Talk Is Cheap: Switching to Internet Telephones

Fed up with the high tolls charged by your ordinary telephone service? If you're itching to cut the copper cord with your costly, traditional phone service, you need Talk is Cheap, the new, easy-to-understand guide to understanding and using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and other Internet telephone options. Technologies such as VoIP are gaining a great deal of attention these days as more people switch from standard telephone service to phone service via the Internet. But while the cost savings are outstanding, there are some issues with Internet telephony that you should know about. Are the connections reliable? Is the quality comparable? Will it include 911 services? James Gaskin's Talk is Cheap addresses these issues and many more by explaining how to make the switch and what the tradeoffs will be if you opt for Internet telephony over traditional phone services. Talk is Cheap focuses on the increasingly popular services from Vonage, which uses VoIP, and Skype--a free service that operates as a peer-to-peer (P2P) network with the ability to turn any PC, Mac, or Pocket PC into a telephone. The book explains your options; explores the background behind, the workings of, and differences between VoIP and P2P networks; and discusses the advantages and drawbacks of both technologies (including service offerings, quality, capabilities, completion rates, and more). Talk is Cheap then goes into detail on what you can expect in Internet service from traditional phone companies such as Verizon and AT&T. In addition, you will learn more advanced techniques, including how to turn your Palm or Pocket PC into an Internet phone and how to work with Wi-Fi phones and videophones. A straightforward, quick introduction to the ins and outs of using Internet telephone services, this book provides everything you need to make informed telephone decisions--whether you're thinking about the switch from traditional phone service or have already made it and want to get the most out of your new Internet telephone.

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VoIP Technologies: A Comprehensive Guide to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

Looking for a reference on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)? VoIP Technologies, your complete guide to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), provides a comprehensive foundation of VoIP technology, as well as the knowledge necessary to successfully support any VoIP product.

Designed for those who have a working knowledge of data, this guide examines the major components of VoIP networks, the incorporation of VoIP into a data network, packaging and transmitting voice, maintaining voice quality, and addressing traffic issues. Many other topics are also discussed in this section, including VoIP standards, protocols, and configuring networks for VoIP. The second half of the guide focuses on designing and supporting complex VoIP solutions encountered in Wide and Local Area Networks (WAN and LAN).

This guide will also help to prepare you for the Technology Standards and Protocols for IP Telephony Solutions (920-803) and Technology Standards and Protocols for Converged Networks (920-804). Nortel Professional Certification exams.

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Switching to VoIP

More and more businesses today have their receive phone service through Internet instead of local phone company lines. Many businesses are also using their internal local and wide-area network infrastructure to replace legacy enterprise telephone networks. This migration to a single network carrying voice and data is called convergence, and it's revolutionizing the world of telecommunications by slashing costs and empowering users. The technology of families driving this convergence is called VoIP, or Voice over IP.

VoIP has advanced Internet-based telephony to a viable solution, piquing the interest of companies small and large. The primary reason for migrating to VoIP is cost, as it equalizes the costs of long distance calls, local calls, and e-mails to fractions of a penny per use. But the real enterprise turn-on is how VoIP empowers businesses to mold and customize telecom and datacom solutions using a single, cohesive networking platform. These business drivers are so compelling that legacy telephony is going the way of the dinosaur, yielding to Voice over IP as the dominant enterprise communications paradigm.

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Vocalocity Offers Cost Effective VoIP Phone Services

a provider of Voice over IP (VoIP) phone services, said in a press release that its phone systems can cut monthly phone bills by as much as 80 percent for small businesses which operate with less than 20 people. The company points out that its services acquire more importance in today's climate of economic downturn.


The press release stated that small businesses that use Internet phone service from Vocalocity do not have to compromise on features. Vocalocity offers them auto-attendant, voicemail to e-mail, follow meroaming , music on hold, simultaneous ring, conference calling and call queuing.

