VOIP Solution and Service

The Danish company RTX Products A/S has introduced a cordless telephone handset that works with internet phone service provider Skype’s services and does not require a personal computer. The new DUAL phone helps people to save money on their phone bill and gives them more flexibility when using Skype.

The company’s DUAL phone 3088 can also be used as a normal phone using a landline. It works by connecting its base station to both a broadband internet connection for Skype calls and a traditional analog landline connection for making calls over the public switched telephone network(PSTN). The cordless aspect of the product is provided by DECT, a wireless technology well known for high reliability, low cost and no interference problems.

The phone has a simple Skype user interface and possesses almost all the Skype voice features. To use it on the internet, however, the internet connection must always be on. Users will have the option of making a Skype call or landline call and also Skype PC calls, SkypeOut, SkypeIn and Voicemail. The phone is priced 159 euros and has a colour display and an operating time of more than 10 hours of talk time as well as up to 140 hours at standby.

RTX Products A/S is a 100% owned subsidiary of RTX Telecom A/S, an internationally oriented group which develops and markets advanced high-tech solutions and products such as the DUALphone, Wireless Local Loop (WLL), Bluetoothâ„¢ headsets and healthcare products.

VoIP is a telephony term for a set of facilities for managing the delivery of voice information using Internet Protocol (IP) and is the future of communication.

With worldwide revenues from Internet voice technologies expected to grow from about $13 billion in 2002 to nearly $200 billion by 2007, Lets take a look at the different technologies and progress of VoIP.

In VoIP technology already available long-distance phone calls, conferencing, e-mail, and other communications are now affordable and flexible.

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) retrieves server responses and handles client requests and is able to determine the end system that will be used for a communication session, automatically sets the relevant parameters of the communication at receiver and user ends and then manages call transfer and call termination. SIP has taken VoIP technology forward in terms of operational efficiency and many VoIP vendors are now including SIP as standard, bringing SIP to a growing audience.

Another influential element in the future of VoIP is improvements in VoIP gateways. Gateways are developing from PC-based platforms to more robust embedded systems, which will be able to handle an increased amount of call traffic.

Currently, the most promising areas of development for VoIP are corporate intranets and commercial extranets. Companies are already looking to remove fax traffic off the PSTN and relocate it on to the Internet and corporate Intranet, through FAXoIP gateways and via IP-capable fax machines.

Another area of growth will be video conferencing. Video conferencing (H.323) with data collaboration (T.120) will become a popular method for corporate communications in the future, as network performance and interoperability increase.

The future of VoIP as a major communication method over the coming years is therefore assured. VoIP Telecommunications are here to stay.

Source: Ezine Articles

As schools prepare themselves to be tech savvy and more and more schools are putting transmitters in classrooms to give pupils wireless access from laptops to the school computer network and the internet, yet another debate poses a question mark on the use of wireless.

Many parents and some scientists are concerned that low levels of microwave radiation emitted by the transmitters could be harmful, causing loss of concentration, headaches, fatigue, memory and behavioral problems and possibly cancer in the long term.

Although there is no conclusive evidence for this, yet the debate is sure to send a shock through wireless LAN vendors, for whom the education market is a critical growth area. This is the latest in what seems to be a rising number of wireless controversies involving school-age and sometimes younger children, covering not only emissions but also privacy, security and safety, and acceptable use of cell phones, WLANs, and RFID.

Take a look at some of these incidents which show how parents and teachers are getting more and more apprehensive about the hazards of wi-fi.

At the Prebendal School, a prestigious preparatory in Chichester, West Sussex, England, a group of parents lobbied the head teacher, Tim Cannell, to remove the wireless network last month.

At Ysgol Pantycelyn, a high school in Carmarthenshire, Wales, parents aired their concerns to the governors, who agreed to switch off its wireless network.

Stowe School, a Buckinghamshire private boarding school, also removed part of its wireless network after Michael Bevington, a classics teacher for 28 years at the school, said that he had such a violent reaction to the network that he was too ill to teach.

HBO, a U.S. cable network owned by media conglomerate Time Warner, is considering offering a broadband Internet channel that would be available to customers who also subscribe to its cable television service, the Financial Times reported on its Web site.

