Business-Grade Voice over DSL Service From LightEdge Solutions

If you are a small business holding back from going for VoIP because of uncertainty due to your internet connection, fret no more. VoDSL, Voice over DSL service from LightEdge promises you QoS enabled network to make your network life easier. LightEdge will offer the VoDSL services in several speeds with a maximum bandwidth of 7 Mbps. Customer location will determine eligibility and speeds available for the service. VoDSL will initially be offered in Minneapolis, Des Moines and Omaha, with additional markets available in the near future.

Following is the news release from LightEdge.

DES MOINES, Iowa, April 30, 2008 — LightEdge Solutions, a leading provider of managed Voice, Data and IT business services, today announced the availability of VoIP telephony service using managed Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) access. Through this managed connection, voice and data are carried over a QoS-enabled private IP network that is monitored and controlled end-to-end by LightEdge Solutions’ network operations staff. Previously, only businesses that could afford T1 lines could obtain that type of service and superior voice quality. The entire LightEdge product portfolio is now deliverable over managed DSL, which includes managed backup, Hosted Exchange and Wan IP. This achievement marks a major milestone for the company and for the industry as a whole as more emphasis is being placed on providing cost-effective managed services for small and medium-sized businesses.

The managed solution reduces the cost of traditional phone service by integrating voice and data services into a single DSL connection and providing multiple call functionality without dedicated analog phone lines. Depending upon the customer premise equipment selected, the LightEdge VoDSL solution can simultaneously support up to seventeen voice calls and transport data over each DSL line. The service is ideal for companies with up to forty employees at single location, or multiple locations when used with the LightEdge WAN IP product.

“The launch of this product is really pivotal for our business right now. We’ve been searching for ways to take our managed Voice-over-IP services and make it available for the masses,” said Jim Masterson, chairman and CEO of LightEdge Solutions. “By managing the DSL loop from end to end we can give small and medium-sized businesses access to a level of service and scalability that is just not available through another VoIP provider.”

LightEdge will offer the VoDSL services in several speeds with a maximum bandwidth of 7 Mbps. Customer location will determine eligibility and speeds available for the service. VoDSL will initially be offered in Minneapolis, Des Moines and Omaha, with additional markets available in the near future.

For more information about LightEdge VoIP-over-DSL services for your business, contact 1.877.771.3343 or info@lightedge.com.

tag: VoDSL, VoIP, DSL, LightEdge, private IP network, private IP network, managed DSL,

Jajah Hits 10 Millionth Mark and Joins Yahoo To Provide Voice 2.0 to Yahoo IM Clients!

Jajah, the voice 2.0 provider reached the globe and signed their 10 millionth customer. This is in two years folks (we reported about the Jajah in 2006 as a disruptive technology) and the last years count was 2 million. This is as serious as it gets. It is not only us but Yahoo has also seen the capabilities of Jajah and will be utilizing the JAJAH to provide voice services for Yahoo IM users, closer to 100 million of them!

So what else have Jajah folks done? Quite a bit since I checked out few months ago. JAJAH has opened up their platform for outsiders under the name JAJAH Managed Services, they are known as, “a turnkey telephony service, with everything from network services to billing incorporated in the package.”

Way to go Jajah!

(Disclaimer, I am a Jajah customer)

tag: jajah, Voice 2.0, Yahoo IM, JAJAH Managed Services,

Oracle and ZTE Extend Alliance To Market And Develop IP-based communications services.

BEIJING, China, April 21, 2008 - Oracle and ZTE today announced that they have extended their alliance in connection with the marketing and development of service delivery platform (SDP) offerings in China and globally.

Oracle is the global #1 communications software vendor and ZTE is a leading global provider of communications equipment and network solutions. Demonstrating its strong enabler capabilities, ZTE is already a supplier of unified software platform to application providers, offering a strong management portal to provide flexible and complete access to applications, as well as asset management functionalities. Oracle and ZTE will leverage their complementary strengths in communications and enterprise software to collaborate in the development of an SDP blueprint and proof-of-concept. Both parties will work with additional partners to enrich the total SDP solution.

The current Oracle® Service Delivery Platform (SDP) offering is an extremely comprehensive, standards based software environment for creating new IP-based communications services. Oracle SDP extends the Oracle Fusion Middleware family of products to include a J2EE and SOA-based development and deployment environment designed to streamline the introduction of new communications services such as VoIP, IMS and software-based telephony services. A key component of Oracle's SDP solution is the Oracle Communication and Mobility Server, which provides the underlying software infrastructure and services that make a host of carrier-grade telephony and multi-media services possible using cost-effective, high-volume hardware components.

By using carrier-grade J2EE as its basis for the Service Delivery Platform, the Oracle-ZTE SDP blueprint will enable a standards-based environment for the design, development, deployment, and management of services that lie at the heart of IT and network convergence. The Oracle-ZTE SDP offering will help support the full life cycle of next-generation data services, starting from design and development all the way through deployment, management and service upgrades.

Communications and information technologies are rapidly converging. Confronted with huge infrastructure costs, communications service providers need to develop new high value services faster to recoup their investments. At the same time, they have to deal with eroding revenue streams from traditional services such as voice, and overcome fierce market competition. It is essential to be able to rationalize the service provider's environment to build, deploy and manage services as well as facilitate the development of new attractive services by third-party partner service providers. The SDP development between Oracle and ZTE will help future-proof the infrastructure investment made by the communications service provider.

Chen Jie, Senior Vice President of ZTE, said, "ZTE places great emphasis on SDP as a key strategic solution. In future, all ZTE's products will be developed on the SDP architecture. The collaboration with Oracle will help allow mutual sharing of development, sales and marketing resources, and make our products more competitive globally. Both Oracle and ZTE will be able to replicate joint successes globally to enhance future revenue potential. We believe this effort will also help more communications service providers go to market quickly with comprehensive services, quicken cost recovery and returns on their infrastructure investments."

Dr Li Weiming, Vice President of Japan and Asia Pacific, Oracle Communications, said, "Communications service providers face upward pressure and complex challenges as they seek to rapidly launch and profit from IP services. Oracle and ZTE aim to provide and arm service providers worldwide with a common open, and standards-based platform upon which they can build new IP services as well as transition traditional non-IP services. This flexibility will allow a quantum leap in time to market and help reduce operational costs."

Stanley Chew, Vice President, Technology Sales for Greater China, Oracle, said, "ZTE has been a key strategic Oracle partner leveraging our technology products for the past several years. The signing of the Strategic SDP Collaboration Agreement is yet another significant milestone and represents the commitment of both Oracle and ZTE to further our partnership with the goal of improving our value proposition to the Communications market. Oracle is looking forward to achieving SDP success with ZTE in China and on a global basis.

Media Contact:
Margrete Ma
ZTE Corporation
Tel: +86 755 26775207
Email: ma.gaili@zte.com.cn

tag: VoIP IP Telephony, Communications Software, Oracle, ZTE, Oracle® Service Delivery Platform, Oracle Fusion Middleware, VoIP, IMS, software-based telephony services, Oracle-ZTE SDP blueprint

High Performance Network IPS From IBM And Crossbeam

ARMONK, NY and BOXBOROUGH, MA - 22 Apr 2008: IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Crossbeam Systems, Inc., today announced a high-performance network intrusion prevention solution. This solution is designed to protect today's high speed networks and allows both enterprises and telecommunications carriers to confidently deploy their next-generation networks with security that keeps pace with the performance of the network.

The new solution, IBM Proventia Network IPS for Crossbeam, extends the IBM Proventia Network Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) offering to the Crossbeam X-Series Next Generation Security Platform. IBM Proventia IPS solutions are based on the proactive security intelligence of the IBM X-Force® research and development team -- the unequivocal world authority in vulnerability and threat research. Both telecommunications carriers and large enterprises will realize compelling benefits.

* Large Enterprises can now help protect their 10 Gigabit per second (Gbps) networks with vulnerability-based network protection from IBM. Network protection scales up to 40 Gbps by simply adding additional IBM Proventia Network IPS modules to a Crossbeam chassis. Now, large enterprises can design world-class protection into their new high- performance networks rather than leaving security as an afterthought.
* Carriers can now enhance the protection of their high-performance Next Generation Networks and safeguard their new Internet-based services, such as VoIP and IPTV that demand reliable and scalable protection. The new solution also provides a platform for telecommunications carriers to offer on-demand security services based on IBM Proventia Network IPS to their customers.

Both enterprises and telecommunication carriers can integrate the IBM Proventia Network IPS with firewalls and other security applications on the Crossbeam X-Series chassis. The IBM Proventia Network IPS, in the Crossbeam chassis, combines with a traditional firewall to deliver the advanced protection of a next-generation firewall. Overall, this solution complements the portfolio of IBM Proventia Network IPS solutions that protects both carrier networks and every layer of an enterprise network -- core, perimeter and remote segments.

"Crossbeam has a loyal customer base with thousands of X-Series platforms deployed in the market running firewalls today," said Greg Adams, IBM business line executive for network protection solutions. "This IBM/Crossbeam solution allows enterprises and carriers to leverage their previous investments in Crossbeam to quickly deploy a leading network IPS while managing the firewall and IPS as a single solution."

For enterprises, the IBM/Crossbeam solution also enables the adoption of next-generation security architectures predicated on "asset-based security." Security personnel can intelligently and dynamically deploy IBM Proventia Network IPS-based security services to specific assets or network segments. This strengthens overall network security, simplifies security management and radically reduces the physical footprint of security infrastructure, which is an important component of green data-center initiatives. IBM delivers managed services for this offering to provide clients with the choice of relying on IBM expertise for the management and execution of their network protection strategies.

The Crossbeam X-Series is a next-generation security platform that enables 40 Gbps of network IPS throughput, five times the performance of traditional appliances in use today. The X-Series also provides "single-box" carrier-class redundancy and availability, helping to achieve uninterrupted IPS services.

"The IBM/Crossbeam solution unleashes the full capabilities of the Crossbeam Next Generation Security Platform, providing an open system network IPS solution that is purpose-built for high-performance security environments," said Jim Freeze, vice president of marketing at Crossbeam. "Our customers can now address the growing demand for in-the-cloud security services and enable intelligent, centralized management of security according to the their unique requirements."

The IBM and Crossbeam solution will be available in May. For more information on pricing and product details, please call (978) 318-7500 or visit www.crossbeam.com/company/contact.php.

IBM is the world's leading provider of risk and security solutions. Clients around the world work with IBM to help reduce the complexities of security and strategically manage risk. IBM's experience and range of risk and security solutions are unsurpassed -- from dedicated research, software, hardware, services and global business partner value -- helping clients secure business operations and implement company-wide, integrated risk management programs.
tag: IPS, Intrusion Prevention System, VoIP, IPTV, IBM Proventia, Crossbeam X-Series,

What comes after Petabyte? It is a Tape Drive (not)

What is an Exabyte? When I saw this title on a post at one of my favorite blogs, SP360 that VoIP IP Telephony connects to, although I first had the exabyte tapedrive in my mind, I brain was already questioning what Cisco or SP360 got to do with a tape drive. After reading the article What is an Exabyte? and then the follow up, now I know that;
Cisco's global IP Traffic Growth study is forecasting 29 exabytes of IP Traffic per month or nearly 350 exabytes per year by 2011.

At Home, the story is video, video, video. Here are some video’s effects as a driver of bandwidth growth.

• Three years from now, Internet video will be six times what it is today, and twenty times what it was in 2006.
• In 2011, online video will generate 1 billion DVDs worth of traffic each month.
• Online video will drive 30% of consumer Internet traffic by 2011.

At Work, new business services and applications will drive the growth:
• By 2010, telepresence will generate more traffic than the entire US Internet backbone in 2000.

On the Move: the coming ubiquity of Mobile Data
• Mobile data traffic in 2011 will be sixteen times what it is today.

I already knew that an exabyte (derived from the SI prefix exa-) is a unit of information or computer storage equal to one quintillion bytes. It is commonly abbreviated EB. When used with byte multiples, the SI prefix may indicate a power of either 1000 or 1024, so the exact number may be either:

* 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes — 1000,⁶ , or 10¹⁸, or
* 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes — 1024⁶, or 2⁶⁰.
Here is a little table;
______JEDEC IEC

10241	K	kilo	Ki	kibi
10242	M	mega	Mi	mebi
10243	G	giga	Gi	gibi
10244	T	tera	Ti	tebi
10245	P	peta	Pi	pebi
10246	E	exa	Ei	exbi
10247	Z	zetta	Zi	zebi
10248	Y	yotta	Yi	yobi

tag: Internet Traffic, IP Traffic Growth study, Cisco, VoIP IP Telephony

Tags: Cisco's global IP Traffic Growth study, petabyte, exabyte, zettabyte, yottabyte

AT&T And Cisco Joins Hands To Provide Intercompany Cisco TelePresence For Businesses Around The World

If you have seen those nice out of the TV advertisements by Cisco and wondered if it is real, the answer is at hand. AT&T has become the first service provider to deliver Cisco Telepresence around the world. In these times of uncertain economy and high priced traveling, companies will be able help the company's bottom line.

The venture partner AT&T will bring, in addition to a bigger sales force, the capability to enables video conferencing among multiple corporate customers and partners, instead of intra-company use as it is now popular.

Cisco and AT&T will start selling the joint service in the second half of 2008 in 23 countries, and expand into more countries in 2009. It will be sold as a corporate telecommunications service, including remote help and on-site equipment maintenance, rather than a one-off equipment sale.

Following is the press release;

SAN ANTONIO, April 21, 2008 - AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced global plans to deliver the industry's first, fully managed Cisco TelePresence solution that allows companies to connect to their customers, suppliers and partners worldwide.

The new offer - AT&T Telepresence Solution - is a highly scalable solution that creates unique, 'in-person' experiences with the simplicity of a phone call. The AT&T Telepresence Solution will also provide a "meet-me" feature that enables intercompany connectivity - a key component and industry-first feature that distinguishes the AT&T solution from any other telepresence offer available today.

The AT&T Telepresence Solution is expected to be available in the second half of 2008 in 23 countries, with additional countries planned for 2009. AT&T and Cisco have started early trials with key customers. Sales teams from AT&T and Cisco will target U.S.-based multinational companies and selected companies headquartered outside of the U.S. in their initial efforts.

AT&T and Cisco have joined forces to enable the growth and use of telepresence technology among businesses and organizations. Today's announcement is the first of what is expected to be many industry-leading innovations to be introduced by AT&T and Cisco.

AT&T and Cisco have agreed to combine the innovative Cisco TelePresence solution with AT&T's Internet Protocol (IP) network and Virtual Private Network (VPN) capabilities to create new ways for companies to collaborate and conduct global business across industries that will include health care, high-tech, retail and government.

"The AT&T Telepresence Solution is the latest example of how we're helping enterprises to improve 'business velocity' by enabling them to move quicker and make better business decisions," said Ronald E. Spears, AT&T group president of Global Business Services. "Customers can take advantage of the power of the AT&T network and our expertise in providing world-class services to enjoy the multitude of benefits of this fully immersive collaboration technology."

The AT&T Telepresence Solution enables businesses to interact and collaborate with others, delivering life-size images via full-high-definition video (1080p) and spatial audio within a specially designed environment. This creates the experience of being in the same room with remote participants, whether they are down the street or around the world. The solution also features concierge service, which complements common enterprise calendaring applications for scheduling and an easy-to-use telephone interface to launch calls with just the push of a button.

AT&T is focused on developing industry-specific applications for telepresence across a range of industries - including health care, high-tech, retail and government - to generate new revenue and growth possibilities for businesses while also helping them reduce costs and improve productivity. For example, the retail industry, which faces constant margins pressure and complex sales ecosystems, is continually seeking ways to accelerate time to market while increasing efficiencies in the supply chain. The AT&T Telepresence Solution will offer retailers an opportunity to collaborate in real time with their designers, merchants and manufacturers all over the world to create and modify products and processes in order to drive time-to-market advantages and improve competitive positions.

Three-screen and one-screen site options will be available, based on Cisco TelePresence System 3000 and Cisco TelePresence System 1000 endpoints.

In addition, the AT&T Telepresence Solution provides AT&T-owned Cisco TelePresence equipment, installation, full monitoring and management of the application, network provisioning (including AT&T VPN transport), remote help desk service and on-site equipment maintenance and repair.

"AT&T is playing a critical role in the delivery of intercompany Cisco TelePresence to the more than 750 Cisco TelePresence room footprint worldwide," said Marthin De Beer, senior vice president for Emerging Technologies at Cisco. "AT&T is the first provider of a complete intercompany solution based on our TelePresence system, using the IP network as a platform."

"We currently have 11 Cisco TelePresence sites set up in AT&T offices throughout the U.S., with plans to expand globally in the coming year," said Spears. "We're already seeing tremendous value from the ability to bring our management team together for face to face meetings on a regular basis, even though they are scattered across the country. Not only are we saving time and expense associated with travel, but we are much more productive. When we implement the intercompany telepresence capability, we expect to quickly start using it to build closer relationships with our key customers throughout the world."

As part of its work with Cisco, AT&T has received the Cisco Powered TelePresence Connection Certification for its IP VPN service. The Cisco TelePresence Connection certification process goes beyond static measurements of network performance and is based on industry standards with regard to staffing, verification, processes and tools. The process works to ensure that the network meets requirements for the quality of service, performance and reliability levels to support Cisco TelePresence applications. The AT&T IP VPN service is at the heart of the world's largest global business service network. AT&T has more than 50 Tier 1 points of presences (PoPs) outside the U.S. and is the largest service provider in the United States. With more than 3,700 service nodes supporting Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)-based services in 143 countries, AT&T's vast global network carries 14.5 petabytes of data traffic on an average business day.

tag: Cisco TelePresence system, AT&T, AT&T VPN transport, Cisco TelePresence System 3000, Cisco TelePresence System 1000,

Apple Killer, AK, A touch Screen BlackBerry From RIM

Endgadget gives us a glimpse of what is said to be coming from RIM aiming to kill Apple iPhone phenomenon. New York Times is also talking about quest for blackberry!
tag: iPhone, RIM, Blackberry AK

Matrix IP PBX From India Uses Utilizes The DSP Chip-level Multimedia Processing Solution From Surf

Even though all telecommunications giants are mostly in USA, Japan and Europe, there are other sources getting together to provide VoIP solutions to the masses. Israel based Surf Communication solutions and India based telecommunications equipment manufacturer, Matrix Telecom have come together to produce one of the best IP PBX solutions. Following is the press release;

Yokne'am, Israel (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - The Surf DSP chip is a complete media processing solution offering simultaneous support for multimedia convergence - Voice, Video, Data (Fax/Modem) - all running on a single DSP

Surf Communication Solutions ("Surf"), a leading provider of multimedia embedded processing solutions, announced today that Matrix Telecom Pvt. Limited ("Matrix"), an India-based company that designs, develops, manufactures and deploys telecomsolutions, has selected Surf's DSP chip-level multimedia processing solution, the Surf DSP-24(TM), for inclusion in two new products: a VoIP gateway and an IP PBX solution.

Matrix's feature-rich 32-ports VFX32 VoIP gateway utilizes the Surf DSP-24 to offer IP connectivity with excellent audio quality for analog phones, legacy PBX systems and analog faxes. It is scalable for lower configurations and various FXS and FXO
combinations can be achieved which will help customers to get the lower configuration as per their need.

The Matrix IP PBX offers a complete solution to meet the requirements of voice communication for businesses with multiple locations, traveling employees, and/or home-office networks. The incorporation of Surf's versatile yet powerful DSP-based multimedia processing platform allows the Matrix IP PBX handle high densities for a variety of codecs over converged networks.

The Matrix IP PBX is SIP-based and supports a wide range of telephony applications, such as Voice Mail, Auto Attendant, Call Forward, Call Transfer, Call Park, Call Pick up, Do not Disturb, Hunting Call/Department Call, Time Based Call Routing, Number Based Call Routing/ Least Cost Routing, and Least Cost Routing for multiple ITSP as per defined priority for cost saving.

In addition, the Matrix IP PBX supports RADIUS client protocol which allows the IP PBX to store/log calls in the remote server and provide DDI routing and CLI-based routing.

The Surf DSP-24, based on Texas Instruments' C64x(TM) DSP generation, is a media processing solution offering simultaneous support for multimedia convergence-Voice, Video, and Data (Fax/Modem) -all running on a single DSP.

Equipment manufacturers who develop Media Gateways, IP PBX, CTI products, and other media-over-packet applications find this solution ideal and optimized for their requirements, as well as quick and easy to integrate into their hardware designs. All Surf products support an easy migration path from voice to video, since the same API supports all media types.

"We chose Surf's solution for its ability to support triple-play voice, video and fax/modem on the same platform, which will help us to expand our product range and features in the future," said Mr Ganesh Jivani, CEO, Matrix Telecom. "In addition, the comprehensive documentation set and sample applications were instrumental in achieving fast time-to-market for both products."

"The competition couldn't match the densities or price of the C6424-based Surf platform," stated Ashvin Navadia, Sourcing Manager, Matrix Telecom.

"We are pleased to be selected as Matrix's DSP supplier," said Eli Nakash, Surf's Sales Director, APAC. "This project demonstrates how Surf's multimedia processing expertise and dedicated customer care enable the rapid development of a variety of feature-rich, scalable solutions."

For more information, visit www.matrixtelesol.com.

Contact Information SURF Communication Solutions Eli Nakash, Director of Sales, APAC Tel: +972 (0)73 714 0700 e-mail: eli@surf-com.com
Matrix Telecom Pvt. Limited Ashvin Navadia, Sourcing Manager
Tel: +91 265 2630555 e-mail: Ashvin.Navadia@MatrixTeleSol.com

SOURCE: Surf Communication Solutions Ltd -0- 04/24/2008
CONTACT: Eli Nakash, Director of Sales, APAC, of SURF Communication Solutions, +972 (0)73 714 0700, eli@surf-com.com; or Ashvin Navadia, Sourcing Manager of Matrix Telecom Pvt. Limited, +91 265 2630555, Ashvin.Navadia@MatrixTeleSol.com
Web Site: http://www.surf-com.com
http://www.matrixtelesol.com

tag: Matrix Telecom, Surf DSP-24, VoIP gateway, IP PBX solution, VFX32 VoIP gateway, Voice Mail, Auto Attendant, Call Forward, Call Transfer, Call Park, Call Pick up, Do not Disturb, Hunting Call/Department Call, Time Based Call Routing, Number Based Call Routing, Least Cost Routing,

Jeff Pulver Resigns From Pulvermedia.

With these words, Jeff Pulver has resigned from Pulvermedia;
"I resigned from Pulvermedia

Just wanted to share the news that I have resigned as a director from PulverMedia. And I am not able to say anything else nor can I address any questions about this."

Whatever the reasons, I have known Jeff long enough to trust that it is not his fault. I attended my first VON, because of Jeff. Not PulverMedia.

