• In-Stat projects that by 2013 mobile VoIP applications will generate annual revenues of $35.2 billion.
• While the EMEA region has more mobile VoIP related revenue currently, Asia Pacific will be the largest regional market in revenue terms by 2013.
• Dual-mode handsets (Wi-Fi + Cellular) will be well over 400 million units shipped in 2013.

• Analysis of VoIP’s impact on the mobile market.
• Forecasts for mobile VoIP associated revenue by region through 2013.
• Forecasts for mobile VoIP users and annual usage by region through 2013.
• Profiles of mobile VoIP startups.
• Profiles of VoIP providers.
• Profiles of WiMAX providers.

In-Stat's latest report is getting some press as it announced that there will be 288 million VoIP subscribers by 2013 due to the growth of mobile VoIP. Check out this GigaOM post.

A few weeks ago, Skype launched a Beta version of its software for Nokia phones. Now it's official. Skype has launched Skype for Symbian and it is now available for download at Nokia's Ovi app store.

The Skype software is capable of running on 200 million Nokia mobile phones and plans are in the works to get the software running on other non-Nokia Symbian-based phones.

The service offers free Skype-to-Skype calls anywhere in the world over WiFi and 3G. Users can get calls to their online numbers, share pictures and videos, and send instant messages to each other.

This last mobile move follows Skype's deal with Verizon to embed a seamless Skype application on certain phones in the carrier's lineup.

For more:
- see this article
- see Skype's explaination here

Related articles
Skype CEO: iPhone VoIP over 3G 'soon'
Verizon teams with Skype for VoIP application
Skype drops its Windows Mobile app

Ok, ok. Don't freak out--it looks like this is just a step towards supporting the new Microsoft mobile operating system and not a move showing Skype is quiting MS-based phones altogether. Skype has pulled their app for Window Mobile, meaning new users will not be able to download it. Users with the software already installed will still be able to use it. According to GigaOm, it appears the reasons are that the software never quite achieved the best possible consistent user experience and Skype has grown tired of supporting it when they could be focusing on making a killer app for the Windows Phone 7 operating system.

"We felt that Skype Lite and Skype for Windows Mobile were not offering the best possible Skype experience," reads the Skype for Windows Mobile FAQ.

For now mobile Skype enthusiasts will have to look toward Verizon with their latest Skype integration deal or the iPhone app that runs over WiFi. As with these apps, it seems Skype is very focused on ironing out all the kinks before releasing a product to ensure the best user experience. Perhaps with the previous Windows app, they didn't feel they were living up to this goal.

For more:
- read this blog post

Related articles
Verizon teams with Skype for VoIP application
Skype meant it when they said go Mobile
Skype CEO: iPhone VoIP over 3G 'soon'

The ImP advanced platform command and control system can connect as many as 500 nodes simultaneously and is ergonomically scaled to meet the space requirements of light combat vehicles, main battle tanks, and assault boats. ImP stands for Integrated Multi Platform.

The ImP uses a 100-megabit-per-second Ethernet channel to transmit voice, data, and video simultaneously to the vehicle crew to enable a level of situational awareness not possible with current legacy small vehicular intercom systems, Accusonic officials say.

This system also eliminates the need for a hard wired centralized interface, common to most conventional intercom systems, replacing it with a decentralized interface that allows single user access and control from anywhere in the loop.

The system's distributive design enhances battle damage resiliency to enable the system to keep working even when damaged. Furthermore, the system has the ability to self configure automatically when it is turned on.

Don't ever tried to hide reality from those that know...and Todd Carothers knows. He spent time at Openwave then with former client BridgePort Networks (since acquired by client CounterPath) and he's fired off two very targeted posts aimed at the carriers and their network folks providing them options to Skype.

In an interview with Investor Business Daily about the Skype/Verizon partnership I suggested to reporter Brian Deagon that this was the first step at carriers working with IP communications service providers to deliver a better product over 3G and beyond. This means that there are really four players in the game who can do that, and what's common between all of them is one key point. Carrier cooperative vs. carrier hostile. Skype has learned to be "carrier cooperative" in mobile. The others are client Truphone and GoogleVoice (via the Android phone). Each has a business model that keeps minutes and a share of the revenue from calls with the carriers. Then there is CounterPath whose FMC technology keeps the carriers in control.

These wars are just gearing up, much the same way that we had alternative long distance battles back in the 80s. What has changed is it's now Alternative International Long Distance. The AILD market is the battle ground for the carriers and for the AILDs.

You may also want to check out John Furrier's POV over at Silicon Angle.

• make and receive unlimited Skype-to-Skype voice calls to any Skype user around the globe on America's most reliable wireless network;
• call international phone numbers at competitive Skype Out calling rates;
• send and receive instant messages to other Skype users; and
• remain always connected with the ability to see friends' online presence.

I like home grown companies, and this company, TelCentris is really that. Started by one of my neighbors and his sons, the company, which markets under the VoXOx name is releasing what they are describing as a universal translator tied to instant and social messaging that is built into the VoxOx client according to XConomy.

I agree with XConomy's Bruce Bigelow. Neither Google Voice nor Skype will be far behind. The only question is which one shoots first.

• Mobile SIP trunk - a major enhancement to BroadSoft’s SIP trunking solution, our Mobile SIP trunk leverages a premises-based component called the Mobile Manager to deliver fixed-mobile convergence over SIP trunks to a premises PBX, giving enterprises greater control over how corporate mobile devices are used;
• Native mobile SS7 support - allowing BroadWorks to seamlessly integrate with mobile networks using standard GSM MAP, CAMEL, ANSI-41 MAP and WIN protocols;
• Location-based services - such as Home Zone/Office Zone preferential calling rates, location-based call routing and mobile presence and location applications for Unified Communications;
• Short Message Service 2.0 - extending SMS services beyond mobile phones, to all IP-enabled devices, whether a fixed phone, a soft-phone or web-enabled consumer device;
• Rich Communications Suite - integrating presence, instant messaging, content sharing, and multimedia messaging service with voice and video calling; and
• Voice over LTE support - allowing mobile operators to migrate voice and SMS traffic to LTE at their own pace, without additional development investment.

• Manage communication costs and meet government regulations by extending company policies to employee mobile devices and tracking mobile phone use in real-time;
• Enhance employee efficiency and collaboration by extending Unified Communications capabilities, including the integration of enterprise applications such as CRM and ERP, to mobile devices; and
• Improve "reachability" of employees by leveraging a mobile operator’s ability to deliver any IP communication service to a single number, including voice, SMS, IM, presence and location-based applications.

• Take control and have peace of mind by managing all of their communications services and devices from a single account, from a secure network;
• Use their desired communication method, voice, video, chat, text-messaging, content sharing, at any time and from anywhere; and
• Optimize their communication experience by seamlessly moving a call from their mobile phone to their fixed high-definition line or video device when they arrive home.

One of the great things about being in Barcelona are the things you pick up. Here's some more details on the upcoming Skype and Verizon Wireless announcement that's due to come out tomorrow.

Contrary to what everyone is thinking Verizon is using circuit switched voice not 3G, ala what Three in the UK does. So the calls are really PSTN. Skype works with Level3 in the USA so that's how the calls will get handled, hitting the Level3 NOC somewhere like Atlanta or Denver, and then going over IP to the Skype user on the other end. The question is whether this is a home-grown Skype solution or another deployment solution from iSkoot which is used by THREE in the UK. There's also no SMS to or from the Skype client which some people use from their laptop or desktop client, but of course it has the usual IM functionality over 3G data for presence. That's how it will works from the contact list with the presence refreshing automatically. That piece will help Verizon Wireless sell more 3G data plans and more higher priced smartphones, getting the user base to migrate up from feature phones.

The devices that will be announced are the RIM Storm, Storm 2, Curve, Curve2, Tour and Tour2 and the 8830 World Edition Blackberry, plus all the Androids from Motorola and HTC sold via Verizon Wireless.

But here's the big downer.... WI-FI is reportedly NOT supported with the current release but will/may be supported in future releases. Based on what I've been able to stitch together here in Barcelona all is very similar to the Skype client software that was updated back in the fall and is being used on the INQ SkypePhone and SkypePhone2 Having used both of those phone for a while now, I have a leg up on most and knew which questions to ask sources at the show.

This means that the 3G client that Skype is reportedly working on for the iPhone will be the first, native 3G app out the door. Right now, Skype will work if you Jailbreak your iPhone and spoof the app to think that 3G is Wi-Fi...(now you wouldn't do that would you...)

Good news for travelers heading to Barcelona for the 2010 Mobile World Congress put on by the GSMA.

As part of rolling out Skype Access on Windows the Skype folks are offering free access on Boingo in Barcelona.

Once you get to Barcelona look for SIMs at Phone house locations for your unlocked phones.

If you are away from your loved ones today then take advantage of Truphone's Valentines Day promotion.

Oh and Boingo and Truphone will be a great combination for those with WiFi smartphones like the iPhone, Android and Nokia E or N series phones.

Disclaimer:Boingo and Truphone are clients,

Pena appeared in US District Court in New Jersey on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and unauthorized access to a protected computer. He faces a maximum of 25 years in federal prison and fines of at least $500,000 at sentencing, which is scheduled for May 14.

Pena and cohort Robert Moore were arrested in June 2006 and accused of carrying out an elaborate scheme that routed more than 10 million minutes of VoIP calls over the networks of a dozen or so telecommunications providers without their permission. They breached the networks by using brute-force attacks that deduced the security telephone prefixes needed to gain access.

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• HD video enables users to view, send and receive video in high- resolution HD (1280x720p) video
• Improved usability, including a simpler design, a variety of layout options and improved task flow for transfers, conferencing and multi- call handling
• Presence Alert allows you to select a contact or group of contacts and be notified when their phone and presence status changes
• Basic, extended and premium levels of support, including a help desk and user forum
• Directory (LDAP/ADSI) integration
• Support for plug-and-play, Human Interface Device (HID)-compliant devices, with the option to personalize buttons to control Bria (Windows version only)
• A troubleshooting assistant that identifies common softphone and VoIP issues, with notification and resolution tools
• Additional security features, including support for a greater variety of network topologies, improved firewall traversal and compliance with the latest ICE/STUN/TURN security options
• Contact synchronization with Microsoft Outlook personal address books
• Bridged Line Appearance support for workgroups allows members to pick up or join other calls
• Improved APIs to support Command Line Interface integration and information transfer between different applications, such as contact support for customer relation management applications

Don Reisinger over at GigaOM brings more attention to the Mobile VoIP debate. Is Mobile VoIP ready for 3G? Or is 3G even ready for VoIP? Check out this write-up on the subject that ties in nicely to the Skype keynote at IT-EXPO last week... Article

• User profiles—Caller profile information such as photo, extension, title and location. This appears on the Switchboard and on the display of Polycom phones with Phone Feature Packs on internal calls.
• Flexible language support—The Switchvox 4.5 GUI, manual and online help are available in English, UK English, Italian, Castilian Spanish and Latin American Spanish. Sound packs, which include all the audio prompts used in the system, are available for these languages, as well as Australian English, French and French Canadian. For businesses with international offices, users can customize their language settings to best complement their location and language preference.
• Comprehensive monitoring—Digium has implemented the Simple Network Management Protocol for Switchvox 4.5, which gives administrators the ability to collect real time data about the status and health of their systems.

9 to 5 Mac asks why is Apple blocking VoIP on the iPhone.

The question is asked, because it's a proven fact that on jailbroken iPhones all the apps that can't talk over 3G can talk if you use the right apps that fool the phone and the apps into thinking 3G is WiFi. When you do that, Skype, Fring, SipPhone (or whatever they call it now), Truphone and others all "work." By "work" I am saying you can place and receive calls. But having tried those calls on the iPhone (yes I have jailbroken my iPhone 3GS that I paid full price for and now have a virginal 3GS) the overall experience is not that great. Maybe if I'm standing still the calls sound good, and yes, even some when I'm in motion, but in an era of unlimited calling plans and dial around services like GoogleVoice, Truphone and even the Skype app on Nokia phones, connecting to others over the Net isn't impossible with the right gateways in place.

That said, I fully expect Skype, whose codecs and algorithms enable better quality calling than most to be throwing resources against having a 3G or 4G application out this year once Apple feels the experience is in keeping with what Apple is all about.

In my personal view Apple, like Skype and Truphone are concerned about the quality of the experience. What's good enough for geeks and early adopters is not good enough for them and while the apps, like Truphone on Nokia N and E series phones can make and place calls over 3G, as someone who has used that in various countries, over various operators 3G networks, 3G VoIP is not something I could consistently endorse as it's not really ready for prime time. Back in the day of amateur radio, many a "HAM" operator had all kinds of experimental technology available to them. Some of it eventually got commercialized. Others never made it out of their lab. I see 3G VoIP the same way. Sure there will be something there that works, but with LTE looming and Mobile WiMax growing, calling is going to be IP based, so why worry about something that is only about cheap calling, when you can focus on the future of voice.

 

"The certification makes the vIPer Phone with PSTN Connect a cost-effective solution as users will no longer have support and maintenance of their legacy Secure Telephone Units or STU-IIIs," said John Cole, vice president of Information Assurance for General Dynamics C4 Systems. "PSTN and VoIP network flexibility, combined with the vIPer Phone's interoperability with the government's Secure Terminal Equipment (STE), also enables customers to easily transition to the latest technology."

Introduced in 2006, the Sectera vIPer Phone remains the only Voice over IP Phone certified by the NSA to protect voice communications classified Top Secret and below over commercial, wired VoIP networks. As military and government organizations plan for evolving technology and the replacement of end-of-life STU-III phones, General Dynamics is offering a price discount of $200 for each vIPer Phone ordered to replace a deployed STU-III or STE phone.

General Dynamics C4 Systems is a leading integrator of secure communication and information systems and technology.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 92,300 people worldwide. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about General Dynamics is available online at www.gd.com.

I was in Las Vegas a few days ago and got to experience Mobile WiMax for the first time via the Sprint/Clearwire network that's been installed there.

My reaction. Think the best of WiFi and a MiFi all rolled into one.

Speeds were solid and I was able to make VoIP and Skype calls, including video, without any problem while seated inside my hotel's restaurant and from a moving car.

Couple of hiccups. First there is a lag time from when you first seek to connect that lasts up to a minute, after that, you'd think you were on a T1 or better as everything just flies. My sending of email via my Exchange server was rocket fast, but I did see some delays on the loading of web pages, so it appears there may be some proxying of port 80 traffic being done by Clearwire or Sprint, but I didn't test for that.

Regardless, with Clearwire/Sprint 4G in Las Vegas at my disposal, it will be one more wireless way to work and stay connected. As more new devices roll out, the uptake will also be greater. This new Overdrive from Sierra Wireless should help there.

KATHMANDU: An investigation team dispatched from Metropolitan Police Crime Division raided a well-equipped underground call centre in Ravibhawan and arrested a racketeer for his involvement in flouting telecommunication laws recently.

The accused Anwar Hussein (24), who hails from Kolkata-24 Porguna, India, and his two accomplices were found to be operating VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) from a rented three-storey building, illegally blocking Nepal Telecom’s gateway, thus inflicting a loss of millions. While, the other accused, Bharat Lal Shrestha (27), hailing from Chaugada-3, Nuwakot, and another named Raju are at large. Raju’s details were still sketchy.

What is VOIP Gateway?

Call by-passers make use of VoIP GSM Gateway to divert international rings from the official gateway. The call is then transferred to the telecom subscribers through a GSM SIM card. The ISD then displays a personal caller ID on the receiver’s gadget. VoIP has always been a headache for telecom service providers in the country. As per the Telecommunications Act, 2053, any person convicted of posing threat to telecommunications systems and service can face a fine equal to the principal amount of loss caused or sentence up to five years in prison or both.

VoIP uses broadband Internet for routing phone calls, unlike conventional switching and fibre-optic alternatives.

Source:  Himalayan Times

From the earliest of days of public WiFi I have always felt the biggest players that would benefit from it were the cable operators. Seems I was right as Cablevision is proving how in the contiguous areas around New York City that their WiFi cloud is attracting users. And, they are all their already existing customers as Om Malik points out at GigaOm.

By continuing to serve their customers outside of the home, Cablevision has extended their connection and kept the customers online. They are using Cablevision service and over time will have a mobile phone running some type of mobile VoIP and I predict mobile video as long as the user is the CableVision customer. Once they have reached a certain point of saturation and predictable usage levels by their customers, my feeling is CableVision will then open the network up to day pass type roamers who find themselves in the CableVision footprint.

This is a lesson that others like Comcast should look at. Deploying WiFi right is far less expensive than 4G and can go just about anywhere there's IP connectivity. No expensive spectrum licenses, and no real challenges on where to build the towers. What's more, just about every PC and smartphone has WiFi now, so the addressable audience is already there, as there is no need for anything new. Lastly, consumer behavior is such that the market is already used to using WiFi, so the leap to use it in public is not that far.

When the book is written on why pubic WiFi failed, CableVision won't be including, as for them, it will already be a rip, roarin' success.

Gizmodo has a very interesting piece today about consumer Internet connectivity in the USA from the major providers. In the post they point out how the broadband providers are overselling higher priced services to consumer by exaggerating what kind of pipe someone needs to download, connect or use services.

First off, we're beginning to see the strands of sending party pays billing taking hold. mask it as they want to, the ISPs are slowly moving to that kind of pricing model. Secondly, what we're seeing is the tiered pricing models that have been long written about online. The heavier user of fatter pipe is going to pay more on average per month than the occasional downloader, and that's really how the pricing is built today. The fuzzy logic being applied is if you're downloading one movie, you're downloading more. Hence you should pay more.

Currently we're not seeing any hybrid models, other than with mobile Pay As You Go Data, where you pay what you consume, and if your consumption patterns change, you can pay more (or less.)

