US VoIP services have topped the $20 billion mark in first half of the year.
It seems that there may have been some truth to VoIP services being an affordable alternative to traditional phone systems.
Businesses and homes have been capitalising on the internet telephone system and more growth is set for the second half of the year.
Home use is still where the majority of the revenue is coming from, with the number of subscribers growing 14% from the end of 2008 through until the first half of 2009.
Businesses are expected to get involved with VoIP more and more as unified communication grows; unifying all company correspondence.
No VoIP apps for iPhone just yet.
Last month, the phone giant AT&T Inc. announced that they would begin allowing iPhone owners to use VoIP calling services on its wireless network. The move came two months after the Federal Communications Commission sent letters to AT&T, Apple and Google Inc. asking why the Google Voice messaging and calling application had not been approved for use on the iPhone.
Everybody applauded this decision, but more than one month has passed by and applications such as Skype, Nimbuzz, Truphone or Fring still don’t work on the iPhone outside of Wi-Fi spots.
Those connections generally have limited mobility and therefore present less of a competitive threat to AT&T’s core wireless calling business. Nevertheless it is seemingly Apple the one who is preventing this to happen. In fact, an AT&A spokesman said: “any questions about why VoIP isn’t 3G enabled should go to Apple.”
Meanwhile Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said in an email that they are still working on the update to their development agreements in order to get VoIP apps on the App Store as soon as possible.
Dubai operators stand to make revenue from VoIP if legalised for international use.
VoIP is currently illegal for international use in Gulf states and punishable by deportation in some cases. However, Dubai has a large number of expatriates creating great demand for VoIP services to make calls across the border. With this in mind the telecommunications industry is currently reviewing the legislation.
Concerns are that if VoIP is legalised, the demand for mobile and fixed-line calls will be heavily reduced, causing the industry financial loss. Analysts, however, point out that a change in legislation may actually be an opportunity for operators to make revenue.
Senior analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media Mohammad Hamza explains that with VoIP legalised for international use operators will be able to claw back some of the revenue currently made from illegal use.
If legalised, VoIP for international use would be run by operators rather than third party providers and instead than being offered as a stand-alone product, it could easily be bundled with other offers allowing for added revenue.
According to the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority mobile and fixed-line call rates would not be affected much as they have already been heavily reduced.
VoIP call rates will be most beneficial when calling another VoIP user. If using VoIP to call a mobile or fixed-line, there will be a charge.
Many people would happily accept using the VoIP service at a small charge And are keen to get this legalised.
VoIP calls made with mobile phones are going to undercut the tariff costs set by mobile phone providers according to a new report.
The findings proved that mobile calls taken using a mobile network will be 15 times cheaper than a 3G mobile phone call. The allure of low cost calls, will of course increase the desire for VoIP.
Those could greatly benefit from VoIP will be those who want to avoid the exorbitant roaming charges from international calling.
The report did point out that 3G VoIP was not reliable as web coverage needed for this services was poor. However, as handset technology improves and web advances are made, 3G VoIP will be become more dependable.
As VoIP takes off, it is likely that mobile phone operators will design their own VoIP applications to capitalise on the technology, as currently the software must be downloaded.
The number of people using their phones to access the web has greatly increased with the figure last year reaching 14.4 million.
The Voice over Internet Protocol services provided by Google are being investigated for a possible breach of telecommunication laws.
The Federal Communications Commission are investigating the possibility that Google Voice has allegedly been refusing to connect the Internet Protocol service to some rural areas.
The Chief of the Wireline Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission has expressed their interest in gathering facts in order to have a clearer understanding of exactly what has been going on.
The FCC bans blocking carriers so that consumers can implement affordable broadband networks of their choice.
It is not fully understood how Google Voice’s VoIP services works and so the FCC have been brought in to investigate this and discover exactly how many people are using the service.
Currently the service is available only by invitation allowing those special individuals to make, receive and take calls – even conference calls. Users can also record calls should they need to and store them on the internet.
The investigation continues.
Edwin Pena, 26, was arrested in Mexico last February for computer hacking and fraud and finally faces these charges this week.
