VoIP used in a Quarter of US Homes


If there were any doubt about the burgeoning popularity of Voice over Internet protocol then they will be put to bed by the new findings of the Pew Internet Think Tank, as reported by Tech Crunch.

Pew Internet found that one quarter of American adult internet users (19% of all American adults) have placed phone calls online. In fact 5% of internet users go online every day to place VoIP phone calls.

These figures are up significantly over the last few years as Pew found that in the early part of last decade only 1% of internet users placed VoIP calls per day.

Since then there has been a steady increase. By 2007 6% of all adults in the US were going online to make cheap VoIP calls.

The biggest percentage of internet users are in the demographic between 18 and 29, while one third of those with an income over $70,000 in the US have made a phone call online.

That VoIP tends to be the preserve of the affluent was shown by the fact that only 13% of people who earned less than $30,00 per year had used VoIP solutions.

This massive trend shows why VoIP service Skype was recently the subject of a huge bidding war between Google, Facebook and Microsoft.

Microsoft had to pay a staggering $8.5 billion to come out on top and many in the industry have questioned whether they can receive a return on investment for this.

These figures that show how popular VoIP is in the US give an indication of why Microsoft was so keen to get a piece of the action.

Skype goes over to the Dark Side



Being bought by Microsoft in a giant deal has not stopped Skype from suffering the same denial of service problems that it has had in the past. But it seems that this time Skype was able to resolve its issues much faster which is evidence of the greater backup that Microsoft has put at its disposal.

Following a global crash of Skype services on Friday, the company has however moved quickly to rectify the problem. While offering advice Skype worked on fixing the issue permanently.

It involved problems with calls made on Skype's Voice over Internet Protocol system and users of various different OS' all reported the same problem. These circulated around the Twittersphere before Skype released a software update. Unfortunately the update only made things worse with people totally unable to log into Skype.

Skype's advice to Linux, OS X and Windows users was to delete a file called shared.xml. But the massive traffic to its website as people looked for advice also made the Skype website crash.

After that the problem was resolved quickly with a software bug detected which had caused the servers to overload.

Could it be that Skype's new affiliation with Microsoft will attract unwanted attention from the dark side, i.e computer hackers who don't like the massive Microsoft monopoly?

Alcazar Networks Delivers Contact Center VoIP Solutions


A VoIP company has just offered to make dialler termination easier with good connectivity and high dialler check rates.

Alcazar networks is offering more than just wholesale termination becasue the call center market is so competitive.

John Chisca, the VP of Alcazar Networks, told TMCnet: "In wholesale VoIP termination services challenges such as call quality, rates and service availability issues are pushing call centers and service providers to the limit.

He believes that Alcazar Networks Inc. now offers a full VoIP solution with high call quality and a local support desk.

That meets the demands of contact and call centers which need upmost reliability without any flaws to deliver the level of service that customers require.

Alcazar is offering its current service due to high demand from call centers. That includes a toll free termination compensation of $48 for companies that terminate over 100,000 minutes per month.

Mr Chisca explained: “Very few companies offer compensation on the termination. If they do, they are looking for high volume termination from 500,000 to sometimes two million minutes a month minimum to give compensation."

Tone Software Compliant with Avaya Aura Communication Manager 6.0



Tone Software, a global provider of VoIP Solutions and Unified Communications Solutions, has now had ReliaTel rated compliant with Avaya's IP Telephony solutions.

Amit Kapoor, the director of strategic technology advancement for Tone, said: "ReliaTel enables enterprises, service providers and Value Added Resellers to effectively manage their converged communications service all the way from the SIP trunks entering the LAN to the softphones on the desktops."

ReliaTel provides real time VoIP QoS and QoE end-to-end analysis including service level management for converged environments. It also offers trunk performance reporting for the Avaya Communications Manager through the SAT interface. It has now successfully been compliance-tested for compatibility with Avaya Aura Communication Manager 6.0.

That ensures high VoIP calling quality and the ability to converge the network infrastructure. It is an invaluable tool for IT support teams.

Tone Software is a Gold member of the Avaya DevConnect program which develops, markets and sells interoperable third-party.

The idea behind the project is allow businesses to communicate more effectively. That fulfills strategic obejectives to increase investment and drive business success. Avaya is one of the most successful unified communications and VoIP solutions providers and delivers contact centers and data solutions worldwide.

