VOIP IP Telephony: November 2007

Friday, November 30, 2007

Buzzphone is buzzing in China, Thailand and India.

HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Buzz Technologies Inc. has announced a series of developments in the company’s mobile unit. One of them is a WAP based VoIP that allows mobile phone users to make low cost calls directly from their mobile phone. “This service is free to all members of Buzz’s Social Networking Sites, BuzZMe In and the Chinese Xirxi. Services such as VoIP, video, music, radio, news and instant messaging coupled with mobile devices such as a WiFi enabled iPod, and the ubiquity of broadband will result in 100 million consumer mobile VoIP users in 2011,” says Sutida Suwunnavid, Chairwoman of Buzz Technologies. “WiFi enabled mobile entertainment devices will make up 36% of all mobile VoIP devices sold in 2011.”

Buzz needs no special equipment or software, just a WAP enabled phone. Sutida also predicts that by 2011 Skype will have 25% of the world's VoIP users and $1.2 billion in voice service revenues. Buzz is aiming at Market penetration of 12.5% and $600m in revenue by 2011.

Buzz has also released the Beta version of its Mobile Search Engine which operates in all major languages. With this engine Buzz joins a very small group of companies offering a full service Mobile Web Site. The development is around 6 months ahead of schedule and will require the company to move forward promotional programs.

Buzz is about to hit China promoting free VoIP, SMS and Mobile Services. Our Search is already operating in Chinese and a Chinese Section in our PPC ad server is being added today. Buzz Search Engine is fully operable in all major languages including Chinese. www.xirxi.com and www.xarso.com as well as www.7123000.com will be relaunched aimed specifically for the Chinese Market. China has 162 million people online. In addition, China is the largest cellular market in the world and has passed the 500 million connections mark.

Try the Mobile Site at www.mobi.12buzz.com or Visit www.12buzz.com

Eavesdropping Is Possible On Cisco IP Phones

Cisco confirms that an attacker with valid Extension Mobility authentication credentials could cause a Cisco Unified IP Phone configured to use the Extension Mobility feature to transmit or receive a Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) audio stream. This ability can be exploited to perform a remote eavesdropping attack. All Cisco IP Phones that support the Extension Mobility feature are vulnerable.

For this attack to be possible, several conditions need to be satisfied:

The internal web server of the IP phone must be enabled. The web server is enabled by default.
The IP phone must be configured to use the Extension Mobility feature, which is not enabled by default.
The attacker must possess or obtain valid Extension Mobility authentication credentials.

Extension Mobility authentication credentials are not tied to individual IP phones. Any Extension Mobility account configured on an IP phone's Cisco Unified Communications Manager/CallManager (CUCM) server can be used to perform an eavesdropping attack.

To obtain Extension Mobility authentication credentials, an attacker needs physical access to the network to sniff credentials. This can be accomplished by inserting a sniffing device between an IP phone and switch port.

Before eavesdropping can occur, the user who is logged into the IP phone via Extension Mobility must first be logged off of the IP phone. This can be accomplished by sending an Extension Mobility logout message to the IP phone's Cisco Unified Communications Manager/CallManager (CUCM) server.

If exploitation is successful, any IP phone that is undergoing an eavesdropping attack will have its speaker phone status light enabled, and the phone will display an off-hook icon that indicates an active call is in progress. Internal testing by Cisco also revealed that the described attack produced static noise on the IP phone while it was under attack.

Workarounds

There are workarounds to combat this attack:

Disable the internal web server on IP phones.
Disable the Extension Mobility feature on IP phones.
Disable the speaker phone / headset functionality on IP phones.

This attack can also be mitigated by restricting access to the internal web server of IP phones (TCP port 80) using an access control list (ACL).

For more information about Cisco-recommended best practices for securely deploying Cisco Unified IP Phones, reference this link:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/voicesw/ps556/products_implementation_design_guide_chapter09186a008085f858.html#wp1045452

Cisco Response

This is the Cisco PSIRT response to a presentation given at the Hack.Lu 2007 security conference by Joffrey Czarny of Telindus regarding a technique to remotely eavesdrop using Cisco Unified IP Phones.

The original report is available at the following link:

http://www.hack.lu/pres/hacklu07_Remote_wiretapping.pdf

We greatly appreciate the opportunity to work with researchers on security vulnerabilities and welcome the opportunity to review and assist in product reports.

This Cisco Security Response is posted at the following link:

http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/cisco-sr-20071128-phone.shtml

Where Are You? Find Out With Google's My Location

I found this information on Google Map site. I think we are in to something here. Yes as usual privacy shouts are out there. Cool down folks, how do you think if you press 911 on your cell phone, the emergency services find you? Today when we travel, just say from San Francisco to New York, non stop flight, we get photographed, videoed a multiple times. My motto is and to which many others oppose, is why worry if I have nothing to hide. At the same token, I do not want Google or anyone else to misuse my personal data. Those are two different issues.
The My Location feature is available for most web-enabled mobile phones, including Java, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Nokia/Symbian devices.

Get more info on the My Location feature and supported devices, or discuss Google Maps and My Location with other users.
See your location on the map, with or without GPS. Save time and tedious keystrokes finding where you are, what's around you, and how to get there. Watch the video below to see how it works.

Verizon's New Song LTE, Long Term Evolution

After "opening" it's network to any device that "meets" the conditions, Verizon is coming out with a real solution. Verizon has said it would use a technology standard called LTE, for Long Term Evolution, for its next generation of devices. So what is this LTE? Bits Blog of NYTimes has an article. Also Techcrunch has bit about the closed openness of Verizon as well. Enjoy the openness of .........

Google Will Bid in FCC Spectrum Auction

According to the following news release and the blog post "Official Google Blog: Who's going to win the spectrum auction? Consumers." Google is on the way to make it's strides on the air waves of open spectrum.

Just as the weblog post says, consumers stand to win. The fact like ever so tightly closed entities like Verizon coming out with open networks for any device, just did not come about by chance or Verizon seeing the light. Verizon even tried to stop open spectrum all together by taking FCC to court over the issue. It is the pressure build up by all these open activities and somewhat to iPhone activity, made Verizon to make differences.

I think this is a very good move by Google, and the up coming Android base Google Phones will be changing the mobile telecom world in USA. As I spend part of my time in Japan, I see the validity of a good wireless service. Some of my friends in Japan does not have land lines, because the wireless is so good, phone, internet, and other telecom needs are covered by wireless service. I really wish they will win.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (November 30, 2007) – Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced today that it will apply to participate in the Federal Communications Commission's upcoming auction of wireless spectrum in the 700 megahertz (MHz) band.

As part of the nationally mandated transition to digital television, the 700 MHz spectrum auction -- which begins January 24, 2008 -- will free up spectrum airwaves for more efficient wireless Internet service for consumers. Advocacy by public interest groups and Google earlier this year helped ensure that regardless of which bidders win a key portion of the spectrum up for auction (the so-called "C Block"), they will be required to allow their users to download any software application they want on their mobile device, and to use any mobile devices they would like on that wireless network. The winner must ensure these rights for consumers if the reserve price of $4.6 billion for the C Block is met at auction.