Posted for RavenII

tag: Pulvermedia, Jeff Pulver,

GrandCentral 2.0

GrandCentral, that I use with a bunch of my startup friends, and so far very happy with the service. I myself started using the GrandCentral Service as far back as 2006. Now GrandCentral is planing for a new release according to blog post by co-founder Craig Walker. He mentions that while he cannot divulge the details, for us to expect great many things. At the same time, Craig is asking for requests, feature requests, from you.
I got the news via Andy Abramson's VoIP Watch
tag: GrandCentral 2.0, Craig Walker, VoIP Watch

Qwest Launches Qwest Connect® Quantum and Qwest Connect® Titanium – with connection speeds of up to 20 Mbps and 12 Mbps

On Thursday Qwest Communications introduced two new high speed fiber-optic Internet services, Qwest Connect Platinum and Qwest Connect Titanium. Platinum is offered at 20/1 Mbps while Titanium has a top speed of 12/1 Mbps, 1 means 1Mbps upload capacity. Qwest plans a phased roll-out in 23 of its top markets in 10 states.
Following is description given on the qwest website;

Qwest Connect® Quantum: For the serious broadband user.
With connection speeds up to 20Mbps:
• Watch box office hits; download a movie in as little as 6 minutes
• Open high-resolution photographs in mere seconds
• Play graphic-intense, multi-player games with ease

Qwest Connect® Titanium: Great speed at a great price—less than $50/mo
With connection speeds up to 12Mbps:
• Listen to streaming music
• Send large graphic files
• Make crisp video calls with a clear picture

Press Release.
DENVER, April 24, 2008 — Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q) today launched a new generation of fiber-optic Internet services that provide unprecedented speed, value and capabilities to residential and small-business customers. Qwest Connect® Quantum and Qwest Connect® Titanium – with connection speeds of up to 20 Mbps and 12 Mbps, respectively – are the latest Internet services powered by Qwest's ongoing fiber to the neighborhood (FTTN) network expansion. In a phased roll-out of Quantum and Titanium, Qwest is introducing the blazing-fast connection speeds in 23 of its top markets, as well as the best overall value for super high-speed Internet in its residential service territory.

Qwest Connect Quantum and Titanium services are well-suited for customers looking for higher speeds to download multimedia files like music, videos and photos, online gaming and file-sharing, as well as business customers looking to maximize productivity with light-speed downloading of large files and documents.

The new super-fast connection speeds of Qwest Connect Quantum and Titanium offer the advanced, customizable capabilities and security features of Windows Live™. In addition, Qwest ranked highest in customer satisfaction in the West region in the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Internet Service Provider (ISP) Residential Customer Satisfaction Study.

Quantum's 20 Mbps connection speed allows faster access to content than ever before, enabling customers to surf the Web as quickly and easily as they change TV channels. For example, with Quantum customers can download:


* a 2-hour movie in as little as 6 minutes
* 30 songs in as little as 1 minute

"Our customers tell us that they want more speed, capability and value in their connections. Qwest listened and has developed the Quantum and Titanium services that really change the game when it comes to today’s online experience," said Dan Yost, executive vice president of product for Qwest. "Qwest has committed to spend up to $300 million to bring the latest in fiber-optic technology closer to the customer than ever before, and we're ahead of schedule on our goal to make this service available to two million customers by the end of this year."

Qwest Connect Quantum & Qwest Connect Titanium: Service Features, Pricing, Availability


* Qwest Connect Quantum: This is a premium fiber-optic Internet service with connection speeds of up to 20 Mbps, for lightning-quick broadband access for a bundled price of $99.99 per month. This is the fastest connection speed available in most cities in the Qwest residential service region. Quantum is designed for serious broadband users who want to optimize speed for streaming video, high-resolution photography, file-sharing, online gaming and other bandwidth-intensive applications. Quantum is backed by Qwest’s Price for Life and 100% 30-Day Satisfaction Guarantees.

* Qwest Connect Titanium: With connection speeds of up to 12 Mbps for a bundled price of only $46.99 per month, along with the Price for Life and 30-Day Satisfaction Guarantees, Titanium is the best value available in the Qwest residential service region. The service offers super-high speeds ideal for customers interested in online music, video and keeping in touch with friends and family. At less than $50 per month, Titanium offers robust speed at the best value.

* Availability: Qwest Connect Quantum and Titanium will be available in 23 of Qwest's top markets across 10 states in 2008 as Qwest continues to execute its phased rollout of fiber-optic technology to the neighborhood. Customers can go to www.qwest.com and enter their zip code or phone number to check availability and sign up for notifications regarding the availability of the faster speeds in their neighborhoods.

Qwest Connect Quantum and Titanium complement Qwest's full portfolio of existing Internet services, giving Qwest the fastest and most valuable set of Internet options available in most cities where it provides residential service. As Qwest continues its phased FTTN rollout, the portfolio will expand to accommodate the rapidly changing bandwidth needs of customers. Qwest will use its fiber-optic network as a platform for its vision to deliver integrated communications and entertainment services to customers at home, at work and on the go.

Visit www.qwest.com/fiberoptic for more details.
tag: High Speed Internet, Qwest, fiber-optic Internet services, Qwest Connect Platinum, Qwest Connect Titanium, 12/1 Mbps, 20/1 Mbps, price for life

TEN-DIGIT NUMBERING SOLUTIONS FOR INTERNET-BASED TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY SERVICES STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP, APRIL 29, 2008.

For Immediate Release: News Media Contact:
April 23, 2008 Rosemary Kimball at (202) 418-0511
E-mail: rosemary.kimball@fcc.gov

FCC RELEASES AGENDA FOR APRIL 29, 2008, STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP
ON TEN-DIGIT NUMBERING SOLUTIONS FOR INTERNET-BASED TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY SERVICES
The Commission has released the agenda for the April 29, 2008, Stakeholder Workshop on solutions for implementing a ten-digit numbering plan for Internet-based forms of telecommunications relay service (TRS), including Video Relay Service (VRS) and IP Relay. The Stakeholder Workshop will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at FCC Headquarters, 445 12th St., SW, Washington, DC. The agenda is attached.

Participants will include industry stakeholders, consumer advocates, technical experts, and emergency call handling representatives. The Stakeholder Workshop is open to the public and seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Stakeholder Workshop will be webcast live and also archived for later viewing. Access to the webcast, and additional information concerning the webcast, is available at http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/. Open captioning will be provided for the webcast. During the workshop, the public can e-mail questions for the participants to numberingworkshop@fcc.gov.
Pursuant to section 1.1206 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.1206, the Stakeholder Workshop is part of a permit-but-disclose proceeding in which ex parte presentations are subject to disclosure. Notice of the Stakeholder Workshop and information on accessing the webcast will be placed in the public record.
Reasonable Accommodations
Open captioning and sign language interpreters will be provided for this event. Other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Include a description of the accommodation you will need including as much detail as you can. Also include a way we can contact you if we need more information. Make your request as early as possible. Last minute requests will be accepted, but may not be possible to fill. Send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau. For reasonable accommodations: 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY).
More Information
For more information about the Stakeholder Workshop, please contact Alan Amann at (866) 284-1485 (voice), Alan.Amann@fcc.gov or Gregory Hlibok at (800) 311-4381(voice), Gregory.Hlibok@fcc.gov.
To request this document, or other materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY).

Numbering Solutions Stakeholder Workshop
April 29, 2008
9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The format of the workshop will be a roundtable discussion and will include industry stakeholders, consumer advocates, technical experts, and emergency call handling representatives. The agenda for the workshop follows below.

9:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. Opening Remarks
9:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Welcome and Introduction
Cathy Seidel, Chief, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau

10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Overview of the Numbering Proposals on the Record
Industry representatives will provide a detailed overview of the specific numbering proposals submitted to the record to date.

Facilitator: Nick Alexander, Wireline Competition Bureau

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. The Consumers’ Perspective
Consumer representatives will share their feedback and responses to the numbering proposals submitted to the record to date. Questions from the audience will be invited.

Facilitators: Nicole McGinnis, Deputy Chief, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Julie Veach, Deputy Chief, Wireline Competition Bureau

2:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. Break

2:15 p.m. – 3:20 p.m. Roundtable Discussion on Technical and Operational Issues

Industry representatives and technical experts will discuss the technical and operational issues posed by the specific numbering proposals submitted to the record to date. Such issues include consumers’ access to telephone numbers, number portability, privacy of consumer information, emergency call handling, routing database management, cost, and speed of implementation. Questions from the audience will be invited.

Facilitators: Dana Shaffer, Chief, Wireline Competition Bureau

3:20 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Closing Remarks

Cathy Seidel, Chief, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau

tag: FCC, FCC News, TEN-DIGIT NUMBERING, INTERNET-BASED TELECOMMUNICATIONS, telecommunications relay service, Video Relay Service, IP Relay,

Mobile Virtualization, Motorola Joins The Party

SCHAUMBURG, Illinois. — April 21, 2008 – Motorola, Inc. through Motorola Ventures, its strategic venture capital arm, announced today it made an equity investment in VirtualLogix, a maker of virtualization software for communications devices and infrastructure equipment. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.

VirtualLogix is a leader in real-time virtualization—an innovative technology that is shaping the future for communications devices and equipment. Their technology enables the mobility of applications from the desktop to devices, improves quality of service and security in an open mobile world, and will enable a new generation of dynamic individual user experiences.

“As the mobile eco-system grows increasingly complex, demand for simplified product designs that allow dynamic mobile experiences to run across multiple platforms will intensify,” said Reese Schroeder, managing director, Motorola Ventures. “Virtualization offers a solution to this complexity. Our investment in VirtualLogix will help accelerate the delivery of their technology to next-generation communications devices and infrastructure equipment.”

“As virtualization moves out from the datacenter and into everyday front-end connected devices, our connected world will require the delivery of efficient, secure and customizable user experiences,” said Peter Richards, CEO of VirtualLogix. “To meet this demand, leading electronics manufacturers are looking to leverage the VirtualLogix technology to create products with improved security, manageability and customization.”

Motorola joins VirtualLogix’s current investors Atlas Venture, Cisco Systems, DFJ Esprit, Index Ventures, Intel Capital and Texas Instruments.

tag: real-time virtualization, VirtualLogix, Motorola Ventures, Atlas Venture, Cisco Systems, DFJ Esprit, Index Ventures, Intel Capital, Texas Instruments

NEC UNIVERGE® Platform for IP Telephony And Unified Communications Deployed At New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union (NMEFCU)

IRVING, TX, April 23, 2007 — NEC Unified Solutions, Inc., a global leader in enterprise business communications, today announced that the New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union (NMEFCU) in Albuquerque, NM, a 25-year NEC customer, has begun unifying its business processes for enhanced customer service and internal communications using NEC’s IP-based UNIVERGE® infrastructure and productivity-enhancing unified communications (UC) applications.

“Staying with NEC long-term has been the wisest move. At every turn, they’ve helped us respond to challenges, and we have benefited from NEC’s migration path and from IP telephony’s value proposition,” said Kevin Murphy, vice president of information technology for NMEFCU. “By migrating our communications infrastructure to IP, we improve the user experience for our employees with productivity tools such as unified messaging, plus we simplify the management of our systems and save costs by eliminating a T1 line at nearly every branch location.”

Serving more than 100,000 members statewide, the credit union had been using NEC’s UNIVERGE NEAX® 2400 digital PBX system since the 1980s. Over time, the reliable system served NMEFCU’s Albuquerque headquarters and 12 branch locations well. But by the early 2000s, the credit union had explored options to modernize its communications and was more than ready to execute its first IP telephony rollouts.

Today, the credit union’s IP communications solution consists of the UNIVERGE NEAX 2400 IPX with FUSION Call Control Signaling, which allows the system to network between offices. The system includes NEC Dterm IP phones and NEAXMail® AD-120, a Microsoft® Windows®-based unified messaging for mid-to-large enterprises. Unified messaging allows employees to retrieve voice, e-mail and fax messages in a single inbox.

The credit union also added solutions developed by trusted third-party vendors participating in the UNIVERGE Solutions Partner Program. These include IP voice recording from Wygant (now TeleDirect International) and an Interactive Voice Response system from Technology For Business (TFB).

“With our UNIVERGE360 communications model, we’re helping customers improve their own business processes with the next generation of NEC communications infrastructure and applications. At the same time, NEC has a history of providing solutions that give customers a clear migration path and ease of maintenance,” said Don Fiorentino, vice president of western division sales for NEC Unified Solutions. “Leveraging NEC’s expertise, New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union is able to enhance communications with a blend of NEC’s latest UNIVERGE technologies and the same reliable NEC switching infrastructure that served the institution well for 20 years.”

For information about this case study and NEC’s unified communications, IP voice, mobility solutions, managed and professional services and more, visit www.necunified.com.
tag: Unified Communications, IP Telephony, VoIP, NEC Unified Solutions, UNIVERGE, NMEFCU, UNIVERGE NEAX® 2400, digital PBX

Digium and Dicar Joins To Provide SMB VoIP and telephony Services.

Dicar released the following news item to celebrate the selection of the firm by Digium to be a Digium Select Partner. This relationship will look to fill the needs of small and medium business (SMB) VoIP and Telephony needs with Digium solutions, specially the Switchvox IP PBX products.

SAN JOSE, CA – April 21, 2008 – Demonstrating their commitment to provide the world with full-featured telephony systems at low price points, Digium and Dicar Networks are joining forces to impact the world of VoIP and telephony in California.

Recognizing that small and medium businesses have unique communication needs, this powerful duo will promote the latest generation of Switchvox IP PBX products, providing advanced communication systems with greater flexibility and freedom.

“We are thrilled to be chosen as Digium’s select partner,” announced Dicar Networks CEO Armando Garcia. “Switchvox is an exceptional product, backed by a world-class organization,”

Switchvox, being compatible with today’s high speed data networks and traditional telephony infrastructure is allowing businesses to say goodbye to cumbersome monolithic PBX systems of the past - giving smaller organizations the ability to grow from a single office into a global network, without breaking the bank.

“It seems unfathomable that in order to get something better, businesses are replacing expensive systems like Avaya with a solution that costs half as much, but that’s exactly what’s happening,” said Dicar Networks CEO Armando Garcia.

This new generation of Switchvox is a highly advanced telephone solution that provides an innovative bridge between a business phone system and the power of Web 2.0. The switchboard which runs right in your web browser (IE or Firefox) has been proven to save time, save money and provide enhanced customer service.

Receptionists can see who’s on the phone, transfer calls quickly and easily using drag and drop, as well as park and retrieve calls from the parking lot. Supervisors can see which employees are on the phone, know who they are talking to, as well as record and monitor calls.

Salespeople can integrate with Salesforce.com and SugarCRM for more efficient Customer Relations Management. Switchvox even integrates with Google Maps, placing a map pin to identify where a call originated, thus allowing businesses to provide locally relevant information in seconds.

And, if employees find themselves performing routine tasks when a phone call comes in, Switchvox can be set to automatically look up and display important information, such as recent orders or accounting data – ensuring that front line personnel are prepared and well-informed. Clearly, advantages that a growing business will find hard to resist.

For additional information on the news that is the subject of this release (or for more information) visit http://www.dicarnetworks.com.
tag: voip news, Digium, Dicar, Switchvox IP PBX, SMB VoIP, SMB Telephony, SugarCRM, Google Maps,

New Google Service, GOOG-411, The New Yellow Book!

Myadlets is reporting what might be another Google Advertising tool to come. This time it is bringing that good old phone book to the fore. Many others have tried to automate this service before. In fact one my first telephony application was dial in to find music venues and clubs in Los Angeles. Before even even we could lift our hands from equipment racks and IVR servers, someone bought the whole thing.
But I have a feeling that this is going to hold. Now the service is available only in USA and I am sure just like other Google initiatives, this will travel to other countries.
MyADLETS: GOOG-411, The New Yellow Book!

tag: Yellow Pages, virtual Yellow Pages, GOOG-411,

Skype Unlimited Calling Plan Will Cover Over Third Of The World.

Is Skype becoming a global monopoly? what ever the answer to the question is, this news and the rates tend to push Skype towards positive side of users and thus in the eyes of investors. This announcement of contract less calling plans might appeal to more people. Here is the news release;

Luxembourg, 21st April, 2008 – Skype announced unlimited* calling today to over a third of the world’s population with the launch of its new calling subscriptions. The new subscriptions signal the first time Skype has offered a single, monthly flat rate for international calling to landline numbers in 34 countries.

The new subscriptions have no long-term contract. You can make calls whenever you want – at any time of the day, on any day of the week. From today, you can choose from three types of subscription – from unlimited calls to landlines in the country of your choice through to landlines in 34 destination countries worldwide.

Stefan Oberg, VP & GM telecoms at Skype said, “This move is a natural step for Skype. Skype was founded on the principle of making free voice and video calls available to people all around the world. And now we’re making it even easier for the Skype community to call their friends and family who are not yet on Skype. Our subscriptions give people an easy, hassle-free choice for how and when they want to catch up with their loved ones.”

Oberg continued, “For example if you live in London, for just €2.95 a month, you can call your grandmother in Poland, whenever you like, talk for up to six hours at a time, and not worry about how much it’s costing you. Your grandmother doesn’t need to understand the internet. You just use your Skype subscription to make the call and she just picks up the phone. And if you have friends and family spread over the world, you can reach them all for as little as €8.95 a month. When you combine the free features Skype is known for – from instant messaging to conference calling to video calls – with our subscriptions, it’s hard to find a better alternative.”

309 million people all over the world use Skype in all sorts of ways – whether it’s a weekly video call with a sister in Paris or sending an instant message to a college friend in Tokyo or calling a business contact overseas.

To purchase a subscription, simply go to skype.com/go/subscriptions for more details. If you purchase one of the new subscriptions for a 3-month or 12-month period before June 1st 2008, you will receive a further 33% discount.

About Skype’s calling subscriptions:

Skype users around the world can choose to subscribe to any one of the following calling subscriptions based on their individual calling needs:

Table taken out. You can find the rates at Skype.

You will only pay one flat monthly fee. There are no hidden costs or additional connection charges.

In parallel with our new subscriptions, Skype continues to offer its Pay As You Go option. Put as little as €10 on your Skype account and you can call whoever you want, whenever you want at very low rates.

*Unlimited calling: all calls are subject to Skype’s fair usage policy which is set at 10,000 minutes per month (which equates to more than 5 hours of calling per day). Calls to premium, non-geographic and other special numbers are excluded.

tag: skype, unlimited skype calling,

diversifEye10G™ From Shenick Network Systems Selected by Sandvine To Test performance of its 10-Gbps policy solutions platform.

Shenick's diversifEye is used to test performance of Sandvines 10-Gbps policy solutions.

Dublin, Ireland - April 21, 2008 - Shenick Network Systems announced that its award-winning diversifEye10G™, has been selected by Sandvine, a leading provider of intelligent broadband network solutions, to test performance of its 10-Gbps policy solutions platform for DSL, cable, wireless and emerging service providers.

With diversifEye10G, Shenick provides Sandvine with the degree of granularity required to test overall performance and quality of service (QoS) control for its intelligent broadband network solutions. The ability to drill down to each application flow (P2P, video, VoD, VoIP, Web browsing) is critical for traffic management and guaranteeing subscriber quality of experience (QoE). Shenick provides an excellent fit for Sandvine because its test system can accurately emulate and analyze each and every flow

Sandvine solutions allow carriers to reach new levels of IP service control when delivering QoS for multimedia applications such as video and VoIP. Delay-sensitive applications such as VoIP compete with bandwidth-intensive applications such as peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing to impact subscriber experience. Sandvine provides highly granular and real-time visibility into services and performance, right down to individual application flows to ensure high quality delivery of all applications.

Brad Siim, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President, Engineering for Sandvine said, “Sandvine’s products are relied upon to provide per flow QoS control for the optimal user Internet experience. Utilizing the per-flow test capabilities and high performance of diversifEye10G, we are able to ensure we deliver this high level of service to our customers.”

Robert Winters, Shenick CMO said, “Sandvine gives value to the market by concurrently managing a huge array of network traffic applications at the most granular level possible. Shenick provides Sandvine with a high performance, per-flow test system that aligns perfectly with their policy management needs.”

Shenick’s diversifEye10G is a completely integrated high performance 10Gbps test system that provides both network operators and communications equipment manufacturers with the ability to create and test the most realistic converged IP application usage scenarios covering quality of service, functional verification, high load and key performance limitations, and individual subscriber experience on a per-flow basis.

tag: VoIP Testing, VoIP Hardware, Shenick Network Systems, diversifEye10G, Sandvine, P2P, video, VoD, VoIP, QoS control

DC-SIP Completes SIPit22 Interoperability Test

London, UK: April 21, 2008. Data Connection Limited (DCL), the world's leading independent provider of communications protocol software, announced today that it has successfully participated in the SIPit22 interoperability test event, which was held on April 14-18 at the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Lab in Durham, NH. DCL brought its market leading portable SIP stack, DC-SIP, to the event along with its SigComp toolkit, a complementary product for DC-SIP that allows signaling transmission in bandwidth constrained environments, such as wireless or mobile applications.

DC-SIP is a complete package of portable source code, reference applications and designs, test applications, and customization tools. Used by many of the world's largest manufacturers of VoIP, Multimedia, and IMS equipment, DC-SIP leverages a highly available and scalable architecture.

The goal of the SIPit events is to refine both the SIP protocol and the implementations of the numerous companies participating. The week-long event, which is held twice a year, enables participating vendors to prove interoperability with as many other vendors as possible. SIPit22 had over 70 SIP implementations including application servers, B2BUAs, Proxies, and end points.

Data Connection is a frequent participant in SIPit testing having attended 12 of the last 15 events. Data Connection utilizes the testing to advance interoperability and strengthen its latest enhancements to DC-SIP.

tag: SIP, SIPit22, DC-SIP, Data Connection Limited, SigComp toolkit, VoIP, Multimedia, SIPit,

CableNET® 2008 Highlights, Tru2way™ and Advanced Video Demos

Louisville, Colorado, April 21, 2008—Demonstrations of tru2way™ technology and home security, monitoring and automation are among the highlights of the upcoming CableNET® demonstration at the industry's premier convention, The Cable Show '08.

CableNET is a technology showcase that is co-sponsored by CableLabs® and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), and offers a hands-on experience with many of the most exciting content, services, and applications.

The Cable Show '08, NCTA's 57th Annual Convention and International Exposition, will be held May 18-20 at The Ernest Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

In addition to forming a major presence at the CableNET pavilion, tru2way technology, which is the retail brand for the OpenCable™ (hardware) and OCAP™ (software) technical initiatives, is the subject of a two-day pre-convention conference for OCAP Developers. That event is co-sponsored by NCTA, CableLabs and Vidiom Systems and also is at the Morial Convention Center.

Within CableNET, companies with tru2way technology demonstrations include Samsung, Sigma Designs, and Zodiac Interactive. Among the participants with advanced video demonstrations are Digeo, Motorola, Pixel3, and Symmetricom. Home security displays are planned by GE Security and iControl; InGrid Home Security; uControl, Inc.; and Z-Wave. Companies showcasing tru2way technology demonstrations at CableNET will have the additional publicity of the CableNET Theater where ongoing presentations will be made.

CableNET enables attendees to see and discuss leading-edge technologies and applications. CableNET '08 also will feature the following technology demonstrations: 145 megabit-per-second download speeds, broadband wireless, interactive advertising, Internet-focused applications and services; and advanced PacketCable™ 2.0-based technologies.

Historically, CableNET has provided attendees a first glimpse of many nascent, leading-edge technologies and applications. Those included early views of the cable industry's Data over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS®) platform; high-definition televisions; two-way, OCAP-based devices, and early displays of interactive services and Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP).

Following is a list of the participating vendors and a brief description of their planned demonstrations.

