FierceVoIP

VoiceCon Preview: Navigating the Nascent Mobility Movement

Mike Dolan — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:08:47 -0400

Sure VoIP and Unified Communications have mainly been put into the wireline box for most of telecom history, but within the last few years, mobility has become a major part of business expectations, and now integrating mobile technology into a Unified Communications (UC) platform is a task that many enterprises are seriously looking at. Christopher Dean, CSO of Skype, said at the IT Expo show that while 3G wireless systems were too bogged down for advanced communications platforms, "4G will bring the full creative power of the Internet to the mobile Internet."

Skype has been making big pushes to get on to the mobile platform--striking a deal with Verizon to be embedded on their smartphones, hinting that iPhone Skype over 3G will happen 'soon' and making bold claims that the future means making Skype video calls from anywhere. Skype isn't the only company getting into the game as numerous companies have created 'VoIP' software apps that run over WiFi for the iPhone and other devices, and in early February the first VoIP over 3G app called iCall was approved and made available on the iPhone.

A lot of these advances were a tad consumer-facing for our focus, but luckily Agito with its RoamAnywhere platform launched a mobile enterprise VoIP and UC offering that promised high availability, redundancy, security and enterprise scalability. In addition to the iPhone, the product is compatible with some Blackberry and Nokia devices.

So although still in its infancy, mobility in the VoIP and UC industry deserves a look and VoiceCon will have a few panels to help you explore this side of the market. On Tuesday in particular, there is a panel called Integrating Mobility and Unified Communications: Comparing the Vendors' Solutions which will demo a number of offerings currently ready for market. Find out how to combine your mobile phone systems with your UC systems, the additional costs and the cost savings. Reps from Aastra, Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Cisco, IBM, Mitel, NEC, RIM, ShoreTel and Siemens will be on hand to walk participants through some of their current mobility offerings.

For more check out VoiceCon's list of mobility panels...

VoiceCon Preview: Exploring Enterprise Video

Mike Dolan — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:07:40 -0400

At the beginning of this year, Skype CEO Jost Silverman said this about video: "At the very least, real-time video is getting us closer to where the communication medium itself becomes almost invisible, letting people themselves be the platform." The push for video in enterprise and individual communications seems so natural--bringing our long distance communication back to the most basic original form of human interaction, face to face. Over the last several months companies' have announced advances in their telepresence systems, mergers with other companies and deals to make the various systems companies choose to go with compatible with one another.

Just this week, Polycom announced they were bringing their personal video systems to Apple computers--riding the wave of Mac popularity that has grown with the success of the iPhone. Polycom's CMA Desktop video collaboration app now works with Mac OS X so companies that traditionally use Macs for their business computers (it used to be mainly creative services and education) can take advantage of video communications. Prior to this announcement they announced an interoperability partnership with Avaya. A week ago, Cisco launched the CRS-3 and the clear consensus was that this Internet super router was meant handle all the video communications data traffic we could throw at it. With innovations like this, the future for video collaboration is indeed bright.

At VoiceCon, participants can check out a number of discussions about launching their own video collaboration systems or expanding their current systems as expectation grows for ubiquitous video use. On Monday, the Personal Video Conferencing in Enterprise panel will explore the difference between tradition room-based telepresence and new personal video technologies. Skype, Radvision, Polycom, IOCOM, Glowpoint, Cisco, NetForecast and Wainhouse Research will all be on hand to discuss desktop video deployments.

On Tuesday, a panel called Extending Video Across the Enterprise Boundary explores the problems and possibilities of making video calls and having telepresence meetings with outside organizations using compatible video equipment. Unlike our PSTN phone systems where interoperability is guaranteed, such functionality does not come standard on the video frontier. Traditionally telepresence has mainly been used within the enterprise--ensuring the same equipment is used--but if we want these systems to be even more useful, communicating in this way with our clients, customers and business partners will need to become as easy as picking up the phone. The issues of inter-enterprise video conferencing will be tackled by representatives from Vidtel, Tandberg, NetForecast, Cisco and MASERGY.

For more check out VoiceCon's Enterprise Video schedule...

VoiceCon Preview: Keeping up with Unified Communications

Mike Dolan — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:44:02 -0400

One of the main themes--if not the central theme--of VoiceCon is Unified Communications (UC). A recent study carried out about Frost & Sullivan--commissioned by Cisco and Verizon--found that collaboration tools like VoIP, instant messaging, and high-definition video meetings resulted in cost savings averaging four times the return on investment for firms using the IP platforms.

A recent finding from IDC claimed that mobile workers around the world will number 1.2 billion by the end of 2010--thanks to unified communications. Just last week, Avaya released a new version of its IP Office for small and medium enterprises with some new unified communications offerings including advanced collaboration tools using voice, instant messaging, presence and video collaboration using a softphone. Once just a big company play, increasingly UC is penetrating the smaller businesses as more and more affordable and scalable options arise.

With hosted UC services expected to "take off," with worldwide revenue doubling over the next four years according to Infonetics, it's no wonder Cisco is simplifying its licensing agreements, UC partnerships have arisen between major players and companies are launching products to help advance communications in the healthcare industry.