"We believe it's important to put our money where our principles are," said Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO, Google. "Consumers deserve more competition and innovation than they have in today's wireless world. No matter which bidder ultimately prevails, the real winners of this auction are American consumers who likely will see more choices than ever before in how they access the Internet."

Schmidt also praised the leadership of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and his fellow commissioners for adopting the new rights for consumers earlier this year.

Google's formal application to participate in the 700 MHz auction will be filed with the FCC on Monday, December 3, 2007 -- the required first step in the auction process. Google's application does not include any partners.

About Google Inc.
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top Web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall Web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

Media Contact:
Adam Kovacevich
Google
202-742-6598
akovacevich@google.com

Investor Contact:
Maria Shim
650-253-7663
marias@google.com

Motorola's Zander Steps Down, Razr Not Sharp Anymore!

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. – 30 November 2007 – Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced that its Board of Directors has elected Greg Brown, 47, as Chief Executive Officer of Motorola, effective January 1, 2008. Mr. Brown currently serves as President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Brown will succeed Edward J. Zander as CEO, and Mr. Zander, 60, will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors until the annual meeting of stockholders in May 2008.

On behalf of Motorola’s Board of Directors, Samuel C. Scott III, lead director, said, “I want to take this opportunity to thank Ed for his vision, expertise and tireless commitment to Motorola. We greatly appreciate his many contributions and wish him all the best in the years ahead. Today’s decision is the culmination of a thoughtful and disciplined process of succession planning.”

Scott added, “The Board is delighted that Greg will serve as CEO. We are confident that he will bring a combination of strategic insight, operational discipline, and inspirational leadership needed for accelerated and sustained growth.”

"We are exceedingly fortunate to have a leader of Greg’s caliber, vision and experience. He has been an invaluable partner and I am confident he is the right person to be the next CEO of Motorola and lead the Company through its multi-year transformation,” said Zander. “Next year marks my 40^th year in the technology industry. This is the right time for me to move on to the next phase in my life and spend more time with my family. I am grateful I had the opportunity to lead Motorola over the last four years. It’s been a wonderful experience.”

“I am privileged to become the CEO of Motorola,” said Greg Brown. “This is a unique Company with strong technology, people and customers. I welcome this opportunity to lead Motorola successfully into the future. We have a lot to do and I am intensely focused on building shareholder value. I look forward to working closely with Ed to ensure a smooth transition.”

3G iPhone On The Way

According to a news article on bloomberg, Apple Inc. will introduce a version of the iPhone next year that will use 3G network and can access the Internet at a faster rate, AT&T Inc. Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson said.

The device will operate on third-generation wireless networks, 3G networks, Stephenson said today at a dinner meeting the Churchill Club in Santa Clara, California, where you can buy the CD or the Video related to the event. San Antonio-based AT&T is the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the U.S.

``You'll have it next year,'' Stephenson said in response to a question about when the 3G iPhone would debut. He said he didn't know how much more the new version will cost than the existing model, which sells for $399. Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs ``will dictate what the price of the phone is,'' he said.

So if you did not stay in lines for two days and paid thousands of dollars for the hip factor, you can laugh again at early iPhone users. I got mine free!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

TMCNet Opens a Wholesale VoIP Channel With Dalcom Telecom

Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) today announced that the Wholesale VoIP channel, sponsored by Dalcom Telecom, has been launched as the latest addition to the TMCnet channel program.

This channel promotes VoIP business and includes an overview of Dalcom Telecom’s solutions. In addition, visitors can find valuable resources such as product trials, feature articles and industry news.The TMCNet has been a valuble resource to VoIP IP Telephony. You will find many a references to TMCNet (Specially the ITEXPO)and some of the authors like Rich Tehrani, Tom Keating, among many others, here.

More information and The channel itself could be found at wholesale-voip.

TMCnet’s channels are micro-targeted information portals where readers can find topic-specific news, articles, feature stories and product reviews. TMCnet has created over 100 channels covering important topics in the IP Communications, VoIP, IP Telephony, CRM, Call Center and Information Technology industries.

Packet8 Mobile VoIP, MobileTalk , Now Supports about 450 Mobile Phone Models.

8x8,Inc. has announced that it's new Packet8 MobileTalk mobile VoIP service is now compatible with nearly 450 different mobile phones, that is 160 more models since the service was introduced last Monday.

The Packet8 MobileTalk mobile VoIP service can be used on a wide range of mobile devices running Windows Mobile Palm and Symbian operating systems. Popular makes and models supporting the service include BlackBerry, Nokia, Palm,Motorola and Samsung.
The Packet8 MobileTalk service seamlessly connects international calls from the mobile phone to the Packet8 digital VoIP network, enabling cell phone users to significantly reduce their international phone bills and maintain high digital voice quality while still enjoying the convenience and flexibility of mobile calling. Packet8 MobileTalk removes the barriers associated with existing carrier, calling card and call back services that often dissuade individuals from using their cell phones for overseas calling. These include obstacles such as costly per minute rates, poor call quality, cumbersome dialing procedures and unreliable service availability.

With Packet8 MobileTalk, users can dial calls directly and natively from their mobile handset, contact list or speed dial directory without the additional keystrokes required by calling card and other reduced rate international calling services. Once the destination number is dialed or selected, the Packet8 MobileTalk software application identifies the international prefix being called and redirects the call to a local Packet8 network access number. All Packet8 MobileTalk calls are carried to the Packet8 network over the subscriber's existing cellular voice phone service and do not require access to an expensive monthly data plan or WiFi access point. Packet8 MobileTalk service offers exceptional rates, $.02 to $.05 per minute for most locations in Europe and Asia, along with unparalleled voice quality as calls are routed over the award-winning, patent-protected Packet8 digital phone VoIP network.

Nearly 450 Windows, Palm, RIM and Symbian-based mobile phone models, including the entire family of Blackberry phones running version 4.0 of the operating system and above and 25 Nokia models running the Symbian OS, are now supported by the Packet8 MobileTalk service. A complete list of supported devices can be found at http://www.packet8.net/mobile_services/supported_phones.aspx.

Customers can sign up for a Packet8 MobileTalk account today at http://mobiletalk.packet8.net/ and download the application to their mobile device from a PC or, if the customer's existing mobile service plan includes data service, via a quick over-the-air software download.

Customers do not have to subscribe to other Packet8 VoIP or videophone services in order to sign up for Packet8 Mobiletalk, though discounted service fees are offered to existing Packet8 VoIP or MobileTalk subscribers. There is a one-time $9.99 activation fee for the service and a monthly fee of $9.99 for non-Packet 8 subscribers. Existing Packet8 VoIP subscribers, including subscribers with at least one Packet8 MobileTalk account, pay a monthly service fee of $4.99. Packet8 MobileTalk overseas calls are billed at Packet8's low international rates which can be found at http://www.packet8.net/international_services/. To view a demo of Packet8 MobileTalk go to http://mobiletalk.packet8.net/demo.html.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Pudding is getting ready to eat cake.

