VoIP Monitor - VoIP by Region|Europe

Telappliant Launches its VoIP Best Price Promise

VoIP Monitor — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 21:19:59 GMT

Telappliant launched its VoIP ‘Best Price Promise’ to match any comparable quote and to also beat it by a further five per cent – without compromise to quality.

The Telappliant Best Price Promise applies to its core services which include Hosted telephony services, call plans, SIP trunking, VoIP phone numbers and VoIP number porting.

Tan Aksoy, Chief Executive Officer at Telappliant, commented, “Telappliant provides high quality and feature-rich VoIP services for small and medium sized businesses – and this new Best Price Promise signals our continued commitment to deliver value for money. We want to assure our customers that in the unlikely event that they find similar quality VoIP services at a lower price elsewhere; we will not just match but beat that price. We are extremely proud to be one of the largest VoIP networks in the UK, with over eighty thousand subscribers and I would like to encourage businesses to pilot our award winning telephony solutions.”

To qualify for the Best Price Promise, customers must provide written evidence of the competing quote (on official company letterhead, including the name of the sales representative that prepared the quote). The competing quote must be for a service that offers an equal or greater level of functionality and service quality than provided by Telappliant. The competing quote must be for a similar or longer contract term. Quotes containing typographical pricing errors will not be accepted.

For full terms & conditions please visit www.telappliant.com/price-promise and for further information about Telappliant’s full range of business VoIP telephony services.

Telefonica Germany Deploys Acme Packet for the Next-Generation Signaling Core

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 20:50:38 GMT

Telefónica Germany is deploying Acme Packet's solutions for the next-generation signaling core, including the Net-Net Session Router and Net-Net Diameter Director, to support its fixed-line VoIP, 3G mobile network, and future Long Term Evolution services.

News Highlights:

Acme Packet's Net-Net Session Router and Net-Net Diameter Director provide a solution for SIP and Diameter routing for Telefónica Germany's current fixed VoIP and mobile network, as well as its future LTE network.
Telefónica Germany chose the recently announced Net-Net 7000 platform, which delivers high-performance processing through a highly scalable solution.
The solution protects Telefónica Germany's core IP Multimedia Subsystem and Diameter servers from overloads, assuring service availability, while solving incompatibility challenges between vendors and networks with programmable interworking features.
This deployment also builds on Acme Packet's IMS service delivery and SIP interconnect solutions, which were previously chosen by Telefónica Germany.

Customer Benefits:

Cost-effective scalability and reduced complexity for the next-generation signaling core
Protected network and high service availability
Fast time-to-market for LTE and IMS services
Reduced costs by seamlessly unifying distinct parts of the network

VoX Communications Adds Low Cost Fixed Price Calling Plans To UK Mobile Callers Using Its Android Mobile VoIP App

VoIP Monitor — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 20:25:43 GMT

VoX Communications has now added fixed priced calling plans to the United Kingdom via its Android mobile voice app available in Google Play. The fixed priced plans include calling to mobile phones in the United Kingdom at prices that are significantly lower than prices charged by other competitive carriers.

A VoX user can subscribe entirely on the phone and choose a U.S. phone number without leaving the interface, which makes the sign up process more elegant than many competitors. The Mobile VoIP paid plans for the United Kingdom start at $6.95 for the 100-minute plan, which is a low cost of entry for a high quality and reliable VoIP service offering. VoX also offers 250 minutes for $14.95 and 500 minutes for $29.95. These plans INCLUDE calls to mobile phones which are typically a higher price than calls to land lines. New subscribers can download the app for a free 60-minute trial and make calls to any country on the unlimited calling list or sign up for a United Kingdom specific plan.

Price comparison of calling rates to mobile phones in Britain:

VoX Mobile - 7 cents a minute

ATT - 28 cents a minute

Verizon - 20 cents a minute

Vonage - 28 cents a minute

Skype - 20 cents a minute

Sonetel to Give All Customers iNum Numbers From Voxbone

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:50:29 GMT

Voxbone announces that Sonetel has begun giving all of its subscribers free iNum numbers from Voxbone. The agreement to provide iNums expands Sonetel's relationship with Voxbone, which has provided the certified reseller more than 17,000 geographical phone numbers since 2010.

iNums are global phone numbers that Voxbone launched in 2008 to support IP communications. Using the international number range of +883 5100 assigned to Voxbone, iNums enable a customer to establish a local presence in new locations with a single, portable number. By providing every customer an iNum, Sonetel will extend the subscriber's range of free calling to include communications with all other iNum users, anywhere in the world.

Sonetel offers a free hosted PBX solution that is particularly popular with small and medium businesses in price-sensitive regions, such as Africa and Asia. The company then upsells those customers on call termination and Voxbone-provided premium origination services. Together, Sonetel and Voxbone help business owners cost-effectively add local phone numbers, as well as launch virtual offices in any country where they see a market opportunity.

Sonetel has begun providing iNums to its more than 40,000 existing users and will assign them to the 200 to 300 customers that sign up for service each day. In the process, Sonetel is helping enhance the value of iNums by expanding the number of businesses and other organizations worldwide that can be reached for free via iNums.

iNums are distributed and routed by a growing list of service providers. Where not routed by a local provider, iNums also can be reached by the iNum initiative's local access numbers in 45 countries.

Survey Predicts 7 out of 10 UK Businesses will be Using VoIP by Next Year

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 21:57:31 GMT

Telappliant released findings from a new survey which revealed that almost 7 out of 10 UK businesses will be using VoIP telephony services by 2013.

The study, which questioned 100 UK businesses from a variety of industries, showed that 41 per cent of UK companies are already actively using VoIP telephony to improve efficiencies within their business, while a further 25 per cent have plans to review and implement VoIP within the next 12 months. The data also indicated that businesses with a head count of 100 - 500 people are embracing the technology faster than smaller businesses.

The two primary reasons given for using VoIP telephony were the need “to reduce overall telephony costs for our business” (68 per cent), and “to allow staff more flexibility to work from home or from another location” (22 per cent).

The survey also revealed three perceived internal barriers to switching over to VoIP services. The main concern was that VoIP is “perceived as delivering poor quality or unreliable service” (42 per cent); secondly, the “benefits are not fully understood by management team within the business” (32 per cent); the third barrier cited was that VoIP is “perceived as too much effort to deploy or maintain” (25 per cent). However 99 per cent of businesses that implemented VoIP confirmed that there to be substantial return in terms of cost savings, flexible working and enhanced customer service.

Tan Aksoy, Chief Executive Officer at Telappliant, commented, “In reality, VoIP telephony has moved a long way forward since the days of staff having to plug a headset into their desktop computer. Modern VoIP services are easy to set up, reliable and offer crystal-clear call quality. With advanced telephony features usually only found on high-end phone systems, VoIP gives SMEs a range of tools to compete more effectively with their larger competitors. Functionality such as audio conferencing, call recording and IVRs (Interactive Virtual Receptionists that automatically route calls to the correct department) will enable businesses to work smarter and more efficiently.”

VoIP is also extremely scalable - and is not just limited to the office,” Tan continued. “Staff can use a special SIM card to extend their office phone extension to any 3G mobile handset, meaning they can carry their desk phone in their pocket. This is ideal for staff that spend a lot of time on the road, home workers or any employee that does not want to be tied to their desk. And because staff are linked directly to the office VoIP network, there are no expensive mobile phone bills. This kind of improved efficiency and saving can’t be ignored by businesses that want to improve their bottom line, or by London-based companies that need to ensure business continuity during the Olympics.”

Summary of key findings of the Telappliant VoIP survey:

VoIP adoption is growing and will continue to grow: 50 per cent of businesses with a head count of 100 - 500 people are actively using VoIP telephony services, and a quarter of small businesses with a head count of 5 - 100 are also already using VoIP telephony services. A third of small businesses are also reviewing the possible introduction of VoIP in the next 12 months.
Cost reduction is still a key driver for implementing VoIP: 68 per cent of businesses using VoIP said that they switched to VoIP to reduce overall telephony costs.
VoIP supports changing work patterns: 22 per cent of VoIP-using businesses said that they are using VoIP to allow staff greater flexibility to work from home or from another location.
Barriers of change are based on perception rather than fact: The survey highlighted three reasons why some businesses have not yet switched to VoIP: perception of the quality and reliability of VoIP services; benefits not fully understood by the business managers; and perception that the switch will take too much effort.

XConnect Announces Partnership with Germany's DE-CIX

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:11:49 GMT

XConnect has entered an exclusive partnership agreement with DE-CIX to establish the first Next Generation Network/VoIP federation in Germany, enabling service providers to directly exchange IP voice and multimedia traffic.