The cost of installing the full-feature Internet phones comes to about $150, company officials say. The systems are of the plug and use variety, becoming operable once they are plugged in and connected to the Internet. The company said its system compares favourably with competitors both in cost and ease of use. It also offers a fixed rate service making phone bills easy to predict, the company said.

Internet phone service would translate into cost savings in operating costs by allowing employees to work from home even while the company still appears to function from a single location and phone number through a unified communication system, the company stated.

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Philadelphia Law Firm Picks Cypress Communications' Hosted VoIP

Operating as a part of a larger law firm in Philadelphia, Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel became a separate entity that focused exclusively on intellectual property law earlier this year. Timothy Back, IT manager at Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel explained in a statement that although the attorneys considered buying and maintaining the phone system in use at the larger firm, the total cost of ownership was very high. The annual maintenance came around $48,000 a year. Also, they neededunified messaging capabilities, something the premises-based system couldn’t deliver.

When the law firm finally decided to give up its former phone system, the attorneys sought out a provider capable of quickly delivering all required features. Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel only had about 60 days to make a communications system decision, get the new system installed, and complete user training.

Cypress Communications was the only provider that could deliver a complete solution with the functionality required and implement it according to the tight schedule. Plus, Cypress’ solution didn’t require a large capital outlay.

Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel is using Cypress Communications’ C4 IP, an enterprise-class hosted VoIP and unified communications solution that features integrated voice and data access, desktop phones, soft phones, unified messaging and cutting-edge multimedia applications such asMicrosoft ( News - Alert) Outlook integration, collaboration, real-time presence, chat, as well as audio, video and Web conferencing.

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HT Mostar Chooses Sylantro Systems as Strategic VoIP Partner

Sylantro Systems, provider of the leading Multiplay Application Feature Server platform that enables rich IP communication services, today announced it will provide hosted VoIP solutions to HT Mostar, one of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s incumbent telecom operators partially owned by Croatian Telecom, part of a Deutsche Telekom group.

Beginning in Q3 2008, HT Mostar will launch VoIP services based on Sylantro’s renowned Synergy Multiplay Application Feature Server (AFS). HT Mostar will also utilize Sylantro’s ComMarketing™ program, under which Sylantro will work with HT’s sales and marketing departments to develop processes for strategy, provisioning, market launch and service delivery, highlighting Sylantro’s end-to-end solutions-oriented approach to customer engagements.

HT Mostar, one of three incumbent tier-one operators, will begin a phased rollout in its region. The deployment will initially focus on finance and other key vertical markets. HT will then offer VoIP services to the nation’s other two regions via a new nationwide MPLS network built in conjunction with Combis, Sylantro’s strategic VAR in the Adriatic region and a leading integrator and technology solutions provider. The HT Mostar deal is a milestone for the national telecom industry and for the country at large, as it demonstrates a post-war return to cross-regional commerce and integration.

“After a public formal tender process, HT Mostar selected Sylantro based on its technical and commercial superiority,” said Josef Thurriegl, board member of HT Mostar. “The company has a proven track record with tier-one carriers and excellent local presence with its partner Combis. A key Sylantro differentiator was its ComMarketing go-to-market best practices program, which ensures that the relationship is not just a technology purchase-and-sale, but a long-term commitment to helping us turn the technology into a commercial success.”

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Everybody loves VoIP

VoIP is easy to like. Consumers and businesses get an inexpensive way to keep in touch or conduct business, telecom providers get to differentiate themselves based on the value added services they provide and application developers get a new playfield. A perfect win-win situation.

If there was one theme that linked every speaker at the recently held VoIP World Middle East conference (apart from the obvious) it was that nobody could go wrong by adopting VoIP. Bringing together enterprises, ISPs and telecom providers from across the region, the two-day conference served as a platform for discussions on everything from how VoIP can help providers face increasing competition, to the way enterprises can use the technology for better efficiency.

Taking examples from Europe, Australia and the US, these speakers demonstrated how the wider adoption of VoIP and related services is transforming communication for businesses and consumers in these areas of the world.

