January 2004 Archives

The X-Cipher Secure Voice Service for SIP can be used to make secure encrypted calls between two or more X PRO SIP softphone clients over any SIP telephony network. Using the X-Cipher service, X PRO users can conference in many other X-PRO users over any SIP telephony network. Unlike other secure encrypted VoIP solutions, X-PRO with Encrypted Voice can also be used to make PC-to-PC, PC-to-Phone and Phone-to-PC calls on carrier grade and enterprise SIP telephony networks. more..

Voice over IP (VoIP) is set to transform telecommunications in the next five to 10 years. And with telecom companies moving their telephone calls from circuit-switched telephone networks to packet-based data, there have been calls for U.S. telecom regulatory policy to change as well. Neal Shact, CEO of CommuniTech, a telecommunications equipment vendor specializing in headsets, video, and audio teleconferencing equipment, spoke to InfoWorld Senior Analyst Wayne Rash about the FCC's hearings and what VoIP solutions in the enterprise are going to look like. more..

AT&T plans to announce Tuesday that it has hired Intrado to develop a way for the long distance company's Internet phone customers to reach 911 emergency services. The 911 service accompanying AT&T's residential Internet phone offering will make its debut in the spring, according to Intrado. A spokesman for AT&T could not be reached for comment. While they have been hailed for costing up to 30 percent less than traditional dialing plans, so-called voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) services often do not include the ability to dial 911. The reason is that VoIP calls are routed over the Internet, while most emergency calling centers are only capable of receiving calls using older circuit-switched telephone technology. more..

Panama lawmakers have approved a new regulation that requires all telehony providers including VoIP service providers, to pay a 12% tax on all international calls. The tax replaces a $1 per international call fee. Turkey and Pakistan are expected to adopt similar rules, treating VoIP providers no different than traditional telcos. more..

The top U.S. telecom regulator said Thursday that he has no intention of setting rules for Internet telephony, which he said could have a dramatic impact on voice communications. Companies that offer voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) have seen rapid growth in recent months as people embrace lower-cost communications online with quality comparable to traditional phones. "It's probably the most significant paradigm shift in the entire history of modern communications, since the invention of the telephone," Michael Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, told journalists at the World Economic Forum. more...

Forwarding unwanted suitors' calls to automatic rejections is an example of advanced services that providers hope will lure traditional telephone customers to voice over IP. Upstart Internet phone providers are pushing novel features to lure subscribers and differentiate their services, as prices tumble. One upshot could be a radical makeover for the lowly home telephone, held hostage by carrier monopolies for the better part of a century. New features could drive demand for more powerful handsets -- such as those already found in some corporate offices -- with large, interactive colour screens as well as computer processing power and memory. That, in turn, could attract a software developer community, largely lacking until now, that would be dedicated to creating VoIP applications. "It hasn't happened yet, but sometime soon, voice will become a commodity, and these applications will become very important to set (providers) apart," said Wayne Williams, a senior analyst at InfoTech. more...

Voice-over-IP, a technology that lets phones act like PCs and vice versa, is about to take off By DUFF MCDONALD When a customer walks into any of the 150 branches of Sports Soccer, a retailer of sports clothing and merchandise in Britain and Belgium, he might as well be walking into all of them. If a certain product — say, a soccer jersey — is unavailable in the store he's in, the clerk can check the inventory of all nearby branches through a brief phone query. The clerk doesn't actually talk to anyone, but with a few keystrokes she uses the phone to check a database and locate the nearest store with the shirt. More..

A new survey from Parks Associates, out this week, shows that US internet households have a firm grasp of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and they want it now. The survey conducted for Residential Voice-over-IP: Analysis & Forecasts sampled 3,300 US households on VoIP services. Half of all those households that already have access to the internet, whether it is over an existing broadband line or over a dial-up connection, say they are interested in VoIP telephone services. more...

BIRMINGHAM, U.K. -- Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe Ltd, the leading supplier of high performance telecommunications solutions, announces the supply of an Integrated Voice over IP Platform for the BT Broadband Voice Service, which was launched to the public on 9th December 2003.

Declared dead just a few years ago, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)--or the ability to make phone calls over the Internet--is back, bearing all the markings of a Next Big Thing. Just a few weeks into 2004, signs of VoIP's quickening pulse are everywhere. Phone carriers are practically tripping over each other to announce aggressive VoIP strategies aimed at both consumers and businesses. Not to be outdone, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Comcast have trumpeted their own forays into the VoIP market. more...

I whipped up a little tool to allow users to call any 1-800 numbers from this web page: myphonebooth.com. You can also call any Free World Dialup, SIPphone, Iptel, or Iaxtel number as well. All for free. Have fun!

VoIP products from vendors including Microsoft, Cisco and Nortel are affected Story by Jaikumar Vijayan JANUARY 13, 2004 ( COMPUTERWORLD ) - Several critical vulnerabilities have been discovered in voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and videoconferencing products based on the H.323 protocol that's used in IP telephony applications to exchange audio and video communications. VoIP products from several vendors, including Microsoft Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and Nortel Networks Ltd., are affected by the flaws, with risks including denial-of-service attacks and remote system compromise, according to an advisory from Atlanta-based Internet Security Systems Inc. (ISS). more...

Level 3 Communications on Tuesday launched a new service that allows customers to use voice over Internet protocol for toll-free calling across the United States. The new service, called (3)VoIP Toll Free, is designed for call-center operators, conferencing providers and voice portals. Level 3 sells voice and data services to other carriers, which then offer services to customers. more..

Regulators worry as Net phone service surges By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff, 1/12/2004 After a long, dry spell, things are getting good for Internet entrepreneur Jeff Pulver -- if he can just keep the government from mucking it up. Pulver spent the past decade preparing for the day when the world would adopt a technology called Voice Over Internet Protocol, or VOIP, that transmits speech over the Internet as if it were e-mail. The tech bust of the past three years delayed the revolution, but it has finally arrived. Now Pulver wants help from the government, in the form of a good leaving-alone. more...

LAS VEGAS--U.S. Sen. John Sununu said he's preparing legislation to keep broadband telephone service providers from being "smothered by state and federal regulators." The New Hampshire Republican described the proposed law at the Consumer Electronics Show that as a "clear, pre-emptive remedy" that directs state utility regulators to take a hands-off regulatory stance on what's called voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). The legislation also seeks to make the Federal Communications Commission the main authority over VoIP service providers, the senator said. more...