15 posts tagged “voip”

A company has devised a way to listen in on phone calls over the internet and then send advertisements to callers.
 
Puddingmedia's software can register if someone is talking about going out to eat, for example, and then advertisements for local restaurants will flash up on a caller's screen. However, sometimes the software will send advertisements completely unrelated to the conversation, Puddingmedia admits. The New York Times quoted Ariel Maislos, chief executive of Puddingmedia, as saying: "We saw that when people are speaking on the phone, typically they were doing something else.
 
"They had a lot of other action, either doodling or surfing or something At like that. So we said, 'Let's use that' and actually present them with things that are relevant to the conversation while it's happening." At the moment the service is only available in the US. Meanwhile, users of the popular internet phone service Skype have been the target of a new worm which disguises itself as an instant message invitation, it has been reported.

The number of consumer VoIP subscribers in the United States is estimated to reach 23.3 million by 2011, up from 11.8 million in the second quarter of 2007, according to TeleGeography's "US VoIP Research Service."

TeleGeography also projected that by 2011 VoIP penetration in Europe will be about twice as high as in the US.

"VoIP service in the US has emerged as a mainstream service that is causing traditional service providers some headaches," said Stephan Beckert, TeleGeography analyst, in a statement. "However, in Europe, VoIP could fundamentally change the structure of the fixed-line market."

European VoIP providers have better access to incumbents' local copper loops, which is driving the continent's VoIP growth. Aggressive competition and pricing and active participation by incumbent operators such as France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom and British Telecom are also drawing subscribers.

Incumbent service providers accounted for 26% of VoIP subscribers in Europe. By contrast, AT&T, Verizon and Qwest have not been especially competitive in the market. 

The Atlanta-based internet provider Earthlink has announced that it is to cut half of its workforce in a bid to reduce operating costs.
 
Approximately 900 jobs are to be cut by the company as part of a battle to increase revenues. This includes the closure of offices in San Francisco, Orlando and Knoxville. Earthlink will also repurchase $200 million of its own stock.
 
The company has reported four consecutive quarters of losses and its stock price has been steadily falling. Internet users are increasingly turning to high-speed broadband networks rather than dial-up, a trend which has impacted badly on Earthlink. The recent poor performance of the company could also affect Earthlink's plans to build city-wide Wi-Fi networks. Chief executive of Earthlink Rolla Huff was quoted by Cnet as saying: "I love the concept of citywide Wi-Fi
 
"But a business model built around EarthLink fronting all the capital and then paying for subscribers one at a time is not viable." Founded in 1994, Earthlink offers satellite, cable and VoIP services in addition to its dial-up service.

Improving affordability of broadband will mean that almost three-quarters of U.S. households will have high-speed Internet access by 2012, according to new research.

Competition between broadband providers will encourage 36 million new subscribers in the next five years, according to Jupiter Research. The company predicts the decline of dial-up, saying that the new generation of Internet users is more likely to go straight to broadband.  Jupiter Research analyst Doug Williams said: "As broadband becomes more attractive to consumers from an economic perspective, current dial-up users will be more likely to migrate to broadband service, and consumers who are new to the online population will never take dial-up service in the first place."

He went on to say that the main providers of broadband, namely cable operators and local exchange carriers, would continue to dominate the market and alternative methods of receiving broadband would trail behind.  Jupiter Research provides independent research, analysis and advice about the impact of the Internet and emerging consumer technologies on businesses.

"We’re seeing continued and strong growth in the number of new broadband users, states Mark Weibel EVP of Marketing for Broadband National Inc, who operates the industries leading comparative shopping website for digital products. "We have also discovered that as consumers purchase or upgrade to broadband they also upgrade to digital and HDTV as well. We also believe that the next explosive area for growth will be in VoIP and digital voice"

For more information on VoIP and other digital products and services visit www.dsldance.com
 

Electronics retail giant Best Buy is to acquire the broadband provider SpeakEasy for $97 million, it has been announced.
 
SpeakEasy employs 300 people and last year boasted over 40,000 customers and revenue of $80 million. The company will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Best Buy in 2008.
 
Darren Jackson, Best Buy executive vice president and chief financial officer, said: "By joining forces with Speakeasy, a company with a true passion for helping entrepreneurs run their businesses, we are making technology more accessible to small businesses by creating a single source for their IT needs." According to Best Buy, SpeakEasy's executive team will remain in place, with Bruce Chatterley as CEO.
 
Mr. Chatterley said: "We're a vibrant successful smaller business that's growing at a pretty good clip." Speakeasy first opened in 1994 as a Seattle Internet cafe and grew to become a broadband provider, which also offers VoIP services, mainly directed at small businesses.
 
Currently Best Buy is America's largest retailer of electronic items. "This is a really interesting combination of companies," states Mark Weibel, EVP of Marketing for Broadband National Inc. who operates the Internets leading comparative shopping website for digital products and services. "Speakeasy's technical expertise matched with Best Buys marketing prowess could make for a very formidable combination."

For more information on digital products and services visit www.dsldance.com
 

Verizon Business has been named the best service provider to big companies and the government by a consulting firm.
 
Frost & Sullivan awarded Verizon Business its Product Line Strategy Award for enterprise wide area networking (WAN) services. The company was recognized for its ability to introduce new WAN products in a strategic way to compliment the products already in place. Nancy Gofus, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Verizon Business, said: "Our product set underpins the next-generation services our customers require to do
business better around the world.
 