Apart from walking the show floor to see the various offerings for UC deployments out there, conference goers will have the chance to witness a number of discussions on the state of the UC markets and where we are going from here. On Monday participants can check out the Unified Communications Executive Forum featuring panelists from Cisco, Microsoft, Siemens, Interactive Intelligence, Avaya, IBM, VoiceCon, and UCStrategies. The Summit will look at how the UC market has evolved, issues facing buyers and sellers and integrating new UC technologies with old networks.

On Wednesday conference goers can continue the discussion with a number of the companies mentioned above and additionally Motorola and Mitel in the Unified Communications Leadership Round Table. In this discussion executives from UC vendors will discuss what technology is available now and what will be available in the next 12 months. Right after this discussion, Wainhouse Research hosts a talk comparing the hosted UC offerings of Cisco, IBM and Microsoft.

For more check out the VoiceCon event listings on Unified Communications...

VoiceCon Datebook

Mike Dolan — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:07:07 -0400

Here is just a brief selection some of the interesting events happening at VoiceCon this year:

Monday, March 22

9:00 AM - 10:45 AM - SIP Trunking: Who's Offering What?

10:00 AM - 10:45 AM - Choosing the Right Mobile Device Ecosystem

1:00 PM - 1:45 PM - Summit: Unified Communications Executive Forum

3:15 PM - 4:00 PM - Securing Communications

3:15 PM - 5:00 PM - Personal Video Conferencing for the Enterprise: Players, Models & Choices

Tuesday, March 23

9:15 AM -10:00 AM - Keynote by Kevin Kennedy, President & CEO, Avaya
10:00 AM -10:45 AM - Keynote by Mark C. Straton, Senior VP, Voice & Applications Solutions, Siemens Enterprise Communications
11:15 AM -12:00 PM - Keynote by Tony Bates, Senior VP and GM, Enterprise, Commercial and Small Business Group, Cisco

2:00 PM - 5:00 PM - Integrating Mobility and Unified Communications: Comparing the Vendors' Solutions

3:15 PM - 4:00 PM - Extending Video Across the Enterprise Boundary

Wednesday, March 24

9:15 AM -10:00 AM - Keynote by Alistair Rennie, GM Collaboration Software, IBM Software
11:15 AM - 12:00 PM - Keynote by Gurdeep Singh Pall, Corporate VP, Unified Communications Group, Microsoft Corporation

1:00 PM - 1:45 PM - Unified Communications Leadership Roundtable: How Far Have We Come? What's Next?

2:00 PM - 5:00 PM - QoS and Network Design for Converged Networks

Thursday, March 25

8:00 AM - 9:45 AM - Deep Dive on Optimizing Enterprise Mobility

VoiceCon Preview: Exploring and Optimizing IP comm

Mike Dolan — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:55:29 -0400

Today's issue of FierceVoIP serves as a preview of the upcoming VoiceCon conference on March 22-25 which we hope will provide you with some starting points to navigate the show. Print it out, put it in your carry-on and review it on the plane on your way down to Orlando. Hopefully we will give you a few things to think about on the way and some ideas of what you might like to see or hear about in terms of booths on the show floor, discussion panels, break-out sessions, deep dives and keynote speakers.

Next week's VoiceCon conference has two focuses for its attendees comparing various IP communications platforms and customers getting the most out of the systems they've deployed. A recent report "US Business VoIP Overview: Optimization Trumps Expansion" from Research and Markets says that by 2013, 79 percent of businesses will have deployed VoIP in some fashion. According to that report, the focus of our industry will be on optimizing those systems and that is exactly what attendees at VoiceCon will be looking at.

Last year we found interoperability, telepresence, cloud computing and media phones to be some of the hot topics at the show. This year some of these trends continue and merge as the discussions become more nuanced. As telepresence becomes more widespread and in demand, how do enterprises move from interoperability within to interoperability with outside companies? Media phones tied to the desk are on the verge of being replaced with a mobility focus, moving UC software to the mobile phone and applying our IP comm advancements to further support the mobile workforce. Attending the show, participants will get to explore some key areas in the deployment and optimization of IP communications like Unified Communications, Video offerings and mobility. Conference attendees will have an opportunity to see some of the latest advances in these fields while watching some of the keynotes from Avaya, Siemens, Cisco, IBM and Microsoft should give them a clear indication of where some of the bigger companies are going.

Read on to see some of our topic highlights as well as our preview of the conference schedule and some helpful links to help you navigate the show. Perhaps we will see you next week outside the press room or wandering the show floor! -Mike

Verizon Business becomes Cisco UC master

Mike Dolan — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:42:28 -0400

Verizon Business now has a Master Unified Communication Specialization from Cisco meaning the service provider has fulfilled the training requirements and program prerequisites to sell, deploy and support Cisco Unified Communications (UC) solutions. The reseller also achieved Cisco's Master Security Specialization and Advanced Data Center Networking Infrastructure Specialization in Europe

"As the only U.S.-based global service provider to achieve both Master UC and Master Security specializations, we can deliver some of the most secure, integrated solutions available today," said Anthony Recine, vice president of network and communications solutions marketing for Verizon Business. "The powerful combination of Verizon's network-based VoIP services and Cisco's UC platform - together with our professional consulting expertise - is enabling better business processes and productivity for our customers while assembling the building blocks to provide cloud-based unified communications as a service."

