Google Sued over VoIP Technology

Google is being taken to court over patent infringement charges related to the search giant's nascent Internet calling service, in a case that could put a crimp in the rollout of Google Talk. In October, Rates Technology filed suit against Google in a New York district court, alleging that Google violated two patents pertaining to technology that minimizes the cost of long-distance VoIP calls.

Europe to pass tough new data retention laws

Telecoms providers will now have to keep data including the time of each fixed and mobile phone call made in Europe, whether the call is answered or not, the duration of the call and other details that can trace the caller, as well as times users connect to the internet, their IP addresses and details pertaining to emails and VoIP calls. The content of the communications will not be recorded.

European Firms Likely to Outsource VoIP

A Research and Markets study, “Hosted VoIP Services in Europe,” says European companies are more willing than their U.S. counterparts to adopt external management of their VoIP service. The report cites the lack of internal IP skills and fragmentation of the European telecommunications infrastructure as factors contributing to the disparity.

BT Challenges VoIP Providers

Unlike many of its counterparts around the globe, BT Group, the United Kingdom’s largest telecommunications carrier, has embarked on a plan to use its ownership of the country’s largest broadband network to challenge VoIP service providers such as eBay’s Skype division. “Whether Skype’s business model is sustainable or not is yet to be determined,” said Gavin Patterson, BT’s managing director of consumer and ventures. “But this is our wakeup call. Rather than let VoIP be done to us, it is our single-minded intent that we transform our own business behind it and use it as a way of increasing our customer base on other people’s networks too.”

For SMBs, VoIP Is the Big Equalizer

In the not-so-distant past, it was nearly impossible for a small- and medium-size business (SMB) to get the same business communications capabilities as a larger enterprise. It's not that they didn’t want these capabilities: SMBs know that they have little room for error. A missed customer contact or a miscommunication between employees translates into losses on the bottom line. It was a matter of dollars and cents, however: Big companies’ vast resources seemed to give them a lock on the kinds of communications applications that delivered enhanced customer service, increased revenues and lower costs. Today, it’s a different story.

Companies like VoIP but don't understand it

Large companies are starting to turn towards managed services for IP telephony because many believe they don't have the skills or knowledge to do IP convergence themselves, according to a study by IDC UK. Around 15% of the enterprises questioned use managed services today, but 40% are considering it, says Pim Bilderbeek, IDC's consulting VP. "The way people buy is changing," he says. "There is a knowledge gap in what enterprises know about convergence. More than a third of them think they don't know enough about it."

Jabber IM adds VOIP

The Jabber Software Foundation (JSF) today published initial documentation of Jingle, a set of extensions to the IETF's Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) for use in voice over IP (VoIP), video, and other peer-to-peer multimedia sessions. The Jingle technology represents an open version of the protocols used in the popular Google Talk application released in August 2005, and Google is supporting the standardization and evolution of these protocols through the JSF's community standards process.

Microsoft and MCI Jump Into PC-to-PSTN VoIP Fray

Microsoft and MCI will next year begin offering a service that allows users to make cheap VoIP calls from PCs to the public telephone network. The service is currently in beta testing in the U.S.

The service, called MCI Web Calling, will use an upcoming version of Microsoft's messaging product called Windows Live Messenger. Users will be able to subscribe to the service via the messaging client, purchasing prepaid calling time in $5, $10, or $25 increments.

packetbox introduces international numbers

We are glad to announce the immediate availability of international phonenumbers on our Packetbox VoIP PBX. customers will be able to choose a number in any of the following countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States of America.

The number is connected directly via SIP to the Packetbox VoIP PBX. There is no on-site installation required. This service is ideal for companies building up an international appearance or to centralize incoming calls.

The service is available for € 9.95/month or € 110/year regardless of the country. A one time activation fee of € 14.95 applies.

Yahoo Launches VoIP Service Linked To E-Mail

The Yahoo offering, to be available in 180 countries, will link with existing Yahoo e-mail and instant messaging features, and that appears to be what will distinguish the service from many of its competitors. The crowded VoIP sector is getting another major player. Yahoo Inc., which is entering the field with a service that in many ways is cheaper than Web phoning pacesetter Skype, and putting another nail in the coffin of traditional landline telephoning.

Trolltech Adds VOIP Linux Mobiles

Hooray for Trolltech, this will definitely increase their advantage in this deadly competitive market. Although I have yet to see their OS running on mainstream smartphones.

Oslo headquartered Trolltech has updated its software suite for Linux-based mobile phones, adding VoIP (voice-over-IP) capabilities.

