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...

SkyFire: The Cure for iPhone Envy

Do you have iPhone envy? I do. In fact, just this past Sunday I walked into the AT&T store and I browsed TMCnet on the iPhone and was blown away at how easy it was to surf on this phone... 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...

Hosted Application Demand Fuels SalesForce.com

Hosted applications continue to get more press as time goes on. Similar to the e-commerce space, this market saw a slew of new entrants during the bubble times and many of these companies subsequently crashed and burned. Obviously having ASPs... continue reading...

Sangoma's David Mandelstam Shares Thoughts

Sangoma's David Mandelstam always has something interesting to say so I invited him to have a podcast with me. What can you learn from listening is how well Sangoma and other communications companies are doing -- even in a slow... 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...

NET has Record Quarter

Good news in the communications space from from NET who announced their highest level of profitability in 10 years. According to the company, total revenue in the fourth quarter was $33.4 million, a 15 percent increase from $29 million in... continue reading...

Shoretel Implosion?

I have never heard the kind of rumors about a vendor that I am hearing about Shoretel. Reports of unhappiness in the ranks of the workers and management problems persist in the industry. Some comments I have been hearing is... continue reading...

Communications and the Economy

Yesterday at Interop I asked exhibitors and analysts what they were hearing about the economy. Most said they think the recovery would be U shaped, not a V but some thought that Q3 would be the start of a recovery.... continue reading...

Interactive Intelligence has Record Quarter

In a challenging economic environment, what can one say about the financial performance of Interactive Intelligence? Consider this: quartlerly revenue of $29.5 million; up 21 percent over revenues of $24.3 million in the same quarter last year. I must admit... 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...

PhoneTag, The New Simulscribe

Jamie Siminoff beams with enthusiasm as he explains to me in this podcast about his excitement regarding his company's name change from SimulScribe to PhoneTag. According to Siminoff, sales have increased dramatically since the announcement of the new name and... continue reading...

Headed Back From Paetec World 2008

I really had some great meetings today with Fortune class companies who are in various stages of deploying VoIP. It is always great to get to spend time with these companies and learn about their challenges and success stories. I... 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...

Blackberry Voice Search

TellMe just launched a new application which allows people to use their Blackberry for voice search. utilizing the TellMe speech recognition engine and Microsoft Live Search, you can have search results automatically localized if you happen to have a GPS-enabled... continue reading...

SimulScribe is Gone. Long Live PhoneTag

You've definitely heard me go on about voicemail transcription and just how amazing it is to have your voicemails transcribed and e-mailed to you so you never have to dial into your mailbox again. One of the companies leading the... continue reading...

Off To PAETEC World

I am heading out to the 2008 PINNACLE Users Conference at PAETEC World today. I had heard good things about Virgin Atlantic and am even taking one of their flights today. Yesterday I met with a company int he communications... continue reading...

New Skype Unlimited International Plans

I recently wrote about how I thought Skype should be sold to Google and in response I received a very well-worded response from Skype PR representative Chaim Haas. Here is an excerpt: [On] yesterday's eBay Q1 earnings call, where it... continue reading...

Danny Windham Podcast

Yesterday's podcast with Digium's CEO Danny Windham is getting a good deal of exposure and a number of people have been commenting on it to me. There is also a related article written by TMCnet's Susan Cambpell worth reading. For... 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...

EsnaTech Grows the Google Ecosystem

One of the latest trends I have noticed is integrating disparate solutions into Google's suite of applications. Just this month in fact, two companies in the communications and CRM spaces have decided working with Google more closely makes a great... continue reading...

Podcast: Danny Windham, CEO Digium

How does a company go from being a leader in the open-source communications space while simultaneously looking to generate revenue? Even open-source purists realize that companies supporting this movement need a way to generate earnings. Digium, the sponsor and maintainer... continue reading...

Why Skype Should be Sold to Google

There are now rumors circulating that Google will buy Skype. These rumors are not new -- I wrote about this as recently as November 20 of 2007. But they did die down for a while and have been renewed. I... 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...

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...

iPhone Denial of Service Vulnerability

Radware today discovered the iPhone Safari browser is vulnerable to denial of service attack. The specific model being tested was the Apple iPhone1.1.4. In order to experience this problem a user must browse to a website containing malicious Javascript... continue reading...

