MyVoIPnews

8x8 times two

8x8, Inc. yesterday announced joining with YouSendIt, Inc., a specialist in digital content delivery, to produce a new digital courier service for Packet8 subscribers.

Packet8 Dispatch, powered by YouSendIt, seeks to allow users to upload multiple files as large as 2GB each to multiple recipients on-demand. Recipients receive an e-mail notification with a link to securely download the files. “Tens of thousands of businesses across the globe use the YouSendIt service every day to deliver graphic designs, video, photos, engineering designs and other data to customers and partners in just minutes,” said Ivan Koon, CEO of YouSendIt. “We are delighted to offer this assured and secure digital content delivery service to Packet8 VoIP customers.”

8x8 and YouSendIt are offering two versions of the online delivery service. The first, a free Lite version, offers free transfers of files as large as 100MB with a download bandwidth limit of 1GB each month. The second option, available free for a 45 day trial, allows file transfers as large as 2GB per file and can be downloaded by as many as 200 recipients, with a 200GB download bandwidth limit per month.

After the 45 day trial period, Packet8 subscribers may continue the service paid either monthly, upfront on an annual basis or revert to the free Lite package.

Meanwhile, 8x8, provider of Packet8 residential, video and business VoIP phone services, announced today that it has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2007 and its amended Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q/A for the quarters ended June 30, 2006, September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2006.

Per its June 15 press release announcing a decision to restate previously filed financial statements due to a change in the accounting treatment of investor warrants, 8x8 has now completed the restatement of its previously issued Consolidated Financial Statements for fiscal years 2005 and 2006, and its unaudited quarterly financial information for each of the three quarters ended in 2006.

VoIP solutions provider 8x8, Inc. offers internet-based telephony solutions for individual residential and business VoIP for small- to medium-sized business organizations. The Packet8 VoIP solutions starts at $24.99 per month per user for unlimited anytime calling to the US and Canada. 8x8 offers unique VoIP solutions in the Packet8 Tango Video Terminal Adapter and DV 326 VideoPhone along with accompanying monthly service plans also priced at $24.99 per month.

Packet8 Virtual Office, 8x8’s VoIP solution for small- to medium-sized businesses, is a hosted PBX solution comprised of business VoIP features. Companies subscribing to Virtual Office pay $49.99 per month per extension for the PBX solution.

Cloud subsumes Vyke

The folks over at Vyke closed their week with the announcement that its wholly owned subsidiary, Vyke AS, has entered into an agreement that will give Vyke users access to VoIP calling services from any hotspot operated by The Cloud Networks Limited (a.k.a. “The Cloud” – cue eerie incidental music).

Beginning sometime “this summer,” Vyke Mobile IP users can use mobile VoIP service from The Cloud’s hotspots in the United Kingdom and abroad. The Cloud’s has some 9,000 WiFi-enabled wireless internet hotspots in 16 high-density metropolitan areas such as the city of London, Canary Wharf, Amsterdam and Manchester.

Vyke PR explained the firm’s alliance with The Cloud as due to “its operator independent business model, dominant position in Europe and its aggressive continuing build out plan,” making the cumulous one “a key partner for executing upon its stated mobile IP telephony strategy.”

Jan Christian Berger, executive vice president of sales for Vyke Communications plc hyperbolized to the effect that “Combined with Vyke’s mobile VoIP service, The Cloud’s wireless network represents a shift in the mobile telecoms paradigm.”

Vyke Communications plc is headquartered in the UK with subsidiaries and offices in Norway, US, Iceland and Malaysia. Vyke Mobile IP is a mobile Voice over IP service offering users free calling from their mobile phone to fixed lines in Western Europe and North America.

Vocal-2000?

VocalTec Communications Ltd., a global provider of carrier-class multimedia and voice-over-IP solutions for communication service providers, announced today that Mobifon-2000 has selected VocalTec’s Essentra VoIP solution for the build-out of its national and international next generation network. Mobifon-2000 is a licensed service provider offering wire-line and data services in Russia.

Mobifon-2000 and VocalTec have reached an agreement for the purchase of VocalTec VoIP solutions and services. VocalTec officials announced revenues of several millions of dollars related to this agreement “over the next years” are anticipated, and $2 million are expected during the balance of 2007.

The VocalTec VoIP solution seeks to enable Mobifon-2000 building a national VoIP network while enabling the rapid addition of new services and applications.

The deployment includes VocalTec’s Essentra CX Trunking solution, offering seamless connectivity to PSTN/SS7 services; the Essentra EX, Peering Manager, enabling secure IP-to-IP routing and service mediation, the Essentra OSS, Operational Support Server, a web-based management system, enabling remote element management; and the Essentra Traffic Management System, enabling effective utilization of network resources.

The deployment will also feature a MAP gateway, enabling the termination of calls on the group’s mobile network, thereby enabling the convergence of both wireline and wireless infrastructures. Mobifon-2000 is a licensed service provider of NLD/ILD communication services, which has commenced to build its NLD/ILD network within the Russian Federation.

VocalTec Communications is a provider of multimedia and VoIP solutions for communication service providers. Founded in 1994, VocalTec provides proven trunking, peering, access gateway and service delivery solutions for deployment of next-generation networks. VocalTec serves an installed base of dozens of leading carriers including Deutsche Telekom and Telecom Italia San Marino.

InZon in the zone

VoIP provider InZon Corporation announced today that its common stock has resumed trading on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board under the symbol IZON, and is no longer trading on the Pink Sheets.

“We are especially gratified by this event, as well as the enormous support of our shareholders,” said InZon president/chief executive officer David Levy.

Delray Beach, Fla.-headquartered InZon employs VoIP technology to provide complete voice, fax, data and conference call services on an ASP platform utilizing its own worldwide hybrid VoIP/TDM network.

Brookings on broadband

The Brookings Institution released an attention-grabbing report today entitled The Effects of Broadband Deployment on Output and Employment: A Cross-sectional Analysis of U.S. Data.

The far-reaching study is authored by Robert W. Crandall, William Lehr, and Robert E. Litan; the analysis seeks to explore what “is increasingly viewed as essential infrastructure for our global information economy.”

Brookings starts with the familiar yet again startling numbers that say that in year 2000, there were only 4.1 million broadband lines in the United States with 3.2 million of these residential lines. In 2006, those statistics had ballooned to 53.5 million and 49 million, respectively. Including wireless connections, total U.S. broadband lines actually rose to more than 64.6 million lines.

The study provides new estimates of the effects of broadband penetration on both output and employment, in the aggregate and by sector, using state level data. FCC data on broadband penetration for the lower 48 states over the 2003-2005 period was employed.

Hospital scans the Inner(Wireless) Horizon

InnerWireless, Inc., a provider of in-building wireless solutions, today announced that it will deploy its Horizon broadband infrastructure, at the Foote Health System campus in Jackson, Mich.

The Horizon system will provide wireless coverage for literally mission- and life-critical wireless services and devices including cellular phones, VoIP, 802.11 a/b/g and wireless medical telemetry service for uninterrupted monitoring of patient vital signs.