This is where bandwidth speeds and access vs. download and upload by megabyte pricing is out of whack. As more and more moves to the cloud, consumption becomes thiner. As the ability to sideload becomes more readily available, costs to the user (and in reality the ISP) should drop as the on-net, non toll road traffic (your broadband ISP) is eliminated.

Sideloading is like FedEx, they get the data to you, but with less handling.

These broadband pricing models are flawed, but not only for the reasons Gizmodo cites, but because the whole way we are communicating now (far more cloud based, far less end point data intensive.) Yes, we're moving more data, but things like voice and even video conferencing are really small bundles compared to fat data like that which the operators move on a daily basis just to run their business. The whole model of Smart Grids and P2P technology are beginning to cross. Far more efficient ways for data to go from point a to point b are emerging. What's more, as more sits on the cloud, and as more of that is shared, there becomes less need to "download" and "upload" because the work product is sitting up there, not down here. Upload once. Work many.

When that model can be better embraced, using a toll or permission level model, then you have the right pricing schemes. Until then, we are all likely all dining at the buffet, not really getting an al a carte offering from any broadband provider.

While the holiday season getting into full swing tat we're now less than a month away from the Winter Edition of IT Expo. To me it only feels like yesterday when Rich Tehrani and his team put on one of the best telecom events they ever have in Los Angeles back in September. That event, which clearly filled the giant hole that was left when VON was shuttered and then sold by their investors, who exercised their rights to take the company away from their founder, and VoIP's fearless leader/visionary, Jeff Pulver.

Well, beyond the usual cast of characters at IT Expo this year in Miami Beach, we'll see a steady stream of additional events that will continue to show why attending is so important. I've already booked flights, hotels and am contemplating a wine dinner, if I can find a BYOB establishment. I'm looking forward to the second edition of the 4G Wireless Evolution event, hosted by VON Alum, and longtime friend, Carl Ford, as that's the future, because in all practicality, VoIP is really the here and now. Tangental to that is the M2M event that Carl is also into in a big way as well.

Another event of course is Jon Arnold's SmartGrid summit. SmartGrids will be in our changing environmental era, one of the most important topics in the new decade, so Jon's work in this area certainly has to be part of the knowledge base in that transformation.--Now only if he would stop using that as his excuse for not blogging about VoIP....

But what I'm most excited about personally is the newest event that's being put on by pal Larry Lisser. It's Startup Camp. According to Larry, "over 10 startups applying to present with more on the way we hope. And as hoped, they are all quite early stage."

Larry's also collaborating very closely with "Mr. Mashup" Thomas Howe on a number of things, including a cross-over voice app contest that promises to be quite fun. Given how every Mashup is like a startup, Thomas brings keen insight to the game as well, especially from the developer's perspective.

So if you're par of a startup, this is an The IT Expo Startup Camp is really going to be, the "place to be." Knowing Larry as I do from what he did with Mobivox, literally turning the company around, and getting them on the kind of footing that led to their sale, his "startup" expertise comes from being hands on, so being a start up and applying to be one of the presenters will bring all kinds of visibility leading up to, during and after the event as Larry has put together several initiatives to expose the entrepreneurs behind them by profiling online, having them speak and also of course network at the event. Much like DEMO or GigaOm's LaunchPad, not every applicant makes it to the stage, but the five selected startups will clearly have the most visibility, including a free 'table' on the ITExpo show floor during the week. These five presenting startups will be announced by January 6th so time is running down. So if you're part of a true startup, now's the time to make your call and take action:

http://scte.wikidot.com/registration

Additionally here is the micro-site as part of the the TMC site

http://www.tmcnet.com/voip/conference/east-10/attendees/e10-startupcamp-telephony.htm

The latest edition of the the annual Mobile Internet Report, from Morgan Stanley, is a must read if you make a living in mobile. I spent a few hours flipping through the decks that comprise the report and remain just amazed at the level of detail, research and on the mark insight their team has put forth yet again.

I'm fairly sure most of the more serious VC's and Angel investors will be using this as a barometer of where to put their money, at least over the first half of 2010.

• Protocols: SIP
• Currently Supported Codecs: - G.711u, G.729a
• Tested Codecs: - G.726 IP, G.726 AA12, G 723.1, G.723.1a, G.711a, G.729a, iLBC
• Nationwide Coverage: SIP Trunking, Origination/Termination
• Latest Sonus Networks Hardware
• Separate signaling and audio facilities for reliability and flexibility
• Built for VoIP; not burdened with legacy traffic

Rumors have Texas based VoIP provider iCall being bought by Apple.

A new VoIP service that works with mobiles including Nokias, Windows Mobile and Blackberry is out. It's named Spokn.

The Google Phone is sounding more and more real everyday.

Its Achilles' heel: Internet service providers, or ISPs. They control the on-off ramps used by millions to enter and exit the World Wide Web each day. Access is typically provided by phone and cable TV companies, via upgraded phone lines and high-speed cable-TV modems.

Currently, the only thing stopping ISPs from abusing their control are four "Internet principles" – voluntary guidelines, which are subject to interpretation.

Now, the Federal Communications Commission wants to turn those guidelines into hard rules and extend them to wireless, and that's creating a heated debate across the USA about "net neutrality" – the idea that all Internet service providers should treat all traffic on their networks the same.

The goal: to preserve the Internet as a free and open communications platform that's open to all but controlled by none. That was the original goal of the Internet's creators more than 40 years ago.

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Let's try to clear up the rumor that a Google Phone that reportedly is coming out in January. That is if you can believe any blog that tells you its a rumor.

First of, one has to expect that the phone would not be for the traditional mobile network. Honestly if I was Google I'd build the phone for the only operating 4G network in the USA, Clearwire because from the start Clearwire (ex Xoom) executives has been saying the want a different experience in VoIP and that experience wasn't Skype.

Second Google is an investor in the Clearwire venture, which makes me think the phone won't be made by HTC, but instead will be built by partner, Motorola. But Google has more than money to put into Clearwire, something that was made clear after Google didn't put hard cash into the recent Clearwire fund raising.

The reason I think that Google would be playing first with Clearwire over the usual 3G networks has to do more with not competing with the iPhone or it's own "Android" phones with the carriers. While the Google Phone would likely carry lots of Android like qualities, when you link up Android and Chrome as Sergey Brin alluded to, you can see another reason why the Clearwire 4G network makes more sense.

One other piece of the puzzle is the combined capabilities of GoogleTalk/GoogleVoice/Gizmo5 capabilities. As you keep looking at the pieces Google has been assembling, they all have open at their core, using XMPP and SIP based protocols.

One last thing, just as Apple was all about the software/hardware experience with the iPhone due to their approach called "Radical Integration" Google's experience is all about the Network and the cloud. To operate effectively, the "cloud" needs a speedy network, one that is not bogged down by legacy voice traffic and legacy voice thinking. Of the four USA networks, the only carrier that thinks network first, in Sprint, and Sprint, like Motorola, Comcast and Google, is also a backer of Clearwire.

To me the picture of the Google Phone is really Clear.

Skype for SIP is now live and in my view Skype just created a massive pipe into the corporate market.

While some may immediately want to draw unfair comparisons to SIP Trunking, I'd dubbed this the "Skype Pipe" as in all reality now Skype has the pipe into the business phone market that have for years been off limits to them.

While the pricing per channel may seem on the surface high, in the end it's going to pencil out to be on par, as more Skype for SIP gets deployed.

Other viewpoints out there include Tom Keating and ZDNet.

• Place calls to landlines and mobile phones worldwide from any device connected to a SIP-enabled PBX or UC systems via Skype;
• Receive and manage inbound calls from Skype users worldwide on SIP-enabled PBXs by either connecting the company Web site to the PBX via Skype click-to-call buttons or purchasing online Skype numbers; and
• Manage Skype calls using existing PBX or UC system features, such as call routing, conferencing, phone menus and voicemail; no additional downloads or training required.

A company out of the UK, called LocalPhone.com has put together a cheap calling service, plus some very nifty features, largely around SMS and call forwarding, plus of course inexpensive VoIP minutes.

In reading their blog, they are offering inexpensive VoIP minutes, local numbers in many countries, with the claim of "Call Global, Pay Local."

One of the pieces of their service is a dedicated pairing service of numbers you want to call, where you assign a local number in your home country. This used to exist with a now defunct Orange County, CA company called Mint Telecom, which enabled over the border calling at really low prices. This is the kind of service that appeals to the mobile expat crowd as it enables them to make local calls to reach friends and family Internationally.

But there's another great use for this today, and it ties in to why I say, this looks like Gizmo to me.

Prior to the acquisition by Google of Gizmo, I purchased a bunch of local, in country numbers from both Gizmo and a very reliable ITSP, CallCentric.com. Using a combination of SIP DIDs from both, and my second Gizmo account, I forwarded Gizmo to Google Voice. This meant I can make a call to a local number in each of the countries I am visiting, and be connected for the price of a local call, to my GV voice mail box and return calls very easily, and inexpensively. On the other side if I wanted to, I have had my primary Gizmo number as one of my GV destinations, allowing calls to be received on the laptop softphone client or forwarded to any number. What I do however on the outbound is forward to Truphone, which handles the international calling and changes which phone number I'm using as I currently change SIMs from country to country.

Another reason they remind me of Gizmo, is they are offering a softphone of their very own. But that's where the comparison's stop as they are offering a "calling card" program as well, which provides a local number to call, and which you can then dial out to other number from.

There are lots of good features to LocalPhone.com, and if they can control fraud, they may have a nice play in the cheaper minutes game that still remains an active part of VoIP, especially via the wholesale side of the equation.

An Irish company has unveiled a very interesting multiparty video conferencing solution.

Dubbed Eplixo, the demo video clearly shows that as processors in mobile devices become more powerful, that the Dick Tracy era of the video communicator is quickly coming upon us.

A few weeks ago, Voxeo announced the raising of $9 million dollars. This is a company that doesn't need money, as they are rapidly becoming the go to company in the Voice XML space and a few others.

Shortly after, Voice consultant Larry Lisser who has successfully maneuvered Mobivox to their recent sale to SABSE/Bolo, posted his thoughts on the subject of IVR highlighting its promise and future. That post was quickly followed up by a story in NoJitter promulgating the death of IVR.

Pick a side, but read both. Then decide.

The news, which we all have been waiting for, is now official.

Gizmo has joined up with GoogleVoice, as a result of the acquisition by Google, that went official today.

There's a lot I could say, but in an article based on an exclusive interview with Wired's Ryan Singel yesterday, much of what I would say here, is in his well penned article.

By calling GoogleVoice the "uncommon carrier" I made a pun on the 7Up campaign, of being the unCola. That was the clear soda's way of saying, "we're cool" and suggesting that if you're cool, you should be drinking 7Up.

Now with Gizmo, GoogleVoice and GoogleTalk have a key missing piece.

Read Ryan's story and realize how big of a deal this is.

• Telemarketer Blocking, Do Not Disturb, Anonymous Call Rejection, and Call Transfer
• Voicemail with optional e-mail delivery of messages as sound attachments
• Free Local Number Portability

• Unlimited local, regional and US long distance calling for $24.99 per month
• Unlimited local, regional and 200 US long distance minutes for $14.99 per month

Traveling to Seoul Korea meant that being savvy and frugal with my mobile usage. I took along a battery of phones, but really at the end of the day ended up using my RIM Blackberries to stay connected most of the time.

Sure I used the Nokia E71 with Truphone, but I wanted to put the RIM Blackberry Curve through its paces with UMA in a part of the world where broadband is like water and air. And when I say broadband, I mean blazing fast, no latency broadband, where WiFi is one of the standard ways of staying connected.

The RIM Blackberry Curve with UMA via T-Mobile performed like a champ. The connectivity was super fast, and the call quality better than what I get back in the USA. Given the fact that this is a route around roaming charges, the approach couldn't be beat, as the minutes fall under my "unlimited" plan from T-Mobile in the USA.

For email though I had to use the RIM Worldphone that has Verizon as the carrier. Being CDMA it was an easy connection to whatever network was available, and while the Curve was great on WiFi, without any GSM to latch onto, when out and about, it was not much help. The Worldphone was though and I never missed an email.

The bottom line is simply this. With some planning you can stay very connected, without a lot of hassle.

We've heard this before: the bad economy was a boon for VoIP. Well now there is some pretty decent evidence coming out of Infonetics Research with their latest report VoIP and UC Services and Subscribers Report. According to the report, for the first half of 2009 the VoIP services market worldwide grew to $20.7 billion.

The majority of worldwide VoIP revenue, which consisted of residential VoIP and subscribers, was up 14 percent from the end of 2008. On the business side, IP PBX revenue growth slowed, but the research firm forecasts that IP Centrex and hosted UC revenue will grow 26 percent year-over-year in 2009.

"Demand for residential and business VoIP services continues to grow even as spending in other communication areas tightens." explains Diane Myers, directing analyst for service provider VoIP and IMS at Infonetics Research.

For more:
- read this release from Infonetics
- read this article from Seeking Alpha

Related articles
Infonetics Chart: 2013 VoIP Growth
Report: SIP Trunking catching on
Report: Mobile VoIP to impact operator voice revenue

Om Malik, who has longstanding relationships in the investment community and has tossed aside his managerial role at GigaOm to do what he loves best, be a reporter, dropped a bombshell last night with initial details that Skype's current management and the founders of Skype may be closing in on a settlement surrounding the JoltID technology.

Om has hinted that he's got a lot more, and I would tend to view this as an evolving story, that will unfold and due to the egos involved, and the number of parties to the lawsuits (yes lawsuits) there's still a good chance this can go sideways.

My advice...stay tuned.

Gary Kim, who has been in and through the VoIP wars has a very interesting take of How Not To Sell Hosted Voice.

In many ways this is Sales 101, and it highlights what I like to call the "engineering sale" vs. the "marketing sale" that plagues many a VoIP company.

Too often the sale is based on one of two things:

1) The wow factor of something the company perceives as cool, but the market could care less about.

2) The overselling of a solution that remains in search of a problem.

Both sales approaches miss out on what's most important element of selling:

Need and Want Satisfaction Approach.

Simply put, what does the customer/prospect need and want. Sell that first and then follow with everything else.

Gary's piece pretty much asserts that.

After a year not much is really new at BT and Ribbit other than some shuffling of the deck chairs on the Titanic, despite the title changes and some granting of authority in new places, my sources tell me that BT is still trying to figure out how to get the Ribbit assets into the channels beyond what was already there, specifically Silicon Valley based companies like SalesForce.com, Oracle and Google (via the Wave Beta.)

For new ideas to succeed inside of BT requires sponsorship of the sales concept within some part of the company, and right now, other than with the group the company falls under, a recasted BT Design, not much is really new other than some titles from what I can see.

This is also not an empty category, as other companies are out there cutting into the market with actual sales, like client IfByPhone, Voxeo (with Voice XML and the purchase of Adhearsion), CloudVox as well as the companies Om pointed to--notably Twilio.

What BT needs is some outside thinking (like most big companies) which comes from the consulting and integrator ranks that can work around the internal process of getting things done, so adoption occurs. When that happens Ribbit's chances of success will go up, but for now, it's just a big purchase of things already on the drawing board, that were bought, not built. Ergo why BT should go outside again to buy, not try to build sales and adoption.

Maybe there is something to this idea that, in a recession, Voice over IP service is an affordable alternative to traditional telephone service.

In the first half of 2009, VoIP services brought in nearly $21 billion in revenue, with both residential and business services looking healthy and poised for even more growth for the second half of the year, according to a report by market research firm Infonetics Research.

Residential voice services still brings in the majority of revenue, with the number of subscribers growing 14 percent from the end of 2008 through the first half of ‘09. On the business side, the research firm said it expected IP Centrex and hosted unified communications service revenue to grow 26 percent year-over-year.

But the current sweet spot, at least in North America, is small businesses with fewer than 100 employees. In the first half of the year, roughly two-thirds of all IP Centrex seats sold went to small businesses.

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A few weeks ago one of my favorite video experts, David Spark, was asking me what application or plug-in would work with Skype well. My reaction was "not much."

Then the very next day, into my inbox came a note from longtime Skype application/Extras developer Jeremy Hague, letting me know about his new app called VODBURNER.

Well the app is now out and TECHCrunch has the details.

Conceptually, this is exactly what Skype needs to have. Based on the stats revealed yesterday at eComm from Skype, more and more video calls are happening every day. With better web cams coming to market every day, recording and being able to share a video with others who may not have been on the call is big benefit. Back in the day when we worked with SightSpeed, one of the most useful features of SightSpeed for Business was their video recording capability. With VODBURNER now live and available for $9.95 or so, it means Skype becomes closer to being the ultimate video platform. All that's missing is multi-party, something already offered by ooVoo and SightSpeed.

• Saudi Arabia is 8.23 PKR per minute on a landline, 16.30 PKR on a mobile phone
• U.K. is 1.58 PKR per minute on a landline, 14.97 PKR on a mobile phone
• UAE is 16.55 PKR per minute on a landline, 17.55 PKR on a mobile phone
• U.S. is 1.24 PKR per minute on either a landline or mobile phone

• The person in Karachi is making a local call
• Their friend in London is making a local call
• Rebtel connects the two local calls over the Internet, and
• The international minutes are free.

Aastra launches the Aastra 6739i, its most advanced desk phone to date. The company unveiled the new color touch screen phone today to hundreds of telecom resellers and service providers at the BroadSoft Connections executive conference.

In an increasingly competitive business climate, executives need access to the highest quality communication technology available to facilitate personal communications and collaboration. The feature-packed Aastra 6739i is a market-leading touch screen business desk phone, delivering high quality enterprise communications with advanced features, such as Bluetooth and dual Gigabit Ethernet.

The 6739i is ideally suited for senior professionals who require a powerful, flexible IP telephone to maximize their communications efficiency.