To get certifications, companies must meet certain training expertise for sales, technical and service capabilities. They must also submit referrals from customers that document Cisco-prescribed design and deployment styles are being followed by the reseller.

For more:
- read the release

Verizon responds to rapid VoIP growth with SMB packages

Mike Dolan — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:49:08 -0400

Small- and medium-sized businesses are moving to VoIP and other IP communications with rapid speed, and Verizon has joined the movement by offering some specifically targeted VoIP and internet packages.

Verizon's Global Wholesale division is offering three new packages to wholesales with the first being a combination of Verizon's SIP Gateway Service with its router hardware which will give wholesale customers an easy way to get SMBs into the VoIP game fast. Verizon has also launched the Internet Dedicated T1 which will combine discounted services with hardware--a 30 or more user connection for transmitting high-volume email, files, and web hosting. Heavy data users will benefit from Verizon's third offering called Internet Dedicated Ethernet which will provide discounted ethernet bundled with a Samsung iBG1000.

"By creating new VoIP and Internet packages that include both services and hardware, we're giving our wholesale customers new ways to support their small- and medium-sized business customers in a time when every nickel and every efficiency counts toward success," said Quintin Lew, senior vice president of marketing for Verizon Global Wholesale in a release. "Our goal continues to be to arm our wholesale customers with the tools that help them to help small and medium-sized businesses succeed."

For more:
- read the release

Looking to Sci-Fi novels for the IP comm future

Mike Dolan — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:35:27 -0400

The 3D TV buzz is all the rage right now, but what about 3D telepresence or even augmented reality. Why wouldn't these things eventually make sense for the way our communications are going? VoIP Survivor takes a look at the state of IP communications in his favorite Sci-Fi novels... Article

Polycom brings video collaboration to Macs

Mike Dolan — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:18:36 -0400

Companies that use Macs rejoice! Telepresence, video, and voice communications provider, Polycom announced that its Polycom CMA Desktop video collaboration app now supports OS X.

Polycom CMA Desktop for Mac OS X offers high quality video and voice communication as well as seamless interoperability with the existing Polycom CMA Desktop for Windows, and a number of other standards-based telepresence systems on the market.

"Polycom CMA Desktop sets a new standard for flexibility, performance and interoperability for desktop video collaboration and we are happy to deliver on customer demand, particularly in the education, healthcare, creative services and entertainment markets, for Mac OS X support," said Joe Sigrist, senior vice president and general manager of video solutions at Polycom in a release.

For more:
- read the release

TWC will do its own VoIP

Mike Dolan — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:34:00 -0400

Time Warner Cable has decided its time to leave Sprint's services behind and strike out on its own with voice service. While cable companies have long had wholesale agreements with certain carriers, as competition heats up some are looking for ways to bring these lucrative services in house.

A report by Craig Moffett of Bernstein Research revealed that Sprint's contract with Time Warner Cable "equates to about $5 per subscriber per month in unadjusted earnings, or about $249 million a year." TWC has over 4 million subscribers using the Sprint system for digital voice service.

Time Warner Cable spokesman Justin Venech would not confirm the exact date when this transition will be completed or what TWC pays Sprint for this service, but some sources say it will be within the next four years. "It improves our economics, but it will take several years to complete," Venech said.

For more:
- see FierceTelecom article
- see the FierceCable article
- see this Zacks.com article

Related articles
Sprint points to potential revenue turnaround
Sprint's wireline woes continued in Q4 09
Sprint Wholesale to trim workforce
Declining revenues force Sprint to cut more jobs

8x8 tops 20K business customers

Mike Dolan — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:27:33 -0500

Despite the poor economy last year, 8x8 was able to add about 1,000 new business customers each quarter. The company now claims to have 20,000 business customers taking advantage of 8x8's Virtual Office phone service, hosted Call Center and Key System services, as well as SIP trunking and unified communications (UC) solutions.

The company launched its Virtual Office Pro service only in January, and it already boasts 2,500 business customers paying subscriptions for that service. That new service allows business customers to access web telephony, video and voice Web conferencing, fax, call recording, an online dashboard with Outlook contacts and corporate directory integration all from a web portal. The service also has an iPhone app tie-in.

For more:
- read this article

Telepresence gets out of the meeting room

Mike Dolan — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:12:17 -0500

Telepresence changed the way we conduct meetings. Now it's changing the way we conduct healthcare, education and even manufacturing activities. Take a look at Connected Planet's feature.

360networks brings on Empirix for monitoring and troubleshooting

Mike Dolan — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:10:46 -0500

360networks, a wholesale VoIP and fiber wholesale provider, announced it will use Empirix's Hammer XMS monitoring and troubleshooting system to watch its 17,000 route mile fiber network.