The partnership will create a secure and scalable federation hub and central carrier ENUM-based routing and number-management platform that will enable hundreds of fixed, mobile, ASP and Web 2.0 operators to interconnect securely end to end on an all-IP basis.

Interconnection via the hub will benefit operators significantly. It will reduce the technical complexity and commercial and operational costs of NGN interconnection, allowing for migration from bilateral, legacy-network TDM interconnects to IP. In addition, operators will be able to securely and multilaterally interconnect to multiple networks via a single IP connection to the hub, supporting the interworking and interoperability of IP voice and multimedia services, such as HD voice, video and Unified Communications.

The ENUM registry will, for the first time, offer a central number-management and number-portability platform for German operators, facilitating ENUM-based number discovery and routing that will enable calls to be delivered accurately and directly across networks.

DE-CIX, a wholly owned subsidiary of the largest European Internet industry association, eco, already provides direct and settlement-free Internet interconnection infrastructure services to more than 400 operators.

The partnership agreement announced today combines DE-CIX’s experience in managing high-volume Internet exchange services and market reach with XConnect’s expertise and global leadership in carrier-neutral NGN interconnection services and technology. XConnect currently operates other national federations in Europe, Asia and Africa, and the company is in talks about establishing additional federations.

VoIP Unlimited and Kerio Team Up

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:18:08 GMT

VoIP Unlimited has been approved as a SIP trunking partner by Kerio Technologies. This enables Kerio's UK channel partners to offer SIP trunking solutions, increasing call capacity and flexibility for end customers whilst reducing their recurring IP PBX costs.

Following an extensive testing phase, VoIP Unlimited gained interoperability approval with the Kerio Operator 1.1 IP PBX system. The company has already been a provider of SIP sales support for Kerio resellers by educating them about the benefits of SIP trunks compared to ISDN2 and PSTN lines.

Kerio Operator 1.1 is secure, flexible and can be set-up and deployed within a few minutes. The system improves voice communications, controls telephony costs, and lets users stay connected anywhere, while remaining simple for both the employee and the IT administrator. Kerio Operator 1.1 utilizes the industry-standard SIP VoIP protocol, is compatible with any IP Phone and will auto-configure with many popular phones.

With this agreement, Kerio resellers will gain access to the popular SIP trace tool via the VoIP Unlimited portal, allowing them to view SIP traces for every inbound and outbound call through the VoIP core network 24/7.

Kerio's Channel Partners, with assistance and advice from their dedicated VoIP Unlimited account managers, can efficiently transition their customers to IP Telephony with minimum disruption.

VoIP Unlimited brings to the table a comprehensive suite of commissionable products and services that channel partners can provide to their customer base, adding significant value to the IP PBX sales opportunities.

NextiraOne Drives New Communications Solution for Austrian Engine Manufacturer

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:14:26 GMT

ELIN Motoren has chosen NextiraOne to implement an upgraded communications network throughout the company's Austrian sites, as part of the company's project to construct its new headquarters in Preding/ Weiz.

At the heart of the new communications infrastructure is an IP-based converged network based on Alcatel-Lucent technology. The Gigabit Ethernet network for voice and data communications provides Power over Ethernet delivering high performance and reliability to the desktop.

A wireless LAN provides mobile voice and data communications in the company's warehouse, which houses some 3,500 pallets in 12 metre high racking, and in parts of the office complex in the company's new headquarters. This network, using Alcatel-Lucent's latest wireless LAN technology, has proved to be very successful. In spite of the potential for breaks in transmission due to the steel construction of the building and the racking, the transmission of verification data via hand and barcode scanners using the 65 wireless access points throughout the building has proved to be entirely reliable.

As part of the upgrade of the telephony system, the staff of ELIN Motoren GmbH have been equipped with IP telephones. Over 120 IP telephones and 100 DECT phones now provide reliable communications throughout the entire network in the headquarters Preding/ Weiz and at the company's Vienna and Salzburg sites. GSM integration also enables mobile telephony off-site as well as in the offices.

The central management system handles the administration of the network and all devices. New software is installed and updates and new configurations are carried out remotely without disrupting ongoing operations.

NextiraOne has also implemented a comprehensive security solution with Unified Threat Management. The Juniper Enterprise Firewall protects the whole network from malicious attack. Tools such as anti-virus, intrusion prevention, web filtering and spam filtering ensure the security of the applications and protection of devices and terminals. The Vienna and Salzburg sites and remote users are all connected to the headquarters Preding/ Weiz via a virtual private network.

Dominik Brunner, Managing Director of ELIN Motoren GmbH, said: "The substantial requirements we had set for the communications system and the short timeframe for the implementation of the project created a major challenge. We are therefore all the more pleased with the professional approach of the NextiraOne team and the benefits of the new solution, which covers our entire communications infrastructure and has simplified it significantly.

Long-term cost optimisation and the ease of use of the system were also deciding factors according to ELIN Motoren GmbH's Managing Director Gustav Hauschka.

Dr. Margarete Schramböck, Vice President of NextiraOne Germany and Austria said: "Our long-standing experience and comprehensive know-how in the integration of voice, data, security and mobility have helped make this project such a success. In particular the implementation of the wireless LAN is another milestone in the provision mobile network technology."

European MVNO Expands Capacity and Services with DIGITALK

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 09 May 2011 16:55:23 GMT

Running on the DIGITALK Prepaid Mobile platform, Moreminutes' LlamaYA Móvil is one of the fastest growing MVNO services in Europe, with an impressive 15-20% average growth in traffic per month, and an overall 200% increase predicted in 2011. As a result, Moreminutes has significantly expanded capacity on the DIGITALK solution and is now extending its service scope to include mobile internet and multimedia messaging services.

In April 2009, Moreminutes became an MVNO in Spain to offer prepaid international mobile calling. DIGITALK's Prepaid Mobile solution was selected to create flexible prepaid products and price plans, to support Moreminutes' specific marketing promotions, and for the full deployment and integration services from DIGITALK, as well as the scalability of the solution.

DIGITALK LogoToday, Moreminutes is still leading the market as Europe's fastest growing prepaid international MVNO, significantly expanding capacity with DIGITALK. In collaboration with Moreminutes' mobile network partner, DIGITALK is now deploying support for mobile internet and MMS services, providing a comprehensive range of mobile services to their subscribers.

DIGITALK will at the MVNO Industry Summit, Barcelona, 10-11 May 2011.

ASC Implements Communications Recording Solution at Harborough Lifeline Center in UK

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:35:26 GMT

ASC announces the successful implementation of its VoIP communications recording solution, EVOip, supplemented with WEBplay and POWERplay, to ensure the safety of older and disabled citizens residing in the District of Harborough in the United Kingdom.

The solution was installed at the Harborough Lifeline Center, a contact center providing 24/7, 365-day service, integrated with community emergency organizations including police, ambulances and firemen. It allows immediate replay of the most recent call to assist operators in complex situations as well as remote access from any web browser to let managers working from home listen to a critical call and determine the best course of action.

The communications recording system is integrated with the contact center’s existing infrastructure, a Mitel 3300 v. 6.1 telephone system and Mitel 5220 IP handsets. The communications recorder handles both digital and analog lines and uses station-side passive recording of VoIP, tapping the LAN connection at each IP phone.

Harborough Lifeline Center offers its customers alarm equipment and a pendant with a button they can push in case of an emergency. A speech unit can pick up their voice from anywhere in the house even if doors are closed. Calls are answered in less than one minute, and nearby responders, known as “key holders,” are designated in advance and can provide support until help arrives.

Please read the entire case study at: http://www.asctelecom.com/brochures/en/CS_Harborough_Lifeline_UK.pdf

BT Revamps Wholesale VoIP Offering

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 22:10:03 GMT

BT announced the re-launch of its wholesale VoIP offering, to meet growing customer demand and match the latest internet standards in the market. The wholesale VoIP platform underwent a significant upgrade - including the renewal of its SIP core and gateways - assuring scalability and reliability. BT also added new features for its reseller community. The new features include the option to connect via direct access lines - using BT’s Ethernet service. Furthermore, a new automated system enables partners to perform number porting directly via the secure, web-based, European Reseller System portal.

Ethernet supports more access options and dynamic bandwidth management, further increasing the scalability of the wholesale VoIP solution. Thanks to the European Reseller System, service providers using wholesale VoIP can now efficiently migrate even larger numbers of VoIP users to the platform with the self-service system enabling them to manage their customers and the assigned phone numbers in a convenient way.

BT Wholesale VoIP can be seen as the ‘interface’ between the upcoming VoIP world and traditional telephony. The solution provides resellers with a cost-effective platform on which they can build their own enhanced service offerings for the SME and consumer market.

The upgraded offering is available as of today in The Netherlands and Germany. BT currently also has wholesale VoIP services in place in Spain, Hungary and the Czech Republic – and soon an offering will become available in Italy.