HBO executives have been hashing out the details of what they will offer online, and a spokesman says no formal decision has been made. But programming will almost certainly be offered via a subscription service, much like the mixture of HBO movies and original fare such as The Wire, Deadwood, and Big Love now offered by cable and satellite operators for a monthly fee of $10 to $12 or more.

An HBO broadband offering would join a field that’s getting more crowded by the moment—and apparently enjoying some success among early adopters. The Disney Channel says it has streamed more than 48 million episodes of shows since launching its broadband service in January. To capture a decidedly edgier audience, Sony, MGM, and Comcast launched their own broadband horror movie site, FearNET, on Oct. 30. But the world of broadband TV viewing would get a big boost when HBO, which annually wins a slew of Emmys and enjoys the industry’s heftiest profit margins, makes its long-awaited entry online.

HBO has made its first leap into broadband with a new topical comedy channel it will produce jointly with corporate sibling AOL.

Nokia is launching a platform will enable operators to block specific types of data services, namely peer to peer file sharing and VoIP calls. The centralized solution is implemented as a software upgrade to the Nokia Flexi Intelligent Service Node (ISN) and will be commercially available during the first half of 2007.

With this VoIP blocker, Nokia wants to empower the mobile operators better manage their data traffic by controlling bandwidth-consuming applications including Skype and IM-related services. Thus this peer-to-peer Traffic Control solution enhances the service, subscriber, and access awareness capabilities of the Nokia Flexi ISN to identify data traffic according to the type of service, for example file sharing, so that operators can treat that traffic in a way that best optimizes the use of network resources according to the operators’ business strategy.

“With the explosion of affordable high-speed mobile data access, operators are now being challenged to make the best possible use of their networks, especially when peer-to-peer applications increase their traffic load and compete with their own services,” says Roberto Loiola, Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Networks, Nokia. He also adds, “The Nokia Peer-to-peer Traffic Control solution now gives operators the means to analyse and manage such traffic. It allows them to apply their business models by prioritizing the traffic of preferred services and partners, maximize their return on network investment, and avoid becoming only bit pipes for other content providers.”

Until now, BlackBerrys have been exclusively designed for use in the corporate world - not anymore. BlackBerry Pearl from Rogers Wireless is a stylish and powerful smartphone featuring the gold standard in push-email. The smallest, lightest BlackBerry ever in a stylish smartphone designed for the person who works and lives on the go.

With Blackberry Pearl you have Camera, MP3 Player, Micro SD Card, Trackball, SureType, Voice-activated Dialing and Blackberry maps. Other features include:

* Email, calendar and contacts pushed to your device in real-time.
* Quad-band worldphone with email and Internet access to over 90 countries.
* EDGE enabled for faster downloading and Internet surfing.
* Speakerphone for hands-free and conference calling.
* Bluetooth® support for headset and car accessories.
* High-resolution colour display that automatically adjusts the backlight based on ambient lighting.
* Instant Messaging with BlackBerry Messenger and Yahoo!® Messenger.

It comes with a high resolution backlit LCD colour screen supporting over 65,000 colours. It has a resolution of 240 x 260 pixels and sells for $249.99 on a three-year voice and data plan from Rogers Wireless and is available exclusively across Canada through Rogers Wireless dealers, retail points of sale or online at www.rogers.com.

Rogers Wireless Inc. is Canada’s largest wireless voice and data communications services provider with offices in Canadian cities across the country, more than 6.3 million customers, and two powerful brands: Rogers Wireless and Fido.

Frost & Sullivan, a leading industry analyst firm, is really bowled over by Verizon business. It has recognized Verizon Business as an IP leader delivering some of the most innovative voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) services and capturing the leading market share among Web conferencing reseller service providers.

Frost & Sullivan has selected Verizon Business to receive the 2006 North American Enterprise VoIP Services Customer Value Enhancement Award. Frost & Sullivan said service providers competing for the award for the enterprise VoIP market were judged on their ability to expand their existing customer base by adding new, innovative offerings and how they have positioned their services to create satisfaction among a diverse potential customer base. The Frost & Sullivan award recognizes Verizon Business’ ability to effectively integrate its products and services following the Verizon-MCI merger.

Frost & Sullivan, in its “World Web Conferencing Markets” study published in October, named Verizon Conferencing as the leading Web conferencing reseller services provider. Earlier this year, Verizon Business sponsored a Frost & Sullivan study, “Meetings Around the World: The Impact of Collaboration on Business Performance,” that determined that collaboration is a key driver of business performance.

Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications is a leading provider of advanced communications and information technology (IT) solutions to large business and government customers worldwide. Combining unsurpassed global network reach with advanced technology and professional service capabilities, Verizon Business delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world.

Source: “Verizon Business”

VoIP services are aiming for simplicity, cost benefits and mobility. Thomson, the U.S. branch of France’s Thomson SA which makes phones under the GE brand, is planning to launch next year cordless phones that include Voice-over-IP features.

The cordless handsets will embed the adapter technology needed to make phone calls over the Internet. The new devices will work with SunRocket’s VoIP service.

At the Broadband World Forum Europe, Thomson became the latest passenger on the convergence wagon by offering a new product that combines VoIP and IPTV. The company is also adding high definition sound to its home gateway products (BT is a gateway customer of Thomson’s). The new gateway will enhance services like Internet Radio and will cost up to €70 per box.

Vonage has been offering similar phones from VTech and Uniden for more than a year. This year also witnesses the launch of a Wi-Fi phone from Netgear by Skype. VoIP is really attracting the mainstream market with its added features.

The revenue from North American residential VoIP services is expected to reach $13.2 billion in 2012, up from last year’s $1.22 billion, according to Frost & Sullivan.

“The residential VoIP market is moving to mass-market consumers who are not interested in technology and novelty; they are looking at VoIP services based on convenience, control, and cost,” agreed Frost & Sullivan senior analyst Lynda Starr in a statement.

There is good news for teachers and administrators who need to keep in touch with schools while on the go. The eligible list for E-rate funding is out and PDAs, some mobile services and VoIP are eligible. The $2.25 billion E-Rate program subsidizes technology in the schools. VoIP telephony, offered by providers such as Vonage and Skype, are cheaper and offer more features than regular phone service, school officials say.

E-rate discounts will make the wireless email and interconnected VoIP services even cheaper. The decade-old federal program collects fees paid by telephone customers into a universal-service fund that covers from 20 percent to 90 percent of the cost of eligible school telecommunications services, depending on the poverty level of the district’s students.

The FCC has made these services eligible:

* Interconnected VoIP,
* VoIP equipment
* Wireless Internet-access service designed for portable devices, (such as BlackBerries)
* Training for installation and configuration, as long as it is provided at the same time as, or soon after, installation of eligible components
* Universal-service fees on schools’ telecommunications services Voice- or video-conferencing services
* Digital-transmission services, which enable schools to run distance-learning programs
* Paging services for bus drivers or teachers on field trips
* E-mail and Web hosting
* Long-distance and local telephone service
* Internet services, including access charges
* Internal connections, including cables, hubs, and routers in a school’s computer network.

Ineligible for E-Rate funding:

* Fees for universal-service administration
* Portable wireless devices (such as PDAs and BlackBerry devices), including those that provide wireless Internet access to e-mail service
* Personal computers
* Cellphones
* Educational software and other content
* Teachers Training

Source:education.zdnet.com

RCN Corporation has signed an agreement with Cedar Point Communications to deploy its integrated voice and multimedia SAFARI C³ switch for voice over internet protocol (VoIP) telephone services. The use of the multimedia switch is designed to compliment RCN’s current VoIP offering, primarily in Chicago, and provide additional on and off-net capabilities. SAFARI C³ is a centralized platform that bundles several PacketCable network elements into one device.
In Chicago, RCN initially launched VoIP in the last mile access network with its existing Lucent Class 5 switch, the GenBand G6 gateway, and multimedia terminal adapters from Motorola. The new Cedar Point platform will introduce the softswitch and full PacketCable-based offering. In addition to Chicago, RCN also provides services in Boston, New York, eastern Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
RCN will begin its four month test in mid November and RCN will be able to offer VoIP services to residents and businesses through this switch. “We are excited about the prospect of expanding the RCN brand to our 6 million licensed homes,” said Rick Swiderski, Vice President of Network Engineering.

“In keeping with our innovative and forward-thinking DNA,” stated Richard Ramlall, SVP of Strategic and External Affairs, “we are excited about testing the possibilities of advanced VoIP in our top Metro markets.”

Cedar Point’s Executive Vice President, Strategy and Market Development, Dave Spear commented, “We are pleased to have this opportunity to trial our integrated voice and multimedia switch with RCN.”