The Venezuelan, who was a former Miami resident, fled the US justice system in August of 2006. This was two months after being bailed following phone hack charges and stealing VoIP call credits.
It is estimated that Pena and his accomplice stole $1.4 million by selling on 10 million voice call minutes taken from unsuspecting telecoms suppliers.
Pena’s accomplice, Robert Moore, pleaded guilty and is currently serving a two year jail sentence. Pena is alleged to have used ‘brute force’ tactics to extract information and activation codes from susceptible telecom supplier systems.
Pena used the proceed of his dirty dealings to live a life of luxury, buying himself a 40 foot boat, a BMW M3 and not to mention the estate in Miami.
The United States have been clamping down on hackers, working with other countries to bring criminals to justice and extradite them back to receive punishment. This case will be the beginning of many.
According to a study by Dimension Data, businesses and companies can improve their customer services by using mobile VoIP.
Howard Spink who is the Director for Customer Services and Interactive Solutions at Dimension Data, said that VoIP will push the boudaries of customer services beyond current expectations.
A company using VoIP solutions will also have an integrated customer services department, instead of a separate, margainally isolated department.
Voice over Internet Telephony technology would be combined with other technologies to ensure that the needs of customers would be easily met.
According to research by In-Stat, who analyse the industry, by 2013, there will be 278 million registered VoIP users worldwide. This works out at annual revenues of £19.5 billion.
We already know that VoIP saves money, so how long will it benuntil everyone knows this?
Many companies are pulling the purse strings in on spending, but it seems that despite this, VoIP and the growth of Unified Communications continues to rise.
500 call centres were contacted across 36 countries by network provider Dimension Data. Of the firms contacted most were still keen to have value-added services.
Spending may have dipped and the call for customer relationship management software fallen, but VoIP continues to prove popular for many businesses.
It is worth noting that the survey found that 60% of call centres in the UK now use VoIP software.
Howard Spink, of Dimension Data, says that the findings are a clear indication of the recession creating a ‘contact centre evolution’. With the intervention of VoIP, call centre communications will now be revolutionised and will enable companies to keep costs down.
VoIP is going to help companies to continue to communicate throughout the recession and keep a lid on costs.
The Avaya 4621SW is perfect for your classic business desk phone – but comes with the advantages of low cost VoIP calling through a 10/100 Base T Ethernet connection. It includes a separate auto-negotiation for each port and integrated switch for PC connection.
The Avaya 4261SW IP has a large graphic display (168 x 132 dots) and 3 fixed feature keys: Conference, Transfer and Redial. There is also 3 application feature buttons: Dial, Call Log and Web Browser. The phone comes with a headset jack and desk stand. There is multi-language support to enable global user application.
The main features of the Avaya 4261SW:
• Full duplex speaker phone with Auto Echo – Avaya IP office compatible
• 10/100 BaseT Ethernet with seperate auto-negotiation for each port
• Intergrated switch for PC connection – with phone over PC priority
• IP Address Assignment – DHCP Client or Statically Configured
• Support for Simple Network management Protocol (SNMP)
• Multiple language support built-in: English, French, Italian, Spanish & KataKana
• Downloadable firm-ware for true investment protection
• Infrared (IrDA) Port
• Large screen graphic display (168 x 132 dots)
• 24 Programmable DSS / call appearance / feature keys
• 4 application feature buttons along bottom of display Speed Dial, Call Log, Web Browser, Options
• 10 Fixed Feature Keys: Speaker, Mute, Hold, Volume Up, Volume Down, Headset, Conference, Drop, Transfer and Redial
• Microsoft NetMeeting compatible
• Call Log Application
• Special Speed Dial Application
• Web Browser (WML)
• LDAP Directory
• 8 Ring-tone options
• Message Waiting Indicator
• Hearing aid compatible
• Built-in Headset Jack
• Wall Mountable / Desk stand with 7 positions
Please note, this phone is only compatible with Avaya IP Office / Avaya Communication Manager, and is not suitable for home use.