Features

• Large Touch Screen Display
  The The high resolution (640 x 480) full VGA backlit LCD Touch Screen display is at the heart of the Aastra 6739i. A state of the art display, the screen provides helpful navigational menus to take full advantage of the powerful telephony features this SIP phone brings to the desktop. Adjustable contrast and brightness settings can be used to ensure maximum resolution quality in any lighting environment. The screen size is large enough to offer multiple touch screen softkeys which can be customized as speed dial/function keys.
• Remarkable Audio
  All 67xi Series IP Telephones incorporate Aastra Hi-Q™ audio technology to deliver enhanced performance and voice clarity. Integrating wideband audio software and full frequency response hardware, the Aastra 6739i goes one-step beyond maximizing the acoustic performance to deliver a remarkable audio experience on every call, whether using the handset, hands-free speakerphone or headset port. Sound quality and performance are clearly elevated to a new level with the 6739i
  from Aastra.
• Flexible Headset Options
  Providing enhanced headset flexibility, the 6739i allows for a variety of headset options. Featuring a built-in Bluetooth interface and a dedicated EHS (DHSG) port, the 6739i facilitates mobility around the office while enjoying remarkable audio quality on your wireless headset. Additionally, a standard modular headset connector with built-in amplifier provides easy connection for traditional commercial headsets.
• Simplified Deployment
  From initial deployment and configuration to future enhancements and upgrades, the Aastra 6739i is designed to save your business time and money. Dual autosensing switched Gigabit Ethernet ports eliminate additional wiring and simplify installations without compromising the bandwidth required by power users. Integrated IEEE 802.3af Power-over-Ethernet allows easy deployment with centralized powering and backup. Easily created configuration files, using any text editor, can be used to configure phones individually or centrally.

• Extend UC and VoIP to smartphones while ensuring privacy and security compliance by seamlessly extending the enterprise security perimeter to these devices.
• Securely enable office phone functionality on smartphones, such as interoffice extension dialing, no matter where the employee is using the smartphone.
• Offload cellular minutes to VoIP for dramatic savings, while maintaining confidentiality of mission-critical communications. This enables fully secure utilization of VoIP with dual-mode mobile phones.
• For the first time ever, use Two-Factor Authentication with smartphone VoIP for enhanced access control.
• Block threats that result in data leakage, toll fraud and a host of other security risks.
• Enforce control on incoming voice spam with a one-click option on the phone to black list calls.
• Easily manage and enforce the enterprise communications security posture on any device in any place, both inside and outside the enterprise border.

• Automatically authenticates the smartphone back into the enterprise PBX or call manager.
• Ensures encryption of IP-based communications.
• Enforces security policies in real-time.
• Blocks threats or blacklisted callers.

• Sipera's award-winning UC-Sec security appliance, deployed in the enterprise VoIP or UC network and providing encryption, access control and authentication, policy enforcement, and threat mitigation.
• Integration and interoperability of UC-Sec with the enterprise's smartphones, which could be complemented by the Sipera SLiC Client, available for leading smartphone operating systems.

Giga OM and BusinessWeek have compiled a guide to various open source VoIP applications. Read Article

• Remote Office: Receive calls on your iPhone via your office number and make calls that appear to come from your desk phone
• Free international calling to 22 countries (with select rate plans)
• Integration with iPhone contacts
• Full call history for your business line, as if you're sitting at your desk
• One-click access to key office phone functionality
• Instant access to voicemail

Om gives the N900 (something I have on order from Amazon) a 6 out of 10. That's barely a passing grade.

Granted he reviewed pre-release software, but what I like about it is the "optimized for the T-Mobile network" on which I currently run an Android based MyTouch3 from T-Mobile. Hopefully, by the time I return from the UK and EU I'll have received mine.

Now if it only had a VoIP client....stay tuned.

If you have to Fly and want to stay connected, Virgin America and Google are giving away free WiFi for the holiday season.

Now, what's good here is if you use Google Voice you can at least receive your messages as transcribed text. Then again, maybe they'll let us use Google Talk voice and video...hmmmm

I've had a day to reflect on the rumor of Skype buying Gizmo (actually they would be buying all of Sipphone) and why it's more than just good for the VoIP industry.

For starters, just the fact that Skype is thinking of SIP as the alternative to JoltID is a good sign. It brings all kinds of attention to something that has been taken for granted and not given the kind of respect it deserves.

That makes it great news for the industry, and for companies like clients VoxBone and HiDefConferencing both of which play heavily in the Skype ecosystem, but are very much SIP based. It's also welcome news for client Junction Networks as their OnSip platform is business grade and far more developed and live than anything Gizmo has revealed so far. Likewise it's great news for client Truphone whose all SIP infrastructure is immediately interoperable with whatever the new Skype becomes. It's also good for client iotum (and blogger Alec Saunders) whose patent portfolio includes some very nifty feature sets. Same for ifByPhone which would immediately see a huge market open up in terminating their suite of automated telephony applications' calls to Skype via SIP in addition to 800 and local DIDs. This is also equally great for client xConnect, who SIP based peering platform and application ready architecture means Skype doesn't have to look far for a lot of interconnection simplicity.

Take OnSip for example. Here's a business grade, market proven (and loved) SIP based hosted PBX play built from the ground up by Junction Networks. They have a fully SIP compliant infrastructure, they are running minutes every hour of every day, with termination to SIP and PSTN networks, and have developed an entire web based UI that lets their customer manage calls at the individual user level, as well as a full backend customer administration portal. With their open source heritage making it possible to do almost anything imaginable, there's not much that Gizmo has that's different. As a matter of fact other than the downloads (which are not users) that Gizmo has, its possible that OnSip has even more active end points on a daily basis and may be terminating more calls to more endpoints that aren't all OnNet. So if Skype buys SipPhone/Gizmo this means all the OnSip customers can call their Skype pals without any hassle, or a need to have a second softclient running...That means greater efficiency, further reach and all the services that can run on SIP take the front seat over minutes.

Now lets look at who else this is good for. Companies with rich understanding of APIs like Voxygen and Thomas Howe. Voxex, Cloudvox, Twilio, Broadsoft, etc. The list goes on and on. What's more all the current SIP customers of CallCentric, Inphonex and other Internet Telephony Service Providers instantly make calls to Skype ID's for Free from a SIP client or endpoint. Any SIP client or Any SIP endpoint. The list goes on and on.

Oh, and yes. It is good for Gizmo and founder Michael Robertson too.

One of the things one learns is that one can often be right without saying much. For months as the JoltID suit has been rearing its ugly head I've been saying Skype is a brand not a technology and they would simply go all SIP. That opens the door to a lot of potential moves, but one that makes total sense is buying Gizmo from Michael Robertson.

It makes sense because Gizmo works, but what really makes it interesting is how GoogleVoice already has a peering relationship with Gizmo ( a deal I helped broker two years ago when both were just simple startups per se)

The peering means if Skype goes with Gizmo as it's SIP backend is that calls to and from GoogleVoice are FREE and the stay on-net, without ever touching the PSTN.

Unless I'm mistaken though, Gizmo isn't P2P SIP, but just SIP, with of course the media path being P2P like all VOIP, and the Signaling being SIP.

• Skype Launch for iPhone Official, just announced
• Skype set to launch mVoIP with Blackberry Two brand new headlines just announced.

• they can cut infrastructure costs and service charges to better compete with fixed operators,
• they can expand their coverage by supporting access from WLAN access points, and
• they an offer richer communications services to their users.

• IT companies
• Cable companies
• Wireline carriers
• Wireless carriers
• mVoIP entrants
• Application developers
• Content providers
• Consumers (commercial and individuals)

• Cable companies;
• Fixed-line operators;
• VoIP service providers;
• Mobile operators;
• VoIP equipment manufacturers;
• Handset makers (Nokia, Motorola etc), as well as WLAN handset makers (Cisco, Avaya etc); and
• Internet and wireless Internet service providers (WISPs).
• Third-party application developers
• IT companies (i.e. Google and Microsoft)
• Internet, landline, wireless and mobile technologies developers and participants
• Broadband services and solutions providers
• Telecoms regulators
• Public telephony services providers
• Online application stores
• Content solutions providers
• Enterprises
• Investment companies

I just learned that Cloudvox is launching this week and it got me thinking.

Cloudvox is one of the companies like client Voxygen, Voxeo, Twilio and also client ifByPhone which has grasped the power of voice APIs and made them available to just about everyone.

What does all this mean?

Well for starters, voice API's become more deployable. In an era where cloud computing and open source technology are taking hold, the need for easy to use libraries of code is evident.

A company that either develops API, uses them to their nth degree or knows how to manage and deploy them, ala pal Thomas Howe, is going to be part of the Voice 3.0 era.

Watch for other companies to take on a similar approach.

• Mailbox Storage Alert: the system can send users a message to any email address, alerting them that their online mailbox is nearing capacity.
• Easy Message Forwarding: easily forward voicemails and faxes to any email address or another Fusion Voicemail Plus mailbox.
• Syncing of Voicemails: users are able to sync their voicemails from mobile to the Web. If you lose your phone, just install the FVM+ application and click sync. Your messages will automatically appear on the new phone.

Editor's Note:  WOW OMG YAY THANK YOU AT&T - Do I really need to say more.  This is a landmark decision and kudos have to go Ma Bell for finally giving your loyal customers what they want.  With the direction the trend is going, people want data in their pocket and they want to be able to do what ever they want if they are paying such a premium for the iPhone.  Hope everyone is happy, because I am, time to get my Skype number ready.

AT&T today announced it has taken the steps necessary so that Apple can enable VoIP applications on iPhone to run on AT&T’s wireless network. Previously, VoIP applications on iPhone were enabled for Wi-Fi connectivity. For some time, AT&T has offered a variety of other wireless devices that enable VoIP applications on 3G, 2G and Wi-Fi networks. AT&T this afternoon informed Apple Inc. and the FCC of its decision.

In late summer, AT&T said it was taking a fresh look at VoIP capabilities on iPhone for use on AT&T’s 3G network, consistent with its regular review of device features and capabilities to ensure attractive options for consumers.

“iPhone is an innovative device that dramatically changed the game in wireless when it was introduced just two years ago,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO, AT&T Mobility & Consumer Markets. “Today’s decision was made after evaluating our customers’ expectations and use of the device compared to dozens of others we offer.”

AT&T allows customers to download or launch on their wireless devices a multitude of compatible applications directly from any lawful Internet website. Additionally, because AT&T uses GSM technology, the most pervasive and open wireless technology platform in the world, we support customers using any GSM phone that works on AT&T's frequencies.

Source: BusinessWire

• Rates are better than traditional wireless and landline carrier rates
• Lets you make calls while on Wi-Fi or cellular networks, providing full mobility
• Uses your existing contact list - just click and dial - no extra steps
• Utilizes your existing cell phone number so the people you call will recognize who is calling
• Real-time balance updates and the ability to automatically replenish funds in your account
• No more trips to the store to buy calling cards, no 800 numbers or access codes, and no connection charges

I know how good eComm Europe will be, having been involved in helping the last two USA based events. But don't take my word alone for it, as I could be accused of bias. Instead take the word of fellow Telecom Cabal member, James Enck, who from his perch in London has expressed his views on the late October event in Amsterdam.

Folks, eComm Europe is coming up fast, October 28 - 30 in Amsterdam, and you'll hate yourself if you miss it. I honestly think the speaker list is unparalleled anywhere, and the format ensures a rich flow of sharp and challenging talks on a wide range of topics of critical interest to those of us linked in the communications value chain. So look into my eyes, look deep into my eyes, and now go and register.

While I wish I could have been in attendance at VON in Miami Beach this week, I was having fun at DEMO in San Diego.

Alec Saunders was there, and has a positive and upbeat report.

One of my agency's clients, Junction Networks, debuted their new and snazzy interface, my.onsip.com, a unified communications, all web based management tool for OnSip. Rich Terhani has the details with a very good video interview of JN's Mike Oeth.

I love being right when I write.

Om's post last night about Cisco going with Skype for SIP was what I said back when Skype and ShoreTel hooked up.

They'll be more of these announcements as Skype is playing the momentum game and deserves all the accolades they can get. Too much attention is being given to the legal morass that at the end of the day was caused by eBay at the time of the Skype purchase.

Sadly, the current Skype management team, and new owners, now have to clean up that mess.

• Deliver an alternative to third-party mobile VoIP applications.
• Increase the loyalty of existing subscribers.
• Derive additional revenues currently being lost to competitive VoIP providers.
• Provide additional subscriber benefits by linking a Wi-Fi calling service to an existing mobile subscription.

 

The proposals would uphold a pledge Barack Obama made during the presidential campaign to support Internet neutrality — the equal treatment of Internet traffic. That would bar Internet service providers such as Verizon Communications Inc., Comcast Corp. or AT&T Inc., from slowing or blocking certain services or content flowing through their vast networks.

Without strict rules ensuring Net neutrality, consumer watchdogs fear the communications companies could interfere with the transmission of content, such as TV shows delivered over the Internet, that compete with services the ISPs offer, like cable television.

Internet providers have opposed regulations that would inhibit the way they control their networks, arguing they need to be able to make sure applications that consume a lot of bandwidth don't slow Internet access to other users.

"This is about whether I can turn off my cable TV and watch TV over the Internet," said Dave Burstein, editor of the DSL Prime broadband industry newsletter. "Comcast cares about this because they don't want people to turn off their cable TV."

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Pal Luca broke the news about Tiscali, a broadband and MVNO operator's deployment of WiPhone, not to be confused with iPhone, that enables their users to make WiFi phone calls ala client Truphone.

I keep hearing rumors of other GSM players entering the WiFi phone call market just as we have heard about Vonage and their efforts on the iPhone that caused a rise of their share price a few weeks back. This is not an aberration, but the harbinger of things to come. Put simply, mobile operators can make more money if they offload calling to WiFi as the call gets on their network either via their own or some the broadband network of someone else.

For Tiscali, an MVNO, this is also a defensive move against Femtocells, something MVNO's aren't likely to invest in for a while. Who needs another piece of hardware when you can use already existing, low cost infrastructure, plus proven software in the middle (WiFi) that lets you make calls. Now, before people start moaning about things like latency and garbled calls, let me point out that in Europe, the broadband is just better than we have here in the USA at lower bit rates. As someone who has used Truphone in multiple countries over WiFi via free hotspots, paid bandwidth in hotels, via Boingo and even in my winemaker friend's country house, making phone calls on a smartphone over WiFi works.

By moving in this direction, Tiscali becomes a carrier which has broken ranks with the traditional GSM mindset, just as a few operators such as T-Mobile and Orange have with their UMA play and as Three has with their Skype phone from INQ. In Belgium, MVNO, Cherry has also announced their intention to be a converged player as well in the mobile space.

Perhaps the most interesting post of all the many posts about the Skype and eBay fiasco -that is rapidly turning into what could be an eye opening investigation by someone about the interlocking relationships between lawyers, VC's, startups and suitors- is the post by Tom Keating that references and alleges all kinds of treachery by the Skype founders.

In many ways this reminds me of what happened to the suit from Streamcast against Skype's founders which was a RICO suit as it alleged that there was a pattern/method that was used to basically never turn over technology that cripples someone's business.

More important and material to all this as Michael Arrington and others have pointed out is the total lack of knowing what they were buying by the eBay leadership at the time. Without question, Skype is a business that can make money, so buying the business made sense. But to draw a comparison, eBay bought the car and was being loaned engine. Sure it rolled. But without the engine there's no way it goes anywhere. Take the engine away, and you really just have a car body, not a car.

Om's post pulls no punches. He has been on cordial terms with the Index VC folks for years and has had a very good rapport with them, so one has to remember that nothing shared in the past isn't helping him shape his opinion. But here's the interesting thing, all of a sudden a bunch of former Kazaa folks are popping up, spread a doomsday story about the original founders pulling the plug on Skype.

The asymmetrical warrior in me see's the pattern. Reach out to a few bloggers, get the scare out. Sorry. My dad taught me something early on in life. Wear a gun. You scare people you may use it. Pull the gun, you better use it. There's no halfway point with a loaded gun that's pointed at the target.

It's time to fire the gun and move on.

Stuart has taken either a bayonet or a surgeon's blade to the recent announcement/attempt by Jajah to catch onto the wave of hype surrounding Twitter.

It is a masterfully written post, that only someone who has spent the time to really care about what can be done, and truly studied the possibilities could author.

I'll also be the first to admit, I don't get the hype over Jajah, and never did. One SIP operator who is part of their so called federation privately tells me that they see no traffic from them. No one at Yahoo has stood up and shouted about how much money they've saved by turning their business of voice calling over to Jajah for Yahoo Messenger (but remember this is the same company -Yahoo-that bought Dialpad and never really used the technology for what it cold do in VoIP, that being least cost routing and massive anti-fraud detection.) Also Jajah wasn't at IT Expo and I don't see them selling at the Channel Partners event next week in Miami Beach, so if they've got something to really sell, why aren't they where the customers are?

Now they want to be part of the Twitter hype, basically taking the anonymous calling technology the inherited from Jangl (and Michael Cerda who stuck around Jajah for all of a Hollywood minute before launching cc:Betty earlier this year.)

Sorry, but cheap calling and apps to drive cheap calling are so yesterday. Free calling is an even bigger non-starter to me, as you can't run your business on Free and be reliable to your customers.

Read Stuart and realize this. Not everyone subscribes to the King and I theory of story telling. Some of us do see things just as they really are.

BT over in London are opening what are being labeled, broadband shops, to show off their new fiber to the cabinet service that delivers 40 meg connections into the home.

In years gone by, the cable operators had town by town customer service locations, but those have gone bye bye for the most part. Given the real estate glut for retail space, the telcos and the cable operators here in the USA would be well suited to re-establish retail store fronts to show off just what high speed can do for people, especially in areas where high speed Internet sees lower penetration rates than on the left and right coasts.