T-Mobile Re-Releases VoIP Calling App


If part of the unified communications revolution is the transition of social networking sites such as Facebook to include VoIP, then news of the T-Mobile App will be of interest.

T-Mobile released their Bobsled VoIP calling app for Facebook recently, but had to recall it almost immediately due to concerns about the branding.

Specifically there were worries that consumers would think Bobsled was a Facebook product, when it is not. However, T-Mobile merely stated design issues when the recall happened. That is becasue the app looked like something that Facebook had designed and violated their terms of use policies.

Now people can make free calls to their friends from their computers using the free Bobsled app. It remains to be seen what changes, if any, Bobsled has made to their product, or whether they were all design and cosmetic changes.

VoIP Solutions Market is Strong


Although the market in Voice over Internet Protocol products has been booming recently, VoIP was not completely immune to the recession, as no industry is in trying times.

It fact the IP telephony market worldwide dropped by 4% from the end of 2010 down to $2.52 billion in the first quarter of 2011.

Diane Myers, the directing analyst for VOIP and IMS at Infonetics, said: “The global PBX market was dragged down by slowing TDM PBX sales as businesses continued to shift to IP.“

But the news is good again with signs of stability in the sales of VoIP products and PBXes as more and more companies use Unified communications.
In fact the quarter of 2011 is up 8.5% compared to the first quarter of 2010.

Avaya is still the main player in the PBX market while Cisco is dominating the unified communications market. Meanwhile Time Warner, Cox and Comcast have made a huge advance on the bundled VOIP market and digital voice industry. They are now covering over 12 million US households.

Link a Door Phone to 3CX Phone System


3CX, the maker of the 3CX phone system for Windows, has just released a handy guide to linking a Door phone to your telephone system.

Firstly you should disable outbound calls for security purposes. Then create an extension in the 3CX Management Console for the door phone. The image below shows what the back of the phone should look like when you take the case off.


Then you connect the Network UTP cable to the Ethernet connection (Number 13 on the image above). Ideally you should connect it to a POE Network Switch. Alternatively, you would need to also connect a 12v power supply to the power block (Number 22). For more details on how to connect this and the specifications for the power supply please refer to the 3CX user manual or contact AlphaTech support.

Look for the DIP switch which is located in the middle of the circuit board (Number 14). The switch settings are as shown below:


•On the DIP switch, set all switches to ON except switch number 2, which must be set to OFF.
•Close the box and switch on the device.
•The Default IP address of the door phone as set by the manufacturer is 192.168.1.250. If you are installing with your PC in a different subnet, it will be necessary to set up a network card with an IP address in the same subnet range so you can connect to the device and make the necessary changes.
•Launch your web browser enter the IP address of the Door Phone (192.168.1.250).
•In the page that loads up, click on the link ‘Setup’
•Enter user name and password (by default the name is ‘admin’ and the password is ’1234′)
•The Device config page will now load up.


•Click on “Network Settings” and set up the settings as required for your Network . When done click on ‘Save and restart’ and then connect using the new IP address.

•Click on “SIP parameters” and configure the settings as follows:
SIP proxy server
1.Address: IP of 3CX server
2.Port: the 3CX sip port (default 5060)
SIP registrar server
1.Address: IP of 3CX server
2.Port: the 3CX sip port (default 5060)
Account module
1.Name: Extension Number configured in 3CX Phone System to be used for the door phone
2.Password: Authentication Password of the Door Phone Extension Number
3.Auth. Id: Authentication ID of the Door Phone Extension Number
4.Expiration [sec]: 600
•Click on ‘Save changes’

•Click on sip ‘Setting Audio’ and set priority 1 to G711u, priority 1 to G711a and priority 3 to G729. Click on ‘Save changes’.

•Click on Memory numbers and in Button 1 and Button 2 put in the numbers of the extensions you want to ring when the door bell is pressed. For multiple extensions to ring, set up a Ring All ring group and insert the Ring Group number instead of an Extension Number. Click on ‘Save changes’.

•The doorbell can now be used with 3CX. When the doorbell is pressed, the configured extension (or ring group) will ring and can be answered by answering the phone of the ringing extension.

•To open the door set up the door lock with the relay as specified in the manual and also set up the correct opening codes in Fermax config Relays section.

Unblocking VoIP Solutions


Blocked VoIP networks could be a thing of the past thanks to REVE Systems which now offers the iTel Byte Saver.

