Business News Holding

Category: voip

  • Intel PCs to wake up for VoIP phone calls

    A wake-up call for the PC: Intel-powered computers to snap out of sleep when you phone them

    Intel is unveiling new technology that will let computers wake up from their power-saving sleep state when they receive a phone call over the Internet.

    Current computers have to be fully “on” to receive a call, making them impractical and energy-wasters as replacements for the telephone.

    The new Intel component will let computers automatically return to a normal, full-powered state when a call comes in. The computer can activate its microphone and loudspeaker to alert the user, then connect the call.

    Trevor Healy, chief executive of Jajah, which will be the first Internet telephone company to utilize the feature, said: “This certainly helps the PC become a much better center of communications in the home.”

    Joe Van De Water, director of consumer product marketing for Intel , said the first Intel motherboards with the Remote Wake capability will be shipping in the next month.

    These components, which are at the heart of every computer, will most likely be used by smaller computer manufacturers. Bigger names like Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. use their own motherboard solutions, but Intel is working to supply them with the technology as well.

    The four initial Remote Wake motherboards will be for desktop computers and will need an Internet connection via Ethernet cable, as Wi-Fi doesn’t work in sleep mode.

    Van De Water said the computer will know to wake up only for calls from services to which the user has subscribed, so computer-waking prank calls should be impossible.

  • VoIP Service Revenue Up 52% in 2007

    Boom Expected to Continue

    Communications market research firm Infonetics Research reports that worldwide revenue from hosted VoIP and managed IP PBX services jumped 52 per cent to US$24 billion in 2007.

    This follows a rise of 66 per cent in 2006, and is expected to grow in the strong double-digits through at least 2011.

    Infonetics’ report shows that hosted VoIP services continue to outpace managed IP PBX services by far, with residential services fueling market growth.

    Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise voice and data at Infonetics Research, said that while VoIP services are being embraced by consumers worldwide, businesses have been comparatively slower in their adoption due to various roadblocks.

    However, he said this was about to change.

    “For example, many PBX manufacturers have already added SIP trunking interfaces to their equipment, and more recently, they’ve greatly expanded the list of certified service providers,” he said.

    “That’s going to fuel the growth in SIP trunking services. These kinds of developments will boost the overall VoIP business services segment for years to come.”

    Other highlights from the report:

    * The number of worldwide residential/SOHO VoIP subscribers grew 60 per cent between 2006 and 2007, to over 75 million, with the largest gains in North America and EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa), although Asia Pacific still leads

    * Asia Pacific, which had been leading the VoIP scene for a few years, is now neck and neck with EMEA and North America in 2007; EMEA will break away this year and lead the market at least through 2011

    * Business customer (vs. consumer) share of worldwide hosted VoIP service revenue will increase from 26 per cent in 2007 to 41 per cent in 2011

    * Comcast is North America’s largest consumer VoIP service provider, with 20 per cent subscriber market share, France Télécom leads in the EMEA region, Softbank leads in Asia Pacific, and Cableco and Vono Brazil are neck and neck in CALA

  • Wireless VoIP May Improve with New Wireless Standard

    802.11r officially published after four years in the works

    The IEEE standards body has officially published the Wi-Fi protocol 802.11r.

    It has been in the works since 2004 and was finally approved by the body earlier this year.

    The new protocol is designed to allow for quick roaming between access points while maintaining security.

    Handoffs between access points that used to take seconds (and result in dropped calls) can now take place in less than fifty milliseconds.

    This improves connections between multiple private networks but is particularly beneficial to Wireless VoIP.

    Many believe that the publication of this standard will increase the widespread use of VoIP-on-the-go.

    Other, however, say that the cost of deploying 802.11 routers will prevent 802.11r from being useful as anything but an enterprise solution.

  • Vyke Launches Consumer Expat Marketing Campaign

    Cricket legend Sourav Ganguly appointed as brand ambassador


    Vyke Communications, the mobile Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service provider, has announced the launch of its consumer marketing programme targeting the Asian expat communities.

    According to a recent national survey conducted by Vyke, expats spend more money on their mobile phones than they do on their food bills.

    With the desire to keep in touch with family and loved ones back home, texting internationally costs on average 25p per text, whereas, using Vyke’s FreeTxT application, costs are only 3p, or free if the recipient is also a Vyke user.

    The campaign is being supported by Indian cricket legend, Sourav Ganguly.

    The international sports star is frequently away from home on tour and finds technology such as Vyke’s VoIP help him to cost-effectively keep close to his family and friends.

    During a visit to the UK, Ganguly will be carrying out various media activities – web chats, radio and TV interviews discussing different ways of dealing with being away from your family, and demonstrating the benefits of Vyke’s service.

    Jan Berger, CMO, Vyke Communications said: “Our research clearly shows that 40 per cent of people from British ethnic communities keep in touch with their families back home by calls or text – an extremely costly habit to maintain. We are therefore very excited to launch this campaign.”

