Business News Holding

Category: voip

  • Business World May Be Rocked By IP PBX – But Not Yet


    Industry hype surrounding unified communications (UC) may cause seismic shifts across the business world – but the changes could take up to a generation to impact.

    That’s the findings of a study by In-Stat into UC such as IP PBX and how they will make fundamental differences to how people work.

    David Lemelin, an analyst at the company, said: "Real transformational changes will take more time, perhaps even a generation, to accomplish.

    "But it’s possible that a new generation, dubbed ‘Millennials’, bringing to the workplace communications habits formed in their early years, portends more rapid adoption."

    The sorts of changes likely to be adopted at work include personal habits, like text messaging and social networking.

    The study also dealt with suggestions that around 50 per cent of enterprises are either evaluating, installing or already running UC applications.

    In-Stat said the claims about UC uptake could prove accurate because definitions of UC are so wide-ranging, including both instant messaging and IP PBX.

    A survey in June by Interactive Intelligence found that 87 per cent of businesses were planning on investing in UC, with VoIP and SIP driving the move.

  • EMCC Creates VoIP Engine For S60 Devices


    Mobile VoIP expert, EMCC Software, has developed a VoIP engine for Nokia’s S60 smartphone platform.

    Built-in VoIP capability has been absent from some of Nokia’s more recent models using S60.

    Garry Partington, CTO of EMCC, said this may present a significant barrier to companies wishing to create VoIP applications or provide VoIP services.

    “Our technical expertise and platform experience has enabled us to overcome a major hurdle that prevented effective deployment of a VoIP solution across the S60 platform which accounts for around 50 per cent of the smartphone market,” he said.

    “We were concerned that the uncertainty caused by the absence of such a solution on certain handsets may be a limiting factor for companies wishing to develop VoIP solutions.”

    EMCC’s cross-platform VoIP engine is capable of being installed on S60, Windows Mobile and other platforms that lack built-in VoIP capability.

    A fully functional engine, it does not rely on any of the in-built handset capabilities and can be deployed “Over the Air” (OTA).

  • Mobile Operator Extends Skype Calls To Landlines and Abroad


    From today, customers of mobile operator 3 in the UK and Ireland will be able to use their mobile phones to call landlines and mobiles abroad at low rates using Skype.

    The move applies to anyone using a Skype-enabled 3 mobile phone – including the 3 Skypephone range, Nokia N95 and Sony Ericsson C902.

    Access to Skype on 3 was already free and allowed Skype-to-Skype calls and Instant Messaging, regardless of the end user’s location.

    The new development now allows callers to get cheap Skype rates from their mobile phones to landlines and mobiles abroad.

    Scott Durchslag, COO of Skype, said the move was an industry first that allowed 3’s clients to use their mobiles to make calls regardless of where in the world they may be and what device they are using.

    Meanwhile, Skype’s desktop client continues its slow progress towards version 4.0 with a new beta release.

    The changes include system-tray alerts and drag-and-drop file transfer, as well as automatic grouping of contacts for those who have too many friends to manage manually.

    The move follows criticism from users after Skype issued the first beta of Skype 4.0 for Windows in June with radical design changes that put off some of the service’s over 300 million users.

  • SecureLogix Offers Free VoIP Security Tool


    SecureLogix Corporation has announced that its releasing a free suite of custom Voice-over-IP (VoIP) security assessment tools.

    Downloadable from the company’s Web site, the tools can be used to assess susceptibility to a wide variety of SIP threats, including Denial-of-Service (DoS) and Man-in-the-Middle attacks, eavesdropping, audio insertion and deletion, and even call teardown.

    Earlier versions of some of these tools, developed by Mark Collier, SecureLogix’s CTO and VP of engineering and R&D team member Mark O’Brien, were released along with publication of the book Hacking Exposed: VoIP, which Collier co-authored.

    Collier and his team have enhanced these tools and simplified their use.

    They have also developed a number of others while completing publicly funded research into current and future threats to VoIP systems, protocols and application services.

    These new VoIP security assessment tools compliment the company’s voice network security scanner that identifies modem vulnerabilities in traditional circuit-switched networks, also available for free download from the SecureLogix website.