Markus Goebel wants to only make free or almost free calls, and I can't blame him. I mean, why pay if someone will give it away, and in his post he takes a consoling tone about Skype and their flushing of their Extra's program last week, on 9-11 of all days.

So while the UBER geek that he is enables him to play with all kinds of tech toys, gadgets and services, I'd contend that he's in a very small minority, and Skype is not aiming for him as their customer.

Skype wants to take customers away from the telcos not the SIP providers, as Skype For SIP is attempting to do. What's more, Markus is right, Skype isn't the cheapest in cost per minute of calling to the PSTN, and I bet they won't be the cheapest in SIP termination either. But what I do expect is that fill the room like sound that one gets with Skype, in Skype To Skype calls to be what we hear when we make Skype to SIP calls and, as more telcos deploy HD Voice, that the same "fill the room" quality and tonality that we get on Skype to Skype calls will be there too.

• Activities associated with early Mobile VoIP successes are likely to influence LTE operator voice plans in ways that potentially favor IMS.
• While the EMEA region has more Mobile VoIP related revenue currently, Asia Pacific will be the largest regional market by 2013.
• Dual-mode handsets will approach nearly 400 Million units shipped in 2013.
• Revenue and users associated with Mobile VoIP will be distributed among online Mobile VoIP services, 3G-Based Mobile VoIP offerings, and WiMAX/LTE Mobile VoIP offerings.

• Analysis of VoIP’s impact on the mobile market.
• Forecasts for Mobile VoIP-associated revenue by region through 2013.
• Forecasts for Mobile VoIP users and annual usage by region through 2013.
• Profiles of Mobile VoIP start ups.
• Profiles of VoIP providers.
• Profiles of WiMAX providers.

If you look at the map on the Communications Workers of America's SpeedtestReport website and live on fast Internet, you have to be shocked at what can best be described as the deployment of real broadband in the USA, and more shocked at what the nationwide operators deliver.

Living in a major tech hotbed like San Diego most of the time, or in Sacramento, I'm afforded the luxury of really fast broadband, pretty much everywhere. When I travel to Europe, I can be in vineyard regions or a major city, and I pretty much have the kind of connectivity that lets me, in the words of KenRadio's sign off, "Stay Connected."

In looking at the map and the average speeds, it's shocking how so many citizens and communities have such a meager COMPLETE broadband experience. In some states the average upload speed is less than 768, so while the download is higher than it was a few years ago, it's still not fast but the speeds are really just passable as high speed in this era. What we need is more symmetrical offerings, even at higher prices. Hopefully, the broadband stimulus package and 4G services like those from Clearwire will carry things forward.

Looking at the map, it almost appears that most of the nation is like a third world nation? As a matter of fact, I'd contend that SE Asian countries, that lagged for years behind the USA with regard to Broadband access, are starting to surpass us, using our own technology, designed and sold by our own companies to them, because they went all IP where there wasn't any analog before. As a nation, we now rank 28th in overall broadband average speeds. That's pitiful.

We're living, no drowning in sea of dial up and low speed DSL. Forget the concept of the digital divide in the USA between the haves and the have nots. We're actually a country that is on the wrong side of the digital ocean, living in a land that is squandering its biggest natural resource. The minds of our own who are not advancing fast enough because of lack of access to high speed technology that brings with it greater opportunities for educational advancement.

Check out the site, draw your own conclusions. But do that on high speed, if you can as it's a far better experience for all.

San Jose based Agito Networks has shipped their Blackberry client that enables a RIM device to be an extension of the PBX network and is a needed addition for Agito to penetrate the Blackberry heavy North American enterprise market. In Europe, and Asia, where RIM is just really beginning to see sales uptake, Agito's strategy of being handset agnostic will play better.

This newest addition joins their Symbian client for Nokia handsets and the Windows Mobile client in providing the Enterprise a solution that enables mobile handsets to be part of the PBX network, functioning as an extension to the PBX and to deliver a WiFi to Cellular handover.

I'm a huge supporter of the concept of being plugged in and connected, but still lust for the day when any size company, or even an ad hoc network of people (such as emergency service workers from different locals) can become part of what would best be described as a "Mobile PBX" network, truly allowing for ubiquity in communications regardless of handset. So while I see this as offering value as an Enterprise fix, and know it has it's place, the mobile industries lack of an operator level deployment of a solution is really holding us all back and is the chasm that Agito and others need to cross.

I'll compare that to Centrex which revolutionized the landline small business market which enabled small business to quickly connect and work in a unified manner. Centrex of the 70s was what the cloud is today. So when a Mobile Centrex like product arrives and carriers allow it to be deployed, then the prospect of a real Mobile PBX will be alive. For now, though the Agito solution provides the enterprise with something THEY can afford, while the rest of the market simply waits and lusts for the Holy Grail.

David Beckemeyer, aka Mr. Blog put up a Skype vs. Vonage calling the world comparison, and in doing so revealed some very interesting facts about the concept of unlimited that we've all sort of known but in his post he made things very crystal clear.

What I saw first was that Skype's numbers don't really add up. Let's look at their math. In the "Hidden Limits" section of his post David cites:

For Skype, the limits on this so-called “unlimited” plan are “10,000 minutes per user per month, with a maximum of 6 hours per day. Also, no more than 50 different numbers in total can be called per day” (see http://www.skype.com/legal/terms/fair_usage/).

Ok-so here's the math error-6 hours a day is 360 minutes. Using 30 days a month that equals 10,800 minutes, which means for at least two and a half days the user couldn't make outgoing calls to their maximum limit per day as they would have run out two and a half days earlier in total monthly minutes. Now let's go one step deeper. The "fifty call a day limit" means that each call is limited to about 7 minutes and 12 seconds in order to fall into the six hours of calls (outbound).

As a business owner I happen to like that Skype is publishing these guidelines, but wish they would get the math right. What I also would like to see is the ability to buy added bundles of minutes to the unlimited plan, in case the so called "Skype Unlimited minutes" for some reason gets consumed. My guess is that the Skype For SIP program will really address this, and we'll see a higher rate plan established so businesses will really understand what they're getting. In business pricing, transparency is the key to a successful pricing model. And in this era, knowing what you're getting and what you're paying for becomes the key.

Doug Mohney pointed out that for $370 a month in the Twin Cities folks can begin to receive 100 megabyte speeds on downloads and 15 meg uploads.

Not everyone needs that. But as someone who enjoys 50/50 from SureWest in Sacramento at my wife's house I can sure appreciate the thought, but do question the price, but only by a little.

We're paying roughly $220 dollars for our blazing fast, almost no latency (ping time on speedtest.net 5 milliseconds) this morning which is about the usual, and my test was done via WiFi with at least two other devices connected to the router that were running. For us, it's worth it, but these kinds of speeds are not for everyone, but are a boon to the work at home type and the large family which has become download intensive. But one things for sure. Get these kinds of speeds at home and VoIP and Video become almost second nature as the upload pipe becomes much more friendly.

Let's face it, the bNet article on Apple and their recent market entry announcement for new iPods is a very accurate depiction of the result of the launch.

This is not a reflection on the products from Apple, but a result of the company being distracted and the messaging being diffused. This happens because despite the perception of Apple as a giant, their management team and managers are extremely thinly spread. The company doesn't have stacks of people like other companies who do a small amount of anything. Instead they have a few people who do things that cover large amounts of ground.

In this case the announcements, coming on the heels of distraction caused by Eric Schmidt's departure, the FCC investigation, the Google Voice fiasco and a few other issues around the app store, all leads a small group into the world of distraction. Add to that the "return of Steve Jobs" and you have a recipe for distraction.

Story, positioning and messaging are crucial to a successful product introduction, but right now Apple is holding back because anything they say has impact on the FCC actions, as well as potential litigation from shareholders. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place, these are for Apple the first wave of rough seas since Jobs returned in 1996-97. That kind of distraction leads to exactly what happened, and likely caused Apple to hold up some launches of "new" products simply because they couldn't do it really right.

As many of you know I moderate comments on this blog. I do that for one reason. To keep the content on VoIPWatch on point and topical for each post.

Many times I see comment spam and those are deleted. Other times I see what is clearly an attempt to drive relevancy in search or to try to coattail on a very successful brand by being linked to the story. Those too usually get deleted.

Bottom line. If you want to have a comment posted, do what the word COMMENT means. Comment. Don't promote.

About two years ago, Jeff Black and his team at TalkPlus had an idea that could have revolutionized the mobile industry. The concept was giving mobile phone users multiple lines for inbound and outbound calling. The idea, in many ways, was the exact opposite of GrandCentral, meaning instead of one number going everywhere, TalkPlus was about multiple numbers ending up in one place, and in most cases that was the mobile phone.

Now two services offer stripped down versions of what TalkPlus' team was setting out to do.

One is called SecondVoice and the other, from TokTumi is called Line2 which has a very cool application now out in the iPhone App Store. These are both "me too" offerings, and compared to the never achieved success of TalkPlus, nothing but features, not companies.

These kinds of applications are not hard to build. I recently in London saw a technology from a leading edge company that lets you build a GoogleVoice like service in less than a minute based on a robust backend.

Bottom line, these new features demonstrate that imagination is very much alive in the VoIP world, and most of the effort is around the mobile world. These features are the kind of ideas that the mobile operators should be embracing, that being new services that add convenience to people's lives.

Leave it to the sponsor of a formula one racing team to understand how to move things fast. Over in Qutar, Vodafone is experimenting with a traveling retail store concept. The concept reminds me of the ice cream truck that used to come around at night in the summer months when I grew up in Philadelphia.

None of us would have gone ten minutes to the local Baskin and Robbins as that meant finding someone who would drive. But every night there was a line at the Good Humor truck.

Over the past few weeks Robert Poe, a veteran writer and regular contributor to various web sites and publications that covered VoIP and voice communications has been working on a new VoIP blog. It's named Voice Evolution and is now up and running.

Over the years I've been around I've always liked Bob's style where he quickly grasps the story and presents them in a no-nonsense and straight forward style.

More importantly the rise of another VoIP blog, on the heels of a very successful IT Expo and an expected successful VON later in the month tells me VoIP is far from dead. It's very much alive.

It took a lot of work, but the folks at client VoxBone have worked with OpenBTS to light up the annual Burning Man event with some mobile phone service and SMS.

Jim Courtney has the details on the breakthrough that shows how ingenuity is clearly alive and well. By working with OpenBTS Voxbone is able to showcase their iNum technology as well.

I wanted to let everyone know that Counterpath's EyeBeam is now working under Apple's New OS, Snow Leopard. It seemed the special build I had received was a custom version and the update needed a different license key.

Their support people have been very helpful and I commend them for taking such swift action on multiple fronts.

Sprint's Blog, SeamlessEnterprise, which is aimed at the Enterprise market has picked out the "7 VoIP Blogs to Watch" on the subject of VoIP and VoIPWatch is one of them.

And, I'm in great company with the likes of GigaOm, TMC, Fierce and more as those blogs are written by the people whom I respect and who make their living off of professional reporting, and are advertiser supported, while VoIPWatch remains advertiser free.

Congrats to Om, Rich, Tom and all the rest of the VoIP industry covering stalwarts mentioned.

How far is too far in the pursuit of power?

How much power is too much power?

Who is power in America mandated by?

These are all questions every free-thinking American should be asking themselves in light of the newest development in the Socialist take-over of the Federal government. A new draft of Senate bill S.773 has been leaked to and broken by Declan McCullagh of CNET News and CBS News. The main theme of the bill gives the Executive Branch "emergency" control of private-sector computer networks in the event of a "cyberemergency" or "cybesecurity attack" during a severe attack or natural disaster. And specifically says, “whatever is necessary” to repel the attack.

 In addition, it will mandate Federal licensing requirements for the professionals that work on certain communications networks.

"Cyber" is defined as anything having to do with the internet, telecommunications, computers, or computer networks.

 A previously defeated bill in the U.S. Senate specifically included the power to disconnect private-sector computer networks from the internet. This one appears not to specifically define the steps the President can take to shut down a "cybersecurity" attack only "the power to do whatever is necessary", which troubles the Internet Security Alliance; a group made up representatives from major communications companies. Not to mention the American people, IF they find out.

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If I wasn't already committed to matters on the west coast the week of September 14th I'd be heading to New York for the second in a series of conferences on HD Communications put on by Jeff Pulver.

While for many, HD communications is a niche, it's just like VoIP and SIP were ten years or so ago. Right now when people think of HD, they tend to think about HD TV, but for those of us who has experienced my agency's client HiDef Conferencing via the service by the same name or played around ZIPDX you really can hear the difference. Think Skype wideband audio all call long. That's a big change from flat and sometimes hard to hear calls.

Read Jeff's post of August 14th where he was putting the Cable Industry on notice and references how Orange/France Telecom has over 500,000 HD customers across Europe.

HD Voice is not just for the early adoptive types like those who read VoIPWatch. It's really for the mainstream and will be. So learn why, how and who, and head to New York.

After almost six weeks in Europe, with stops to see clients and company executives I advise in no less than four countries (UK, Spain, Austria and France) I feel very good that I was really able to combin both business and pleasure over my much too short two week vacation with my wife. We got to see many friends, from both sides of the Atlantic, and after six weeks one would think that "home" would be the first place on my list I'd want to head after I leave London on Monday, along with Truphone's Director of Applications, Karl Good as we both head to LAX and IT Expo.

Could I have flown home today or tomorrow, and then drove back and forth to Los Angeles. Yes. Would I be tired and fatigued due to the last weekend of Summer traffic on a weekend. Yes, and given this weekend in London is a Bank Holiday that makes London very easy to get around as most of the Londoners are heading to the coast for sun and surf, while I'll stay here enjoying the suds at a pub or two.

But home is still almost a week "away" for me, as next week, starting August 31, which is why after landing in Los Angeles I'm doing my part to reduce my carbon footprint by going right from London to the City of Angels and the fall IT Expo Conference. After a few days home for Labor Day Weekend, its off to San Francisco and the Mobilize conference, bookended by meetings with clients and some dinners with friends in and around SF and Silicon Valley.

The week of September 14 has me heading over to Sacramento with my wife over the weekend and on Monday for a few client meetings, then right down to San Diego for what will be the start of at least 10 days there. Demo starts on the 21st, and it's the last DEMO under longtime friend Chris Shipley, so I'm organizing a few of the legendary "Demo Wine Dinners" with her longtime business partner, Mike Sigal as always. Sadly, DEMO competes head to head with VON, and as much as I'd like to be in Miami Beach, this is sort of a farewell to an era for Chris and Mike, and friendship won out this time.

Around all this there are other conferences, like CTIA starting the 7th of October, also in San Diego and then a trip back to Europe on the 18th to be ready for eComm Europe in Amsterdam the last week of October.

Skype was sent a warning by Peter Csathy, on his blog this week, explaining why Skype, which is currently using the ON2 codec should be worried after Google acquired them. Google is also using parts of Videyo and video technology from client GIPS, and sometime back purchased a company with video expertise out of Scandinavia.

Actually, ON2 made the move at the right time to sell, just as Csathy did when he pulled a rabbit out of his hat and successfully exited SightSpeed to Logitech last November. But I have to disagree about Skype needing to worry about ON2 and Google.

In my view Skype with their technical team has the internal know-how and expertise to build their technology based on standards, not proprietary technologies. So while ON2 uses h.264 and optimizes it very well, this is much like the purchase of TellMe by Microsoft. You but it for what and who it has. Google has yet to demonstrate they play the "patent" game, and their video chat is just that, chat while what Skype is likely working on goes after Cisco and other telepresence suites, democratizing them the way their voice platform has leveled the cost of talking.

The road is filled with mobile VoIP and FMC companies. For a few years we heard how EQO was going to change the world and now you can't even download their software, while others like Challenger, Vyke and WiFi Mobile all made claims that they would change the way we talk but pretty much ended up being clones of two companies, Truphone and Gizmo, both of who early on figured out how to work best on Nokia N and E Series 60 devices and then expanded to more.

Former client now acquired by Counterpath, BridgePort Networks made a good run at Fixed Mobile Convergence and was very much way ahead of its time by a few years, as the carriers and mobile operators all said "like it, but don't see it yet."

Well the "yet" is about to be now, and as Om Malik points out in his post of yesterday, the mobile network operators are opening up more and more to VoIP starting with O2 in Germany but also with over the weekend mention by Verizon Wireless as part of their LTE trials.

Clearly this is good news for client Truphone, whom Om highlighted, as well as a few others who understand their role and place in the whole mobile eco-system.

Yes, the tides are turning, and part of the reason is LTE, which is going to be SIP based. All the work done to get there has not been for naught, but it takes staying power and a vision, as well as a roadmap to get there. Not simply an feature in search of a problem.

A new Forrester report confirms that small businesses and enterprises alike increasingly are adopting managed services offerings. But instead of cost savings, the current mantra during the deep recession, the report found the main reason these businesses went the hosted route was the desire to focus on core competencies. The latest "Enterprise and SMB Networks and Telecommunications Survey" also found continued enterprise and SMB traction for unified communications as well as gradual growth in desktop VoIP installations.

"While the down environment is making most technology areas suffer, managed services is getting a boost as firms look for more flexible payment models that limit capital expenditure but also can keep them current with technology changes that help their firm," Ellen Daley, vice president and research director at Forrester, said in a release. "This further accelerates an industry move to a more flexible services model for fulfillment of telecom, network, and IT technology changes."

According to the survey, 47 percent of enterprise and 37 percent of SMB respondents have purchased a hosted offering. 

For more:
- see the press release here 

Related articles
Q&A on hosted vs. premise-based IP PBX offerings
8x8 launches enterprise version of hosted IP PBX phone service

• Availability of XO's VoIP services in all 50 states for multi-location enterprises;
• Wider range of interoperable IP-PBX platforms for SIP deployments; and
• Availability of automatic call routing to provide business continuity capabilities for XO VoIP customers.

