Happy New Year Everyone from VoIP Choice!

It is going to be a great year and for VoIP too. Internet calling is the future of calling all over the world and before long it will be the global standard for long distance voice and video communication.

I think it is wonderful, with the only cost of a PC to PC VoIP calling being the cost of internet access - internet telephony is another step in making our planet a true global village :-)

Best wishes of most wonderful and very happy New Year Everyone!

Vonage Internet Phone now doing VoIP in BC

Vonage Canada has further extended the reach of its VoIP to now include the province of British Columbia

"British Columbians have had a rough ride when it comes to their phone service, said Bill Rainey - the president of Vonage Canada. "Residents no longer have to feel like they are at the mercy of the whims of a large telephone company. With Vonage residents of BC now have choice for their local phone service. This latest phase of our expansion is part of our overall plan to provide residents across British Columbia with access to local Vonage Internet phone service."

Customers in the communities of New Westminster, Port Coquitlam, andSurrey can have their current phone number transferred to Vonage or choose a new telephone number within the popular 604, and 778 area codes. All available area codes and communities are listed on the vonage.ca website.

All Vonage VoIP service plans currently include:

- Voicemail
- Call Waiting
- Caller ID
- Call Transfer
- Call Hunt
- 911 Dialing
- Caller ID Block
- Call Return
- Call Forwarding
- Area Code Selection
- Repeat Dialing
- Bandwidth Saver
- Online voicemail retrieval
- Real Time Billing
- Real Time Inbound/Outbound
- Call Record Details

Thomson's wideband audio internet phone

Thomson Telcom has announced their first in the world wireless internet phone having the capability of transmitting voice and music with a near CD quality. It is a standard feature for PC to PC voice over IP telephony but a new one for wireless internet phone sets.

“Wideband audio delivers superior voice quality both compared to regular PSTN and standard IP phone calls. Integrating this feature raises the bar not only in terms of the sophistication of broadband service delivery platforms but also for voice services across the board”, stated Bruno Fabre, vice president in charge of Telecom activities at Thomson. “We believe that in 2007 wideband audio will be implemented in 30% of the wireless VoIP devices dedicated to both the residential and enterprise markets.”

Microsoft and Softbank will VoIP in Japan

Microsoft, Softbank and Japan Telecom announced strategic alliance to offer internet phone service along with email, internet access, instant messaging and more to the Japanese telephone consumers.

Japan Telecom is Japan's largest internet telephone provider and its new cooperative venture here will offer small and mid size businesses an enterprise class internet telephony through its high quality networking infrastructure.

The plans are to begin implementations of these internet phone services in the spring of 2006.

Phone Wizard makes regular phone a VoIP one

Actiontec has introduced to the market a little box called Internet Phone Wizard. It allows user to plug a regular phone to it and to make through it either a regular or VoIP call.

It uses Skype for its VoIP connection and it goes for about US $70. There are two phone ports on its back and it connects to computer, for the internet calls, through a USB cable.

Merry Christmas Everyone from VoIP Choice!

For those of you who don't know yet, here are a few new online messenger programs with VoIP built-in, that you can download for free. Listed here in no particular order.

* Yahoo Messenger Free PC to PC calls, as it is with all the featured applications here plus calls-out to regular phones with rates as low as US 1 cent per minute. It is also soon to be compatible with the MSN Messenger (which will have full VoIP in and out built into its next version).

* Skype Many features could be added to its current version messenger but the VoIP is superb.

* ICQ in it's current version 5.0 sports a VoIP plus a features packed messenger.

* PalTalk It combines MSN, AOL, ICQ and Yahoo all in one. Some of its features are paid premium but the basic stuff is free as in the other messengers plus there is a nice selection of free radio content to choose from.

And these ones so far have just the PC to PC feature of VoIP while the in and out calling to regular phones feature implementation is in the works.

* MSN Messenger
* Google Talk

Phillips releases VoIP microchip

Royal Phillips Electronics has reported releasing a VoIP enabled microchips for cordless phones. These are part of Phillips PCD8072x group of chips and will offer cordless phones manufacturers a wideband VoIP capability implementation without the use of computers.

“With Philips VoIP enabled system solution, we were able to speed development time for our next generation cordless phone,” said Dr. Edmund Ho, President, CEO and chairman of Ascalade Communications, a partner supplier with Philips Consumer Electronics, a division of Royal Philips Electronics.

The microchip can handle WiFi, DECT, Bluetooth and also high end high-end ARM7 and DSP technologies.

