VOIP and SIP News

Despite only costing one cent per minute, Fring's Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service is so popular that the company is reporting earnings of $10,000 per day.

Known as the fringOut voice calling service, this VoIP product has only been live for a couple of months.

Yet mobile VoIP is clearly the future, say company representatives and customers are endorsing it with their wallets. However, these earnings do not take operating costs into account.

A spokesperson said: "fringOut VoIP calls are as cheap as one cent per minute, but we are seeing a huge consumer vote for mobile VoIP. "

Fring is an peer-to-peer mobile VoIP app for smartphones such as iPhone and works on various IP telephony networks. All fring calls are routed to a PSTN termination server and VoIP gateway. Calls destined to PSTN and GSM networks pass through a circuit switch, possibly Session Initiation Protocol.

Calls to VoIP users continue through the VoIP gateway to their destinations. Support for DTMF dialing is available for Symbian devices.

If death and taxes are the only certainties in life, it was only a matter of time before Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) would see increased taxes.

A few years ago the National League of Cities pushed for a raise in VoIP tax rates, having sensed a profound change in the telephony industry.

According to a report on TMCNet, VoIP is an easy target for governments which are seeking to rise revenue in these cash-stricken times.

They are already losing much of the tax income from traditional methods of telephony, which six years ago was estimated at $22 billion annually.

Although internet based services are always harder to tax, as far as regional authorities are concerned it is vital to find a way. But higher taxes will in turn mean higher prices for consumers.

2011 is the expected date for the VoIP taxes in American states such as California, so it will be interesting to see whether they slow the rapid industry growth.

However the government is banking on the fact that low cost calling via VoIP will prove as indispensable to consumers as cigarettes and alcohol.

Garrett Smith, the director of marketing and business development at VoIP Supply, said: "The market for VoIP is stable and VoIP equipment is selling strongly despite the recession. "

Nimbuzz has just launched high-definition Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) calls for Android 2.0.2.

This move has been in the works since May 2010 when Google paid 68.2 million dollars for Global IP Solutions.

The writing was on the wall. They wanted the real-time video and voice over IP processing tech company to produce apps for the Android operating system with the use of GIPS technology.

Now users can benefit by making high-definition video and voice calls using the HD voice codec. They can also enjoy high quality calls and fewer dropped calls.

The app has a revamped profile system with a ‘My Profile’ page. There is a new interface and contact list. Meanwhile the app can run straight from an SD card so that users can save smart phone memory.

Nimbuzz plans to launch the HD voice app for the iPhone and Symbian smart phones as well as for personal computers.

Nimbuzz has recently had various conflicts of commerce and opinion with Skype and the app can be seen as a VoIP direct competitor to this market leader.

The Nimbuzz HD voice and video app is now available on the Android marketplace.

The recently released Windows phone 7 will not only offer Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), but also a number of interesting features such as visual voicemail.

This would allow users to go through their voicemails without having to use the automated command system, and instead see the messages which are waiting for them.

It is thought that the features, including VoIP, are in the underlying OS and will just need to be turned on via the release of an update.

Microsoft has already announced that it is releasing the second Windows Phone 7 update in February, so this could be when these features get unlocked.

Before that there will be a January update which will fix 'glaring omissions' such as the absent copy and paste fixture.

Furthermore excited customers can expect support for the Microsoft SkyDrive, whih is a cloud-based virtual hard drive, and turn by turn GPS navigation.

It is thought that the January update will require the connection of the Windows 7 smartphone with your PC, which is unusual.

By February all will be forgettoen as users revel in updated API's for apps, VoIP features and generally improved opportunities for multi-tasking.

There is no release date for the third update for the Windows Phone, which will actaully see it classified as Windows Phone 8, but expect to see significant improvments, especially in the internet explorer browsing department.

Mobile Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) apps have promise in terms of cost savings but will take time to deliver as they need excellent internet performance.

Not only do these Mobile VoIP Apps need constant broadband or wireless access, but they are still associated with some security risks.

Market researchers at GfK Singapore said that while companies such as Viber could offer cheap domestic and international calls, the need for Wi-Fi or 3G meant that traditional VoIP bundles were still a more practical option. 
 
General manager at GfK Singapore, Shirleen Kok, said: "Mobile VoIP apps such as Viber offer free calls for users which is a good cost-cutting option. However their reliance on wireless networks, data and hardware specifications make them less appealing compared with the traditional bundled minutes offered by telcos."

She explained that the three main telecommunications companies in Singapore could offer affordable data plans with bundled VoIP. These are expected to increase along with smartphone subscriptions. 
Another analyst at the IDC Asia-Pacific practice group said that these apps could allow customers to make free calls if they were not overly concerned about the voice quality. That drawback will prevent Mobile VoIP Apps from having significant enterprise growth at this early stage.

Businesses will be more concerned about issues such as security and reliability while requiring extra features
such as voice mail.

Because this is hard for app developers to achieve, carriers with a good knowledge of back-end mangement will be preferred. They can also provide service level agreements (SLAs) on latency and bandwidth which makes them more reliable.

Skype has millions of users worldwide but the figure is constantly growing.

The VOIP application will now be updated to include extra support for Nokia mobile and smartphones.

A Skype spokesperson said: "The new upgrade makes it easier to do many things. Users can add a profile
photo or contacts, navigate and set their mood message.

"The app is easy to share just by recommending it to other friends with Symbian handsets."

Previously Skype was mainly available on Symbian phones but not necessarily models by Nokia.

However the “Skype for Symbian” upgrade supports 31 different Nokia phones including the N8, E5 and C7, according to the Skype blog.
Reaction to the upgrade has been favorable so far with eBay alone comenting that the app provided cystal clear sound, even if you have a slow internet connection.

The Skype app for Nokia has also been updated so that the interface fits on larger screens.

The download is free from the Skype site.

Verizon Business has introduced VoIP  in Switzerland to add to its European VoIP portfolio.

The VoIP product service-level agreemen was previously only available in the United States of America.

The European VoIP portfolio will allow small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as large companies, to make and receive domestic and international calls cheaply.



Meanwhile the company has certified Cisco VoIP and unified communications to work with Verizon IP Trunking in both Europe and America.

Therefore Verizon customers can make use of web conferencing, presence and other UC solutions. By offering these services in the cloud they can be made use of on a pay-per-user basis.

Anthony Recine, the vice president of communications solutions at Verizon Business, said, "Verizon Business continues to expand and enhance its VoIP offerings to create a powerful unified communications and collaboration platform for multinational enterprises.

"By expanding our VoIP portfolio in Switzerland, introducing a comprehensive VoIP service-level agreement and certifying the latest Cisco Unified Communications system with world-class IP Trunking, we continue to advance VoIP for our worldwide customers."



By next year an SLA is to be launched for VoIP services in Europe which will increase the mean opinion score guarantee to four and introduce a four-hour mean-time-to-repair metric.

Verizon Business customers can use the certification of Unified Communications Manager with Cisco Cube.


Verizon IP Trunking customers can use Cisco Unified Border Element, an enterprise-focused session border controller, to enable enhanced collaboration applications and improve network connections.