The U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency has expanded its contract for Adobe's (Nasdaq:ADBE) Connect Web conferencing system.

The multi-year deal was valued at $93 million and will enable deployed troops, support personnel, and military leaders to collaborate across locations worldwide using the Web conferencing software. The initial contract is for one year, but has options for renewal through 2015.

Carahsoft Technology, a government IT contractor, was awarded the contract in partnership with Adobe.

The software will be used by entities including the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Combatant Commands, and the nation's military branches.

"For the past several years, Adobe Connect has supported vital collaboration across the DoD's complex and diverse environments," said Rob Tarkoff, senior vice president and general manager of Digital Enterprise Solutions for Adobe. "This new contract will enable continued growth and user acceptance of Defense Connect Online as a vehicle for mission-critical, real-time communication. It stands as strong validation of our solution."

Carahsoft and Adobe will continue to operate, maintain and enhance the deployed Defense Connect Online system, which includes Adobe Connect and has been in place since 2007.

The DCO includes Web conferencing, presence and awareness, video conferencing, and chat capabilities, and supports some 500,000 registered users who, on aggregate, use the system for in excess of 35 million Web conferencing minutes per month.

For more:
- see this release

Related article:
Adobe launches newest Adobe Connect conferencing software, SDK

Telesphere recently announced the launch of VideoConnect, a cloud-based videoconferencing service for businesses of every size. Today the company announced that VideoConnect is the first worldwide commercial deployment of Broadsoft’s BroadCloud Video, an enterprise-grade videoconferencing and telepresence service that incorporates Polycom’s standards-based HDX systems and VVX 1500 business media phones, along with CounterPath’s Bria softclients.

Microsoft and Skype have just announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire Skype for $8.5 billion in cash from the investor group led by Silver Lake.

Dell'Oro Group reported that the Unified Communications market expanded to its highest level since 2008 in the third quarter this year. Strong second half seasonality helped offset weakness in Europe as the Unified Communications market expanded 7 percent sequentially.

Avaya and Skype have announced a strategic agreement to deliver communications and collaboration solutions to businesses of all sizes. The multi-phase deal includes both go-to-market and a joint technology integration.

The latest figures released by analyst firm MZA have shown that the Corded PBX market (excluding Micro PBX products) increased by 16% in Q2 2010 compared to Q2 2009 at a global level. Avaya continued to lead the world PBX market, growing market share from 13% in Q1 2010 to 15% in Q2 2010.

Skype has announced the introduction of the Skype Channel Partner Program to help businesses who are looking to use Skype for their collaboration and communication needs. According to Skype, the goal of the program is to establish a qualified network of channel partners in the United States that can assist companies interested in using Skype “to improve their productivity and optimize their communication costs.”

XConnect, Polycom, BroadSoft and Dialogic announced an initiative to promote the adoption of high-definition voice by service providers in the United Kingdom. Through workshops and cooperative communication and marketing, the HD initiative is designed to raise awareness and educate service providers about the benefits of HD voice and help them resolve implementation challenges.

Skype on Monday announced the official launch of Skype Connect 1.0, formerly known as Skype for SIP. Previously available in beta, Skype Connect delivers a business solution that enables IP-enabled private branch exchange (PBX) or Unified Communications systems to connect to Skype.

Along with the announcement of Kinect for Xbox 360 (formally known as ‘Project Natal’), Microsoft yesterday unveiled Xbox LIVE Video Kinect that lets you chat with other Xbox 360 users, and, in the near future, with hundreds of millions of PC users around the world.

Mobile conferencing iPhone App from AT&T is now available on the App Store. It integrates multiple conferencing products including audio conferencing, web conferencing and video conferencing into a single UC application.

XConnect announced a trial of the first IP peering federation specifically for service providers capable of offering high-definition voice services.

The trial, open to qualified operators, waives sign-up and monthly fees for its April-June duration.

Empirix, a provider of VoIP monitoring solutions, announced that its products are now compliant with key contact center solutions from Avaya.