• Amdocs OSS Division - JacobsRimell (JR) will show how an Enterprise business administrator is able to easily retrieve any service information required for their entire enterprise, in order to perform any required moves, "adds" and changes for employee services, all at web speed.
• Aurora Networks Inc. will demonstrate a standard optical node that enables up to 100 times more capacity than conventional data delivery methods. With the Node PON™ module cable operators can market and cost-effectively deliver up to 1000 Mbps symmetric service anywhere within their cable networks.
• Digeo will showcase its latest DVR for cable, the Moxi HD DVR 3012. Digeo will be showing the Emmy Award-winning user interface, dual digital tuning capability, and integrated CableCARD. This new DVR includes a streamlined processor and increased hard drive.
• Digital Fountain is exhibit DF Splash, an end-to-end solution that streamlines the most complex elements of delivering and measuring a high-quality video experience, enabling a more compelling, more entertaining online experience. DF Splash provides viewers with an instant-on, full-screen, TV-quality experience, significantly improving the way we watch streaming video over the Internet.
• EchoStar Technologies LLC will demonstrate SlingModem™, the first DOCSIS® cable modem that fully integrates the place-shifting capabilities pioneered in the original Slingbox™. With the SlingModem, customers can easily watch and control their TV programming on any Internet-connected computing device just as they would in front of the living room television. The SlingModem provides the cable customer with both a broadband connection as well as the place-shifting functionality made famous by the Slingbox.
• F-Secure Inc. F-Secure will show a service-centric approach solution for all partners in the IT security segment offering various levels of IT services to its customer base. It provides the backbone of technology, research, support and business models designed and tailored for service partners of all kinds.
• GE Security and iControl will demonstrate next generation technology - Home Security 2.0 - which adds broadband and mobile access to security systems, cameras and home devices, delivering remote home monitoring and control functionality. The demonstration will also show a unique touch screen user interface that provides the homeowner access to information and control of their home at their fingertips.
• HANA The High-Definition Audio-Video Network Alliance (HANA) will demonstrate the advantages of sharing cable content throughout the home over a 400 Mbps network using 1394 over coaxial.
• Infinera will exhibit its DTN digital ROADM (reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer ) built with photonic integrated circuits delivering 100 Gb/s of optical transport on a pair of chips less than 5 mm square. The demo will highlight the digital ROADM architecture and the benefits bandwidth virtualization brings to cable operators from engineering, operations, and service perspective.
• InGrid Home Security will have a system and laptop will be on display, comprising handset, console, base, grid extender, and camera. The system will connect through broadband to InGrid servers and sensors will be registered, named, and configured within 60 seconds. The system will be armed and disarmed remotely.
• IntraNext Systems will showcase an integration of a call center and billing system for computer telephony using screen pops, intelligent call routing and custom workflow tools.
• Irdeto will be demonstrating its most recent conditional access system developments.
• LaserShield and NextAlarm.com - LaserShield Burglar Alarm ... Over Broadband NextAlarm.com, the Broadband Alarm Company, teamed with LaserShield Systems will demonstrate an easy to setup burglar alarm. With this system and the Sparrow broadband adapter, a cable installer or end user can unpack and setup in less than five minutes a professional grade home security system that is monitored over broadband. Include will be instant video surveillance accessible over a web portal or mobile phone; e-mail, SMS, and even automated voice alert alerts.
• MetaSwitch will demonstrate its MetaSphere Application Suite which provides new revenue generating voice services. The applications which MetaSwitch will demonstrate include the following: CommPortal user interface; CommAssistant desktop toolbar; Live Message Screening; and SIP Phone Provisioning Server, which enables a no-touch provisioning model for deploying endpoints and allows operators to manage configuration and firmware versions.
• Motorola will demonstrate its MTR700 Tuning Adapter which connects unidirectional UDCPs (including a TiVo device, in specific) to a cable network, accessing multimedia content in the cable network's switched digital video (SDV) tier. Seamless tuning of the TiVo device across both broadcast and SDV tiers will be shown. Motorola will also demonstrate its Integrated CMTS (I-CMTS) and SURFboard® cable modems, in a DOCSIS 3.0 setting using the traditional Motorola 2:8 DS/US Module and new TX32 high-density Decoupled Downstream Module.
• Oversi will be presenting its comprehensive, multi-service caching and content delivery platform for Internet video and P2P traffic. The OverCache™ platform enables cable operators to relieve heavy network congestion, while improving customers' quality of experience (QoE), and monetizing over-the-top (OTT) video traffic.
• PerfTech, Inc. will show its Bulletin System which gives Internet providers a powerful vehicle to communicate directly with their subscribers whenever they are online. It allows providers to insert a message with text or rich-media content into the browser screens of one, a group, or all subscribers for whom the message is relevant.
• Pixel3 (new name for Clique Communications) is exhibiting ImageIQ, a breakthrough application that takes standard definition video and upgrades it to HD quality. The resulting video is not just a scaled up version of low-definition content, but an actual, full-bandwidth 1080p image with the high-frequency detail.
• Pure Networks will feature a gateway-router setup called Network Magic.
• Ruckus Wireless will highlight its whole home multimedia distribution of content with 802.11n and Wi-Fi meshing. This demo highlights technical advances made in the distribution of IP-based services over the next generation of Wi-Fi technology, 802.11n. The demonstrations shows how Wi-Fi can be used to concurrently distribute three high definition IPTV streams, music, voice and Internet access over a single wireless network in the home.
• Samsung Electronics will demonstrate downloadable conditional access and digital program insertion for advertising.
• Sandvine will demonstrate how its carrier-grade solution can enable a variety of subscriber services. By using subscriber application identification, awareness of dynamic network capacity, per-subscriber policies, and other appropriate conditions, service providers can introduce a range of solutions such as quota management, quality of service guarantees, and policy enforcement.
• Sigma Designs will display an integrated tru2way-based set top box that features four narrow band tuners which can display three video channels - high definition as well as standards definition. The tuners can be linked to enable channel bonding based on DOCSIS 3.0, enabling high speed throughput.
• Softel-USA will show the powerful MediaSphere TX carousel playing both tru2way™ & ETV interactive applications. Softel-USA will also demonstrate the flexibility and ease-of-use of the system's web-based configuration tools. The MediaSphere TX has been integrated with Motorola and SA head ends, plus with set-top boxes, automation, scheduling and billing systems. In addition, the MediaSphere line fully supports DOCSIS® Set-top Gateway (DSG) delivery via GigE and the ETV IO4 updates. The powerful MediaSphere Lab supports integrated prototyping and testing of tru2way & ETV applications, set-top boxes, and head end systems.
• Symmetricom will demonstrate the importance of video QoE from a viewer's perspective. Video mean opinion scores (MOS) from a streamed video signal, along with video quality results, will be displayed to indicate perceptual video quality - and validate video quality as perceived by end users.
• Synacor will demonstrate various new features of its consumer portal such as web DVR scheduling; bundled business portal services like vanity email and template-driven web sites; and value-added services like downloadable games and music.
• Teradata Corporation will demonstrate how an active data warehouse can leverage subscriber data, purchase history and recent event data to identify relevant offers. Building on solutions designed for online advertising, this demonstration shows a straightforward approach to interactive advertising challenges.
• thePlatform (www.theplatform.com), a subsidiary of Comcast and a leading broadband video management and publishing company, will demonstrate a jointly integrated delivery framework with Cisco Systems that gives service providers a mechanism for seamless delivery of broadband video to multiple screens. Additionally, thePlatform will exhibit technology that enables cable operators and programmers to create a branded, customized broadband video channel in minutes that can also manage the entire logistics process and enhance the overall online video experience.
• UniSoft Corporation/Strategy & Technology Ltd (S&T) will show a number of aspects of OCAP (tru2way) and ETV application creation, testing and delivery: S&T's TSBroadcaster 2.0 for OCAP, to create and broadcast a multi-service transport streams containing a number of OCAP and ETV applications. ETV demonstrations will include ad insertion and splicing; ETV and OCAP applications validation using XFSI's XAV; OCAP benchmark testing using Sofia's OCAP Benchmark System; and Generation of authenticated OCAP applications using UniSoft's OCAP Security File Generator (OCAP SFG).
• UpdateLogic, Inc. will demonstrate its ability to coordinate and deliver comprehensive software updates to today's digital television (DTV) sets. The UpdateTV Datacasting Network maintained by ULI consists of data insertion servers installed in public broadcast stations in North America. This data can be carried forward on the cable networks with no additional infrastructure - by simply "cherry-picking" the data broadcast. Once enabled with the specification-compliant UpdateTV Agent software, DTV devices can receive and install the appropriate software update - via either cable or terrestrial broadcast.
• Westell, Inc. will coordinate the digital home with its UltraLine Series 3 residential gateway that unifies triple play services with emerging home networking applications-media sharing, home control and home monitoring-and integrates them into a single, intuitive user experience. The gateway also features WireSpeed™ routing technology with a dual-core network processor to simultaneously support multiple bandwidth-intensive applications.
• Zodiac Interactive will display its tru2way Zidget framework, which utilizes its plug-in architecture to support applications such as local search, weather, traffic, sports scores, and local news without disrupting the TV viewing experience.
• Z-Wave will demonstrate home security, monitoring and automation solutions using a mobile phone, TV, computer, remote controller and a touch-panel interfaces controlling door locks, lighting, thermostats, video cameras and appliances both in home and remotely, anytime/anywhere.

Founded in 1988 by members of the cable television industry, Cable Television Laboratories is a non-profit research and development consortium that is dedicated to pursuing new cable telecommunications technologies and to helping its cable operator members integrate those advancements into their business objectives. Cable operators from around the world are members. CableLabs maintains web sites at www.cablelabs.com; www.packetcable.com; www.cablemodem.com; www.cablenet.org; and www.opencable.com.

CableCARD™, CableHome®, CableLabs®, CableNET®, CablePC™, DCAS™, DOCSIS®, Go2Broadband^SM, M-Card™, OpenCable™, PacketCable™, and tru2way™ are marks of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

tag: IPTV, cable VoIP, tru2way™, DOCSIS, VoIP, CableCARD™, CableHome®, CableLabs®, CableNET®, CablePC™, DCAS™, DOCSIS®, Go2BroadbandSM, M-Card™, OpenCable™, PacketCable™, and tru2way™

10GB Layer 3+ Switch From Allied Telesis

To quench all your bandwidth thirst, Allied Telesis is Launching x900 12 Port Layer 3+ Switch to the Americas at at Interop Las Vegas.

San Jose, California, USA. April 18, 2008 – Allied Telesis Inc., a global provider of secure IP/Ethernet access solutions and an industry leader in the deployment of IP Triple Play networks over copper and fiber access infrastructures, today announced the product launch of their new Gigabit switch within the Americas at Interop Las Vegas April 28 to May 2, 2008. Allied Telesis Inc. will be launching its new product – an addition to the x900 series (AT-x900-12XT/S), an advanced Layer 3+ switch with 12 Gigabit 10/100/1000T or SFP combination ports and one 30Gbps expansion bay supporting a choice of modules, including 1 x 10GbE, 12 x 1GbE (SFP), 12 x 1GbE (RJ-45).

Would you like to see for yourself what this switch can do?

If so, you are invited to attend the AT-x900-12XT/S preview event at: www.alliedtelesis.com/interop08 which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Hotel from April 28-30, 2008 during the Interop show.

Marking Territory on Performance and Price Point

"Our launch of the AT-x900-12XT/S proves once again that Allied Telesis continues to deliver the best possible performance at a very cost-effective price point," said Phil Jopa, CTO of the Americas at Allied Telesis. "The Americas market has true need for a high-end Layer 3+ switch that provides a 10 Gigabit uplink with a mix of 12 copper and fiber ports. Combined with its sophisticated QoS features, the AT-x900-12XT/S provides superior value and performance to both our enterprise customers and service providers alike.”

Product Spotlight

Allied Telesis will be launching the AT-x900-12XT/S and other new products for Gigabit switching deployments during the Interop Las Vegas conference at the Mandalay Hotel from April 28-30, 2008.

x900 series (AT-x900-12XT/S)

The AT-x900-12XT/S has flexible deployment options that are ideal for networks that only require a small number of mixed fiber and copper links and eliminate the need for a media converter to use both interfaces on the same switch.

To further reduce the cost of the AT-x900-12XT/S, Allied Telesis provides a fixed AC power supply with the device instead of the dual, hot swappable units delivered as standard with the other members of the x900 series.

Allied Telesis' new AT-x900-12XT/S is delivered with a range of low latency QoS features operating at wirespeed. These include flow-based traffic management with configurable classification, prioritization, traffic shaping and minimum/maximum bandwidth profiles. Time-sensitive services like voice and video take precedence over non-critical activities, such as file downloads.

With these features, the AT-x900-12XT/S is ideal for customers wanting to guarantee the performance of their key business services, such as VoIP, and increase the reliability and responsiveness of their most important enterprise applications. In addition, service providers benefit from these features by being able to offer bandwidth and performance profiles tailored to each customer's precise needs.

The AT-x900-12XT/S incorporates the AlliedWare Plus™ operating system, using an industry standard Command Line Interface (CLI), facilitating effortless manageability.

The AT-x900-12XT/S delivers flexible extension options with a 30Gbps expansion bay that can be populated with a range of different modules, including:

• AT-XEM-12S 12 x 1000X SFP XEM module
• AT-XEM-12T 12 x 10/100/1000T RJ-45 XEM module
• AT-XEM-1XP 1 x 10GbE XFP XEM module
• AT-XEM-STK stacking module

Using the stacking modules, customers can stack multiple switches.

The AT-x900-12XT/S, with full non-blocking switching on all ports, enables IPv4 Layer 2 switching and Layer 3 routing to operate at wirespeed, making it ideal for high-end server deployments. Like the other switches in the x900 series, the new device uses the newest switch silicon including hardware-based IPv6, effectively future-proofing it for Small to Medium-sized Businesses.

Other Product Highlights

Allied Telesis will also be highlighting another new product at the conference that combines reliability and ease-of-use with cost-effective deployment.

• The SwitchBlade® x908 is the newest Allied Telesis advanced multi-layer 10 Gigabit series of switch. It provides fine service provisioning granularity, high availability, and advanced QoS. This switch incorporates a switching core that yields wirespeed IPv4 and IPv6 routing.

tag: VoIP Hardware, Allied Telesis, x900 12 Port Layer 3+ Switch, IP Triple Play, AT-x900-12XT/S, Interop Las Vegas 2008, traffic prioritization, traffic shaping, AlliedWare Plus™

How To Send Free SMS With Jaxtr

As I promised earlier in the post about Free International SMS service from Jaxtr, here is the simple instructions to send SMS free with Jaxtr.
Now that Jaxtr has started the free International SMS service, You can now send SMS messages to mobile phones in all most all international countries for free through the Jaxtr website.
Another messaging form, Text Me messages, are text messages delivered to the member's email address.Text Me can go to anyone anywhere with an email address.

Using the Send SMS form found on the HOME tab (See the image), type the text along with the phone number as shown in the image and hit Send. It works same way as regular SMS message. The person whom you texted, can reply to your txt (text) message using their own cell phones or through a web link that’s included in the SMS message.

SMS messaging via Jaxtr is completely free and might include an advertisement from Jaxtr. It is fine with me as it is unobtrusive and considering the free service I get, I am fine with it.
To send a Text Me message, log into your jaxtr account go to the member's jaxtr contact page you wish to send a text message to, click the Text Me button, enter your text message and click the button to send your message. As you see it is only for Jaxtr members.

Join or login to Jaxtr
tag: How To SMS, How To SMS with Jaxtr, SMS Free With Jaxtr

Free International SMS With Jaxtr

We have written about Jaxtr's begining and also when it reached 5 Million Jaxtr users at the end of last year. Jaxtr is making strides and this newest step will take the further into the communications mediums.

Since they have given you this tool, I will dedicate my next article to Jaxtr, 'how to send free text messages (SMS) with Jaxtr'

MENLO PARK, CA - (April 16, 2008) - Jaxtr, www.jaxtr.com, the company that links your phone to the Web, today announced that members can now send free SMS to anyone worldwide, whether or not the recipient is a jaxtr member. With this new service, free text messages can be sent to mobile phones in 38 countries directly from the member's jaxtr home page. Basic jaxtr membership is free, and the new international SMS service is available to all jaxtr members.

"Jaxtr allows anyone to sign up for a free membership and start sending SMS messages internationally at absolutely no cost," said jaxtr co-founder and COO Touraj Parang. "You can SMS your friends and family abroad whether or not they are currently members of jaxtr. The moment you sign up for a free account at jaxtr.com, the world is literally at your fingertips."

The latest annual report from Research and Markets predicts that 2008 will see over two trillion SMS text messages sent worldwide. While domestic SMS is generally affordable, sending messages to friends and family abroad is generally still quite expensive. In the United States, it costs roughly $.20-$.25 to send SMS messages internationally via the major mobile providers.

Launched in March 2007, jaxtr is already the largest social communications company on the Web. Over 10 million people in 220 countries use jaxtr to receive calls from people visiting their social networking pages, to make calls to their friends and family worldwide and to get to know fellow jaxtr members on café jaxtr (www.cafejaxtr.com), the world's first global, mobile talk network.

tag: SMS, Free SMS, Free International SMS, Jaxtr SMS, Jaxtr, free text messages, cafejaxtr,

iPhone Flip With 3G In A Pig Skin

I just got some information on the upcoming 3G iPhone. Looks like the first bunch who bought the iPhone are guinea pigs, and the phone companies who signed in for exclusive contracts are pig herders.

Because iPhone is going to change in radical ways so that people will point at current iPhone and ask "Whaat is Thaat?" and the phone companies will find the guy next door also sells the iPhone!

Following info came from, Jonathan Richards at TimesOnLine.

"Steve Jobs's (Apple's chief executive) end game is not to limit distribution and maximise carrier payments. It's to bring the best mobile platform to the market and then sell as many units as possible. There's lots of ways Apple can drive revenue from the iPhone that aren't part of the current model."

Times Online understands that Apple has placed an order with its Asian suppliers to produce 200,000 of the new 3G iPhones by the end of May, rising to 2 million - 500,000 per week - in June.

With a four week lead time between production and placement, that would leave Mr Jobs free to launch the device during an annual developers conference at which he usually speaks.

Industry sources told Times Online that the device will have a "radically different" appearance to the current device, which has a 4.5 inch screen and slick, aluminium backing. Among the possibilities are flip version, which would enable the screen to be larger, and a sliding model with a regular qwerty keyboard - as opposed to a touchscreen one.

"I think ultimately you going to see multiple versions," one Asia-based analyst, said. "One for customers who want it principally as a music and video device, which will be similar to the existing model, one for people who want to communicate - with the keyboard, and one for people who want it as a substitute for their laptop - that will let them browse the internet on a larger screen."

The new phone may also usher in a change in the way Apple strikes distrtibution deals.

Ms Huberty suggested that Apple will eventually break with its policy of favouring one network to be the exclusive distributor of the iPhone in a given territory — possibly as early as next year.

tag: iPhone 3G, 4.5 inch screen iPhone, iPhone Flip, iPhone Keyboard

AstGizmo, Setup Gizmo5 And Asterisk To Work Together. Part III of III

If you have an Asterisk Server, or running an Asterisk Appliance, you can receive all your calls within Gizmo5, a softphone by Gizmo Project.
The first steps of course is to setup the Gizmo5 Softphone send and receive calls via Asterisk Server. In order to so, if you are logged into Gizmo5, logout from the application. At this point you will be at the login dialog box, as shown below. And for some reason, it is not there, start the Gizmo5 application.At this point click on the checkbox named Login to Asterisk, PBX or other voice service and then click on configure (Circled in red above) to invoke the dialog box in front. Now you can enter your server information and your account information.Make sure to click on the "Enable Secondary Login" check box. If you do not know your server information, your network admin or IT support should be able to provide you with the information.

If you want your out going calls to go through your Asterisk server, configure it from setup up Secondary Account.

There are other ways that that you can use Asterisk and Gizmo Project. These include:

1. Configure your Asterisk PBX to send outgoing calls to the Gizmo Project network. This will allow you to make free calls to Gizmo Project users, and to all of the University networks that Gizmo Project has peered with. You might also choose to route calls to the PSTN through the Gizmo Project network. This would allow you to take advantage of the cheap rates provided by Gizmo Call Out, instead of paying the high rates of your local telephone company.
   
   
2. Configure your Asterisk PBX to receive incoming calls from the Gizmo Project network. This will allow people with Gizmo Project Accounts to call you for free. It also allows you to take advantage of Gizmo Project Call In. By using a Gizmo Project Call In number to receive calls, you can effectively get a regular phone number for a mere 12.00 a month!
   
   
3. Configure your Asterisk PBX to use the Gizmo Project softphone as a phone extension. As explained above. This will allow you to send and receive office calls using a free software phone, instead of needing to purchase expensive hardware for each person that you want to give a phone extension to. It also allows people to send and receive office calls, even when they are away from the office (like on a business trip). It also has the added benefit of allowing people to use the Gizmo Project softphone's many cool features, like call recording, sound blasts, and an online call history.

The steps 1 and 2 will come in two posts, so the next will be step 2, Configure your Asterisk PBX to receive incoming calls from the Gizmo Project network.

tag: Asterisk, Gizmo Project, AstGizmo, Asterisk PBX, Gizmo Project Call In, Gizmo Call Out, PSTN

Awards Galore For Asterisk and Digium

We should not be surprised for Asterisk receiving awards but every time I see that Asterisk does, I smile with satisfaction. Everyone of us are aware that Asterisk not only gave us the best Open Source Telephony Solution, it also changed the market. I remember when we had to 5-6 figure costs for simple PBX and 5 figure cost for add on VoIP card for existing PBXs. But now those prices have come down drastically. I am sure Asterisk played a major part in making IP PBX, everybody's tool.
Then the other side of it, the whole new industry and service that was build behind Asterisk to support, promote and extend Asterisk. As a whole these factors have made Asterisk a formidable force in the telecommunications arena. So these awards, valuable confirmations from those who sees the true value of Asterisk.
Congratulations Asterisk!
Following is a news release from Asterisk.

Open source telephony industry leader recognized for technology innovation and quality

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.—April 15, 2008—Digium®, Inc., the Asterisk® Company, today announced the recent receipt of three prestigious industry awards. Acknowledgement of the strength of Digium's products from TechTarget's SearchNetworking.com and TMC, which presented Digium with two awards, follows recognition earlier this year from InfoWorld of Asterisk, the open source telephony project created and led by Digium. The company and its founder, Mark Spencer, have also appeared on numerous "company to watch" and "influencer" lists, including 2008 installations from eWeek, Linux Magazine and VoIP-News.

SearchNetworking.com, in its article accompanying the award, notes: "Capturing the silver award in IP telephony systems is Asterisk, the free, open source IP telephony application created by Digium. The application facilitates VoIP in many protocols and interoperates with almost all standards-based telephony equipment, using relatively inexpensive hardware. Asterisk can save an organization significant costs and is at the forefront of open source VoIP development."

Recent recognition includes:

SearchNetworking.com—Product Leadership Awards: IP Telephony Systems, Silver Award for Asterisk (April 2008).

eWeek—100 Most Influential People in IT (April 2008).

Unified Communications (TMC)—Product of the Year Award for Switchvox SMB 3.0 (March 2008).

INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & Expo East 2008 (TMC)—Best of Open Source (February 2008).

Linux Magazine—Top 20 Companies to Watch (January 2008).