By integrating WMTS telemetry on the InnerWireless system, Foote Health System executives created an enterprise patient monitoring solution in which vital signs can be continuously monitored anywhere in the facility from a centralized location.

InnerWireless, Inc. specializes in providing wireless coverage inside large commercial, healthcare and government buildings with Horizon, its wireless utility, a unified broadband distribution platform that supports multiple wireless devices including cellular/PCS, WMTS, WLAN, VoIP, and two-way radios.

New PRG VoIP

PRG Group, Inc., holding company for PRG Systems Inc. and Prime Communications Inc., has introduced its stand-alone business VoIP IPX phone system.

Using advanced routing schemes, PRG’s VoIP system can interface with multiple networks and allow system administrators to reconfigure end-user features and call functions online. Standard features include automatic call distribution, unified messaging, conference services and PBX-driven visual menu systems that provide visual notification of voicemail messages.

Brix by Brix

Brix Networks, a provider of converged service assurance solutions, today announced that Canadian telecom TELUS will extend the Brix System hardware and software lines currently deployed to help measure and verify the quality of TELUS’ Voice over Internet Protocol services.

TELUS uses Brix as its IP service level monitoring system and employs the Brix System to conduct both active (on-demand) and passive (live) call monitoring in order to analyze the signaling and media across its backbone network.

Founded in 2000, TELUS boasts $8.8 billion in annual revenue and 10.8 million customer connections, including 5.1 million wireless subscribers, 4.5 million wireline network access lines and 1.1 million internet subscribers. TELUS provides communications products and services including data, VoIP solutions, voice, entertainment, and video.

Homegrown VoIP for Nepal

Indian joint venture United Telecom Ltd, the first private operator in Nepal’s telecom sector, will now begin voice over internet protocol service. After green lighted by Nepal Telecom Authority late last week, the joint venture UTL began a feasibility study to identify the partners and phone routes it can ally with overseas to offer the new technology to its subscribers in Nepal. Joint venture interests within UTL include India’s MTNL, VSNL and Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd and Nepali partner Nepal Venture Pvt Ltd. UTL will be investing some NRs 150 million (approximately $2 million) to implement the new technology. The decision is reportedly in response to the estimated NRs 8 billion lost annually in illegal telecom services and “cyber cafes mushrooming all over Nepal.” It is also seen be some “as a placatory offer after NTA made a discriminatory gesture earlier this month” in that “Though UTL and Nepal Telecom have identical licences to offer phone services based on the wave technology employed by cellular phones, NTA this month allowed the Nepali company to offer full mobility while UTL has been given only limited mobility.”

BlueSnom?

Snom technology AG, developer and manufacturer of Voice over IP telephones, today announced a strategic partnership with BlueNote Networks. Snom phones are now officially interoperable with BlueNote’s SessionSuite software solutions.

Snom VoIP telephones and related equipment are based on the IETF open standard SIP.

BlueNote is a business VoIP platform provider. BlueNote platforms seek to enable global enterprises to integrate voice, video and other real-time interactive communication services with business applications.

Anarchy in the VoIP

So who says destruction can’t be creative? Certainly not Jajah and its newly launched “Dump your handsets” campaign.

The Jajah folks are accepting photos, videos and the like from Jajah fans who “creatively dispose of their existing headset,” i.e. smash it to little pieces like the quite attractive female serving as example does so beautifully, preferably screaming “Headsets are symbols of the old Voiceover Internet Protocol!” or something to that effect.

Submit your anarchic activities caught on video to NoHeadset.com; you may get your stuff posted on the ‘site (here’s betting good money that essentially everyone submitting gets posted) and/or win stuff.

Unfortunately, the offered prizes mostly consist of cheesy shirts and the like designed for you to become a Jajah billboard in answering questions like “Um, what’s that kooky logo on that cheesy shirt all about? Is it a product i can buy?”, but hey, the destruction – i mean, creation – is the reward itself, right?

YouTube to be standard on iPhone. Excellent, dude.

It just gets better and better for those who love YouTube, at least until. Hey, this My VoIP Newswriter was sceptical about the iPhone at first but now will be camping outside of outlets to buy one. What’s the big deal? If you don’t know, you just not as addicted to the video-a-minute ‘site as the likes of me. YouTube announced the rolling out a mobile version of the site and on iPhone will be an icon on the “desktop.” Nice. Macintosh also doled out a few other tidbits on iPhone today. The excellent British ‘site Pocket Gamer has a nice piece on the subject, including some grousing on the Safari web browser. As it turns out, the browser “may not be all that Apple has promised in its adverts, with Flash and Java not set for inclusion, rendering huge portions of the internet largely unviewable on the device.” Ouch. But who cares? It’s got YouTube. And you could be watching stuff like this whenever you wanted. Or this. Or this. Dude.

Fresh(tel) Effort(el)

Freshtel Holdings has signed a letter of intent to enter into a strategic partnership with Effortel, a European mobile virtual network enabler. Under terms of the alliance (roll stirring theme music), Effortel and Freshtel agree to offer both the Freshtel white-label service and a collectively managed converged mobile service. The agreement paves the way to commence discussions for the provision of both the Freshtel whitelabel and combined Freshtel and Effortel converged solutions to Carrefour, the world’s second largest retailer and reportedly the single largest retailer in Europe.

World wide webinar

“What,” VoIP solutions provider Pulvermedia rhetorically asks, “do high growth services like videoconferencing, unified messaging, ringback tones, prepaid calling cards, IP Centrex, IVR, and IP Contact Centers all have in common? The answer is that they all need IP-based media processing – the 'behind the scenes' foundation essential for economical and scalable VoIP, video, and IMS enhanced services.”

With this intro, Pulvermedia announced yesterday its up-and-coming webinar entitled “IP Media Processing: The Foundation for VoIP and IMS Services,” which presents a new platform-independent media processing technology designed to cover the entire range of media processing deployment options, from small enterprise point solutions running on Linux-based servers, to solutions running on ATCA-based hardware platforms, up to the largest IMS deployments running on purpose-built hardware.

This secret new technology promises VoIP solution and IMS application vendors, service providers, and enterprises a “one-stop shop” for any IP media processing functional or economic requirement, regardless of hardware platform, control protocol, market, or application.

The webinar is targeted for CTOs, product and network architects, and technical personnel within telecom vendor, service provider, and Fortune 500 companies involved in business VoIP and IMS service development and deployment.

The main speaker will be RadiSys senior product marketing manager Ray Adensamer, a twenty-year veteran of the data and telecommunications industries in the areas of product marketing and business development. The moderator is Pulvermedia’s own Carl Ford, the community developer and VP content.

“IP Media Processing: The Foundation for VoIP and IMS Services” will be held Wednesday, June 27 at noon EDT. To log on for the event, go to www.iian.ibeam.com/events/mult001/22751/.

The VoIP PBX Touch(Star)

TouchStar today (on Saturday – really) announces its expansion outside of the call center industry with the availability of its new business VoIP PBX phone system.