Empirix's Hammer XMS is a network monitoring system that offers visualization of real-time service quality using a graphical user interface to optimize the search and diagnostic process and monitor the network for negative trends in voice quality.

"The integration of Empirix's Hammer XMS technology allows us to manage both VoIP and TDM call flows into a single application, improving fault isolation and network performance," said Brady Adams, chief technology officer of 360networks in a release.

For more:
- read the release

Metaswitch grabs service broker vendor AppTrigger

Mike Dolan — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:08:49 -0500

Metaswitch, the VoIP technology company, is acquiring AppTrigger--a Texas based service broker vendor. The company specializes in a type of media gateway that allows software written for one type of network to run on a different network. According to Light Reading article such a device can act as a softswitch, media gateway and signalling gateway allowing wireline applications to work on a wireless network.

The merger also means new Metaswitch CEO Kevin DeNuccio is bringing old friends back under his wing. AppTrigger CEO Chris Todd used to work under DeNuccio at Cisco.

For more:
- read the Light Reading article

Avaya and Polycom to develop video and voice offering

Mike Dolan — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:08:20 -0500

Avaya is known for its Aura IP communications platform. Polycom is known for its telepresence, video and voice expertise. Together they are combining their two offerings for complete unified communications (UC) solution. The two companies plan to come together and market fully integrated, end-to-end UC solutions that use the Avaya Aura SIP-based platform and the Polycom Open Collaboration Network strategy.

Using the Aura platform as the control base for a full range of Polycom's voice and video systems, the new offering will ease the transition for companies looking to get into UC but find system requirements and interoperability issues daunting.

For more:
- read the release

Cisco's CRS-3 will bring the speed to IP comm

Mike Dolan — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:42:13 -0500

Cisco just announced its CRS-3, a blazing fast router. It moves 322 terabits per second, can download the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress in one second, or transmit all the movies ever made in about four minutes according to the company. I am sure from such numbers, the ramifications for the future of IP communications are obvious.

To make the possibilities just a little clearer Cisco offered up this in their press release: Cisco CRS-3 can enable "every man, woman and child in China to make a video call, simultaneously." That's a pretty amazing idea. Now, of course some of the data transfer will be used for all our other Internet capabilities and communications, but take a few of these routers combined with high speed networks and the future of IP communications is upon us. Well, at least by the third quarter of this year when the technology is expected to leave trials and start shipping for $90,000.

With Cisco recently purchasing Tandberg and making other moves to position itself as the unified communications technology provider of choice, it is easy to forget sometimes that for Cisco its all about networking. But then again, the speed of the network will make its unified communications (UC) offerings no brainers.

For more:
- read the release
- read this blog post

See you at VoiceCon

Mike Dolan — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:40:14 -0500

Who's going to Orlando? In a few weeks, VoiceCon will be taking over the Gaylord Palms resort in Orlando, Florida to discuss the latest in VoIP and Unified Communications. The keynotes will feature speakers from Avaya, IBM, Siemens, Cisco, and Microsoft all discussing the evolution of IP communications.

Since 'what's next in IP communications' is the focus of FierceVoIP, we will be there to cover the event and discuss the latest solutions on display at the show. Do you have some big news planned for the show? Please send us an email and let's plan to talk. Embargoed press releases, meeting requests and any news you'd like to share before the show are all welcome. Look forward to seeing you all there in two weeks! -Mike

Digium signs distribution deal with Synnex

Mike Dolan — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:51:43 -0500

Digium is spreading its Asterisk-based phone system love further with a new deal with Synnex, a company with a network of 15,000 IT resellers. Synnex has a dedicated telephony group to provide unified communications solutions to resellers that service the small-to-medium sized business.

The partnership will get Digium's Switchvox business phone systems to resellers throughout the U.S. and Canada. The deal will allow Synnex resellers to offer Switchvox business phone systems, Asterisk Business Edition software, and digital and analog telephony cards. Digium's open source Asterisk software-based systems will provide an interesting alternative offering for the resellers' catalogs.

For more:
- read the release

XO and VoIP provider Vitelity team on IP backbone

Mike Dolan — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:46:16 -0500

Vitelity, a large VoIP network provider with more than 10,000 wholesale customers in 50 states is having XO Communications provide dedicated long-haul network connectivity between Denver and Los Angeles for its network. XO will also upgrade the network in the Denver-based company's hometown. Vitelity's move to upgrade its network speed with a 10 Gbps backbone is due in part to the Denver area's demand for VoIP and IP services increasing by nearly 800 percent in the past 3 years.

The 10 gig long-haul route between Denver and Los Angeles is Vitelity's first such connection with LA. The new network will connect the LA market with the the companies Denver-based data center and will offer customers high-capacity VoIP and data capabilities.

XO won the contract in a competive bidding process. Don MacNeil, vice president of XO Carrier Services Operations stated in a release that "Vitelity's continued relationship with XO speaks to the fact that we're dedicated to expanding the capabilities of our network so that we can quickly respond to customer demands with top-of-the-line products and services."

For more:
- read the release

National Broadband Plan in trouble?

