WiMAX airwaves using VoIP.

    Initially only being released in Russia by mobile WiMAX operator Scartel, which operates under the brand name Yota, the Max 4G supports GSM calls using a Sim card from any Russian network operator.

    When both callers are Yota subscribers, the call will automatically be routed as a VoIP call over the Yota mobile WiMAX network.

    The Yota phone service includes functions such as call holding, conference calling and video calling using the VGA camera on the front of the device.

    The handset features 8GB internal flash memory, a 3.8-inch 800×480 WVGA touch-screen display , TV out capability, a 3.5-mm headphones jack, integrated GPS, 5 megapixel camera, Windows Mobile 6.1 and HTC’s proprietary Touch Flo 3D user interface.

    The basic Yota Home package will provide access to online games, maps, messaging and file exchange applications while on the move.

    Users will also be able to view online films, video and TV programmes.

    With Yota Video, a full video-on-demand service, users can watch their favourite movies and videos from their personal Yota catalogue on the handset.

    Yota TV broadcasts 14 free channels, while Yota Music offers an online music catalogue of over 50,000 titles.

    Yota Yap-yap allows contacts to be synchronised and edited through the web, and video clips and phones data uploaded to yota.ru. Images taken with the camera can be geo-tagged using coordinates from the integrated GPS.

  • Voxbone Offers Internet's First Global 'Country Code'


    Voxbone has announced iNum, a global telephone number that enables anyone to establish a local presence anywhere in the world.

    An abbreviation of international numbers, iNums use the new ‘country code’ +883 created by the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) to let VoIP users anywhere in the world receive calls using standard phone numbers.

    Initially, the calls will mainly connect users of different VoIP services.

    Eventually, callers will be able to dial iNums directly from traditional phone lines in any location.

    Rodrigue Ullens, CEO and co-founder of Voxbone, said iNum was a new kind of phone number for a new kind of world that was about local presence and global relationships, not about distance or national borders.

    "We believe the new geography is defined by the markets, customers and vendors that businesses need to connect with most," he said.

    "We need ‘local’ communication with these people—whether calls originate on public-switched or VoIP networks, whether they are truly local or ‘virtually’ local."

    Ullens said the ITU approved Voxbone’s testing of iNum in June 2007.

    It began testing +883 numbers in remote networks then began a preview with several service providers, Jajah, Mobivox, Gizmo5, Ribbit, iotum, Rebtel, Voipbuster, Voxeo and Voipuser.

    Among wholesale voice carriers, Arbinet, Belgacom ICS, Level 3 Communications and Stealth’s Voice Peering Fabric are already routing +883 calls today.

    Since recognizing the new country code requires an update to the switch routing tables of all wholesalers, international carriers and retail providers, +883 calls must traverse participating carriers’ networks to connect.

    A list of all such carriers and their rates for iNum connection appears on the www.inum.net site.

    To create a number with “local” PSTN access around the world, Voxbone worked with the ITU to establish the 883 country code, in the same way that 44 is the country code that refers internationally to the United Kingdom and 1 to the United States.

    Voxbone provides iNum numbers for free to carriers and service providers, Ullens said.

    As the number wholesaler, Voxbone will receive calls to these numbers and deliver them to the appropriate service provider. In this way, it connects incoming calls from PSTN callers as well as calls between different VoIP islands.

    Some iNum participating carriers will resell iNum numbers to their customers so they can receive calls; other participants will merely route (terminate) calls to the new numbers.

    Most participating carriers will even deliver calls to iNum numbers free of charge to their users, effectively providing free connectivity between their network and remote networks.

    “Customers and prospects who see an advertised iNum telephone number that costs little or nothing to dial will be just as inclined to call an international business as they would any business physically located nearby or in-country,” said Ullens.

    “We see iNum encouraging more people to call globally, enabling business subscribers to have wider interactions with callers from new markets,” he added. “For carriers, iNum will increase call minutes and generate additional revenue through innovative global services.”

    Ullens described iNum as a natural extension of Voxbone’s role as an online DID (direct-inward-dial) warehouse.

  • Want VoIP Calls On Your Bluetooth Headset?


    Callpod has launched a "plug-and-play" Bluetooth device that connects with a headset or headphones to provide streaming music and voice over a 100 meter (328ft) range.

    Called the Drone, it plugs into the USB port of a computer and audio is routed automatically.

    When a VoIP call comes in, Drone switches over to the call automatically.

    The Drone works with all Bluetooth headsets and headphones, supports all major VoIP platforms and is Mac and PC compatible.

