Packet8 Virtual Trunking

Last month I discussed a rumor regarding 8x8/Packet8 providing SIP trunking services. It turns out this rumor was true as today the company released the news they will not only provide SIP trunking but a more comprehensive product they call... continue reading...

Hyperconnectivity, Live and in Person

You can't escape the reality that interconnectivity between humans will increase at a more rapid pace as time goes on. The myriad ways in which we connect with one another, e-mail, social networks, blogging, IM, SMS, telephone, voicemail and others... continue reading...

Sipera Looks To The Channel

Expect Sipera, the Texas-based company focusing on VoIP/UC security to look for resellers to sell their products worldwide. Brenadan Ziolo, the company's VP of Marketing Operations visited TMC this week to brief us on where the company is going with... continue reading...

Keep In Touch

If you haven't noticed, there will be more and more touch-enabled devices in your future. The craze seemed to get the biggest boost from the popularity of the iPhone interface which spawned a number of similar interfaces from competing phone... continue reading...

Build Communities With Google's Help

Let's say your company plays in a few different spaces such as information technology, security and storage. And let's say your company has decided to build a community of interest which is dedicated to a specific subject area as you... continue reading...

Podcast: AudioCodes Mediant 1000 MSBG

Recently, AudioCodes released the Mediant 1000 MSBG (Multi-Service Business Gateway) a device which combines the following: media gateway, enterprise class session border controller, data router, firewall, LAN Switch, WAN access, Stand Alone Survivability and an on-board general purpose server. This... continue reading...

Conflicting iPhone Rumors

There is just so much information being spewed out on the internet regarding the unveiling of the iPhone. The latest bit of news has to do with production problems. Check out this article for insights on conflicting rumors and photos... continue reading...

T-Mobile Suing Starbucks

T-Mobile is already not thrilled AT&T will replace them as the service provider of choice in Starbucks stores, now the GSM-based service provider who was early to embrace WiFi is losing revenue due to the new AT&T/Starbucks promotion of free... continue reading...

Will Steve Jobs Wow Us?

It seems that if you do not blog about the iPhone this weekend you will be out touch with the blogging and news gathering communities. It is just that important. On Monday we will have a new Apple mobile device... continue reading...

CBX 2008 News and Analyis

Telx CBX has kicked off and I am going to be doing all the video reporting in about 20 minutes. Here is my quick take on the news breaking from the show so far: WBS Connect will provide telepresence service... continue reading...

Will LTE Fuel IMS?

Will LTE fuel IMS? Bob Emmerson seems to think so and he has a great point. With similar elements defined in WiMAX, LTE and IMS, the chances that carriers will have to install more and more IMS components are good.... continue reading...

Flat Rate Voice/Data Plans for SMBs

If you are an SMB and you feel you would like to pay less for voice and data service, perhaps now is the time for you to rejoice... Well at least smile. The reason is there is a new flat... continue reading...

Headed to Telx CBX 2008

Later this week I will be a video reporter at the Telx CBX (customer business exchange) event in New York. I always like the CBX events and am looking forward to meeting with the companies in the carrier hotel space... continue reading...

One More Reason To Vacation in the Bahamas

Recently the Bahamas Telecom Company (BTC) decided to migrate its existing countrywide wireline network to IP using Sonus and Calix gear. The move to IP will reduce the amount of equipment that needs managing and in addition, the Bahamian phone... continue reading...

Of IP Communications and Broadband Reliability

I came across an interesting article in the New York Times by Randall Stross which discusses consumer VoIP services, the differences in quality between them and the general trend towards multiple services of lower reliability replacing a single service (PSTN)... continue reading...

Speaking at IP Sizzles 2008

I am really looking forward to IP Sizzles 2008 -- formerly VoIP Sizzles 2008. What is it you ask? Well I am glad you did. IP Sizzles is an event put on by ABP which focuses on educating resellers on... continue reading...

Eyeball Networks Signs 5-Year Micro-Community Agreement with TMC

You may recall past writings about how TMCnet has been building communities of interest for customers worldwide in an effort to educate purchasing decision makers about the products and services in different subsets of the communications and technology markets. Our... continue reading...

Vocaltec Sells Patents to Karo Millennium

In a way, I must thank VocalTec because it was companies like them that helped me realize how IP would revolutionize communications and further help me decide to launch a magazine dedicated to the market in 1997. VocalTec was one... continue reading...