TouchStar’s IP PBX system is software-based and seeks to allow businesses to easily expand, upgrade, and maintain their system to grow with their business. The TouchStar VoIP solution promises “classic PBX functionality” and features such as recording, monitoring, conference bridging, call queuing, and intelligent ACD/IVR. The IP PBX Administrator Application seeks to allow the end user to make moves, adds, and changes with little or no involvement by IT or Telecom staff.

TouchStar is a call center solution provider that offers on-site call center software, hosted call center systems, predictive dialers, automated voice messaging, voice, data and long distance services, and, of course, the VoIP solution. TouchStar acquired Digisoft in 2005 and Sigmaworx in 2006, and has been named as one of the Denver Business Journal’s “Fastest Growing Large Private Companies in Colorado” for four years in a row. TouchStar is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and has offices in Pune, India; Mumbai, India; New York, New York; Davenport, Iowa; Manchester, England; and Manila, Philippines.

PortaTone?

NexTone, a provider of session border controllers and scalable solutions for VoIP, multimedia, and IMS network interconnects, announced an interworking initiative with PortaOne, Inc. today. PortaOne is a carrier-grade billing and provisioning vendor, and the agreement is all about providing carriers and service providers worldwide with an integrated billing and SIP-H.323 switching solution.

The NexTone multi-protocol session exchange (MSX), when used together with PortaBilling100 for NexTone, seeks to allow service providers the opportunity to create a flexible and scalable VoIP network.

In its most recent enhancements to the NexTone Real-time Session Manager (RSM), NexTone extended Least Cost Routing (LCR) functionality to Lossless LCR in order to permit margin-based routing decisions. PortaBilling100 is a carrier-grade business VoIP billing and customer management platform that enables VoIP solution providers to launch, price and provision their services.

Part of PortaSwitch, an IP multimedia subsystem that also includes a class 5 softswitch and unified messaging application, PortaBilling100 is provided with unlimited perpetual license, source code, on-site training, and six months of technical support and upgrades.

PortaOne is a global communications infrastructure vendor hocking a range of applications including hosted PBX, IP Centrex, and Voice VPN. Established in 1997, PortaOne is a privately held company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Whale(back Systems) song

Whaleback Systems today unveiled a program for its business VoIP solution to enable cable operators to target the small- and mid-sized business market. The program features the company’s scalable, end-to-end CrystalBlue Voice Service that boasts a 50-point bundle of features.

Whaleback’s service architecture has been operationally proven over fiber, G-PON, xDSL and over-the-air RF access technologies, but the new system was designed to best leverage existing HFC networks using technologies based on DOCSIS and the PacketCable specification.

Also touted in the Whaleback Systems business VoIP solution is OrcaVision, a voice quality management system. The Whaleback VoIP solution is also plugged as “the only IP PBX with Key System Unit features such as shared and bridged line appearances, intercom with hands-free response and group paging.” Finally, check out Whaleback’s exclusive “Road Warrior Functionality,” which connects multiple offices, mobile employees and telecommuters.

Whaleback Systems’ new program is on display at SCTE’s Cable-Tec Expo in Orlando, Fla., this week.

Fring around the rosey

The folks at VoIP solution provider fring have announced that the company has made all Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.0 series devices compatible handsets. Fring users can now choose from among fring, Skype, Google Talk, MSN Messenger VoIP solutions, hundreds of SIP providers and twitter on about 300 Windows Mobile phones and pocket PCs and over 20 Nokia devices on any 3G, GPRS or Wi-Fi internet connection.

Like all fring supported devices, internet access is leveraged to make VoIP phone calls, hold multiple live chat sessions and also make VoIP enabled PSTN phone calls through SkypeOut or SIP-based applications such as GizmoProject, SIPNET, VoipCheap, VoipStunt and FWD.

fring is a free mobile phone application that can be downloaded or sent via SMS. It is optimized for 3G over mobile phone networks with GPRS and Wi-Fi roaming and is PC independent. The fring application is currently in BETA and compatible with the following handset models: the Nokia 60 series, N70 series, N80 series, N90 series (including the N95), E60 and E70 series and Windows Mobile Series 5.0 and 6.0 handsets.

Milan in the summertime: Perfect conditions for VoIP

The inaugural Southern Europe VoIP Leaders Summit kicked off today in lovely Milan, Italy. Partners in hosting for the event are BroadSoft, Inc., Acme Packet, Polycom, BEA Systems and the Savatar research firm.

The Southern Europe VoIP Leaders Summit is promised to “offer service providers valuable industry insight into the latest issues in the European VoIP market.” The usual plethora of panel discussions, product display and analysis will fill the card.

“The European VoIP market is experiencing a period of unprecedented growth, with the market opening up for hosted voice services delivered via mobile, broadband and fixed-mobile convergence,” said BroadSoft European Marketing director Mike Wilkinson. “At the Southern Europe VoIP Leaders Summit, service providers will learn best business practices across Europe and the key issues facing the VoIP market.”

As the main sponsors of the summit, BroadSoft will be introducing its two new country managers. Joining BroadSoft as a country manager for Spain is Enrique Funke; Funke has previously worked for Tekelec, Telefónica, Intel, IBM and Alcatel. The new Italian country manager for BroadSoft is Laura Luigia Martini, who will help the company consolidate its position in the Italian market with her 11 years of experience in business management and marketing at Alcatel-Lucent, Riverstone Networks, Netcentrex and Nortel.

TeliaSonera = Total VoIP for Sweden

Swedish telecom TeliaSonera has announced the launch of its own residential VoIP solution embedded in a triple-play voice, broadband, and digital TV bundling. The new offer will be made available in 2.4 million Swedish households and will cost approximately $50 per month.

“We are now expanding into a totally IP-based solution,” explained Erik Hallberg, head of the company’s Broadband Services division. “We will offer both landline and IP telephony in the foreseeable future. There is no doubt, however, that IP telephony will over time become the dominant service, and our focus on increasing the number of IP-based services is clear.”

Another sign of Intelligence

Network General Corporation, provider of IT Service Assurance solutions, today announced the addition of VoIP Intelligence to its VoIP Forensics solution, a business VoIP solution available from the Network Intelligence Suite.

VoIP Intelligence seeks to provide efficient display of individual call performance and overall VoIP metrics, unique visualization of per-call VoIP performance, and instant correlation of voice and video communications with data traffic patterns.

In connection with the VoIP Intelligence release, a Network General produced video entitled “Unified Communications and VoIP Intelligence” is now available on You Tube, which pretty much guarantees a mention in this blog.

Truphone plays David to T-Mobile’s Goliath

Truphone’s mad as hell, and they’re trying not to have to take it anymore.

Truphone, rapidly becoming the poster child for the trodden-upon VoIP entrepreneur, has recently been making (justifiable) noise about T-Mobile’s latest underhanded ploy, namely that the telecom company’s phones refuse to connect with Truphone’s 07978-8 range of numbers.