• Avaya Aura, Avaya Communication Manager, Avaya Communication Manager Branch Edition, Avaya IP Office
• Cisco Call Manager Express, Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Cisco UC500
• Digium AA50, Digium Asterisk Business Edition, Digium Switchvox
• Fonality PBXtra, Fonality trixbox Pro
• NEC UNIVERGE SV8100 and UX5000
• Sutus Business Central 200
• Toshiba Strata CIX40, CIX100, CIX200, CIX670 and CIX1200 Automatic Call Routing

Tom Keating is one of the bloggers I like to regularly read as his all the time, non-stop playing with gadgets and gizmos is part of his job over at TMC because he has to make sure they work before pal Rich Tehrani is allowed to put them on the network over at TMC.

So you can imagine the surprise when I saw how high VoIPWatch ranks compared to the other blogs in the space. Talk about an early birthday present and an ego stroke (or as some would say.."like he needs another reason to boast") but boast I shall. Not so much because of the numbers but because Tom and others spend time managing for the search engines and I don't.

For the record I have spent not one second worrying or caring how Google or Yahoo scrapes the page. There has been zero SEO. Zero search engine marketing and Zero time spent even trying to learn how to make the HTML work better so VoIPWatch is found.

All I use is a very basic TypePad supplied template and simply do one thing (most of the time.) I blog about VoIP, and the way the numbers that Tom reported show, it seems being single purpose and focused means more to the relevance weighted Google engines.

I guess you can call this, Organic Blogging.

Let's face it, Skype is a brand. Most users can care less about the technology behind it. I mean, do you really care if your mobile network is Lucent-Alcatel or Nokia-Siemens powered? Same for how Skype works. If it's JoltID that provides the P2P technology that Skype may lose the rights toor if Skype switches to an all-SIP based architecture, as long as it works, then the users won't care.

But the issue around JoltID is far more greater than what it means going forward for Skype. One has to look back and ask oneself what did eBay buy if the core part of the technology wasn't part of the deal.

I can see the lawyers for the shareholders cranking up the printing presses.

As someone who wishes he can lighten his load, carry a USB drive loaded with apps that allows me to "stay connected" would be too cool.

I found this cool guide like website devoted to what are best labeled as PenDrive Applications that for the most part are designed for Windows PC's, but the site claims more Mac and Linux apps are coming. One of the categories was VoIP, and a bevy of softphones were listed, as well as utilities to take your Skype application on a USB drive.

Now that's cool.

The way I figure it, all you need is a USB/PenDrive, the Plantronics Internet Phone Booth in your kit bag (a zip-loc is great for this) and you're off and dialing anytime you can find a PC.

GoMo News, Techcrunch drew my attention to 3Jam, a GoogleVoice like clone. So I took one for the team (my readers) and jumped in head first running it through it's paces.

Here are some fast observations:

Set up was fast, easy. A confirmation email and I was off and running.

To get a 3Jam number you have to pay as little as $4.99 per month. GoogleVoice is free.

Like GoogleVoice you have to buy outbound minutes. You also have to pay for SMS traffic, while at GoogleVoice SMS origination via the web interface is free.

Calls to Skype are permitted. Right now you can't directly call Skype with GoogleVoice unless you have a SkypeIn number or Gizmo5 that can point your calls to Skype for GoogleVoice customers due to the peering relationship between GV and Gizmo that I helped establish a few years ago, and ironically, 3Jam is using OpenSky to ring calls inbound to my Skype ID.

The voice on the answering engine is mechanical. It sounds like something out of StarWars. I'll eventually get around to changing it.

3Jam is not a new company, debuting at DEMO in 2006 and has spent time working with messaging applications, mostly built around SMS. One app they have made available is a Twitter app that is useful to those outside the USA who need to be twetted and to tweet. A Windows only desktop SMS app is in place already, as is a Blackberry Threaded SMS application.

My take-right now the 3Jam service looks to be really strong in the SMS space and has decided to leverage that and jump into the find me/follow me game, offer Local Number Portability and bundle in some other services, ala Google Voice.

Clearly right now they are falling into the "Me Too, Me Also" space and are looking to become a "Me Different" company in the unified space, just as they achieved in the SMS/Texting space with the group texting solution they delivered to socially networked carriers, but unfortunately without more to the new service, it hasn't gotten there, yet. Now if they blended the features of former client TalkPlus' capabilities to the service (Note I remain an option holder in TalkPlus for transparency purposes) they would be different, and would have something that could outflank GoogleVoice.

These folks aren't slouches. They have some serious money behind them in NEA and Norwest Venture Partners, have a nice customer list who they provide white label services using the 3jam platform to including Peek, Samsung, Motorola and Virgin Mobile USA (or until the Sprint merger closes and they learn what happens next.)

As an option to GoogleVoice, 3Jam is clearly getting it's groove on...time will tell just how well they play in a space which is only going to get more crowded as the mobile operators begin to offer more new features that previously required third parties to provide them.

Discussing Verizon’s second-quarter results, which included a 7.2 per cent fall in net income to $3.2bn, John Killian, chief financial officer, said: “Clearly the broader economic issues are affecting the business.

“Although we are taking steps to mitigate the negative impacts of the economy in the short term, we also need to more ­significantly reduce the wireline cost structure over the next 12 to 18 months.”

Operating revenues in Verizon’s global enterprise business segment, which mainly serves big companies, fell 6.7 per cent to $3.7bn as customers reacted to the downturn. Wholesale revenues fell 7.5 per cent to $2.4bn.

Revenues in Verizon’s fixed-line business fell 5.2 per cent to $11.5bn in spite of growth in fibre optic-based video services and broadband services. The number of fixed lines served by Verizon fell by a further 630,000, or 12.3 per cent, to 19.7m, mostly reflecting wireless substitution.

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With all the hoopla around GoogleVoice not having an iPhone app, it's very rewarding to see that development by noted voice companies continues for smartphone platforms.

GigaOm is reporting that Vonage is likely releasing a smartphone app, and smart money says it will be for the iPhone. That will be very good news for Vonage customers who have an iPhone if true.

Is an Android app also in the works?

Mindspeed Technologies, a provider of VoIP semiconductor solutions, announced two new devices in its Comcerto 300 series of integrated VoIP processors that it said will allow for lower performance and density applications to be operated at lower costs. Mindspeed is touting the systems' ability to remove system complexity and risk, according to the release.

The new products are aimed at FTTx deployments, specifically to multi-dwelling units (MDUs), according to the company. Due to the Comcerto product line, Mindspeed said it has gained traction in access VoIP port shipments, which Dell'Oro group research suggests will grow at a 51 percent compound annual growth rate over the next five years, from 11 million ports in 2008 to 85 million ports in 2013, according to the release.

For more:
- see the Mindspeed press release here 

Related article
Mindspeed, AudioCodes report record results

Russian lawmakers and a business group claim VoIP companies are causing unfair competition for domestic mobile network operators and telcos, according to a New York Times report. Members of Russia's Parliament and the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (now that doesn't sound Soviet) are considering floating a law that would ban or severely restrict VoIP companies from operating in Russia.

The union is lobbying on behalf of Russian MVNO MegaFon, one of the largest mobile network operators in the country, and it claims services like Skype should be restricted because they are foreign entities taking revenue from domestic telephony operations. A vice president of another Russian telephony player, TransTelKom, will head a panel to discuss the terms and conditions of the proposed legislation.

While the revenue loss is likely the root cause of the proposed protectionist regulation, its proponents also said VoIP companies, mentioning Skype explicitly, could pose a security threat and need to be governed more closely. The committee said it plans to release its recommendations in about two months. 

For more:
- see the New York Times article here

Related articles
Verizon fights VoIP regulation in Oregon
UAE to liberalize VoIP regulation

Yesterday I received an email from one of the wizards of Gizmo5 who works for my friend and neighbor Michael Robertson (he lives a few minutes down the beach) about something I felt blows through the "Speed To Cool" and gets to "WOW" almost immediately.

To make it simple, the email invited me to a beta that would let me (or any Gizmo5 user) make calls out using Google Voice from a SIP device.

The subject line simply read:

Free US calling on any SIP device using Google Voice

And the note went on to further get my interest and excitement with:

Gizmo5 is working on a mashup service with Gizmo5 and Google Voice called GizmoVoice and we'd like your help testing it. Gizmo Voice is designed to let users take full advantage of the messaging and calling services of Google Voice combined with Gizmo5's support for any SIP device. The goal is to have ANY SIP device (wifi phone, ATA, SIP client, PBX node, etc) to be able to make and receive US calls without a monthly or per minute fee.

Now, since calls to USA destinations are free via Google Voice, what Gizmo5 has done is now made really free calling both placing and receiving a total reality.

Here's why.

1. Already you can terminate your Google Voice number on a Gizmo5 account. That means all you need is a SIP endpoint like a softphone such as Eyebeam, Bria or X-lite from Counterpath or any softphone provider, or a SIP device. This is possible because one of the options for where to receive your Google Voice calls is your Gizmo number.

2. With the new BETA that Gizmo is in trials with that same SIP connection that sends calls to Gizmo5 now initiates calls and routes them out via Google Voice. Think Skype but without the need to pay for anything. Google Voice gives you a free number and Gizmo provides the front end to make a free call.

This will work, not only with any SIP device or softphone, but in my testing I have it also working with my Gizmo5 softphone client on the Mac, and I was able to prove it out a few times by calling my mobile phone directly and the words GrandCentral which is my entry in the address book for my Google Voice number appeared.

Next, I then tested on a SIP based DID I keep for testing purposes from CallCentric. I dialed that number using the Gizmo5 client and watched my caller ID appear as my GoogleVoice number. I then called the same number via Counterpath's Eyebeam and the same result occurred. The GoogleVoice caller ID was presented.

Now this is where it really gets interesting on two fronts.

The iPhone and Skype

I'll start with Skype.

Receiving Skype Calls

Currently with Gizmo5's OpenSky service (for $5.00 a year) you can forward your Skype calls to your Gizmo5 account. That means you can be reached over your SIP based handsets by both regular callers who dial your PSTN number and your SKYPE ID. From what I can tell, theoretically you could have your calls all end up in one place as those Skype callers will end up hopping from Skype to Gizmo to GoogleVoice and should not end up in an endless looks as the wizards at GoogleVoice already have installed call loop detection in order to replace your mobile phone's voice mail which was enabled way back in 2007. That means in theory the same can be done with Gizmo5 routed calls into GoogleVoice when the call loops back your Google Voice number. That means you have free voice mail, and free voice mail to email and free translation.

Placing Calls To Skype Users

That's takes care of the receiving of calls from Skype. Now let's talk about placing calls to Skype users from your GoogleVoice+Gizmo5 service. That's simple too, as OpenSky already makes it possible for a Skype name to be called from any SIP device by dialing a number. To do that you create an alias. That's a bit of work, but I would bet that auto-alias creation can't be far off for Gizmo5's team (or for that matter by GoogleVoice's.)

Now saving the best for last.

The Apple iPhone or iPod Touch.

I found an app that used to be called SipPhone (ironically the company name of Gizmo5) that comes out of Asia from a company called VNETCorp. Recently they changed the name of their softphone client to iSIP, and its a very handy download for the Apple iPhone or iPod touch. Inside the settings are pre-configured that are so damn simple that anyone who can enter their username and password can start to use it, if they have service from one of the pre-configured carriers, one of which is Gizmo5.

So my last test was simply this. On my Apple iPhone I loaded in my Gizmo settings and made a SIP call to my CallCentric supplied DID that rings inside my Counterpath supplied X-Lite softclient from my iPhone over WiFi. A few seconds later, it rang, displaying my Google Voice Caller ID. When I returned the call via the iSIP, the call went back to the Caller's ID not to Google Voice, as the Caller ID was properly being passed. This means when I'm returning the call by dialing the number, the receiving party sees my Google Voice number, while I've seen their number coming in via Caller ID or heard their name via the Google Voice call screener.

Now you know why I said "WOW!"

To be transparent, back in 2007 I helped broker the relationship between GrandCentral and Gizmo. It was a simple SIP peering arrangement because all parties involved knew that standards based calling would be game changing. If receiving calls for free on Gizmo via GrandCentral was the first inning. Making calls for FREE via the combined efforts is the second inning. The iPhone app integration is the top of the third inning and what's next will be the bottom of the third. Oh, for what it's worth, the home field advantage remains up for grabs, but one things for sure, regardless of which side you're rooting for, this time, the fans will be winning.

In an earlier blog post I was critical of the CTIA award process, and I was wrong. It seems CTIA should be critical and possibly litigious against Zer01 instead.

A wonderful reader of this blog found something very interesting, that may shoot more holes in the unfolding Zer01 mystery. It seems they never won anything from the CTIA...WHOA!!!! In light of Nancy Gohring's riveting IDG story

Over on Scam.com (what a name) there seems to be a complete report by a reader which if accurate seems to cast more disfavor on Zer01.

Smoothstone, a Louisville, Ky.-based VoIP managed services provider focusing on the mid-market, announced that revenues in the first half of 2009 have increased nearly 49 percent compared to the same period in 2008. The company, which provides hosted VoIP and UC services, said its growth is more than double projections for the larger VoIP industry made by IBISWorld in March, which predicted a 20.1 percent industry-wide revenue increase.

Smoothstone also pointed to analyst firm Gartner's classification of UC as a top ten strategic technology for 2009 as evidence that its services will continue to be relevant in the market. Hosted VoIP and UC solutions are gaining traction as the recessionary environment leads companies to deploy communications solutions that have low capex commitments.

For more:
- see the press release here

Over the past week I've been shifting between T-Mobile (on my Nokia E71) as well as both Three and Vodafone for mobile data.

For ease of use Three and T-Mobile on mobile handsets are simple and easy to deal with, and offer easy to follow pay as you go options for as little as a day with Three, or a week with T-Mobile, or daily where you don't have to do anything at all.

Cost wise, Three is the best value as you can get a 7 GB plan for 25 pounds. T-Mobile isn't that far behind them with a 2 pounds per day plan for what is deemed "fair use"but they cap it at 3GB a month and you're not supposed to use it for VoIP, making Skype a non-starter.

The most expensive service comes from Vodafone, at 15 pounds per gig. You also get the best and only HSUPA network in the London area. Hands down it's the best 3G experience I've had, rivaling my Verizon experience in the USA on the downloads, but smoking just about anything out there except a Fiber connection as the uploads have been as fast as most cable and DSL connections.

Coverage wise, Voda and T-Mobile cover more of the UK, but if London is where you'll be most of the time, then any of these will do, with Three offering the best value for money and Vodafone giving you a true HSUPA experience.

This week Alec wrote about two clients and his insight on both is on target. If Alec wasn't a full time entrepreneur running iotum and keeping Calliflower on track his blogging would put him on par with the top writers online and he'd have both a day and night job that was one in the same :-)

First his review of the Nokia N97 vs. Apple iPhone is perhaps the best comparison I've come across. While I'm still using the Nokia E71 (and E75) I can say one thing very clearly. The battery life on the Nokia buries the new Apple iPhone 3GS. The Apple can barely make it 8 hours with being recharged, while the Nokia just keeps on running.

Then he recaps a briefing with ShoZu CEO Chris Wade. Wade is rapidly proving to me that as an experienced serial entrepreneur with wins under his belt that much like Google's Craig Walker, good executives listen to their advisors, deal quickly with the high level issues that matter, but most of all understand that their product or service being right for the mark and addressing issues about that as they arise makes for a winning formula.

That's the same way Alec is running iotum. Making sure Calliflower keeps working and meets the needs of his customers and users.

For those Linux folks out there who have always wanted to know about which softphones work on the Penguin platforms, VoIPGuides has published a rather complete listing of the range of offerings.

Ideally this will appeal to the users of Linux eeePC users who want to have more than Skype on their tote-a-longs. Add a PocketSpot MiFi or Cradlepoint plus a softphone client and you have voice calling and access whereever you may be.

While there may be some who think Fixed Mobile Convergence is dead, clearly someone in Belgium doesn't. TechCrunch Robin Wauters reports on Cherry, a new company that is promising to deliver Fixed Mobile Convergence, meaning GSM and WiFi, with Voice Call Continuity at the base of it.

Now, some points that need to be added:

1) Counterpath now holds the intellectual property (i.e. Patents and Patents Pending) for what was BridgePort Networks, the originators of Voice Call Continuity.

2) Another company, Outsamrt Telecom, out of Israel, has similar technology that makes this work also.

3) Cicero Networks out of Ireland is a third company that played in the Voice Call Continuity and FMC space.

Each had or has struggled to get operators to roll out the FMC/VCC concept in mass, and the only two successful deployments of major note beyond one deployment by Bridgeport in the Balkans, was UMA offered by T-Mobile and Orange's UNYK in France and possibly the UK.

The play that Cherry is making is based upon IMS and SIP, leveraging a mobile network operator for GSM calls. Currently they are supporting Symbian powered Nokia E series devices, and plan to have the service work on Windows Mobile, Android and of course the iPhone.

Alec Saunders was fortunate to receive a new Nokia N97 while participating in a project we're involved with for Nokia last week in San Francisco.

His review pits the Nokia N97 against the new Apple iPhone GS and clearly shows why for multimedia, the real purpose of the N9x devices, since the N90 was first released, and it successors, the N91, N93 and the amazing N95 consistently outperform all others in that category.

Most of all, Alec nailed it by saying N95 users finally have a reason to change devices.

ChannelWeb first reported on the issue in May, when Microsoft layed off much of the group behind Response Point, and wouldn't commit to future development of a 2.0 release.

This week, ChannelWeb reports that Response Point Program Manager John Frederickson told a town hall meeting with VoIP resellers that the company doesn't currently plan to release future versions of Response Point but will continue to maintain the product and evaluate specific feature requests.