Too Fat For That Camera Phone?

In the category of "Oh no you didn't," comes the comment from a Nokia spokesperson saying people don't use videoconferencing as often as they might because the current angle of camera phones makes them look fat. Pretty funny. See more... continue reading...

SIP Forum Growth

The SIP Forum seems to be making some nice progress in attracting a broad swath of companies to its organization. In case you aren't aware, The SIP Forum is a non-profit IP communications industry association that engages in numerous activities... continue reading...

Flash to SIP Video and Back

I just read about a company which allows Flash to SIP and SIP to Flash video calls. This could be useful for situations where SIP is not an option for whatever reason. According to ISC the company behind Flashphone.ru, video... continue reading...

Being Part of Squawk Box

I spent part of my morning on Alex Saunders' Squawk Box -- a gathering place for industry analysts and thought leaders to discuss important technology issues of the day. Topics today included Ariel Waldman's harassment allegations against Twitter. This conversation... continue reading...

Podcast: Objectworld's David Levy

Objectworld's CEO, David Levy Objectworld is a Canadian-based software-only company providing unified communications solutions for small to medium businesses. Their solution includes UM, fax server, IVR, TTS, Exchange & Lotus Notes integration, etc. Objectworld's solutions work with about 90% of... continue reading...

Roku: The Apple of TV?

Without a doubt, the new Netflix Player by Roku set top box will become a serious contender for the title "iPod of the world of television." I haven't seen this device yet but based on what I have read... continue reading...

Skype Adding Video Clips

Om Malik discusses how Skype is evolving to show video clips. I have detailed at length many of the ideas Skype should embrace to make money and showing videos makes good sense as it leverages the success of other video... continue reading...

Cisco EMC Merger Rumor

With a majority stake in VMware and a commanding lead of the storage space, what's not to like about EMC. If you are Cisco, it makes sense to pick up EMC now because the stock is down a bit and... continue reading...

CBS Picks up CNET

Congratulations to CNET for being acquired by CBS for a 40% premium. I have always admired the company and I am curious to see how it changes as it becomes part of a larger media company which has so many... continue reading...

Packet8 SIP Trunking Rumor

I have heard a rumor regarding 8x8/Packet8 getting into the SIP trunking business. No confirmation yet but this makes great sense as this area of the market is doing well. All trunks will eventually be SIP trunks it seems... Unless... continue reading...

New WiMAX News Site

TMCnet grows daily with thousands of new news items and stories. As the site grows, we are always looking for ways to improve. One of these ways is to develop community pages which focus on a particular subject matter... continue reading...

ITEXPO West 2008 Conference Announced

One of the areas we have been feverishly working on at TMC is our conference program for ITEXPO,September 16-18, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. We have truly strengthened this offering with the addition of new TMC University certifications.... continue reading...

My Canada Trip and Nortel Wrap Up

I am back from Canada and the first thing I did when turning on my phone was praise the engineers who came up with the awkward-sounding acronym called EVDO. By the way in my discussions in Canada it seems the... continue reading...

Virtual Worlds, The Future of Communications

I am here at Nortel R&D headquarters in Ottawa, Canada where the Nortel incubation team is showing us a bunch of the latest technologies they are working on in the labs. This is the first day the media has... continue reading...

Digium Picks Integrics to Power Carrier Solutions

Perhaps one of the biggest misperceptions among those who dabble in communications is that Asterisk is only used in small business environments. The reality is that Asterisk is being used in service provider environments as well. Of course this doesn't... continue reading...

UMAThought Leader Steve Shaw on TMCnet

Few people know more about UMA than Steve Shaw... He really lives and breathes this market. This is why I am thrilled Steve will be writing for TMCnet with a special focus on unwired mobile access or UMA. Here is... continue reading...

Cablevision's WiFi Network in New York City

WiFi is not new and providing WiFi to a city is not new. What is new and worth noodling on is the fact Cablevision will soon have a WiFi network in New York City -- well over the next... continue reading...

PAETEC: Success Under the Radar

Recently I traveled to San Francisco to PAETEC World, the largest of annual meetings that PAETEC has with its customers. During this cold San Francisco week, over 350 customers and well over 100 PAETEC employees spent a few days in... continue reading...