Pudding by Puddingmedia seem to make feel ashamed. I thought in this post that the pudding might fall on the face. But I might be wrong ;). The project is going along fine and it is already offering free calls in USA and Canada. At the end of October they partnered with Meebo.
But I am still wondering about someone, something (Program) listening to my conversations. But if Google can read my email, and AT&T let others listen to my phone calls, why not pudding!

French iPhone Arrives And Is Cheaper Than Unlocked German iPhone

Since the announcement of its arrival in France, iPhone has already won over more than 63,000 fans who have registered on www.iphone.orange.fr, confirming its status as a "must-have" device. iPhone combines three devices into one-a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod, and a breakthrough Internet device-all based on Apple's revolutionary multi-touch interface and pioneering software that allows users to control iPhone with just a tap, flick or pinch of their fingers.Its design and interface make it a "one of a kind" mobile, finally offering a genuine mobile Internet experience.
Bringing this to life for customers across France, Orange will be holding late-night openings at 12 of its stores, when iPhone is unveiled on Wednesday November 28, 2007. Bordeaux, Lille, Lyons, Marseilles, Montpellier, Nancy, Nice, Nantes, Rennes, Strasbourg and Toulouse will be welcoming iPhone fans from 6:30 pm onwards. In Paris, Orange will take this opportunity to inaugurate its brand new store at 125, avenue des Champs-Elysées.As exclusive carrier for iPhone in France, Orange has developed a range of four "Orange for iPhone" plans. These offers have designed to let customers make the most of this revolutionary device that will change the way customers communicate.
All four "Orange for iPhone" plans include:
Visual Voicemail, an industry first, which allows consumers to see a listing of their voicemails, decide which messages to listen to, then go directly to those messages without listening to previous messages. Just like email, Visual Voicemail on iPhone enables users to immediately access the messages that interest them most, in the order they want.Unlimited access to email and the Internet ³, which combined with the revolutionary features of iPhone, at last offers true Internet browsing
With this range of dedicated offers, Orange is meeting iPhone customer expectations in terms of voice, sms & wifi, with prices ranging from EUR49 to EUR119 euros per month, and the iPhone available for EUR399. Orange is also offering iPhone at EUR549 to customers who do not wish to benefit from one of the four "Orange for iPhone" plans and at EUR649, without a plan. The cost of unlocking the handset is 100 euros during the six months following the acquisition of the iPhone, regardless of the package chosen.

Why You Should Keep Your Cell Phone In Your Hip Pocket!

Korean man dies from exploding cellphone.
SEOUL, South Korea - An exploding cell phone battery is suspected by police in the death of a South Korean worker Wednesday, though the phone's manufacturer said it was highly unlikely, is reported by Yahoo News. The victim is a South Korean man identified only as Suh, was found dead with an exploded and melted phone in his shirt pocket - the burn in the shirt is clearly visible in this image. The Phone is said to be LG, Thank God, I just got another phone. Are there any exploding iPhones?

EU Telecom Council Will Convene In, Brussels, 29 November 2007

Telecom Council, Brussels, 29 November 2007
The EU Council of 27 Telecom Ministers will meet tomorrow in Brussels. For Telecoms issues, the Commission will be represented by Viviane Reding, EU Telecoms Commissioner.
The main subject to be discussed will be the Commission proposal of 13 November on reforming the EU Telecoms Rules.
The Council is also expected to adopt conclusions on Mobile TV, to make progress towards quickly repealing the GSM Directive and towards a better system for mobile satellite services.
Main agenda items at this Telecom Council:
EU Telecoms Reform: Outlining the proposals to reform the EU's current Telecoms Rules.(see IP/07/1677; IP/07/1678)
Mobile TV: Strengthening the single market for mobile TV and promoting DVB-H as European standard.(see IP/07/340)
GSM Directive: Making it easier to offer and develop innovative Europe-wide mobile communications.(see IP/07/1170)
Mobile Satellite Services: Towards a better process for European Mobile Satellite Services. (see IP/07/1243)
E-Inclusion: Ageing well in the Information Society and the Commission's initiative for an all-inclusive digital society.(see IP/07/831)

Also at this Telecoms Council:
The Commission will present information about:

the results of the recent World Radiocommunication Conference 2007 (see IP/07/987 for the EU's position prior to the Conference);
the status of the '116 numbers', the single European freephone numbers for harmonised services of social value: on the implementation progress of the first number, 116000 for hotlines for missing children (see IP/07/188), and on the two new numbers reserved: 116111 for child helplines and 116123 for emotional support line for adults

EU News

ipoque to present the results of its 2007 survey on the usage of P2P file sharing networks at the Emerging Technology Conference.

Press Release, Leipzig, August 30, 2007 - On invitation by MIT Technology Review, ipoque will present the results of its 2007 survey on the usage of P2P file sharing networks at the Emerging Technology Conference. The survey is due to be released in September. While the 2006 survey largely focused on file sharing networks, the 2007 edition will include statistics about novel applications such as Skype, Joost, media streaming and one-click hosting.

Preliminary results show P2P traffic still ranging between 50% up to 90% of all Internet traffic. The 2006 survey saw BitTorrent slowly surpassing eDonkey as the most popular P2P network. This trend has continued. BitTorrent has become the globally dominating P2P protocol with a share of 50-75% of all P2P traffic. eDonkey exhibits a regionally varying popularity with shares between 5-50% of all P2P. In certain regions, other protocols have gained a significant importance. In the Baltic States, for instance, DirectConnect has a proportion of about 30% of P2P.

As P2P continues to dominate, other applications have risen in popularity. While Joost does not yet cause the traffic volume many Internet providers fear, Skype, although being a low-bandwidth application, generates up to 2% of the overall traffic in certain networks. Media streaming services, such as YouTube, and one-click file hosting services, like Rapidshare and Megaupload, which provide direct download links as a means to distribute content using ad-financed Web server farms, have also seen a huge popularity surge. Details will be published with release of the 2007 survey.

ipoque´s 2006 P2P survey provided the globally first statistics about the exchanged content in file sharing networks. Detailed data acquisition and analysis was conducted by ipoque for the eDonkey and BitTorrent networks. The results showed, for instance, a 20% and 30% share of pornographic content for BitTorrent respectively eDonkey and confirmed that many current audio, ebook and movie titles are exchanged. For more information read http://www.ipoque.com/media/news/pressrelease_ipoque_241006.html.

Your VoIP , Video and even Email might get Taxed

In October, I wrote twice about the Internet Tax moratorium being extended by both house and the senate. VOIP IP Telephony: No Internet taxes but VoIP is excluded
The seven year extension now in effect seem to more complicated than the initial thought. Today I read an article on San Jose Mercury by GEORGE A. PIELER. It is a very informative article but the information, for no fault of the author, left me more confused. Sometimes even though confused, you need to know what your browsing calling could bring home. So I advise you to read the article that might make you say a word that would lead your mother to wash your mouth with soap, if she hears you.