Hard to know exactly what that means, but if I were looking for a VoIP PBX for my small business, I'd be looking for a little more reassurance about Response Point's future. Otherwise, I'd keep looking elsewhere.

According to ChannelWeb, Response Point is "a full-fledged IP PBX system designed for organizations with up to 50 employees." It boasts an "affordable price tag and robust feature set, which includes SIP trunking and click-to-call functionality via Outlook."

See Microsoft's Response Point site.

Source: Bmighyl

Editor's Note:  I want to bring attention to a free book offer "Creating RFP's for IP Telephony Systems" that is being presented by VoiceIP Solutions.  The book covers the process that goes into creating a RFP when getting bids for a new phone system / PBX.  This is ideal for the IT Manager or Telecommunication System Director that has been tasked with getting competitive bids from various vendors.  If you use this book and it does come in handy for your PBX project, please send me a note and let me know.  Enjoy.

Here is what Amazon.com states the book covers:

· What are RFPs and RFQs
· Why use and RFP for IP Telephony Systems
· What are the Key RFP Objectives and Processes
· How to Identify Company Communication Requirements
· Who is involved in the Creation of an RFP
· The Typical Steps in Creating an RFP Document
· How to Issue and Manage RFPs
· Evaluating RFP Responses
· RFP Communication between Issuer and Responder
· Outline Template for a typical RFP 

 Goto the following link and fill out the information form and a book will be send out within 7-10 business days (While supplies last):

VoIP & IP PBX RFPs Book Offer - VoiceIP Solutions

Hat Tip to Doug Mohney for his discovery of Comcast's new International plan, which is another broad shot cross the bow taken at Vonage and Skype by the cable companies.

While not a "free" offer, this is a move by the cable giant is offering another reason to buy their triple play (voice, video and data) and then upsell the customers with more options. In this case $15 dollars buys you an added 300 minutes (six hours) of international calling.

• Improved performance to support environments with up to 1000 simultaneous VoIP calls
• An exclusive licensing and pricing model for VoIP Service Providers based on concurrent calls
• Full support for Cisco CallManager 6.x and 7.1 environments
• Support for processing Avaya S8700 CDRs, Cisco Unified Communications Manager 6.1 and 7.0 CDRs
• Ability to create 'Schedulers' for predefined reports and e-mail them as PDF files.
• Enhanced multi-day reporting to provide day-specific averages on ASR, ACD, MOS etc.

• N96
• N78
• N85 (also VoIP enabled)
• N79 (also VoIP enabled)
• 5630 (also VoIP enabled)
• 5800
• 5320
• 6210
• 6220
• 6650
• E63

• Truphone Anywhere: Calls made when customers are connected to local wireless networks are handled as local calls and then passed on to the Truphone network, from where they are routed at Truphone’s fantastic rates to landline and mobile phones worldwide. This service is intended for use in the user’s home country as savings cannot be guaranteed abroad.
• Truphone Wi-Fi calling: Calls made when customers are in accessible Wi-Fi hotspots anywhere in the world, can be made for free to other Truphone users and at Truphone’s fantastic rates to landline and mobile phones worldwide.

In what may be a controversial post with some pundits, Lee Dryburgh has gone out on a limb, picking up on a Phil Wolff meme to describe his passionate viewpoints and perspectives about what's up with Skype in the future. Phil in turn captured Lee's views and put them up on SkypeJournal.

Dryburgh (whose event, Ecomm is a client) clearly is coming at this from a "I've been inside" perspective and is sharing a lot of ideas and heart felt viewpoints on a company which I think is about to find its feet.

Ever since Skype was bought by eBay, the company has had a steady stream of eBay types telling it what to do. One more management change at the top is likely, post IPO or sell off, to remove the entire eBay like culture that has kept Skype from chasing its own destiny, so while the current man at the top is far better than what was there before, there's still the eBay hand on his shoulder, clouding everyone's perspective of him. That and the pesky JoltID suit which on face has to make one question the concept of "due diligence" being exercised to the finest levels prior to the eBay purchase of Skype.

Anyway, without digressing, give the post a read and recognize that a lot of Lee's thoughts are coming from someone very much inside the industry, but from a perspective of someone who has actually made things work.

VoIP device maker ooma announced a $14 million round of funding led by Worldview Technology Partners, which has invested in ooma before. Previous investors were reportedly bought out in the funding round, according to TechCrunch.

ooma, which makes the Scout and Hub VoIP calling boxes, launched in 2007 with the same "buy this box, pay nothing for phone service" pitch it has now, but saw little success early on due to customer confusion over total cost of ownership. Then ooma brought in Rich Buchanan, architect of the Sling Box's early success, as CEO, and the company cut prices and soon forged distribution deals with Best Buy and RadioShack that have brightened the company's chances of profitability.

The company also distinguished itself by promoting a premium offering with additional features that generates subscription revenues to augment the device sales. 

For more:
- see the TechCrunch post on ooma's funding here 

Related articles
ooma's price cut, Best Buy deal spurring sales
ooma launches Telo home VoIP phone
ooma signs deal with RadioShack

Now that Nortel Networks has announced it will seek to sell all of its assets, speculation is heating up about which companies could poach Nortel's lucrative VoIP and switching unit. Analyst Catherine Trebnick told Light Reading that Sonus Networks is a likely candidate to buy Nortel's VoIP and switching assets, which Trebnick said could fetch around $350 million at their currently distressed price. With 320 carriers using Nortel VoIP gear, the assets would give a buyer serious market share.

Nokia Siemens Networks, which purchased Nortel's CDMA and LTE business for $650 million, is also said to have requested financial details on the unit from Nortel, along with VoIP equipment vendor GENBAND. 

For more:
- see the Cable Digital News article here 

Related articles
Nortel aims for break-up after NSN deal
Nortel soldiers on with carrier VoIP

The three indicted in the U.S. are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, unauthorized access to computers and other charges, according to U.S. attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr.

"The hackers we've charged enabled their conspirators in Italy and elsewhere to steal large amounts of telecommunications capacity, which could then be used to further or finance just about any sort of nefarious activity here or overseas," Marra said.

Pakistani nationals in Italy used the stolen codes to offer cheap calls to their clients on the PBXs of commercial companies in the United States, Australia and Europe.

Some of the profits from the scam were used to finance the activities of Islamist extremists in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Italian officials said, according to the IDG News report.

Marra said the hackers dialed into the PBXs and used a process known as a brute force attack to hit vulnerable points of the PBX systems.

Source: IDG News Service

An interesting article out o Japan questions if FaceBook really even needs VoIP.

My view is it does, but it's really from the perspective of being a call trigger point, not a voice hosting platform. Services like Calliflower live well inside the Facebook world for group communications, but as far as building a calling service off of FaceBook, there won't be any real money to be made for a long, long time.

Client Global IP Solutions, which pretty much wrote the book on voice compression in the IP comms arena, landed Korea Telecom, now called KT, to provide the key piece of technology that will make the new Smartphone based on Windows Mobile sound good.

P.S. To keep track of GIPS's viewpoints on the emerging communications industry, especially what's happening in HD voice and video, you may want to follow their blog as well that is written by a cross section of their executives and even some guest bloggers.

When I see a press release on PRWeb, sort of a no cost, low cost distribution service that few people follow compared to Business Wire or PR NewsWire, I always feel someone tried to "hide" the news. That's the sense I have around the so called acquisition of Jaxtr by the founder of HotMail's India based operating company.

To me, given the lack of details about the purchase, this sounds more like a dump the company into something that has a shot by putting Jaxtr in the hands of someone who is a known quantity to the investors, vs. just winding it down. That means someone felt there was something with the Intellectual Property worth handing over, in exchange for some level of equity in the surviving company.

For those who forgot about Jaxtr, the company offered free calling over a mobile phone and was using an advertising based model. I've always been skeptical about these types of operations that plan to rely on ad dollars, due to a variety of factors, all before the economy cratered and the ad market dried up. My biggest concern has always been the lack of the ability to really target calls between individuals and the reluctance of many to want their calling habits known. The third and most important reason has been the emergence of services like Skype, Gizmo and other Instant Messaging to Voice services which are siphoning away millions of minutes a day from traditional calling networks.

It looks like we're going to see the concept of paying for access to the Internet for some apps that cut into the revenue of the service providers.

Today, MoCoNews is reporting in the Washington Post that T-Mobile Germany is going to charge 9.95 Euros to allow VoIP services to be accessed by their customers.

I'm not at all surprised. I have been expecting this and what Director of Strategy for BT Design, Martin Geddes, refers to as "sending party pays" to rise over time as the ISP's begin to recognize that they need some mechanism to recover lost revenue that is now going to 3rd parties.

But this is not all bad news from where i look at it. What the pricing model does is now set the bar for what operators of Voice services know they may have to factor in if they want to buy that access for their customers. I would contend that the smart operator, who can secure the "approved" status will likely be able to negotiate a better rate en masse, than the individual customers will be able to.

This also means, ala the baggage charge that airlines are now tossing around, and how that implies your bag has to arrive with you because you paid for it to travel with you, that the ISP has to insure a certain level of service quality, because their contention is that to use these services requires upkeep of the network. Their customers are not paying for future upgrades, their paying for access today to the network and they want to make VoIP calls.

My prediction is we will start seeing two kinds of pricing:

A La Carte or All you can eat, with the All you can eat being higher than today's rates, but offering more of more services included.

• Verizon Business scores highest in Infonetics' leadership matrix for IP Centrex services and IP connectivity services due largely to its strong financial stability
• New Global Telecom ranks second overall for IP Centrex services, with the largest number of IP Centrex subscribers in North America and an outstanding market strategy
• In the IP connectivity services market, closely following Verizon Business, are Cbeyond and Paetec
• Other service providers in the leadership matrix rankings: 8x8, Alteva Networks, AT&T, BroadView Networks, BroadVOX, Comcast, Covad, Global Crossing, iCore Networks, Level 3, Time Warner Telecom, and XO

• The latest version of Sonic Focus audio enrichment software that runs nearly 50 percent faster in embedded applications
• The new configurable AS 211 SFX Subsystem intellectual property that consumes 30 percent less power on less silicon real estate
• A new Media Software Framework that provides software developers an easy-to-use software API
• A comprehensive set of software and hardware development tools to turn concept into final product
• An extensive range of pre-integrated audio and video codecs managed by ARC
• A reference platform for complete Sound-to-Silicon hardware and software development

XCast Labs announced a $2.7 million Series A round of funding led by Siemer and Associates. In a separate announcement, the company announced its basic VoIP products and services would be fully interoperable with Skype offerings by June 15.

"We are indeed positive about the rapid growth of XCast Labs, fueled by its leading intellectual property and experienced management team," said David Siemer, CEO of Siemer & Associates, in a statement. "In addition, XCast is well positioned to lead the change of how unified communications is utilized in numerous market segments."

XCast said the funding demonstrates its strong financial situation amidst economic turmoil.

"Unlike some other VoIP providers who are struggling to stay afloat, XCast Labs truly stands alone in regard to its financial stability, service quality, support, functionality and cost," said XCast Labs co-founder and CEO, Cliff Rees, in a statement.

Rees said the funding would help the company become profitable by the first quarter of 2010. 

For more:
- see the funding press release here
- see the Skype announcement here 

Related article
XCast Labs relaunches SIPTalk service, cuts rates

Stacy @ GIGAOM has been keeping a watchful eye on the meandering ways of Time Warner Cable and their new user agreement. Basically she points out the flaws in it, giving it a well deserved thumbs down.

Here's who should be upset:

Vonage

Skype

Gizmo5

and just about all the VoIP operators.

Add in:

UStream

Justin.TV

Livestream.com

YouTube

Vimeo

Also:

SightSpeed (Logitech)

ooVoo

Yahoo

Microsoft

Oh..yes, just about anyone in the business of real time and fat pipe communications. I guess that includes Google too with Wave, GoogleTalk and more.

Why should they be upset? Because we're seeing the cable TV model applied to broadband communications, something I wrote back on April 14 of this year as a follow up to Stacy's post then.

I'll admit, I'm a gadget guy, and the kind of person who just has to have the latest and greatest, then push the limits of it to the nth degree immediately upon purchase. I did that once with my Nissan 300zx back in 1995 when I bought my Z, getting to the 350 mile mark in one weekend, then taking it to the wide open highways near Banning and Palm Desert and letting the engine and turbo chargers do their thing.

Yesterday I went to the Verizon Wireless store and bought one of the new Novatel Wireless' MiFi mobile hotspot in your pocket devices that delivers broadband everywhere you go. Before I even left the store (and after a fast installation and activation, as well as update to Verizon's new Broadband Access 7.0 software on my Asus EEE PC 1008HA) I was up and running and making phone calls. That's right. I did a fast test right inside the Verizon Wireless store and used a T-Mobile UMA based Blackberry Curve to call first my Google Voice account, then to call a friend. Both calls sounded great.

Since Helene's flight to San Diego was delayed by heavy fog and overcast skies, I used the extra time to try out the device as I sat in the Cell Phone waiting lot by Lindbergh Field and made a few more calls. Before trying any of the calls I disabled the mobile network connectivity to T-Mobile, latched on to the hotspot and saw the WiFi and UMA indicators light up. Calls. Email, IM's and even Blackberry messenger all worked fine.

Once I got home I made a few Truphone and Skype calls using my Apple iPhone and iPod touch. All worked but had variable results, making me think that location and where you are in relation to the cell tower, how much traffic is going on at that time on the data network will have impact. One call was great, the next choppy. Still though, for $59.99 having an alternative way to call with an iPod Touch and Truphone's unlimited calling as a way to listen in on Conference Calls or via Skype to do the same and be on the beach without a cell phone is a pretty neat trick.

I'll be putting the MiFi through it's paces today with my Nokia E71 and will update my first day's experience then, but for now this is an amazing device to have if you need to share Internet access with up to 5 people. It runs on battery power, can be recharged via USB from a PC and easily fits in your pocket. Sprint is also releasing a similar unit this week.

I'm representing Vringo, one of the companies whose advisory boards I sit on next week at what is shaping up to be a very talent filled conference in Los Angeles.

Dubbed, the Israel Conference, it is all about bringing the companies and technologies whom are both known and under the radar, which are looking to bring their stories to the public, gain awareness, foster relationships and more.

Given the success of so many Israeli startups in the past, such as ICQ, this event is ideal for those looking to hear first about what's new and rising, should make their way to Beverly Hills for the conference.

The speaker line up is impressive and the format is promising to be fast paced. If you find yourself in Los Angeles on June 4th, it clearly is worth attending.

MobileCrunch has broken a story exclusively about a new Nokia Tablet that runs something other than Symbian. In this case the reported number is 900, as a follow on to the Nokia N810.

As someone who really enjoys the Nokia N810 and whom had the good fortune to trial a WiMax equipped model at the kick off of XOOM last fall in Baltimore I can only relish the rebirth of the amazing Linux based gem of a device.

Here's hoping it really is true.

Alec Saunders has a very good analysis on why free conferencing call service Foonz has bitten the dust.

Long time readers (and listeners of KenRadio's World Technology Roundup) will know well my views on FREE. It simply doesn't work. We've all heard the expression "there's no such thing as a free lunch." Well in the case of "free conference calling" the Bell is about to toll.

As Alec points out, getting paid by the rural carriers is becoming a harder and harder challenge and some telcos are blocking calls to those numbers too.

My view is simply this. If you're in business and using a free service you run the risk of this happening.

Never to be accused of standing still in any type of economy, networking giant Cisco is "getting" smaller. After years of struggling with what their mobile strategy will be, the company is figuring out how to take some of its core assets like WebEx and others and migrate them from the desktop to the mobile and handheld world, according to a report from Rethink Wireless.

Since January WebEx has been available on the iPhone, joining client iotum's Calliflower in the virtual meeting space tool aisle in the Apple App store. That effort has given Cisco the kind of insight that shows they should be delivering a more complete experience across the board into mobile.

Add to that their growing interest in storage, and it's no surprise to figure out that the cloud + mobile is where the company is going to see growth over the next few years.

Embarq Communications released a hosted VoIP offering with two tiers aimed at enterprise customers. Embarq said its Managed IP Telephony service provides always-on monitoring and alerting, and informs customers about network issues through phone or email.

Annette Pollock, product manager of managed services for Embarq, said customers migrating to VoIP often find it to be a "mine field."

"The VoIP applications are more complex than anything you can get over TDM," Pollock said.

The MIPT service also provides remote diagnostics and minor repairs, a 24x7 live response help desk, and monthly traffic and alarm activity reports, the company said. Customers who want to analyze their network performance at a more granular level can upgrade to the Comprehensive Services package, which gives them an assigned technical engineer, detailed problem reports to determine remedies, and project implementation.

Pollock said Embarq has sold IP telephony applications and validating networks to users for some time, but now it can provide proactive management as well. She said the hosted VoIP offering is mainly targeted at small- to medium-sized businesses, and it retails on a per server basis, rather than per seat. 

For more:
- see the press release here 

Related article
MetaSwitch lands Embarq

• Microsoft?s Hosted Messaging and Collaboration version 4.5 ? integrates premise-based PBX phones with IT tools such as e-mail, presence and instant messaging;
• Video-enabled SIP Trunking ? delivers ?personal telepresence? to PBX customers by adding video stations to selected employees and meeting rooms; and
• FMC ? extends PBX features to mobile devices independent of the network, using BroadSoft?s award-winning BroadWorks Anywhere functionality.

• Fully Redundant IP Networks ? eliminates any single point of failure for an enterprise;
• Multiple Trunk Groups per IP PBX ? enables an enterprise to apply sophisticated routing policies for delivery of calls across the trunk groups; and
• Dynamic Multi-site Enterprise Support ? allows an enterprise to purchase a fixed amount of call capacity and apply that across any number of locations. This is particularly useful for multi-site call center deployments where capacity moves between sites based on the time of day.