Interoute and GENBAND to Deliver European IPv6 VoIP Network

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:07:32 GMT

Interoute and GENBAND announce an agreement to deliver an official IPv6 VoIP network in Europe. Supporting IPv6 through the S3 Session Border Controller, GENBAND will enable Interoute to extend its existing Carrier IP Interconnect and SIP Business Trunking solution reliably into its Next Generation IPv4 and IPv6 native network.

By interworking between IPv4 and IPv6 while maintaining security and enhanced routing capabilities, GENBAND’s S3 enables Interoute to interconnect operators and enterprises using IPv4 with operators and enterprises that are using IPv6 networks. Interoute’s IPv6 network will offer secure Carrier IP Interconnect and SIP Business trunking (IP-PBX trunking and Microsoft UC SIP trunking) with enhanced dynamic routing and policy control while extending SIP and H.323 interworking capabilities to IPv6.

Interoute currently offers business SIP and H.3232 trunking for IP-PBXs, Microsoft OCS release 2 SIP trunking and carrier interconnect using the GENBAND S3 SBC deployed in its Pan-European networks, with a presence in the U.S., Western Europe, Middle East and Africa. Interoute’s vast Next Generation Network spans the European Union from Warsaw to London and from Stockholm to Sicily, and extends to the Middle East, Africa and major North American telecom hubs.

ViBE IP Telephony Removes Obstacles to Widespread VoIP Adoption

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:00:08 GMT

Powernet has launched ViBE, a ‘game-changing’ IP telephony solution, which removes critical Quality of Service obstacles that prevent widespread VoIP adoption. ViBE uses innovative bandwidth optimisation technology that enables at least 60 concurrent business quality calls over an average UK ADSL connection, with minimal impact on data traffic. Powernet is actively looking for resellers for the product.

This breakthrough technology removes the QoS problems associated with VoIP implementations and slashes connectivity costs to offer businesses a scalable and affordable IP solution. It also brings within reach the possibility of a wholly VoIP-powered call centre on a single ADSL connection for the first time.

Traditionally, competition between voice and data traffic has made it difficult to guarantee business-quality calls over an ADSL broadband connection. ViBE overcomes this problem by giving priority to voice packets over any kind of connection (ADSL, Ethernet, Satellite or even 3G) whilst maintaining optimum voice quality and supporting multiple concurrent calls without any compromise to data transfer rates.

This innovative technology offers three key benefits to business users:

Quality of Service – With traditional VoIP, it’s not uncommon to see jitter and latency approaching 100ms, causing delays and interruptions even with only one call. By contrast, ViBE sees the number reduced to around the 5ms mark, becoming effectively zero in good conditions.
Redundancy - ViBE can bond multiple lines together. The redundancy guarantees that if one line fails then the call may still continue uninterrupted using the other connection, almost entirely eliminates the possibility of dropped calls.
Analytics - ViBE monitors your connection without any interference or impact on traffic, giving you up-to-date information regarding performance and uptime.

Report: VoIP Market in Poland 2010 - Development Forecasts for 2011-2015

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:41:09 GMT

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "VoIP Market in Poland 2010: Development Forecasts for 2011-2015" report to their offering.

VoIP Market in Poland 2010 is the first published report of its kind and provides a comprehensive study of recent trends and developments in the VoIP market in Poland including forecasts for 2011-2015. The first part of the report analyses the VoIP market as a whole, outlining the structure of the market in terms of users, value and market share players. The business segment of the market is considered separately together with pricing and popularity of IP telephony.

The second part of the report analyses each sub-segment of the market divided by provider types, from operators of fixed telephony, cable networks, VoIP, ISP, voice communicators to scratch cards. Additional information is provided on combined services, VoIP hardware and VoIP for mobile phones. The report provides development forecasts and growth opportunities on the future of VoIP in Poland analyzing the size of the market and the number of users, its impact on fixed telephony and combined services of operators. The report looks in more detail in the main reasons for migration by private and business clients towards VoIP telephony and the impact on the market. In addition to the latest data, profiles of the top players are delivered for each of the market segments.

Key Highlights:

Complete market data for 2010
Development forecasts and market projections for 2011-2015
Market analysis and structure including market size and value
Market segment analysis (fixed telephony operators, cable networks, VoIP, ISP, voice communicators and scratch cards)
Key industry issues (industry provider types, common reasons for VoIP migration by private and business clients and impact of VoIP on fixed telephony and combined servicers operators)
Additional materials focusing on combined services, VoIP hardware and VoIP for mobile phones
Profiles of the top players in each of the market segments

Report: VoIP in Western Europe - Opportunities & Forecasts, 2010-2015

VoIP Monitor — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:12:27 GMT

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "VoIP In Western Europe: Opportunities & Forecasts, 2010-2015" report to their offering.

VoIP in Western Europe - Mobile Flies the Flag for VoIP

Technologically astute consumers of telecommunications services around the world are becoming increasingly aware that it is possible to make significant savings on traditional voice calls by bypassing traditional wireline and mobile phone operators and availing themselves of a growing range of cheap services offered by low-cost service providers. Not only does the internet serve as the perfect medium for bringing these services to the attention of consumers but also, increasingly, it is becoming the very medium by which these services are provided.

Consequently, a great deal of attention is now being paid to VoIP, a technological conceit that offers a very low-cost alternative to traditional fixed-line circuit-switched voice platforms. Because voice signals are treated as highly compressed data packets in the IP environment, these digital packets can be moved from point to point at very high speeds and in combination with other kinds of data. Less infrastructure is needed to achieve this process and, consequently, costs to consumers can be kept very low.

The arrival of next-generation wireless technologies is providing a crucial turning point in the fortunes of VoIP, potentially allowing its use to grow dynamically worldwide. Third- and fourth-generation mobile networks are now being deployed with great rapidity, even in emerging markets, allowing for faster modes of exchange of complex voice and data signals. At the same time, advanced but affordable smart phones/mobile phones that are able to send and receive high-speed data communications are beginning to offer a real alternative to expensive fixed broadband accesses, which also are hard to come by outside urban and affluent areas.

And with fixed broadband infrastructure in emerging markets set to remain available only on a restricted geographic basis hampered further by relatively expensive usage costs as well as the low penetration of sufficiently advanced PCs BMI believes that mobile platforms now offer a real opportunity for VoIP to become a highly disruptive, if not outright dominant voice platform in the future.

3CX Expands Operations with Swiss Office

VoIP Monitor — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:08:05 GMT

3CX has opened an office in Zug, Switzerland, to meet the customer demands in Switzerland. The 3CX presence in Switzerland will play a key role in the expansion of the company’s partner network as well as support Swiss-based users of the highly acclaimed 3CX VoIP Phone System to reach their clientele, partners and suppliers effectively.

3CX Phone System for Windows is a SIP-based IP PBX that replaces a traditional proprietary PBX system and works with leading SIP phones and popular VoIP gateways. It allows businesses to completely break free from the restrictions of costly hardware-based proprietary phone systems and is very easy to manage by system administrators as it integrates well with the Windows Network infrastructure.

snom UK Helps EFL Bring All-in-one VoIP Solution to UK Resellers

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:59:00 GMT

Electronic Frontier Ltd has launched a range of end-to-end VoIP products to provide telecoms and IT resellers with a simple way to offer a complete IP telephony solution to their customers. Each package offered by EFL uses IP-PBX and handsets provided by IP telephony solution provider snom, allowing the distributor to offer bundled solutions at a competitive price without compromising on functionality.

All of the solutions take advantage of the advanced features of snoms handsets, as well as the scalability and security of snoms IP-PBX product snom ONE. Each of the all-in-one VoIP solutions also includes an optional PSTN gateway and switch, and are available in configurations for 4 to 20 users. Resellers offering this product will be able to take advantage of help and advice from EFL on how best to sell the product, as well as pre and post-sales support and product training. In addition, they can join snoms newly-launched snom Certified Engineer programme, offering resellers attending the training a discount on all snom products and direct information on channel events and promotions.

We have traditionally provided the components for open standard VoIP systems but we were keen to provide an all-in-one package, from a single manufacturer, to allow our reseller customers to offer a complete single-brand VoIP solution, explains Conor McCann, general manager of EFL. snom has a great reputation in the channel and, with the addition of such a feature rich, competitively priced IP-PBX, this really puts snom into a league of its own. Weve also been highly impressed with the level of built-in security that snoms IP-PBX solution offers, a key feature with a lot of relevance to the channel at this time.

EFL is in the right position in the market to offer competitive IP telephony bundles, and we are very happy that it has chosen to use snoms products as part of these packages. The reliability and scalability of our products means that resellers can confidently rely on the quality of EFLs packages, explains Jonathan Greenwood, managing director, snom UK. EFLs end-to-end IP telephony packages are a great product for resellers to offer, especially when they know they have the technical support and training of the snom Certified Engineer programme behind them.

