Remember life before VoIP? Long distance calls were an expensive business, forcing people to talk at marathon speed just to squeeze in as much information as they could. It was practically an Olympic sport: the 100-second “dash” of “hi how are you how are the kids I’m okay here oh by the way my wife is pregnant (PAUSE FOR AIR)”. I remember having to stock up on phone cards, many of which were duds...

After my brother’s divorce, they went through the painful process of custody arrangements for their three kids. This year he got them for Thanksgiving, and his wife got them for Christmas. A devoted Dad, it kills him not to be able to have them near him for the holidays. He had the gifts shipped weeks ago, but it’s not the same. “Wish I could see their faces when they open them,” he said. He doesn’t...

A few years ago my friend quit her job to start her own business. She wanted to spend more time with her family — she has three kids — and traded the 9-5 grind for a home business. From a small PC in her bedroom she runs a consultancy that earns pretty well. Plus she can work in her pajamas. Most of the work she can manage through emails and faxes. But there are the meetings, often involving people from...

Vonage, one of the the leading VoIP providers in the United States, recently announced that it is backing the National Emergency Number Association’s (NENA) new interim/migratory technical standard for VoIP E911. The release of this new i2 technical standard actually combines the new technology of VoIP and the existing e911 system interface. This standard enables VoIP providers to provide full E911 service...

ordan Telecom recently announced that it has successfully its commercial VOIPoDSL service called Livebox. This new project will provide the company’s residential DSL customers affordable, high quality double play (voice and data) service. // Alcatel, as part of its partnership with Jordan Telecom, integrated and deployed the solution within the timetable set for the project. It was also responsible for the...

Sipgate has recently announced the rollout of its enhanced VoIP service. The company can now provide 01 and 02 phone numbers from more than 600 along with its VoIP offering the covers practically the whole of the UK. About 40 remaining area codes in rural areas will be added in the next few weeks according to company information. Subscribers to broadband may decide to take advantage of a free VoIP line provided...

The vision of having a wide wireless broadband connectivity just moved a little closer to reality as Cisco announced that it has entered the mesh networks business with a centrally controlled mesh architecture and access points. A mesh network has two main capabilities that actually set it apart from the more “vanilla-flavoured” WiFi network. • Mesh operating system have routing algorithms that lets data...

The main driving force for the growth of international VoIP (voice over internet protocol) remains to be its low price. This was the result of a study made by research firm TeleGeography. According to TeleGeography, broadband-based VoIP services to homes and businesses can include additional features like click-to-dial and a choice of area codes. The call quality of VoIP has also markedly improved. But new features...

The slow adoption of broadband in Britain at the start of the decade is being blamed for the lackluster roll out of internet telephony in the country today. The UK is actually lagging behind Europe in adopting VoIP and its failure to adopt broadband as early as other countries is to blame, according to a report. The EIAA claimed that 10 per cent of Europeans had already made phone calls over the web but only...

You know something is about to become big when even big companies are starting to notice it. It ‘s the same case with a hot technology like Voice over Internet Protocol ( VoIP) and a company like Microsoft. // Recently, Microsoft and MCI announced a multiyear partnership that aims to offer software and services that will let users call from a PC to virtually any phone in the world. This new move directly...