States wrong to hobble Internet commerce with taxes on access

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Google Talk Gadget Multilingual Now Supports 20 New Languages

Now you can see all these languages in the pull down menu on the the Google Talk homepage,;
Chinese(Simplified), Chinese(Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English(UK), Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese(Brazil), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese.
I think it is really important to be able to chat, talk in ones native language. My problem is that I am some what fluent in a few languages (no scholar though!) English (I still spell color, colour!!) , Dutch, Japanese and jabbering ability in few other languages. The picture above shows the gadget in Japanese which I will use to communicate with my girlfriends family (my girl friend and I speak in a language which is a combination of English, Dutch and Japanese.) and some of our friends in Japan.
Sometimes we feel that Google Talk is neglected child at Google but then something happens that put a smile on our and our friends faces. When people are looking for VoIP solutions, it is good to have something that we could use from any and every web browser. Will we be able to Google talk on Google phone?
Google Talkabout: Google Talk Gadget in 20 new languages

Nerd Vittles "PBX in a Flash" is ready for down load.

If you read the article pointed out by the following post and liked the Nerd Vittles idea, now you can play around with it.
The ISO has been released and ready for download at PBX in a Flash site.
The instruction manual also available from the above site.
VOIP IP Telephony: Nerd Vittles drops TrixBox for "PBX in a Flash"

Verizon opens up network for Other wireless Phones and Applications

After even taking FCC to court to stop open spectrum, Verizon is announcing, and being the first to do so, that it will open up their wireless network for phones and software not sold by Verizon.
I think all these people are challenged by yet to come Google Phone and the Android.
Only last week that Verizon's president and CEO, Lowell McAdam, said when asked about the Google Phone. "For example, what if malware infected an Android-equipped phone and started relaying your exact location to a stalker?"
So now it is good to be stalked? Mr. McAdam? Perhaps he will have better security! according the guidelines minimum requirements for joining network need to be met.
But I welcome this gesture by Verizon. The path all the networks should be following. They only need to look at Europe. I do not think that profits are any lower but happy users on your network.
Number three and four networks, Sprint and T-Mobile are already exploring Google Android phone platform and might be open soon. AT&T is still busy with iPhone and might join the flow when it decides it is good!
Looks like 2008 will be an interesting year for communications.
Verizon news release.

Peering in to the future

Ross O’Brien, of VON magazine has written a good, a very good article on peering. Why we peer, how we peer and at the end hopes that the industry will squash its collective competitive fears and realize that the future depends on a bigger, Metcalfe-ian worldview on network connectivity, and peering plays a central part in that.
Next Generation Peering: Into the Future

Monday, November 26, 2007

VoIP Phone and An Android (Not Google Phone but R2D2) For Star Wars Fans

TMCNet's Tom Keating goes gadget hunting and finds Star Wars themed R2D2 with Video Camera with impressive characteristics. There is a light saber to go with it which in turn turns out to be a VoIP Phone!, with an EASY (skype) button.
Go enjoy photos and more info at Mr. Keatings site. (Note to self, learn from him how to be a reviewer!)

Wireless Industry's take on Google Phone, Android

I was reading a post on Cisco SP360, "Google and the Open Mobile Phone", about Google phone (one of the most visited link on the site, got dugg twice!) initiative and the wireless industry's view of the matter. Larry Lang has been to the wireless conference known as Rutberg Wireless Influencers conference and of course the talk of the town has been Android. But what made me laugh out and shout "What" was Verizon's president and CEO, Lowell McAdam, said when asked about the Google Phone.
"For example, what if malware infected an Android-equipped phone and started relaying your exact location to a stalker?"
Malware could infect any phone and give such opportunities to bad people. If his argument is right, Microsoft OS based PC's should be secure from malware while Linux desktops filled with malware. We all know it is other way around. Google is not doing this for love of the world and they stand to gain a lot if the android is welcomed by masses. The fact as I have mentioned before, it is not the android that US wireless carriers like Verizon must look out for. It is the Open Spectrum that these Androids might roam. Verizon even filed a lawsuit against FCC, regarding this open Spectrum issue.
So all I have to say to Mr. McAdam is that to come up with a better ideas and strategies, rather than throwing malware mud at Open Source. There others who excels in that particular ability, with manufactured case studies and facts etc to create FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt]. The above statement only made me laugh, no fear!

Nokia N810 released for sale

The much awaited Nokia N810 (by me) has been released to retail. I am just waiting for it to navigate holiday traffic and come to my hands!
VOIP IP Telephony: Nokia N810 with Gizmo,Skype and GPS coming in November

VoIP Security Education at ITEXPO East 2008

I have written about 100 posts related to VoIP Security. The latest (last week) being SIPtap (A Proof of Concept Tool), Taps into SIP Based VoIP Calls Records Them.
A lot of sites have written about this same issue that SIPtap has brought about. Of all the articles, the theme is that we need VoIP Security.
The good old PSTN days, we did not know about security, or did not care as Ma Bells, Pa Bells and all other bells took care of securing, wiretapping our phone calls.
But the VoIP is mich more than a phone call. Our VoIP accounts will be tied to most of our information. Leaving VoIP unsecured will be like leaving your house door open, in a bad neighborhood.
In a corporate environments, there will be much more information that need to be secured. It is not much different from the needs of securing your Data Networks. But just because the data networks are secured, your VoIP or UC, Unified Communications will not be secured. One need to take care of addressing the special needs that comes with taking all the communications to a IP platform. Be it self hosted or out sourced.
By reading Rich Tehrani's blog reminded me today that Internet Telephony Expo, ITEXPO East 2008 is coming soon. It will be held on January 23-25, 2008 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Florida.
So what has this got to do with Security. A Lot!. The education is the key to success in any field and that is what you will be able to get at the ITEXPO East 2008.
Security Challenges in the Enterprise is a good starting point and will be presented by industry experts. There will be other interesting sessions that are typical at ITEXPO.
So register now and secure a seat so that you can learn how to secure your Unified or standalone communication networks.

Well Healed Asterisk Leads the Open Source VoIP Pack.

I had to write something after reading an article on Australian IT. It is not only that Open Source has traction in VoIP IP Telephony, most of the VoIP was Open Source until recently where big companies were /are still selling legacy telephony switches. Now that companies like Microsoft has entered the arena, there will be analysts who will try to pull wool over eyes of people. What pushed me to even mention this article is the mention of YG below. There are other open source initiatives on VoIP, like OpenH323, OpenGateKeeper, that were equally old or older. But that is not the point here.

"Even though industry researchers such as The Yankee Group say VoIP is too early in its development cycle to be properly open-sourced, vendors are launching products. (Remember the same Yankee Group said that SCO will Prevail Against IBM! And we will start seeing praising of Microsoft VoIP products from this same group, but that is the business they are in. Selling ignorance to ignorant!)