Industry guru Om Malik wrote a scintillating piece on the subject on Friday, Truphone released a sarcastic point-making low-budget YouTube flick, and hopefully industry support is rallying around the Truphone cause.

Nevertheless, Truphone CEO James Tagg can’t afford to keep taking such abuse lying down and got his folks to release a few salient facts about T-Mobile, followed by a terse bit of commentary.

Among Truphone’s claims regarding T-Mobile vis-à-vis the mobile/VoIP relationship are that T-Mobile refuses to interconnect with operators offering VoIP as a matter of policy; that T-Mobile is required to “make calls or otherwise transmit electronic communications to every normal telephone number,” which it has refused to do in the case of Truphone and other VoIP operators; major UK operators 3, O2, Orange and Vodafone; and, most painfully for the company, Truphone’s 07978-8 numbers in fact represent a beta test only and until the combination achieves total interoperability, it cannot be officially launched.

Perhaps most important to remember is that T-Mobile has more than a passing interest in keeping out VoIP services. T-Online Ventures, T-Mobile’s venture capital wing, recently announced investment in VoIP provider Jajah, and T-Mobile will be trying out VoIP service in the US and Germany later in the year.

Tagg’s statement in its entirety reads: “This affects every new entrant into mobile telecommunications because the only company that can facilitate interconnection with T-Mobile is T-Mobile. To refuse is therefore an abuse of its position. It amounts to T-Mobile being able to veto a new entrant into the market. This would put telephony back 100 years, to a time when interconnections were not assured.

“If I were a shareholder I’d be asking some tough questions about whether T-Mobile is prepared for the internet age. It looks like a company in chaos with no coherent strategy for VoIP: it is both resisting VoIP and buying it, and at the same time running ads saying it sets the internet free. Maybe the left hand simply doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.

“T-Mobile’s move is the most aggresive act but it isn’t alone in trying to find ways to slow down mobile VoIP. Vodafone and Orange tested one way by removing internet telephony from their branded Nokia N95 handsets without telling their customers, and Vodafone is planning to charge more for VoIP traffic than for web traffic on its new mobile web service.

“T-Mobile will argue that it is not ‘blocking’ Truphone but is merely negotiating on price. T-Mobile receives £0.35 per minute from its customers but is offering only £0.21 per minute to Truphone even when Truphone’s costs are £0.09 per minute to terminate the call. T-Mobile is blocking our numbers unless we accept this loss-making offer and, since T-Mobile is the only company that can route calls from its customers it has a complete veto on the Truphone service.”

My VoIP News has said it before and we’ll say it again: Kinda smells like a lawsuit is cooking, doesn’t it?

Revised specs spice up iPhone

Those anxiously awaiting that long-awaited Apple iPhone release (Oh boy, just ten more days!) got even more exciting yesterday when Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that the new gadget would be even better than previously expected.

Jobs’ hyperbolising – dude actually described the iPhone as a “truly magical product” – aside, the fact is that the iPhone can retain power for up to eight hours of talk time, six hours of internet use, seven hours of video playback, 24 hours of audio playback, and up to 250 hours of standby time.

(After receiving FCC approval to distribute the device in the ‘States in May, Apple’s specs stated that the iPhone would be capable of five hours of talk time and 16 hours of audio playback.)

“iPhone’s battery life is longer than any other smartphone and even longer than most MP3 players,” Jobs said.

The other improvement made to the plans will be on the surface. To wit, the entire top surface of iPhone will be constructed of optical-quality glass rather than glass “to achieve a superior level of scratch resistance and optical clarity.”

iPhone will initially be sold exclusively through AT&T with a price tag of $499 for the 4G-byte model and $599 for the 8G-byte. Jobs and Apple have also promised the release of “several” iPhone accessories at the same time of release. That’s June 29, don’t forget. (As though you could…)

Fer(rier Hodgson) Shore(Tel)!

ShoreTel, Inc., a provider of business VoIP solutions, today announced that insolvency firm Ferrier Hodgson has rolled out ShoreTel’s business VoIP system to 105 users at its office in Sydney.

Replaced in the move was the company’s extant Samsung PABX solution, and the ShoreTellers were pleased as punch to point out that their firm had curried Ferrier’s favor over rival VoIP solutions from Avaya and Samsung and replaced an aging, leased Samsung PABX system.

The ShoreTel VoIP solution includes a ShoreGear-E1 which interfaces over an ISDN network to its service provider, ShoreTel 560 and ShoreTel 230 handsets and two ShoreGear-120 switches capable of supporting up to 240 IP phones. The VoIP solution is managed using ShoreWare Director, a browser-based administration interface.

Established in 1976, Ferrier Hodgson is a top Asian Pacific provider of turnaround, reconstruction and forensics services. The Ferrier Hodgson Group boasts over forty partners and 300 staff. Ferrier Hodgson has offices in Australia’s capital cities, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and New Zealand.

Founded in 1996, ShoreTel headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., with regional offices in the United Kingdom; Sydney, Australia; and Munich, Germany. ShoreTel can also boast that, for four years running, IT execs surveyed by independent firm Nemertes Research have rated ShoreTel highest in customer satisfaction among business VoIP solution providers.

Mediaroom sprouts

One word for you today: Mediaroom. That’s as in “Microsoft Mediaroom,” the newest update to/rechristening of the big company’s software platform née Microsoft Internet Protocol Television.

Touted in the new release are the smashing new-fangled multimedia capabilities, including personal music and photo sharing; multiple picture-in-picture capabilities; the “Multimedia Application Environment” for development of interactive services and advanced applications; digital terrestrial television support; and something called “instant channel zapping,” which hopefully means that you can finally exterminate the TBNs right off your dial.

New to the product, too, is the Microsoft Mediaroom Application Development toolkit, which provides service providers and third-party developers with tools to create television-based applications.

The name change, explains Microsoft PR folk, is in order to “better reflect the broader set of new connected entertainment experiences made possible today and the types of experiences anticipated in the future.”

Spokespeople have emphasized, too, that the Microsoft Mediaroom name and identity are “designed to be used by service providers as an ingredient brand to create a powerful competitive differentiator to support their consumer marketing activities.”

Currently, eighteen service providers including AT&T use Microsoft Mediaroom platform for their digital TV offerings, and commercial deployments are reportedly underway with ten others.

The Microsoft Mediaroom platform will be literally unveiled on Tuesday at communications technology trade show NXTcomm in Chicago.

The 2007 NXTcomm event will be the first and is described as “presented jointly by TIA and USTelecom” and “uniting the premier information and communications technology suppliers with the world’s leading communications and entertainment companies.” More than 450 exhibitors have booked space and 20,000 attendees are expected.

Lots of big hitters will be presenting and/or speaking at the event, perhaps most impressively with a keynote by Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin. (Nice score for an inaugural event, eh?)

oneFone is enough (for all of us)

Mobile VoIP solutions provider WiFiMobile closed the week with the announcement of its business VoIP solution known as oneFone, which marries select Nokia devices with any SIP-compliant corporate PBX system.