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Empirix Launches VoIP Testing and Monitoring Channel on TMCnet

Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC (News - Alert)) today announced that the VoIP Testing and Monitoring channel, sponsored by Empirix (News - Alert), has been launched as the newest addition to the TMCnet channel program. The channel promotes the importance and relevance of VoIP testing and monitoring for Network Equipment Manufacturers (NEMs), Service Providers and Enterprise Contact Centers.

Empirix is the leading provider of voice application testing and monitoring solutions. All of the world’s top ten Network Equipment Manufacturers, nine of the top ten Service Providers and most of the Fortune 100 companies depend on Empirix solutions to help them transition to and adopt new voice technologies with confidence.

The company helps these businesses to successfully transition to new technologies including Unified Communications (News - Alert), IP Contact Centers, VoIP, NGN, and IMS-based networks.
The channels can be found at: http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/voip-testing-and-monitoring/

TMCnet’s channels are micro-targeted information portals where readers can find topic-specific news, articles, feature stories and product reviews. TMCnet has over 70 channels covering important topics in the IP Communications, VoIP, IP Telephony, CRM, Call Center and Information Technology industries.

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WebNet Global Communications Premieres the First WebNet Global Retail Store in Abbotsford, British Columbia to Demo Products and Services for Resident

WebNet Global Communications announced today that the Company will officially open their first WebNet Global Store retail location via an official ribbon cutting ceremony commencing at 12:45 pm on Saturday, September 15, 2007. In attendance will be the Mayor, City Council Members, MLA, MP and many other local dignitaries.

The WebNet Global Store ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at the new store's location at 32883 South Fraser Way, Ste. 108 in Abbotsford, BC (Just across from Sevenoaks Mall). Directions are available by calling 604-755-4199.

The new WebNet Global Store provides a wide selection of 'Next Generation Communication' services for both residential and business customers. Customers can now learn more about how broadband wireless technology works and receive a free demonstration on how utilizing wireless technology will provide them the freedom to work and communicate while 'on the go'.

The retail location also has a 3dhTM Media Room where people can view and learn about this new 3D holographic television and display technology and its many applications, which is something you really have to see to understand.

The WebNet Global Store provides demonstrations for a number of new services that will enhance mobile wireless Internet access, provide cost-effective Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone calls, make remote security monitoring possible and provide a brand new type of 3D holographic (3dhTM) home entertainment and business services possible. Many of these services work on WebNet Global's broadband wireless infrastructure that is being deployed throughout the Abbotsford area.

As a special introductory promotion the Company is offering its '3 For FREE' Worldwide Long Distance Calling promotion that allows anyone that comes to the store, the ability to call anywhere in the world for free, for 3 minutes.

"WebNet Global Communications is freeing Abbotsford consumers from the restrictions of cables, cords and wires by offering one of the most advanced wireless broadband services available today," said William Legg, WebNet Global Communications' Chief Marketing Officer. "We are offering residences and businesses a High-Speed Internet service coupled with easy-to-use technology and the freedom to access the Internet wirelessly across the city within WebNet Global's expanding coverage area."

Customers within WebNet Global's broadband wireless network coverage area will have access to a fast, simple, reliable and affordable alternative to traditional dial-up, cable and DSL, which eliminates the confines of traditional cable or telephone wiring, allowing customers to connect at home, a local coffeehouse, the office or virtually anywhere within Abbotsford.

Small businesses in the downtown district will benefit from the cost savings that wireless connections offer versus expensive wired T1 telephone circuits. Users 'on the go' benefit from the freedom to move around town and remain connected to email and Internet-based applications using laptops and PDAs with wireless access capabilities.

"We are proud to help Abbotsford join the ranks of one the most leading edge municipalities in Canada by building a next generation wireless network for the city," said Dr. Gregory C. Carrington C.A.S., President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of WebNet Global Communications. "We can offer high-speed connections virtually anywhere in our expanding coverage area throughout the city and we feel that this helps in providing the city with the necessary broadband assets to attract new, high-growth companies such as high technology and entertainment related businesses."