If you are having a problem with your IP network then this mobile VoIP provider which is based in Singapore offers an Unblock expert so that uninterrupted VoIP calling is assured.

Therefore any firewall can be surmounted via HTTP tunnelling and bandwidth usage is consequently shortened. The result is high quality VoIP calling for a low cost.

For security from Pin hacking there is also the iTel Pin Protector so that calls can only be made from your approved handsets. It does this by allowing you to register and approve an IMEI number of your wireless device.

VoIP Pal Creates iPad2 App



Voip-Pal.Com has just put its new PointsPhone Mobile(TM) App for the iPad 2 into beta testing.

The company is a leading provider of Voice over Internet Protocol services for global calls on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Voip-Pal.Com aims to provide a fast and reliable service and now the beta can be downloaded immediately.

It taps into the success of the iPad and almost guaranteed success of the iPad2. Especially as some industry experts believe that tablets will eventually outsell laptops. Apple in particular has 80% of the tablet market.

Yet as successful as the tablet iPad is, it needs an app such as VoIP-Pal to become a telephone. With VoIP-Pal it is then possible to make calls at two pence per minute and there are all sorts of special features such as the ability to email a digital copy of voice messages. The app can work over a Wi-Fi connection.

Dennis Chang, the President of Voip-Pal, said: "Apple has revolutionized the personal computing world with its introduction of the original iPad last year."

“By downloading our App, the iPad 2 is turned instantly into a telephone. The same VoIP technology that turns your smartphone into a cost-effective telephone, can now be used on the iPad 2 for both domestic and international calls."

BroadSoft Finalist in American Business Awards



BroadSoft, the multimedia software provider of unified commmunications and Voice over Internet Protocol technology, has been named a finalist for the Management Team of the Year in the 2011 American Business Awards.

The American Business Awards is a massive recognition ceremony held in New York City. They find nominees through recommendations from other private and public organizations and have received 2,800 nominations for the 9th annual ceremony. The award will be presented on June 20.

BroadSoft Inc, which produces real-time communications for cable, fixed-line and mobile IP networks, was recognized for "key business and financial accomplishments during 2010 that included an Initial Public Offering, a strategic acquisition and global expansion."

BroadSoft is a global provider of VoIP applications, and it has more than 450 customers in 65 countries. Their CEO Michael Tessler said that the company had done exceptionally well to not only survive the trying economic times but thrive. He thanked all of his staff and employees across 19 countries for their hard work.

A popular BroadSoft product is MobileMxD, an integrated suite of Consumer and UC services which is optimized for smartphones, tablet devices and 4G networks.

BroadSoft has also recently branched into cloud computing with BroadCloud® - a hosted infrastructure for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) unified communications.

T-Pad SIP Trunking Solution



As more and more companies get in on the Voice over Internet Protocol action for low cost internet calling, T-Pad has released a 'state of the art' SIP Trunking Solution.

T-Pad is a business telephone systems provider. By allowing high speed internet connectivity and data transferal over one telephony line there are huge cost savings for customers and business partners.

The Tpad Sales Director Simon Jones said: "T-Pad SIP Trunking saves money but also makes the workforce more mobile to increase productivity."

The idea is that employees can make phone calls any time, any where, and also be reached through a single number that is accessible at multiple locations to accelerate customer service.

According to the size of the company, T-Pad offers different packages with suitability for large corporations and small-to-medium sized enterprises.

The aim is to provide a complete solution for the routing of data and the upload and download of information. Video conferencing, instant messaging and number accessibility are just some of the other unified communications features which are offered through T-Pad Sip Trunking.

To offer the higest quality internet network T-Pad works with Supanet for an excellent IP network.

Nokia denies Rumours of Microsoft Sale



Not content with their mammoth buyout of VoIP service Skype, rumours were circling that Microsoft wanted to purchase the handset maker Nokia as well.

However the Finnish phone company has now refuted those claims which came from a well-known leaker of Nokia info called Eldar Murtazin.

But the PR agent for Nokia, Mark Squires, said via his Twitter account: "We typically don't comment on rumors. But we have to say that Eldar's rumours are getting obviously less accurate with every passing moment."

Mr Murtazin had suggested that the company was in talks with the Redmond software company to acquire the Nokia mobile division.

Commenting on the Microsoft sale he used his blog to say: "Next week Nokia will start the negotiations about the sale of its phone unit to Microsoft.”