The software allows roaming employees to use their mobile phones as a PBX extension to the corporate private branch exchange system. Key features of oneFone include Intelligent Call Routing and Smart Client Authentication and Wireless Internet Service Project Roaming.

Provisioning of the service is available at Wifimobile.com and installation is begun with an SMS.

WiFiMobile was formed in 2002 in Santa Monica, Calif., and has recently opened a European office in the UK. WiFiMobile is focused on developing software for Nokia S60 smartphones which enable free calls over WLAN or 3G.

Two from Globe7 to call 25

VoIP solutions provider Globe7 launched two new USB phones with a value based calling plan offering unlimited calls to 25 countries for one year.

The Globe7 Wireless Internet Phone, or WIPA, includes a cordless phone and base with a range of approximately 33 feet and enough battery life for 100 hours of standby or ten hours of talk time.

The Internet Storage Phone, or ISPA, is one of those new-fangled phone stick kinda thingees with 1GB of Flash memory preloaded with the software to make calls. Also included is a hands-free headset with a built-in microphone.

Both phones are priced at $120, which includes the one-year unlimited calling plan.

Truphone slapped again

Much-loved industry commentator Om Malik is getting some play around the blogosphere this weekend thanks to his Friday entry entitled “Why is T-Mobile UK blocking calls to mobile VoIP start-up Truphone?” Perhaps, says Malik, as My VoIP News tends to agree, it has something to do with Truphone’s makeover of its Truphone 3.0 client.

Said client was sneak previewed at the VON Europe show last week and can be test-driven by “the kind of person who likes to try things first and will happily put up with a few bugs in exchange for cool new features, then download it today…”

Among the features list is the promise of free instant messaging over IP. This is where T-Mobile gets really T’d off. After all, as Malik leads, “Mobile carriers are scared of one thing: becoming dumb pipes whose only utility is to carry voice and text.”

With its general policy of pooh-poohing VoIP solutions for its network, T-Mobile has now taken the next insidious step in refusing to connect with Truphone’s 07978-8 range of numbers. Just can’t do it. Check out this great demonstration video of what happens when you try. (You gotta love any clip like this that ends with clipped British tones proclaiming “So there you are.”)

The dis from T-Mobile represents the second bit of trouble for Truphone as of late. In April, Orange and Vodafone disabled the possibility of employing a VoIP solution in the Nokia N95, a decision that understandably caused an uproar amoung VoIP devotees and providers both.

The Orange party line is that the VoIP solution had not been tested thoroughly enough and that VoIP is an immature technology, i.e. “Internet telephony requires in-depth testing, a solid end-to-end customer experience, billing integration and customer service support which is not currently available.”

VoIP solution provider Truphone, for one, was offended. Firm spokespeople immediately began taking verbal shots at Vodafone et al and finally began hinting at legal action, but this remains to be seen. T-Mobile may actually make a better target now.

Looking to the Voiis

It’s been a while since My VoIP News had a week-ending round up of reviews on a bizarre little product, but such a doodad in fact arrived this week, to the delight of dozens of bloggers and more, to be sure.

Techie geek website Engadget.com was certainly glad to receive a toy for some “Bluetooth putzing around” with as we rapidly approach the dead-halfway point between Christmases: “Here ya go media streamin' fans, the Voiis mini Pocket Messenger Phone.” Engadget includes lots of swell pics of the device, but here’s a tiny list of technical specs:

• The battery lasts for six hours of active use or 72 of standby.

• The 65k color display measures 1.2”.

• Support for Skype, MSN, and AOL is included.

• Approximate prices are 15,800 yen; $130; £65.

Launched in Japan by telephony hardware firm Axes this week, explains Professor Engadget, “The class 1 Bluetooth device allows you to interact with Skype and MSN Messenger calls as well as iTunes and Windows Media Player music within a 100-meter radius of the included base station.”

Yes, that’s right. In terms of music capabilities, the Voiis phone acts as a sort of radio receiver, with your computer as transmitter. It is, describes the indomitable Ubergizmo, “a nice device to have, but ultimately it is not mission critical to a geek.”

High on the adjectives was Telappliant’s take, which labelled the Voiis Mini “a peculiar mix between music player and VoIP” and an “oddball device,” but also gave a nod to its “innovative” technology. Adds the Telappliant scribe with a final splash of color: The low £65 price tag might tempt some visiting consumers on the look-out for a souvenir of that country's particular blend of innovation and insanity.”

Good point. Hey, next time one of you My VoIP Newsreaders goes to Japan, pick one for me, will ya?

Raketu me!

Raketu, a global internet communications, information, and entertainment company, closed the week with the launch of RakWeb. RakWeb is, you can probably guess, a new web-based voice over Internet protocol telephony service. (In fact, in immediately dispensing with formalities, My VoIP News gives this a 9.3 on the Clearly Intentioned VoIP Solution Name Scale.)

Raketu services are accessed via the LaunchPad interface, touted as “the first to integrate ipTV, Video On Demand, VoIP, and IM/SMS service in a single, easy-to-navigate desktop application.” That’s quite a claim, eh?

Other Raketu services include podcasting, a media player, and news/information feeds.

Raketu.tv features several ipTV streaming channels, including content from MGI and NamcheTV, a sports/adventure channel from the Czech Republic. (Hey, that’s what it says here. Non-believers can check out the Raketu.tv website.)

BroadSoft in Iceland? That’s cool.

VoIP solutions provider BroadSoft Inc. announced today that Siminn (formerly known as Iceland Telecom) has selected BroadSoft’s BroadWorks application platform to deliver residential and business VoIP services across Iceland.

For business VoIP customers, Siminn will be using the BroadWorks VoIP solution to complement its existing legacy centrex and hosted PBX services.

Though a small market – the entire population of the country is under 310,000 – Iceland is quite the country for techies, with a top five status worldwide in terms of residential broadband penetration. Interesting to note that Iceland currently ranks no. 2 on the Human Development Index, trailing only Norway.

@SEA with Marlink

Marlink, a supplier of integrated satellite communications equipment and network services, has previewed VSAT@SEA, the company’s new line of global maritime broadband satellite services with the at-first tricky yet clever name.

Marlink’s VSAT@SEA will feature three standard service configurations that include a minimum guaranteed committed information rate for IP-based communications.

Option 1 will provide vessels with two Voice over Internet Protocol phone lines coupled with a guaranteed 32kbps committed information rate for IP-based communications at sea.

Option 2 will furnish ships at sea with three VoIP telephone lines along with a two-way guaranteed data rate at 64kbps and featuring a maximum bandwidth rate of 256kbps ship-to-shore and 512kbps return speed.

Option 3 will deliver four VoIP telephone lines per vessel combined with a guaranteed rate of 128kbps with maximum data rates ceilings of 384kbps and 1024kbps, respectively.

Marlink is planning to make VSAT@SEA commercially available during fourth quarter 2007.

Marlink is a subsidiary of Telenor Satellite Services and is part of Telenor ASA of Norway.

