SIP

Skype for Cisco Interoperable with Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series

September 23, 2009

Skype for SIP keeps adding more SIP-based IP-PBX solutions to their interoperability list. First they had Shoretel, then SIPfoundry's sipXecs and now today they announced that they are interoperable with Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series for Small Business.

"In today's tough economy, executives of smart small and medium-sized companies realize that effective communications with customers, partners and employees are a key to helping them grow their business," said Stefan Oberg, VP and General Manager of Skype for Business. "By certifying Skype for SIP as interoperable with the Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series, we are providing a single offering that will help many SMBs around the globe save money, save time and stay ahead of the competition."

Full Story

Posted in SIP, ShoreTel, Skype, TMCnet, VoIP

FCC Proposes Applying Net Neutrality to Carriers' Wireless Networks

September 21, 2009

Today, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowsk said that wireless carriers shouldn't be allowed to block certain types of Internet traffic flowing over their networks. This has huge implications for the VoIP industry, since as I wrote last week, AT&T blocks port 5060 (SIP) on their 3G data network, thus blocking VoIP applications. If the FCC mandates that the wireless carriers can no longer block applications on their data network, this opens up the entire 3G/4G wireless network to game-changing VoIP applications!

This will no doubt cause a firestorm of protests from the wireless industry which has invested billions in their wireless infrastructure and they see VoIP as something that will cannibalize their revenue stream. According to Yahoo, "FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said wireless carriers should be subject to the same "open Internet" rules that the agency has begun to apply to home broadband providers."

Genachowski wants to take the same principles the FCC has already been applying to wired Internet trafficand extend them to wireless.

Posted in Mobile Phones, SIP, TMCnet, Unified Communications, VoIP, Wireless

Siphon SIP App for iPhone Works over AT&T's 3G network? Holy Toledo!

September 17, 2009

I tested Siphon, a SIP-based VoIP application for the iPhone, in California at ITEXPO. Interestingly, Siphon worked perfectly in California over AT&T's 3G data network. Yes, you read that right - VoIP over 3G! I couldn't contain my giddiness when I realized I could now register my iPhone with TMC's Asterisk-based IP-PBX and make/receive calls.

Posted in Apple, Asterisk, Gadgets, ITEXPO, SIP, Skype, TMCnet, VoIP, Wireless

ShoreTel Lands 1st 'Skype for SIP' interoperability

September 9, 2009

ShoreTel is the first company to land SIP interoperability with Skype for SIP - before Avaya, Cisco, Mitel, Nortel, or any Asterisk-based PBX. I can't help but find the irony in this news since ShoreTel did not support third-party SIP phones/endpoints until ShoreTel 8 was released in 2008. Thus, ShoreTel was pretty late to embrace the SIP standard for endpoints, which forced users to use ShoreTel's proprietary phones. Though to be fair, Cisco was pretty late to the game as well, finally embracing third-party SIP phones back in 2006.

Posted in Avaya, Reviews, SIP, ShoreTel, ShoreTel, Unified Communications, VoIP

Aastra Launches HD VoIP Audio called Hi-Q & Takes on Polycom

September 3, 2009

At ITEXPO, Aastra announced G.722 wideband audio codec support (HD audio) in their new 67xxi firmware version 2.5.0 or later. It's available as a free download from Aastra with no strings attached. No need to upgrade your 67xxi (formerly 57XXi) phone to a newer model to get HD audio. I spoke with Aastra at ITEXPO about this free upgrade and got a demo as well.

Posted in Asterisk, Cisco, ITEXPO, Polycom, SIP, TMCnet, VoIP

8x8 Virtual Meeting - Sporting Flash VoIP- Takes on WebEx and GoToMeeting

September 3, 2009

8x8, Inc. announced at ITEXPO a new, web-based conferencing service to its existing portfolio of business communication offerings for small to medium sized businesses. I met with a few 8x8 employees to get the low-down on this interesting new offering.

First, they leverage Adobe Flash and Adobe Flex for the client piece, which enables cross-platform support. No download required. You can also easily invite participants from a dashboard utility or send an email link to instantly join the conference.