InfoWorld—Technology of the Year awarded to Asterisk 1.4 (January 2008).

VoIP-News—Top 20 VoIP Influencers (January 2008).

"Each award and other recognition motivates the entire Digium team to push harder to continue to strengthen and expand the Asterisk platform," said Mark Spencer, creator of Asterisk and Digium's founder and chief technology officer. "We're grateful to the media and users who've taken note of our contributions and innovation and know that by recognizing Digium, they're congratulating the entire community of developers working on the open source Asterisk project."

tag: Asterisk, Open Source Telephony Solution, IP Telephony Systems, Product of the Year Award for Switchvox SMB 3.0, Best of Open Source, Technology of the Year awarded to Asterisk 1.4

Free VoIP for iPhone™ with fring™

After it seems like after a decade, Fring is finally available on iPhone. Now fringsters wanna be's from iPhone community has a oppertunity to be so. Fring is mobile internet service that enables its users to talk, chat and interact with other fringsters and their internet communities from their mobile phones. fring users are able to communicate with each other and with contacts from Skype^®, MSN^®, Google Talk™, ICQ, Twitter, Yahoo!™ & AIM^®

LONDON, 15^th April 2008, fring® today became the world’s first mobile VoIP application to be made publicly available for the iconic apple iPhone™, enabling users to talk, chat and interact with other fring users (“fringsters”) and all of their online communities, using their iPhone’s™ WiFi connection.

A light, sneak preview R&D version of the phenomenally popular mobile VoIP application, developed in conjunction with the Holon Institute of Technology academic research labs in Israel, is now available for use on the iPhone™ from www.fring.com/fring_is/fringcubator. The pre-release version is designed to both answer demand from iPhone-owning would-be fringsters and at the same time enable fring to learn about user experience, benefit from early feedback and influence the R&D process of the full release version, due for launch later this year.

The special pre-release version will enable iPhone™ users to get an early taste of fring and discover the freedom of being able to take their fring^™ contacts and buddies from their other favorite online communities mobile on their iPhones. They will also have the ability to make free and low cost mobile calls over WiFi & enjoy rich, IM-style live chat with their online contacts, regardless of whether they are on their mobiles, PC’s or other internet devices.

During login, fring automatically creates a single, integrated contact list, combining contacts from all of the users’ selected internet communities. And because fring is an always-on, always-connected application, it offers special features such as real-time, PC-style “presence” indicators which continually display whether contacts are online, away, offline, in a call, on their mobiles or in front of their PCs, providing new levels of freedom to interact and truly take the internet mobile.

All you need to start enjoying the pre-released fring for iPhone is an "opened" iPhone with the Istaller and WiFi access. And, just like all other fring versions, fring on iPhone is free to download, free to use!

tag: iPhone, mobile Voip, Fring, fringsters, free and low cost mobile call, Free VoIP

Cogoblue, Another Visual Configurator For Asterisk

Today I read about ISPBX' announcement (below) of Cogoblue, a visual configuration tool for Asterisk. Looks like the other commercial Visual configuration tool that I know, Visual Dialplan for Asterisk going have a competitor.
I have mentioned about Visual Dialplan for Asterisk from version 1.2 to the latest version Visual Dialplan beta for linux. I have also tested the Visual Dialplan. And keep in mind that I have not compared every feature to feature of both these products but by browsing through both the applications capabilities as presented. Both promise to make life easier for people who deploy and manage Asterisk IPPBX.
One big difference is that COGOBLUE is currently available only on ISPBX hardware. The Visual Dialplan is an application for Windows and Linux both of which could be tested before purchasing. I hope ISPBX will release a hardware independence version that will be useful to millions of Asterisk users everywhere. Because, there is always a person willing to spend money on a good tool.
Everyone who design an application would love to say that they are the first to bring the product to market. But in thiscase, people have been designing visual configuration tools for a while, like AstPlanDesigner was doing this as far as 2005 (I wrote about it in 2005. The site and the Sourceforge directory for AstPlanDesigner seem to have gone under. But you can do a google search for AstPlanDesigner.)
But as complete appliances, and open, AsteriskNow, Trixbox, FreePBX, PBX In A Flash and Commercial applications like Switchvox are making Asterisk Configuration, more than glorified text editing. And all those are accompanied with good support, either paid or free.
It is always good to see products of every nature coming out because of Asterisk, even if they say that they are better than Asterisk! ;). It means that Asterisk is going places. It is also good to have open source and commercial applications to support Asterisk. So I will be paying a little more attention to Asterisk than recent past. So to start with I will be writing about another Open Source tool for Asterisk configuration tool, visual as well.

I learned about Cogoblue from VoIPGuides. Here is the text from the press release of Cogoblue extracted from the published PDF.
ISPBX announces the next generation in Asterisk configuration, with CogoBlue the first 'drag and drop' GUI interface on the ISPBX series of PBX appliances, bringing a new level of simplicity. ISPBX LLC, a New Jersey based systems developer, introduces a line of IP-PBX systems featuring COGOBLUE.
COGOBLUE allows you to configure your system just by dragging and dropping visual icons on a display pane. This really is the next generation of Asterisk GUI tools. The CogoBlue "Drag and Drop" interface makes installations faster and easier. The visual objects immediately convey the configuration. This reduces the possibility of unintended results stemming from a "simple" change. No longer will profitability be eaten up by technical support due to configuration mistakes. ISPBX offers a series of PBX models targeted for small to medium sized businesses. Dealers installing these appliances can quickly implement call routing and call processing without the need to manually edit configuration files. Modifications are implemented consistently. This eliminates the need to re-learn and re-work previous configurations as often experienced with rotating technical support staff. The results are shorter support time for users and increased profitability for you.
ISPBX Managing Partner John Signorello said, “In developing CogoBlue, we took a radically different approach from Trixbox and Digium. Instead of another glorified word processor, we developed a rich, intuitive, visual model for configuring PBX systems. It's simple, elegant and very powerful. For dealers, this translates to systems that are easy to configure, easy to modify and return higher profit margins.”

tag: Asterisk, AsteriskNow, Trixbox, FreePBX, Switchvox, AstPlanDesigner, Cogoblue, Visual Dialplan,

iPhone Handwriting Recognition With HWPEN

HWPEN for iPhone has been released. It is available on iPhonecake. This is the first Handwriting Recognition IME on iPhone. Developed by Hanwang.com.cn. Chinese multi-character and Latin alphabet input are supported now.
I have not installed this application yet as I am working on something els on my iPhone now. So be careful. (I am using a HWPEN program on my PC with a tablet.)
All the information is in Chinese so you can use Google translation or Babelfish to read more. Here is the link to the distribution site.
To install To install HWPen, add source http://iphonecake.com/src/all in your installer.
tag: iPhone, hand writting for iPhone, hwpen for iPhone, hanwang, HWPEN

TMC Unified Communications® Magazine’s 2007 Product of the Year Award Goes To Toshiba's Strata MicroMAS Media Application Server

Toshiba's Strata MicroMAS Media Application Server Wins Unified Communications® Magazine’s 2007 Product of the Year Award

IRVINE, Calif., February 20, 2008 —Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., Telecommunication Systems Division (Toshiba — www.telecom.toshiba.com) today announced that its Toshiba Strata MicroMAS Media Application Server has been named a 2007 Product of the Year Award winner by Technology Marketing Corporation’s (TMC®) Unified Communications magazine (www.uc-mag.com). The Product of the Year winners are published in the March 2008 issue of Unified Communications magazine, www.uc-mag.com.

“The Toshiba team has proven they are committed to quality and excellence while addressing real needs in the marketplace. Unified Communications is pleased to grant a 2007 Product of the Year Award to Toshiba’s Strata MicroMAS,” said Rich Tehrani, TMC president and editor-in-chief of Unified Communications magazine.

“We are proud that Toshiba’s Strata MicroMAS platform has won the 2007 Product of the Year Award from Unified Communications Magazine, its second Product of the Year Award,” said Brian Metherell, vice president and general manager for Toshiba America Information Systems Telecommunication Systems Division. “Combined with Toshiba’s Strata CIX VoIP system, Toshiba Strata MicroMAS gives SMB customers a comprehensive, integrated unified communications solution that supports multiple applications on a single server, reducing costs and improving efficiencies.”

About Toshiba’s Strata MicroMAS Media Application Server

Toshiba’s Strata® MicroMAS Media Application Server platform delivers a comprehensive and integrated unified communications solution when combined with a Toshiba’s Strata CIX voice communication system. Together, the Strata CIX and Strata MicroMAS deliver the extensive voice features of the Strata CIX with the applications integration of the Strata MicroMAS’s optimized desktop-size server. SMB enterprises need only the one Strata MicroMAS server for multiple applications to create a powerful unified communications solution.

Designed to complement Toshiba’s Strata CIX family of VoIP systems, and especially good news for the smaller CIX100 and CIX40 VoIP systems for SMB enterprises, Strata MicroMAS hosts a variety of diverse applications that increase a company’s ability to communicate effectively with its customers, including: Auto Attendant, Voice Mail, Unified Messaging, Automated Speech Recognition, Fax, Text to Speech, Interactive Voice Response, Automatic Call Distribution and Reporting, Web-based Personal and System Administration, Web-based Telephone Applications, FeatureFlex™ customization tools, and other third-party applications.

With Toshiba’s Strata MicroMAS, smaller enterprises can have the same multipleapplication single server solution in 2-8 port configurations as their medium- to largesized counterparts have with the Strata MAS in 4-32 port configurations. Strata MicroMAS is ideal for use with Toshiba’s Strata CIX100 and CIX40 VoIP systems, which support up to 72 and 24 users, respectively. Sized and priced just right for smaller enterprises, Strata MicroMAS consolidates communications applications onto a single server, helping SMB enterprises save money, space, and time managing their telephony resources, while delivering a powerful unified communications platform.

About Unified Communications magazine

New in July 2007, Unified Communications magazine is devoted to educating enterprise decision makers on why and how they need to deploy unified communications (UC) solutions. Every issue of Unified Communications magazine features a comprehensive news section; case studies of successful deployments and lessons learned; interviews with leading hardware and software companies; and an 'industry' section, featuring analysis of important mergers and acquisition, partnerships and a Wall Street perspective on the unified communications market. Unified Communications has a subscriber base of 41,509.

tag: Unified Communications, Toshiba Telecom, Toshiba Strata MicroMAS Media Application Server, Unified Communications magazine,

Global Telecom & Technology Selected By iCORE Networks For Data Services.

MCLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Global Telecom & Technology, Inc. (“GTT”), (OTCBB:GTLT), a leading global Multi-Network Operator (MNO), announced today that iCORE Networks (iCORE), a premier provider of hosted Voice over IP (VoIP) and managed communications services, has signed an agreement to purchase data networks from GTT to strengthen its core network infrastructure. The multi-year deal will enable iCORE to deliver VoIP services to its expanding base of customers in the United States and Canada.

GTT Hub ServiceSM, a private line offering designed to provide multiple connections from a central location, will allow iCORE to connect customers from distant locations to its secure hosted facility in Ashburn, Virginia. GTT Hub ServiceSM also gives iCORE the flexibility to add customer-supporting connections “on the go,” extending its network reach in lock step with the needs of its customers.

“iCORE is rapidly expanding its business, and our customers demand cost-effective and reliable telephony services,” said Bruce Simms, iCORE’s executive vice president of operations. “GTT Hub ServiceSM gives us the reliability and flexibility we need to meet the customer demands of today, with room to grow for the future.”

“We are very excited to partner with iCORE,” said Richard D. Calder, Jr., GTT’s president and CEO. “GTT Hub ServiceSM provides security and scalability at competitive prices - a powerful combination for any business. As a Multi-Network Operator, we continually work with our suppliers to create innovative and integrated products for our customers.”
tag: hosed VoIP, Global Telecom & Technology, Multi-Network Operator, iCORE, hosted Voice over IP, VoIP, GTT Hub ServiceSM,

Near Field Communication (NFC) With Nokia 6212 Classic

NFC-enabled handset offers new and easy ways to access and share content

Espoo, Finland - Nokia today introduced the Nokia 6212 classic featuring integrated Near Field Communication (NFC). The 3G handset allows consumers to conveniently share content, access services and information as well as conduct payments and ticketing with one tap of the device. The Nokia 6212 classic is expected to start shipping in the third quarter of 2008 in select markets in Europe and Asia with an estimated retail price of EUR 200 before taxes and subsidies.

"NFC-capable handsets such as the Nokia 6212 classic are set to change the way mobile phone users interact with devices and services in their surroundings," says Jeremy Belostock, the Head of Near Field Communications, Nokia. "With the Nokia 6212 classic, people can swap items like business cards or calendar notes by simply tapping their handsets together. With ever-increasing device functions and services available, ease-of-use is essential. One way to keep things simple is NFC."

Near Field Communication is designed for intuitive, simple and safe interaction between electronic devices. By tapping an NFC-enabled tag, consumers can receive new content such as weblinks, audio files or contact data directly to their phone. They can activate a profile in their handset or open applications such as FM radio or web browser. Photos and videos can be easily shared by tapping another NFC-capable phone and pairing with a Bluetooth NFC-enabled device, like the new NFC variant of the Nokia BH-210 headset, happens with just one touch. The lightweight Nokia BH-210 with NFC headset allows users to access all functions easily with a single multifunction key. The widely compatible headset can be used with a number of Nokia devices as well as other manufacturers' phones.

The Nokia 6212 classic can also be used as a travel ticket or for mobile payments. Travel tickets can be charged over the air, so there is no need to wait at the service counter. Users can store their credit card information on the device and access their account online directly from the handset. Using the Nokia 6212 classic for payment and ticketing purposes requires a service subscription and the installation of an appropriate secure application. Security for transactions is assured as the handset can be set to allow payment only when the user expressly authorizes the transaction via an additional passcode.

The Nokia 6212 classic allows consumers to personalize and edit their own NFC tags, be it for writing calendar entries or setting the alarm clock. The sales pack of the Nokia 6212 classic comes with three sticker tags, one of which opens the NFC introduction in the phone.

The slimline Nokia 6212 classic comes with an extensive set of features such as a 2 megapixel camera, bright 2-inch QVGA display, stereo FM radio and music player supporting multiple formats. An optional microSD memory card of up to 4GB provides ample space for personal content such as images and songs.

tag: Mobile, Near Field Communication, Nokia 6212 classic, NFC-enabled tag, Bluetooth NFC-enabled device,

Gamotopia: Nokia Mobile Games Innovation Challenge dares developers to 'rock' mobile games world

Gamotopia, is reporting about Mobile games development challenge invitation by Nokia Publishing. It the games are attrctive, one could win prizes as well as publishing with Nokia.
Gamotopia: Nokia Mobile Games Innovation Challenge dares developers to 'rock' mobile games world

tag: Game Development, Mobile Games, Nokia Publishing, Mobile Games Innovation Challenge, gaming industry, N-Gage,

Visual Dialplan v1.3 Has Been Released

I was informed that Visusl Dialplan 1.3 has been released. All the users with version 1.xx could upgrade for free.

"With the latest Visual Dialplan you can deploy Asterisk dialplan with a single press of a button using integrated SSH client directly from your Windows desktop to remote Asterisk box, or include your existing Asterisk dialplan code created in a traditional way into the Visual Dialplan.

You can even continue developing part of the code in a traditional way, or reuse already developed dialplan code using Custom Component.

Visual Dialplan v1.3 feature highlights:

• One button deployment with integrated SSH client
• Custom component that facilitates reuse of existing dialplan code
• Dialplan include functionality
• Context or Macro include functionality
• Personalize Visual Dialplan behavior using preferences

and more...

We invite Visual Dialplan v1.x users to take advantage of free upgrade to Visual Dialplan v1.3 and to download the latest Visual Dialplan."

tag: Asterisk Dialplan, Visual Dialplan v1.3

Android Gets Opera Mini Android Version.

Chris Mills is telling us that one of my favorite browsers, both desktop and mobile, Opera being readied for Android platform. He has presented us with an article well worth reading, over the course of the post on the Opera Labs new, he goes through why they created it, how, and the challenges they faced. Also how you can try it out for yourself which is stated below. So Opera team would like you to test it, try it and give them any, even a tiny little feedback you have.

Try Opera Mini for Android, yourself! and read the article. You might pick up some pointers on Android development, even if you are not interested in Opera (why not?).

As mentioned above, there is currently no hardware available that will run Android, but you can still try the Opera Mini Android version out using the Android SDK and emulator. Here's how (these steps are basically the same on any platform that runs the SDK):

1. Download and install latest version of Android SDK
2. Obtain the Opera Mini for Android package
3. Once you have installed the Android SDK, start the Android emulator that comes with it (this can be found at {Android home}/tools/emulator
4. Transfer and install the Opera Mini package into the emulator - you can do this with the following command line input - {Android home}/tools/adb install OperaMini.apk

Opera Mini should now appear in the emulator Applications folder.

Opera Labs article.

tag: Android Developers, android, Android SDK, Android emulator, Opera Mini Android, Opera Labs

iPhone, iPod app moleskine 0.14 has been released (Updated)

UPDATE: The developer of the program, has left a comment regarding two issues. If you find the application crashing the version 0.18 is taking care of it. The other thing is that I made a mistake in saying that custom icons will be made by developer if you make a donation. The truth is that the custom icons are already there, you will be able to get them only if you make a donation. Sorry about the confusing information. But that should not stop you from making a donation and getting the beautiful icons.


iPhone, iPod app moleskine 0.14 has been released. With this release you can manage your notes easily! move your notes into folders and sub-folders. also a bunch of great looking icons are also available onsite for download.
Danish users now can use Time Capsule in Native language as well.
If you need custom icons for you or your company, the developer will do if you make a donation. I think he already deserves donations for all he has done so far. So please visit and help him.
You can get his applications from installer but you have to add repo.databinge.com.

tag: iPhone app, iPod app, moleskine 0.14, Time Capsule,

Android Developer Challenge Judges Will Come From Open Handset Alliance, Google and/or Mobile Experts.

If you are partaking ADC, Android Developer Challenge, you would have wondered who would be judging you. Android Advocate David McLaughlin has assured us that it will be a panel of experts coming from the relevant fields.
Just a reminder, ADC deadline is April 14th and better get there if you have not done so yet. The rewards are really good.
Android Developers Blog: Android Developer Challenge Judges
tag: Android, Android Developer Challenge, ADC

Google Talk, Labs Edition With New notifications For Google Calendar, Orkut scraps, Gmail messages, and Talk chats

I have been using, testing and experimenting with Google Talk for a long time (Even gave it a new name! Gooletalk),. When at one time project went quiet, I was even a bit sad. But Google Talk is alive and well!. A new version called Google Talk, Labs Edition has been released. It has all the features of the Google Talk gadget (but runs outside a browser), plus it adds new desktop notifications that remind you of appointments and alert you the moment messages arrive. There are notifications for Google Calendar appointments, Orkut scraps, Gmail messages, and Talk chats (of course).
For me the calendar and email notification is very important as I tend to forget to look at both in constant manner. Specially since I work with various projects remotely, keeping up with email and appointments are very important. My computer is on the way to become a total Google Desktop as I am using Google for email, chat, calendaring, Apps and docs and of course Android development.

Jonathan McPhie, Associate Product Manager asks you to Give Google Talk, Labs Edition a try and let them know what you think!.
I think it definitely a walk in the right direction.
Google Talkabout: New notifications in Google Talk, Labs Edition

tag: VoIP Client, Google Talk, gooletalk, Google Talk Labs Edition, Google Calendar appointments, Orkut scraps, Gmail messages, Google Talk gadget

Polycom Releases VoIP conference phones delivering HD voice

PLEASANTON, Calif. – April 8, 2008 – Polycom, Inc. [NASDAQ: PLCM], the world's leading provider of unified collaborative communications solutions and creator of the iconic triangular conference phone, today redefines conference calling yet again. The SoundStation® IP 7000 and IP 6000—two next-generation IP conference phones—offer groundbreaking Polycom features including Polycom HD Voice™ technology and a sleek new design. The SoundStation IP 7000 is an ideal upgrade for executive offices, conference rooms and board rooms, while the SoundStation® IP 6000 is suited for managerial offices and small to mid-sized conference rooms.

As the conference phone market leader, with Polycom is the most recognized brand in conference rooms across the globe. With the introduction of these two new conference phones, Polycom redefines what businesses worldwide can expect from their conferencing endpoints as well as from new SIP-based voice over IP (VoIP) network installations in terms of performance, voice quality, price and design enhancements.

"In today's global business environment, voice is a vital medium for business communications and phones are the primary interface for end-users," said Nora Freedman, senior analyst of enterprise networks at IDC. "Due to the sheer number of conference calls held daily, conference phones are a key segment of any organization's end-point portfolio. Therefore, the integration of advanced IP applications and High Definition voice technology for conference phones can improve the user experience, and ultimately, make a positive impact on business communications and process."

HD Voice Fuels Call Clarity, IP Connectivity Offers More than Voice
In a recent VoIP study, Synergy Research reported that more than 73 percent of new telephony lines are expected to be IP this year, and IDC is forecasting 30 percent growth in VoIP desktop hardware over 2007. Following this trend, the new SoundStation IP 7000 and SoundStation IP 6000 expand Polycom's IP conference phone portfolio and are the first conference phones developed to integrate open Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) with
Polycom HD Voice. Combined with HD Voice and Polycom's patented Acoustic Clarity Technology, these phones offer unrivaled clarity for breakthrough voice quality and more productive conference calls. The new conference phones also feature Polycom's latest radio frequency shielding technologies that "stop the buzz" created by interference from mobile phones and smartphones – a problem so widespread that 70 percent of recent survey respondents reported a willingness to upgrade their conference phones if that would solve the problem.

As high definition technologies become more prevalent throughout the communications industry, a growing number of VoIP service providers and audio conferencing services are supporting HD Voice. ZipDX, a Polycom ARENA partner, is one of the first to offer HD voice-enabled conferencing. ZipDX worked with a number of companies to test their HD conference service with the new SoundStation IP 6000 and IP 7000 conference phones.

"The combination of the Polycom SoundStation IP 7000 and the ZipDX audio conferencing service is taking collaboration to a new level," according to Bryan Newman, director of Information Systems for Okuma America Corp., a world leader in machining technology based in Charlotte, N.C. "We conference extensively among our US offices, with our distributors and customers in North and South America, and with our parent in Japan. Our recent trials with IP 7000's and SoundPoint phones have demonstrated the benefits in recognizing voices and understanding accented speakers."

"The enhanced audio quality of the Polycom phones, combined with the advanced conferencing features of ZipDX, have made our calls more productive and we are exploring rolling the technology out in additional locations," continued Newman. “Whether it’s training, selling, or managing, it's important that our message gets through clearly, and that we hear and understand what people are saying to us. With ZipDX and Polycom HD Voice technology, our conferences are a snap to set up, start on time, have the highest audio quality, and are secure and easy to manage."

'With the introduction of our new open SIP HD Voice conference phones, we're helping customers make the most of their VoIP network investments by delivering HD Voice communications on a platform that brings value beyond voice," said Sunil Bhalla, senior vice president and general manager of Polycom's voice communications solutions division. "Our customers will reap the benefits of a new level of communication with more productive, engaging conference calls."

