Tom Keating : VoIP & Gadgets Blog
Tom Keating
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wireless, WiFi, WiMAX, 3G, 4G, EVDO

Bandwidth.com Acquires Dash - Google Voice, Skype & Others Impacted

February 23, 2011

Bandwidth.com, a nationwide supplier of VoIP network services to Voice 2.0 innovators such as Skype, Pinger, and others, today announced the acquisition of dash Carrier Services (dash), a North American-based provider of tier-one emergency services and wholesale carrier voice solutions. The acquisition provides Bandwidth with a definitive competitive edge, as it will now tightly couple additional advanced services, such as E911 calling, with its core voice and SMS offerings to deliver a stronger experience for customers who would otherwise need to cobble together these services in much less efficient ways. The deal was all-cash, and the combined company is now projected to generate over $100MM in revenues this year.

Voice 2.0 innovators will increasingly need to add services like E911 calling as VoIP adoption continues to accelerate, and Bandwidth.com can directly address this need through its now expanded portfolio of solutions.

Why Spirit DSP Powers Viber's Popular HD Mobile VoIP App

February 15, 2011

SPIRIT DSP, a voice and video over IP Engines provider, today announced that its TeamSpirit Voice Engine Mobile is powering the new Viber application that offers free HD Voice over IP (VoIP) calls from the iPhone.  

"Within three days of launching Viber on the iPhone late last year, we received one million downloads, and seven million within the first month, quickly becoming the No. 1 free app in the Netherlands, Spain, Singapore, Taiwan, Israel and several other countries, validating the enormous demand for quality, free mobile VoIP calling," said Viber Media's CEO Talmon Marco.  "We're incredibly pleased with this massive uptake and can credit SPIRIT's Voice Engine Mobile for the quality of the Viber voice experience."

Asterisk + OpenBTS = Be Your Own Wireless Carrier

February 14, 2011

OpenBTS (Open Base Transceiver Station) is a free softare implementation of the GSP protocol allowing the creation of software-based GSM access points that enable standard GSM mobile phones to make phone calls without using traditional wireless providers' networks. In other words, create your own homebrew cellular network!

According to the OpenBTS Project, OpenBTS is an open-source Unix application that uses the Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) to present a GSM air interface ("Um") to standard GSM handset and uses Asterisk software to connect calls leveraging SIP and VoIP.

The goal of the project is to reduce the cost of GSM service provision in rural areas and the developing world. They explain, "In plain language, we are working on a new kind of cellular network that can be installed and operated at about 1/10 the cost of current technologies, but that will still be compatible with most of the handsets that are already in the market. This technology can also be used in private network applications (wireless PBX, rapid deployment, etc.) at much lower cost and complexity than conventional cellular."

During the past few Burning Man festivals, OpenBTS has performed a week-long live field test under special temporary WE9XJN authorization to use certain wireless frequencies.





Xorcom's Premium XE2000 and XE3000 IP-PBXs Now Shipping

February 2, 2011


Today, at ITEXPO Xorcom announced their new line of VoIP business communication solutions, the XE2000 and XE3000 series is now shipping. Similar to the XR2000 and XR30000 series, these two new PBXs handle both TDM/PSTN and VoIP calls. Running the Elastix distro of Asterisk, the new series adds new features including microprocessor-based temperature control with redundant fans, redundant hard drives, internal backup and recovery support (including restore points), and an LCD touch panel for access to system parameters. The LCD enables system adminisrtrators to perform monitoring, maintenance, and troubleshooting without the need for a keyboard and mouse.

ITEXPO Moves to Austin, Texas - The New Telecom Corridor

January 28, 2011

ITEXPO West moves from Los Angeles, California to Austin, Texas taking place September 13-15th 2011. This is a big move on TMC's part since ITEXPO has been in L.A. for many years.  Launched in 1999, ITEXPO is the world's largest and longest-running B-to-B communications and technology conference.

Former FCC Chief Kevin Martin to Keynote ITEXPO

January 20, 2011

Former FCC Chief Kevin Martin will be a keynote speaker at ITEXPO taking place February 2-4th in Miami, Florida.

Some background on Kevin Martin. In a resignation statement on his philosophy at the FCC he stated it "has been to pursue deregulation while paying close attention to its impact on consumers and the particulars of a given market, to balance deregulation with consumer protection." Martin added that he "approached his decisions with a fundamental belief that a robust, competitive marketplace, not regulation, is ultimately the best protector of the public interest and the best method of delivering the benefits of choice, innovation and affordability to American consumers."

The statement also included what Martin accomplished during his tenure, including one promoting broadband, and specifically wireless broadband, and protecting consumers from harm, by issuing $150 million in fines, or more than any other chairman. On January 15, 2009 Kevin Martin announced his resignation when the Obama Administration took over. In his letter of resignation to President Bush, Martin wrote, “I have had the privilege of serving at the Federal Communications Commission for almost 8 years, including 4 years as the agency’s Chairman. 



Google Voice Adds Number Porting - Carriers Cry

January 20, 2011

ITEXPO Named Top 50 Fastest Growing Tradeshow

January 19, 2011

TMC's ITEXPO was named one of the fastest growing trade shows by Trade Show Executive in their Fastest 50 Awards. I've been with TMC since 1994 - right out of college and I've seen this company grow from 15 employees to over 65 employees. It's been an amazing ride. TMC's ITEXPO has had some stellar companies participate over the years, including Asterisk, Avaya, Cisco, Microsoft, Packet8, ShoreTel, and Skype.

TMC CEO Rich Tehrani said, "Much thanks goes to all of TMC's readers as well as our sponsors, attendees, partners, vendors who supply us decorating services, audio/visual, etc and of course the tireless TMC team who works around the clock to over-deliver for customers.

Zipring VoIP Phone Service Launches

January 18, 2011

Erik Lagerway, who has worked at CounterPath (X-lite fame), blogged for TMC, and has other VoIP street creds to his name launched a new venture today called zipring. It kind of reminds me a bit of Google Voice, but I really need to delve into this further and see exactly how this compares. Might even be similar to the new TELTUB service I reviewed yesterday. Anyway, I thought I'd share the news:

Zipring Integrated VoIP Phone Service Launches for Consumers: Works with Every Phone and Mobile Device

Zipring delivers new open standards phone service unlike any other phone on the market



Skype acquires Qik

January 6, 2011

Some interesting news from Skype - they have acquired Qik, a provider of mobile video software and services that enable individuals to capture and, instantly share mobile video. Qik has 60 employees, and is headquartered in Redwood City, California and has an office in Moscow, Russia. The transaction is expected to close in January 2011. Terms of the acquisition will not be disclosed.
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