"For now the results of the negotiations won't be public, but the deal might close before the end of 2011. Both companies are in a big hurry."

Nokia has already teamed up with Microsoft as an assigned handset for the Microsoft Windows Phone 7 OS. To do so it had to break ties with Symbian with which it had a long standing contract.

Whatever the case about the rumours it is certain that Microsoft is making an increasingly big play to be a leader in the VoIP market.

3CX and Arithon offer Integrated VoIP



The Recruitment Software provider Arithon
has joined the 3CX Partner program. 3CX's time and money saving solutions are said to be perfect for recruiters who spend a lot of time on the phone.

3CX is an award winning developer of business phone systems and VoIP telephony software products for Windows.
Arithon will now offer Version 10 of 3CX's next generation IP PBXs.

Roderick Smyth, the CEO of Arithon explained that 3CX allowed SMBs and SMEs to have the same range of free advanced enterprise VoIP features that are available to big companies.

He said: "Using the 3CX VoIP phone system will allow our customers to lower their communications costs and integrate seamlessly with Arithon. Therefore we can enhance our customer and partner service."

Furthermore 3CX is leading the way in the unified communciations space as far as smartphones and apps are considered. The version 10 3CX Myphone offers an assistant module so that users can integrate with the Arithon database. Among other features it automatically provides pop-up caller ID.

RIM Releases MVS5



Research In Motion is releasing the unified communications and business phone system Blackberry Mobile Voice System 5.

Blackberry is already making strong forays into the VoIP market with the
AudioCodes partnership recently sealed.

The AudioCodes COO Lior Aldema said: “Enterprise mobility is a strategic opportunity that AudioCodes continues to pursue.

“Our ability to enable deployments of BlackBerry MVS5 for legacy PBX and new IP-PBX environments demonstrates the important role AudioCodes plays in this explosive market.”

Blackberry Mobile Voice System 5 can be accessed on both Nortel and Avaya handsets as well as the Cisco Unified Communications Manager. It has an architecture that extends to VoIP and SIP gateways with third party applications.

That will allow BlackBerry calls over both WiFi and cellular networks. The networks can be handed off manually, automatically or with a prompt.

That means whether you are remote or at your desk you can enjoy extension dialling, single number reach and other great features.

Microsoft Can Boost VoIP Technology



While the decision of Microsoft to buy Skype for between $5-8 billion this week is a direct challenge to rivals like Cisco and Google, the companies this move may affect the most are the telecomms providers.

Being able to make low cost internet calls has already had a huge affect on landline companies and the big US providers like Verizon and At&T have accordingly geared their offerings towards the mobile market.

An editorial piece by NASDAQ sets this out as a potential driving force behind an increased take up of VoIP and a decline in landline services.

Furthermore now that Microsoft owns Skype will it still let Windows 7 Phone rivals like the iPhone and the Google Android offer the Skype download free on their service?

And if we are encouraged to use Skype subscriptions as opposed to landline calling, is there a chance that Microsoft will start charging more for Skype use in order to recoup the huge sums that they already spent on acquiring Skype?

These questions and many more will be answered over the next couple of years during which we can certainly expect to see VOIP technology hit new heights.

Microsoft Snaps Up Skype



With rumours that Google and Facebook were circling around Skype like Great White sharks looking for their next meal, another big fish came in from under their noses.

Bill Gates' huge computer corporation outbid the others to take the Voice over Internet Protocol Company for a staggering $5.2 billion.

Microsoft has long been trying to get in on the voice communications business but struggled at first with the unsuccessful market impact of their Kin phone.

Microsoft then followed this up with the Windows Phone 7, but that model will have a hard time trying to compete with the wildly popular Apple iPhone and Google Android smartphones.

Yet while other companies have been feeling the global economic pinch, there are no such problems from Microsoft which this week reported revenue in excess of $16 billion.

That means that the loss of $156 million from the failed launch of the Kin Phone last year was not a terminal problem.

We wait now to see what the future holds for Microsoft and Skype. Analysts predict that one move might be to allow an in-game chat service for users of the Xbox gaming console. Surely though this would be the very least of the powerful VoIP capacity which Skype offers.

Skype was just preparing itself for an Initial Public Offering with a rapidly amassed 170 million paying subscribers and a valuation of over $1 billion.