Product Features
The SoundStation IP 7000 introduces a new, sleek design that redefines the look and feel and performance of the traditional conference phones. Features include:

• The industry's first up to 22 kHz CD-quality HD Voice for lifelike clarity and intelligibility.
• Large high resolution display and processing power for IP applications, transforming the conference phone into an applications platform for the conference room. Includes LDAP corporate directory access, three-way visual conferencing in HD Voice and an open XHTML micro-browser for third-party application development and integration. The conferencing application enables users to see the names of the participants and add, delete, mute or place individual callers on hold during the call.
• Multi-unit connectivity with the ability to "daisy-chain" two units, offering greater microphone pickup, louder volume, and multiple call control points within one conference room.
• 20-foot (6-meter) microphone pickup range to hear participants in all corners of the conference room. Even greater coverage is available through optional expansion microphones.
• Seamless integration with Polycom HDX high definition visual communications systems is expected later this year – making launching a high definition video conference as easy as dialing a conference phone.
• Power over Ethernet connectivity¹ to reduce cable clutter in conference rooms.

The SoundStation IP 6000 is a price/performance breakthrough for managerial offices and small to midsize conference rooms. With pricing comparable to similar analog conference phones but with much higher acoustic performance and IP functionality, customers who are migrating to SIP-based VoIP technology can now fully leverage the power of their IP infrastructure.

The SoundStation IP 6000 features:

• Polycom HD Voice with up to 14 kHz audio for remarkable clarity and intelligibility.
• 12-foot (3.6-meter) microphone pickup range for full room coverage in offices and small to mid-sized conference rooms, with optional expansion microphones also available.
• High resolution backlit display for vital call information and multi-language support. The platform also supports the delivery of web-based content to the display for third party application development and integration.
• Power over Ethernet connectivity to reduce cable clutter in conference rooms

The new conference phones are being certified with Polycom's more than 25 SIP-based call control platform partners including 3Com, BroadSoft, Digium, Interactive Intelligence, Sylantro, and other Polycom VoIP Interoperability Partners (VIP). For more information on the Polycom VIP Program, visit www.polycom.com/vip.

Pricing and Availability
The Polycom SoundStation IP 7000 is available today through Polycom’s certified channel partners starting at a list price of U.S. $1,299. The Polycom SoundStation IP 6000 will also be available through Polycom’s certified channel partners later this quarter starting at a list price of U.S. $899. For more information, visit www.polycom.com/go/soundstation_ip.

tag: VoIP Phone, collaborative communications, SoundStation® IP 7000, 3Com, BroadSoft, Digium, Interactive Intelligence, Sylantro, SoundStation® IP 6000, ZipDX, IP conference phone, Polycom HD Voice, SIP-based VoIP, Acoustic Clarity Technology,

TripIt Mobile For Travelers, Personal Travel Organizer,

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - April 7, 2008) - TripIt (www.tripit.com), the intelligent personal travel organizer, is making it even easier for travelers on the go. With the release of TripIt Mobile, travelers can now access TripIt from popular mobile devices, including Apple iPhone, Palm Treo and RIM BlackBerry.

TripIt helps travelers better organize their online travel plans -- no matter where they've booked -- by just forwarding their travel confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com. Like a personal travel assistant, TripIt automatically reads and organizes those travel plans, then automatically adds daily weather, local maps, driving directions, city guides and more to personalize their travel itinerary. TripIt does this all behind the scenes, quietly accessing Web sites like Google, Eventful, Flickr, Wikipedia, NOAA, SeatGuru, etc.

With TripIt Mobile, users now have a slimmed-down interface designed specifically for mobile phones. Travelers simply point their mobile device to m.tripit.com to easily access their travel plans, look-up a flight number, check a hotel address, or view a local map and driving directions.

"TripIt Mobile is for anyone who travels with a mobile phone, but especially for road warriors," said Gregg Brockway, TripIt co-founder and president. "We put all their travel plans right on their mobile phone so they can get the most out of their trips."

TripIt Mobile also supports TripIt's popular Closeness Matches, which notify users when their travel plans overlap with other people in their TripIt social network. This is especially useful on a mobile device. For example, a traveler who lands in New York City can immediately see that a colleague will be there too, and then make plans to get together.

TripIt and TripIt Mobile are free services. Travelers can get started by visiting www.tripit.com to learn more, or by simply forwarding a travel confirmation email to plans@tripit.com.

tag: Mobile Network, TripIt, mobile devices, Apple iPhone, Palm Treo, RIM BlackBerry, Google, Eventful, Flickr, Wikipedia, NOAA, SeatGuru, TripIt Mobile, travel organizer,

Major U.S. bank Test iPhone 2.0, Microsoft Exchange, and Network

Either by a challenge or real interest in getting iPhones to it's employees, a major bank who wishes to remain hidden, is testing iPhone, iPhone 2.0 in a corporates environment to access Network, VPN for iPhone, Microsoft Exchange compatibility and general usage. I am waiting to see the results but I will say that it will be approved. What a way to get free iPhone.!

April 9, 2008 (Computerworld) A major U.S. financial institution will test Apple Inc.'s iPhone 2.0 beta for potential use by internal end users, despite raising red flags about inadequate iPhone security on the next-generation device three weeks ago.

"I'm awaiting my device as I type," said a high-ranking official at the financial company in an e-mail today. The official, who asked not to be named and that the company remain unidentified because of corporate policies, said several users will test the device across various security, network and Microsoft Exchange support teams.

In March, the same official had said the institution's initial review of the 2.0 beta one week after it was announced left company officials "less optimistic" than when the beta was announced by Apple Inc. on March 6, mainly because financial institutions face tough federal regulations on the security of records. Follow this link for complete article at Computer World.

tag: iPhone, iPhone 2.0, VPN for iPhone, iPhone security,

Huawei E230 , The World's Smallest USB Modem Supporting 4.5 Mbps HSUPA From Huawei Technologies Co.

Ever since AT&T announced HSUPA service, I have been searching for a modem that I could use to access the service. So that I will have access to a data network while I am in the field, literally. So I think the following will be a good news for every one interested.

(Sydney, Australia, April 2, 2008) Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huawei") has released the world's smallest USB modem, the E230, which will support 4.5 Mbps high speed uplink packet access (HSUPA).

Shown for the first time at Wireless World, the Huawei E230 USB modem is just 6 cm long with simple and smooth design. Size does not affect performance, as the E230 fully supports various standards such as HSPA, UMTS, EDGE and GPRS. It also supports 7.2 Mbps high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) and 4.5 Mbps HSUPA, which enables faster Internet surfing and clear online streaming of movies. The E230 also has a MicroSD card slot, supporting up to 8 GB memory size.

Along with the E230 modem, Huawei will also be demonstrating two industry-leading mobile broadband products – the D100 and E510.

The D100 is the first WiFi adapter in the world and is aimed at SOHO users and home networks, enabling interconnection of phones, game consoles, PCs and laptops. The WiFi adapter helps to extend a single user to multiple users.

The E510 is the first HSUPA DVB-T mobile broadband product in the world. With this product, users can enjoy not only high-speed Internet access but also the colorful television programs, such as this year's Olympic Games and the European Cup. It is expected that the above three products will be launched in May this year.

Commenting on the new products, Huawei terminal chief marketing officer Mr. James Chen said, “Huawei continues to invest heavily in mobile broadband R&D. Part of this development includes looking at different region customer requirement what our partners are asking for. Our new E230 the smallest USB Modem and D100 the first 3G/WiFi adapter in the world are ideal for the Australian market. The E510 will allow Australian to hook into DVB streaming video on their mobiles"

Last year, Huawei’s mobile broadband products widely covered the European market and successfully made breakthroughs in high-end markets such as the US market and Japanese market. Till now, Huawei has sold 8 million mobile broadband products, ranking the first in the world.
tag: HSUPA, Huawei Technologies, Huawei E230, HSPA, UMTS, EDGE, GPRS, HSDPA, HSUPA DVB, AT&T, T mobile broadband,

Free Calls To Tibet

Vannes, France, 9th April 2008 – Manifone, an innovative telephony service provider and ING Telecom, a major French telecommunication termination provider have today announced, that in a joint action they would offer non-profit organizations free phone calls to Tibet. The offer is intended to show solidarity to the people in Tibet and help the work of humanitarian organizations that support them. Since the exile-governement of Tibet resides in Dharamsala, India, free calls to that city are included in the offer as well. All non-profit organizations dealing specifically with Tibet are invited to get in touch with Manifone via the contact page of the website http://www.manifone.com.

Manifone’s cost-saving telephony service works with all existing telephones, including mobile phones, on all networks, in the UK, USA, Canada, and other countries covered. Due to its flexibility, it can be of great help to field staff, which often have no choice but to use their mobile phones to place International calls. Manifone’s service substitutes International phone numbers with local numbers. That way, all Internationals contacts become reachable on local phone numbers, and it is Manifone that handles the International part of the call. For the initiative ‘Free calls to Tibet’, the International part of the call is offered by Manifone.

More information on Manifone: www.manifone.com
tag: Free calls, Free calls to Tibet, Manifone, ING Telecom, free phone calls to Tibet, free phone calls, Dharamsala,

Visual Dialplan for Asterisk On Linux Beta

Beta release of Visual Dialplan for Asterisk for Linux

Apstel has released their first public beta of Visual Dialplan for Linux. This is in response to tremendous demand for Linux version of popular rapid application development environment for Asterisk dialplan development.

Apstel Dev team is looking for Asterisk users, professionals and enthusiasts who would like to test and provide the feedback on their experience with the Visual Dialplan for Linux. So if you would like to do so, join the program, help to improve Visual Dialplan for Linux.
Because if you do, you might end up having a copy of final product!. Apstel has promised that the five most productive feedbacks will be awarded with free of charge final product license.

Click here to download the Linux version of Visual Dialplan for Asterisk and send us your feedback at betaprogram@apstel.com no later than March 31st, to qualify for the complimentary final product package.

tag: Visual Dialplan for Asterisk, Asterisk, Visual Dialplan for Linux, Apstel,

Come Play With US! Nokia's N-Gage Goes Live!

Gamotopia is reporting that Nokia N-Gage is alive now with 30 plus games from popular and well known game publishers. As far as the devices are concerned, today's N-Gage compatible devices include: Nokia N81, Nokia N81 8GB, Nokia N82, Nokia N95, and Nokia N95 8GB. I am sure there will be more coming in near future. Follow the link for complete press release.
Gamotopia: Nokia's N-Gage Goes Live With New Games And Devices.

tag: Mobile, Nokia N-Gage, Gamotopia, mobile games

“BCOOL2URSCHOOL” SWEEPSTAKES FROM SONY !

As part of Sony's "BCool2UrSchool" sweepstakes, middle and high schools in five major cities have the chance to win $20,000 in Sony electronics, including televisions, laptop computers, camcorders and projectors. Additionally, 900 students will win Sony mylo COM-2 personal communicators, allowing them to instant message friends, make Skype calls, take photos and post them to their Facebook page, surf the Web and more, all without the high cost and hassle of a monthly service plan.

The students can enter to win the Sony mylo COM-2 at http://www.becooltoyourschool.com/. While completing the on-line entry form, each student submits his or her school to win one of two $20,000 grand prize Sony equipment packages. The eligible schools from Chicago, Dallas, Denver, San Diego and Seattle can increase their odds of winning with each student that enters.

The Sony mylo COM-2 was officially announced at CES in January, and is now shipping to customers nationwide. For more information on the Sony mylo please visit: http://www.sony.com/mylo/.

******************

What: Sony mylo COM-2

Middle and high school students from five major cities have the chance to win one of 900 Sony mylo COM-2 personal communicators and one of two $20,000 grand prize packages.

When: Students can enter now through April 17

Where: For more information on the contest, including entry information and complete rules, visit: http://www.becooltoyourschool.com/.
Why: The school with the most students entered to win the Sony mylo COM-2 has the highest chance of winning one of the two $20,000 grand prizes.

tag: Skype Device, Sony mylo COM-2, BCool2UrSchool, Skype calls, Facebook,

OmniTouch My Teamwork Office Edition From Alcatel-Lucent Goes To North Africa.

Paris, April 7, 2008 — Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris et NYSE: ALU) today introduced My Teamwork Office Edition, a software-based multiparty conferencing and collaboration solution tailored to the small-medium business (SMB) market in North Africa. Implemented in combination with the best-in-class small business call server, Alcatel-Lucent Omni PCX Office, My Teamwork Office Edition enables businesses to run cost-effective, premises-based audio and web conferencing events for dramatic costs savings and productivity gains over service provider solutions and other proprietary hardware-based applications.

Available in a single, software-based server, the My Teamwork Office Edition features advanced audio and web conferencing capabilities, a browser based client accessible from any location or browser for support to any telephony device, and presence-driven IM with single-click access to chat or call contacts, initiate application and desktop sharing, record calls, or managing documents to facilitate critical employee collaboration for results-driven communications.

The software-based solution easily scales up or down to accommodate businesses of all sizes and offers a range of packaging options and pricing designed specifically for the small-medium business segment. The collaboration tools promote streamlined communications while the conferencing enables growth through telecommuting and also reduces long distance travel for valuable cost and time savings, allowing smaller organizations to maximize their human resources and support green technologies.

My Teamwork Office Edition is now part of the Alcatel-Lucent Office Communication Solutions set that allows small and medium businesses to enhance their performance on an everyday basis with simple, flexible, affordable solutions and services. The Office Communication Solutions form a comprehensive portfolio of products and services that brings together enterprise-quality business telephony, applications, cost-effective Voice over IP (VoIP), and a secured LAN and WiFi infrastructure.

”Alcatel-Lucent has vast experience and knowledge in developing and selling solutions tailored to the small-medium business market segment,” says Matthieu Destot, director, Small-Medium Business Solutions for Alcatel-Lucent’s Enterprise activities. “We are leveraging this experience by bringing to market an easy to use, plug and play conferencing and collaboration application, enabling the business owner to realize immediate cost savings and productivity gains. We understand that time, resources, and budgets are limited, and My Teamwork Office Edition allows small businesses to do more with less at an attractive and competitive price point,” adds Destot.

tag: VoIP News, Alcatel-Lucent, SMB VoIP, Omni PCX Office, My Teamwork Office Edition, presence-driven IM, telecommute, green technologies,

IPSWTool, Play with your Pwned iPhone or iPod Touch

Having released the PwnageTool, after fooling some people with great pwnage April fools joke, The iPhoneproject people do not seem to be taking any rest.With all the capabilities that the Pwnage tool bring like, the ability to load unsigned firmware onto the iPhones and iPod Touchs allowing for great advances and using the great tools, iPhone and iPod Touch for their full potential. So what could we expect from the team at theiphoneproject? No No Android on it yet!
They said;
"We are happy to announce that IPSWTool is coming to your computer soon!"
"IPSWTool is the next step of building custom firmwares with the style and grace of iLiberty+. With IPSWTool you can create custom firmwares packaged will all the goodies already downloaded and inserted into the IPSW. These custom firmwares can be restored onto iPhones and iTouchs that have already been Pwnd. As you can see from the video / screenshots there are already some great application compilations to install with the BigBoss and CrashX AppPacks. Furthermore there are the thing you'd expect: BSD subsystem, SSH, Installer, and of course Cydia."
Cydia! if you are familiar with Linux, specially Debian or any other distribution that uses APT, you will be a happy camper. Following is a explanation of the IPSWTool; and await for more information about this team and tools!


tag: PwnageTool, iPhone, iPhoneproject, iPhone, iPod Touch, Android, IPSWTool, IPSW, BigBoss, CrashX AppPacks, Cydia, Debian APT for iPhone

Cisco with Channel Partners Transform City of Honolulu's Communication System to Provide Enhanced Public and Government Services.

HONOLULU, (Cisco Partner Summit 2008), April 7, 2008 - Highlighting the value of improved communication and collaboration, Cisco today announced that Cisco channel partners enVision Networked Solutions and Hawaiian Telcom, have worked with the city of Honolulu to help deploy a gigabit fiber network and 3,500 Cisco Unified IP phones. This citywide network overhaul, part of a multi-year project to transform Honolulu's communication and collaboration capabilities, includes the delivery of Cisco Unified Communications capabilities to Mayor Mufi Hanneman's office.

The city of Honolulu's revitalization efforts were plagued with a severely outdated public branch exchange (PBX) system that featured 14 separate PBX and key systems, including the main PBX system that was 30 years old and costing the City $250,000 per year to maintain. The city of Honolulu's network quickly became an important issue. The result was the creation of a network upgrade that began two years ago.

"In my first State of the City address we identified our phone systems as a major barrier to achieving our goals for the city. For example, it had multiple prefixes, it was unreliable and yet it was the main communication vehicle to the public, creating a number of issues including public safety that needed to be addressed," said Hanneman. "Three years later we have made significant advancements. Our first responders are now on one reliable network system, improving public safety through enhanced communication and collaboration. And, by no longer investing in old technology we have been able to build this new network infrastructure without increasing our budget."

Drive Akamai Website & Pothole Hotline

A side effect of Honolulu's network revitalization is a better way to manage traffic congestion. To help inform citizens of the work being done and to minimize its impact, the city has created a website, driveakamai.org and a traffic information advisory hotline that is updated daily using Cisco Unified Communications technology. These systems give motorist advisories to help them avoid areas where road construction is taking place throughout Honolulu.

In addition, the Pothole Hotline utilizes Cisco Unified Messaging technology, allowing citizens to call and have a voicemail sent to the road crew in the form of an email, which expedites the work order. This accelerated process has enabled the city to commit to its citizens that it will fix a pothole within five days of notification. Since 2005, the city of Honolulu has patched 176,000 potholes, which is the equivalent of resurfacing 111 lane miles using 51,000 tons of asphalt.

Honolulu's Trusted Advisers

enVision, a Cisco Premier Certified and Advanced Unified Communications Specialized Partner, and Hawaiian Telcom, a Cisco Silver Certified and Advanced Unified Communications Specialized Partner, both based in Honolulu, worked closely with the city to recommend and deploy a networking solution that would address current as well as future needs.

"Both enVision and Hawaiian Telcom are instrumental in ensuring a smooth deployment," said Gordon Bruce, city of Honolulu's chief information officer. "Our goal is to complete the transition from the disparate, outdated systems to the Cisco Unified Communications system within the next 18 months. This is an aggressive goal requiring trusted advisors and suppliers, like enVision and Hawaiian Telcom, who provide local as well as Cisco Unified Communications expertise. We are over half way there already."

tag: cisco, Government VoIP, enVision Networked Solutions, Hawaiian Telcom, city of Honolulu, gigabit fiber network, Cisco Unified IP phones, Unified Communications, Honolulu revitalization,

New Security Gaurds From Cisco (Cisco® Connected Physical Security product portfolio).

When we talk about security in our networks we think of firewalls our servers and workstations that include the mobile ones. But there are more to protect. How about physical security? We already have such measures in place but are they integrated or do you have to call someone in Timbaktu in an event of security breach? With new additions to Cisco's Security suite that allows you to integrate all your physical security information to be available within your IP network with what is known as "Cisco® Connected Physical Security product portfolio". The package consisting of new IP Cameras (with video compression and intelligent digital signal processor (DSP) available in a single camera. The new camera utilizes H.264 Main Profile video compression and a high-speed imager that captures video up to 1920 x 1080 at 30 frames a second), Access Control Products Deliver Complete Portfolio For Campus, Branch and Mobile environments.

LAS VEGAS, ISC West - April 2, 2008 - Cisco today announced key additions to its Cisco® Connected Physical Security product portfolio, delivering new capabilities in Internet Protocol (IP)-based video surveillance and electronic access control that ease the convergence of information technology (IT) and physical security by allowing customers to integrate with existing physical security systems and IT infrastructures.

Today's announcement features new IP cameras and Cisco's first access control solution. Together, these offerings enhance situational awareness for making appropriate decisions on security actions. They extend Cisco's solution portfolio to help enable customers to establish cost-effective, modular physical security infrastructures that are best-in-class and easily interoperable. These latest physical security offerings support Cisco's vision of offering a single unified security product suite that enables users to integrate all security operations within the IP network. Utilizing the network as a scalable platform for integrating security provides businesses with several benefits, such as operational flexibility, greater protection capabilities, lower cost of ownership, and reduced risk.

"Physical security is becoming tightly woven into the fabric of the IP network, making the industry as a whole extremely exciting," said Bill Stuntz, general manager of Cisco's Physical Security Business Unit. "The network is the platform for connecting physical security systems of all types with other enterprise systems. This development helps bring the promise of converged security to life. Cisco can make this happen because we have the expertise in both IT and physical security to lead this charge. The security industry is very important to Cisco, and we are here to stay."

As part of its expanded physical security portfolio, Cisco announced the following:

1. Cisco Video Surveillance IP Cameras

Cisco's new high-definition and standard-definition IP cameras provide high-quality digital video surveillance capabilities for use in a variety of environments. The new camera models include:

• Cisco Video Surveillance 4500 IP Camera is a high-definition camera that combines the best resolution, video compression and intelligent digital signal processor (DSP) available in a single camera. The new camera utilizes H.264 Main Profile video compression and a high-speed imager that captures video up to 1920 x 1080 at 30 frames a second. The Cisco Video Surveillance IP camera has an optional high-speed DSP completely dedicated to intelligent video functions such as video analytics.
• Cisco Video Surveillance 2500 IP Camera is a standard definition camera available either as a wired Power-over-Ethernet (POE) or DC power through an optional external power supply, or as a wireless version supporting 802.11b/g/n.

The new cameras feature a browser-based interface for easy installation and management and provide excellent image quality in variable lighting conditions. The new standard-definition cameras provide DVD-quality D1 video up to 30 fps and feature dual streaming so that users can adjust frame rate and/or resolution to control the quality of the video for different purposes simultaneously. Both cameras feature event notification so a camera can examine designated areas for activity and notify users or other applications when it detects activity that exceeds a predefined threshold.

2. Cisco's IP-based Physical Access Control (PAC) system

Cisco is introducing a comprehensive IP-based physical access control solution that utilizes the IP network as a platform for integrated security operations. The product includes both hardware and software components and offers a complete solution for IP-based Electronic Access Control. The new offering is built to work with existing door readers, locks and biometric devices. It targets campus environments and office buildings. As part of the solution, a hardware component called the Cisco Access Gateway provides a modular and scalable platform to connect readers, inputs and outputs to the system. The system scales from a single door to thousands of doors. The software component, called Cisco Physical Access Manager (Cisco PAM), manages the hardware and provides a platform for integration with other IT systems. Cisco PAM integrates with the Cisco Video Surveillance offering, delivering enhanced features while lowering the total cost of ownership.

The new IP cameras and access control system enable control and protection of an organization's assets and the safety of its personnel. The Cisco IP Video Surveillance solution facilitates integration with other security applications and systems, providing security professionals with simple integration and management, while also providing enhanced access to recorded or live video, locally or remotely, through the IP network.

"We are excited about Cisco's network-friendly video surveillance IP Camera because it is built as a true IP device unlike many cameras that simply have a daughter board to support an Ethernet connection," said Jim Mills, sales director for Benson, a systems integrator. "The advantages for customers and partners include lower cost of ownership, better security and quality of service through features like AES Encryption and network authentication.

"Cisco's entrance into Physical Access Control is very exciting. We can help customers connect the physical and logical security within an organization and these solutions will be much more cost effective and easy to deploy and manage. The advantages for partners and systems integrators include the ability to provide innovative best of breed capabilities to customers and reduce the total cost of ownership while providing innovative converged physical security capabilities."