Already there are a number of open source VoIP applications, such as FreeSwitch, OpenSER and YATE, that turn a computer into an IP PABX. However, the most widely deployed is Asterisk, which was developed as far back as 1999. Just one month after its acquisition of Switchvox, a provider of IP PBX phone systems for small and medium businesses, Digium announced the availability of Switchvox Free Edition. The new product is based on Asterisk, open-source telephone software created and owned by Digium."

The Asterisk was just tested by Transnexus and perhaps YG should look at those results. (Transnexus did not get paid by Digium ;) to my knowledge)

Navitas 3.0,uniquely Eases Carriers' Migration to IP Telephony

Redwood City, Calif., – October 22, 2007 — Nominum, the leading provider of network naming and addressing solutions, announced today the release of Navitas 3.0, an IP-application Routing Directory (IPRD) that uniquely accelerates the deployment of IP telephony. Navitas 3.0 provides a platform that integrates legacy telephony numbering plans and IP routing identifiers, giving carriers an evolutionary path toward profitable business models using Voice over IP (VoIP). Additionally, the directory enables the consolidation and simplification of routing plan management processes, improves telecommunication margins, and optimizes usage of profitable and reliable routes.

Many carriers have made the decision to migrate to IP telephony. They are challenged by declining voice revenues and face increasing competition and industry pressures to adapt their existing business model to remain profitable. At the same time, they need to invest and execute very carefully as they move to IP. Cost, control and complexity are significant barriers. Navitas 3.0 enables carriers to easily transition to an IP telephony business model and extend telephony services to support a voice enabled Web, without having to duplicate network functionality between legacy signaling systems - such as Signaling System 7 (SS7) - and IP.

“As the convergence juggernaut continues, carriers will increasingly struggle to sustain their business model and profit margins,” said Brian Partridge, program manager in Yankee Group’s Enabling Technologies Service Provider group. “Rather than equating VoIP and VoIP peering for settlement free services, carriers are increasingly seeking networking functions such as IP-application Routing Directories to manage and bill telephony services on IP as they see fit.”

Navitas Answers Carriers Needs Today, Prepares Them for the Future
Navitas 3.0 serves as the foundation for next-generation networks like IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) by allowing carriers to reuse existing routing plans, and modernize the integration into next-generation networks through automation. Through its enhanced management and reporting functionality, Navitas 3.0 provides a higher Quality of Service (QoS) over IP by ensuring reliable call deliveries across interconnects. The solution also helps carriers avoid increased spending on Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) and SS7 technology, and facilitates the development of new IP-based applications.

"VoIP interconnects are growing around the globe and service providers require scalable address resolution as well as security and control at the interconnect borders," commented Seamus Hourihan, Vice President Marketing and Product Management, Acme Packet. "Both Acme Packet and Nominum are attentive to our customers' requirements for VoIP peering and we continue to innovate and deliver features designed to build reliable, scalable and trusted VoIP interconnects."

Navitas Delivers Advanced Features
Navitas 3.0 dynamically accesses, stores and manages telephone routes and number mapping, while serving both legacy and converged IP switching infrastructure with route resolution for call termination. The solution features functionality for advanced service routing capabilities such as voice, multi-media sessions and IP applications.

New to Navitas 3.0 are the Application Routing Module and Element Management System. The Application Routing Module (ARM) enables Navitas 3.0 to become a switch-agnostic signaling data repository that refines telephony and multimedia routes based on session parameters like cost, quality, capacity and content (end user context like persona, presence, location, etc.) The core technologies and features include:
• Cascading query engine federates multiple sources of routing data
• Support for parameter-based routing including Least Cost Routing applications improves telecom margins through profitable and reliable routes
• Framework for Service Oriented Routing (SOR) for resolution of multiple routing decisions

“As the industry transitions to an all-IP world, carriers require a robust IPRD that is switch and data source agnostic and can serve as a control point for advanced services,” said Tom Tovar, chief executive officer, Nominum. “Navitas 3.0 provides the pivotal first step toward a cost-effective migration from SS7 to IP. This product addresses the immediate needs of the VoIP and VoIP peering markets as well as future network requirements, without requiring carriers to wait for all-IP or IMS architectures.”

Navitas Element Management System (EMS) is a turn-key solution that gives carriers a single point for administration across a network of Navitas IPRD and ARM servers. It provides enhanced data collection and reporting and allows for accurate Quality of Service (QoS) measurements.

A podcast of this release is available at: http://www.nominum.com/content/spotlight/chunks/Navitas 3.0 launch.mp3 For more information, please visit www.nominum.com.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Asterisk V1.4.11 Performance! Tested, verified and documented.

Good Folks at Transnexus who did a performance test on OpenSER a while back, recently performed an in-depth performance test on Asterisk V1.4.11 configured as a SIP B2BUA. This test was conducted on a server with two Xeon 5140, dual core, 2.33 GHz CPUs and 4 GB of RAM.

The Good news is that they found an Asterisk B2BUA on this hardware can manage 1500 simultaneous calls with no transcoding and 400 simultaneous calls with G.711 to G.729 transcoding.
So why are we limiting Asterisk Appliances to 50 Users?

A summary of the test is available

The test details are available (PDF)

Nortel IP Telephony Equipment Handles Six Million Calls Per Year For NHS Direct

LONDON – NHS Direct, England's 24-hour telephone and e-health information service, has unified its 36 contact centres through IP telephony from Nortel* [NYSE/TSX: NT]. Implementing an IP contact centre has improved service and efficiency by uniting previously siloed NHS facilities to achieve cost savings and make better use of resources through centralization.

Handling up to six million calls per year, NHS Direct delivers telephone and e-health information services to the public, via the telephone and the Internet, providing valuable advice to patients, often with potentially life-threatening illnesses or injuries. The new IP telephony contact centre, purchased from Nortel partner BT, is one of a number of changes that has contributed significantly to NHS Direct's consistent achievement of all the U.K. Department of Health targets for response times, performance and the speed with which patient issues are addressed.

NHS Direct created a single, virtual contact centre based on Nortel's IP contact centre technology that brings together its 36 previously franchised and separate call centres. By migrating to IP telephony, the centres have been unified and standardized, eliminating queuing times through the ability to answer more calls in less time by immediately re-routing callers to available agents wherever they are in the country. Furthermore, inter-site calls are made via the Internet so there are no costs to the business. NHS Direct can also make use of the existing, dedicated NHS data network, known as N3, to unite all NHS operations across England.

Adrian Price, National ICT Infrastructure manager at NHS Direct, says, "We wanted to improve the service we were offering, while benefiting from the cost savings that centralization should bring. We recognized that the only way to create the desired consistency and efficiencies was through virtualization - joining up all call centres to create a united appearance - and the only way to do that was to deploy IP telephony across the country. Of all the IP telephony solutions on the market, Nortel provided the highest pedigree at the best price. Having worked with Nortel since NHS Direct formed ten years ago, we knew they could provide the solutions we needed as well as support the implementation with a focus on minimizing disruption and downtime."