It seems that the bidding war forced Microsoft to pay five times that much, but the company has made a strong statement to its rivals that it intends to be the dominant player for many years to come.

However some Microsoft investors remain skeptical of acquiring a service which has always struggled to monetise itself.

Forrester Research analyst Andrew Bartels said: "It doesn't make sense at all as a financial investment. There is no way Microsoft that is going to generate enough revenue and profit from Skype to compensate for this huge outlay."

Special VoIP Trader Marketplace Created



Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology has developed a massive market which is constantly growing all the time.

With businesses of all sizes looking to take advantage of the chance to unify their communications efficiently and cost effectively, it is now estimated that the VoIP market in America alone is worth $3.8 billion.

Technology website TMC reported on the effect that this growth is having on the VoIP market with a number of new business opportunities.

The site quoted EMS Financial Services manager Christian Betke as saying: "All over the world new units and new routes are being plugged in. They are coming in at well below the normal market rate so this is all of a sudden creating a huge marketplace."

To cater to this market Betke along with others has created the EMS Traffic Board which acts as an online forum and message board for VoIP traders to meet and network, and it also allows them to make deals and transactions.

Betke explained the benefits of the EMS Traffic Board: "We work with tier four and five providers as well as some tier one providers."

"Bascially Two guys in VoIP trade can get together but without trust no one wants to prepay or offer credit. So both parties can come to me to manage the transaction as a neutral third party."

Have a look at the site and let us know whether it fulfills the need for a more open and competitive marketplace.

3CX Partners Grandstream



3CX, the maker of a VoIP phone system which is Windows compatible, has just announced a strategic partnership with Grandstream.

Grandstream is described as 'a leading designer and manufacturer of next generation IP Voice and Video products for broadband networks.'

David Li, the Chief Executive Officer of Grandstream Networks, said: “We're pleased to partner with 3CX and promote their market-leading software-based 3CX Phone System with our award-winning Grandstream multimedia and IP phones.

He added: "This best-in-class product combination creates an innovative solution which is excellent value for the small and medium sized enterprise market."

The agreement now means that 3CX will become one of the preferred Grandstream PBX partners.

Therefore 3CX can fully certify and integrate Grandstream’s broad portfolio of gateways, IP phones and multimedia phones.

As well as offering end-to-end support to customers, 3CX and Grandstream will also commit to advanced feature development for comprehensive IP telephony solutions.

That will allow 3CX customers to easily provision and manage Grandstream phones from the 3CX Management console.

The integration aims to make the initial setup and configuration of the phone system much easier with less need to manage it on an ongoing basis.

Specifically 3CX has now shipped enhanced Grandstream phone support in the 3CX Phone System 9 Service Pack 4. Therefore it is now even possible to use the 3CX management console to upgrade firmware across the network.

The Chief Executive Officer of 3CX, Nick Galea, commented: "The combined 3CX and Grandstream solution is simple to install and manage for our customers, and is a great replacement for outdated proprietary phone systems.

"Because both products are standards-based, customers are not committed to one particular vendor and companies can buy the best of breed, with full confidence in a complete solution."

Norango offers end-to-end VoIP Solution



An end-to-end VoIP solution is now available through Norango
and the telephone answering service company has just become a Value-Added Reseller of Snom.

Having become a VAR, Norango customers now have access to all sorts of internet telephony options. That includes packages for hosted Phone branch Exchanges and handsets to deliver all the best features of VoIP.

Mike Relf, the Sales Director of Norango, said: “We have traditionally stayed away from hardware as an offering. But when we combined the rich feature set of snom with our telephone answering service and hosted PBX, we felt it was a compelling combination that could really benefit our customers.

He added: “For me, the snom is in a league of its own; its reliability and scalability is unrivalled and let’s not forget, it looks pretty good too.”

The Snom packages work within the cloud and are secure and scalable. Technical support is provided to all customers thanks to Norango’s accredited system.

Norango Ltd markets itself as a 24-hour telephone answering service and it is based in the UK. The Snom range of telephone answering products will be targeted at small and medium size businesses who can now use one VoIP supplier for all of their requirements.

About Norango Ltd also offers cutting edge hosted VOIP services such as ISDN, inbound non-geographic numbers and MPLS.

Sippy Offers New VoIP Products


Sippy Software Incorporated has released a new bunch of offerings and Voice over Internet Protocol technology for cheap internet calling is at the forefront of them.

