FierceVoIP

ALSO NOTED: EXFO reports 3Q results; Digium Announces '08 innovation Awards Open

Doug Mohney — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:51:38 -0400

> EXFO Reports Record Sales and Bookings for Third Quarter of Fiscal 2008

> Digium Announces 2008 Innovation Awards Call to Entry

> Comcast offering new VoIP international calling plans

> i2Telecom International Expects Second Quarter Net Income to Exceed $4 Million

> iCall App Enables GSM to WiFi / VoIP Switching On The iPhone

> Apparent Networks focusing on VoIP, video and scaling

Agito, Nimbuzz Score Second Round Funding

Doug Mohney — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:58:59 -0400

Mobile UC/FMC hardware maker Agito Networks and mobile VoIP software/social network client Nimbuzz both have secured their second rounds of venture funding this week.

Silicon Valley-based Agito received around $13 million, with Castile Ventures leading the round and ITX and original investor Battery Ventures also participating. Agito intends to apply the money to further market expansion in the enterprise fixed mobile convergence (eFMC) arena and for product development. Agito's RoamAnywhere Mobility Router is fine-tuned to use location-aware technologies to switch between cellular and VoIP 802.11-based calls.

Nimbuzz raised $15 million in its second round, with funding lead by Naspers/MIH and first round investor Mangrove Capital Partners also participating. The company will take its funding to continue to develop its application and its proliferation, including "strategic" distribution deals with social networks and mobile operators. Operators are expected to sign on because Nimbuzz drives traffic and demand for mobile data services while the software has to be ported to Windows Mobile, iPhone, and Android; currently, the full software and functionality only works on Symbian Series 60 devices while Java-enabled phones can do a hybrid-VoIP solution for making low-cost international calls.

For more:
- Agito second round funding announcement

Related articles:
Cisco teams with Agito for eFMC solution
Nimbuzz Retreads Familiar Ground

Living with VoIP in the Middle East

Doug Mohney — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:48:19 -0400

IP telephony has been bad news for many Middle Eastern carriers, but regional operators also stand to gain from the technology, says CommsMEA reporting from VoIP World 2008 in Dubai.

With pent up demand for cheaper international calls and growing regulatory reform the across the region, the Middle East and Africa present a huge opportunity for VoIP. It doesn't hurt that there are over 130 million consumers using VoIP and international VoIP minutes already account for 21 percent of total international minutes in 2006. By 2010, VoIP minutes are expected to exceed circuit switched minutes.

Fuelling optimism in the Middle Eastern market is the rapid growth in Internet users and telephony competitive environments in Bahrain, Jordan, Turkey, Palestine and Algeria. Over the past two-and-a-half years, VoIP has captured 60 percent of the international minutes in the Bahrain market and about 40 percent of the revenues.

VoIP services offer immediate costs savings as compared to legacy technology, says one carrier, allowing incumbent operators to mitigate potential losses in a fully competitive market. Savings comes from less labor and decreased capital expenditures to maintain legacy hardware. On the other hand, a transition to VoIP can be painful for an incumbent carrier that may lose both market share and revenues. Staff reductions can also cause problems with unions.

For more:
- Living with VoIP in the Middle East by CommsMEA

Related articles:
Net2Phone drops prices, gets credit for breaking Kuwait VoIP blockade
Cape Verde, South Africa Advance VoIP

Korea: Mobile WiMAX needs VoIP

Doug Mohney — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:24:21 -0400

For all the hype around the WiBro standard in Korea, it hasn't seen the adoption numbers carriers were hoping for. VoIP is needed to get to the next level, says VNUnet.com.

Korea is portrayed as the world's first and largest test market for mobile WiMAX when the WiBro service rolled out in 2006. The service is expected to have 250,000 users by the end of this year, up from 100,000 at the end of 2007. Analyst Ku Kang of the ROA Group attributes the lack of rapid market penetration to provide a killer app.

Kang says VoIP could be that killer app--if it can get through legal and other issues. Voice support is a must if WiBro is to compete with HSDPA and LTE. ROA group predicts the WiBro market can reach up to 2.5 million uses by 2011.

Korean researchers also are looking at upgrading WiBro to support up to 3.6Gbps to "slow moving" users and delivering up to 100Mbps to users in vehicles moving at speeds of up to 74 mph.