In addition to systems integrators, the value of Cisco physical security is ultimately being realized in a number of security-conscious industries. At Kent School District in Washington, Cisco offerings are playing a key role in public safety and education.

"Obviously, education is important to us. It's what we do. But school safety is ultimately a top priority," said Thuan Nguyen, director of information technology at the Kent School District. "Security provides the foundation for us to provide a safe and fun learning environment. When I heard that Cisco was entering this market space, I was really excited. IP-based security camera systems are still in their infancy. As a result, the space is very crowded with a lot of small vendors that are here today and gone tomorrow. There's a real lack of standards. I look forward to seeing Cisco stabilize and standardize the IP-based camera system space."

Availability

The new Cisco IP cameras are scheduled for availability in May 2008. The new Cisco Physical Access Control (PAC) system is scheduled for availability in June 2008, with pricing varying by the number of doors deployed.

tag: Cisco Gear, Cisco Security suite, IP Cameras, Cisco Physical Access Manager, Cisco PAM, Power-over-Ethernet, Cisco Video Surveillance 4500 IP Camera, Access Control Products, Cisco® Connected Physical Security product portfolio, IT infrastructure, Cisco Video Surveillance,

World's First Demonstration of LTE over Advanced Wireless Services Spectrum!

Another note from CITA Wireless 2008 and Nortel products. Yes I need that LTE Broadband!

LAS VEGAS – Nortel* and LG Electronics, a leader in digital electronics and mobile phones, have accomplished two "world firsts" that demonstrate the mobile broadband power of 4G LTE. LTE wireless broadband technology can put wireless Internet and popular mobile multimedia applications like mobile entertainment and productivity applications, HD streaming video, video collaboration and unified communications into the hands of consumers who want to access them while on the go.

World's First Demonstration of LTE over Advanced Wireless Services Spectrum

At CTIA Wireless 2008 Nortel and LG Electronics are presenting the world's first demonstration of LTE over the advanced wireless services** (AWS) spectrum - special bands (1.7 GHz and 2.1 GHz) in the airwaves that can be used to run 4G wireless networks. Visitors to both the Nortel and LG Electronics booths at CTIA Wireless 2008 will be able to witness the enhanced wireless user experience delivered by LTE with a variety of bandwidth hungry and real-time services, like high-definition (HD) streaming video, transmitted live over the AWS spectrum. The demonstration shows standards-based interoperability between Nortel's LTE Solution and the handset platform developed by LG Electronics. Nortel will also be offering LTE solutions - as well as CDMA EV-DO solutions - for the recently auctioned 700 MHz spectrum.

World's First Demonstration of LTE Mobile Broadband Performance in a Fast-Moving Vehicle

Nortel and LG Electronics have achieved the world's first demonstration of mobile LTE while traveling in a vehicle at 110 kilometers per hour with data rates of up to 50 Mbps - fast enough to support mobile multimedia applications. Customers who visit Nortel's 4G Centre of Excellence in Ottawa, Canada can see how LTE can make long drives and business commutes more bearable by delivering high-speed wireless Internet services like VoIP and streaming video to passengers in moving vehicles. Nortel's LTE Mobility demonstration is a milestone in the path towards true mobile broadband, taking the applications in stationary environments to vehicular speeds.

Both demonstrations are carried out over 'live networks' which means that they have the same characteristics as the real world LTE networks that will be deployed by operators. For example, Nortel's demonstration LTE networks have advanced features that allow them to adapt in real-time to variations in signal strength as the user moves around.

LG Electronics Says…

"LTE represents a major step forward in mobile network technology and at LG we see accelerated development of LTE platforms as extremely beneficial to our customers," said Jinsung Choi, head of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Tech Research Lab. "With this technology, people will be able to access applications like streaming HD video, real-time video surveillance and media-rich social networking from their mobile phones. This is why LG engineers have worked side-by-side with engineers at Nortel and LG-Nortel since 2006 to commercialize LTE as quickly as possible."

Nortel Says…

"At CTIA and at Nortel's facility in Ottawa, we are demonstrating how the combined strength of Nortel's and LG-Nortel's world class LTE technology, and LG's innovative 4G devices, result in a high-performance, end-to-end LTE solution, delivering true mobile broadband," said Doug Wolff, vice president and general manager of CDMA and LTE, Nortel. "Nortel has all the elements needed to bring carriers successfully into the 4G world - innovation in LTE and WiMAX, a strong ecosystem, an all-IP core, and a deep understanding of what consumer and business users are looking for from their wireless experience."

Listen to Wolff explain more about Nortel's LTE strategy. In this podcast Doug explains how Nortel is helping operators embrace the opportunities of Hyperconnectivity and embark on the evolution path to 4G and true mobile broadband.

tag: LTE, 4G Wireless, 4G LTE, LTE over Advanced Wireless Services Spectrum, CTIA Wireless 2008, AWS spectrum, LTE solutions, LTE Mobile Broadband, Nortel, streaming HD video, real-time video surveillance, media-rich social networking

Transform Mobile Phones into Office Extensions With A Little Help From Nortel Solutions.

Covering up all that from CITA Wireless, I was impressed by this product introduced by Nortel.

LAS VEGAS – Nortel* now offers one of the industry's largest selections of Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) solutions for service providers, designed for seamless voice, video, and data access regardless of location or device. Nortel is demonstrating several new solutions within its FMC portfolio at CTIA Wireless** in Las Vegas from April 1-3.

Recently deployed by TDC Sweden** and announced at VoiceCon**, Nortel's Mobile Unified Communications (UC) solution along with two new solutions – Mobile Extension Hosted and Mobile Extension Hybrid – will be the latest additions to a portfolio of seven innovative FMC solutions for businesses. These solutions transform mobile phones into office extensions giving mobile workers access to the same corporate network voice calling features as their desk phones, like internal extension dialing, conferencing and call transferring while consolidating all devices under one business phone number.

"Many mobile workers use about six different communication devices which increases complexity without helping people connect quickly and efficiently," said John McCready, general manager, Carrier Multimedia Networks, Nortel. "Nortel's FMC portfolio is helping operators embrace the opportunities of Hyperconnectivity by offering a range of solutions that bring together wireline and wireless phones with the convenience of one, easy phone number. By making one common phone number possible across any number of devices, Nortel is helping to simplify the work environment through faster, real-time interaction and a simpler communications experience."

In addition to these new Mobile Extension FMC solutions, Nortel has four other FMC solutions that help a mobile workforce connect quickly and efficiently. Nortel's Voice Call Continuity , being deployed by a tier one wireless carrier, allows users to seamlessly transfer calls from WiFi to cellular networks using dual-mode mobile phones. Nortel also has commercial deployments of the following FMC solutions with service providers around the globe:

• Mobile Assistant launched by Orange as "Business Together" – Allows Orange customers in France to access corporate directories, address books and messaging from a smart phone with cellular Internet access for staying in touch while on the road using only a mobile phone.

• Converged Mobility launched by Neuf Cegetel as "Twin" – Enables Neuf Cegetel customers in France to make phone calls over WiFi and cellular networks using the same number on a dual-mode phone. During the final quarter of 2007, the Twin packages were included in over 30 percent of the new Neuf Mobile contracts sold.

• Mobile Converged Desktop launched by Telefonica as "Communicator" – Allows Telefonica Spain customers to control calls to and from any cellular phone using a laptop application. With the click of a mouse, the laptop's interface can be used to initiate and transfer calls on any cellular phone.

Recent research of over 2,000 consumers and nearly 1,000 businesses, conducted by Nortel and RONIN Corporation **, found that more than a quarter of respondents across consumer, SMB and enterprise showed a strong likelihood of purchasing and implementing a converged mobility solution. As well, 80 percent of companies included in the research – both SMB and enterprise – reported a need for a mobile assistant solution with the highest willingness to pay for this service. Nortel's comprehensive FMC solutions address these market needs and provide flexible deployment options for both enterprises and carriers, including the option of solutions located in the enterprise, carrier-hosted or a model that uses both approaches to match a customer's unique requirements.

At CTIA Wireless, Nortel is demonstrating some of the new Mobile Extension solutions as well as the "Communicator" service from Telefonica. Nortel continues to lead in carrier VoIP solutions and will also be showcasing their innovative Integrated Multimedia Mobile Client which makes real-time mobile multimedia services like VoIP, video telephony and push-to-talk/see simpler for mobile subscribers to use by delivering all these capabilities in a single integrated client. Nortel is showcasing the live demonstration of this client on a CDMA EV-DO Rev A handset operating with the Application Server (AS) 5200 , Nortel's leading SIP application server.

These FMC solutions are made possible by leveraging Nortel's Communication Server (CS) 2000, an IP multimedia softswitch, Nortel's AS 5200, Nortel's Wireless Mobility Gateway (WMG) 6000 and the Nortel Communication Server (CS) 1000 IP PBX.

tag: CDMA EV-DO, SIP application server, Nortel Communication Server, Nortel Wireless Mobility Gateway, Telefonica, RONIN Corporation, Mobile Converged Desktop, Converged Mobility, Mobile Assistant, FMC solutions, Hyperconnectivity,

Why The BBC iPlayer Irks ISPs

Charles Arthur from Guardian is telling us why ISPs are mad as hell. Well I guess they will get madder as we march forward with Unifying all communications.
What's happening is this: people are going directly to the iPlayer page and watching programmes. They're not using the peer-to-peer version; Bummer! too much hassle, and it uses up too much processing power. Here are the latest Latest figures, (Over 3.5 million programs have been streamed or downloaded on demand via the BBC iPlayer within a fortnight of its marketing launch on Christmas Day.) covering the first month of operation.
My ISP must be happy, I watch BBC over the satellite, which is also by the way a service from my provider!
Charles' report.
tag: IPTV, BBC iPlayer, Unified communications, peer-to-peer, streaming video, ISP

Free VoIP Services, 102 Of Them!

VoIP News (Who crowned me to be one of the Top 25 VoIP Blogs Of 2007) has gone about making a list of 102 free phone services that are available to us. They are not just free but the most useful and free online phones services on the net.

The task itself deserves an award because it would have taken months for yours truly to accomplish such a task. Jim Higdon completed this a while ago and even though I took notes to write about it, it took me a while!

Jim talks about free phone calls, free faxing, free conference calls, free phone cards,VOIM (Voice Over Instant Messaging), free VoIP services, Free VoIP Platforms and free webcasting.

I think you may be using some those listed, I am, a lot, but you always can learn about something that you did not!. Thanks Jim, for your hard work.

The Article by Jim Higdon.

tag: Top 25 VoIP Blogs Of 2007, Free VoIP Services, free phone calls, free faxing, free conference calls, free phone cards, VOIM (Voice Over Instant Messaging), free VoIP services, Free VoIP Platforms, free webcasting

Just Calling To Say, Please Recycle Old Cell Phone.

(Atlanta, Ga. – April 4, 2008) The nation's leading cell phone makers, service providers, and retailers have teamed up with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of EPA's Plug-In to eCycling program. Partners supporting the cell phone recycling campaign include AT&T Wireless, Best Buy, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Office Depot, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Staples, and T-Mobile.

Sony Ericsson is sponsoring a cell phone take back event at the Suncom - Family Circle Cup, a Women’s Tennis Association event in Charleston, S.C. Apr. 12-20, 2008. Last year's event drew a crowd of more than 93,000 attendees. Sony Ericsson's cell phone recycling program for this event runs from March 31 through April 20, the day of the championship match. The Center for Women will receive the donation from recycling profits and agreed to collect cell phones at their offices and during the tennis tournament. For more information, visit http://www.familycirclecup.com/

EPA started the Plug-in to eCycling campaign because many consumers still do not know where or how they can recycle their unwanted cell phones. Consequently, less than 20 percent of unwanted cell phones are recycled each year.

Recycling a cell phone offers an opportunity for everyone to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy, and conserve natural resources. An estimated 100 to 130 million cell phones are no longer being used, many languishing in storage. If Americans recycled 100 million phones, we could save enough upstream energy to power more than 194,000 U.S. households for a year. If consumers were able to reuse those 100 million cell phones, the environmental savings would be even greater, saving enough energy to power more than 370,000 U.S. homes each year.

Plug-In To eCycling is a voluntary partnership between EPA and electronics manufacturers, retailers, and service providers to offer consumers more opportunities to donate or recycle their used electronics. In 2007, as part of their commitment to the program, retailers and electronics manufacturers voluntarily recycled more than 47 million pounds of electronics, mostly computers and televisions. For example, in 2007 Staples and Office Depot both launched in-store electronics take back programs across the continental U.S. and Sony teamed up with Waste Management Inc. to expand local TV recycling opportunities. Efforts like these have helped the Plug-In program to recycle more than 142 million pounds of electronics since 2003.

Information about the cell phone recycling campaign: epa.gov/cellphone

Information about the Plug-In to eCycling program: epa.gov/plug-in/
tag: EPA's Plug-In to eCycling, eCyclingEPA, Environmental Protection, greenhouse gas emissions, save energy, Mobile, AT&T Wireless, Best Buy, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Office Depot, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Staples, T-Mobile.

CoreXchange To Demo Configurator(SM) at North Texas Technology Day

Apr 04, 2008-CoreXchange announces their participation in the North Texas Technology Day hosted by Presidio Networked Solutions and Unified Infrastructure Services (UIS). The event details are as follows:

• Wednesday, April 9th 2008: 8:30am – 7:00pm
• Unified Infrastructure Services: 4025 Midway, Carrollton, TX 75007
• Visit http://www.presidio.com/company/events.asp for more information and schedule of events

"Presidio values our relationship with CoreXchange and we are pleased to be working with UIS to bring together a diverse group of technology manufactures and service providers for this event,” explained Doug Metz, Territory Manager for Presidio Networked Solutions. “Industry experts will be speaking to enterprise customers about the latest developments in advanced networking, managed security, virtualization, disaster recovery, collocation, application and WAN acceleration, VoIP, and storage area networking. We know that these are key challenges that IT organizations are faced with today and we look forward to providing insight and value for IT Management and Business Executives."

Unified Infrastructure Services (UIS) will host data center tours from 10a.m. to 3 p.m. covering topics from advanced power and cooling systems to optimal raised floor designs. CoreXchange will be in the UIS Data Center to provide information on its advanced networking solutions, business continuity, disaster recovery, collocation, and managed services.

“UIS is becoming a market leader by forming strong relationships with technology innovators,” said Lance A. Smith, Vice President of Operations. “As a leading provider of data center services, UIS recognizes the significant value that CoreXchange brings to our client base.”

CoreXchange will also be hosting demonstrations of its new, patent-pending ConfiguratorSM accessible at www.corexchange.com. The Configurator allows users to realize advantages over traditional network services quote processes by providing instant online pricing based on customized options including backbone providers, connection size, bandwidth commitment, cap and contract length.

The Configurator provides customers and resellers with the ability either to configure their own network services package or to select from pre-configured network packages. Pre-configured packages currently include the following options:

• Full cabinet with 10Mb bandwidth
• Full T1 with local loop (on-net central offices)
• 10 Mb metro Ethernet with local loop (on-net buildings)
• Free monitoring of 5 devices with a 50 Mb commitment

CoreXchange connectivity services are available to customers either within the CoreXchange data center located within the Dallas Infomart carrier center or at a customer’s site via metro Ethernet.
tag: metro Ethernet, CoreXchange, Configurator, high bandwidth network, UIS Data Center, managed security, virtualization, disaster recovery, collocation, application and WAN acceleration, VoIP, storage area networking

Android, I Like YouNow!, Says AT&T Mobility Chief.

The head of AT&T Inc.'s wireless arm has taken a liking to Google Inc.'s Android project to create a new operating system for cell phones.

"I like it a lot more than I did before," said Ralph de la Vega, chief executive of AT&T Mobility, told an audience of journalists and analysts at the CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas today. "It's something we would want in our portfolio."
This means that most of the major carriers are on board with Android, and we may see a more open system cell phone applications that work on all Android phones.
I missed this session at CITA
LA Times
tag: CTIA Wireless 2008, AT&T, AT&T Mobility, Android

Wholesale VoIP: AT&T Launches Wholesale VoIP Services With Ethernet Access and eMaintenance

AT&T Launches New Services to Help Wholesale Customers Meet Increased Demand

Offers Include VoIP With Ethernet Access and eMaintenance

San Antonio, Texas, April 2, 2008

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) has announced that the company is introducing Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services to help wholesale customers meet the burgeoning demand for these growth services.

AT&T is announcing the availability of a Gigabit Ethernet connectivity interface for AT&T Voice Over IP Connect Service (AVOICS) and the AT&T BusinessDirect^® portal for AT&T Global Hubbing IP Access (GHIA) customers.

The AVOICS Gigabit Ethernet connectivity interface enables customers to interconnect with the AT&T network more efficiently, more easily manage their networks and edge equipment and help reduce costs through the use of less expensive interface hardware.

The GHIA platform will now incorporate the award-winning AT&T BusinessDirect customer portal to manage all service maintenance issues, providing a virtual telecommunications department that helps customers manage their communications services online. This will help customers increase productivity, improve the speed and accuracy of transactions, optimize network efficiency in near real time and reduce costs.

Industry analysts have noted that VoIP is a growth engine for the wholesale industry. "The wholesale VoIP industry is expected to continue to grow through 2010," said Judy Reed Smith, founder and chief executive officer of ATLANTIC-ACM, which provides strategic consulting and research services to businesses around the world. "AT&T's VoIP services enable service providers to broaden their footprint and increase their bandwidth by connecting to the AT&T IP network platform."

AVOICS is the flagship wholesale VoIP offered to U.S. service providers that require IP-based connectivity to AT&T's global IP network for long distance call termination. Customers connect to AVOICS via AT&T's Multiprotocol Label Switching-Private Network Transport (MPLS-PNT) service. AT&T's advanced worldwide voice-networking infrastructure provides the foundation for a variety of unbranded and unbundled domestic long distance and international service offerings to wholesale customers for both resale and internal use. Just five months after AT&T announced the expanded availability of AVOICS, the company is responding to customer demands by adding an Ethernet access option.

The GHIA platform is designed to provide flexible solutions for both U.S. and global customers with high international call volumes. GHIA is a centrally managed service that allows service providers to easily establish and operate IP telephony services over AT&T's award-winning global network.

"By adding these options to our portfolio, we are demonstrating our agility and continued commitment to provide innovative voice and IP solutions to our wholesale customers," said Rise Frankel, executive director of Wholesale Marketing for AT&T Operations Inc. "Ethernet is quickly becoming the de facto access method that wholesale customers are looking for in terms of capability and flexibility because it can be used as the foundation for VoIP, IP access, intranet connectivity and MPLS core services. An Ethernet interface typically allows for seamless growth as customer bandwidth requirements increase."

As a global leader, AT&T delivers a full portfolio of end-to-end, reliable and highly secure network, voice, data and IP solutions to the six wholesale industry segments that it serves: carriers, wireless operators, cable providers, systems integrators, Internet service providers and content providers. AT&T is one of the largest wholesale transport and communications service providers in the world — maintaining connections to more than 400 carriers in more than 220 countries and territories. AT&T brings value to wholesale customers through its global networking, industry-leading portfolio and vertical expertise.

For the complete selection of AT&T Wholesale offerings, visit www.att.com/wholesale.

tag: ATT, Wholesale VoIP, AT&T Global Hubbing IP Access, GHIA, eMaintenance, AT&T Voice Over IP Connect Service, AVOICS, BusinessDirect® portal, MPLS-PNT,

AT&T U-verse Voice, VoIP Services In San Diego!

Next-Generation Voice Service Offers Convenient Integrated Wired and Wireless Features, Reliable Call Quality

San Diego, California, April 2, 2008

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced the availability of AT&T U-verse^SM Voice in parts of the San Diego area, bringing consumers a next-generation digital voice service delivered over the AT&T U-verse Internet Protocol (IP) network. U-verse Voice brings together customers' AT&T wireline and wireless voice, broadband and TV services with unique features that provide a new level of integration, convenience and control.

AT&T U-verse Voice completes the company's IP triple play. With U-verse Voice, customers receive a new set of features that highlight the benefits of having advanced video, broadband, wireless and wireline voice services from a single provider — and all on one bill.

AT&T U-verse Voice is a managed IP-based service that is delivered over AT&T's fiber-rich network, unlike many Voice over IP (VoIP) providers that offer best-effort digital phone services over the public Internet. This allows U-verse Voice customers to enjoy great sound quality and reliability, as well as unmatched calling features that combine with customers' AT&T U-verse TV, broadband and AT&T wireless services.

"This isn't about just a bundle. It's about integration. With U-verse Voice, we're going beyond basic bundles to make services work together in new and exciting ways — all around you," said Denise Cunningham, AT&T vice president and general manager for the San Diego area. "Local U-verse customers can also enjoy the convenience of having all their services — including wireless — all one bill. That's a U-verse advantage that's hard to pass up."

AT&T U-verse Voice has advanced features that go beyond traditional phone service and many competitors' offerings, including:

• Combined AT&T U-verse Voice and AT&T wireless voice mail with U-verse Messaging, which provides a single voice mailbox that can be accessed from any phone line or PC.
• U-verse Central, an online management portal that gives users the option to easily and conveniently manage their call preferences, voice mail, contacts, call history and more from any PC, in addition to the ability to control call preferences from their home phone.
• An online voice mailbox so that customers can listen to, manage and forward voice mail from the online portal, much like an e-mail inbox.
• Call History, which enables customers to view their most recent incoming and outgoing calls online or to view their most recent incoming calls on their AT&T U-verse TV screen.
• Click to Call, which will initiate a call from the customer's home phone to any number in a customer's Call History with one click of a mouse or the U-verse TV remote control.
• An online Address Book that is accessible from any PC and allows customers to Click to Call from their home phone, to create and share contact groups with other U-verse Voice customers or to set up distribution lists for voice messages.
• Locate Me, a feature that provides simultaneous ringing on up to four wireless or landline numbers so that a customer never misses an important incoming call.
• Traditional calling features, such as Call Screening, Call Blocking, Do Not Disturb and privacy settings.

All U-verse Voice customers will have 911 service. Where available via the local 911 network, U-verse Voice customers will have Enhanced 911 (E911) service.

U-verse TV customers can choose from two flexible U-verse Voice calling plans:

• U-verse Voice Unlimited, which includes unlimited local and nationwide minutes to any location in the U.S., Canada or U.S. territories for $40 a month.
• U-verse Voice 1000, which includes 1,000 Call Anywhere minutes to any location in the U.S. or U.S. territories for $30 a month.

A second phone line, which shares the primary line's calling plan, can be added for $20 a month, and each plan features competitive international rates with no recurring monthly charge. Professional installation is included for new AT&T U-verse TV customers.

AT&T wireless customers who subscribe to an AT&T Unity^SM plan can call any AT&T

U-verse Voice number from their mobile phone as part of the nation's largest free calling community without using up any wireless Anytime Minutes.

Customers who want additional information on AT&T U-verse can visit http://uverse.att.com.

tag: AT&T, AT&T U-verse, U-verse Voice, IP triple play

Webcast to Discuss FCC Spectrum Auction Results By Verizon.

NEW YORK, April 3, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) will webcast a presentation to analysts and investors on the results of the Federal Communications Commission's 700 megahertz spectrum auction at 8 a.m. Eastern time on Friday, April 4.

Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam and Verizon CFO Doreen Toben will discuss the company's auction objectives and plans for use of the spectrum. The executives will also review wireless growth opportunities based on Verizon's open development initiative and the company's plans to deploy LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology to provide 4G (fourth generation) wireless services.

The presentation can be accessed on Verizon's Investor Relations Web site, www.verizon.com/investor. Access instructions and presentation materials will be available on the site prior to the start of the webcast.

tag: 700 MHz Spectrum, Verizon Communications, webcast

Hands Free Texting With Mobivox

While I was busy writing about HipSIP, everyone have been chasing behind Canadian Mobile VoIP provider, Mobivox, (I did mention about Mobivox in the HipSIP article!). Had I been reading Voip Watch or Alex Saunders Blogs, I would have known!. But I was busy CITA and digging into my Japanese speaking and writing capabilities (which is equally as bad as my English capabilities!), but I did help out a few people.
I tried Mobivox, (thanks to Alex's guidance that you could text without typing!) and yes, Finally I can text! and my Japanese friends and counterparts that I finally mastered texting!. Little they know that I use voice for it. Hope other languages will be available soon.
tag: mobile Voip, mobivox, hipssip, CITA, VoIP Watch,

Blackberry Goes Mobile Social Networking With Facebook

WeSeePeople: Mobile Social Networking With Facebook For Blackberry Smartphone Application.
Take social networking to the next level with your BlackBerry® smartphone. With almost anywhere access, you can enhance your personal and professional connections. According to an press report the application has already surpassed the 1,000,000 mark.

With the Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones application, Facebook users can wirelessly send and view messages, photos, pokes and Wall posts. The rich, native application goes beyond browser-based access, automatically pushing notifications to the user's BlackBerry smartphone as friends and colleagues send notes, Wall posts or pokes. The application allows users to take a photo, upload it to the site with captions and tags; quickly and easily invite friends; manage events; manage photo albums; and manage their status while on the go.

Since its initial launch, Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones has added language support for French, German and Spanish. The software application is available as a free(i) download from www.facebook.com/blackberry or www.blackberry.com/go/facebook and can also be downloaded using a BlackBerry smartphone from m.facebook.com or mobile.blackberry.com.
tag: Mobile Network, BlackBerry, Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones, Facebook,

MTV Networks And Verizon Wireless Takes Mobile Video Further with V CAST Video

Gamotopia: MTV Networks Launch GameTrailers And The N On Verizon Wireless' V CAST Video

Ryan Hughes, vice president of digital media programming for Verizon, said, “The addition of The N and Game Trailers on V CAST is another proof point of our strong relationship with MTV Networks and demonstrates our commitment to bringing a wide array of content to V CAST phones that meets our customers’ needs and interests.”

“We create mobile video for nearly every demographic – from kids to adults and everywhere in between – and our fans can now access nearly all of that content on Verizon Wireless handsets,” said Greg Clayman, executive vice president, digital distribution and business development, MTVN. “With this launch, we’re putting the power of the great GameTrailers and The N brands behind our partnership with Verizon Wireless, and even more engaging content into the hands of our consumers.”

These channels join Verizon Wireless’ other V CAST Video channels from MTVN, including MTV, Nickelodeon, COMEDY CENTRAL, VH1, CMT, Logo, Spike, MTV Tr3s, and Atom Films. In 2007, MTVN streamed more than 26 million on demand videos to V CAST Video customers. MTVN’s channels on V CAST Video join its stable of streaming broadcast-quality channels with full-length shows on V CAST Mobile TV, including MTV, COMEDY CENTRAL, Nickelodeon, as well as MTV Tr3s, which launched on March 29.

Customers with select V CAST-enabled phones can check out V CAST whenever they want for just $3.00 for 24-hour use or by signing up for the $15.00 V CAST VPak monthly subscription, which also includes access to Verizon Wireless’ ESPN MVP, Get It Now® and Mobile Web 2.0(SM) services. Customers get unlimited basic video – including the GameTrailers and The N channels – but application download fees apply for 3D games and premium video. There are no airtime or megabyte charges to download, stream or watch V CAST content with any V CAST subscription.

tag: Mobile, MTVN, V CAST, V CAST VPak, digital media, Verizon Wireless, mobile video

Over 100 Vulnerabilities in Leading Enterprise VoIP Systems Uncovered By VoIPshield

It was unbelievably shocking to see the vulnerability database and so many of them. Ignorance is a bliss until something bad happens to someone. Follow the link below to see the database of vulnerabilities and related equipment. Yours might be there. At VoIPshield, you can also download a copy of VoIPauditLite. VoIPauditLite^TM is a basic version of the award winning VoIPaudit^TM Enterprise. It provides the same vulnerability assessment and penetration testing functions, and is intended to give the prospective VoIPaudit Enterprise purchaser a no cost introduction to the product. VoIPauditLite is a single-user license, includes vulnerabilities for a single vendor, and scans up to 128 targets on a single network.

Ottawa, Ontario (April 2, 2008) – VoIPshield Laboratories, the research division of VoIPshield Systems Inc., today announced it has discovered over 100 security vulnerabilities in Voice over IP systems marketed by Avaya, Cisco and Nortel. A vulnerability is a design or implementation flaw in a VoIP system that can be exploited by a hacker with malicious intentions, including extortion through service outage threats, industrial espionage through call recording, or identity theft through the stealing of sensitive customer information.

VoIPshield notified the vendors of its findings earlier this year. Under the terms of its Responsible Disclosure Policy, VoIPshield works with the vendors to help them recreate the vulnerabilities in their own test labs, and offers its services to assist the vendors in determining the best remediation approach.

“It is important that companies understand the security risks associated with their VoIP systems”, said Rick Dalmazzi, president and CEO of VoIPshield. “Now is the time to start planning a protection strategy, while the hacking community is still learning about VoIP, not after the attacks begin.”

The vulnerabilities are cataloged and presented on the company’s website at www.voipshield.com/research . Each vulnerability is categorized based on an exploit’s most likely malicious intent: unauthorized access, code execution, denial of service or information harvesting. Each is also given a severity rating based on a modified industry standard index. Vendor responses are also included, indicating what action if any the vendor has indicated they will take to remediate the vulnerability, and when.

“The limited number of high-profile attacks against IP telephony has lulled most chief information security officers and voice/data managers into a false sense of security, with the result that most do not have adequate protection for their converged networks,” said Lawrence Orans, research director for networking and communications equipment at Gartner Research. “As IP telephony continues to gain momentum, targeted attacks — and possibly broad-based attacks — will surface and gain greater visibility, highlighting vulnerabilities and the overall lack of focus on IP telephony security.”

The database marks the first of ongoing announcements that VoIPshield Labs will make as it continues its research into these and other vendors’ products. Avaya, Cisco and Nortel were chosen for the initial round of research because of their popularity in the North American market. Microsoft has recently announced its entry into the enterprise VoIP market.

Just this month, communications research firm In-Stat revealed that while 80% of companies said they’d deployed some type of VoIP solution, more than 40% do not have specific plans for securing them. This finding, based on a survey of U.S. companies conducted in September 2007, was published in a report titled U.S. Businesses Lag in Securing VoIP. “Regardless of the VoIP solution that is in place or planned, security should be an integral part of an implementation from the beginning,” the report summarized.

The vulnerabilities discovered are used by VoIPshield to create signatures for its enterprise VoIP security solutions: VoIPaudit^TM, a VoIP Vulnerability Assessment system, and VoIPguard^TM, a VoIP Intrusion Prevention System (VIPS). Users are protected against attacks attempting to exploit the known vulnerabilities. VoIPshield products are regularly updated with new signatures through the VoIPshield Update^TM subscription service.

"Digital video and voice enabled by Voice over IP technologies are vital to commerce and are substantially at risk", said Jonathan Zar, chairman of the threat taxonomy committee of the Voice over IP Security Alliance (VoIPSA). It is important that products be developed that are specifically designed to protect VoIP systems. VoIPSA encourages all research leading to such products."

For more information about the vulnerabilities database and VoIPshield’s products visit www.voipshield.com/research.

tag: VoIP Security, VoIPshield, VoIPaudit, VoIPguard, VoIP Intrusion Prevention System, VIPS, VoIPSA, IP telephony security, Avaya, Cisco, Nortel

Panasonic Ships 100 Million Mobile Phones As Of March 2008

Yokohama, Japan---Panasonic Mobile Communications Co., Ltd (Panasonic Mobile) announced that at the end of March this year it became the first mobile phone manufacturer to achieve a record delivery of 100 million units of mobile communication terminals to Japanese mobile phone carriers. These carriers include NTT DoCoMo, Inc., KDDI Corporation and SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp.

TZ-801 Mobile Car Phone

Panasonic Mobile, formerly known as Matsushita Communications Industrial Co., Ltd., began supplying mobile communication terminals in 1979 and delivered the first automobile-mounted cell phone, the 800MHz "TZ-801" to Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation. Panasonic Mobile reached milestones of 10 million units in June, 1997 and 50 million units in March, 2001.

Prior to the start of the automobile telephone service in December, 1979, the company shipped 100 units of the "TZ-801" that had a capacity of 6,600 cc and weighed about 7 kg. This model was followed by the first "shoulder phone" that could be detached easily from a car holder and be carried around on the caller's shoulder.

The company contributed to the development of mobile phone industry by delivering its first mobile phone "TZ-802B" in 1987, the world's smallest and lightest "mova^® P" in 1991, and the digital mobile phone "mova P201 HYPER" in 1996. Weighing less than 100 g, the mova "P201 HYPER" became a big hit because of its compact, lightweight body and its user-friendly features.

Image of TZ-801 courtesy of Yuichi Kogure
tag: Mobile, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Japanese mobile phone carriers, NTT DoCoMo, KDDI Corp, Softbank Mobile Corp, Matsushita Communications Industrial Co, TZ-801

Free VoIP Calls With FlashPhone, SIP Compatible Web Based Phone.

Innovative Systems, is giving you free VoIP Calls through SIP compatible softphone that works in the Internet browser. Unlike most other services, you don't need to install programs to make SIP calls anymore. also you do not have to be tied to a single VoIP Service provider. FlashPhone users can make and receive calls using any VoIP provider*.(Free SIP Accounts),The Other benefit is that FlashPhone uses HTTP for data transfer and you don't have mysterious firewall problems or NAT traversals.
So Flashphone users can make and receive calls in any place of the world using any computer or even PDA (communicator), the only thing is needed is the access to the Internet. For example, you can go to the Internet cafe in foreign country and make a call to your relatives minimizing your spendings.
To start using the advantages of Flashphone and VoIP, You can become the Flashphone user after a simple registration procedure. Use your login and password for authorization after you've been registered. You can register here

* If SIP protocol and G.711 codec are supported.

tag: Free VoIP calls, FlashPhone, VoIP provider

Kyocera Wireless Corp Demonstrates Near-field Communication, WiMAX, Femtocell and software architecture For device-based management

LAS VEGAS, Apr 01, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Kyocera Wireless Corp., a leading global manufacturer of wireless phones and devices, today illustrated its strong position in the development of several emerging wireless technologies by staging live demonstrations at its booth (#6007) at the CTIA Wireless 2008 trade show in Las Vegas. Included in the demonstrations are Near-field Communication, WiMAX, Femtocell and a proprietary software architecture for device-based management of dynamic content handoffs between 3G and 4G networks.

"These demonstrations illustrate the strength of KWC's technology portfolio while giving visitors to the show a glimpse into the future of wireless communications," said Cheri de Lacy, KWC's divisional vice president of strategic planning. "From our demonstration of the world's first MIMO-enabled WiMAX device to our role as the exclusive handset provider for the first-of-its-kind North American NFC trial on a CDMA network, KWC has the experience and the vision to assert a leadership position in these key emerging technologies."

Near Field Communication

KWC features a retail environment in its booth - complete with inventory and a cash register - to demonstrate the power of NFC-enabled devices as convenient mobile payment platforms. Visitors to the booth can make purchases using a version of Kyocera's Tempo E2000 handset, which has been modified with an NFC chipset from NXP Semiconductors and includes a BREW-based NFC payment wallet software from ViVOtech. It is Kyocera's latest commercial-grade NFC-enabled handset and it includes biometric authentication technology, providing additional security to transactions.

WiMAX

In early 2007, KWC built a WiMAX-enabled PC card that was the world's first to employ leading-edge MIMO (Multiple Input/Multiple Output) technology. Today, through strong working relationships with WiMAX infrastructure providers like Alcatel-Lucent and Nortel, KWC remains a key player in this emerging industry segment. At its CTIA Wireless 2008 booth, KWC is demonstrating a new USB WiMAX dongle. KWC expects to commercialize the dongle later in 2008.

Femtocell

A femtocell is a small cellular base station, typically designed for use in residential or small-business environments. KWC worked closely with femtocell leader Airvana, Inc. (Nasdaq: AIRV) to ensure interoperability between KWC's KPC680 EV-DO Rev. A ExpressCard, KR2 Mobile Router and Airvana's HubBub CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rev. A femtocell. HubBub is Airvana's line of stand-alone femtocells that support both voice and 3G services to enable a consistent mobile experience whether subscribers are connected through their femtocell or the macro network. A demonstration of the interoperability is available at Airvana's CTIA booth (#3321).

Multi-technology Handoff Control Software

As the number of commercial 3G and 4G wireless broadband protocols continues to grow - WiMAX, EV-DO, WCDMA, Wi-Fi, LTE and more - so does the opportunity for multi-platform devices leveraging multiple wireless delivery technologies. For true mobility, however, those devices require the ability to monitor, select and seamlessly change the optimum delivery channel in real time. At its booth, KWC is demonstrating proprietary multi-technology controller software that allows a multi-platform device to do just this. By comparing network conditions against pre-assigned prioritization instructions, the software allows the device to communicate with its service provider on-the-fly, controlling which protocol is used to deliver multimedia content. When network conditions change, the software dictates and coordinates seamless handoffs between the various technologies. KWC is demonstrating the multi-technology controller software in its booth by doing handoffs among CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, WiMAX and Wi-Fi networks, but the software is platform-agnostic and works with virtually any 3G or 4G technology.

KWC's emerging technology demonstrations, along with its lineup of new CDMA and GSM handsets, are on display at the CTIA Wireless 2008 trade show (booth #6007) this week in Las Vegas. Additional information is available at www.kyocera-wireless.com.

Kevin Martin, chairman of the FCC Denies Skype's Open Wireless Request

Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, on Tuesday said he would recommend that the agency reject a Skype petition to require wireless operators to open their networks to any wireless device and service.

During his keynote at the CTIA Wireless conference in Las Vegas, Martin called the wireless industry "the poster child for competition," and said the Internet telephony company's request was "premature."

"In fact, in less than a year, many of you have evolved from vocal opponents to vocal proponents, embracing the open platform concept for your entire networks.

Verizon Wireless has committed to open its entire network to devices and applications of consumers’ own choosing. More and more wireless providers, including T-Mobile and Sprint through their participation in the Open Handset Alliance, and AT&T, are also embracing more openness in terms of devices and applications. Indeed, in looking at the program for this conference, I was excited to see a number of educational sessions and panels focusing on the issue of openness. This interest now appears to be shared across the industry.

In light of the industry’s embrace of a more open wireless platform, it would be premature to adopt any other requirements across the industry. Thus, today I will circulate to my fellow commissioners an order dismissing a petition for declaratory ruling filed by Skype that would apply Carterfone requirements to existing wireless networks.

But, unfortunately, our work in the 700 MHz band is not done. Let me also touch upon the Commission’s commitment to public safety in the 700 MHz band. Meeting the needs of public safety is critically important.

During a crisis, public safety officials need to be able to communicate with one another. We are all aware of problems caused by the lack of interoperability for public safety during recent crises – like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.

I believe the Commission remains committed to ensuring that we work to solve public safety’s interoperability challenges. Because the reserve price for the D Block was not met in the 700 MHz auction, the FCC is now evaluating its options for this spectrum."

Skype in February 2007 filed a petition with the FCC, requesting that the agency apply a 1968 landmark regulatory decision to the wireless industry. The so-called Carterfone regulations allowed all devices to be connected directly to the AT&T network, as long as they did not cause damage to the system. If Skype is successful in convincing the FCC to apply the same regulations to the wireless industry, then it would mean that device manufacturers, Internet portals, and others would be able to offer wireless gadgets and services on cellular networks without the approval of operators.

JAJAH, Goes Native On iPhone and iPod Touch.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwire - April 2, 2008) - JAJAH, the world's most innovative communications company, today announced that it is building on its current Apple iPhone call-back offering by participating in the iPhone Developer Program to create possibly the first native global VoIP application. The new global VoIP application is expected to be available this summer, close to the iPhone 2.0 software release.

Since the iPhone launch in June 2007, JAJAH provided its web-activated telephony solution on a custom-tailored Website for this groundbreaking device. Already widely adopted by callers seeking international calling abilities without the need for global plan, JAJAH is accessible via the integrated Safari web browser at http://iphone.jajah.com.

The new JAJAH Mobile VoIP client for the iPhone will enable two ways to make free or low-cost global calls to any phone in the world: 1) JAJAH's known callback service ideal for low bandwidth locations and 2) the sole use of a Wi-Fi network. This blended VoIP application assures premium call quality and affordable international calling rates at any location. With Wi-Fi support, all international and long-distance callers will be able to place calls via airport hotspots, coffee shops or any other desired Wi-Fi location.

"JAJAH was one of the first in line to support the launch of the iPhone. Now with the release of the iPhone SDK, we are excited to develop a native VoIP application that will improve productivity and enhance the communication capabilities of mobile professionals with added security," said Frederik Hermann, Director, Global Marketing. "JAJAH adds global mobile VoIP functionality and with enterprise level support, soon companies will give employees a choice of an iPhone vs. the BlackBerry."

JAJAH has already proven its Mobile VoIP client capabilities enhancing the world's first mobile broadband operator EMobile with a pre-installed native VoIP client on all of EMobile's EM One handheld devices.

All third-party Apple iPhone applications will be made available exclusively through the Apple App Store which can be accessed over-the-air on the iPhone itself, or loaded via iTunes on a computer. Until the date of the new VoIP application release, users can already enjoy JAJAH's existing callback service through http://iphone.jajah.com

tag: mobile Voip, JAJAH, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPhone call-back, iPhone VoIP application,

VoIP Tops Top Ten Industry Job Picks

LOS ANGELES, April 1, 2008, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- College graduates beginning their careers this spring will find the job market offering a range of unique and highly-rewarding employment opportunities, according to industry research firm IBISWorld, Inc. (http://www.ibisworld.com). As one of the nation's most respected independent publishers of business intelligence research reports, IBISWorld today announced its top 10 industry picks offering the fastest growing number of jobs and growth in wages. But to find these jobs, graduates will need to do their research.

"Rather than targeting the traditionally popular or "sexy" industries, jobseekers should investigate the industries forecast for strong employment growth, and get ahead of the pack by targeting companies in those sectors now," said George Van Horn, a senior analyst with IBISWorld. "Research really is the key. Last year's top performing industries could be next year's slow movers, so knowledge is certainly power in today's fiercely competitive and ever changing job market. We believe there are 10 stand-out industries that every graduate should investigate this year with VoIP on top of the list."

VoIP To Create Jobs In 2008

The industry leading the way in terms of employment growth over the next few years will be Voice Over Internet Protocol providers (VoIP), according to IBISWorld, with average annualized jobs growth of around 19.4 percent through 2012.

"This is the result of significant revenue growth forecast for the same period, driving more organizations to enter the industry, which in turn will boost employment. And as an emerging telecommunications service," said Mr. Van Horn. "There still is a reasonable way for the sector to go as it gains greater consumer and business acceptance. The outlook is good as household broad-band penetration is still rising, facilitating greater use of digital services and helping improve the call quality of industry services."

Fashion Design Services Offer Opportunities For Creative-Minded Graduates

Second on the 2008 hot jobs list is fashion design services. According to IBISWorld, opportunities for independent designers are expanding in response to the globalization of the fashion industry, as well as technological advancements in the industry.

"The ongoing trend of outsourcing discrete segments, or even total design contracts, to independent designers is boosting employment within what is typically a tough industry for jobs creation," said Mr Van Horn. He added, "Trailing the VoIP sector with employment growth predicted at 5.3 percent in 2008, the industry will still provide job growth far beyond many other segments despite difficult economic conditions."

Bridge and Tunnel Construction Industry Jobs To Grow Five Percent

Third in line is bridge and tunnel construction with employment growth estimated at five percent in 2008, as a result of overall industry revenue climbing seven percent to $23 billion this year, and by an anticipated 8.7 percent next year. As a result, industry employment will rise at least five percent in 2008 on the back of solid cyclical growth in the value of publicly funded bridge construction as the nation begins to repair and replace the countries aging infrastructure, not to mention new infrastructure to keep pace with traffic and rail demands around cities from coast-to-coast.

Physical Therapy Trending Up To Care For An Aging Population

Those seeking a stable career, in a potentially lucrative industry, should think about physical therapy, a career path which incorporates the fields of physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Mr. Van Horn said Physical Therapy will drive job growth for years to come as aging Baby Boomers, as well as high school, college, and professional athletes often require extended periods of therapy to recover from painful injuries.

"The Bureau of Labor Statistics claims jobs in these professions are set to increase at a much faster rate than the average for other occupations," advised Mr Van Horn. He added, "IBISWorld predicts that significant growth in demand for these occupations estimated to be about 4.9 percent could well result in labor shortages over the next five years, which may negatively impact the sector's revenue growth by driving up wage costs."

IBISWorld 2008 Adds Interior Designer Positions To Its Hot Job List

"Employment in the interior design arena is growing with interior designers experiencing strong demand as American households and small businesses are driving a relatively new, but growing market," said Mr Van Horn.

He added, "As a result, we see an annualized employment growth rate for this sector in the range of 4.5 percent now through 2012. "Much of this growth will come from the hospitality sector, with designers being employed to remain competitive by redesigning and decorating hotels and restaurants.

This trend can best be seen in Las Vegas where the casinos and hotels are constantly expanding and reinventing their properties to keep visitors coming back year-after-year. On the commercial side of the industry, corporate clients are seeking to rejuvenate their office spaces, retail stores, and leisure facilities. Growth will also come from those looking to complete construction using environmentally friendly materials and designers promoting these services will reap rewards.

Home Offices Offers Savings For Employers and Employees Alike

Other trends promoting growth in employment include the popularity of home offices, the move towards larger bathrooms incorporating luxury items such as saunas, exercise areas and media equipment, and technological advances such as home networking and other systems to support modern living.

Interior designs to accommodate an aging population will also be a source of growth for the industry with homes being built with stair lifts, elevators and wider doorways -- all using low maintenance materials.

Growth in Retirement Communities To Create Jobs

Looking ahead, IBISWorld also puts retirement communities near the top of the employment growth list for the years through 2013. The major driver behind this growth will be our aging population hiking up demand for medical services and assisted living or senior care facilities, including accommodation for the aged (particularly those aged 75 and older), and other health care services.

"Therefore, those whose employment involves caring for the elderly are unlikely to be out of a job over the next few years," said Mr Van Horn. "This segment will generate increased employment by 4.5 percent to service an ever increasing number of the aged, the U.S.' fastest growing population segment."

Mr. Van Horn added, "Over the next four years the number of people over 75 is projected to grow by 4.7 percent, compared to 4.4 percent for the population overall. At the same time, the average age of the elderly will rise, adding nine million people to this age bracket, up 15.8 percent through the year 2012.