Peter Kelly, president, Enterprise Networks, EMEA, continues: "NHS Direct has to be able to deal with the six million calls it receives each year so the network is not just business critical, it is life critical. Nortel's IP contact centre technology is simplifying business for NHS Direct as well as making it easier for patients to make use of the service through increased bandwidth and the resilience required to ensure the service is 'always on' 24/7.

"Calls to NHS Direct are often about potentially life-threatening illnesses or injuries," says Murray Bain, director of ICT for NHS Direct. "They need to be dealt with or passed on quickly. Nortel has given us the peace of mind that we are providing the best possible service to the public. Patients across the country can feel confident that, when they call us, their health concerns will be addressed rapidly."

NHS Direct has chosen to establish a virtual, IP call centre connecting 36 locations. Five communications hubs, in Newcastle, Nottingham, Beckenham, Milton Keynes and Dudley, use the Nortel Communication Server 1000 with Nortel Contact Center 6 to answer and route calls quickly around the country. Advanced telephony functionality is provided through Nortel IP Phone 2004s and Nortel CallPilot. The implementation was completed in May 2007.

Nominet Wins Contract to Run Tier 1 Registry For UK ENUM

22/11/2007

.uk registry chosen to manage the unified telephone numbering system

Nominet, the .uk domain name registry, has been awarded the contract to run the Tier 1 registry for UK ENUM, a standard that will unify the telephone numbering system with the Internet's Domain Name System.

ENUM is potentially an important part of the convergence of regular telephone services and Internet telephony and it may enable businesses to benefit from cheaper or even free telephone calls in the near future. It is a suite of protocols that makes it possible to relate a domain name to a telephone number, and then use that domain name to identify various communications devices such as fax, mobile phone, voice-mail, email, IP telephony addresses or web pages.

The Tier 1 registry contract for UK ENUM was awarded to Nominet by the UK ENUM Consortium (UKEC), a limited company set up with the recognition of the BERR (formerly the DTI) to administer the UK ENUM top level domain. Nominet won the contract based on its understanding of the issues and challenges relating to best practice management of a top level domain. As part of the process of establishing the registry Nominet will be joining the International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Standardization Sector, ITU-T.

ENUM - What is it and how does it work?

ENUM will make it possible to link different VoIP servers so that telephones within businesses that use VoIP technology can connect to other businesses who use other VoIP providers via the Internet. As a result, telephone calls between businesses using this technology will be much cheaper or possibly even free, because there will be no need to connect to the telephone network for the call.

Lesley Cowley, Nominet's CEO says: "We are delighted that we have been given the opportunity to run the UK ENUM Tier 1 registry. Now the real work begins and we hope that this exciting development will result in cost reduction benefits for businesses and consumers".

India In GSM Spectrum Challenge

(Press Trust Of India)Amid the ongoing telecom tangle, Reliance ADAG chairman Anil Ambani has accused GSM operators of "hoarding" surplus spectrum and sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention to ensure that service providers like Vodafone and Bharti Airtel surrender the excess airwaves.

In a scathing attack on GSM players, who are demanding auctioning of spectrum and have moved telecom tribunal TDSAT on new spectrum norms, Ambani said even sector regulator TRAI, fair trade practices watchdog MRTPC as also TDSAT have issued notices to Bharti and Vodafone for "anti-consumer practices".

It is essential that the future of telecom industry is "not undermined by a few vested interest for their narrow personal interests", Ambani said in a letter to Singh days before the Diwali festival.

The letter comes after GSM lobby Cellular Operators Association of India challenged the new policy of allowing dual technology for mobile telephony and new spectrum allocation norms as recommended by Telecom Engineering Centre. ADAG firm Reliance Communications is a key CDMA player and was the first one to apply for GSM spectrum under the new norms.

Ambani asked the government to "see through the motivated agenda of a few existing GSM operators and not succumb to their pressure tactics", and said there should be "a transparent framework for surrender of spectrum in a time-bound manner, wherever not utilised, as per guidelines".

As if supporting Communications Minister A Raja, who has clarified to Prime Minister the issues relating to spectrum, Ambani opposed the auction of spectrum. He said such a route would benefit a close club of few large existing GSM players who remain free to indulge in anti-consumer practices like cartelisation and price fixation.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

German Police's Complain About Skype Being Unbreakable Is Crap, They Want To Install Trojan Horses On Computers!

Despite every blog and News sites start talking about unbreakable Skype encryption, the truth is German police have not even attempted to crack skype nor have they spoken to skype. German Poilice just want to be able to put Trojan horses on users computers which is illegal in Germany. News like this makes me wonder if SS (Schutzstaffel) is back in Germany. Only those empty headed people could have come up with such idea.
According to this news article, Joerg Ziercke, president of Germany's Federal Police Office have said;
"they were not asking Skype to divulge its encryption keys or leave "back doors open" for German and other country's law enforcement authorities."There are no discussions with Skype. I don't think that would help," he said, adding that he did not want to harm the competitiveness of any company. "I don't think that any provider would go for that."Ziercke said there was a vital need for German law enforcement agencies to have the ability to conduct on-line searches of computer hard drives of suspected terrorists using "Trojan horse" spyware."

What if everyone is a suspect until proven? Put Trojan Horses on every computer? Just like Governments have always done wire tapping legally since telephone was invented, find a way to wiretap the necessary suspects' communications, instead of blanket carpet bombing of users computers with Trojan horses. I do not want German police spyware on my computers! What if the same Trojan horses were used by criminals? for things like ID theft? remember the rootkits?
Put that bull crap on your phone Ziercke, and find a better solution.

Skype Sells Out 0207 SkypeIN Users for Profit Margin

Skype is being poor at business decisions again! Remember the very sorry letters Skype sent out to 0207 number users in London, UK.
Now it turns out that Skype let all the 0207 users down, just for financial gain. The SkypeIN numbers in 0207 is paid for service and might be that Skype is making less money if the keep on using 207 numbers according to a post by Digital lifestyles;
"We had an interview with Don McQueen, CEO of GCI Com who provided the 0207 numbers to Skype when they started the service 2-3 years ago.
He told us that as 0207 number are running short, many carriers are starting to charge for the 0207 numbers.
They have been in discussions with Skype for about year over the numbers, but talks broken down about two weeks ago when they couldn’t come to an agreement.McQueen tells us that without really finishing negotiations, Skype’s reaction was just to return the numbers.
Shame On You Skype"

Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa, Selects Alcatel-Lucent IP Telephony Solution

Singapore, November 20, 2007 – Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) announced today that it has been awarded a contract for the delivery of an IP telephony infrastructure for the Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa, a hospitality property in Singapore. The Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa is a 121-room boutique resort to be built by the Amara Group on a 3.5 hectares parcel that includes four old colonial buildings. The resort will leverage leading-edge technology to offer hotel guests unprecedented convenience and communications capabilities at the touch of a button once the project is completed by end 2007.