WebNet Global Communications' next-generation, line-of-sight wireless broadband network solution connects customers through unlicensed spectrum. The service provides for a combination mobile and fixed wireless service. Radio signals are transmitted by way of a Network of radio antennas to wireless enabled laptops providing mobility and to consumer premise rooftop equipment for easy connection to the Internet, for home or office use.

WebNet Global Communications Internet VoIP Phone Service works with a customer's existing high-speed Internet access. Service plans provide unlimited local calling in WebNet's expanding coverage area nation wide and unlimited North American calling for one low monthly rate. Abbotsford customers can additionally take advantage of highly competitive long-distance rates to call family and friends anywhere in the world.

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Mediatrix to Sponsor the 2007 Fall Distributor Alliance Council (DAC) Conference

Mediatrix Telecom, the leader in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) access devices and gateways, announced today that they will be a Silver Sponsor at the upcoming 2007 Fall Distributor Alliance Council (DAC) Conference on September 17-20 at the Delta Meadowvale Hotel in Mississauga, Ontario.

DAC is a forum of Nortel authorized partners and Nortel employees, working to leverage the powerful synergy across Nortel comprehensive Solution set. This conference is a one-stop shop for learning about Enterprise Networks products, exchanging ideas and improving business.

Mediatrix will have a display at the show and will be showcasing its line of award winning VoIP Access Devices and Gateways including the new 4100 Series, which recently completed interoperability testing with the Nortel Communication Server 2000 and Application Server 5200.

“We are delighted to be able to participate in this premier technical conference that highlights innovation as well as being an excellent forum where those with new technology can meet potential users,” explained Marc Skinner, Sales Director North America for Mediatrix Telecom. ”We have seen real and substantive progress in both our interoperability and deployment applications with Nortel solutions and the DAC Conference is an excellent venue to showcase our solutions and to meet Nortel partners and explore opportunities.”

If you would like to meet with the Mediatrix team at the 2007 Fall Distributor Alliance Council (DAC) Conference, please contact:

Marc Skinner - Sales Director North America at mskinner@mediatrix.com
Or sign-up for a one-on-one meeting with the Mediatrix team at the Delta Meadowvale Hotel in Mississauga, Ontario

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VoIP Hacks: Tips & Tools for Internet Telephony (Hacks)

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is gaining a lot of attention these days, as more companies and individuals switch from standard telephone service to phone service via the Internet. The reason is simple: A single network to carry voice and data is easier to scale, maintain, and administer. As an added bonus, it's also cheaper, because VoIP is free of the endless government regulations and tariffs imposed upon phone companies.

VoIP is simply overflowing with hack potential, and VoIP Hacks is the practical guide from O'Reilly that presents these possibilities to you. It provides dozens of hands-on projects for building a VoIP network, showing you how to tweak and customize a multitude of exciting things to get the job done. Along the way, you'll also learn which standards and practices work best for your particular environment. Among the quick and clever solutions showcased in the book are those for:

* gauging VoIP readiness on an enterprise network
* using SIP, H.323, and other signaling specifications
* providing low-layer security in a VoIP environment
* employing IP hardphones, analog telephone adapters, and softPBX servers
* dealing with and avoiding the most common VoIP deployment mistakes

In reality, VoIP Hacks contains only a small subset of VoIP knowledge-enough to serve as an introduction to the world of VoIP and teach you how to use it to save money, be more productive, or just impress your friends. If you love to tinker and optimize, this is the one technology, and the one book, you must investigate.