The launch of EFLs IP telephony packages comes on the back of the launch of snom Channel UK, the official portal for snom resellers and distributors in the UK. As well as featuring news about snom UKs activities in the channel, the site also provides resellers with the opportunity to sign up to the snom Certified Engineer programme and register for upcoming events.

Vyke Launches UK Specific Website and iPhone App

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:25:17 GMT

Vyke announces it has launched a branded Vyke UK website for Vyke Mobile. Customers accessing the www.vyke.com website from the UK will now see a UK specific portal, supplementing the established global site and offering the same products and services, but with rates and offers specifically targeting the UK mobile VoIP market. The initial launch, to selected potential customers, will be followed up with further marketing campaigns over the coming months.

The Group's managing director, Mohammad Asif, said "This is another significant step in widening the use of Vyke's mobile services, building on the software we have developed. For the first time we are specifically targeting the UK market and our call rates, which start at just 1p per minute, reflect this. We believe that our low rates, coupled with our policy of no contracts or connection fees, makes Vyke the application of choice for those in the UK looking to save money on international calls and text messages."

A US-targeted website is also under development which will capitalise further on our experience and on our relationships with BLS Tel Holdings LLP and Bonjour Europe Limited.

The Group's Apple iPhone application was launched in October 2010, adding iPhone customers to the user-base which already includes those with Symbian or Java - based phones and Blackberry clients. This will be followed by an application for Android-based phones to be launched before Christmas.

Mohammad Asif added; "The Group's initial focus in the fourth quarter was on rapid action to cut costs and, having achieved significant early successes there, we are now concentrating on expanding sales in markets where we already have existing, or easily delivered, products. Accordingly, we have not progressed any further with developing call-back and call-through services in India at this time but will make further announcements on progress on this and other areas when appropriate.

There remains much to deliver but we are pleased with the early steps we have taken to restructure and refocus Vyke to date."

Free IP Handsets for UK Small Businesses Using VoIP Thanks to Cloudnet

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 18:30:57 GMT

Cloudnet is giving away free Grandstream internet phones and Siemens Cordless DECT business phones to help small companies to benefit from the low call costs of VoIP through professional pre-configured internet phone handsets.

For a 10 person company, for instance, Cloudnet predicts that with its free phone offer, typical savings are between £700 - £2,000 for equivalent VoIP handsets.

Cloudnet is offering new subscribers to its Cloudnet Connect service, free handsets until 1 January 2011.

Cloudnet Connect, which starts at £8.50 per month plus calls, is for businesses that are looking for a phone system without the huge setup costs and includes:

Plug and play VoIP - free phones and online PBX - no capital expenditure
All inclusive advanced business telephone features, such as voicemail, call divert, call recording
Free calls within the Cloudnet network and branch to branch
Low national and international call charges

David Hill, Chairman of Cloudnet said, “while call costs for VoIP are attractive the cost of IP phones has inevitably been high, from £70 to over £200 per handset. We believe that we have created the most attractive internet phone package for businesses which includes free handsets to accompany a full online switchboard, and we believe to be much more cost effective than our VoIP service provider rivals. With the Cloudnet Connect system, we provide the easiest to install and use VoIP system for small businesses.

We are also expanding the range of phones we offer and have just signed a deal to offer Snom, Yealink and Cisco Linksys phones to our customers.”

Cloudnet also offers call bundles where companies can benefit from fixed rate calls, a virtual answering service and a Flexinumber service, which provides a landline number for mobiles.

The free phones being offered under Cloudnet’s deal include:

Cloudnet’s entry level business phone – IP01

Full integration with the Cloudnet system
Large graphical LCD display with privacy features
Intuitive menu system
Dual ports - no need for a spare network socket
Excellent audio quality
Hands free
Address book
CLI
Call number memory
And much more

Grandstream GXP-2000 operator phone

Intuitive user interfaces
4 individual lines
Dual Ethernet ports
Graphical LCD display
Secure central configuration
And much more

Siemens Cordless DECT business phone

Multiline for up to 6 handsets and 6 sip accounts
210 hours standby
25 hours talk time
50m indoor radius
150 contact storage
Hands free calling
Up to 3 parallel calls
Brilliant sound quality for internet calls
Illuminated handset

3CX and Phonzo Offer Complete VoIP PBX Solution in Norway and Sweden

VoIP Monitor — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:18:41 GMT

3CX has completed full interoperability testing with VoIP service provider Phonzo and announced today a strategic partnership providing a fully integrated VoIP solution for SMB markets in Norway and Sweden.

Phonzo has become a 3CX Supported SIP Trunk provider, with Phonzo SIP Trunk configuration built into the latest of 3CX software. Businesses already using 3CX VoIP PBX for Windows can now benefit from Phonzo’s high quality internet telephony services for voice calls as an integrated solution. Nick Galea, CEO at 3CX said: “We are pleased to work with a leading VoIP provider in Norway, as we can offer our customers an exceptional end-to-end VoIP solution. Customers using our IP PBX with Phonzo internet telephony services can be certain that the solution has been tested and that they have full support from both companies”.

“We are proud to be a partner of the leading software developer of VoIP PBX’s and believe that together we will increase the awareness of the benefits of VoIP for businesses in Norway and Sweden” said Petter Tidemand, CMO at Phonzo. “Together with 3CX, we can offer a reliable and cost-effective solution that is easy to install and manage”.

The integrated solution allows for two different calling plans to fit different customer’s needs. One plan is based on low monthly costs and pay per call while the second plan allows free unlimited calls within Norway, Sweden, the European Union and the US. Call prices to other international destinations are among the lowest in Norway and Sweden.

TalkSwitch UK Distributor ICON Expands Coverage to Ireland

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:37:50 GMT

TalkSwitch announces it has appointed ICON as distributor for Ireland. This expands ICON's market, which includes the United Kingdom. ICON has a proven record with TalkSwitch IP PBX phone systems and outstanding reseller support, making it ideal to service Ireland.

Supporting up to 64 users per location, TalkSwitch IP PBX phone systems come loaded with the features small businesses need to sound professional, save money and stay connected anywhere. The features include built-in voicemail, voicemail to e-mail, auto attendants, call forwarding to mobiles, remote management and support for analogue and IP handsets.

XConnect Announces U.K. High-Definition Voice Initiative

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:51:52 GMT

XConnect announced an initiative with leading technology companies Polycom, BroadSoft and Dialogic to promote the adoption of HD voice by service providers in the United Kingdom.

The initiative was launched in response to U.K. service providers’ interest in HD voice services, reflected in discussion during a recent Internet Telephony Service Providers Association meeting. Through workshops and cooperative communication and marketing, the HD initiative is designed to raise awareness and educate service providers about the benefits of HD voice and help them resolve implementation challenges.

The companies joining XConnect in the initiative are market leaders in their sectors of the HD voice ecosystem. Polycom set an early stake in the ground through its SoundStation IP conference phones and SoundPoint desktop phones featuring Polycom HD Voice technology. BroadSoft is the leading global provider of IP-based communications services to the telecommunications industry. Dialogic is a prominent provider of multimedia and signaling technologies and platforms.

As part of the initiative, XConnect announced that the XConnect Global HD Voice Federation is now open to HD voice-enabled service providers globally, following its successful launch in the United States.

First to join from the U.K. are service providers Simwood, SureVoIP and thevoicefactory.

The federation enables the exchange of HD voice calls among all participants, all interconnecting through XConnect’s carrier hub and routing through phone-number lookups via its carrier ENUM registry.

HD voice enables users to experience clearer, higher-quality and more effective voice communication through the use of wideband codecs on IP networks. However, in most cases, to benefit from improved sound quality, callers must be on the same network. XConnect has established the HD federation to allow cross-network support for HD voice and potentially for multimedia IP-based services, such as presence and video.

“The U.K. is ripe for HD voice due to increasing migration to IP and the quest among service providers to differentiate their offerings and deliver greater value to their customers,” said XConnect CEO Eli Katz.

He added, “We are delighted to have facilitated the world’s first cross-network international HD voice calls via a federation – a step that paves the way for global mass-market adoption of HD voice.”

Explaining why his company has joined the HD federation, thevoicefactory CEO Martin Sims said: “We realise that to compete effectively where broadband is a given, we have to move ahead of the pack. In a business market where many different languages and accents are the norm, high-definition voice will help us add value to our services.”

Verizon Business Helps Siemens Enterprise Communications Upgrade and Streamline Its European Communications

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 19:40:03 GMT

Like many multinational companies, Siemens Enterprise Communications needed to streamline its communications network management while setting the stage for advanced services. The company turned to Verizon Business for an integrated communications and networking solution that will enable it to operate more efficiently and cost-effectively as it transitions to a unified communications environment.