Alcatel-Lucent is delivering the OmniPCX Enterprise IP telephony system which will be fully integrated with special XML software applications jointly developed for the resort with its application partner, Malaysia-based FCS Computer System Pte Ltd, a leader in communications solutions for the hospitality industry. Guests will be able to access hotel features and services on state-of-the-art IP phones in their own rooms, as well as enjoy wireless IP access throughout the hotel premises, transforming the visitor experience. These features include up-to-date weather reports, tourist and visitor information, and resort facility guides. These innovative and guest friendly applications will reside on both the advanced Alcatel-Lucent’s IP phones in-room, and the resort’s website, which offers a whole new level of convenience and ease of use from that offered by other hotels.

“The Sentosa project will transform the Amara Sanctuary Resort into a world-class island destination, and we will see the Amara Sanctuary Resort setting the benchmark not only in luxury accommodation and holiday making, but also in the way that the latest IP telephony technology from Alcatel-Lucent is used to enhance the guest experience,” said Corinne Teo, Group Systems and Quality Manager, Amara Sanctuary Resort. “The type of guest expected to stay at the hotel will demand the very best, and this is a key part of our strategy of satisfying their needs during their stay. “

Amid the lush surroundings and luxurious amenities, guests will be able to gain access to both hotel services and facilities via subtle deployment of technologies and applications throughout the vicinity.

“The hospitality industry is evolving rapidly and the major resort chains are finding it increasingly challenging to come up with new ways to instill customer loyalty and improve brand experience,” said Matthew Kuan, FCS. “This greatly revolutionizes the way information is being delivered to and obtained by hotel guests, and also opens a sea of new possibilities to meet the changing demands of the industry.”

“The Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa is a prime example of our capabilities of developing next generation communications solutions that satisfy critical real-life needs,” said Dave Miller, vice president of Alcatel-Lucent’s Enterprise Regional Support Centers. “Alcatel-Lucent is delighted to be able to share its expertise and help drive the growth of Singapore’s hospitality sector as it matures in sophistication.”

Verizon concluds the industry’s first successful field test of 100 Gbps optical transmission

NEW YORK – Verizon has successfully concluded the industry’s first field test of 100 gigabits per second (Gbps) optical transmission, on a live, in-service 312-mile (504 kilometer) network route between Tampa, Fla., and Miami.

The test, which utilized a live video feed from Verizon’s national FiOS TV network as the “payload,” was successfully completed Friday (Nov. 16). The 100 Gbps transmission was conducted on a Verizon Business ultra long-haul optical system carrying other live traffic at 10 Gbps. The test demonstrated that by deploying advanced electronics, an existing network system can easily and quickly be upgraded to 100Gbps.

“This is another critical milestone on our way to ensuring that we have the most advanced telecom network technology at the right time, in the right place, to serve our customers,” said Mark Wegleitner, Verizon senior vice president for technology. “Whether it’s a large-business customer or a consumer using our voice, data or video products, we are harnessing the best technology available to make sure our customers have access to the most advanced, reliable telecommunications services in the country.”

Fred Briggs, executive vice president of network operations and technology for Verizon Business, said, “Applications based on online video are clearly drivers for higher bandwidth, but there are many others from a large business customer perspective. For example, database applications and file delivery, as well as disaster recovery and business continuity solutions, are also driving our customers’ need for capacity.

“This trial proves what we’ve been saying: The move from 40 Gbps -- available from Verizon Business today -- to 100 Gbps will be exponentially quicker than the move from 10 Gbps to 40 Gbps. As the industry moves toward 100 Gbps, we’re leading the way.”

Verizon selected Alcatel-Lucent’s 1625 LambdaXtreme Transport system for the field trial. Using that equipment, the 100 Gbps transmission was successfully accomplished on existing fibers that were initially conditioned for 10 Gbps service. Unlike other trials that used 10 separate 10 Gbps wavelengths to carry 100 Gbps, the Verizon test utilized a 100 Gbps signal on a single wavelength, demonstrating Verizon’s drive to promote “true” 100 Gbps in a serial fashion on just one transmission wavelength.

“This achievement further demonstrates Alcatel-Lucent’s commitment to paving the way for new advanced services by taking optical networking to the next level in both distance and capacity,” said Michel Rahier, president of Alcatel-Lucent’s carrier activities. “The field trial also confirms optical networking’s role as a critical enabler for competitive transformation, as new services and applications reshape network requirements.”

Briggs added, “Transmission at 100 Gbps will enable low latency and significant improvement in real-time transaction. Trading institutions and other Verizon customers using real-time communications will find the associated performance very attractive.”

Like the equipment in the company’s 40 Gbps trial in June 2004, the 100 Gbps equipment used in the field trial was implemented with a “plug and play” approach. This is a key objective for future commercial implementation, and means the technology was used without any changes to the fiber, amplifiers and other embedded equipment.

For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

Verizon concluds the industry’s first successful field test of 100 Gbps optical transmission

T-Mobile Offers An Unlocked iPhone Due To A Court Rulling, But wants Withdraw, If Appeal Prevails

T-Mobile has agreed to sell an unlocked version of iPhone in Germany. This comes shortly after a court granted an injunction requested by Vodafone mandating that T-Mobile either sell an unlocked version of the iPhone or withdraw the product from the market. German Competition law is the sited cause, which prohibits an operator from selling a phone which is locked and with a two year contract.
The unlocked version of the iPhone is €999 (US$1481). T-Mobile sells a locked 8GB iPhone for €399 including 19 percent value-added tax. (Is that legal? Yes)
T-Mobile said users who opt for the unlocked version will miss out on some of the features that are exclusive to the company's network, such as the iPhone's Visual Voicemail.

T-Mobile is appealing the injunction and will withdraw the unlocked version if the company prevails, and T-Mobile is also considering filing for damages against Vodafone.

Friday, November 23, 2007

SIP in time and Asterisk 1.4.14 release

The Asterisk Development Team has released the latest Asterisk version 1.4.14. This is a regular maintenance release that contains numerous bug fixes across the entire code base. A ChangeLog that lists all changes that were made is available with the release.

The release is available on downloads.digium.com. It is also available as a patch against the previous release.

A special note from ChangeLog that I found to be very importent;

Those using SIP phones should be aware that Asterisk is sensitive to large jumps in time. Manually changing the system time using date(1) (or other similar commands) may cause SIP registrations and other internal processes to fail. If your system cannot keep accurate time by itself use NTP (http://www.ntp.org/) to keep the system clock synchronized to "real time". NTP is designed to keep the system clock synchronized by speeding up or slowing down the system clock until it is synchronized to "real time" rather than by jumping the time and causing discontinuities. Most Linux distributions include precompiled versions of NTP. Beware of some time synchronization methods that get the correct real time periodically and then manually set the system clock.

Apparent time changes due to daylight savings time are just that, apparent. The use of daylight savings time in a Linux system is purely a user interface issue and does not affect the operation of the Linux kernel or Asterisk. The system clock on Linux kernels operates on UTC. UTC does not use daylight savings time.