Find more information about how to purchase this book:
VoIP Hacks: Tips & Tools for Internet Telephony (Hacks)

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Increase your Earnings With VoIP Business Solution

Author: Kristen

A number of VoIP resellers and wholesale carrier service providers presently exist in the telecommunication sector. The reason for this sudden boom of VoIP services has a lot to do with the evolving requirements of both businesses and residentials. Globalisation is one of the main reasons for this change in the way people communicate. Communication is no longer restricted to making local calls to the clients. People need a cheaper way to communicate without sacrificing on the quality of service.

This is where business VoIP comes in. VoIP business solution provides a cheaper alternative to traditional modes of communication along with the same voice quality, if not better. Moreover, it substantially increases the productivity of a business entity.

VoIP solution is not meant for any particular segment of the industry, but it can be utilised by all sectors to provide a complete package, which enhances the way they communicate. Various VoIP service providers offer different tailor-made services to give corporates an added advantage. For instance, there are different services and features for contact centres and Internet service providers through which they can increase their profit margin.

How Can Contact Centres Gain From VoIP?

1. The most important benefit that contact centers get is the ability to provide customer support service through long distance calls at a much cheaper rate. This greatly cuts down on their total telephony bills

2. Some VoIP service providers also provide them with predictive dialers which help in enhancing their operations. With the help of the predictive dialer, agents do not have to manually call the clients; rather the outgoing calls are automatically routed to the customers. It can also distinguish between a voice mail and a live voice from the receivers end. If it’s a voice mail, it disconnects that call and calls another number thereby saving a lot of time

3. VoIP providers can also offer virtual or DID numbers to contact centers. With the help of these numbers, contact centers can operate from off shore wherein reasonable manpower is available. Their clients would be calling on the local numbers which would be provided to them but the call will be transmitted to the place where centres agents are situated

How Do ISP's Make Profit With VoIP?

1. Internet service providers can bundle up their existing broadband connection service with voice over IP service, thereby giving their customers the benefit of using two services at reasonable cost. This way ISP's can increase their earnings from their existing client base.

2. They will also be able to increase their customer lineage with the help of business VoIP service. Customers do not have to worry about taking care of two separate bills every month and coordinating with different service providers. They can opt for a single ISP provider who will be able to provide them both with broadband services and cheaper VoIP calls round the globe. Business VoIP solution has come as a boon for both its providers and users.

via articlesbase.com

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How To Choose A VoIP Broadband Phone Service

Author: Jim Johnson

Internet technology is constantly introducing new and better ways to communicate with others around the world, and making telephone calls using voIP technology is one of those advancements. VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, and it allows a computer user who is connected to the internet through a high-speed terminal to make telephone calls to another computer or telephone without using a standard telephone company.

Essentially, there are two kinds of VoIP applications to consider, either hardware or software based. If you choose the software solution, you'll have to have your computer turned on in order to both make and receive telephone calls, but the only equipment you'll need is a microphone and speakers connected to your computer.

If you choose the hardware solution instead, you'll be using a converter box called an ATA that will be attached to your high-speed internet connection. Your telephone can then be plugged into the ATA. The converter box takes the analog signal from your phone and converts it to a digital signal to be sent over the internet in data packets, which are then reassembled on the other end of the telephone connection. By using a hardware voip solution, you computer does not have to be on in order for you to make and receive telephone calls, although your Internet connection will have to be active. Many VoIP service providers are including the ATA at very low cost or even for free in some cases.

In order to make use of VoIP technology for placing internet telephone calls, you will need to subscribe to a service plan provided by one of the major VoIP companies in business today. The service plans are usually very inexpensive, often providing for unlimited long-distance telephone calling for as little as $25 per month. You can even save more by choosing a calling plan that places a limit on the amount of minutes used each month, bringing your total cost down to as low as $15 a month.

In addition to domestic long-distance phone calling, many VoIP providers also allow you to make international telephone calls to persons outside of their subscriber base for a per minute fee, sometimes as low as $.10 to $.15 per minute. Some providers even allow free long-distance telephone calling as long as it is carried out between individuals in their own subscriber base.

