VoIP Blog - Tehrani.com

« January 4, 2005 | Main | January 6, 2005 »

Vonage Passes 400,000 VoIP User Mark

The biggest VoIP news at CES and perhaps the biggest news in general is Vonage passing the 400,000 subscriber mark. this is extremely impressive and goes to show you how well VoIP is doing and how consumers are adopting this technology in droves. This is quite an accomplishment and Vonage should be commended for pioneering VoIP service to the consumer in the way they have.Here is the release:Biggest Broadband Telephony Provider Netted More than 300,000 Lines in 2004

    EDISON, N.J., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Vonage, the leading broadband
telephony provider, today announced it has exceeded 400,000 total lines on its
network, doubling its subscriber base in less than six months since reaching
the 200,000 line mark.  The company ended 2004 with more than 390,000 lines in
service having added 115,000 lines in Q4 2004 alone.
    "Again, Vonage has set the benchmark, proving its value proposition to a
marketplace starved for full-featured, cost-effective alternatives to the
incumbent local exchange carriers," said Jeffrey A. Citron, chairman and CEO
of Vonage Holdings Corporation.  "Having added more than 300,000 lines in
2004, Vonage has once again illustrated its prowess in leading the
transformation of the telecommunications industry."
     Using the latest technology, Vonage sets the standard for the new
generation of phone service with residential and business calling plans:

     * $14.99/month -- Residential Basic Plan - 500 minutes of local, toll and
        long distance calling throughout the United States and Canada.
     * $24.99/month -- Residential Premium Unlimited Plan - unlimited calling
        throughout the 50 United States and Canada anytime, anywhere.
     * $39.99/month -- Small Business Basic Plan - 1500 minutes of calling
        throughout the United States and Canada, including a free dedicated
        fax line.
     * $49.99/month -- Small Business Unlimited Plan - unlimited calling
        throughout the United States and Canada, including a free dedicated
        fax line.

     * Services and hardware included for free on any of the above plans:

-- Voicemail
-- Call hunt
-- Caller ID
-- Call transfer
-- Call waiting
-- Repeat dialing
-- Call forwarding
-- Bandwidth saver
-- Call return (*69)
-- Area code selection
-- Caller ID block (*67)
-- International call block
-- Web-based account management
-- Linksys RT31P2 router with MTA
* Real-time billing activity
* Great international calling rates
* Online voicemail retrieval
* Real-time inbound/outbound
* Tel Aviv 4 cents per minute
call record details
* London 3 cents per minute
*Sydney 4 cents per minute

| This entry was posted at 7:17 PM. | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Link this | Email this | Leave comment
Trackback URL: Vonage Passes 400,000 VoIP User Mark
Technorati Del.icio.us BoingBoing Slashdot Digg Spurl Furl

Z-Tel is now Trinsic

In response to the many questions I have received recently about Z-Tel's name change here are the facts. BTW: Here is the last article I wrote about Z-Tel.

| This entry was posted at 4:23 PM. | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Link this | Email this | Leave comment
Trackback URL: Z-Tel is now Trinsic
Technorati Del.icio.us BoingBoing Slashdot Digg Spurl Furl

Minnesota State now a VoIP User?

January 5, 2005

Minnesota, the state that made trying to tax and regulate VoIP famous is now becoming a big benefactor of the technology. Perhaps the early interest in using VoIP is what made them decide to regulate it in their state. The most interesting part of the release is the following quote:"This will further help the state meet current and future telephony needs," said Keith Payden, State of Minnesota Chief Information Officer. "We will be able to increase the eligibility of state agencies to take advantage of the benefits of IP telephony, which will result in toll savings, circuit consolidation and lower administration costs."I guess trying to regulate and tax something that is so helpful to the state may not be such a great idea after all.Here is the full release:State of Minnesota Awards IP Voice Services Contract to Onvoy

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Onvoy, Inc., a Minneapolis-based provider of advanced telecommunications solutions, today announced that Onvoy will partner with the State of Minnesota Department of Administration to provide comprehensive IP telephony application services to participating state agencies.


This public/private partnership, established through a competitive evaluation process open to all interested prospective vendors, leverages the state's Quality of Service infrastructure and technical capabilities with Onvoy's IP telephony innovation and experience to best deliver the benefits of this advanced technology to state agencies.
"We're proud that the State of Minnesota has recognized the value of Onvoy's experience in IP communications," said Janice Aune, CEO of Onvoy. "Our partnership with the state will expand the use of IP telephony, bringing cost- savings, efficiency and enhanced applications to government agencies throughout Minnesota."
While the state will maintain its own wide area network infrastructure, known as MNET (Minnesota Enterprise Network), participating agencies will enjoy all of the same benefits of Onvoy's private IP network -- which include Quality-of-Service (QoS) prioritization of voice traffic, advanced calling features, and toll-free calling between agency locations on MNET.
"This will further help the state meet current and future telephony needs," said Keith Payden, State of Minnesota Chief Information Officer. "We will be able to increase the eligibility of state agencies to take advantage of the benefits of IP telephony, which will result in toll savings, circuit consolidation and lower administration costs."
"In 1987, the company that eventually became Onvoy partnered with the University of Minnesota to help bring the Internet to the state," noted Aune. "Now, more than 15 years later, we're partnering with the state to provide the newest application to arise from that original investment. We are committed to providing state agencies, and all of our clients, with the most effective communications possible -- and our experience delivering solutions right here in Minnesota helps make that possible."
About Onvoy
Onvoy was established in 1988 as a collaborative effort of independent local telephone companies whose mission was to provide a wide range of leading edge telecommunications services. Onvoy offers network services, voice, videoconferencing, data and Internet solutions to wholesale and retail market segments serving more than 350 communities in Minnesota and beyond. Onvoy is a privately-held corporation with headquarters in Minneapolis. For more information, visit http://www.onvoy.com/ .
Onvoy, Inc.