For more:
- VoIP key to mobile WiMAX in Korea, says VNUnet.com

Related articles:
T-Mobile CEO says wVoIP won't catch on
Mobile VoIP changes the game

CONTACT CENTER CORNER: Dickinson Financial Adds Intervoice

Doug Mohney — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:18:00 -0400

Dickinson Financial Corporation (DFC) has selected Intervoice's IP Contact Center (IPCC) solution to extend its current IVR transactions to live agents; DFC has been an existing Intervoice IVR customer.

Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo. DFC is the holding company for Bank Midwest and five affiliated banks. DFC has a multiple site customer care contact center and expects to benefit from IPCC's built-in CTI and SIP-based architecture for informed contact routing decisions. The built-in CTI capability allows customer data collected during a self-service IVR session to be retained throughout the customer's entire call so customers don't have to repeat their information to a live agent. Customer data is presented to DFC agents via screen pops and because the IPCC solution is switch independent, DFC will be able to leverage the architecture without the need to upgrade their current phone system.

In addition to the screen pop capability, DFC agents will also be able to handle multiple media channels beyond voice, including email, web collaboration, fax call back requests and voice mail messages.

For more:
- DFC adds Intervoice IP Contact Center release

Related article:
Doing More With Less: Just Add Software

DT & VocalTec Team for VoIP Interconnects

Doug Mohney — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:36:35 -0400

Deutsche Telekom's wholesale arm has rolled out a global VoIP interconnect solution using VocalTec hardware.

Using VocalTec's Essentra EX solution, the interconnect offering is commercially available now through DT's International Carrier Sales & Solutions (ICSS) group to enable IP interconnection of DT's international VoIP network to other VoIP networks and affiliates. Wholesale providers and ISPs can now route traffic onto DT's network and get all the goodness of assured QoS, security, and optimal routing plan management.

VoIP interconnection is the name of the game for VoIP providers wanting to avoid the PSTN wherever possible and/or avoiding the laborious process of having to convert calls between VoIP and analog in order to reach a final destination.

Will interconnects lead to peering arrangements by DT? Given the time DT has taken to get to interconnection services, it's not likely to happen anytime and unlikely to happen with independent Tier 2 players unless there's a really compelling reason.

For more:
- VocalTec/DT VoIP interconnect release

Related articles:
Vodafone hit for lack of a VoIP interconnect
VoIP peering shapes up to disrupt

SPOTLIGHT: Natural England Greening VoIP

Doug Mohney — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:21:52 -0400

Natural England, a public agency in the U.K. combining three different land and ecology groups, is trumpeting its use of VoIP to reduce carbon.

Its 2,500 users across 44 sites will be brought together with VoIP to cut costs and reduce carbon footprint. Expected savings over the next five years could be up to $6.4 million, with savings from reduced travel expenditures. Video conferencing should yield savings of 20,000 man-days of travel and two million miles of car trips.

For more:
- VoIP solution and carbon reductions by Teleappliant

Related articles:
TIA think green thoughts with EIATRACK
Green is the new black
OnRelay Picks the Green Fight

FORD: Kindle Flames beyond iPhone

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:36:35 -0400

By Carl Ford

When bandwagons come by I let them pass. After the announcement of the 3G iPhone many of my friends could have passed for Apple employees. And if there had been Apple T-Shirts that said "3G & me" they would have worn them anywhere.

It's not that I do not admire the iPhone. Apple's execution of getting a device built cheaply in China and adding the value with software developed in the States is brilliant. Politicians all over America should be singing their praises.

But to me, it's just a phone...

Okay, it's not.

It's a trend. And the trend is nomadic Internet use over wireless broadband networks.

I joined this trend with my purchase of Amazon's Kindle. For the old price of the iPhone, I have a web-browsing device that is on Sprint's EVDO Whispernet. There are no monthly fees. However, if I want to buy things to read, the Kindle is a nomadic point of sale for Amazon.

At the big picture level the iPhone and the Kindle are a semi-closed device on the Internet. The Internet is a network to inter-network so the migration to device specific devices is part of our future.

Tom Evslin suggests on his blog that this is a model for wireless devices of the future particularly with GPS Navigation devices. Fellow blogger Aswath Rao, points out that the Navigon 7100 has an embedded service for traffic updates. And with the new Panasonic WiFi cameras you can expect some business development from the wireless industry in that space as well.