If you choose to use a hardware VoIP solution, you can expect to spend some time on the phone with customer support in order to get your system up and running correctly, but most likely you'll be able to experience uninterrupted service from that point on. Also you can expect voice quality to be excellent in most cases, often rivaling that of land line telephones.

When you consider all the advantages of using VoIP technology to place telephone calls over the internet, it's no wonder that so many consumers are turning to VoIP for their long-distance telephone calling needs.

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Is Internet Phone Service Really Advantageous?

Author: Kristen

The invention of computers was followed by the advent of Internet services. Initially no one was able to recognize the huge potential of online service till it started being used for everything starting from marketing to shopping to sending mails in the shortest time possible to collecting information on each and everything. One of its more recent oblation is Internet phone service popularly referred to as VoIP service.

The main difference between Internet phone service and traditional channel of communication is of cables. While VoIP terminates calls via Internet, public switch telephony on the other hand transmits calls through optical fiber wires. You still make the calls the way you used to and the receiver on the other hand would still receive it in the way he would earlier. So what has changed?

Reasons For Deploying VoIP call termination service

1. Flexible - Internet phone service is a flexible technology for call transmission thereby it can easily be deployed by different sectors of the industry irrespective of their service and scale and also by residentials.

2. Cost Effective - Most common reason for migrating to IP telephony service is its cost effective feature. Since call is routed through online web interface the total cost of call is more than half of what you would pay through your regular telephone lines. So more savings!

3. Ease Of Integration - Your Internet phone service provider can assist you in integrating your old telephony system with VoIP phone service with maximum ease.

4. Mobility - You will remain connected to your friends,family, relatives or clients from across the globe with VoIP broadband phone service. Take your VoIP phone with you where ever you travel or simply use your laptop to connect to the Internet and enjoy low rate, high quality calling.

5. Low cost of operations - Internet phone service relies mainly on high speed broadband service. Besides there the cost of hardware is minimum as opposed to traditional public switch telephony network.

Source: articlesbase.com

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V O I P: The Next Generation Telephone

Author: Jim Brown

Voice Over Internet Protocol is what VOIP means to some who are unfamiliar with this technology. This is not a new technology. In fact, a concept of VOIP is used by most people without even knowing it. It's the computer to computer VOIP. It has been pre-installed to an OS widely used by computer users around the world. This software is used primarily for text chat but it has capabilities of sending digital voice through the internet.

VOIP bypasses the widely used voice telephony and converts its analog voice signals to digital signals so that computers can encode and send them through the internet network. Since the charging for using VOIP itself is free, all the user needs to have is a high speed internet connection or at least a DSL connection which is not new to internet users worldwide. The technology is said to change the way we communicate in the near future and a possible replacement to the current telephone system.

There are three types of VOIP system that are currently used. The most common and widely used is the computer to computer VOIP, the IP Phone, the Analog Telephone Adapter or ATA. Since there are three types of VOIP systems, the user is not restricted to only one choice but can have all three or can pair up to any three connections without hassle. The definitions of each type of VOIP are as follows:

Computer to Computer

This is the most common type of VOIP system since this technology comes with the widely used messenger softwares such as yahoo messenger or msn messenger. Since these applications can be downloaded or pre-installed with some other software for free, many users prefer to use this.

IP Phone

Another VOIP system used is the IP Phone. This computer peripheral shares the internet connection with the computer to connect with other VOIP users. This component looks like an ordinary phone and cradle but has wires connecting to the computer or directly to the modem or router. This can be a stand alone device to connect to the internet even without the aide of a computer.

Analog Telephone Adapter or ATA

This VOIP system converts analog signals converted by the ordinary telephone and sends it through the DSL or cable connection as digital signals which can be interpreted by computers as data. The hardware of this system looks like twice the size of a dial up modem and has LCD screens that let the user view the dialed number through the telephone keypad.

The technology has been constantly developed and studied by computer and telephony experts alike. Its system is already close to perfection and is widely used all over the world for business and leisure.

Source: Articlesbase.com

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