Verizon's solution for upgrading Siemens Enterprise Communications' European communications infrastructure integrates voice over IP with centralized, multicountry and multisite IP Trunking to link the company's Munich headquarters with operations across 10 European countries. Additionally, Verizon IP Trunking's Burstable Enterprise Shared Trunks feature enables Siemens to essentially scale VoIP network capacity on demand to support its business needs.

Verizon's simple VoIP infrastructure has also enabled Siemens to transition all its voice communications to its own award-winning OpenScape Unified Communications Suite, which includes audio conferencing, presence and collaboration tools – as well as providing a platform on which this can be demonstrated to the company's customers.

Telefonica/O2 Launches First JAJAH Service

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:28:09 GMT

Telefónica Europe announces the roll-out of IP-based international calling services, built on the JAJAH IP Communications Platform, across its O2 businesses in Europe.

The first of these services -- O2 Global Friends -- gives O2 customers in Germany the ability to make international calls by dialing a local number. It is the first time a top tier operator has launched IP-based mobile services to its customers, and comes just six months after its acquisition of JAJAH.

The JAJAH IP Communications Platform gives Telefónica the ability to bring a wide range of innovative new calling solutions and enhanced voice services to more than 54 million O2 customers across Europe, dramatically cutting the cost of long distance calling from mobile phones.

O2's roll out of the JAJAH-powered services will be supported by a major mainstream marketing and advertising campaign, the first of its kind for an IP calling solution anywhere in the world, reflecting the growing appeal of communications 2.0 services.

O2 Global Friends gives customers in Germany the ability to make international calls by dialing a local number. O2 customers can choose five friends who are abroad and O2 Global Friends will give them a local number for each of them, which they can call anytime.

Further breakthrough JAJAH-powered services will be launched across the Telefónica Europe businesses in the coming months.

Truphone Announces Agreements with Vodafone Netherlands and Orange in Spain

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:19:05 GMT

Truphone announces that its Truphone Local Anywhere service will be available in the Netherlands and Spain within months. The global mobile operator has forged agreements with Vodafone Netherlands and Orange in Spain (part of the France Telecom Group) providing Truphone with access to the operators' mobile networks in these markets to deliver Truphone Local Anywhere voice and data rates and local numbers to its worldwide customer base.

These partnerships will mean that customers will benefit from the service's proposition of 'local rates and local numbers' in five countries: Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and the US. Elsewhere, the service provides competitive roaming rates.

With over 70 million visitors to the Netherlands and Spain each year, and a combined outgoing traffic of 33 million people, Truphone and its partners have a huge opportunity to offer customers from all over the world savings of up to 90% on their roaming, international calling and data charges both at home and abroad.

Truphone Local Anywhere provides customers with the following benefits, on a single SIM card, everywhere that Truphone has agreements with local operators:

Local rates: bringing an end to phone juggling and SIM swapping to avoid costly mobile roaming charges

Local numbers: allowing contacts to reach Truphone customers wherever they are without paying the price of an international call

The service will become available to customers in the Netherlands and Spain in the autumn. For those countries where Truphone does not have operator agreements, Truphone Local Anywhere offers competitive roaming rates.

Russia-based NTC Selects VocalTec for Complete VoIP Solutions

VoIP Monitor — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:24:30 GMT

VocalTec announces that New Telephone Company, a triple-play carrier headquartered in Vladivostok, Russia, selected VocalTec as their preferred supplier for the roll-out of their Next Generation VoIP network.

VocalTec's Voice-over-IP solutions were selected to power NTC's migration to packet-based telephony and serve as the core voice platform for NTC's triple-play offering. VocalTec's solution fully satisfies all local regulatory requirements and allowed NTC to launch their VoIP service in record time.

NTC deployed a broad range of VocalTec's Essentra suite of solutions, including Essentra BAX, Application Server and class 5 softswitch, providing cost-effective residential and enterprise VoIP services; Essentra EX, VoIP Peering Manager, enabling secure IP-to-IP routing and service mediation; Essentra CX, Media Gateway Controller, enabling seamless interconnection to PSTN/SS7 networks, and Essentra OSS, Operational Support Server, a centralized, web-based management system, enabling remote element management, service configuration, monitoring and provisioning.

Eastern Europe Takes Control of VoIP

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:29:49 GMT

As VoIP technology expands rapidly throughout the world, Eastern European Communication companies are ensuring their long-term success by demanding the very best services from Industry experts.

By interfacing VoIP networks to traditional SS7 PSTN based telephone networks, companies are looking to rapidly and cost effectively launch VoIP services and distributed networks with incumbent VoIP Media Gateways. Simon Dinnage of Squire-Technologies speaks about the importance of a robust Media Gateway Controller to control third party gateways.

“We developed our SVI-MGC SS7 Media Gateway to enable SS7 on leading VoIP Media Gateways, using industry based standards – MGCP, MEGACO H.248, SIGTRAN, SIP, SIP-I, SIP-T and H.323. This helps operators to reduce costs, increase the speed of deployment and provides a future proof NGN solution. Our system has had to be fully featured to exceed the demands of East European and ICS providers while still reducing the cost per installed E1 port. We are able to scale the SVI-MGC to match clients bandwidth requirements as and when needed through software based license key updates. Our rapid remote deployment removes the time, cost and issues of shipment.”

World leading providers IPVOIP s.r.o, based in the Czech Republic, are a universal Carrier providing both TDM and VoIP services to wholesale and retail markets throughout Europe and CIS. “We adapt our network in accordance with our partners and clients needs” says Dmitry Shubin Director of Business development at IPVoIP s.r.o “We offer a premium quality service at the lowest and most competitive prices in the market. To ensure this level of service we chose the SVI MGC management to maintain SS7 calls on our existing Cisco gateways. We can see why Squire-Technologies are the industry experts they are providing unprecedented levels of control while delivering astounding results, as a result our customers will experience best service available in the market”.

Simon Dinnage concluded “As the UK’s premier provider of SS7 / VoIP technology our focus on delivering to industry leading standards of customer service, evolving technology, adaptable solutions and highly competitive pricing structures has been the key to our success throughout the world.“

Verizon Business Unveils New Fixed Mobile Convergence Offering in Europe

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:01:58 GMT

Verizon Business introduces Global Fixed Mobile Convergence, a new service that can significantly reduce mobile phone roaming charges for European workers who make and receive calls outside of their home service area.

The new service also offers a universal phone number with "find me/follow me" capabilities to reach employees on a wireline or mobile phone for immediate attention, reducing the number of voicemails and spurring productivity.

Using advanced software from MobileMax, Verizon Global Fixed Mobile Convergence determines cost-effective routing for mobile calls. The service dynamically directs calls to either Verizon's cloud-based global voice-over-IP communications platform, powered by Broadsoft, or to the customer's mobile network service if that is the more cost-effective option. This is particularly powerful in helping to contain roaming costs for workers placing and receiving calls outside of their network coverage area, or when making international calls from their home country.

Verizon Global FMC is available immediately to Verizon Business customers in nine European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In addition, enterprises headquartered in the U.S. and Asia-Pacific can also take advantage of the offering for employees based in this initial service area.

The new enterprise solution works with an array of mobile devices across most GSM-based mobile operator networks located throughout the initial service area. As a result, new and existing companies can achieve cost-savings for international mobile calls without any additional capital investment and without changing mobile operators or company-issued handsets.

Verizon Global FMC will be integrated next month with the company's VoIP platform, enabling more advanced capabilities afforded by PBX office phone systems and cost savings opportunities for Verizon Global FMC customers who are also Verizon VoIP customers. By combining the power of voice over IP in a mobile, wireless environment, individuals will be able to activate the same familiar office phone features directly from their mobile handset.

Verizon Business' unified communications and mobility consultants can help businesses prepare for and employ Verizon Global FMC in the context of their overall UC&C and mobility strategies. The new service complements Verizon's comprehensive suite of unified communications and collaboration solutions, and is being integrated with Verizon Managed Mobility to simplify management of a multitude of global devices, expenses and applications across multiple carriers around the globe.

In a separate announcement Tuesday (May 11), the company introduced Enterprise Mobility as a Service, a cloud-based solution for businesses to more simply and cost-effectively manage and use mobile devices to access corporate resources.

DIGITALK Replaces Open Source Voice Over Broadband at KMS

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 10 May 2010 18:19:41 GMT

Cable provider KMS has transferred all Residential VoIP Telephony services to the DIGITALK NGN SIP Application Server. KMS have been operating a residential primary line replacement service using Open SER, an open source technology for its voice service as part of its cable TV, internet and voice packages. However, the limitations of features and operational expenses of integration, maintenance and management have proved a costly overhead.