Since 2004 the company has aimed to offer secure, reliable and above all scalable VoIP solutions to VoIP providers right across the globe.

The company is constantly releasing new upgrades to its products and the latest is the Sippy SoftSwitch version 2.0 which was released in April, 2010.

This call control software package offers call routing to various sizes of enterprise and they get a scalable and secure service. It works via Session Initiation Protocol technology.

Sippy describes Softswitch as 'a complete carrier grade SIP Softswitch solution and customer management platform.'

It allows internet telephony business to be quickly launched and gives full switching capabilities. With a subscriber service callback and calling card features are offered.

'The hosted environment support has the look and feel of a standalone softswitch', the company added.

There are now 11 new features for customers to enjoy including local calling rates and the ability to generate PDF invoices. To avoid the hassle of running your own hardware there are also software as a service hosting plans.

Using high tech data storage the solution is ideal for many types of company including wholesale VoIP termination companies and hosted call shops.

Facebook and Google Fight over Skype VoIP


The Voice Over Internet Protocol service Skype is being fought over by both Facebook and Google, according to news agency Reuters.

With 120 million estimated subscribers Skype is the world's most popular VoIP service and allows people all over the world to make free PC to PC phone calls as well as low cost calls from computer to landline.

The company is also preparing an IPO (Initial Public Offering) which could see it valued at a staggering $1 billion.

Perhaps then it is no surprise that the search giant Google and the social media leader Facebook see the untapped potential of Skype to further boost the connectivity and the reach of their business.

Both companies have ventured into the unified communications field with rumours of a Facebook phone coming almost simultaneously with the release of the Google call phones service.

Google may yet have to upper hand in this battle as they have recently bought ON2, which Skype states as a vital source of their technology.

A Skype statement explained that: "We licence various components of our technology from third parties including the VP7 video compression / decompression technology from On2."

On the other hand in 2010 Skype also penned a deal with Facebook to have give access for Skype users to the Facebook Phonebook and Newsfeed.

Skype will not come cheap to any company that tries to acquire it with some industry sources explaining that Skype could cost anywhere between $3-4 billion.

Friendcaller VoIP App for Android



A new and improved version of the FriendCaller VoIP app from Android is now available for free download. The app has been optimised to make it more user friendly with a user intuitive contact list.

Friendcaller works with all Android phones and tablets on Android 1.6 or above can be downloaded directly from the Google Android market.

FriendCaller.com is a C2Call GmbH product which allows free calls from the WebPhone to any Internet user. There is also the chance to have free calling credit. No software installation is required and you can make calls to people even if they are not registered with Friendcaller.

The app works on Linux, OS X and Windows browsers and is also available for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Furthermore it can be used on Nokia Series 40 Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Phones, as a Facebook App for SIP clients. Also if you have already connected FriendCaller with Facebook you can see the Facebook pictures of your contacts. Speed dial is another one of the many available functions.

Telstra helps SMBs Switch to VoIP


Telstra, the Australian telecommunications company will help small business migrate to VoIP by investing $600 million in a Quality-of-Service upgrade.

The company says the Quality-of-Service upgrade is vital to offer the standard of reliability and service that customers should expect.

1600 exchanges in Australian capital cities will benefit from the five year IP telephony project. By using the $120 per month Digital Business package they can make cheap VoIP calls over their Telstra ADSL2+ connection.

The ADSL2+ connection will be made with a Cisco Router and a Cisco digital phone and all standard call costs are included.

That means 90% of Australian businesses will have cheap VoIP calls by September 2011. After the initial set-up fee businesses on average will save up to $2400 dollars per year on calls and communications.

Two of the main players in the deal were the Telco CEO David Thodey and the Federal Minister for Small Business in Australia, Nick Sherry.

Mr Thodey said: "Often people say they want a cheaper price but what they are really saying is that they want more functionality at an affordable price. [Our cost savings] equate to more than a billion dollars annually across the Australian economy."

The Telstra package includes unlimited access to a MessageBank, Voice2Email messaging and a domain name if you want to set up a website.

There is also Microsoft Exchange Online so that people can access their calendar and emails even if they are not in the office. For an additional $15 per month it is possible to get the internet connections and voice connections automatically switched over to the Telstra NextG network as a backup for the ADSL connection.

The service will also be ready for use when the Australian National Broadband Network is rolled out.