VOIP and SIP News

In response to fears of over costs incurred by changing a traditional business phone system to a VoIP phone system, a South African company has released a new solution.

Telecoms provider SS wanted to lessen any negative impact during a communications changeover. That includes lost revenue resulting from changing phones which they estimate to cost 600 rand per unit.

So to help out small and medium sized enterprises, SS has introduced the Mediatrix iPBX which allows companies to retain their existing analogue infrastructure while routing calls through SIP trunking.

The SS Telecoms Sales and Marketing Manager, Kevin Greig, said: “Companies want to switch to VOIP quickly and painlessly, as they are wary of losing the value of existing analogue investments.

"The Mediatrix iPBX allows them to get this right with minimal fuss. The system simply routes to a VOIP service provider, allowing the company to retain its legacy phone and fax infrastructure.

He added: "The Mediatrix iPBX easily routes conventional G3 fax traffic, so it is a comprehensive solution to the tricky time and expense equation that mid-size companies face.”

Using Mediatrix iPBX, large capital outlays are eliminated even though you still get all the long term cost-savings associated with VoIP.

For instance voice over internet protocol can significantly lower the cost of you telephone calls.

It can also cut back on staff and wasted time through features such as an auto call-attendant.

VoIP savings are furthermore boosted by the falling costs of bandwidth.

The system uses the Media 5 4100 series platform to enhance or replace a proprietary PBX system. Features include Conference Bridge, Voice Mail and Call Detail Reports. That way decision-makers can meet their VOIP needs cost-effectively.

The VoIP network service supplier Bandwidth, has acquired Dash, which provides E911 services.

While Bandwidth supplies VoIP solutions to companies such as Pinger and Skype, Dash Services Carrier allows them to provision emergency calling.

E911 calling is a very hot topic within VoIP Solutions right now for safety reasons as VoIP internet calls are not otherwise tied to a physical address which can be dangerous in an emergency.

Now Bandwidth can supply that emergency support to all of its estimated 6,000 US business customers.

Although bandwidth already had E911 VoIP for its own products, this will allow it to spread the technology through its portfolio with 411 services and live nationwide directory listing also offered.

As well as selling strong internet connectivity and bundles of minutes to companies , Bandwidth provides phone numbers, smartphones and office phone systems to SMBs.

Bandwidth has even launched a free VoIP calling service which is intended to rival Google's call phones service with a free local phone number given for all of your calling needs. Features include auto-attendant and voice transcription.

3CX, producer of the award winning 3CX phone system for Windows which can replace your proprietary hardware PBX, has now launched 3CX Training events in Germany.

The two days of events will take place on March 22 and March 23 and are available to new or active 3CX partners free of charge.

There they can learn how best to deploy and resell the 3CX Phone System. While the event of Tuesday, March 22 is a Basic Training Workshop the following day, Wednesday, March 22 there is an Advanced Training Workshop.

The training events take place in Frankfurt Am Main at NH Frankfurt Moerfelden, Hessenring 9, D-64546 Mörfelden/Walldorf, D-64546.

All attendees are advised to book their spot if they want to attend as places come on a first come first served basis.

If you have a change of plans you can cancel your booking up to five days beforehand free of charge.

However late bookings and non attendance may see a charge of 50 Euros, at the discretion of 3CX.

The company welcomes you to the events and asks that you have your booking reference to hand.

VTech has released a cordless VoIP phone which has been put through a rigorous test to ensure optimum sound quality.

Therefore the Avant 5000 cordless VoIP phone now offers “true to life” sound through Cordless Advanced Technology.

It employs an internet and quality (CAT-iq) programme to make voices travelling via broadband sound natural.

The VTech president of telecommunication products, Chi Hoi Tong, said: “We are the largest manufacturer of cordless telephones in the world and the CAT-iq 2.0 certified handset will reaffirm our technology leadership position."

The result is a much higher call quality than you can get from a normal telephone network or 3G mobile communication.

In addition there are special system settings which allow you to syncronise contacts, add multiple lines and caller ID.

It is not yet known what the recommended retail price will be for the Avant 5000 cordless VoIP phone.

Currently there is no release date as yet set for Australia, though the VoIP Phone is expected to come out sometime in 2011.

Facebook, the world's largest social network with more than 500 million users, is now becoming even more connected by offering the chance to make Voice over Internet Protocol calls.

The Facebook Messenger by Crisp App means that VoIP calls are only a click away for those who are already chatting via IM.

Once you have downloaded the iPhone app for the cost of $3 the calls are free of charge which will be very appealing and a serious rival to the Google call phones service.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg has said that he wants the network to become more horizontal, mainly through the use of imbedded apps such as this which will increase the strands and layers of connectivity. It could be part of the future of social UC solutions.

The company is rumoured to be creating its own Facebook Voip
as one user recently stumbled across a call feature which was then quickly removed. It is as yet unsure whether this was a glitch or a trial for new Facebook low cost calling.

To use the Facebook messenger app all you have to do is log into your account and you will be presented with your contact list.

If you plan to go to the next level of communication you can upgrade your text chat to free Facebook VoIP calling. Your contacts will be alerted about your attempts to connect via a link to the flash based app.

All the normal Facebook features are still available on the chat interface such as using emoticons and posting pictures, while the VoIP app gives multi-tasking support.

Facebook Messenger requires iOS 3.1.2 or later.

In the intense world of online gaming where every distraction must be banished to concentrate on the task at hand, Voice over Internet Protocol has a role to play.

VoIP is used so that participants in multi-player games can talk to each other without having to switch between instant message boxes and waste time typing.

This is a popular new trend, according to VoIP gaming and social network provider Vivox, which has reported a massive rise in VoIP gaming.

The Vivox Chief Executive Officer Rob Seaver said: "Our integrated voice platform is integral to maintaining the vibrancy and enthusiasm of our online communities.

"Vivox has not only played a key role in creating unique, interactive environments for our users but it's also provided us with additional opportunities for business and revenue growth."

More than 45 million people are now using the company's High Definition VoIP services for gaming. That is up from only 18.5 million users at the beginning of last year.

That is good news for revenue as Vivox makes money through virtual goods and audio advertsising.

Some of the companies which make use of Vivox's VoIP gaming offerings are Runewaker Entertainment, Bigpoint.com and Wargaming.net.

The Unified Communications Exposition 2011 will take place on March 8-9 and showcase the latest technologies including enterprise voice, mobile communications and cloud computing.

There will be demonstrations of VoIP equipment at the Olympia Exhibition Centre in London.

This is the premier industry event and is expected to attract more than 4,000 visitors.

The exhibition will be divided into six sections including UC collaboration, voice, cloud, visual and mobile.

Among the exhibitors will be ASC UK which created an analytics application with various features.

They include keyword spotting and emotion detection help to detect problem calls.

Their sales director Mike Murley said: “Whilst providing answers to fundamental questions about agent training and the success of marketing campaigns, our VoIP solutions also support enterprise issues concerning operational processes and how to improve business efficiency.

"In so doing, we help our clients further improve customer service and achieve competitive outcomes.”

There is also the EVOip feature which captures network telephone and enables storage, playback and interaction archiving.