Tone Commander has introduced the industry’s first TSG-6 SIP-compliant phone. In addition, it announced that the National Telecommunications Security Working Group (NTSWG) has approved the device for government and military use.

The NTSWG, formerly known as the Telecommunications Security Group (TSG), is a Joint Working Group of the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS), which was established under EO 13231 to protect National Security Systems. The TSG issued "standards" as the primary technical and policy resource for all aspects of the Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) Program within the U.S. Intelligence Community. TSG Standard 6 (Updated January 2005) is a compilation of TSG-approved telephone security equipment. These items have been specifically evaluated by the NTSWG for security effectiveness.

The 7810 TSG-6 IP phone enables integration wherever IP networks are available and provides security and encryption options for customers who require ultra-secure communications. For example, it offers RTP voice encryption (AES-128) and TLS signaling encryption included in FIPS 140-2 approved algorithms. It also offers DoD features specified in DISN RTS GSR (Defense Information Systems Network, Real Time Services, Generic Systems Requirements) as well as multilevel precedence and preemption, providing barge-in capabilities for high-priority calls.

The Tone Commander 7810 TSG-6 IP phone is Class-A compliant and can be used in Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIF) areas without any other equipment for on-hook security. Special positive metallic-disconnect circuitry is built in to guarantee that no unintended microphonic audio signals are produced on any wires leaving the phone. Moreover, additional built-in circuitry completely disconnects the phone from the network when power is removed.

Tone Commander’s 7810 TSG-6 IP phone is priced at $880.50 for retail or $599 for GSA eligible customers.

Source: Phone Plus Mag

Vonage reports its first-quarter financial results Thursday. Given the statements made by the company's CEO on the last earnings call, analysts will be scrutinizing three key metrics: SLAC, customer churn, and net customer gains/losses.

At the end of February, Vonage CEO Marc Lefar called the company's expenses to secure customers - SLAC - "not acceptable," with net addition of customers "well below" expectations. SLAC increased to $309 per customer in Q1 2009, up from $289 per customer in Q4 2008. SLAC should be down given the noises the company made about finding a new ad agency.

Customer churn per month was battered down to 2.9 percent per month in Q1 2009, but that didn't help much, since Vonage registered its first net customer loss of 14,700 subscribers. Lefar said the company had been working on automating its customer care functions and making customer turn up more efficient.

If the "It's cheaper than landline/bad economy drives price shopping" theory holds, net subscribers should be up a bit, assuming the company has managed to reduce churn again.

Other items to look for: Progress on market opportunities outside of North America and the UK, a mobile application, and a new SMB offering. All items were referenced in the Q1 2009 conference call, but new product announcements haven't happened yet.

Related articles
Vonage CEO: Customer acquisition cost "not acceptable," mobile ...
Vonage narrows losses, goes negative on subscribers.

 

The VoIP Enterprise Service Kit fills a void created by existing test tools that only check cable integrity -- without looking at VoIP performance -- and tools that only look at the VoIP phone, without testing the cabling's ability to transmit voice traffic. The new kit reduces the risk of rework and call-backs by testing both infrastructure and phone performance while the technician is on site.

The VoIP Enterprise Service Kit is built around the CableIQ(TM) Qualification Tester. The CableIQ tester checks cable bandwidth to ensure it will support Voice Over IP requirements. This can prevent hours of downtime and troubleshooting when VoIP equipment is installed on cabling with insufficient bandwidth.

Also in the kit is the NetTool(TM) Series II inline tester with VoIP Testing Option. NetTool allows users to see into VoIP calls by placing NetTool between the IP phone and network. Users can now quickly diagnose phone boot-up and call control problems as well as measure key call quality metrics without the need of a costly, hard-to-use protocol analyzer.

The third fundamental tool in the VoIP Enterprise Service Kit is the IntelliTone(TM) probe. IntelliTone simplifies cable identification by responding to unique digital tones which are unaffected by sources of interference that hinder traditional tone-probe sets. Both the CableIQ Qualification Tester and NetTool Inline Tester generate digital tone that can be located by the IntelliTone probe, saving time during cable identification tasks.

The VoIP Enterprise Service Kit is one of several VoIP solutions offered by Fluke Networks. Earlier this week the company announced NetAlly VoIP Assessment and Troubleshooting Software, version 7.0. This new software package helps eliminate risk associated with deploying or expanding VoIP services by assessing the current state of the network and previewing the service before it is deployed on that network. Assessing the network, a requirement of many leading IP PBX manufacturers, makes VoIP deployments faster, more successful and less costly by reducing post-deployment troubleshooting.

Product availability

In addition to the CableIQ Qualification Tester, NetTool(TM) Series II inline tester and the IntelliTone probe, the VoIP Enterprise Service Kit includes six remote office IDs, used for identifying cable outlets at the far end of a link. The VoIP Enterprise Service Kit is available for immediate delivery through Fluke Networks sales partners worldwide.

Source: MarketWire

The PBX Gateway also enables encrypted voice calls between landline locations that have PBX Gateway installed; for instance between offices in different locations.

Cellcrypt technology is currently undergoing certification to the FIPS 140-2 standard approved by the US National Institute of Standard (NIST).

“Organisations spend significant amounts of effort and budget securing their data but until now have not had a viable solution for voice data,” said Simon Bransfield-Garth, CEO at Cellcrypt. “While traditional secure voice solutions have provided poor call quality and fail across most international boundaries, Cellcrypt offers unparalleled voice quality, government-specification security and global coverage never before experienced, all using standard smartphone and PBX technology.”

Source: Cellular News

As it continues to work through an ugly bankruptcy process, Nortel took time to tout the addition of four more regional carriers as carrier VoIP customers. The company reports it has a total of 135 Communications Server (CS) 1500 customers globally.

The customers - Arkwest Communications, Dakota Central Telecommunications, Hancock Telephone and Venture Communications Cooperative - aren't exactly what we'd call the largest carriers of note these days. Arkwest is providing service within Yell County, Ark., for example, and offers both phone and IPTV services. Dakota and Venture are both Nortel DMS-10 switch customers and have added the CS 1500 to enable new services such as click-to-call, PC access to voice messages, and end-user web portals.

Hancock may be the biggest customer win out of the bunch. Nortel is providing both the CS 1500 softswitch along with "all" the products and professional services required to design, build, and manage the entire IP network.

If Nortel survives as an independent, albeit shrunken, entity, it is likely carrier VoIP and unified communications would be at the heart of the company that emerges from bankruptcy.

For more:
- Nortel touts carrier wins. Article

Related articles
The death and life of Nortel - FierceTelecom
WSJ: NSN, others eyeing Nortel pieces
Nortel recently said it would consider selling businesses

Ifbyphone is announcing this week that it is offering all of its Phone 2.0/mashup style value-added services as white label offerings via SIP trunking, enabling softswitch-equipped carriers to sell phone automation services on top of their VoIP/SIP offerings.

"As transport prices continue to collapse, CLECs and regional telcos and hosted providers need applications to add value," Ifbyphone CEO Irv Shapiro said. "The real power of SIP is a signaling protocol to allow a telephony company to gain access to applications. We're making our applications available to anyone, any carrier to use those applications in their customer base, just as someone can [incorporate] a web service in a web page."

Carriers using softswitches can add Ifbyphone features like full-function IVR, Call Queuing, Call Tracking and "Find Me" Call Forwarding, and complete applications such as Voice Broadcasting, Store Locator, and Lead Distributor without having to do the capital outlays for building their own applications.

The key in implementing the service is leveraging SIP trunking, allowing carriers to connect to Ifbyphone and route calls to what the company is calling "Smart ports" within the Ifbyphone platform, while also retaining origination and termination. Small to medium-sized carriers can access the features and services on a pay-as-you-go model, rather than investing significant dollars in capital expenditures and programming.

Shapiro outlined three business scenarios for implementing the services, with a $10,000 one-time setup fee for setting up the SIP trunk attached to all of them. For a limited number of customers needing IVR-style features, a carrier could route calls to Ifbyphone and simply get charged back on a per-minute basis for usage of those features. Larger usage would necessitate the rental of dedicated applications ports, with some capability to burst/oversubscribe on the first month to balance usage correctly -- but you have to pay for what you use. Finally, Ifbyphone is willing to work out a partnering relationship with a larger CLEC of sufficient size with a revenue share model.

While voice is the current focus, Sharpiro said any SIP applications could be delivered via the same model.  "We're the first SIP applications warehouse on the net," he remarked.

Ifbyphone is certainly going through boom times with its current business. The company has reportedly growing at a rate of 10 to 15 percent per month over the last 20 months, with the first quarter of 2009 showing 50 percent growth over Q4 2008.

Related articles
Ifbyphone, Top VoIP Company - FierceVoIP
Ifbyphone upgrades Voice 2.0 services to version 3.0 - FierceVoIP

Radio Netherlands has an interesting comment about T-Mobile/Netherlands not being opposed to Skype on the iPhone, while sister T-Mobile Germany is.

In the Netherlands, T-Mobile is the exclusive provider of iPhones. T-Mobile Nederland is not against the use of Skype on its network. The German branch of the company, however, is blocking its use by mobile phones, officially to prevent the network from becoming overburdened.

Interestingly, when I queried the USA folks who represent T-Mobile I received this response from a T-Mobile spokesperson:

"T-Mobile is supportive and working towards a more open wireless experience that invites innovation to our network and embraces customer choice and we are committed to enabling a broader set of devices and applications to run on the T-Mobile network. Our goal is to provide an optimal wireless experience for our entire customer base, and if it's determined that a customer's use of a third-party application may lessen this experience for our other customers, we will take the necessary precautions to protect and maintain an excellent customer experience on our network."

So until Skype is running on the T-Mobile handsets in the USA (meaning Android) in a big way, over 3G or other apps like Truphone and Fring, or even SlingBox, we won't know just how far T-Mobile will go here.

Three former VoIP Inc. executives are being targeted by the SEC for improper bookkeeping and lying to investors about the financial shape of the company.

It is also alleged that VoIP Inc. CEO Steven Ivester knew the company was struggling and the company's actual revenues were "substantially less" than its projections, said the complaint. He didn't question the company's financial statements, but resigned in October 2005 after unloading 4 million shares of the company's stock to make a tidy $4.4 million in profits. The SEC also says he didn't file the proper paperwork.

VoIP Inc.'s financial irregularities were discovered in March 2006, resulting in the resignation of Pitters and the subsequent firing of Kuykendall in April 2006.

The SEC is seeking for the three to lose the profits they made from their actions, pay a civil penalty and permanently bar them from acting as an officer or director of a publicly held company.

Source: Fierce VoIP

VoIP gizmo/service provider MagicJack has reached a settlement with Florida's attorney general (AG) over charges the Palm Beach County company charged customers for long distance phone service during what was advertised as a free 30-day trial. The company, without any admission it has violated the law, has agreed to make tech support changes and reimburse the state $125,000 for the costs of the investigation.

The Florida AG began investigating last July after receiving lots of complaints from consumers about the product. An investigation also found that the MagicJack product had limitations that were not properly disclosed, and the company didn't have enough customer service people to deal with consumer complaints. The company has "fully resolved" more than 500 customer complaints, according to press reports on the matter.

As a part of the settlement, MagicJack has agreed to implement new practices to assist customers, including a guarantee that all inquiries will be responded to within 24 business hours and a disclaimer on its website clarifying the requirements to participate in a free trial offer.

For more:
- South Florida Business Journal reports. Article.
- Palm Beach Post provides more detail. Article.

Related articles
MagicJack mystique - FierceVoIP
Analyst: Magicjack causing landline loss - FierceVoIP

Less than 90 days after unveiling its VoIP consumer media phone, Verizon is rolling out new features for the Hub. New goodies in the works include slicker hardware and an applications marketplace.

The new software upgrade includes more downloadable Widgets, instructional cooking videos and games. A web browser based around Google's Chrome browser and a software development kit for third-party programmers are also in the works.

Future hardware prototypes flashed to reporters included a model that resembles a digital picture frame and/or another that includes a smaller, more compact cordless phone.

The Hub applications store is being opened up to expand the appeal of the device, allowing customers to download the apps the want - and ultimately providing a marketplace for third-party developers to sell software a la Apple's iPhone App Store.  A launch date for the app store has not yet been announced.

Furthermore, anyone can now buy the Hub if they choose. When the Hub was initially introduced, purchasers had to be existing Verizon Wireless customers; the device connects to Verizon Wireless services linked to mobile services such as VZ Navigator for directions and local attractions, Chaperone (for tracking phone locations) and V Cast video entertainment.

However, the Hub still has a hefty price tag, costing $199 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a two-year agreement at $35 per month for VoIP and other services, with additional cordless phones at an additional $79.99 each.

Expect to see a national advertising campaign for the Hub to appear later this month.

For more:
- Dow Jones Business Wire on WSJ.com. Post.
- FierceWireless picked up the Reuters story. Article.

Related stories
Verizon launched Hub on Feb. 1
SPOTLIGHT: Verizon's Uber-desktop phone rumors

Customers of consumer VoIP provider ooma lost service for about six hours Monday, but according to ooma, irate users should point the finger at Internap instead. Dennis Peng, vice president of product management for ooma, wrote in a blog post that all ooma customers were affected by the outage and that upstream Internet service provider Internap was the source of the connectivity issues.

Internap didn't waste time firing back at ooma, as spokeswoman Debra Forrester said the problem was not Internap's fault, and that no other Internap customers experienced a connection failure, indicating the problem was within ooma's system, not Internap's.

Ooma Chief Marketing Officer Rich Buchanan wrote an email saying ooma had network logs to prove the disruption was due to an issue with Internap's systems. Ooma representatives said the outage has prompted them to expedite plans to launch a second data center in the U.S. for emergency failover capabilities. 

For more:
- see the Web Host Industry Review article here

Related articles
Ooma outage for most of Monday
ooma launches Telo home VoIP phone

With 14 million users visiting its site 99 million times last month, there's value to be found for everyone somewhere in 140 character "tweets." Consumer-facing companies such as Dell, Starbucks and Whole Foods can take the temperature of their customers and adopt their marketing on-the-fly, while political protesters in far-away places can tweet the positions around the globe.

Taking a deep dive, the New York Times chronicles the growing power of Twitter, from Amazon.com making real-time apologies for book misclassification, to the potential of paring sensors with Twitter. One day you may be able to get tweeted when someone breaks into your house, or your doctor could get a notice if your blood sugar is too high. (Not so sure if we're comforted by surgeons tweeting during brain surgery, however).

Twitter gets higher marks for its real-time news gathering potential and its ability to provide short, quick information. Microsoft is mustering its programming muscle to parse through tweets and figuring out who the key posters are within a value chain of sorts.

Fierce is also on the Twitter bandwagon; you can follow our tweets at FierceVoIP or review the latest ones at www.fiercevoip.com/twitter.

For more:
- NY Times and the proliferating power of Twitter. Article.

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Twittering the telcos - FierceTelecom
Qwest joins the Twitter trend - FierceTelecom
Twitter hangers-on beat the bird to the money - FierceVoIP
Google and Twitter talk acquisition - FierceVoIP

VoIP provider Ooma experienced a service shutdown Monday lasting from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. EST, and the service was still experiencing problems for the rest of the day, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Chief Marketing Officer Rich Buchanan tweeted about the incident, acknowledging the outage and asking for patience while the company fixed the problem.

Ooma has had a great year so far, with CEO Eric Stang reporting large subscriber gains and forecasting profitability by the end of 2009. A trial partnership with Best Buy that has since blossomed into a distribution deal for all of Best Buy's more than 1,000 locations has been one of the key catalysts for ooma's growth. However, if service outages become commonplace, it could give up a lot of the ground it has made in a hurry. 

For more:
- see the Silicon Valley Business Journal article here 

Related articles
ooma launches Telo home VoIP phone
The ooma conspiracy -- or why Vonage is ultimately doomed

QIK and Cubic Telecom, led by pal Pat Phelan, have taken the first step towards helping traveling mobile users save money on more than calls, by launching a mobile roaming platform, called QikRoam, that includes discounted global data roaming.

First, as one of the founders of Cubic Telecom shared with me a few months back at IT Expo in Miami, the rates being initially offered for data roaming are a starting point. What this means is the traveler can know what they will be paying on their data bill, and save money on their voice calls, have all the MaxRoam services and benefits (pre-paid calling, local numbers in country, SMS, etc.) plus the piece of mind of knowing they won't see a huge bill. This mirrors the kind of thinking that client Truphone has behind their upcoming Truphone Local Anywhere service.

The Cubic folks have done an amazing job at piecing this all together, and a quick look saw rates where people travel the most with discounts up to 80 percent. For, those who don't want to SIM swap as they go from country to country (as I do) the service is meaningful, and is the next generation of MaxRoam. By working with a partner in QIK, which needs access to the data network to send video, it's a perfect match. So while other options exist, like buying pre-paid cards in each country, but that tends to leave you with credit left over, while the Qik/Cubic offer lets you use that credit in the next country.

Congrats to being the disruptor in telecom Pat. And to the Qik folks, well done.

Alec Saunders hired an independent developer for iotum to develop a version of Calliflower for the iPhone. Now due to a variety of factors iotum and the developer are at odds

As a supplier of services to iotum since before their DEMO God winning debut, we have taken the different approach, choosing to trust the character and moral fiber of Alec and Howard Thaw by accepting deferred payments and debentures. We've done this with other clients, and in all but one case, every penny has been paid.

Different times require different kinds of business relationships but at the end of the day, trust is what matters.

Tom Keating pulled some good facts together about what could be a major issue effecting Skype, one that could be seriously damaging to eBay and the management team at the time of the Skype acquisition.

While Skype was busy celebrating their one million downloads for the Apple iPhone, the team at JoltID, also started by Nicklas Zennstrom, was busy making moves to wrestle alleged control of Skype's core IP technology, a fact never to my knowledge that was revealed at the time of purchase of Skype.