Phillips is to exhibit the product for internet phones at the January 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Gingerbread adds Vlog VoIP to SweetTalk

Gingerbread Media, a division of Appian Media announced today the release of Vlogs to their SweetTalk VoIP service geared for moms. Vlogs is adding a internet video chat functionality within the existing SweetTalk softphone.

The company, noticing the widespread of VoIP technology into ever more households, is targetting mothers through the use of custom themes and graphics reltaing to the new internet phone application.

Google and AOL new VoIP cooperation

Google will invest US 1Billion in America Online Inc. It will Give Google 5% stocks share of the company. Currently AOL is a wholy owned subsidiary of Time Warners.

The investment will be part of those companies' stratedic advertizing alliance which will include VoIP internet telephony. The agreement will include creation of a broader market place through white labeling of Google technologies, expansion of display advertizing through Google's network, making AOL content more accessible to Google crawlers and cooperation on expanding the video search.

Pakistan's Telcom to provide VoIP through iBasis

iBasis announced on Monday it will be providing VoIP infrastructure for the Pakistan Telecomunications Company Ltd. (PTLT). It will enable PTLT to engage in direct IP connection between its Huawei IP Backbone infrastructure and IBasis' global VoIP network providing direct VoIP access to over 100 countries.

"PTCL is an innovative incumbent carrier embracing the benefits of VoIP to enhance the Pakistan's communications capabilities," said Ofer Gneezy, president and CEO of iBasis. "We look forward to helping them to expand their VoIP services even while we leverage this relationship to grow our traffic to Pakistan."

My People VoIP launches in Kansas

A new and innovative residential phone service by company called My People has been announced to begin running in Kansas.

For $15 a month it will feature musical dial tone, voice prompts and voice activated dialing. Among extra features there will be general, weather and sports news as well as wake up call service.

"My People has taken a dramatic step towards attracting the next generation VoIP user through its voice activated content retrieval and other lifestyle features," said William Stofega, Research Manager for VoIP Services, IDC."My People exemplifies the type of Internet phone service that will replace land lines over the next few years. It's simple to use, has a catchy brand, and offers useful features. Being able to access Internet information by just picking up your phone is just plain cool."

New Skype 1.2 Beta VoIP for Pocket PC is here

Skype has released its new VoIP software version 1.2 beta for Pocket PCs. It allows free PC internet calls over IP in the WiFi hotspots in a fashion analogical to the new Vonage mobile phone I talked about here five days ago The cool thing about it though is that if you have a WiFi enabled, Pocket PC run, PDA you do not need to buy a new phone - neither does the person you call - if she or he is a PC or Pocket PC user. And all the PC to PC calls on Skype are free.

There are two versions of it - the 1.2.0.89 for users with devices running CPU with clock over 400Mhz and the 1.2.0.91 for all the others. Otherwise both versions are the same.

Some of the new features in this first in 8 months version release are:

- Windows Mobile 5.0 support
- Landscape mode support and support for 240x240 and 480x480 screens
- New languages (Danish, Dutch, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese Brazil, Russian, Spanish, Swedish)
- New EULA text
- Call forwarding icon added

Related links for the new software release:

Complete specifications list

Download page

Skype Internet Phone Toys For Christmas

Skype now has a page listing a hoard of companies partnering with them in delivering Skype related products. These include stuff like Bluetooth headsets, USB phones, phone adapters and other. If you want to check it out - here is the link http://www.skype.com/partners/current/index.html

New WiMax VoIP Network

Atlanta based Verso company partnered with Telekom South Africa in deployment of WiFi compatible PDA access to public telephone network using WiMax technology. In its trial version, the deployment of it has been accomplished through the use of class 4 and 5 softswithing and gateway technologies.

In the words of Monty Bannerman - Verso's CEO "This trial demonstrates Verso's ability to provide carrier grade VoIP solutions and application and specifically demonstrates that Verso can successfully deliver voice and data over WiMax network".

WiMax is a wireless standard (IEEE 802.16) simmilar to the WiFi (IEEE 802.11) one used in the popular wireless home and office routers. It has a longer range and is being propagated over a higher (microwave) range of electromagnetic frequencies. Theoretical range of it is up to 30 miles but practically and particularly in dense urban settings it is about 4 to 5 miles.

It is possible though to extend the range of WiFi reception considerably as well, even up to 5 miles through the usage of a small parabolic antenna.

