As the number of emergency calls made using VoIP hardware grows, it is becoming necessary to ba able to trace these calls.
VoIP still only accounts for a small percentage of 999 calls in the UK, but as the numbers increase there is cause for concern. Many people that have to make a call to the emergency services either do not know where they are or cannot speak for one reason or another, to explain where they are. With this in mind, it is imperative that calls made using VoIP need to have software enabled that allows tracking.
VoIP calls made using broadband connections can be made from anywhere, which makes tracing calls harder and delays the emergency services response time.
It is not going to be an easy solution and will mean that VoIP providers and ISPs will have to work together to provide the relevant information and it is still not entirely clear as to whether it will be possible for ISP providers to give reverse tracing options. This is obviously not acceptable to emergency services – who at times need all the help they can get when trying to trace a call.
Ofcom may very well get involved with taking on some of the costs involved in developing the software to trace calls and commented that ‘providers may not always be the VoIP providing source, they are obliged by law to provide emergency data if they have access to the information’. This could be the vital steps to providing an affordable VoIP tracing solution.
In the communications industry, Hosted VoIP Telephony has become a big deal and a hot topic for discussion.
Hosted VoIP’s widespread adoption as the primary way to communicate could be ‘unassailable’ in the future.
This solution to a company’s communications could really revolutionise the way that we communicate with each other and will be a part of the future of many businesses. VoIP allows companies to reduce the costs associated with telephony, at the same time as saving money – which is at the forefront of many companies right now.
According to Tom Fellowes, who is the Sales Director at Spitfire Technology Group, Hosted VoIP’s popularity and use is increasing and he firmly believes that Hosted IP will become a priority for small companies.
Even the connectivity providers have observed an amazing growth in the popularity of hosted solutions.
Carl Churchill, Director at Murphx, thinks that these hosted solutions will represent a significant part in the future of the communications industry.
Within the next 10 years, it is predicted that half of all mobile calls will be made using VoIP software.
According to Gartner.com, mobile VoIP will challenge traditional mobile models, as 4G connections are developed with mobile handsets in mind.
It is predicted that many VoIP calls will be made using social media sites like Facebook, MySpace, Google and Yahoo!, whilst over half of all mobile calls will be made using VoIP software.
Until 4G networks are fully implemented, mobile to mobile VoIP calling won’t happen and this isn’t predicted until 2017, but because the costs associated with making VoIP calls are considerably lower than current mobile rates the transition to VoIP will be fairly rapid, with people eager to make a saving.
Gartner have said that it is possible that one day all mobile calls will be made using VoIP technologies.
Read more at VoIP News.
One of the leading global communications companies Aastra, which develops and delivers innovative and integrated solutions to large and small companies, has just announced the launch of two new SIP phones – the 6730i and the 6731i.
The 6730i and the 6731i have several helpful features, like caller display, paging, auto answer and a full duplex speaker phone .
According to Aastra, these phones are not only suitable for large companies but smaller companies as well. They are easy to use and are designed to integrate easily with certified IP solutions providers.
The phones are designed to work on Aastra IP systems, but also on solutions provided by other communication suppliers.
Aastra’s vice president of open standards solutions feels that these two new phones will offer everything that a company could need from a phone and should become two very popular models as well as demonstrating Aastra’s commitment to open standards.
Last month Alcatel-Lucent launched a new secure VoIP solution. The new secure VoIP technology, is designed to protect medium and large sized firms from attacks on IP networks, whilst maintaining the quality of service.
The new offering from Alcatel-Lucent combines their firewall technology – VPN Firewall Brick – with their telephony platform.
The new secure VoIP solution boasts firewall technology developed by Bell Labs and was originally created to safeguard the US Government’s classified networks.
With the vulnerabilities posed to VoIP networks growing and that fact that the majority of VoIP networks are deployed by communications teams and not an experienced IT teams, the need to ensure that communication solutions are secure by default is becoming more necessary. VoIP can really benefit a business by reducing communication costs, but it has to be secure in order to really be a truly profitable investment.
The Alcatel-Lucent VoIP solution works by dynamically pin-holing, which basically means that only once a call has been set up, is it assigned a port. Traditional firewall solutions are not VoIP aware and therefore, several ports are often open during the call, threatening the security of both voice and data.
This new and exciting technology from Alcatel-Lucent will ensure that businesses can use VoIP, safe in the knowledge that their business is protected, at the same time as saving them money.