"As a global networking and IT leader, we will continue to invest in and lay the right foundation for large businesses and government agencies to communicate and operate reliably and seamlessly around the globe." In rewarding Verizon Business, Frost & Sullivan particularly highlighted the company's 2006 expansion of its Ethernet Virtual Private Line service from the US to six countries in Asia as a crucial improvement of its Enterprise WAN portfolio.
 
Meanwhile, a jury has ruled that the Internet phone giant Vonage must pay Verizon Wireless $58 million for infringing three patents. The patents were among the technologies that made it possible for Vonage to offer its much-touted low-cost telephone service over the Internet, Verizon contended.

For more information on Verizon Business Products and other broadband services visit www.broadbandnational.com
 

Popular Internet calling service Skype has joined with Nokia to develop a new mobile calling function. Announced at the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, the collaboration basically consists of making Skype mobile on the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet. As long as there is a wireless Internet connection available, customers can use Skype wherever they so choose, under the new service.

Ari Virtanen, vice president, convergence products at Nokia, said: "Skype is the recognized leader of internet communications with over 136 million registered users worldwide. "Nokia's new N800 Internet Tablet is designed for mobile Internet. Together, we can develop communications devices beyond expectations." The Nokia N800 is to become available sometime in the first half of 2007.

Meanwhile, special software has been developed as an add-on for Skype, which can tell whether a person is lying. The software analyzes the voice stream of the person and shows their stress levels to the user. Skype is currently the most widely used Internet communication service and is available in 28 languages. Users of Skype can avail themselves of free voice, video and instant messaging over the Internet.

"Digital voice is one of the fastest growing broadband services," states Mark Weibel, EVP of Marketing for Broadband National, the industries leading comparative shopping website. For more information on VoIP and digital voice visit www.broadbandnational.com

One third of Internet users in the US have connected to the web using a wireless network, according to a recent survey.
 
The study, carried out by the Pew Internet Project, also found that 20 per cent of Internet users had wireless networks at their homes. The figure has doubled since January 2005. John Horrigan, associate research director at the Pew Project, said: "We know that 'always on' broadband connections really deepen people's relationship to the Internet; adding 'on the go' to the mix takes this a step further."
 
Mr. Horrigan also added that the convenience of wireless access gives people "the chance to fire off a quick email to someone while waiting in a doctor's office or check the news headlines on the way to work". The survey, which involved questioning 798 Internet users, also found 34 per cent said they logged onto the web using a laptop computer, hand-held personal digital assistant or mobile phone. Another survey, also by the Pew Project found wireless users to be more engaged with cyberspace than regular users, generally logging on and checking emails on a more regular basis.

"This proliferation of wireless networks also comes a greater risk in personal security," states Mark Weibel EVP of Marketing for Broadband National, who operates the industries leading comparative shopping website. “A wireless network is more vulnerable because anyone can try to break into a network broadcasting a signal, and certain precautions should be taken.”

For more information on VoIP and other digital products and services visit www.broadbandnational.com

A leading business VoIP solutions provider has teamed up with a VoIP security firm in order to expand the market presence of both parties.
 
INSI has partnered with Sipera Systems in a move that will enable customers to access comprehensive VoIP security solutions for all-encompassing, real-time, unified communications. Sipera's comprehensive approach to VoIP security was praised by INSI, especially as it means that enterprise networks will be protected from service abuse including DoS/DDoS floods, fuzzing, stealth and VoIP spam, in real-time.
 
"We believe secure, corporate communications is crucial to ongoing business operations," said INSI chief Lloyd Rochon. "Sipera IPCS products extend beyond existing security products to combine VoIP VPN, firewall/SBC, intrusion prevention, anti-spam and compliance functionality in a single device."
 
According to ABI Research, there will be over 267 million VoIP subscribers worldwide in 2012, compared with 38 million last year.

"You also want to make certain that you have intelligent IPS deployed between VoIP gateways and near your call manager," states Mark Weibel EVP of Marketing for Broadband National, who operates the industries leading comparative shopping website.  "This is a key area of attack that contains a lot if not all of a companies critical information."

For more information on VoIP and other digital products and services visit www.broadbandnational.com

Internet telephony pioneer Texas Instruments has claimed that the market for delivering VoIP to small and medium businesses (SMB) is ready to expand.
 
As the number of businesses turning to VoIP increases, manufacturers and service providers have a "unique opportunity" to deliver advanced products, it said. Although SMBs are in a position to reach a wider audience thanks to broadband, prohibitive long-distance telephone costs have limited their ability to offer the best services.
 
"Now, however, with the cost-savings and rapid availability of VoIP, SMBs can reach out to customers multi-nationally and globally like never before," said Texas Instruments in a statement. The firm said that VoIP products for SMBs "must be easy-to-use and affordable, while offering the features and quality expected in traditional phone systems and an added layer of security to protect critical business resources". Earlier this month, AMI-Partners said that SMBS are likely to drive further growth in the broadband VoIP market.

"Small businesses are increasingly choosing VoIP hosted business phone packages instead of conventional telephone systems.  VoIP can mean a lot more than just savings to a small business," states Mark Weibel EVP of Marketing for Broadband National, who operates the industries leading comparative shopping website. "The greater versatility of hosted VoIP allows each business to tailor a telecommunications package, regardless of geography, specifically to meet its needs without spending heavily on equipment, installation, maintenance or an IT staff."

For more information on how your small or medium sized business can take advantage of VoIP technology visit www.broadbandnational.com