Poland's Biggest Telcom Company To Join The VoIP Wave

Telekomunikacja Polska (TP) - Poland's major telcom carrier approached Itatel and Cisco Systems to receive help with flowing into embracing the VoIP future. Plans are to deploy solutions based on Itatel's Softswitch i-SSW and the Cisco AS 5400 Series Universal Gateway.

Poland's broadband internet has so far only some 10 percent market share. However it is predicted to double or triple in the next three years.

As a side note - 47.5 percent of TP is currently held by France Telecom.

New WiFi VoIP phone through Vonage

Today Vonage has made available to its subscribers a new WiFi portable phone called UTStarcom F1000.

What is it exactly? You know how you can say drive your car to a parking lot where there is a public access wireless internet beaming from some nearby building. You then just open your laptop computer and you are on the net. Well you can do sort of the same thing with that phone now, just instead of having a fully featured web browsing experience you will be able to use that internet access to make phone calls using your VoIP provider - in this case company called Vonage.

This phone has standard VoIP calling features including three-way calling, voicemail and caller ID. The talktime on one charge of its batteries is about 5 hours, standby time 2 to 4 days and the recharge time approximately 3 hours. Vonage sells that phone from its website for US $79.95 (price after a $50 instant rebate).

And in the words of Bill Huang, chief technology officer and senior vice president of engineering at UTStarcom. "We believe the affordable price point and extensive features of the UTStarcom F1000 offered through Vonage will be a disruptive force in the telecommunications service marketplace. Consumers with Wi-Fi access in their home can replace their traditional home phone with the F1000 and start reaping the benefits of wireless VoIP phone service right away."

Microsoft Getting Ready For New VoIP Messenger

It has been reported that Microsoft is soon to release Live Messenger beta - a new version of its ever popular MSN Messenger currently sporting over 185 million active accounts worldwide. According to a Messenger enthusiast site Mess.be that is scheduled to happen today. It is to include calling in and out to regular phones for a fee, much as in the recently announced Yahoo Messenger expansion.

The VoIP telephone part of the messenger software is to be supported by the MCI company. In the words of Blake Irving, corporate vice president of the MSN Communication Services and Member Platform group at Microsoft “Our new Windows Live PC-to-phone voice feature requires a partner that shares our vision for connecting people globally. We are thrilled to work with a proven global technology provider like MCI to provide the bridge between PCs and phones with high-quality voice services that enable people to communicate more easily, conveniently and inexpensively. Our customers are going to love this"

During the beta phase calls out to the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Western Europe will start atUS 2.3 cents per minute and totall number of countries to call will be over 220. The pre purchased calls out will be available in $5, $10 and $25 units.

As another improvement, the Live Messenger - as it is to be called - is planned to contain a new file sharing folder, allowing both communicating users to share and edit it's content in real time.

All that is part of a greater Microsoft set of 'Live' products to be released earlier in 2006. It will include Office Live, Live Mail, Live Safety Center and Live Search Mobile among others.

By the way, if you are interested in testing new Microsoft products like this one you can inquire at this site http://connect.microsoft.com

8x8 joins with BellSouth in its VoIP expansion

8x8 is a Santa Clara, California, USA VoIP company mostly known by it's over 100,000 subscribers strong VoIP service called Packet8 It will now supply the equipment, service and knowledge base to the Bell South Digital and its existing clients base in 9 US states. The cost of the service will be $29.99 per month for one phone line.

Save on your VoIP with Telebay

I have recently found that Telebay is offering some good value selection on VoIP hardware and services. You can also get through them broadband and dial-up internet, cellphones and satelite TV.

Top 10 recent VoIP related searches on the net

1. VoIP
2. IP Telephony
3. Broadband Phone
4. Internet Phone
5. Voice Over IP
6. Internet Telephony
7. VoIP Phone
8. VoIP Solution
9. VoIP Service
10. Business VoIP

VoIP for Linux Phone Platform

Trolltech has announced adding VoIP to its Qtopia phone platform for Linux handsets. It will make it easier for handsets makers to build Linux phones with VoIP capability.

In the words of Trolltech president - Eirik Chambe-Eng "The VoIP system integrates into the phone software. The user does not need to know if they are making a call over a cellular connection or Wi-Fi"

Versions of Qtopia Phone are currently used by Motorola.

'Phone Drive' anyone?

IOCELL - a South Korean company announced what they call a Phone Drive It is a combination of a USB flash drive and a VoIP headset- all in one. As it is now, the device is tied to their proprietary VoIP setup but it is an interesting example of the USB synergies going on and also of new VoIP devices to come.