Mike Dolan — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:05:01 -0500

Ars Technica has a story about how the National Broadband Plan is getting dumped on. Look out towards the bottom for some tidbits on how the plan might benefit small VoIP providers... Article

Avaya intros updated UC for SMEs

Mike Dolan — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:39:51 -0500

A new version of Avaya's IP Office for small and medium enterprises (SME) has hit the market with some new unified communications (UC) offerings. The new features include advanced collaboration tools using voice, instant messaging, presence and video. The addition of video collaboration comes with the release of the IP Office Video Softphone application.

In addition to the new UC features, the Avaya IP Office 6.0 is easier to install and according to the company makes UC 40 percent cheaper for small enterprises. According to the release, some of the savings comes from Avaya IP Office being "available to this segment through a new 'combination card'--providing just a single card for what used to require several cards to support digital, analog and IP devices." Cutting down on equipment needs and pairing the combo card with the cost savings of UC, the new offering is sure to spur a few more SME's to join the UC migration trend.

For more:
- read the release

Report: VoIP equipment Q4 results led by SBC sales

Mike Dolan — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:07:08 -0500

Although the service provider VoIP equipment market was down 28 percent in 2009, the industry's last quarter was led by the steady sales of session border controllers (SBC) says a new report from Infonetics, Q4 Service Provider VoIP Equipment and Subscribers. Q4 2009 was the third consecutive quarter of stable revenue.

Despite being down for the year, the revenue for the VoIP equipment market did show a comeback being up 2.7 percent over Q3 09. According to the release: "The migration to native IP sped up during the past 12 months due to the acceleration of TDM access line loss, resulting in significant declines in TDM-related equipment, particularly traditional trunk media gateways and softswitches."

The report noted four vendors who stood out for growing revenue in 2009 with Metaswitch pulling in sales from trunk media gateways and softswitches, Acme Packet providing SBCs, Radisys moving media servers, and BroadSoft dealing in voice application servers. The report also highlighted that GENBAND's takeover of Nortel's CVAS unit will spur new changes in the VoIP vendor landscape.

For more:
- read the release

Skype for Nokia not available in U.S. Ovi store

Mike Dolan — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:42:21 -0500

Last week Skype announced they were officially launching a Skype app for Nokia phones, but the story turns out to be a little more complicated than that. According to Venture Beat, due to Skype's new deal with Verizon which will one day embed Skype on Verizon phones, the Symbian-based app will not be available for download in the U.S. via the Ovi store.

According to Venture Beat, Nokia spokespeople were caught off guard by Skype not releasing the U.S. version into the Ovi store. Skype later explained that they wanted to be able to draw more attention to their partnership with Verizon in the U.S. and if Nokia phone users wanted to use the Skype app, they could still download it from the Skype website.

The Nokia/Skype software is capable of running on 200 million Nokia mobile phones and plans are in the works to get the software running on other non-Nokia Symbian-based phones. The service offers free Skype-to-Skype calls anywhere in the world over WiFi and 3G.

For more:
- read the Venture Beat story

Almost 300 million VoIP subs by 2013

Mike Dolan — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:20:53 -0500

In-Stat's latest report is getting some press as it announced that there will be 288 million VoIP subscribers by 2013 due to the growth of mobile VoIP. Check out this GigaOM post.

More UC at HIMSS: Cisco launches HealthPresence

Mike Dolan — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:12:27 -0500

Not to be outdone by Avaya, Cisco is also showcasing its Unified Communications (UC) healthcare offering at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference this week. True to form for a company that calls its telepresence offering 'Telepresence', their healthcare system is called HealthPresence.

The system combines Cisco's Telepresence with their Internet call center solutions and digital diagnostic devices and allows doctors and other healthcare providers to make consultations with patients via video conferencing. Patients will be able to provide doctors with various health indicators using a digital stethoscope, an ear-nose-throat camera, and a vital signs device--passing on blood pressure, temperature, pulse rate, and blood oxygen levels information to caregivers. In addition, the system can also be linked to electronic health records so that doctors and patients can review health information and update records through the system.

For more:
- read this article

Skype officially on Nokia phones

Mike Dolan — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:22:35 -0500

A few weeks ago, Skype launched a Beta version of its software for Nokia phones. Now it's official. Skype has launched Skype for Symbian and it is now available for download at Nokia's Ovi app store.

The Skype software is capable of running on 200 million Nokia mobile phones and plans are in the works to get the software running on other non-Nokia Symbian-based phones.

The service offers free Skype-to-Skype calls anywhere in the world over WiFi and 3G. Users can get calls to their online numbers, share pictures and videos, and send instant messages to each other.

This last mobile move follows Skype's deal with Verizon to embed a seamless Skype application on certain phones in the carrier's lineup.

For more:
- see this article
- see Skype's explaination here

REDCOM completes SIP interoperability testing with Polycom phones

Mike Dolan — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:45:10 -0500

REDCOM Laboratories, a designer of digital and IP-enabled telecom systems, completed its Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) interoperability testing for their HDX and SLICE 2100 Carrier-Class 4/5 softswitches with a number of SoundPoint IP phones from telepresence solutions provider Polycom.