    As part of the programme, Vyke has launched an exclusive expat survival guide blog, www.vykehome.com, offering first-hand advice on coping with homesickness and adapting to life in the UK.

    Sourav himself will be writing a number of the blogs.

  • Multi-Service Business Gateway Market Growing


    The appeal of the multi-service business gateway (MSBG) in the US market continues to increase, reports In-Stat.

    A multiservice business gateway is a device that combines network voice and data communications services into a single box.

    It integrates critical functions into a single platform that supports routing, VPN, firewall, security, IDS/IPS, service-aware QoS, voice, and application processing.

    According to the high-tech market research firm that going forward the MSBG will be the means by which new IP communication technology and applications are adopted by small and medium-sized businesses and branch offices.

    The multi-service business gateway (MSBG) combines the functionality of a router, Ethernet switch, security firewall, VoIP gateway, and other appliances into a single, integrated device.

    Keith Nissen, In-Stat analyst, said: “The installation of new data communication equipment or replacement of data devices are the most common reasons for purchasing an MSBG.
    “However, the migration to VoIP technology is increasingly driving MSBG sales.”

    Recent research by In-Stat found the following:
    * 50+ per cent of all US businesses with greater than 20 employees have installed MSBG devices, according to an In-Stat survey of US IT and business managers employed by corporations that operate small, medium or branch offices.
    * 60 per cent of businesses favor MSBGs with integrated Wi-Fi technology.
    * Nearly 66 per cent of businesses prefer office-in-a-box devices.

  • Dutch VoIP market will reach 3.25m users by year-end


    The total Dutch consumer telephony market grew by almost 44,000 connections during the second quarter of 2008 to 5.797 million.

    This was despite a 4.2 per cent drop in PSTN/ISDN connections to 2.57 million on 30 June 2008, according to Telecompaper’s quarterly update on the Dutch fixed telephony market.

    The number of mobile-only households increased to 1.283 million. The number of Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) users grew by 17,000 during the fourth quarter to 360,000 on 30 June 2008.

    The number of Dutch consumer VoIP subscriptions grew 5.1 per cent during the quarter, to 2.866 million at the end of June.

    This was driven by DSL VoIP with 5.8 per cent, while cable VoIP only reported a quarterly growth of 3.8 percent.

    DSL VoIP expanded its lead as most used VoIP technology with 1.459 million connections at the end of June compared with 1.361 million cable VoIP customers on the same date.

    Telecompaper expects an average quarterly growth of 7 per cent for the two remaining quarters of this year, with the 3 million mark being reached at the end of third quarter.

    KPN saw its share of the Dutch digital telephony market grow to 34.3 per cent on 30 June due to its entry-level brand Telfort.

    During the second quarter, KPN won 60,000 new customers, growing 6.5 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2008 and ending June 2008 with 983,000 VoIP users.

    Ziggo won 25,000 new telephony customers during the second quarter to end the period with 770,000 VoIP users, keeping its place as the second-largest VoIP provider in the Netherlands, although its market share dropped to 26.9 percent.

    The third-largest VoIP provider, UPC won 20,400 new customers, ending the quarter with 526,100, losing only 0.1 per cent market share to end June with 18.4 per cent of the VoIP market.

  • 3 UK launches next-generation Skypephone


    Mobile operator 3 UK has unveiled the next-generation Skypephone handset, the 3 Skypephone S2.
    The new device gives users access to Facebook, Google and Windows Live Messenger and enables free Skype calls and instant messaging.

    Available since the beginning of September, the 3 Skypephone S2 has a revolutionary ‘carousel’ interface, with switcher key on the side of the handset to move quickly between applications.

    It has an improved 2.2-in QVGA screen, 3.2-megapixel camera, HSDPA functionality and memory that is expandable to 4 GB.

    The new device can be used as a mobile broadband dongle through its built-in modem drivers.

    It allows users to track up to 30 RSS feeds at once and is offered for GBP 69.99 on Pay As You Go and for free on any Mix & Match contract.

  • New Blaupunkt GPS Device Supports VoIP


    Blaupunkt’s new Travel Pilot 700 GPS navigation devices can be used to make VoIP calls.

    The GPS device is powered by ARM9 500MHz processor, and a 266MHz DSP processor. There is also 8GB of internal memory.

    For VoIP, the Travel Pilot 700 also supports WiFi 802.11b/g.

    Other than ordinary GPS functions, it comes with a video camera on the back for capturing live footage of the road ahead.

    But the Travel Pilot 700 also offers multimedia functionalities, with an integrated DVB-T digital TV tuner, integrated media player supporting DivX, H.264, MPEG-2, QuickTime, WMV, XviD video and AAC, MP2, MP3, OGG and WMA audio files.

    It also has Bluetooth for handsfree.