Vonage Record Quarter: Jeff Citron Interview

Vonage has done a great job this last quarter --  posting growth numbers in a slower economy. I just had a podcast interview with Jeffrey Citron where he talked about the company's growth rate and the number of new initiatives... continue reading...

Skype as David, Telcos as Goliath

OK, now I have heard it all. Large, incumbent telephone companies are going to launch a competitor to Skype. But before I proceed with my thoughts, as often the case with such amazing speculation, it is good to air out... continue reading...

Google Pushes Verizon on 700 MHz Open Access

Many of us thought the open access provisions of the 700 MHz auction were taken care of and this was the reason Google got involved in the auction in the first place. It seems now that Verizon is saying that... continue reading...

Nortel's Joel Hackney Discusses Earnings

Nortel announced earnings today and to get more detail on the news I had a chance to speak with Joel Hackney, President of the Enterprise Solutions Group at Nortel. Some details worth sharing... The company's net loss widened but revenue... continue reading...

Interop Bound and Thanks

Another year, another Interop. I am off once again across the country to Vegas where I will likely spend more time standing in line than I will sleeping. How amazing is the fact that you can build a city in... continue reading...

Of Universities and Technology

I head back from Paetec World today and I have had a number of very good meetings so far. I have a busy morning planned but before I head off to the day's festivities it is worth pointing out that... continue reading...

SMS Saves Lives

The only thing better than seeing the world interconnecting with technologies such as SMS, is seeing health care providers taking advantage of the latest gadgets and technology to help curb disease outbreaks and improve prescription compliance. Case in point is... continue reading...

Ortiva Wireless Enables Mobile Streaming

Do you remember the past CEO of Cantata, Mark Zionts? He keynoted a past ITEXPO and was head of the company just before it sold to Dialogic. Since then he joined another company which he helped sell and now he... continue reading...

Callwave Fuze, Unified Communications Plus

In the race to provide the best Unified Communications solution, there are just so many approaches. The various ways to achieve UC are staggering in fact. Companies like Microsoft have partnered with many companies to achieve seamless UC - with... continue reading...

Novarra's Better Mobile Browsing Experience

A shift has taken place in internet usage and now more than ever it seems people want web access on the go. A single device in fact - the iPhone shows that if we make it easy to surf on... continue reading...

New TMCnet Record and New Writer

Thanks to our readers -- once again, TMCnet has hit a new record. In this case, we built a Global Online Community in conjunction with Interactive Intelligence and this community generated just under 600,000 page views in one month according... continue reading...

Dialogic Analyst/Media Day

Today I head to New York City for a Dialogic Press and Analyst day. We will be having a function this evening in Yankee Stadium which should be lots of fun. Many people have asked me to bring them some... continue reading...

Openwave Turns Service Providers into Internet Companies

For years, service providers could see their competitors coming head on. For example CLECs and VoIP providers are pretty easy to spot and entrenched telecom providers worldwide have adopted different strategies to battle these new entrants. But that was the... continue reading...

Ceragon Boosts Wireless Backhaul Throughput

As wireless service providers seem to be battling to see who can provide the lowest cost unlimited voice and data plans, a problem is emerging that needs to be dealt with quickly. The issue is simply, how to cost-effectively upgrade... continue reading...

Target Service Provider Marketing by Pontis

At the recent CTIA show in Las Vegas, much of the talk centered around how service providers need to focus on generating revenue from advertising as companies like Google will be giving away many of the services they hope to... continue reading...

TiVo On the Offensive

It seems TiVo is on a roll as Dish Network has failed to to convince an appeals court to overturn a previous patent win. Dish Network could end up paying from about $100 to $200 million as a result... continue reading...

IPTV Growth

TMCnet's Eve Sullivan writes about the massive adoption rates of IPTV worldwide. Apparently IPTV services grew from 4.7 million households in 2006 to 14 million in 2007. The growth rate in Europe actually hit 250%. Here is more information... continue reading...

Unlimited Plans = Unlimited Trouble?

Are unlimited voice and data plans causing unlimited headaches for carriers? More than one person told me at CTIA they think Sprint is going to be in real trouble as a result of the unlimited plan they are selling to... continue reading...

Plantronics HW251N-USB Wideband Headset

Correction... Despite my best efforts to be perfect this device is called the HW251N-USB not the HW351N-USB. Sorry if this caused you any problems. If you are like me you look for ways to ensure your entire team is as... continue reading...