REDCOM was able to verify 100 percent integration between the Polycom VoIP phones and REDCOM's HDX and SLICE 2100 SIP platforms after thorough testing. REDCOM engineers assured commercial customers that the phones and call platforms could be deployed together problem-free--highlighting that despite SIP being a standard that promotes compatibility, testing is still important.

"SIP is supposed to be a standard that eliminates many of the challenges with integrating systems from different vendors, but interoperability is not something that can be assumed or taken for granted," said Gerald Totsline, Director of Engineering, REDCOM in a release. "SIP interoperability testing is a good method of verification to ensure that when two SIP-based solutions are actually deployed that they will work together flawlessly."

For more:
- read the release

CDW tracking poll shows companies planning for UC future

Mike Dolan — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:24:13 -0500

CDW, a technology products and services company, has just posted the results of its second annual Unified Communications (UC) Tracking Poll. While it found that UC deployments remained steady from a year ago, companies with strategic plans to deploy UC were up 12 percent.

Today, 45 percent of IT executives surveyed have deployed presence technology compared to 37 percent in surveyed in 2009. Fifty four percent of those surveyed cited reduced operating costs as the top benefit seen from their UC deployment--followed by productivity and more reliable communications.

CDW surveyed 915 IT professionals who were actively exploring UC. The survey pool was divided up between various sectors: medium and large businesses, the federal government, state and local governments, healthcare, higher education and K-12 public schools.

For more:
- read the release
- get the report here

Bankruptcy courts approve Nortel CVAS sale to GENBAND

Mike Dolan — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:50:26 -0500

Nortel just got approval from the bankruptcy courts in the U.S. and Canada that they could go through with the sale of their Carrier VoIP and Application Solutions (CVAS) assets to GENBAND.

Apparently, the deal still requires the approval of Israeli courts. After that, the companies hope to work through the second quarter of 2010 to transfer the assets, products and customer accounts over to GENBAND.

According to the agreement, GENBAND will pay a purchase price of $282 million, subject to balance sheet and other adjustments currently estimated at approximately $100 million for a net purchase price of approximately $182 million. GENBAND launched a stalking bid for Nortel's CVAS unit in December 2009.

For more:
- read the release

VocalTec wins Russian contract

Mike Dolan — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:57:47 -0500

Israeli telecom equipment provider, VocalTec won a $1 million contract with a Russian Tier-1 operator to supply the core platform to deliver VoIP services to over 100,000 subscribers.

The deal with the unnamed operator will provide VocalTec's Essentra BAX Large-Scale Class-5 solution as the core platform for the delivery of Voice over IP subscriber services. The deal is only the first stage of deployment and the system is meant to be able to grow to support more users.

“This transaction reflects our ongoing penetration to the top-tier service provider community in Russia and reinforces our position as a global provider of VoIP and Convergence solutions. We look forward to implementing our solutions with this new customer and to expanding our relationship in the near future.” said Ido Gur, President and CEO of VocalTec Communications in a release.

For more:
- read this article
- read this release

Nortel name to dissappear with sales?

Mike Dolan — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:38:04 -0500

Apparently with all the auctioning, Nortel's name was also up for sale but the buyers of its various pieces did not pick up the name. GENBAND's VP and CMO Mehmet Balos said it declined to buy the name. Article

Avaya introduces UC solution for healthcare providers

Mike Dolan — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:28:54 -0500

Sure its not an IP Communications conference, but that doesn't mean UC providers can't have fun at HIMSS too. At the healthcare conference today, Avaya announced unified communications products to make healthcare providers' patient care more efficient.

The four products announced are meant to help providers make processes run more smoothly and be more organized while increasing the quality of care:

Mobile Device Checkout: Frees hospital and nursing staff from the nursing station allowing them to receive notifications and communication using a personal WLAN device from anywhere in the hospital. When devices are checked-out in the beginning of a shift they are given a specific phone number and can be tagged with identifiers like 'lead nurse' to make it easier for doctors to contact the right person for the job.
Nurse Call Response: This solution is aimed at reducing nurse walk times and allowing patients to directly ping their nurses so that patients get faster care.
Patient Appointment Reminder: This offering automates out-bound calls to patients to remind them of appointments, using a voice activated system for patients to confirm they will be coming and it allows them to reschedule through voice activated menus. This is aimed at reducing patient no-shows.
Patient Admit Coordinator: This is a patient work-flow solution aimed at replacing the time hogging paper-based ER admittance process. The solution hopes to speed things up for admitting new patients, free up beds and avoid patient walk-outs.

For more:
- read the release

TelCentris teams with Sandler Partners for reselling deal

Mike Dolan — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:10:25 -0500

News is starting to trickle out of Channel Partners Conference and Expo in Las Vegas and it looks like the creators of VoxOx have some VoIP news to share. TelCentris has a signed a Master Agent agreement with Sandler Partners, a telecommunications master agency, which will allow it to expand the reach of the company's IP communications products to 900 sub-agents nationwide.