    Almost all organizations deploying VoIP maintain a significant amount of legacy voice infrastructure, especially at the voice network edge where it connects to long distance service providers.

    The combination of these VoIP and legacy scanning tools provides a comprehensive approach to identifying critical voice security vulnerabilities across an organization’s entire mix of VoIP and legacy infrastructure and systems.

    Collier said this full voice network security approach was unique to SecureLogix.

  • Intel to help VoIP virtualisation


    New CPUs from Intel based on the upcoming Nehalem core architecture will improve VoIP virtualisation.

    The new processors will be targetted at the virtualisation and communications sectors, according to a report in Comms Dealer.

    Intel has released some new details of its upcoming CPU range, including its new Xeon 7400, claiming a 40 per cent performance in Hyper-V performance in VMWare tests.

    Virtualisation – running multiple operating systems on one server – can reduce the hardware footprint and increase power efficiency.

    However Comms Dealers said many IT managers are reluctant to virtualise business critical applications like VoIP and unified communications, citing reliability and performance concerns.

    It said the new processor family also includes significant improvements to instruction sets for handling multimedia.

    Intel claims that these will enable high definition video conferencing using the H.264 codec on laptops.

  • Europe's VoIP Services Growing Rapidly


    VoIP services in Europe are growing at a blistering pace and reshaping the fixed-line market, according to a report from TeleGeography.

    Consumer IP telephony subscribers reached 25.3 million at year-end 2007, up from 15 million in 2006, and only 6.5 million in 2005.

    As a result, revenues were projected to top USD $5.7 billion in 2008, up from USD $4.2 billion in 2007.

    Prices for triple play service in the US are approximately 70 per cent higher than in Europe, which accounts for VoIP adoption in Europe growing far faster than in the US.

    While customers continue to flock to VoIP services, market penetration in the 13 countries surveyed varies greatly.

    France leads the way in adoption of VoIP, as TeleGeography estimates that 42 per cent of the population has a VoIP line, while Spain’s VoIP uptake is only 2 per cent.

    All adoption statistics are based on fixed-line replacement VoIP installation, excluding VoIP soft clients like Skype.

    Skype has more subscribers in Europe than any individual provider of handset-based VoIP services, but the revenues and traffic volumes generated by Skype’s subscribers are lower and have a much smaller impact on incumbent’s revenues.

    Expect continued strong growth in VoIP revenue in Europe, as there are several large markets with low penetration currently, including Austria and Spain.

    TeleGeography’s European VoIP & Triple-Play Research Service is the authoritative source of data on consumer VoIP services and service providers in western Europe.

  • Security Boost to TiVi Phone Mobile VoIP Software


    Tilts Visiem (TiVi) says it will be offering an “unbreakable” level of caller authentication and voice and video encryption in its mobile VoIP software client "TiVi Phone" after linking up with Philip R Zimmermann’s Zfone Project.

    The newer versions of TiVi Phone have a Phil Zimmermann’s ZRTP software library built in upon a commercial licence agreement between Tilts Visiem and Zfone.

    TiVi said this meant users enjoyed better privacy when using the mobile version of the software.

    The SIP-based application is downloadable from TiVi.com and usable in a 3-day trial mode, however permanent activation of the encryption feature requires purchasing a software key.

    Ivo Kutts, CEO and co-founder of Tilts Visiem, said TiVi Phone bundled with ZRTP was unique for several reasons.

    • it’s inexpensive in comparison to all known alternatives and older technologies
    • it’s easy to install and run by any smartphone owner
    • it’s one of the first encrypting VoIP applications for mobile phones.

    Kutts said that, in addition, ZRTP cryptography offered the ultimate protection against eavesdropping and identity spoofing during a VoIP call.

    "Zfone is the leading light in today’s secure VoIP communications because its algorithms and source code – developed by Phil Zimmermann and his colleagues – are publicly available and open to peer review,” he said. “This contrasts with the unverifiable security claims by Skype."

    Tilts Visiem’s VoIP/messenger products first appeared on the international market in 2003 in the PC version.

    In 2006, the company added mobile VoIP clients for Symbian, Windows Mobile and Pocket PC platforms, already including free, IP-based video calling.