Ambulance Services and Ambulatory Health Care Services

"The ambulance services industry is employing greater volumes of staff to meet the increasing demand for their services driven by changes in the delivery of health care, an aging population, and people insisting upon a heightened level of emergency response," said Mr. Van Horn.

"The result will be employment growth in the range of four percent, he added. "Other ambulatory health care services will also experience good employment growth of about 3.9 percent in 2008 and in the years ahead."

IT Support, CRM and Business Process Services

"While growth in the IT support, CRM, and the business process services sector will not attain the dizzy heights of the past decade, employment growth is still expected to remain solid at around four percent a year," said, Mr Van Horn. "The outsourcing of jobs to Asia is a primary factor in the slower employment growth rate for this industry." He added, "The result will be higher wages for local staff remaining in the industry as they were likely to be more highly-qualified and skilled."

Open-End Investment Funds

Last in IBISWorld's list of "top 10 industries for employment growth" is expansion in the number of open-end investment funds with a growth rate of 3.9 percent expected in 2008 following consistent returns over the past four years. This is a result of an increase in mutual funds, as well as additional enterprises within the field in recent years. IBISWorld believes any growth in mutual funds will be driven by "alpha" type funds which attempt to outperform traditional indices.

Show Us The Money

For graduates who will be choosing careers based on salary, Mr Van Horn said that Voice Over Internet Protocol Providers (VoIP) would easily outpace all other industries with average annualized growth in wages set to hit 21.8 percent -- an impressive 16 percent ahead of its nearest competitors which includes technical and trade schools, test development, educational support services, and live music, production of special events and sports entertainment promotions -- all with 5.7 percent growth in wages in coming years. The average annual wage for full-time employees in the US is currently $44,148, with IBISWorld earmarking growth of about 2.5 percent a year for the next five years.

Fashion Design Services, Social Advocacy Organizations, And Laboratory Testing Services

Other industries with wages growth likely to exceed five percent in coming years include: fashion design services (5.6 percent), social advocacy organizations (5.1 percent), and laboratory testing services (5 percent).

Other Sectors Present Hot Opportunities

As diverse as they are, jobs in search engines, racing and other spectator sports such as golf and boxing, together with lingerie, swimwear, uniform and bridal stores, round out IBISWorld's wages growth top 10 -- all with a respectable 4.9 percent annualized growth rate. Increasing professionalism in sports, and an expansion in TV and other media sports programming are fuelling growth in wages as well, with rising player contracts driving up wages not just for the athletes themselves, but for every employee involved in the broader industry.

For example, while positions for professional athletes are limited, individuals involved in promoting, managing and umpiring our talented sports stars are enjoying strong wages growth, particularly coaches, managers, and sports marketers.

tag: VoIP, VoIP Jobs, VoIP jobs growth, IBISWorld, top 10 industry picks for Jobs

Nokia N810 Internet Tablet WiMAX Edition Released.

Nokia N810 Internet Tablet WiMAX Edition unleashes an open Internet experience, demonstrating the mobile future of web services
Espoo, Finland - Ushering in the next generation of wireless broadband devices, Nokia today unveiled its newest Nseries device, the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet - WiMAX Edition, Nokia's first device engineered to take advantage of new wide-area high-speed mobile WiMAX networks. This pocket-sized device lets consumers enjoy an open Internet experience, allowing for access to the full Internet without barriers, while on the go. The Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition is the latest iteration of Nokia's popular line of Internet Tablet products. For the first time, the power and convenience of the Internet Tablet platform is combined with next generation wide-area wireless broadband capability, allowing users to easily and quickly access all of their favorite Internet services beyond local area hot spots. The Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition is expected to be available in the United States during the summer of 2008 in areas where WiMAX connectivity is available.
WiMAX is a standards-based wireless broadband technology that delivers an open Internet experience similar to that of fixed broadband technologies with typical data download speeds of up to 2-4 Mbps per user with peak download speeds of up to 10 Mbps. Unlike current single point local area technologies like Wi-Fi which have a range of a few hundred feet, WiMAX networks consist of a number of interconnected base stations, each with a radius of up to 2-3 miles, that allow for handoffs from one base station to another as users move about a region or metro area. Additionally, WiMAX networks integrate technology designed to maximize the quality of service for each subscriber.
"By delivering the kind of open Internet experience that consumers previously only expected on a desktop PC, the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition is a compelling example of how next generation broadband wireless technology will not only change the way people think about the Internet, it will change the very nature of the Internet itself," said Ari Virtanen, Vice President of Convergence Products for Nokia. "Much in the way that the evolution of the fixed Internet from dial-up to broadband enabled a host of new Internet services and changed people's expectations of what an Internet experience should be, the transition to a broadband Internet experience set free from the constraints of a fixed network will spark the next wave of new mobile Internet services, and will forever change the perception of what the Internet can be."
Along with a full featured web browser, powered by Mozilla, that takes full advantage of the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition's large 4.13 inch touch screen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a variety of popular web-based services are also supported. Many of these applications can be found on Nokia's dedicated OS 2008 User Site. To keep connected while on-the-go, a number of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Instant Messaging (IM) clients are available, including Skype(TM), Google Talk(TM), and Gizmo5, which can also take advantage of the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition's built-in web cam for video calls. A client for the popular Rhapsody online music service is also available, transforming the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition into a portable jukebox with millions of songs available to enjoy at a few taps of the screen. Beyond these well-known services, an active developer community has also emerged around the Linux-based Internet Tablet platform, creating additional applications - from games to productivity tools.
A number of additional features further enhance the utility of the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition. With built-in GPS, the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition can easily transform itself into a fully featured personal navigation device, complete with real-time on-screen maps. An integrated media player and 2 GB of internal memory, expandable to a full 10 GB of memory with the addition of an optional microSD memory card, allows the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition to store and play back a large library of music and video content. When not in range of a WiMAX network, the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition can also access the Internet over Wi-Fi or via conventional cellular data networks by pairing to a compatible mobile phone via Bluetooth technology.
Also being introduced with the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition is the newest Internet Tablet operating system. This new upgraded OS2008 introduces useful new features to the platform, including an enhanced e-mail client, support for Chinese character rendering in the browser and RSS feeds and Seamless Software Update functionality to eliminate manual software updates, making periodic updates of the operating system quick and easy. While standard on the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition, current owners of Nokia N810 and N800 Internet Tablets with earlier operating systems will be able to upgrade their device to the revised operating system for free during the second quarter of 2008.
tag: Mobile, Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition, Skype, Google Talk, Gizmo5, OS2008,

Sprint Continues To Grow Mobile WiMAX network Ecosystem With Partners.

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 1, 2008--Mobile broadband leader Sprint today announced further progress with the development of its Mobile WiMAX network ecosystem, citing application program, wireless device and services developments which collectively will enhance the XOHM(TM) customer mobile Internet experience.

Sprint was recognized in 2008 with a Frost & Sullivan United States Technology Leadership Award for its commitment towards building out the first nationwide mobile WiMAX network. "Sprint has taken a leadership role in the WiMAX network development arena and is working collaboratively with ecosystem partners to bring advanced mobile broadband services to reality," said Barry West, president of Sprint's XOHM business unit.

Sprint is working with WiMAX ecosystem partners and others to incorporate WiMAX technology in a range of computing, portable multi-media, interactive and other business and consumer electronic devices, and provide XOHM customers a unique mobile Internet services experience. Developments include:

• A XOHM Application Developer Program anticipated for May 2008 to provide the global WiMAX developer community with the tools and process required to create and introduce innovative products for XOHM's customer base. The program features an open environment, thorough documentation and requisite tools. Visit the developer portal at http://developer.xohm.com.
• Nokia unveiled at CTIA Wireless 2008 the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet WiMAX Edition, a pocket-sized device which uses the XOHM network to untether the full richness of the Internet and popular Internet services and deliver them directly to people's hands. The Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition will be available during the first half of 2008 for use in XOHM service areas.
• Samsung Telecommunications America of Richardson, TX announced at CTIA the mid-year availability of the Samsung E100 PC Card, and the availability in the fall of the Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium Mobile PC. The devices will operate exclusively on Sprint's XOHM mobile broadband Internet network.
• Everex of Freemont, Calif. announced the intention to embed WiMAX wireless capability in an Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) powered by VIA's new C7(R) processor. VIA and Everex will demonstrate at CTIA the new CloudBook(TM) Max with Built-in WiMAX(TM) capability from GCT Semiconductor for Sprint's XOHM network.
• Brightpoint North America L.P., a subsidiary of Brightpoint, Inc. of Plainfield, Ind. will provide a comprehensive logistics solution for several of XOHM's distribution sales channels, including web-based and EDI ordering capabilities, distribution and fulfillment. Services will include inventory management, order processing, product fulfillment, Care support, invoicing, credit/collections, and reverse logistics support.
• Nokia Siemens Networks of Irving, TX will implement its innovative Subscriber Data Management (SDM) solution based on a single, real-time common subscriber database that will simplify operations and enable Sprint to offer its customers a higher level of personalized broadband services. The solution also delivers the capability to integrate new applications quickly without service interruption, and the platform will support a host of IP and IMS-based services and applications over the XOHM WiMAX network
• Starent Networks, Corp. of Tewksbury, Mass. will deploy the Starent ST40 multimedia core platform to provide subscriber management and mobility for XOHM WiMAX network customers, anchoring the subscriber's connection and enabling roaming throughout the network.

Sprint will demonstrate Mobile WiMAX technology at booth #1648 during CTIA Wireless 2008 April 1-3 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Press information for Sprint CTIA activities can be found at: www.sprint.com/presskits

tag: wimax, Mobile broadband, Mobile WiMAX network ecosystem, XOHM, XOHM Application Developer, Nokia N810 Internet Tablet WiMAX Edition, Samsung E100 PC Card, CloudBook Max

Windows Mobile 6.1 Upgrades Planned for Current Smartphones By Sprint

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 1, 2008--Sprint plans to upgrade several of its current Windows Mobile smartphones later this year to support Windows Mobile 6.1 announced today by Microsoft. Windows Mobile 6.1, an update release, will bring customers core platform enhancements in the areas of user-focused experience, messaging and productivity.

In the summer of 2008, Sprint will offer software upgrades for all existing Sprint Windows Mobile 6 smartphones, including:

• Samsung ACE(TM) - The Samsung ACE is the sleekest world phone in the Sprint portfolio with a full QWERTY keyboard, vibrant color screen, and ability to use Phone As Modem service.
• Moto Q(TM)9c by Motorola - The MOTO Q9c has a slim form factor with a QWERTY keyboard, extended battery, and supports Sprint Navigation for turn-by-turn directions.
• Touch by HTC(TM) - The Touch by HTC is a full touch-screen wireless phone with advanced entertainment features. It is the first device to feature TouchFLO(TM) and features a new HTC- designed homescreen.
• Mogul(TM) by HTC - The Mogul by HTC is the industry's first EV-DO Rev. A-capable handset, enabling users to send and receive large amounts of data at broadband speeds (comparable to basic DSL) and supports Sprint Music Store.

In addition, all of Sprint's new Windows Mobile smartphones launching in the second half of 2008 will offer Windows Mobile 6.1 software, including a new Palm Treo launching later this year. Additional details will be announced upon commercial availability.

Windows Mobile 6.1 will bring new time-saving features, easier phone navigation and management, and stronger security safeguards. To further enhance the user experience, this update allows device makers to change some of the look and feel of the interface to create more customization. As part of the 6.1 upgrade, handsets will also support enterprise-class device security management through Microsoft's System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 server.

tag: Smartphones, Sprint, Windows Mobile 6.1, Samsung ACE, Moto Q, Touch by HTC, Mogul by HTC, System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 server

iNstinct From Samsung / Sprint to Compete With iPhone.

Providing instant access to Sprint's fast network speeds, GPS navigation and Sprint TV, Samsung Instinct offers a true HTML Web browsing experience and one-touch access to favorites. Customers can go to www.nowisgood.com today and register to be among the first to own Sprint's first consumer EV-DO Rev. A device; available in June

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 1, 2008--Sprint (NYSE:S) and Samsung Mobile today announced the upcoming availability of a new wireless device, Samsung Instinct, which offers consumers an industry-leading user experience by combining full touch-screen functionality with fast speeds available on the nation's largest mobile broadband network. This revolutionary device speeds up the user experience like no other touch-screen phone and brings the customer's most-used applications and contacts within a single finger tap.

Samsung Instinct, exclusively available from Sprint, has a high-tech look with a large, vibrant touch screen featuring localized tactile feedback, called haptics, which allow the virtual QWERTY keypad and other operations to become a sensory experience. The device also offers a Voice to Action button providing many functions using voice activation including call, text, picture messaging, traffic, movie, sports, news and search.

As Sprint's first EV-DO Rev A consumer-centric device, Samsung Instinct provides the ability to quickly browse the Web, access business or personal email, share pictures, listen to commercial-free radio and more at broadband speeds. Samsung Instinct also provides access to Sprint exclusive services and multimedia content, including:

• Sprint Navigation, powered by Telenav, with GPS-enabled audio and visual turn-by-turn driving directions, one-click traffic rerouting and more than 10 million local listings
• Live Search for Sprint, powered by Microsoft, provides easy access to directory information on-the-go, GPS-enabled directions, interactive maps and one-touch click to call access
• Sprint TV(R), with an extensive selection of live and on-demand programming
• Sprint Exclusive Entertainment (SEE), the industry's only made-for-mobile sports and entertainment video programming network
• Sprint Music Store, allowing users to browse and wirelessly download full-length songs directly to their phone for just 99 cents each
• Pocket Express(R), with up-to-date information on sports, weather, news, movie showtimes and other options customized to the user's zip code

The vast majority of Sprint's Mobile Broadband Network has been upgraded to EV-DO Rev. A technology, providing Samsung Instinct users blazing fast speeds on the nation's largest mobile broadband network (based on covered square miles). The Sprint Mobile Broadband Network (inclusive of data roaming) reaches more than 242 million people, 15,325 cities and 1,452 airports and brings customers instant gratification so they can work fast and on-the-go. With EV-DO Rev. A, peak download data rates increase to 3.1 Mbps and peak upload data rates increase to 1.8 Mbps; average download speeds improve to 600 kbps to 1.4 mbps and average uplink speeds increase to 350 - 500 kbps.

"Instinct brings customers what they want with the immediacy they want. Every decision during the development process focused on simplifying the user experience," said John Garcia, senior vice president of Product Development and chief marketing officer for Sprint. "The end result is a great-looking phone that makes the value of Sprint's fast NOW Network come to life, but most importantly, it is fun and easy to use."

The sleek and stylish device offers three dedicated keys on the lower portion of the device to make operation of the device very straightforward and easy to navigate - phone, back and home. The phone key always takes the user back to essential voice calling and features including speed dial, visual voicemail, contacts and the dial pad. The back key is a consistent way to take a step back in the operation.

The home key on the Samsung Instinct provides quick access to the four menus of functionality included in this ground-breaking user interface:

• Favorites provides one-touch access to the things you do most, making customization and personalization extremely simple. Web sites, TV channels, text messaging friends and much more can be saved in the Favorites menu so the items used most are always at the user's fingertips.
• Main includes applications such as Messaging, Voicemail, GPS Navigation and more.
• Fun takes you to Music, TV, photos, games and more.
• Web provides a fast, real Internet experience and all things Web-related, including weather and news.

"Samsung designed the Instinct after spending years developing innovative touch-screen technology," said Bill Ogle, Chief Marketing Officer for Samsung Mobile. "What really sets the Instinct apart is the ability to access users' favorite features with just one touch of the device. The three navigation keys that Samsung positioned at the bottom of Instinct are instrumental in making the user experience quick and easy. Samsung feels the Instinct will increase our status as the fastest growing mobile phone manufacturer in the U.S."

Samsung Instinct boasts many advanced features including Visual Voicemail, allowing users to listen to messages in their order of preference and manage them with a simple tap of the screen. This device also provides support for corporate and consumer (POP3) email, multitasking capabilities that allow the user to play music in background mode while surfing the Internet, texting or playing games, a 2.0 megapixel camera with camcorder and expandable microSD memory of up to 8GB. Additional features include advanced stereo Bluetooth(R) 2.0, integrated world clock, SMS voice and text messaging with threaded text, Phone as Modem, picture caller ID and Sprint Mobile Sync.

Samsung Instinct comes with everything the user needs to enjoy the device's full capabilities right out of the box. Contents include a 2GB microSD(TM) card that holds approximately 2,000 songs from Sprint Music Store, two standard 1,000 mAmp batteries offering up to 5.75 hours of continuous talk time each, battery charging sleeve, travel charger, USB cable, 3.5mm headphones with built-in microphone, and leather case with stylus.

Pricing for Samsung Instinct has not yet been determined. In order for customers to experience the full capabilities of the device, Samsung Instinct requires activation on a Sprint Everything pricing plan offering unlimited data starting at just $69.99 per month.

Customers can go to www.nowisgood.com today to register to be among the first to own this innovative device. It will be available in June in all Sprint retail channels including www.sprint.com and 1-800-SPRINT1. Samsung Instinct measures 2.17 x 4.57 x 0.49 inches and weighs less than 4.5 ounces.

tag: Mobile, sprint, Samsung Instinct, Sprint Music Store, Visual Voicemail, Sprint Navigation, , Pocket Express, mobile POP3 email, Sprint TV, Phone as Modem, picture caller ID, Sprint Mobile Sync, GPS Navigation, EV-DO Rev. A,

Secure Wi-Fi to Cellular Access Point From Digi International.

MINNETONKA, Minn. (March 27, 2008) - Digi International today introduced the Digi Wi-Point 3G, a PC card based 3G cellular router with integrated Wi-Fi access point. It acts as a cellular-to-Wi-Fi hotspot and provides secure, high-speed Internet access to remote workgroups and devices. It works with more cellular PC data cards than any other cellular router, enabling Internet connectivity virtually anywhere a cellular signal is available.

SpaceDev, a developer of space technology systems, products and services, uses the Digi Wi-Point 3G to allow its engineers to send data back to company headquarters from remote rocket testing sites. Jon Martin, director of IT for SpaceDev comments: "We test rockets at least two miles from civilization, so we usually have no wired connectivity. The Digi Wi-Point 3G allowed us to set up an on an "on the fly" hotspot so our engineers could send data back to headquarters. It was simply plug-and-play, and we were up and going in 30 seconds. We tried both Sprint and Verizon cards and found that both worked instantly."

The Digi Wi-Point 3G supports more than 40 cellular PC data cards around the world, including PCMCIA and PCI Express cards (with appropriate adapter). It is a three-in-one router with integrated 802.11b/g Wi-Fi access point, 10/100 Ethernet and global cellular network access via virtually any carrier supplied PC data card. It is small and easy to deploy, and enables drop-in networking to devices that are hard to reach or do not have convenient access to wired connections.

"The Digi Wi-Point 3G allows remote sites and devices to wirelessly connect to the Internet or securely integrate into a corporate network - even if that remote device happens to be driving down the highway," said Larry Kraft, senior vice president of global sales and marketing, Digi International. "It is ideal for applications such as temporary networks, remote Wi-Fi hotspots, mobile/transportation deployments, disaster recovery, security and more."

The Digi Wi-Point 3G features enterprise class security, including IPsec VPN, WPA2 encryption and a full featured firewall. It also includes GPS support (with qualified PC cards), failover to dial-up modem and auto-detection of the cellular data card for seamless field upgradeability.

The Digi Wi-Point 3G is available now for $485 MSRP. For more information, please visit http://www.digi.com/products/cellulargateways/.
tag: Mobile Network, Digi International, Digi Wi-Point 3G, 3G cellular router, cellular-to-Wi-Fi hotspot, SpaceDev,

OKI Takes Center Stage With CenterStage® NX Series, the Carrier Grade Communication Server for IMS and NGN

TOKYO, March 31, 2008 -- Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. (TSE: 6703) today announced it has added CenterStage® NX5000 R3, NX5100 R2 and NX5200 R2 to its lineup of carrier-grade communication server for IMS and NGN. The new CenterStage NX 5000 Series now uses Advanced-TCA (ATCA), which is the standard hardware platform in the telecom industry. OKI also adds two additional models to its lineup.

"We believe our new NX 5000 Series will enable telecom carriers to build IMS core networks for both fixed and mobile networks and to offer a variety of services to their users by connecting with application servers," said Kichiro Akino, President of Network Systems Company at OKI. "We will continue to provide these products to customers having networks of various sizes in the NGN, IP telephony and mobile communication markets."

The newly added models include:

• CenterStage NX5000 Series (NX5000 R3, NX5100 R2, NX5200 R2)

  These are IMS compliant session control servers enabling S-CSCF, I-CSCF, P-CSCF and MGCF functions. ATCA platform is now applied in the NX5000 series.

• CenterStage NX3500

  NX3500 is an IMS compliant media resource server supporting MRF function. Under the control of the NX5000 series, the server can offer a flexible and scalable voice-based guidance service.

• CenterStage NX1200

  NX1200 is an IMS compliant media gateway with MGW function and enables interworking between NGN, IP telephony networks and Public Switched Telephone Networks. NX1200 offers media conversion functions under instruction of NX5200.

Many telecom carriers require higher reliability, higher performance, higher capacity and longer life cycle for their equipment used for NGN and IP telephony networks. It is now important to provide products with high network processing power, scalability, and design flexibility while maintaining carrier-grade reliability.

To meet such needs, OKI has adopted the ATCA platform, the industry hardware standard platform, to its CenterStage NX5000 Series. With this ATCA blade, OKI's NX5000 Series now offers improved hardware maintenance, longer durable period compared to general purpose rack-mount servers, smaller size and ensures the industry's highest scalability. The ATCA blade is also loaded with the new SAF-compatible version of "CenterStage HAPF,"& OKI's well-established high availability middleware that is currently used in the NX series. As the company also includes a general-purpose server in its lineup, OKI can now offer CenterStage to all customers, whether having small scale networks or large.

The CenterStage NX5000 Series include a dual core CPU on the ATCA board, supporting up to 800 thousand subscribers. The NX5000 ATCA blades can be placed into a single ATCA shelf, which then can serve a maximum of 4.8 million subscribers. Therefore, the installation space is reduced to one-third compared to OKI's general-purpose rack-mount servers and power consumption is also reduced to one-third, which also helps in reducing operating costs. Because the NX5000 Series can be supported in the same ATCA shelf, equipment design optimization can be achieved corresponding to various traffic conditions.

More info at OKI's global web site at http://www.oki.com/.

tag: Carrier-Grade VoIP, CenterStage NX5000, CenterStage HAPF, ATCA blade, CenterStage NX1200, CenterStage NX3500, IP telephony, mobile communication

Free Mobile Calls from Your Mobile Phone Skype and Hipsip.

Today I found another mobile VoIP service. This time the new service called Hipsip, rides on Skype backbone to provide you with free calls.
Basically you install a Hipsip bridge on your computer and your mobiles browser need to be pointed Hipsip site. Once logged in, you can call any of your Skype contacts for a cost of a local call. The draw back is that you need to have your computer running at all the time in order to make a call. With nowadays calls for energy conservation and green PCs, it will be difficult for normal user to configure the environment needed to run Hipsip. If you are at home, then you don't need Hipsip, because you can call the contacts directly from skype or skype device you have. All in all it is a good Idea but the other solutions that are little better user friendly, like other mobile