Fonality Trixbox 2.0 Launches

According to Chris Lyman, the Founder and CEO of Fonality, the brand new Trixbox 2.0 is the "look mom, no hands, reseller version." In fact, the company is doing its best to make sure resellers have to touch these phone... 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...

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...

Google and SalesForce Enhance Relationship

It was over a year and a half ago when I had a chance to listen to Marc Benioff talk about how his company's software would be integrating with Google to provide a mashup allowing companies to better track their... continue reading...

GrandCentral Outage

Today was apparently a bad one for GrandCentral customers as many report the service was out for hours. As mentioned by TechCrunch, if you want to be phone company you can't go dead.... continue reading...

Qwest Outage

Qwest is investigating an internet outage which took place yesterday. Apparently internet and VoIP service was interrupted for a number of customers yesterday afternoon. Perhaps not coincidentally, some ISPs were also knocked offline which in turn took TMCnet down for... 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...

Second Life Meets the Call Center

You have heard me discuss how contact centers could connect with virtual worlds and moreover how virtual worlds could connect with e-commerce. One of my most recent posts is titled Virtual Customer Interactions and in this post I give an... continue reading...

Dimdim is to WebEx like Asterisk is to Avaya

Open source web conferencing company Dimdim is looking to attack the conferencing market in the same way Asterisk "attacked" the PBX space. Although the concept of open source is not new this sort of product just shows how virtually... continue reading...

Digium's New Deal

It looks like Digium's Java based client will be getting commercialized as a result of a five year deal with PhoneFromHere.com. Apparently this agreement will improve the voice quality of PhoneFromHere's products and for Digium this signals another potential revenue... 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...

Mobile Unified Communications from Verizon

You may recall I have written about the RIM division Ascendant Systems and how the company enables mobile unified communications. Now the company which allows your Blackberry to function as a wireless extension of your communications system has inked a... 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...

Messy Skype Presence Solution

Its funny, I spend so much time writing about solutions for service providers and enterprise customers that when I come across a do it yourself (DIY) solution allowing you to keep tabs on your Skype friends without the use of... 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...

EU Authorizes Fist Fights on Planes

OK I may be a bit over the top with this headline but allowing a plane full of passengers the ability to talk on the phone -- all in different languages... What is the EU thinking? According to TMCnet's Mae... 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...

Starface Looks for US IP-PBX Growth

I recently came across a software-based IP-PBX company from Germany that I have never written about before. Vertico Software GmBH makes a product called Starface which comes in a variety of flavors, from software to an appliance or hosted solution.... continue reading...

Westport VoIP

Although this may not be earth-shattering news, I find it personally satisfying to see that after about ten years of publishing Internet Telephony Magazine and holding Internet Telephony Conference & Expo, that the town of Westport, CT has decided they... 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...

Packet8 Links With SalesForce.com

In the race to differentiate IP communications services, a natural area  for service providers in the business market to look is the CRM space. Integration with customer relationship management systems is common in large enterprises and even medium companies have... 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...

Jabra BT 4010

Let's face it… Morse Code was great when there was no telephones around but why would anyone use this century-old communications mechanism today? The simple answer is that anyone with a bluetooth headset today generally has to interpret flashing lights... 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...

Allworx Does Analog

Is it that Sandra Gault at Allworx loves her job or is it that Allworx is a great place to work? I say this because whenever I meet with her, she seems to be so excited about how her company... 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...

NEC's New Vision

Recently I had a chance to sit down with NEC Unified Solution's new president Jeffrey Kane and talk shop. Kane has an extensive background in systems integration having worked at firms like Perot Systems and EDS. Most importantly, he has... continue reading...

OnRelay's Mobile PBX Solution

Years ago I realized that mobile phones would get cheaper and cheaper and eventually cause a threat to the PBX vendors of the world. Of course… trends are generally easy to spot but timing technology adoption is generally very difficult.... continue reading...

Here at CTIA in Vegas

So here I am in Vegas. I had a 45 minute wait for a cab followed by a 15 minute wait to check in to find out that the hotel I thought I was staying at is not the right... continue reading...