    The TiVi VoIP solutions, intended for next-generation networks, are sold to integrators and competitive carriers in Europe, Asia and North America.

    The ZRTP protocol has some cryptographic features lacking in many other approaches to VoIP encryption.

    Although it uses a public key algorithm, it avoids the complexity of a public key infrastructure (PKI).

    It uses ephemeral Diffie-Hellman, and allows the detection of man-in-the-middle (MiTM) attacks by displaying a short authentication string for the users to verbally compare over the phone.

    The TiVi team had been looking for an industry-leading cryptography solution for several years before it met PGP’s author Zimmermann at San Jose’s VON 2007 event.

    Specialists in proprietary and interoperable VoIP billing solutions and end-user software, they said they were particularly aware of the imminent switchover to internet telephony and the proportionally growing demand for secure VoIP communications.

    This meant that more and more businesses and individuals realise the need to protect their legitimate interests and privacy, since unencrypted voice or video calls transmitted over the public internet can be intercepted by a variety of third parties.

    Phil Zimmerman said that as users transitioned from traditional phones to VoIP, there was a dramatically increased risk of being wiretapped by just about anyone, including criminals who seem to have their way with the rest of the Internet today.

    “TiVi Phone can protect individuals, companies, and government officials from eavesdropping by criminals,” he said.

  • Skype For Asterisk Version Announced


    Skype and Digium, creator and primary developer of Asterisk, the open source telephony platform, have announced the beta version of Skype For Asterisk.

    The move will allow the integration of Skype functionality into Digium’s Asterisk software and enable customers to make, receive and transfer Skype calls from within their Asterisk phone systems.

    Stefan Öberg, vice president and general manager for Skype Telecom and Skype for Business, said: “Throughout our individual histories, Skype and Asterisk have each disrupted conventional communication methods through innovative, cost-effective solutions.

    “We are excited to be working together with Digium to offer small and mid-sized businesses an even more powerful communications solution to conduct business worldwide.”

    Specifically, the beta version of Skype For Asterisk is an add-on channel driver module that integrates Skype Internet calling with Asterisk-based telephony products.

    Skype For Asterisk also complements small and mid-sized business users’ existing services by providing low rates for calling landline and mobile phones around the world.

    Danny Windham, CEO of Digium, said: “Working together with Skype, our goal is to help businesses boost productivity and reap the rewards of feature-rich telephony software, all while saving a substantial amount of money.

    “The Skype For Asterisk beta program is a first step towards adding Skype capabilities to Asterisk-based phone systems and enabling them to reach more than 338 million Skype users.”

    The beta version of Skype For Asterisk will enable business users to:

    • Make, receive and transfer Skype calls from within Asterisk phone systems, using existing hardware.
    • Complement existing services with low Skype global rates (as low as 2.1US¢ per minute to more than 35 countries worldwide).
    • Save money on inbound calling solutions such as free click-to-call from a website, as well as receive inbound calling from the PSTN through Skype’s online numbers.
    • Manage Skype calls using Asterisk applications such as call routing, conferencing, phone menus and voicemail.

    Following the beta period when the product is released, Skype For Asterisk will be sold and distributed by Digium and its worldwide network of resellers.

  • Why Isn't VoIP Videoconferencing Taking Off?

    Voip.biz-news.com spoke to Huw Rees, VP of marketing and sales at Internet-based voice and video telephony company 8×8, to get his feedback on VoIP videoconferencing as a corporate communication tool.
    In these times of budget cuts and soaring travel costs, videoconferencing has been hailed as an effective means of communicating with far-flung employees and customers.

    Companies such as Cisco TelePresence, HP Halo and Lifesize have invested heavily in videoconferencing – or telepresence – technology and offer a range of HD products, some of which cost upwards USD $100,000.

    While these studio-type devices are beyond the range of small businesses, there are an increasing number of affordable desktop IP-based videoconferencing systems on the market.

    With early problems of video quality now overcome, VoIP videoconferencing products would seem to be an ideal corporate communication tool.

    Although more geared to two or three-way conference calls – rather than larger groups – they a provide clear, face-to-face visual link.
    Yet these easy to use, low-cost alternatives have still to catch on.