The Empirix Proactive Communications Assurance solution is now compliance-tested by Avaya for compatibility with Avaya AuraTM Communication Manager on Avaya S8700 servers with MCC1 Media Gateways and Avaya Proactive Contact with PG230RM.

Sipera Systems is highlighting the need for VoIP and UC security architectures, as it said its security experts have identified an increase in costly VoIP toll fraud that affects both service providers and enterprises. When gaps are present in VoIP security architecture, unauthorized users can gain access to the network through vulnerabilities and make expensive toll calls without the company's knowledge, according to Sipera. These security breeches can cost thousands of dollars, and often are not identified until the end of monthly billing cycles.

Sipera identified three common vulnerabilities that lead to toll fraud including: telecom connectivity vulnerabilities, often due to network configuration issues; application-level vulnerabilities, which affect application servers and voicemail systems through the exploitation of weak passwords and authentication schemes; and end-point vulnerabilities that exploit unprotected user devices.

Naturally, Sipera offers products to protect against such intrusions.

For more:
- see the Sipera release here

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By Carl Ford

When I presented to the staffers at the NARUC meeting last week, I suggested that given the rural initiatives, the states were the ones to know where the money was most needed. {Slides available upon request}

The stimulus bill was a boom for rural broadband, except the guidelines are subject to discussion. The National Telecommunication and Information Administration was given $4.7 billion to administer, and it's allowed to allocate a portion of it to the FCC. The Rural Utilities Service in the Department of the Agriculture is the second beneficiary of the stimulus, receiving $2.5 billion.  There is also a $200 million initiative in the stimulus that allows Fiber to the Library with a Wireless network available for the citizens. It's also possible that broadband strategies work their way into some of the shovel-ready strategy.  

All of this is good, and it's technology neutral, which lets networks be developed based on the local needs. This is not going to be an FCC tops-down approach in the end.  The administration has its hands full with the pressing problems in other places. I have nothing but respect for the people working with the administration that I know, and I believe we will see good policy decisions in the future.

But the opportunity right now is local.  And if all politics is local, so is access.

Mark Hewitt shared with me some slides his partners have been presenting on getting the bandwidth build-out through out all portions of each state. As someone who was around when the Internet first became commercial, I have been very aware of holes in the network. So I commend this initiative and hope that they find the appropriate people in each state to listen to their approach. 

If you are a user you will not sit there and say to yourself, "I know there is a hole in the Internet." With apologies to UPS, the Internet is designed to show you "what brown can do for you." As in brown outs. When Taiwan suffered a Digital Tsunami in 2007 with seven of the eight undersea cables cut, the Internet was still there, slow, but there.

That's the beauty of a best-effort network. It gave its best effort to find the way through. The fact that the cables were cut did not mean that bandwidth tools were put in place to block some traffic. Instead the Internet suffered the tragedy of the commons as it was designed to do.

Now the question gets reversed, when all this bandwidth gets put in place how can everyone benefit.  A build-out at the edge that comes back to a single backbone is not a strong or self-sustaining answer. The goal has to be to expand the core's ability to support the rural connectivity. My hope is the parochial build out will find balance in a cohesive national and international strategy.

So I vote for state rights to help form a more perfect union of access.

The day before the Hub VoIP phone hits the shelves at more than 2,500 stores throughout the land, Verizon Wireless has announced pricing on both the gear and the supporting VoIP plan.

A VoIP calling plan through Verizon Wireless will cost around $35 per month and includes unlimited calling in the U.S., Puerto Rico and U.S. Territories and Canada, plus unlimited messaging to and from Verizon Wireless phones with Unlimited Messaging. The Hub will cost $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a two year agreement. Yes, you have to sign up for two years of VoIP service and pay $200 for the gear. Additional DECT cordless handsets are available for $79.99 each.

Verizon says The Hub will support service through any broadband connection--an interesting statement on many levels. Does this put Verizon into the Net Neutrality camp? Users will also need a wireless router so the Hub can talk to the rest of the Internet world.

Once connected, it serves as a smart device to interface with Verizon Wireless services such as VZ Navigator, Chaperon and V CAST video entertainment.

For more:
- Convergence run amuck! FierceWireless writes about wireline VoIP.

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