To Infineon and Beyond

Infineon Technologies (whoa, dude, that’s like infinity plus an eon – give it a 7.4 out of 10 on the My VoIP News Trippy Mathematics VoIP Business Names Scale) this week announced the latest member of its Dual-channel Subscriber Line Interface Circuit (or DuSLIC) line for voice- and VoIP-enabled devices.

DuSLIC-xT is an energy-efficient CODEC/SLIC that promises “best in class cost position for a complete voice enabled system.” The DuSLIC-xT includes an integrated high definition audio interface which allows the device to provide an interface between a PC or laptop and an analog phone.

DuSLIC-xT is offered as either a dual-channel or single-channel solution. The product combines one dual-channel CODEC and two single channel high-voltage SLICs in a PG-TQFP-100 package.

“DuSLIC-xT simplifies system design by minimizing the development time and the bill-of-material and paves the way for PC-based VoIP solutions that will further fuel customer adoption,” Christian Wolff, senior vice president of the Communication Solutions business group and general manager of the Wireline Access business unit at Infineon, generically said.

Engineering samples including system design package will be available in July 2007.

Big guys team up for business VoIP solution

Yesterday saw Nortel and IBM unveil plans with which the firms doubtlessly hope to shake up the business VoIP world a bit.

Nortel-IBM System i Unified Communications is a VoIP solution that promises to “[make] the move to IP telephony and unified communications as easy as a software upgrade.”

As part of IBM’s unified communications and collaboration strategy, the new VoIP solution will software and hardware from IBM with IP telephony and multimedia capabilities from Nortel.

The Nortel-IBM System i Unified Communications VoIP solution is targeted for small- to medium-sized businesses and branch offices; the program will integrate IBM’s System i business computing platform and the IBM Lotus Sametime unified communications and collaboration platform with Nortel’s suite of VoIP and multimedia technologies.

The Nortel-IBM VoIP solution promises to allow for the consolidation of VoIP, multimedia collaboration and other core business applications onto a scalable System i platform that will be complemented by a portfolio of SIP clients and allow for connectivity to Nortel’s purpose-built data portfolio for SMBs.

In addition to IP-PBX call features such as call routing, voice mail and unified messaging, the solution is expected to integrate with select e-mail clients.

The Nortel-IBM System i Unified Communications solution will be sold through Nortel resellers and IBM solution providers and is expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Snomtek!

Snom technology AG, developer and manufacturer of Voice over IP telephones, today announced that Gentek, a North American distributor of broadband, network security, VoIP solutions and products, is picking up distribution of snom.

The deal marks a nice move further into the North American market for snom, as the ten-year-old firm has only recently broken wholeheartedly out of its Europe-centered business.

All snom VoIP telephones, including the 300, 320, 360 and 370, will be available. The folks at snom PR remind that their phones offer a complete implementation of the IETF’s latest recommendations for standards-based authentication and content security.

Babar names names in Bangladesh

After a long period of time in which all was quiet on the Bangladesh VoIP front, news today on the plight of the heretofore-illegal technology comes from Bangladesh-based news outlet Babar discloses Voip mystery” and written in that, um, distinctive style of English for which the Blitz is known, the story tells of Lutfozzaman Baber, “ex-state minister for home,” who has “given away several information on the high-profile VoIP syndicate to the Task Force for Interrogation.” Baber alleges that former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s political secretary Harris Chowdhury and Secretary General of JASAS Babul Ahmed were actually down with illegal VoIP poster boy Helal Khan in smuggling VoIP technology into Bangladesh while smuggling income gained from black-market VoIP out of Bangladesh. Baber’s tales of 2001-2006 include other politicos, their family members and former telecoms minister Mohammad Nasim. Writes “Root” of the Blitz: “Babar told the interrogators that each of those in the VoIP business would earn between TK 40 million and TK 50 million. He claimed that he raised the issue before Khaleda Zia at least 50 times and urged her either to stop the illegal business or legalize it by issuing license. Each time she assured that she would look into the matter later but it never came true.”

TelConnect?

XConnect Global Networks Ltd., provider of peering and registry services for the IP-enabled telecommunications industry, and Telcordia Technologies, Inc., provider of telecommunications software and services, announced today that they have entered into an agreement to integrate and independently distribute their respective ENUM Registry services, including Private Federations for IP Communications Peering and number portability.

Under terms of the agreement, the Telcordia Service Interconnection Registry and The XConnect Registry will be integrated to enable customers of both companies, which include leading mobile and fixed line and VoIP service providers, to establish peering relationships that will help service providers reduce interconnection costs and increase quality of service for end-to-end multimedia IP communications.

The six-million customer firm

Thomson today announced the surpassing of a milestone: now more than six million VoIP telephony lines deployed by operators around the world are managed by Cirpack Class-5 voice switches from Thomson; company PR reports that the number represents growth of a sweet fifty percent growth of users in just six months.

Class 5 voice switches allow operators to provide primary line telephony with emergency numbers and legal intercept with advanced voice features such as call forwarding and call conferencing to their customers.

Two new Gigaset toys from Siemens

Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices has released two new Gigaset devices with integrated voice over IP functionality. Both products will be demonstrated for “oohs” and “aahs” at NXTcomm in Chicago next week.

The Gigaset SX762 WLAN dsl is compatible with the entire range of Siemens' Gigaset DECT 6.0 cordless phones and can support existing analog phones. The Gigaset S450 IP is a hybrid cordless communications system that supports connections for both fixed-line and LAN networks.

In addition to an illuminated color display and keypad with intuitive graphical menus, six handsets can be supported and up to 150 contact entries can be stored at any one time. Any of the available Siemens Gigaset DECT 6.0 handsets can be used with the S450 IP. The Gigaset SX762 WLAN dsl gateway provides IP video, internet access, telephony, WLAN and LAN networking capabilities.

Features touted in the SX762 WLAN include a wireless internet router, integrated ADSL2+ modem, a USB 2.0 host port, two analog phone interfaces and four Ethernet ports for networking PCs.

It Allworx

Allworx, specialists in small-business VoIP, today announced two new programs.

A new five-year extended warranty program for Allworx VoIP phones and VoIP solutions represents the most comprehensive warranty available anywhere in the SMB marketplace.

Allworx also announced that it has revamped its “Return Materials Authorization” process to simplify return requests. Available through Allworx’s Authorized Resellers, the optional five-year extended warranty covers the Allworx 6x System; 6x External USB Hard Drive; Allworx 24x Single Drive System; 24x Mirror Drive System; and the Allworx 9112 and 9102 phones.

Resellers can place extended warranty and RMA orders through the Allworx Web Portal.

Carry on, squire

Squire Technologies today announced full support for SIP-I and SIP-T signalling protocol variants across the SVI range of VoIP solutions, i.e. the SS7 Media Gateway, Gateway Controller, Class 4 SoftSwitch and Signalling Gateway.

The carrier-grade functionality of SIP-I and SIP-T promises to offer operators the opportunity to deliver CLEC services while benefiting from the advantages of quickly deployed and adapted, and low cost IP network infrastructure and interconnects.