The integration of the DIGITALK SIP Application server allows KMS to offer a full class 5 feature set with DIGITALK’s Broadband Telephony application and consolidate all management and maintenance onto a single platform footprint, including DIGITALK’s integral Session Border Controller.

The migration to the SIP Application Server allows KMS to expand their value-added service portfolio to serve SME Business Customers utilising DIGITALK IP Virtual Office (IP Centrex solution) and Service Numbers for intelligent call routing and Number Translation Services.

VocalTec Receives Order of Around $1M from Russian Tier-1 Operator

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:25:07 GMT

VocalTec announces that one of Russia’s leading tier-1 operators selected VocalTec’s Large-Scale Class-5 solution as its core platform for the delivery of VoIP subscriber services.

The initial order, representing the first stage of the deployment, includes the delivery of VocalTec’s Essentra BAX Large-Scale Class-5 solution supporting over 100,000 subscribers. The system is dimensioned to provide service to a much larger user base in support of the customer’s future expansion plans.

The deployment includes an extensive set of applications, and allows the customer to seamlessly migrate his network to an all IP infrastructure and provide his end-users with the latest in IP telephony services.

Avanzada to Distribute 3CX Products in Spain and Portugal

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:53:35 GMT

3CX has announced a distribution agreement with Avanzada, a distributor of VoIP products in Spain and Portugal. Avanzada 7 distributes a complete range of VoIP hardware and software. It sells exclusively via its qualified reseller channel and offers technical support and trainings to its partners.

Avanzada recognized the strong demand for a Windows based PBX and wanted to partner with the Windows PBX market leader, 3CX.

MeetingZone Adds COLT VoIP to its Conference Service Platform

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:37:55 GMT

COLT is providing IP connectivity to support MeetingZone's audio conferencing facilities in the UK and Europe. As the UK's largest independent conference and collaboration service provider, MeetingZone will be adding COLT's SIP Trunking service, COLT VoIP Access, to its audio conferencing services in order to deliver high quality, scalable voice services whilst keeping network and bridging costs to a minimum.

Line quality and availability is crucial in a conference call environment. Market demand for conferencing services is continuing to grow rapidly and MeetingZone has selected COLT to deliver a scalable VoIP solution that can handle this growth in business, whilst maintaining the quality, availability and reliability which its customers expect.

COLT VoIP Access allows businesses to converge their voice and data networks and route all telephone calls via an IP network and a single access connection. This provides a lower total cost of ownership, improved flexibility in call management and business continuity. By providing a more flexible and effective approach to convergence, COLT VoIP Access helps customers leverage their investment in IP PBX infrastructure and provides a flexible roadmap for unified communications.

Vonage UK Wins Best Consumer VoIP Award at 2009 ITSPA Awards

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:31:16 GMT

Held on the 10th December at the Strangers Dining Room of the House of Commons, the award acknowledges Vonage UK as setting the industry standard for VoIP services to the public. This year's award recognises the company's commitment and dedication to industry-leading standards of customer service, value for money and providing a wealth of service features to their clients across the world.

VoIP - Revolutionising the marketplace

Vonage UK's V-Plan 4i, the first unlimited call plan to India in the UK, has revolutionised how its customers communicate. "We are absolutely delighted to have won this award," says Vincent Potier, Vonage UK's managing director. "The fact that it's the consumer award means more to us than anything else. It helps underscore our commitment to providing our customers with the best possible standards, the best possible service and the best value for money," he adds.

Internet telephony is the ability to make voice calls over any Internet Protocol (IP) connection, particularly broadband, using VoIP. IP Communications also enable a rich multi-media set of advanced services, including high definition sound quality and presence. Internet telephony service providers can provide regular and enhanced phone line services - often at substantial cost reductions.

VoIP has changed the way people communicate, using a broadband Internet connection to place calls around the world, rather than relying on a traditional landline. The award recognises Vonage's innovations in providing an unlimited call plan to India and 35 other countries around the world, connecting both families and businesses across continents.

"Our top priority is creating the right products for consumers -- the products they most want today," explains Vincent Potier. "V-plan 4i unlimited call plan to India is a very good example of the way to do it. We listened to what our customers wanted and innovated with the first call plan of its kind in the UK. This award is an acknowledgement by the industry that we're getting it right," he adds.

"What we've shown is that for a fair price, customers can receive a service that offers exceptional quality and clarity - and that's a service they're willing to pay for."

Borusan Telekom Selects Veraz and Elkotek for Enterprise VoIP Applications

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:59:13 GMT

Borusan Telekom has selected Veraz’s I-Gate 4000 EDGE SIP Gateway to support Borusan Telekom’s enterprise VoIP services. After a thorough selection process that evaluated leading SIP gateway vendors’ products, Borusan Telekom chose Veraz’s I-Gate 4000 EDGE SIP Gateway for its comprehensive features and flexible, software-only upgrade. To provide Borusan Telekom strong local service and support, Veraz has partnered with Elkotek, a top telecom VAR in Turkey.

Veraz Networks is a leading provider of advanced voice and multimedia bandwidth optimization and switching products for TDM and IP networks. The I-Gate 4000 EDGE SIP Gateway leverages Veraz’ deep expertise in VoIP softswitching and media gateways and offers service providers a highly reliable, feature-rich platform for enterprise VoIP applications.

BT Brings Unlimited Calls to Businesses

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:57:21 GMT

BT announces it is offering unlimited fixed line calling packages for small businesses. The new high value BT Business One Plan Inclusive packages offer unlimited calling minutes to UK landlines, UK mobiles, international destinations and 0845 and 0870 numbers for a fixed fee*.

BT Business is also offering businesses greater savings by introducing 500 free UK calling minutes per calendar month per line (fixed or VoIP).**

Businesses opting for one of the new BT Business One Plan Inclusive packages can also combine unlimited calls with a range of communications options including broadband and mobile, consolidating their fixed, mobile and broadband spend under One Plan.

Under BT Business One Plan all service and billing enquiries are dealt with through one number, and customers will receive one bill for all services. BT Business Broadband offers a 99.99% reliable broadband service; nine out of 10 faults are resolved in under four hours and 95% of calls to the 24/7 UK help desk are answered within 30 seconds.

*Available to customers that (re)sign to OnePlan by 30.04.10. Minimum yearly spend and requires commitment to 2 core products. Fee - £15 per month - further reduced to £12.50 per month if customers take the unlimited package on a VoIP line. Fair usage policy applies.

**Offer ends 30.04.10. Exclusions, terms and conditions apply.

AltiGen Signs Exclusive Agreement with Italian Distributor Hypercom

VoIP Monitor — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:52:14 GMT

AltiGen has signed an exclusive agreement with Italian distributor and telecom equipment provider Hypercom. The company will direct the sale and distribution of AltiGen's Microsoft-certified applications through Telecom Italia.

Hypercom, with offices in Rome, Milan and Padova, has been supplying telecommunications solutions to Telecom Italia since 1980. The company has its own business phone system product line, CIE, and has added the AltiGen product line to provide VoIP, advanced call center capability and integration with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007.

Hypercom and AltiGen began working together in 2008 to localize AltiGen products. In July, the solution was submitted to TILAB Laboratories in Turin, Italy to verify functionality and certify compatibility and connectivity with Telecom Italia's network infrastructure. In September, Hypercom was notified by Telecom Italia that the products had completed all requirements and were certified for sale in Italy.

Hypercom has now deployed the AltiGen solution as a complete VoIP and Call Center solution for a distribution company, a clothing designer, and as an adjunct call center to an existing Cisco PBX. Through Telecom Italia, Hypercom will be offering turnkey packages to allow companies to integrate existing PBX's to Microsoft OCS as well as utilize AltiGen's advanced mobility capabilities.

Interfuture Systems Strengthens Its VoIP Offerings with Hosted VoIP

VoIP Monitor — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:22:17 GMT

Interfuture Systems strengthens its product portfolio with the right mix of professional services and suppliers and has completed its negotiations with a leading Hosted VoIP provider and is now a formal accredited reseller. This further development to its portfolio means that ISL can now offer both leading edge, full localised VoIP solutions through standalone PBX installations at its clients sites but now also offers companies who are a start up businesses or who do not want the capital costs of an internal telephone PBX system by fully outsourcing it.

Hosted VoIP will further provide more reduced costs, more flexibility, more control, improved functionality, guaranteed reliability and backed by our fully managed support desk.

Vodafone Germany Enables Mobile VoIP Services

VoIP Monitor — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:39:00 GMT

Vodafone Germany has confirmed to teltarif.de that it has enabled mobile VoIP services on its network. The operator's press departments told teltarif that users would have to pay additional costs for mobile VoIP and other new services, which will be available only with the company's SuperFlat internet tariffs. Customers subscribing to the SuperFlat Internet Weekend tariff will pay an extra EUR 29.95 for the Internet Plus option with a 24-month contract.