Podcast: Ken Lamneck - President The Americas, Tech Data

Ken Lamneck President The Americas Tech Data Distribution companies are in a great position to tell us what trends to look for in the market. What is hot? What is not and more. It is for this reason I was... continue reading...

Podcast: Dieter Thompson, TAG

Dieter Thompson CEO TAG I had a chance to have a podcast interview with Dieter Thompson the CEO of TAG, an Alcatel-Lucent company specializing in telecom procurement, contract negotiation and vendor management solutions. Thompson shares many things in this interview... continue reading...

FTTH is Needed Soon

I agree with Gary Kim that FTTH is needed, if not today, at least very soon. Unless a service provider is looking to sell out this year or next, they should be considering doing what rural Smithville Telephone did... continue reading...

Communications Developer Call for Papers

Be sure to submit your call for papers entries for the Communications Developer show which will be collocated with ITEXPO later this year in the Los Angeles, California Convention Center. The specific dates of the event will be September 16-18,... continue reading...

Bob Emmerson: TMC's European Editor

Bob Emmerson joins TMC as out European Editor. We are truly proud to have Bob join the team as he is a communications and technology veteran. Previously, Emmerson was a designer of digital control systems, a journalist, and a copywriter.... continue reading...

TMCnet Podcast Library

Sure you have an iPhone or iPod or even a PC where you like to listen to your music. But have you had a chance to listen to TMCnet's high quality podcasts as of yet? ;-) I know many... continue reading...

TMCnet Gets a Redesign

I am very happy to be the first to tell you TMCnet is in the midst of one of its largest graphical overhauls. We are very proud of our new look which emphasizes softer blue colors and shades. There are... continue reading...

ScanSource Wants its MTV

ScanSource, a company distributing specialty technology products in communications, POS and other spaces, has acquired MTV Telecom Distribution, a UK-based distributor of voice and data solutions. Many US distribution companies are looking to expand internationally. This is especially true as... continue reading...

Live Communications Webinars

How do you stay up to date on the latest in communications and technology without leaving your desk? One of the best ways is with a webinar which allows you to sit comfortably in your office while you learn from... continue reading...

Sprint Pays Klausner

Sprint recently signed a deal with Klausner Technologies to enable them to use visual voicemail without the fear of being sued. This news is interesting as Sprint is one of the companies coming after VoIP providers who the company claims... continue reading...

Mind CTI Interview: Monica Eisinger

In the past few years there has been tremendous interest paid to VoIP and the underlying internet protocol which allows IP communications to take place. For those people who started to pay attention to the communications space in the last... continue reading...

TMCnet Hits 100 Sponsored Community Milestone

All I can say is thank you to our loyal readers who visit TMCnet frequently and our sponsors who have launched communities and channels in partnership with TMC on TMCnet. Furthermore, thanks for your loyalty and the nice testimonials many... continue reading...

Mossberg: 3G iPhone in 60 Days

Who am I to doubt Walt Mossberg the Wall Street Journal tech reviewer who gets his hands on gadgets before most others. According to Mossberg, we will have an iPhone capable of 3G speeds in less than 2 months.... continue reading...

HD Voice goes Hosted

I have long mentioned there is an opportunity to start using stereophonic, surround sound quality in IP communications as the quality of phones today is just atrocious.Thankfully, Polycom, Skype, Microsoft and others have embraced this concept with their wideband codecs.... continue reading...

The Coming Mobile WiMAX Revolution

Over the past fifteen years the world has become smaller as a result of the internet and more recently broadband connectivity allowing IP communications consisting of voice and video to flourish. As connectivity has improved, entire industries were transformed. For... continue reading...

Save Money in a Slow Economy

What is one of the best ways to cut costs without cutting heads or disrupting you key business operations? One simple solution is to explore the adoption of a telecom expense management or TEM solutions. Recently I had a chance... continue reading...

Polycom's Software Play and More

Depending on the era, if I asked people what the name Polycom makes them think of they would give me different answers. In the nineties it was video conferencing and audio conferencing devices. Around 2000 you could add IP phones... continue reading...

Polycom's Durable 8002 VoIP Phone

I have to be frank… I have never been in a meeting where I saw a product launch accompanied by a phone being slammed on a table. So I was a bit surprised when Polycom's Ben Guiderian did just that... continue reading...