Posted in ITEXPO, SIP, TMCnet, Unified Communications, VoIP

Ecessa Brings Affordable Internet & VoIP SIP Redundancy to Market

September 2, 2009

At ITEXPO Ecessa, a 40-year old company most haven't heard of, announced they teamed up with MyTELEPATH and NetSapiens to bring reliable SIP delivery over multiple broadband links to SMEs. I met with Ecessa to discuss the news and to find out more information about their ClariLink product which adds VoIP SIP redundancy across multiple "bonded" broadband connections.

In a nutshell, ClariLink is SIP session aware and a SIP proxy / registrar that works across multiple ISP connections and will automatically failover in the event of too much latency, jitter, or an entire connection failure / outage. Ecessa measures latency, jitter, and connection outages and will automatically switch to one of the other connections. It also supports network optimization and will automatically pick the best performing connection when you initiate a SIP VoIP call. It can even modify the ISP connection on the fly during a VoIP call. So for instance, if your DSL connection fails , it will failover in real time to one of the other connections.

Posted in ITEXPO, Reviews, SIP, TMCnet, VoIP

TANDBERG's PrecisionHD USB camera is now shipping

September 1, 2009

TANDBERG announced that their PrecisionHD™ USB camera is now shipping. The PrecisionHD™ USB camera is the first webcam to offer 720p high definition with 30 frames per second and is interoperable with Microsoft OCS.

The camera does not require additional drivers or software installations to operate the camera which is always nice - just plug and play.

I wonder how this HD camera compares with the HD-capable Microsoft LifeCam Cinema which is supposed to be coming out soon?

Below is a pic of the Microsoft LifeCam Cinema HD camera:

Posted in Gadgets, SIP, TMCnet, Unified Communications, Video Conferencing, Video Hardware & Software, VoIP

XCast Labs Cuts VoIP Bandwidth Requirements In Half

September 1, 2009

In the ITEXPO Press Room I just met with Cliff Rees, President & CEO of XCast Labs. They have some interesting VoIP technology, including a patent called "direct RTP" which reduces VoIP bandwidth requirements in half.

The example Cliff gave was a VoIP call from Los Angeles to San Francisco using Net2Phone based out of New Jersey. When the Los Angeles user calls the San Francisco user, it initiates a 90Kbps IP call cross-country to Net2Phone's headquarters in New Jersey.

Posted in ITEXPO, Packet8, Polycom, SIP, TMCnet, VoIP, Vonage

SIP Print SME VoIP Recording Appliance Launches

September 1, 2009

SIP Print is announcing today the general availability of a new, enterprise-class call recording platform for mid-market enterprises. The new SIP Print SME platform offers support for up to 200 seats per location, along with RAID hot-swappable drive bays, dual hot-swappable power supplies, and a Core 2 Quad Series processor. Today's announcement is being issued in conjunction with TMC's ITEXPO Conference in Los Angeles.

According to SIP Print, SIP Print SME is a new, more powerful appliance designed for the needs of small and mid-size enterprises, or any organization with the requirement to record up to 200 seats per location.

"We introduced our highly affordable SMB product one year ago to meet the needs of small business with a need to record calls for training, QA, or compliance purposes, but simply couldn't justify the expense or hassle of the legacy recording systems on the market," said Jonathan Fuld, CTO for SIP Print. "Since that time we've seen tremendous demand for a similar, but more powerful system in the mid-market enterprise arena. We're pleased to introduce SIP Print SME as the ideal solution for mid-sized enterprises with the need for a system that is easy to install, easy to use and maintain, and easy to afford."

SIP Print SME is a 1U appliance and is certified as compatible and interoperable with many of today's leading IP PBX systems, including: Allworx, Aastralink, ADTRAN, Altigen, Avaya Distributed Office, Cisco, Epygi, Fonality, Grandstream, Mitel, NEC 8100, NEC 8300, Nortel, ShoreTel, SIPfoundry, Toshiba, Zultys, 3Com, and more. As configured, SIP Print SME is capable of recording and storing the equivalent of one handset, 24x7 for 15 years.

Check out my recent review (last month) of their previous SIP Print appliance which I gave extremely high marks.

Posted in Asterisk, Avaya, ITEXPO, Reviews, SIP, ShoreTel, TMCnet, VoIP

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