Squire Technologies specialises in signalling product solutions. The company was established in 2001, and today boasts deployments in more than 50 countries. Squire Technologies produces SS7 products including protocol converters, gateways and VoIP solutions.

New Aspect on June 28

Contact center solutions specialist Aspect Software, Inc. today announced that June 28 would be the general release date for its Aspect Unified IP 6.5.

Aspect Unified IP is a session initiation protocol-based VoIP solution for the unified contact center that promises automatic call distribution, predictive dialing, voice portal capabilities, internet contact, workflow management, multichannel recording and quality management. The product is designed for the small- to medium-sized contact center.

Touted in the new release are enhanced capabilities including an embedded voice portal for advanced speech recognition and text-to-speech; advanced outbound list management capability; and multi-tenancy and partitioning to support the Software as a Service model.

Aspect Unified IP 6.5 will be available in simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, English, Spanish, French, German, Brazilian Portuguese, Thai, Japanese, and Korean.

Free stuff from IBM!

IBM today announced a no charge, 90-day trial offer of its unified communications and collaboration platform, IBM Lotus Sametime 7.5.1. Sametime features business VoIP-ready instant messaging, web conferencing, point-to-point video capabilities, mobile device support and voice chat. Lotus Sametime is available for Windows, Linux and Macintosh clients and AIX, Linux, Windows, i5/OS and z/OS servers. Suggested list price is $57 per user for a one-time software license. Mobile devices supported by Lotus Sametime include RIM BlackBerry, Nokia and Windows Mobile. Lotus Sametime integrates with Microsoft Outlook 2000 and 2003 and Office XP. The Lotus Sametime 90-day trial is available for download at the IBM website.

Most micro microphone ever

The world’s smallest microphone? Better call the folks over at the Guinness book of records: Akustica may required a new entry.

Designed for VoIP products, the tiny little thing is just four millimeters by four like products on the market.

“Akustica has already made available a microphone with a smaller total silicon area than many people could have dreamed possible just a few years ago,” said the firm’s chief technology officer and co-founder Dr Ken Gabriel.

The first products to get the super-micro microphone will be released in autumn.

Infonetics on LAN

Infonetics Research has released some numbers from the first three months of 2007 in its latest Wireless LAN Equipment quarterly market share report.

The big stat, of course, is the overall increase in worldwide wireless LAN equipment revenue of five percent over fourth quarter 2006 to hit $775 million in the first quarter of 2007.

Summarizing, Infonetics directing analyst for wireless Richard Webb stated that “The consumer and enterprise segments of the wireless LAN market continue to swell, with a new cycle of equipment upgrading now underway, spurred on by the availability of 802.11n products in the first quarter. Additionally, VoIP over wireless will help push the popularity of wireless LANs in all segments.”

Other key numbers in the study include:

• Worldwide WLAN equipment revenue is forecast to grow to $4.7 billion in 2010.

• In first quarter 2007, enterprise products made up 51 percent of total WLAN equipment revenue, residential products 43 percent, and service provider products 6 percent.

• Worldwide WLAN switch and controller revenue increased 5 percent to $167.5 million in first quarter 2007.

• Access points accounted for 78 percent of WLAN equipment revenue, WLAN switch products 22 percent in first quarter 2007.

• Cisco leads in worldwide wireless access point revenue share in first quarter 2007, followed by Linksys and Netgear.

• North America accounts for 40 percent of WLAN equipment revenue in first quarter 2007; EMEA is next at 35 percent, followed by Asia Pacific at 20 percent, and CALA at 5 percent.

Companies tracked in the report include 3Com, Aruba Networks, Buffalo, Cisco, Colubris, D-Link, Enterasys, HP, Linksys, Motorola, NETGEAR, Nortel, Proxim, SMC Networks, and Trapeze Networks.

Good win for Emerald Isle firm

A prestigious win was scored by Irish IT company Globalnet in taking a tender put out by non-governmental organization Global eSchools and Communities Initiative. The GeSCI program involves provision of complete IT service including a VoIP solution in offices in Bolivia, Ghana and India.

Under terms of the agreement, Globalnet will provide full hardware maintenance, support, administration, monitoring and a support desk service. Gloablnet, which employs eight staff between its Dublin and Naas offices, will also be installing and managing the company’s VoIP system.

Globalnet managing director George O’Dowd explained the necessity for proper business VoIP in the developing-world offices over at SiliconRepublic.com: “An employee in any country ideally should have the same IT experience as their colleagues in Dublin. However, due to poor telecoms infrastructure in Bangladesh, for example, that is not always possible. We have to be creative and try to find a compromise that works for their field-based employees.”

VoIP up in Sweden

According to Sweden’s National Post and Telecom Agency, the Scandinavian country is seeing some serious growth in VoIP solutions sphere.

VoIP use was up a whopping 87 percent growth in Sweden’s subscribers last year, from 219,500 in 2005 up to 410,000 in 2006. The percentage of VoIP users, then, against the the total population of Sweden is 4.5 percent.

The agency went on to report that Sweden’s telecoms’ earning 11 percent lower revenue, representing a loss of £1.8 billion (approximately $3.54 billion).

eOn VoIP

Telecommunications solutions provider eOn Communications Corporation this week released Business Connect, a business VoIP service tailored for small businesses.

The Business Connect VoIP solution offers unlimited local- and long-distance calling plans for the United States and Canada, and access to low international rates.

Business Connect services are available from $16.95 per month per extension. Optional feature packages, unlimited calling plans and business-class VoIP desktop telephones are available.

Global Crossing crossing globally

IP solutions provider Global Crossing closed out the week by announcing it has moved its VoIP solution into nine countries further. Global Crossing VoIP Local Service is now in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Peru, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.

The VoIP solution is now offered in twenty countries, already having presence in Denmark, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Global Crossing VoIP Outbound services are available from 29 countries. Global Crossing’s is a global, fully meshed MPLS-based network. Global Crossing numbers state that the VoIP platform carried more than 30 billion minutes of use during 2006.

Celebrating the Centennial on the islands

Centennial Business Solutions announced today that it has selected Citel, also known as “the VoIP Migration Company” (and that’s trademarked, too), to supply its Portico Telephone VoIP Adapter for Centennial’s Aptus hosted IP service.

The business VoIP service, combined with Citel’s Portico TVA and the BroadSoft, Inc. BroadWorks enterprise telephony platform, is touted for enterprises of all sizes.

Centennial Business Solutions recently secured its first Portico TVA-enabled customer, Berrios, Inc., a retailer with locations throughout Puerto Rico. Berrios will deploy the Portico TVA at 36 retail locations to support its growing operations and migration to Voice over IP.

BroadSoft, meanwhile, hopes its partnership with Centennial Business Solutions and Citel will help accelerate migration to hosted IP and business VoIP in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

The Citel Portico TVA is available in digital, P phone, and analog-compatible configurations, and promises interoperation with more than 65 handset types including Avaya Definity, NEC DTERM, Nortel Meridian and Norstar, Panasonic DBS, and Toshiba Strata DK.