"Partnering with Sandler is an exciting, strategic step for us that reinforces the strength of our growing Channel Partner Program, which we launched last fall," said Bryan Hertz, CEO of TelCentris in a release. Sandler will be reselling a number of TelCentris' products including hosted IP-PBX, SIP trunking, hosted contact center solutions and wholesale carrier services.

For more:
- read the release

Samsung releases Skype TVs

Mike Dolan — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:38:04 -0500

So maybe it's just in Korea right now, but Skype-enabled TVs are now among us. Samsung LED 7000 and 8000 series televisions include Internet connectivity and when combined with Samsungs' FREETALK TV Camera, couch potatoes and their friends can interact over Skype video calling.

Users will be able to send and receive voice calls as well as video calls using the service that makes use of Skype's SILK audio codecs enabling super-wideband audio quality. The TV-based Skype will work just like on the computer, with users setting up new accounts with their TV remote and having access to long distance landline calls at Skype's low rates.

Although currently only available in Korea, the TVs are slated for release to the rest of the world in the first half of 2010.

For more:
- read this release

Sonus details future on Q4 earnings call

Mike Dolan — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:18:42 -0500

In an earings call on Friday, Sonus Networks shared some positive results for the year. Despite the down economy in 2009, Sonus announced that it was profitable on a non-GAAP basis and ended the year with over $414 million of cash and investments on their balance sheet.

Some highlights Sonus pointed out for 2009 were that they "won a multimillion dollar contract with a Fortune 50 customer that extends VoIP capabilities from within the enterprise to IP peering points at the carry edge", and they announced new customer relationships with service providers like Cox Communications, CITIC 1616, Hypercube and KDDI Global. They are also providing the IP voice network core for an American Tier 1 exchange carrier.

According to CEO Richard Nottenburg, the company will use 2010 to launch a new IP to IP platform and focus on four points:

Create products that lead the industry in scale, performance and reliability for IP to IP session management targeted at service providers, enterprises, and channel distribution.
Invest in creating solutions and ensure service continuity on broadband wireless networks and bring out solutions for Internet-based and carrier-hosted services to work in a fixed-mobile convergence environment.
Use the platform to deliver solutions for policy based control of IP services and flows; empower service providers to create new services and controls; maximize returns on existing and new traffic investments.
Continue to invest and extend the company's leadership in their other core products and service offerings.

For more:
- read the SeekingAlpha transcript of the call

Skype drops its Windows Mobile app

Mike Dolan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:30:24 -0500

Ok, ok. Don't freak out--it looks like this is just a step towards supporting the new Microsoft mobile operating system and not a move showing Skype is quiting MS-based phones altogether. Skype has pulled their app for Window Mobile, meaning new users will not be able to download it. Users with the software already installed will still be able to use it. According to GigaOm, it appears the reasons are that the software never quite achieved the best possible consistent user experience and Skype has grown tired of supporting it when they could be focusing on making a killer app for the Windows Phone 7 operating system.

"We felt that Skype Lite and Skype for Windows Mobile were not offering the best possible Skype experience," reads the Skype for Windows Mobile FAQ.

For now mobile Skype enthusiasts will have to look toward Verizon with their latest Skype integration deal or the iPhone app that runs over WiFi. As with these apps, it seems Skype is very focused on ironing out all the kinks before releasing a product to ensure the best user experience. Perhaps with the previous Windows app, they didn't feel they were living up to this goal.

For more:
- read this blog post

How much bandwidth do you need?

Mike Dolan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:47:58 -0500

The FCC is trying to launch a national broadband push and the debate rages over how much bandwidth we need. If we love our VoIP and video technology and want to see it everywhere, I'd say we need a lot. PCWorld doesn't think we should get ahead of ourselves, I think that might be a mistake. Read the article.

BT offers interoperability with top video conferencing providers

Mike Dolan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:44:19 -0500

BT Conferencing just announced a powerful new offering to its video conferencing customers. It is offering interoperability between the video conferencing systems of the top three video conferencing equipment vendors: Cisco, Polycom and TANDBERG.

As part of the company's managed service offering, BT One Source now provides an end-to-end solution for all three video conferencing systems for ease of use and cost saving no matter what video platform customers choose.

"BT has successfully deployed this interoperability service for several large multi-national customers, enabling them to use a mixture of different endpoints in a video meeting. We also currently operate this service within BT's internal video estate. Our goal is to help our customers maximize their investments in video technology by allowing them to collaborate with partners, suppliers, customers and others around the globe," said Aaron McCormack, CEO of BT Conferencing in a release.

For more:
- read the release

Report: Synergy examines VoIP market share

Mike Dolan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:00:58 -0500

Synergy Research Group released their newest report describing the market share break down of the VoIP markets and showing what's been driving the carrier VoIP market.

In "Carrier VoIP Q4 2009 and YE 2009 market shares," Synergy reveals that the market for Carrier VoIP totalled $10 billion in 2009. While traditionally the migration of old PSTN lines to VoIP was the main driver of Carrier VoIP, Synergy found that further growth was added by Mobile Operators seeking the Capex and OpEx benefits of IP. "Mobile deployments for Carrier VoIP have made a serious impact on market sizes and market players for the VoIP Media Gateway market," says the release.