The company doing the most interesting business development is Verizon with its Open Development initiative.

Verizon is looking for things other than phones that can benefit from a mobile network. In my humble opinion, this is going to be where real revenue growth occurs; after all most of us have cell phones already.

As Verizon hunts for its version of the Kindle, their strategy looks for applications not associated with end users. Verizon Wireless Retail has that primary responsibility. What are applications that are not end user oriented? According to Verizon's Tony Lewis, some wireless sensors will be implemented on tanks (and tankers?) containing liquids later this year. Not as sexy as the iPhone, but a new market for Verizon to be sure.

Verizon's Open Development initiative is designed to certify devices for connection to their network in one month. Verizon has also joined the LiMo Foundation to deliver a new generation of mobile devices. This is not Google Android as many have reported. Google Android has been a great place for the disenfranchised to aggregate and await their shot at being on the wireless web. And these two efforts might converge.

But the Verizon device strategy has very high table stakes, a minimum of $200K to play. However, I am of the belief that Verizon is hoping to kindle some interest with partners to steal the show at CES next year.

Carl Ford is Strategic Advisor and Community Developer for FierceMarkets. His words of wisdom can be found at www.carlford.net.

Mitel Consolidates & Hosts

Doug Mohney — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:25:52 -0400

Having digested Inter-Tel, Mitel has announced a consolidated SMB portfolio that includes new products and highlighting a managed service offering,

Mitel's portfolio now allows the company to offer solutions to SMBs ranging from fewer than five users to up to 250 users; there's also a scalable solution for the medium to larger enterprise. New products include simple to deploy messaging, audio and web conferencing, mobility solutions, and IP phones. The Mitel Applications Suite 1.1 delivers multiple applications on a single server with pre-integrated packages for deployment and upgrades, including unified messaging, audio and web conferencing, and single-identity (one number, one mailbox) mobile integration and secure teleworker support. On the rebranding front, the Inter-Tel 5000 is now called the Mitel 5000 and adds support for Mitel's IP phones and accessories.

Mitel bought Inter-Tel in April 2007 for around $729 million and hasn't done so bad since then. Last week, the company was named to the top spot on Financial Post's "Highest Climbers," bringing in nearly $1 billion in 2007 as it moved from 491 (2006) to 302 in the ranking of the top 500 Canadian companies.

For more:
- Mitel announces its new SMB products and rebranding

Related article:
Mitel buys Inter-Tel

ALSO NOTED: GoToMeeting 4.0 with VoIP coming soon; In India, Skype traffic as security threat; and more...

Doug Mohney — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:04:10 -0400

> Citrix GoToMeeting 4.0 coming soon - with added VoIP!

> In India, Skype traffic as severe a security threat as Blackberry

> Acme Packet announces new customer wins with Sonaecom and True Corporation

> Cyprus Mail: Talking to a far-flung family for free (via VoIP)

UC Lost by Bad Management

Doug Mohney — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:58:27 -0400

The promise of unified communications can be ruined by bad management practices. Employees are starting to push back on the model of always on/always reachable.

Promised productivity gains are infringing upon worker family time and at-work concentration to critical tasks. Some companies, such as Intel, have begun to institute "communications free" time where email, IM, and phones are turned off in response to work complaints about being constantly interrupted and unable to find quiet time for work.

UC proponents say the answer is not mandatory communications blackout periods, but better user control and training of employees to set boundaries of when they can and can't be interrupted. They also suggest some old fashioned training on time management rather than blaming UC and setting up rule sets so they don't get calls after 6 p.m. or at home.

For more
- SearchUnifiedCommunications.com piece on UC ruined by bad management

Related articles:
Carriers can clarify UC confusion
UC Confuses SMBs
Marketing mudding VoIP and UC; getting creative

Broadvox adds Dialogic to SIP trunking lineup

Doug Mohney — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:43:22 -0400

Broadvox and Dialogic announced that the former's GO! SIP trunking solution was interoperable with the latter's 2000 Media Gateway Series; it is Broadvox's third SIP trunking interop announcement in a month's time.