Basically the news surrounds just what Skype is allowed to do with the underlying P2P code that makes Skype do what it does and how Skype has done things recently with some filings.

This is serious because it fundamentally makes everyone who invested in eBay at the time of the purchase of Skype potential members of a greenmail law suite, or party to a class action suit, something the law firms which specialize in those kinds of cases love. Why? Simply because the information if known, would have been material to the decision to purchase eBay stock at the time (Transparency statement: I would be a party as I purchased eBay stock within days of their Skype acquisition.)

When one thinks about this on a variety of levels, one has to get a tad abstract and wonder if this is why Skype is moving to embrace SIP...? Hmmm...

Lately there has been a lot of noise about the AT&T Mobile Data Network. And, it hasn't been pretty, but the accounts have been true. The network that promises 5 bars of coverage, has a full house, and there's not a lot of flexibility.

Yesterday on the tarmac at McCarren Airport in Las Vegas, as I was leaving from four days at CTIA I had no problem logging onto the AT&T Wireless network, but then I couldn't get any further. Web pages wouldn't load. Skype wouldn't connect. It appeared the gateway was down. When I arrived in San Diego at Lindbergh Field everything behaved as it should.

This morning I pulled out the Acer Aspire One which has a built in 3G modem that AT&T and Radio Shack are selling for $99.00 plus a data contract, and ran a series of speed tests, using a variety of services to see what the connectivity is like. The speeds were solid. The connectivity fast. I was topping out over 2 megs on the download and up to a meg on the upload. On the iPhone, from just a few inches away, the speed was 1.4 on the download and in the high 200's for the upload.

Is the experience bad? No. Is it likely to get better. Yes. As more and more devices get put on the network, the capacity will only increase, as will tower and antenna array configurations.

Using Netbooks and other handheld devices to stay connected is only going to put more stress on the networks overall, but were paying top dollar for our network access, and we should not expect anything but what's promised. And delivering on the promise is the challenge that AT&T now has, as they've delivered to their board the promise of more new customers via their iPhone sales success,

 

The GXV3140 raises the bar for personal multimedia communication by combining a number of cutting edge technologies. Such technologies include: a zero touch plug-and-play deployment, advanced audio/video streaming, hands-off personalization of news/weather/language/time based on automated detection of a users’ location, and 1-touch instant access to popular music/radio/photo/video sites and social networks.

The GXV3140 also incorporates a feature that will enable users to communicate with each other for FREE right out of the box through Grandstream’s industry leading peer-to-peer technology. The GXV3140 will boot up within minutes, ready for making video calls with ZERO configurations when the user plugs the device into a broadband router at home. With this smart peering plug-and-play technology, friends and family can connect with each other through high quality real-time video conferencing over any distance without a charge.

In addition to serving the consumer market, the GXV3140 presents an attractive solution for service providers (especially SIP trunk service providers). Internet Service Providers can offer video telephony and rich multimedia applications bundled with worldwide traditional PSTN termination and E911 service. The GXV3140 supports 3 independent SIP accounts, nearly all popular voice codecs, and leverages Grandstream’s field proven, broadly interoperable SIP technology.

“The GXV3140 is the most advanced and Web friendly IP multimedia phone on the market. By marrying social multimedia applications and IP video conferencing, it offers the consumer market an aesthetically appealing visual communications and entertainment experience,“ says David Li, CEO of Grandstream. “The GXV3140 provides a strong alternative to travel, allowing consumers or business users to stay closely connected with friends, family, colleagues and business partners located around the world for minimum cost. In today’s economic downturn, such a device is critical.

Consumers can maintain frequent visual contact with their loved ones while sparing their discretionary income. In addition, they can enjoy Web entertainment and social networking through 1-touch access on the GXV3140 without using a PC. Grandstream is very pleased to bring this innovative IP multimedia product and the tremendously rich social entertainment experience behind it to the consumer market.”

The GXV3140 will be generally available through Grandstream’s worldwide channel partners in early May for a manufacturer suggested retail price of $299.00 USD.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Verizon Business has announced significant enhancements to its hosted IP Centrex service, including expansion of its burstable shared trunks capability, softphone support, easier E-911 provisioning, and local number provisioning.

Burstable Enterprise Shared Trunking (BEST), previously available on Verizon's IP trunking service, allows businesses to distribute inbound calls among multiple business locations, avoiding overloading when lots of calls come into one location. It also provides loadsharing of concurrent calls across the enterprise, so customers don't have to purchase more call capacity than they need for a group of locations.

Softphone support is being offered as an advanced feature under Hosted IP Centrex and includes a web management interface. In addition, a web tool allows users to register quickly and manually their physical location for E-911 purposes; other services require a more lengthy help desk service call for E-911 registration.

Another area where Verizon is coming a bit late (but still welcome) to the party is support for local number presence across North America. Businesses can now get local numbers regardless of the physical location of the office to enable a local presence.  A Verizon Business spokesperson indicated that overseas locations will be available down the road.

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Verizon Business exports key VoIP services around the globe ...
Verizon Business adds new features to wholesale VoIP - FierceVoIP

• Free Skype-to-Skype calls from any Wi-Fi zone to other Skype users worldwide
• Call landline or mobile phones at Skype?s great low rates from any Wi-Fi zone
• Send/receive instant messages to/from individuals or groups via 3G, Wi-Fi, GPRS or EDGE (whichever is available)
• Receive calls to a personal online number on Skype
• See when Skype contacts are online/available to IM or talk

• Vyke?s installable mVoIP software and service package for the majority of WiFi enabled Nokia E and N series devices is now available from ?Download? portal in a large number of global markets
• Vyke?s mVoIP service, with automatic handset configuration and account creation, is available to be downloaded from the homescreen of certain Nokia E75 handsets.

One of the phone's I'm looking forward to seeing at CTIA is the new Nokia E75. It has the VoIP stack/SIP stack already in it I'm told and when I saw one a few months ago in prototype stage I was all over it as a replacement for my trusty Nokia E90. Over the last three weeks the E90 was my primary device for phone calls and data, especially in the wine country of France. I don't usually get device envy, but this is one sexy, slim and Andy style device, in any color.

While I have (and love) the Nokia E71, the full keyboard and wider screen just does more for me. Plus with the VoIP technology and Boingo Mobile or when I'm in a hotel with wired broadband in my room, I can use services like Truphone (which like Boingo is a client) or from Vyke or Vopium all of whom have loyal subscriber bases.

The updated Mail for Exchange client is super if you are an Microsoft Exchange user and while it adds an additional cost, means this device may truly be the Nokia Blackberry alternative. In Europe, where RIM sales are far behind Nokias, this means that your mail box and mobile really can be in sync. With the apps that allow you to open and edit Microsoft Office documents on the fly, the expanded keyboard allows for true touch typing, while the closed position Qwerty on phone keyboard allows for rapid messaging.

An app like JoikuSpot makes it a portable hotspot, reducing the need for a 3G card for lightweight data connectivity of a laptop or the need to carry the Cradlepoint to share a connection with friends who need to quickly jump on the net.

Most of all, it's featherlight. You almost forget its in your pocket.

I'm figuring if they're good enough for Vodafone in the UK then Dell will be good enough for Verizon Wireless to market in the USA, as Vodafone is a partner in Verizon when they launch a their wireless broadband netbook offer..

What Vodafone has done with Netbooks is give them away in exchange for a 24 month contract in the UK.

The company has also marketed the same Dell Netbook in Spain. Beyond the UK and Spain the offer has also been made in the Netherlands, Portugal, Australia and Greece.

One interesting note though. In Germany, they went with Korean producers Samsung and LG, both of which are brands

AT&T Inc Mobility announced on Monday it will provide FEMA workers with RIM BlackBerry mobile phones and laptop wireless devices as part of a $50 million solution contract. The smartphones will be powered by AT&T's nationwide EDGE network while its LaptopConnect will run on a similar Wi-Fi network.

The FEMA contract is good for one-year with an option which could be extended up to four years. "A secure wireless communications infrastructure is critical for first responders and their emergency management operations," said Don Herring, senior vice president, AT&T Government Solutions.

AT&T will become FEMA's primary wireless carrier to deliver secure wireless data and voice communications. FEMA workers will use the new mobile services to utilize e-mail, data applications, and Push To Talk voice communications while in the field. Workers will use the BlackBerry smartphones and wireless laptop cards to connect to AT&T's LaptopConnect service.

"With the proven reliability, bandwidth and speed of our network, AT&T Government Solutions can help FEMA employees access the information they need for real-time decision making in the field while ensuring they can collect, access and transmit this information in a secure environment at all times, regardless of location," Herring said.

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• Receive and manage inbound calls from Skype users worldwide on SIP-enabled PBX systems; connecting the company Web site to the PBX system via click-to-call
• Place calls with Skype to landlines and mobile phones worldwide from any connected SIP-enabled PBX; reducing costs with Skype?s low-cost global rates
• Purchase Skype?s online numbers, to receive calls to the corporate PBX from landlines or mobile phones
• Manage Skype calls using their existing hardware and system applications such as call routing, conferencing, phone menus and voicemail; no additional downloads or training are required

VoIP and technology blogger Luca Filigheddu has compiled a list of who he considers to be the 30 top VoIP leaders that use Twitter today. He has an interesting mix of those who do -- Digium's Mark Spencer, Dan York of Voxeo and Irv Shapiro of Ifbyphone - and those who pontificate, including Ken Camp, Jeff Pulver and Lee Dryburgh.

FierceVoIP officially unveiled our Twitter efforts two weeks ago, and we expect to crank the tweets in about 10 days down at VoiceCon, followed by the MetaSwitch Forum and NAB later in April.  

For more:
- Luca's Top 30 VoIP People Twitter list.
- FierceVoIP's Twitter page.

Related articles
Twittering the telcos - FierceTelecom
Of VoiceCon, CTIA and Twitter - FierceVoIP

Pal Luca's company Sitofono has been at the click to call game for a very long time, and has struck some interesting partnerships along the way. With each new partnership comes some very different ways of deploying his companies very complete and comprehensive back end for calling and call management.

Just this week, Sitofono and iCitta, described by Luca in his post as "leading player in the directory business" have made a big move against the traditional directory players with the launch of their "free" call any business service in Italy and the UK that is located in the iCitta directory.

This is a very good example of putting VoIP and SIP in the middle, making it transparent to the user and easy for the customer. In many ways this is the kind of forward thinking that Ribbit is also promising to deliver, which Voxeo, ifByPhone and Jaduka are already also powering for business, both small, mid size and up into the enterprise.

It's nice to see that start-ups actually have revenue generating ideas, not just ideas to give away for free.

With the local numbers, the managing of my calls, being reachable to my friends and business colleagues in different countries has been made easier. What's more, the concept of always being a local or as Truphone's CEO Geraldine Wilson likes to say in interviews when referencing their upcoming "Local Anywhere" service, "Be global. Appear local."

It's important for a few reasons:

1) When making reservations a local number casts the impression that you can be reached more easily. This is especially important for restaurants that like to confirm the booking after the reservation is made, and again day of your scheduled visit.

2) Your friends in different countries don't have to make international calls any more so they call you more often.

3) You can point SIP DIDs to other SIP end points like a SIP client such as EyeBeam or Bria, or to a SIP box like Jazinga or Talkswitch, or to SIP phones or a SIP service like OnSIP.com and the traffic is free to you, plus you can manage your voice mail, all in one place.

4) With some ingenuity you can point the SIP traffic to an unlimited international calling plan like those from Vonage, inPhonex, CallCentric, etc. and know exactly what your paying to reach you on a land line.

5) With even more ingenuity you can point your inbound traffic to GoogleVoice like I do, and then place return calls via that same service to anyone internationally at very low rates (lower than Skype Craig Walker tells me) by dialing in and returning the calls.

6) And with total cleverness, the combination of GoogleVoice and Truphone means that I can receive calls via GoogleVoice, have one of my destinations that is dialed by GV my Truphone number and then have Truphone forward the calls to me on WiFi or to my GSM number whereever I may be at the time usually for free.

Now granted I'm paying about a total of $20.00 a month for the three country DIDs, but the savings is massive compared to that. I make a local call on my mobiles for anywhere from a few pennies a minute to those numbers. That's all. Granted I have SIMs in every country, but with what I've done my costs and my ability to be reached is plain SIMPLE.

VoIP provider ooma has just announced a series of premier Google Voice Extensions (GVE).  The company says the new enhancements will simplify the Google Voice user experience; we're more interested in how those features were added.

Google Voice features ooma is adding/supporting within its Premier (i.e. you gotta pay for it) package include: caller ID integration, allowing ooma users to display their Google Voice caller ID on outbound calls from ooma hardware without having to dial additional call prompts; forwarding inbound calls made to an ooma phone directly to a Google Voice number for routing; explicit forwarding of Google Voice calls to a specific handset in a home; an announcement of who in the household the call is for based upon which Google Voice account originated the call; and one-touch voice mail from ooma handsets (no need to dial a Google Voice number and password).  The forthcoming second-generation ooma Telo handsets will also display Google Voice SMS text messages.

Perhaps more interesting is the relative rapidity that ooma cranked out its announcement of Google Voice support. If ooma just cranked out the features within the past week based upon the unveiling of Google Voice, that's a pretty quick turn around. If it has been working on and testing features for a while, that would imply a more interesting relationship between ooma and the GV guys.

Ooma's business model is pretty straightforward. You buy the hardware for a one-time fee (currently $249.99 for the baseline hardware bundle) and connect it to a broadband connection, along with your own existing RJ-11 phone. You get your own PSTN phone number with calls between oomas and all U.S. domestic calls free. Adding on the ooma Premier package for advanced IP phone features costs $12.99 per month or $99.99 per year and adds such things as call screening, multi-ring, second-line calling, personalized phone numbers and inbound "blacklists."

Ooma hardware can be purchased at more than 1,000 Best Buy stores and other retail locations including Datavision, Fry's Electronics, Micro Center and J&R, plus tons of online places.

Related articles
Google Voice - The return of GrandCentral
Ooma's price cut, Best Buy deal spurring sales - FierceVoIP
SPOTLIGHT: Ooma not nearly as big as Oprah - FierceTelecom

• Ministers of Telecom Panel : Keynote speeches
• Ministers / Operators ? Investors Round tables
• Successful Case studies presented by world CEO speakers
• S2- Regulators Panel : Promoting Investments
• S3- Broadband session : Building effective networks to address developing needs
• S4- Liberalization, Privatization, Investment session
• S5- Developing new services & Business Models session

I was among those lucky enough to have an account with GrandCentral before their acquisition by Google in 2007.  Actually, I have a couple, but have mostly used one as my primary business number for the past two years.  As a web developer, being able to check my voicemail and manage my calls just a click away from my inbox has done wonders for my productivity.  It also makes screening the numerous daily calls I get about outsourcing my projects much easier to deal with

But what’s more fun than a new(ish) Google product?  Complaining about all the features it doesn’t have!

Click Here for the Feature List

"The significance of this patent is far reaching," said Donovan Jones, President and CEO of CounterPath. "Architecturally we made some technical choices that make handover faster. Also, because we leveraged standards-based protocols like SIP, our technology works with virtually any network architecture and technology without requiring proprietary access points or clients. This approach works in both pre-IMS and IMS networks."

Mobile operators who integrate CounterPath's Network Convergence Gateway (NCG) into their offerings will be able to leverage the Internet as an extension to their network reach, giving their end users access from any Internet-connected location. Enterprise customers can utilize the NCG to access their PBX from the mobile network regardless of whether they are connected via IP or GSM/CDMA networks, enabling their workforce to use their Wi-Fi-enabled mobile phones virtually anywhere in the world without having to pay expensive roaming fees.

Typically, mobile operators only receive a small percentage of the roaming revenue when their customers roam in foreign networks but if the call takes place over Wi-Fi they receive all the revenue. In addition to significantly improving their roaming revenue while reducing costs, mobile operators will also be able to pass on savings to their subscribers, thereby increasing their competitive advantage in the marketplace.

This patent is the latest in CounterPath technology to enable seamless, robust and cost-effective IP-based communications. CounterPath has 26 patents issued or in progress.

Source: PR Web

• Backlit display and keypad
• Acoustic echo cancellation
• WEP wireless encryption
• 802.11b/g standards compliance
• A USB port and base charger
• 3 hours talk time, 40 hours standby

Frost & Sullivan says integrating unified communications (UC) applications such as chat, presence and conferencing, as well as more enmeshed apps such as CRM and ERP, into so-called communications-enabled business processes will provide the most opportunity for the hosted VoIP market. 

Close to 1 million installed hosted IP telephony lines were installed at the end of 2008, says Frost's new report "North American Hosted IP Telephony Service Markets." The firm expects the number to grow to about 3.6 million lines in 2014, with small businesses attracted to hosted offerings for cost-effective voice communications. Medium and larger businesses will seek out hosted solutions so they can focus on "core business processes," as well as to get access to apps and capabilities they can test without a capex spend.

IP telephony vendors will have to develop "astute" channel strategies since most service providers are smaller, next-generation providers with limited geographic footprint and support capabilities, no established brand-name recognition, and no established customer base, says Frost.

Frost recommends that service providers expand and diversify their channels, but believes the market will still remain "extremely fragmented" due to the reluctance of incumbent carriers to grow market share at the expense of cannibalizing legacy service revenues, along with limited demand for next-gen hosted services among their existing Centrix base.

Regardless of who is selling - CLEC, SaaS/hosted providers, VARs, or system integrators - channel support will determine the success of each provider's chances.

The crystal ball also sees providers taking advantage of M&A opportunities based on complementary technologies, expertise or channels, since consolidation can help improve customer awareness and margins.

For more:
- Frost summarizes its new report.

Related articles
Tight Budgets Drive SMEs to Hosted VoIP - FierceVoIP
Enterprise VoIP slowing due to economy, says In-Stat - FierceVoIP