In addition to mobile VoIP, other new services include instant messaging, the use of a handset or smartphone as a modem for netbook/laptop and peer-to-peer services. Customers subscribing to the SuperFlat Internet Mobile or SuperFlat Internet Fixed-Network can get the new features as the Internet Plus Flat option for an extra EUR 19.95 per month. The Internet Plus and Internet Plus Flat options include additional monthly mobile data allowances of 500 MB and 1 GB respectively.

Global Crossing Expands VoIP Local Service in Mainland Europe

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:10:32 GMT

Global Crossing has extended its VoIP Local Service to include four new countries in mainland Europe, enabling enterprise and carrier customers to reach a total of 25 countries worldwide and more than 500 cities across Europe. The company also announced a variety of enhancements that make the service even more useful for customers.

Global Crossing VoIP Local Service is now available in the Czech Republic, Greece, Poland and Slovakia. The service provides local origination of direct inward dialed numbers from major business centers throughout Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America, offering customers a cost-effective single IP connection to support today's advanced IP Telephony and Unified Communications applications. VoIP Local Service is part of Global Crossing's suite of SIP Trunking Services.

The expanded VoIP Local Service comes at a time when Global Crossing is experiencing increasing demand for its VoIP Services. In the first quarter of this year, 3.3 billion IP interconnected minutes traversed Global Crossing's VoIP network, representing a growth rate of 58 percent compared to the first quarter of 2008. IP Interconnected minutes represent more than 40 percent of total VoIP minutes.

To better meet this demand, the company also has enhanced its VoIP Local Service to include support for national numbers in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and Spain. Enterprises in those countries can now use one national prefix that functions as an area code for the entire country, which results in lower calling rates than standard international rates. Another enhancement to VoIP Local Service is the expansion of local number portability in Europe. This convenient feature, which allows customers to retain their existing numbers, is now available in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden, as well as the United Kingdom and the United States.

Other recent enhancements to Global Crossing's VoIP Services include a VoIP utilization statistics application available to customers via uCommand. uCommand is Global Crossing's customer-facing Web portal, providing a window into the same systems used internally to support, bill, and provision customer circuits. This enhancement gives customers a real-time view into their SIP-based capacity utilization as well as historical trends to allow for traffic management and analysis. The enhancement also provides for capacity planning and augments based on peak utilization and average concurrent call use.

Last year, Global Crossing added SIP Refer to its offering suite. SIP Refer is a signaling protocol that enables more efficient use of IP networks and allows customers to transfer their voice and video calls, without attendant intervention. In 2009, Global Crossing established its relationship with Microsoft and became a qualified SIP Trunking provider for customers deploying Microsoft OCS 2007 R2. This means that if a customer elects to use OCS for voice service, Global Crossing can provide SIP Trunking as part of the solution.

Global Crossing's global, fully meshed MPLS-based network ensures that VoIP calls are delivered with minimal latency, packet loss and jitter - a consistent and predictable call quality not possible with voice services based on public Internet transport.

Telefónica O2 Germany Selects Acme Packet to Deliver IMS-based Residential VoIP Services

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:20:09 GMT

Telefónica O2 Germany has selected Acme Packet’s session border controllers to provide key IP Multimedia Subsystem functionality at its access and interconnect borders. The Acme Packet Net-Net Session Director enables Telefónica O2 Germany to deploy a secure and interoperable IMS network supporting residential retail and wholesale VoIP services and IP interconnects with other service providers.

Directly, and through its wholesale partners, Telefónica O2 Germany currently provides fixed telephony and DSL services to approximately 1.4 million customers. The Net-Net SBCs are part of an IMS next-generation network that will replace an older VoIP platform and enable Telefónica O2 Germany to offer VoIP services to its residential customers and wholesale hosted residential VoIP services—Telefónica Voice4Carrier and Telefónica Voice4SIPOwner—to other service providers. Telefónica O2 Germany also uses the Net-Net SBCs to securely interconnect with other tier 1 service providers for off-net call origination and termination.

Telefónica O2 Germany selected Acme Packet’s Net-Net 4500 SD to meet critical 3GPP IMS functional requirements at the access and interconnect borders of its network. At the subscriber access border, the Net-Net 4500 SD integrates the Proxy-Call Session Control Function, the initial SIP signaling contact point for subscriber endpoints, and the Access Gateway Function for controlling subscriber media flows. At the interconnect border to other service provider networks, the Net-Net 4500 SD integrates the Interconnect Border Control Function, the SIP signaling point for sessions leaving or coming into the network, and the Transition Gateway for controlling associated media flows. Both the access and interconnect SBCs include a Signaling Firewall, a vital function that protects the SBC itself and core IMS service elements, which is missing from the IMS architecture.

Net-SAFE, Acme Packet’s security framework, provides denial of service attack prevention, topology hiding and access control to protect Telefónica O2 Germany’s IMS network and ensure service availability. In addition, the Net-Net 4500 SD also provides multiple encryption capabilities, including IPsec using IMS-AKA and Transport Layer Security, for secured sessions between subscriber endpoints and Telefónica O2 Germany’s IMS services network. Acme Packet SBCs maximize the service reach of Telefónica O2 Germany using hosted NAT traversal, SIP signaling normalization as well as interworking between its next-generation IMS and older VoIP platforms. Telefónica O2 Germany uses Acme Packet’s flexible session admission control policies to prevent core network overloads and assure customer SLAs. To help ensure regulatory compliance, the Net-Net SD provides signaling and media replication for lawful intercept and a location server interface to obtain and append location information for emergency calls.

Hughes Completes Installation of Rural Satellite VoIP Network for Telefonica Espana

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:13:22 GMT

Hughes Network Systems announces that its European operating entity, Hughes Europe, has completed the roll-out of a high-quality HN System solution for Telefonica Espana to deliver satellite-based VoIP rural telecommunications services. The implementation had to meet the very tight compliance deadlines imposed by the Spanish authorities, which Hughes successfully met.

The rural network installation by Hughes is the latest project in a highly successful 15-year relationship working with the Spanish telecoms giant. For Telefonica Espana, the Hughes solution offered the ideal combination of cost-effective equipment performance, lower operational cost, and minimal implementation risk. And, because of the companies' long-standing relationship, Telefonica had complete confidence in Hughes' ability to deliver.

The new communications services are made possible through the installation of a second switching centre interconnecting the rural satellite VoIP network to the national telephony network. These services are available to new customers based in remote/rural areas and to existing customers migrating from the existing TRAC network (Telefonia Rural de Acceso Celular -- Rural Telephony with Cellular Access) to the satellite-based VoIP network. The network comprises approximately 8,000 terminals, of which 80 percent are residential, 15 percent public telephony for city councils, and 5 percent for small/medium enterprises.

The satellite platform incorporates dedicated equipment supporting VoIP, including IP gateways and voice servers, and shares resources with other satellite-based networks providing broadband Internet access to rural areas of Spain and residential/SME access.

Ziggo Selects Nortel to Bring IP Telephony to Businesses in The Netherlands

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:39:19 GMT

Ziggo selects an IP-Powered Business solution from Nortel to help them launch advanced business voice services for small and medium businesses. Ziggo has enjoyed considerable success in the consumer telecommunications market in The Netherlands and now Nortel will assist them to expand into the SMB market with a pre-tested, end-to-end solution. The Nortel IP-Powered Business solution is specifically designed to help provide SMBs with all the standard telephony features that a business needs over a secure, reliable, and cost-effective IP-based system. IP-Powered Business can also be used to provide SMBs with advanced VoIP services such as 'click-to-call,' 'find me/follow me' capabilities and audio conferencing.

The Nortel solution for Ziggo makes use of the company's existing converged IP cable infrastructure.Using Nortel's Communication Server 2000 and SIP technology, Ziggo can deliver advanced IP Telephony to companies using PBX technology by offering a carrier-hosted solution, or to companies that do not use PBX through a business trunking solution. Integrated with Patton VoIP gateway, Nortel's solution allows companies to retain their TDM PBX and migrate to SIP PBX at their own pace. This simplicity and flexibility allows SMBs to preserve their current equipment investments and upgrade in the most cost-effective way possible.

VocalTec Strengthens Its Position in the Ukraine

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:40:02 GMT

VocalTec announces that its Essentra VoIP softswitch has received Class-4, Class-5 and Lawful Interception certification from the Ukrainian Scientific Research Institute of Radio and Television; this is part of VocalTec’s ongoing measures to position itself as a significant provider of VoIP solutions across the Ukraine.