VoIP has got a new standard for 911 calls

The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) has approved the new VoIP architecture for enchanced 911 services, called i2. It is a first step in redesigning the system around IP numbers, allowing for VoIP calls to be routed through the traditional telephones wiring to 911 call centers also known as Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs).

Work is currently in progress on a next generation standard (i3) in that field which will help VoIP providers in further streamlining of the emergency calls routing to proper corresponding local emergency centres.

Yahoo to expand and monetize its VoIP

Yahoo has announced today an expansion to its Yahoo Messenger. Much as in the Skype VoIP - Yahoo is going to offer a Phone-In feature for US $29.99 a year or US $2.99 a month which will be for receiving calls originating from the traditional phones. And it is going to have its accompanying Phone-Out service rating at US 2 cents per minute to over 30 countries.

The time of the release is yet to be announced.

SunRocket VoIP for less then $10 a month

SunRocket - a Vienna, Virginia, USA company - has just announced its Limited Edition VoIP package for US $9.99 per month. It includes unlimited inbound calls and 200 minutes a month of outbound calls to the US, Canada, Purerto Rico and 41 other SunSpot destinations. Additional minutes go for $0.03 and tax is included while additonal phone numbers and enhanced voice mail go for additional $3 a month.

SunRocket, Inc.

Time Warner reached 1 million VoIP subscribers

Time Warner has announced on Monday that the number of subscribers to its VoIP service has topped 1 million while 75 percent of them also receives a bundled in high speed internet and cable TV.

Over 15 million searches for VoIP in September

According to VoIPAction there were approximately 15,000,000 searches done on then net in September for the term VoIP.

Skype scored the the highest in the company-specific category with 197,435 searches, ahead of Vonage with 173,892 search entries, while Google Talk had 20,200 and Microsoft finishing last with but 183.

VoIP with a computer or without

There's a number of popular computer messenger applets like the MSN or Yahoo ones that also come with free voice chat between computers over the internet - though I find the quality of the voice on Skype to be much better. Skype also comes with the ability to connect with the regular, old fashioned phones. To receive calls that way it costs around US $35 a year and to make outgoing long distance calls, the rate to most countries is around US 2 cents per minute.

There are also regular looking, corded or cordless, phone sets that plug into computer's USB port for making Skype calls. If that weren't enough one can also have a regular phone plugged into computer for use with VoIP throgh USB adapters, which you can get for around US $30. And there are even cellphones coming onto the market, allowing making free VoIP phone calls while being in a public wireless router area.

Another nice feature of Skype is that it allows making VoIP calls even through the slow dial-up internet connections. For those though, who don't want to use computer for their VoIP calls there is a number of companies that allow using regular phones for VoIP calls through an interface box plugged directly to a high speed internet connection and that means without a computer. The annual fee for those starts at around $200 and these often come with bonuses like free telephone sets and a free limited area/time long distance to other traditional phones.
I am gonna say more about that later.

Virgin Mobile to merge with NTL

Just in. Richard Branson, the billionaire 72% owner of Virgin Mobile is planning to merge with NTL - a large British cable company in a £4.5 billion deal proposal.

It would create a £5 billion television, internet and phone company with access to 2.5 million broadband internet, 4.3 million land-line and over 5 million cellphone customers.

Source: Telegraph

If you want to read more about Richard - check out Waikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Branson

Skype Sounds Great!

Hallo,

For those of you who have not tried Skype VoIP yet, I say this - just do it :-) When I first used it myself I could hardly believe my ears. I found the sound clarity of it to be totally amazing, using my high speed DSL internet connection. It sounds to me as clear as say an FM radio talk show.

Skype goes Video!

Skype, which has been recently bought by eBay for US $2.6 billion - has just released today its new software - version 2.0 beta which enables free video calling, including a full screen video VoIP.

In addition to video, the redesigned Skype software contains a new and improved user interface with customizable ringtones, avatars, skins, toolbar for Microsoft Outlook and grouping of contacts for easier conference calling.

At the same time, Skype has announced it's partnership with Logitech and Creative, makers of webcams and headsets, as well Six Apart which now enables integration of Skype into a number of popular Weblogs including Blogger and Type Pad.

And in the words of Niklas Zennstrvm, Skype CEO "At Skype we want to make talking over the Internet the most natural, simple thing for people all over the world to do. With the release of our new software, it's never been easier for people to talk to one another for free, and now they can see each other with video, as well."



http://skype.com/products/skype/windows/downloading_beta.html