Qtopia Phone Edition (QPE) version 2.2 is targeted at dual-mode and "converged" devices. Trolltech claims Qtopia Phone is the only independent, open software solution for Linux-based devices. It allows designers and manufacturers to develop feature-rich phones and other mobile and wireless devices, while maintaining complete control of branding and the user experience.

consumer voip in the enterprise?

i think this article raises some interesting points:

The materialisation of consumer Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services in 2005 has seen more than 50 million people register for a service across the globe. However, with all the advantages that come with a VoIP service there can be drawbacks when a consumer VoIP service is used in a business environment.

Recent debate about the security implications of retail VoIP services has led to analyst firm Info-Tech Research Group to call for businesses to address the use of consumer VoIP at work. THUS agrees that consumer VoIP services are now causing IT departments considerable concern and highlights the following reasons

How To Set Up A Business VoIP System by Michael Lemm

To set up a business VoIP system, you need several components. A central device to manage the calls, the way a private branch exchange (PBX) or key system unit (KSU) does in traditional phone systems is one of them.

This can be a dedicated piece of hardware such as an IP PBX, a regular PBX that has been IP-enabled, or a server running specialized software. You will also need phones and a data network. In many cases, you may be able to use your existing digital phones and computer network, although you may need to upgrade some of your network hardware.

VoIP Benefit

The most prominent benefit of an IP PBX is for businesses with multiple locations. With the advantage of VoIP, all the offices on a LAN or WAN can get the profits of having a common office phone system. The profits are - extension dialing, seamless call transfers, and other features.

In addition to making it easier to communicate, this sharing of features can enhance collaboration as employees at different locations can truly feel like they are part of the same organization. Plus, if they are on the company network, the phone calls are free - even if your offices are located thousands of miles apart. It is an advantage in saving money expended on calling between two branches of the same office.

VoIP Conversations

Computer networks are designed to handle messy data: packets arrive out of order and some are even lost, but in most cases the data being sent can easily be reconstructed when it is needed. Voice conversations, though, are not as tolerant of these kinds of disturbances. Each packet of sound has to arrive in the correct order because they are being sent in real time - if packets are lost; the conversation sounds distorted, choppy, or falls off all together. This is why VoIP services that rely on the Internet to transmit calls can have uneven phone quality.

The selection of a business VoIP solution is a major decision. Voice service is critical to the operation of the business, so no one wants to implement a technology that will compromise call quality or reliability in any way. On the other hand, the cost savings and value-added functionality available with VoIP makes it a compelling investment.

LANs & WANs

The VoIP phone system is beneficial for companies having multiple locations branches, telecommuters and remote sales offices. And the locations are connected with a company's Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN). In that case the companies are suitable for using a VoIP system.

You can share the full features of your phone system across all your locations. In addition, even if you have one office in one place and one in different place, VoIP allows calls between them via extension dialing, making it a zero cost call. For businesses with hefty monthly long distance charges due to calls between far off locations, is an attractive reason to upgrade.

VoIP Process

A VoIP phoning process requires a regular phone, an adapter, broadband Internet service, and a subscription to a VoIP service. When you place a call, it is sent over the Internet as data until it nears the recipient's destination.

Then the call is translated back into a more traditional format and completes the trip over standard phone lines. Also known as Internet telephony, this allows for extremely cheap long-distance and international calls.

VoIP Drawbacks

The main drawback of VoIP systems is the network requirements.

In VoIP telephony the greatest challenge is the bandwidth. It requires high bandwidth for clear messaging.
About the Author

Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications....including Business-VoIP-Solution.com and DS3-Bandwidth.com. Michael also authors Broadband Nation where you're always welcome to drop in and catch up on the latest BroadBand news, tips, resources, and insights.

Freevoip passes 1000 users

The free service for interconnecting Asterisk users and machines via IAX has passed 1000 Users. FreeVoip was started a little over a month ago by SineApps and Gedam Europe to provide routing, phone numbers, conference rooms etc to users via the IAX2 protocol. It includes a free IAX2 client with no configuration requirements which you can download. Alternatively, under the Setup Help menu it will dynamically generate the required extensions.conf or iax.conf pieces so you can just copy and paste to get your Asterisk server talking to us.

Skype adds video to voip calls

Popular internet phone service Skype is adding video calling to its software. Skype's software lets computer users talk to each other for free and make cut-price calls to mobiles and landlines. The new version adds video and a bunch of extra features in what is becoming an increasingly competitive area. Internet portals such as MSN, Yahoo and AOL have offered video with their instant messaging services for a while, though usage is not widespread.

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