    It will retail for USD $49.99.

    Performance details:

    • 100-meter (Class-1) range
    • VoIP and music streaming to any Bluetooth headset or stereo headphones
    • Automatically pairs with your headset or headphones
    • Seamlessly switch between music and VoIP calls
    • No software installation – Plug and Play
    • Optional software install for advanced functions such as data transfer
    • Upgradeable firmware

  • JAJAH Available For T-Mobile G1


    JAJAH has confirmed the availability of its service for owners of the newly released T-Mobile G1 Google Android phone.

    The announcement came as the IP communications company was named in the annual FierceVoIP "Fierce 15" list.

    Compiled by the editors of FierceVoIP, the list identifies the best-performing companies in the sector, following a review of hundreds of organizations.

    JAJAH has continued increasing its consumer business this year, while rolling out its JAJAH Managed Services platform for cable, telco and Internet companies.

    Earlier this year the company released its data-only EM-ONE ultra mobile device released in Japan, and JAJAH Babel, the world’s first free, real-time, English-Chinese translation phone-in service.

    Daniel Mattes, JAJAH’s co-founder, said its platform drives its own consumer business as well as many of the world’s most popular VoIP services, such as Yahoo! and Gizmo5.

    JAJAH’s is offering users of the G1 phone have a number of options for making a JAJAH call:

    • Option 1) JAJAH Mobile Web: On your mobile browser go to mobile.jajah.com, then type in the number you want to call or select the number in your JAJAH address book and your call will be connected. No WiFi or broadband connection required.
    • Option 2) JAJAH Direct: JAJAH provides a local number for each of your international contacts. Save these numbers to your G1 address book and dial them directly.

  • VoIP Solutions Used By Nearly Half of IT Firms


    Almost half of the IT organisations around the world have a VoIP network, according to a British Telecom study.

    BT’s survey of 267 global IT professionals showed that 48 per cent have a VoIP network at their work, up from 31 per cent in 2007.

    The UK telecoms company also found that a further 20 per cent are in the process of deploying VoIP solutions, with 71 per cent of these expected to be operational within two years.

    While most firms gradually replace their existing telephony systems with VoIP hardware, some install VoIP products or PBXs to replace ageing traditional PSTN systems.

    The survey found that the most important factors for firms considering a VoIP system are security, quality and reliability – a similar finding to surveys in 2005 and 2007.

    Demonstrating the ROI of moving from a PSTN system to VoIP services was listed by the highest percentage of respondents (27%) as the biggest hurdle to adoption of VoIP systems.

    "Cost is a critical factor when building a VoIP business case, but other criteria must take higher precedence when evaluating various implementation strategies and solutions," BT noted in its report.

    "Make sure you understand what your top requirements are, be they network reliability, voice quality or security, before committing to a strategy."

  • DIGITALK Now Certified "XConnect-Ready"


    XConnect, the world’s largest provider of VoIP federation peering services, has announced that the DIGITALK SIP Application Server has been certified XConnect-Ready.

    To obtain the certification the server had to complete interoperability testing based on SIP signaling and ENUM queries with XConnect Federations.

    Eli Katz, XConnect CEO, said the impact for customers would be to make VoIP federation-based routing quick, simple and easy.

    He said the certification ensures DIGITALK customers, such as Telfort, BT, and Cable & Wireless, will be able to rapidly connect to XConnect

    Peering Federations to reduce the costs of terminating VoIP calls to millions of telephone numbers in the XConnect registry.

    It will also protect their networks from spam-over-Internet-telephony (SPIT) attacks and reliably deliver new IP communications services across disparate and often separate mobile, wireline and IP based telephony networks.

    Justin Norris, managing director of DIGITALK, said the XConnect Ready certification is another way of ensuring that DIGITALK solutions enable integrated capabilities for the future.

    "The voice industry is moving towards Peering Federations that integrate peering and ENUM registry services to increase the efficiency of interconnection and routing, leverage new approaches to LNP, and deliver enhanced IP Communications services on more calls to their customers," he said.

    XConnect enables multi-media communication, reduces capex and opex and enhances call quality for service providers via its multi-lateral XConnect Alliance, DirectRoute and Private Federations services.

    XConnect Federations are carrier-neutral peering environments that deliver complete signaling interoperability, intelligent ENUM Registry services, and VoIP security for the interconnection of XConnect Members.

    These include voice over broadband providers, MSOs, and PTTs. The XConnect Ready Partner Program is an ecosystem of vendors and solution providers dedicated to facilitate service provider peering.