Centennial Business Solutions is said to be Puerto Rico’s leading provider of integrated voice and data communications. The company offers comprehensive telecommunications services throughout Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Nice.

Map this

Verizon has gotten in with Microsoft to create themselves a presence on http://maps.live.com. The ‘site is used in locating businesses such as restaurants, hotels and car dealerships and, with the Verizon Business IP network installed, can now click to make free PC-to-phone calls to advertisers.

Windows Live Call for Free from Microsoft uses Verizon Business’ VoIP capabilities and expansive global network.

To access Windows Live Call on maps.live.com and get free (well, mostly free. Free with an asterisk) calls to merchants, Verizon offers the following instructions:

• In the top search box, enter a business type or name and below a zip code or city/state.

• The merchant results are listed in the left column by the business name.

• Click “Call For Free” and select “Use My Computer” to connect with the participating merchant.

Happy mapping!

Vonage keeps on ticking, eh?

Say what you like about those alleged copyright swipin’, ill commercial makin’, VoIP solution providin’ folks at Vonage, you gotta admit they’re dogged little buggers.

Yesterday, Vonage Canada announced availability of its flat-rate, full-featured home phone service in Brandon, Manitoba. This week also saw Vonage Canada launch local phone service in Saskatchewan’s two largest cities, Regina and Saskatoon.

Vonage Canada is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario.

Avaya’s new shape

So, it’s now official. Avaya has been sold.

Well, basically.

Private equity firms TPG Capital and Silver Lake have reportedly put in an $8.2 billion bid for Avaya Inc. and Avaya Inc. has accepted in principle. The $17.50 per share price for Avaya is a 28 percent premium over the closing share price on May 25, the day before reports of negotiations to sell Avaya.

Representatives of Avaya expect the transaction to be completed this fall, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

Now, let the speculation begin! None other than Dow Jones and CNN were quick to post speculative analysis on the new value of Avaya: Analyst Jeffry Bartash is extremely optimistic, calling the move “a great deal” and notes that, despite potential problems at Avaya, “Silver Lake and TPG Capital have a successful history of investing in high-tech companies and managing turnaround situations.”

A temporary VoIP solution

US troops overseas have been given a bit of a reprieve after a bit of a hasty announcement last week.

No, the president hasn’t come to his senses about American soldiers in Iraq. Rather, the VoIP solution problem was resolved temporarily for American militia posted in South Korea.

The Department of Defense announced last Thursday that voice over Internet Protocol calls through US-based companies could be made, based on moves made about one year ago.

At that time, South Korea’s major internet service providers joined to state that VoIP calls going through companies not registered under the Korean Telecommunications Business Act would be blocked. Thanks to a little diplomatic maneuvering, the South Korean companies delayed the move until June 1.

Now it seems the US has bought the GIs a little more time. Military ‘paper the Stars & Stripes is reporting that an extension of three weeks has been given so that the Army and Air Force Exchange Service may sign a contract for service with a South Korean firm that provides personal internet service to the USFK community.

Reports the Stars & Stripes: “…last Friday LG DACOM, the AAFES-contracted Internet provider, said it still had no written contract with AAFES and could not offer VoIP until one was signed.”

Said contract will be signed “any day now.”

Companies currently registered to provide VoIP solutions in Korea include Korea Telecom Corp., Hanaro Telecom Inc. and LG Dacom Corp.

Zarlink, i’m in Taipei…

Zarlink is demonstrating a few new nifty hands-free voice processing products with 5V Technologies at Computex Taipei 2007.

The Zarlink and 5V Technologies integrates Zarlink's acoustic echo canceller technology and 5VT's ARM9-based VoIP SOC (a.k.a. the 5VT13XX Series).

Zarlink's ZL 38004 voice processing platform combines Zarlink's voice processor engine with dual channel wideband, CD quality codecs, on-chip memory and ZLS38502 firmware for speakerphones.

Using the 300MHz ARM9 processor with integrated peripherals specialized for CPE applications, 5VT is a chip supplier for applications including IP phones, VoIP ATAs, VoIP gateways, VoIP WLAN gateways, 802.11n WiFi AP routers and other IADs (integrated access devices).

iPhone out this month (i know 'cause it was on TV)

Well, I guess you can file this one under “It ain’t real ‘til it’s on TV.”

Early and often industry media has been dominated by the news that iPhone will be released by Apple on June 29; excited beat and wire writers proclaim it so because the firm rolled out television commercials that aired during Sunday night’s “60 Minutes.”

You can see the commercials on the Apple website; sadly there’s not an “PC vs. Mac” or “Why 1984 won’t be like ‘1984’” among them.

What’s surprising about this media hype is that Steve Jobs promised the long-awaited already-debated iPhone’s June release back in mid-January. Heck, CBS online gave four and a half minutes of coverage to the damn thing back then, including the promise that it would be released in June.

By the way, check out Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer going off on the iPhone – “Five hundred dollars? Five hundred dollars?” Again, this was back in January.

In fact, Ballmer’s is probably already hollering “Six Hundred Dollars?! Six Hundred Dollars?!” to wife, kids, secretary, batty old relatives, whoever is within hearing range, after seeing the ads during Sixty Minutes on CBS, as Apple announced that the bad boy’s starting retail cost is $499, but could run $599.

In terms of specs, Apple’s iPhone:

• measures 4.5” x 2.4” x 0.46” and weighs almost five ounces; reportedly this would make the iPhone the thinnest smart phone on the market;

• features a 3.5” screen with resolution of 320 x 480 at 160 pixels per inch;

• includes a 2-megapixel camera;

• can sync contact information and iPod files with a personal computer;

• will work with either IBM or Macintosh computers;

• supports quad-band GSM, EDGE, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR wireless technology; and

• promises five hours of battery life, and sixteen when used for music playback.

The gizmo also includes an HTML e-mail client, a Safari web browser, Google Maps installed, a built-in sensor that will automatically reorient the picture on screen when the phone is rotated, and an ambient light sensor.

Suddenly, salivating techies have come up with a couple dozen reasons to plunk down $500. Sure, it’s a limited market, but Ballmer knows this can make money. Heck, the buzz says one million customers are interesting in buying themselves an iPhone from AT&T.

Incidentally, since everyone else is rerunning this story in one form or another anyway, here are CRMchump’s rerun reasons why the iPhone will sell:

• The legion of Mac supremacists is an automatic market and will surely do lots of word of mouth for the newly renamed firm. (More on that, sooner than before.)

• The success with iPod.

• Finally, there’s a reason Macintosh got popular back in those halcyon days of 1984: It’s Simple, Stupid. PC idiots like myself who were using Lotus 123 and DOS programming on glowing green screens at the office came home to work on the pleasant-looking and monkey-easy-to-use Mac. You want to know where the roots of blogs lay? In self-publishing? Why was self-publishing so popular in the early 1990s? Mac!

And i didn’t even need to see it on tv...