    Internet-based voice and video telephony company 8×8 introduced its videoconferencing solution, the Packet8 Virtual Office Tango Video Terminal Adapter (VTA), in January.

    However, Huw Rees, vice president of marketing and sales at 8×8, said so far it had not proved to be very popular.
    He said it had been adopted by around 5 per cent of subscribers.

    “It’s not really a runaway success,” he said. “Generally people do not use video to phone a lot of people.

    “They are still a bit unconfortable being in front of a camera rather than having a straight audio call.”

    Headquarted in Santa Clara, California, 8×8 is the second largest stand alone VoIP service provider in the US.

    Benefits Of  Videoconferencing?



    Rees said that, apart from in specific circumstances, business people didn’t see any benefit from using video.
    “We believe that will change, but we have been saying that for several years and haven’t seen it yet,” he said.

    Rees said that he remained to be convinced that even the expensive room systems with giant HD screens were realy going to catch on.

    “Presumably these companies have done their research but it will be interesting to see what happens,” he said.

    “There are certain circumstances where these set-ups work, such as when a business has two teams involved on a project in different parts of the country. But this is very specific.”

    Rees said the VTA, which has a built-in TFT LCD 5” display, has been adapted from an existing consumer product for its business customers.

    He said the main difference was that it was an extension on a PBX rather than being a stand-alone device.

    A phone is supplied with the package, with features such as call transferring built into it.

    Video Quality Not An Issue

    Joan Citelli, direct of corporate communications for 8×8, said video quality had been poor in the early days of IP-based videoconferencing but that was not the case today.

    “Quality is not an issue any longer,” she said. “Videoconferencing does seem to make a lot of sense and you would think that it would allow companies to cut down on commuting and travelling.

    “But it seems that seeing someone on a phone call is not a replacement for meeting and sitting down with them.”

    Have you used a desktop videoconferencing package? We would be interested to hear your comments on videoconferencing and whether it is going to catch on with small business users.

  • Skype accused of hypocrisy by Gizmo

    Skype’s Christopher Libertelli recently questioned the major US wireless carriers’ commitment to open networks.


    Today voip.biz-news.com has the response from Gizmo Project’s CEO, Michael Robertson, who accuses Skype of hypocrisy for wanting others to open their networks while refusing to open its own.

    Robertson has written to Libertelli challenging Skype to enable other networks such as Gizmo5 to call Skype users in an official and supported capacity.

    “Mr Libertelli, I recently saw your letter to FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin demanding that wireless companies open their networks.

    While I concur this would be beneficial for consumers, Skype’s actions do not mirror their words to the commission which diminishes credibility for Skype to demand openness.

    I am CEO of Gizmo5, a standards based VOIP and IM network. We invite other networks to connect to our users and currently route calls to and from more than 500 networks big and small on the Internet. We cannot route calls to Skype users in spite of the fact that consumers would like to do this because Skype has a closed network.

    The wireless companies you chastise in your letter to commissioner Martin allow me to send and receive calls to the networks they operate but Skype does not.

    Skype operates the largest closed calling network on the planet.

    We have requested peering information from Skype in the past on multiple occasions and our requests have been ignored. Skype continues to deny Gizmo5 and others in the internet calling world the information and access to allow calls to flow to and from your network.

    It appears that when it is convenient for Skype’s business objectives Skype waves the flag of openness, at the same time conveniently ignoring competitors requests for openness.

    It is disingenuous for Skype to demand mobile operators open their networks so that Skype can infiltrate their systems with their proprietary, closed calling scheme which locks out all others.

    If Skype truly believes there should be open competition then they should start by enabling other networks such as Gizmo5 to call Skype users in an official and supported capacity.

    Until you remove the padlock from your own front door you would seem to have no right to demand that others adopt an open door strategy.

    I’m open to discuss and implement an open peering relationship which will demonstrates Skype true commitment to open networks and make your actions match your words. Contact me anytime at [email protected] .”

    Michael Robertson
    MP3 Tunes – Your Music Everywhere
    Gizmo5 – IM/VOIP/SMS from PC and phone