Also note that this issue is separate from the clocking of TDM channels, and is known to at least affect SIP registrations.

SIP, VoIP Market to Reach 1.2 Billion Users and $150 Billion in Revenue

In its recent report, The Worldwide SIP Services Market, ABI Research reviews the global landscape for SIP services. It includes forecasts for the market potential up to 2012, including users (consumer versus business), service revenue, and capital expenditure. It forms part of three subscription Research Services: Mobile Operators, Wireless Infrastructure, and Fixed Mobile Convergence.

ABI Research expects that by 2012, almost 1.2 billion VoIP users to be active, with most users also subscribing to several forms of messaging and video sharing driven by interest in user-generated content. Additional services supported by SIP will include presence, click to dial, buddy lists, e-mail, and Web access, which are assumed to be “core” services and included as standard in any service offering and bundled with broadband access. A portion of the VoIP users will also be connected to an FMC (Fixed Mobile Convergence) service.

SIP services will develop into the norm after 2010 and rapidly begin to dominate the world’s telecom markets. By 2012, almost half of all telecom users will be using at least one SIP service, but likely will have many services from multiple devices able to communicate with other users and services across the Web and between enterprise and public networks. This will generate over $150 billion in service revenue annually with cumulative infrastructure capital expenditure of over $10 billion by that date.

Socializing with Fring, -- fringME!

Mobile VoIP firm fring! has added fringME!, a widget for communicating and let your presence known in many ways. This widget could be embedded on blogs, social networking profiles, online auction sites and any other websites for that matter.
So, if you install the FringME! widget, by adding the new fringME! HTML code onto your own web pages, blogs and pretty much anywhere you have an internet presence of your own, it will enable community members or casual visitors to instantly see whether you’re online, offline, or busy in call and also chat with you.
In addition the visitors, whether they are fringers or not, view your location in real time via Google Maps, if you have a GPS enabled handset. Privacy settings inside fring on your handset allows you to switch on or switch off the fringME! location feature, if you want to have privacy some time.
The features included in the fringME! widget will be expanding, and fringe! promises more very cool stuff in near future.To get your hands on your very own fringME! widget, simply visit the fringME! web page.

Broadcom VS Qualcomm, Patent Suite, Broadcom Wins

U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna upheld an earlier decision finding that Qualcomm Inc. infringed on three Broadcom patents,Broadcom also agreed to accept a $19.6 million award for patent infringement damages against Qualcomm.
The judge cut the original $39.2 million award in half and gave Broadcom the option to seek a new trial or accept the award. Broadcom now will seek to prevent Qualcomm, from making, using, selling, and developing third-generation WCDMA and EV-DO cellular chips that infringe any of the three patents that were in question.
The three patents in dispute were related to video compression, a push-to-talk function similar to a walkie talkie, and technology that enables a handset to simultaneously access data and voice networks.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Skype is Really Sorry About Your London SkypeIN Number starting with 0207!

Straight from Skype Forum. Do not click on links as they pertain to reporting persons account.

Change to your London SkypeIn number

Hello

We're very sorry to tell you that we have to change your SkypeIn
number. As some of you may know, we get SkypeIn numbers from a variety
of telecoms suppliers. Unfortunately, we have to return some of the
0207 SkypeIn numbers to one of our suppliers of London numbers.

This means your number will stop working from December 20th 2007. We
realise the inconvenience this will cause you, and sincerely
apologise.

That's why we're going to give you a new SkypeIn number and voicemail
- free for 12 months on us - to thank you for your patience and to
help make the changeover as painless as possible for you.

Please make sure you redeem your voucher before December 20th 2007

SkypeIn Number Skype User Name 12 Month Voucher Code
0207870xxxx Mine xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Your next step: activate your new number.

Before December 20th 2007 activate your new SkypeIn number. We suggest
you do this as soon as you can.

1. Visit http://welcome.skype.com/cgi-bin15/DM/y/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
2. Log in and enter the SkypeIn voucher code above.

Due to changes in the capital's number plan there is a limited
availability of 0207 numbers and we cannot guarantee that you will
find a 0207 number to replace your existing one. However, we have
plenty of 0208 numbers and 0203 numbers which OFCOM has introduced to
cover the whole of Greater London.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact our customer advisors
directly at sichange@skype.net. We've also created a step-by-step
guide to help you redeem your voucher and choose your new
SkypeIn number.
http://welcome.skype.com/cgi-bin15/DM/y/xx...xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The (really, really sorry)
people at Skype
Skype Forum

Skype and facebook Helps to nab Murder Suspect

A DRUG dealer suspected of involvement in the murder of Meredith Kercher was arrested after an undercover policeman reportedly befriended him on Facebook and then tracked the use of his internet accounts to the German city of Mainz.

Rudy Hermann Guede, 20, who has joint Italian-Ivory Coast nationality, was arrested late on Tuesday by German police and handed to Interpol after boarding a train without a ticket. He left Perugia after Ms Kercher's murder nearly three weeks ago.
Detectives reportedly found Mr Guede's fingerprints on Ms Kercher's blood-soaked pillow and on toilet paper at the cottage where the murder took place. His DNA was allegedly also on the British student's body.

source

SIPtap (A Proof of Concept Tool), Taps into SIP Based VoIP Calls Records Them.

I have mentioned security issues involving VoIP IP Telephony as close as few weeks ago as well as two years ago!
Today I hear and see another side of it. Proof of concept of wire tapping and recording of VoIP conversations. The Proof of concept tool called SIPtap is able to monitor multiple Voice-over-IP calls in SIP, listen and record them. for remote inspection as .wav files. The tool could be deployed on client side or in the middle man domain, ISP.
The creator of Proof of concept tool is Peter Cox, who co-founded firewall vendor BorderWare. He since left BoderWare to start his own VoIP company, so far only known as VoIPCode.org. (The last time I checked, the domain is still registered under Borderware.
The site offers a few stepping stones into the security world of VoIP,
VoIP Security Threats (Video Podcast) which is playable below.
A VoIP Threat Taxonomy (White Papaer) (Which is different from what I reported here from VOIPSA, two years ago.)
Asterisk SIP Registration Vulnetabilities and Limitations(White Papaer)
But I am most interest in " Asterisk SIP Registration Vulnetabilities and Limitations" which I am yet to digest.
All could be accessed from the link below.

Peter also has a seminar analyses the threats facing VoIP networks and includes practical demonstartions of many of the threats described in the above white paper collection. It is a 3 day course.
Get more information at VoIPCode.ORG.

Pages

Free SIP Accounts

Uninstall Skype

About Us

Followers

Raties At Work

Diors At Work

Friday, November 30, 2007

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Monday, November 26, 2007

Sunday, November 25, 2007

ENUM - What is it and how does it work?

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Friday, November 23, 2007

Thursday, November 22, 2007

VoIP Search

VoIP Feed

Popular Searches

Blogging world

Blog Archive

Our Links

Rank etc