| This entry was posted at 2:25 PM. | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Link this | Email this | Leave comment
Trackback URL: Minnesota State now a VoIP User?
Technorati Del.icio.us BoingBoing Slashdot Digg Spurl Furl

Ebay, Dell and Sirius in VoIP? You Decide

January 5, 2005

Someone is either looking for a lawsuit or has a great way to generate revenue using VoIP for brand-name companies. The following URLs were picked up yesterday: costcovoip.com coxvoip.com dellvoip.com ebayvoip.com excelvoip.com gatesvoip.com golfvoip.com mcivoip.com siriusvoip.com A company called EWorldPartners (eWP) USA recently registered these and they list the following as what they do:eWP, a software solutions company, is dedicated to helping people build sales channels. eWP offers tools lo help individuals market themselves, their companies and their causes in a powerful and scalable way. This is their mission statement:Mission Statement

eWP is a multi-national company whose mission is to provide leading edge technology and dynamic lead generation, sales and marketing solutions for businesses large and small. Through its ever-evolving technologies, highly talented team of innovators and well-trained sales specialists... its objective is to provide proficient mar-com solutions to people around the globe. eWP also offers financial options for those who are seeking a career change or simply wanting to diversify their income portfolio. I haven't heard of them before today and didn't contact them for info but I thought this was worth sharing.

| This entry was posted at 1:50 PM. | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Link this | Email this | Leave comment
Trackback URL: Ebay, Dell and Sirius in VoIP? You Decide
Technorati Del.icio.us BoingBoing Slashdot Digg Spurl Furl

Where is the Broadband Competition?

January 5, 2005

If you want to read about the depressing state of telecom in the US then please click on Bells dig in to dominate high-speed Internet Realm. The ILECs are killing competition in the country and the government is going along as a willing accomplice. The question remains, is it fair to force the Bells to share fiber that they go through great expense to lay down. I am beginning to think more and more that the answer is 100% yes. the Bells are still monopolies in so much as they are still leveraging trillions of dollars in aggregate legacy monopoly service dollars. Sure there is competition now (Minus MCI and AT&T) but there isnt much competition and it is extremely expensive to pull customers away from entrenched carriers. Add to that the CLEC implosion which the Bells fueled in a number of ways and we see a world where the consumer good is being disregarded so that a few companies can make maximal profit.Perhaps I need to be more optimistic about power line, WiMAX and cable broadband deliver solutions but for now, I am  very concerned about broadband accessibility and the inability for consumers to have real competition.Here is an excerpt of the article. It is very well written and illuminating.

| This entry was posted at 12:08 PM. | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Link this | Email this | Leave comment
Trackback URL: Where is the Broadband Competition?
Technorati Del.icio.us BoingBoing Slashdot Digg Spurl Furl

Abramson's VoIP Tech Toys Arm Merchants

January 5, 2005

Andy Abramson is exactly right when he talks about the tech toys arms merchants as where the industry is going. If we have learned one thing in the last few years its that even when times are tough consumers are spending on gadgets such as MP3 players and video games. The key to winning the VoIP service provider wars may just be selling the coolest, hippest, flashiest gadget. Like I have said before, when I write about VoIP 2.0, I am waiting for the VoIPOD to come to stores near you (well hopefully at least me ;-)

| This entry was posted at 10:22 AM. | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Link this | Email this | Leave comment
Trackback URL: Abramson's VoIP Tech Toys Arm Merchants
Technorati Del.icio.us BoingBoing Slashdot Digg Spurl Furl

Cordless and VoIP Phone in one

January 5, 2005

I never heard of Giant International but they seem to be the first company to have come out with a cordless and VoIP phone in one. It is great to see the WiFi telephony market start to accelerate. The price is reasonable as well.

| This entry was posted at 9:58 AM. | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Link this | Email this | Leave comment
Trackback URL: Cordless and VoIP Phone in one
Technorati Del.icio.us BoingBoing Slashdot Digg Spurl Furl

Consumer VoIP Summit

January 5, 2005

I have written frequently about the merging of VoIP with consumer electronics and how service providers should be looking at the Apple model of selling service via slick devices. When we talk of convergence everyone thinks of something different from communications convergence to digital homes but it seems like all industries are really converging. Cameras are now cell phones are now video recorders are now DVD players are now video game devices.Perhaps the best sign of convergence is the fact that tomorrow, SBC Communications Inc Chairman and CEO Edward Whitacre Jr. will be keynoting CES and taking about the merging of communications and consumer electronics.This is one of the reasons that we chose to work with Pulver.com and have TMC's Internet Telephony Magazine help promote their Consumer VoIP Summit which is collocated with CES. You can read more about this summit on Jeff's Blog.

| This entry was posted at 9:27 AM. | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Link this | Email this | Leave comment
Trackback URL: Consumer VoIP Summit
Technorati Del.icio.us BoingBoing Slashdot Digg Spurl Furl