The Dialogic/Broadvox partnership provides a solution for the SMB and enterprise markets looking to ditch their legacy PBX and key phone systems with a more cost effective SIP trunking solution. The Dialogic 2000 Media Gateway Series is a 1U form factor box and can take anywhere from 1 to 4 T1/E1s at a time. Broadvox's SIP trunking services can provide up to 70 percent cost savings when compared to traditional pricing and service options include DIDs and local number portability.

Broadvox has also announced interoperability partnerships with Sutus and Epic Systems. GO! SIP trunking has been certified with Sutus' all-in-one Business Central, a device designed for SMBs with under 25 employees. Epic Systems offers a low-cost IP PBX capable of supporting up to 30 extensions and 10 simultaneous calls.

For more
- Broadvox announcement of Dialogic SIP trunking compatibility

Related articles:
8x8 jumps into SIP Trunking
SIP Forum Membership Surges
Microsoft announces VoIP partners for Response Point

NEC Grabs NetCracker

Doug Mohney — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:21:38 -0400

NEC is buying NetCracker Technology, an operations support systems (OSS) company based outside of Boston Mass. The reported $300 million deal adds to NEC's portfolio of IMS and UC offerings and is being done with a little more fanfare than last year's purchase of Sphere.

The NetCracker purchase is being called a "strategic acquisition" by NEC in the communications industry, adding OSS software and services to its portfolio of mobile and fixed infrastructure products. NEC sees its communications carrier business as continually expanding and OSS represents a key element to new international growth over the next five years.

NetCracker currently employs approximately 1,000 people worldwide and counts France Telecom, MTS, Sprint, TELUS, and Telstra among its customers. Upon completion of the purchase, NetCracker will operate as an independent business unit lead by its current management team and NEC is committed to retaining both the relationships and strategies that NetCracker has developed.

NEC's announcement of acquiring NetCracker is significantly different than its quiet announcement of Sphere last year for $42 million. Sphere linked IP PBX functionality into SOA and planned to leverage that into UC.

For more
- NEC purchases NetCracker announcement

Related articles:
NXTcomm08: NEC's 'Light IMS'
Will IMS free OSS?

VoIP as Evidence

Doug Mohney — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:44:49 -0400

"What you say may be used against you in a court of law" has a most interesting twist when it comes to VoIP.

New York Law Journal delves into the legal implications of VoIP for corporations. A VoIP network may "unexpectedly" create a substantial quantity of stored information that could become the target of a discovery request. Add in how voice messages can be stored under a unified communications/unified messaging system, then backed up and there's plenty of room for an inquisitive and tech-savvy legal team to go digging.

Call recording also makes life interesting. Contact centers routinely record conversations for quality assurance purposes and analytics processing. Regulatory requirements in the financial and health care industries mandate call recording, so there's a lot of raw information being spooled out to hard disk.

However, processing through stored call information may not be trivial. Searches may be limited to caller ID information, recipient and date and time of call, but more sophisticated data mining to process speech requires someone to pick up the tab. Speech-to-text may provide a more rapid way to skim through massive amounts of audio data rather than the classic but cumbersome method of listening calls and/or having them transcribed for search.

For more
- New York Law Journal discusses legal implications of VoIP

Related article:
VoIP Befuddles Lawful Intercept

Jajah Adds Gizmo to Customer List

Doug Mohney — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 23:01:29 -0400

Gizmo5 has signed up with Jajah, making it the third VoIP player to turn over their VoIP-PSTN interconnect infrastructure to the company.

Jajah will handle all call termination for Gizmo5, as well as additional services including customer care and billing. Gizmo5, formerly known as the Gizmo Project, was founded by tech maverick Michael Robertson and uses open standards such as SIP and Jabber along with a dash of P2P to connect VoIP calls. Calls between clients are free, but in and outbound calls are billable. According to Gizmo, they have "millions of users" doing calling and IM; outsourcing to Jajah should save them money and give them a better deal on calling rates.

Gizmo5 joins Yahoo and MailVision in farming out their call handing to Jajah, boosting Jajah's standing as the place to go for managed VoIP services when it comes to soft phones. Yahoo turned over its VoIP operations to Jajah at the end of April while MailVision signed up last week.

For more
- Jajah announces GizmoPhone win

Related articles:
AOL opens up, Yahoo outsources PSTN interfaces
Jangl and TalkPlus On the Block