As for market share, Synergy saw GENBAND as the leader of the pack for Media Gateways with 22 percent followed by Huawei with 15 percent. When GENBAND acquires Nortel CVAS its market share will be twice its nearest competitor. In the IMS VoIP market, Synergy saw Alcatel-Lucent as the leader with 47 percent of the market share. Ericsson followed Alcatel-Lucent with Huawei nipping at its heels.

For more:
- read the release

Vonage announces net income for first time

Mike Dolan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:15:33 -0500

Vonage released its Q4 earnings report and had some exciting news. Excluding adjustments, the company reported net income from operations for the very first time. Vonage reported a net income of $3 million excluding adjustments which was up $37 million from 2008.

Sequentially, net income was flat but revenue was up to $224 million. According to the release, the average revenue per user increased to $30.54 from $28.33 in the year ago quarter and $29.89 sequentially.

"2009 marks the first year generating net income excluding adjustments. Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled. And, revenues per subscriber have increased while we reduced selling, general and administrative expenses by double-digit percentages," said Marc Lefar, Vonage Chief Executive Officer in the earnings release. Lefar saw the net income success as a function of an upgraded value proposition, enhancing the customer experience, and reduced costs.

For more:
- read the release

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Nortel closing deal with GENBAND for CVAS

Mike Dolan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:25:58 -0500

Well, it looks like GENBAND will be officially acquiring Nortel Carrier VoIP and Application Solutions (CVAS). Yesterday, Nortel announced that it would not be proceeding to auction, and instead would be working towards closing the sales agreement with GENBAND for the CVAS unit.

The Nortel/GENBAND deal is for all the global assets of Nortel's CVAS business for a purchase price of $282 million. This number is subject to balance sheet and other adjustments that are approximately $100 million which would add up to a net purchase price of $182 million. The deal will transfer all of CVAS' patents and products for softswitching, gateways, SIP applications, TDM products and services, as well as any intelectual property and customer agreements to GENBAND.

GENBAND proposed the bid around Christmas last year and got court approval both in the U.S. and Canada in early January. Although the bidding was open to challengers since then, it seems that Nortel CVAS has found its buyer.

For more:
- read this release

Related articles
Nortel gets court OK on GENBAND CVAS bid
More on GENBAND's Nortel CVAS bid
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Patton launches any-to-any SIP SBC

Mike Dolan — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:53:11 -0500

SIP is everywhere these days. And with any new technology standard, making a transition to it needs to be easy and secure. Patton, a Washington, D.C.-area based technology company, has just released its SmartNode 5200 Session Border Control to help businesses interested in SIP make an easy conversion.

The new SBC will provide security and any-to-any connections for SIP calls where the legacy firewall or Edge Router are SIP unaware. In addition, the SmartNode 5200 offers cost savings by including advanced IP router, QoS, VoIP-VPN security, least-cost call routing and IP-link redundancy all in one device.

The new offering is targeted at businesses with 50 or less employees when using the built-in virtual firewall. For companies with 50 to 250 employees the SBC can forward SIP messages to an external firewall to handle security.

For more:
- read this release
- read the company website info on the new offering

Cloud computing competition heats up

Mike Dolan — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:26:14 -0500

As business computing gets more advanced and cloud computing moves beyond email, competitors are flooding in to challenge incumbents. GigaOm takes a look at some of these and sizes up the market. Article

Hosted PBX provider Vocalocity hires new CEO

Mike Dolan — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:30:02 -0500

Small business VoIP provider, Vocalocity, has brought on some new talent. The Atlanta-based company is bringing on Wain Kellum as its new CEO. Kellum comes from location-based services company Omnilink and has over 25 years of experience in technology companies.

Prior to his stint as CEO of Ominlink, Kellum started, grew and sold software development company Extreme Logic which is now a part of Hewlett Packard.

Kellum signaled that in taking this position he could see Vocalocity dive into cloud computing as well. “Vocalocity has a unique and distinct value proposition and there is a tremendous upside in accelerating our business model of bringing VoIP communications to the small business market," said Kellum in a press release. “There is also a nearly unlimited potential in helping small businesses take advantage of additional capabilities of the cloud computing phenomenon by extending our core offerings.”

Vocalocity provides hosted PBX services to small businesses with 50 employees or less and doesn't sell to enterprise or residential customers.

For more:
- read the release

Cisco modifies UC licensing

Mike Dolan — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:34:34 -0500

Unified communications (UC) may seem complicated, but in the end its all about simplifying customers' business communication. In that spirit, Cisco has decided to simplify how it licenses its UC software to its customers.

The changes are being made to Cisco's a la carte User Connect licensing program. Before, customers expressed confusion at the al la carte licensing as being too complex with a per server right-to-use fee and an additional device licenses. Since customers told Cisco that they were used to per-workspace type licensing models, Cisco has decided to collapse the pricing to simplify it for customers opting for the User Connect program.

For more:
- read the TMCnet story