VocalTec is one of the first companies to receive such certification, which validates that VocalTec's Essentra™ softswitch solutions meet all technical requirements and standards for commercial deployment throughout the Ukraine. This is the fifth certificate of regulatory conformance awarded to VocalTec across Russia and the CIS, making it easier for operators to deploy VocalTec’s NGN solutions.

Additionally, and in support of VocalTec’s strategy towards the Ukraine, VocalTec has established a local R&D center located in Lviv. This R&D center joins the company's global R&D team in developing and delivering innovative VoIP services and technologies. The development center, together with VocalTec's marketing and business development initiatives in the Ukraine and across the region, continue to solidify VocalTec’s position, allowing the company to better serve its growing customer base.

Codima Continues Its European Expansion

VoIP Monitor — Wed, 06 May 2009 19:12:58 GMT

Codima announces the launch of its operations in Scotland. The Edinburgh office will offer sales and support services to the company’s growing base of resellers and end users. Appointed VP Sales and Business Development Scotland John Howell heads the operation.

Codima continues its European expansion. Following the recent roll out in the Benelux, German, French and Scandinavian markets the company reinforces its UK organization based in London. Focusing on private and public sectors throughout Scotland, the Scottish branch will offer the company’s software tools to improve Quality of Service while reducing IT costs in VoIP and data networks.

A fully automated and integrated end-to-end solution, Codima Toolbox holds the flagship product, autoMap. The tool facilitates network auditing by identifying IT assets and creating topology maps of any IT network directly with Microsoft Office Visio. With its Multi Site Scheduler function, the tool helps auditing firms and other companies to document IT assets for budgeting, auditing, legal and other requirements in multiple locations.

Appointed VP Sales and Business Development Scotland, IT industry veteran John Howell will be accountable for the day-to-day operations of the Scottish business as well as sales, support and service to resellers and customers. With long standing management experience from the Scottish market including companies such as Instalec Networking, dns and Dimension Data, John Howell brings extensive expertise in IP telephony and IT management as well as a strong track record of driving growth.

Codima Continues European Expansion with Operations in Belgium

VoIP Monitor — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:00:32 GMT

Codima announces that the company has established operations in the Benelux market. With head offices in Brussels, the local multi lingual team will offer services in sales, marketing and technical support to new and existing resellers throughout the Benelux region. The Belgium/Netherlands/Luxembourg operation is the Company’s fourth European roll out in 2009.

Codima continues its successful adaption to the European market implementing local teams. With in-depth experience from the network management industry, the Benelux team will propel the Codima’s software solution for managing business critical IT networks cost efficiently, into a market looking to invest in cost reducing software.

The Benelux region, densely populated, has one of Europe’s highest broadband penetrations in addition to being an early adopter to IP telephony technology. Built from ground up to be VoIP specific, the Codima technology offers a unique real time end-to-end solution for VoIP readiness and call quality assurance in VoIP networks, minimizing expensive downtime and improving Quality of Service.

Codima Toolbox also encompasses a set of tools to discover, map, ping and monitor any IT network. The solution uses Microsoft Office Visio to visualize entire networks and network problems, useful functions for example when preparing for VoIP installations and when securing documentation for network auditing and legal requirements.

Competitive Carrier Selects VocalTec for VoIP

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:12:01 GMT

Russian Company selected VocalTec's technology to further develop its VoIP network. Through this collaboration, Russian Company can now seamlessly connect their legacy telephony network with VocalTec's new packet based network. The deployment was achieved in partnership with Sintera, a leading Russian systems integrator.

As part of their VoIP infrastructure, Russian Company will deploy VocalTec's Essentra BAX, an application server enabling the delivery of residential and hosted enterprise VoIP services to their subscriber base. In addition, Russian Company will utilize VocalTec’s Essentra CX, a scalable carrier-grade media gateway controller, to enable the termination of their IP traffic to the PSTN as well as for the termination of legacy PABX traffic to PSTN by CX (IUA and M3UA).

VocalTec is one of the first telecom vendors to receive comprehensive Class-5 certification for its VoIP softswitch solution, including certification for local node deployments under the new requirements issued by the Russian Ministry of Communications. This deployment provides further validation that VocalTec’s Essentra solution meets all mandatory quality, functionality, legal and interoperability requirements, for commercial deployment throughout Russia.

Codima Establishes Operations in the French Market

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:24:08 GMT

Codima announces the launch of operations in the French market. A fully operational organization with local staff will offer sales, marketing and support to new and existing resellers throughout France from the company's offices in Paris. With the expansion, Codima strengthens its position in the French market and continues its successful adaptation to new markets implementing local organizations.

Codima a Microsoft Certified Partner, delivers a unique end-to-end solution that helps organizations to manage their VoIP and data networks cost efficiently. The fact that the solution dramatically can reduce IT costs while at the same time improving the end user quality experience encourages organizations that are urgently looking to reduce IT costs to invest in the software based solution.

According to ARPEC, the French regulator, France had 11.9 million subscribers to a VoIP service in Q1 2008, representing 30% of all fixed telephony services, growing at the rate of 1 million new subscribers per quarter. The rapidly increasing usage of VoIP technology by French end users indicates an uptake in the market for products managing VoIP networks.

Codima develops and markets a solution that is built from the ground up to be VoIP specific, in comparison to other products on the market developed from existing platforms.

VMB Selects VocalTec for VoIP Roll Out

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:35:46 GMT

VMB has selected VocalTec’s solutions for its VoIP network roll out. Performed in partnership with SATEL, a leading system integrator in Russia, the deployment is focused around the migration of VMB’s infrastructure into an advanced packet-based Class 4 and Class 5 network.

VocalTec’s solutions will enable VMB to offer its customers new and innovative services based on a highly reliable and field-proven VoIP network, while at the same time reducing costs, enhancing flexibility and increasing network efficiencies. The deployment includes VocalTec’s Essentra CX Trunking solution, offering seamless connectivity to PSTN/SS7 services; the Essentra EX, Peering Manager, enabling secure IP-to-IP routing and service mediation; and the Essentra BAX, Application Server, and class 5 softswitch, which provides cost-effective residential and enterprise VoIP services.

ICC Worldwide Expands European VoIP Call Handling Capabilities

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:51:00 GMT

ICC Worldwide has implemented a major upgrade to its VoIP call traffic handling capabilities. The firm now has three European VoIP Point Of Presence sites located in Milan, Amsterdam, and London. At the Milan site, ICC has recently installed its own DIGITALK Intelligent Switch and Data Server. This action dramatically expands the firm's call handling capacity and overall network reliability. The centrally managed system also enables highly effective network utilization, ensuring the preferential use of capacity to route traffic in a way that is most cost effective for international calling destinations. This allows ICC to efficiently pass savings on to customers, thus ensuring the firm is able to provide the best possible value to its VoIP services subscribers.

Rich Lauer, ICC's President & CEO explained, "ICC has made a substantial investment in our call processing infrastructure. These recent upgrades dramatically expand the amount of call traffic our network can handle. At the same time, system reliability and uptime is measurably improved. The installation of our own switch in Milan also gives ICC complete control over management of our network and the technical operation of our business. We are no longer dependent on contractors or third parties to provide these services."

Lauer went on to say, "In the coming weeks we expect to announce a number of significant developments to our existing business. As such, the recent upgrades to capacity and system reliability will soon prove critical to ICC's ability to continue expanding and competently respond to these evolving business opportunities."

VoIP User Interconnects British Telecom for Free Calls to VoIP Devices

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:41:40 GMT

VoipUser announces the interconnection of British Telecom 0870 range numbers to the VoIP peering iNUM network. British Telecom will make 0870 numbers free to call to subscribers on their Anytime call plan starting on January 16th, 2009.

John Peter, managing Director of BT's Consumer Business, said in a Press Release on Thursday "All of our 14 million Anytime customers have free calls included in their package and now all 14 million have free calls to 0870 at times that fit with their calling plan, which is something not offered by any of our competitors."

Ian Plain, of technical consultancy cyber-cottage.co.uk, who architected the system for VoIP User, said "we created a mapping service for the 0870 iNUM interconnect. The system is accessed by users dialling 08700 68 58 48 from a BT landline and entering an iNUM number to contact. Details can also be stored meaning that the caller only ever has to enter the iNUM number to contact once."

Tjardick van der Kraan, co-founder of VoIP User, said "The value add for customers of our services is the ability to call iNUM +883 range numbers, the so-called 'Earth Area Code', free of charge at off-peak times from a BT landline. This effectively connects British Telecom customers to Worldwide iNUM VoIP customers with no per minute charge."

The iNUM Peering Network, run by Belgium based Voxbone S.A. operates using a standards based mechanism for traffic exchange between telecommunications networks.

Traditional dial codes are tied to a particular country or city. iNUM numbers avoid this limitation and users can therefore keep their number wherever they go in the world, being reachable on the same number for life.