Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

Source: www.voip-news.com

Patton has reduced prices on FXS models of the SmartNode 4110 VoIP Gateway Series. The change went into effect on June 1.

“Recent technology and process innovations at Patton have brought substantial cost-savings in our analog gateway production. Over the years our customers have stood by us through all the economic storms. During the present global economic downturn, it makes perfect sense to pass our savings along to those who have sustained our business through those other tough times,” said Burton A. Patton, Executive Vice President.

According to the company:

Expected to stimulate the analog VoIP gateway market, Patton’s lower prices reflect an average decrease of 20 to 40 percent for distributors, resellers and end-user customers.

In spite of the current economic crisis, the lower pricing makes the stability and interoperability of Patton’s high-end, carrier-class SmartNode VoIP equipment affordable for small to medium enterprises (SMEs).

Source: www.voip-news.com

JTS Corporation is now the Master Distributor in Japan for Patton, the network access, connectivity, VoIP and triple-play equipment company.

“Japan is the world’s second largest economy,” said Tom Kojima, President and CEO of JTS Corporation. “This market is too big to miss for Patton Electronics. Leveraging the JTS regional sales network and local support facilities, we can compete together against regional manufacturers and win. I believe Patton will make double business development in Japan for 2009.”

JTS will do local sales, marketing and technical support for Patton customers in Japanese. They also will be launching an online storefront at www.patton.jp.

“We are deeply committed to mutual growth and success.
2008 was actually very strong for both Patton and JTS. Yet we have
barely scratched the surface of the Japanese market potential. We
expect 100% revenue growth this year,” said Sean Gerrity, Patton’s Sales
Director for North America and Japan.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Patton’s SmartNode 4961 PRI VoIP Gateway won a 2008 Product of the Year Award from Internet Telephony magazine.

“This marks the fourth consecutive year that SmartNode(TM) has earned Product-of-the-Year,” said John Wu, product manager.

According to Patton:

The SmartNode 4961 features a high-precision clock that solves interoperability failures that often occur with DECT, PBX and FAX equipment when converting ISDN systems to IP telephony.

The SmartNode(TM) 4961 also solves stability issues often encountered when WiMAX or other wireless E1 lines are used to connect VoIP gateways to the PSTN.

“The VoIP market demands transparency when connecting to the digital PSTN. Yet most VoIP manufacturers don’t understand how to deliver transparency. Only Patton SmartNode(TM) solves the mystery cost-effectively,” said Wu.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Patton  and Patton-Inalp Networks AG  have launched new BRI and PRI VoIP product lines. They are intended to seamlessly inter-operate with Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) and PBX systems. The products include SmartNode 4961 PRI and SmartNode 4635/9 BRI VoIP IADs.

“Transparency is critical when transitioning to VoIP services from the digital PSTN. The ISDN market demands transparent operation, yet most VoIP manufacturers don’t understand how to deliver it. It took Patton’s engineering and VoIP technology expertise to solve the mystery. SmartNode(TM) is the only standalone VoIP CPE solution that delivers true transparency in ISDN environments,” said John Wu, VoIP product manager.

The products address interoperability issues including delivering business-class VoIP service in ISDN markets.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Did you know that VoIP is illegal in Zimbabwe? Apparently it was, but not not be anymore. Read about it on Metro Zimbabwe.

VoIP system users can be targeted in attacks, says CNET. Read about the new tool that’s being tested to see just how vulnerable VoIP can be.

It’s a little rudamentary, but useful. Jules59 explains exactly what VoIP is (and gives a little history too.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Sorry. Not happening, Revonet.

A federal justice struck down an attempt by Revonet, Inc. to end a lawsuit filed by Covad Communications. The lawsuit alleged that Revonet misused Covad’s VoIP customer lead information, selling it to other customers.

“We are very pleased that the Court has allowed us to continue pursuing our objective of holding Revonet accountable for its actions,” said Doug Carlen, Covad’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “Revonet apparently sold VoIP customer leads that we generated on our own to other companies, including our competitors. Because we made a considerable investment in the development of these leads, we
felt compelled to take action.”

Revonet, based in New Canaan, Conn., provides sales information products and services. The lawsuit by Covad was filed in Nov. 2006 in Washington, D.C.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

Well, Mr. Michael Blumenthal, the Attorney General of Connecticut is at it again. 

Once again, he is initiating stupid tactics in which he is trying to prevent the phone company from deploying its  utility boxes for U-verse.

Here are previous posts about Blumenthal and his antics in trying to derail AT&T’s initiatives to offer U-verse to the citizens of his State.

Draw your own conclusions.  Under the veil of doing his job, this is all politically motivated.

Source: andyabramson.blogs.com

I use client Truphone and my T-Mobile HotSpot @ Home services a lot because they help flatten the phone bill and keep things manageable. I also make lots of use of the Skypephone when I’m somewhere I can use it, like the UK.

So in seeing this report about some market research from ABI I can’t but be anything but more than a cheerleader here. This is so accurate in perspective that its got to be something the incumbent wireline guys are worried about.

The experience of WiFi VoIP using Truphone and TMO the last two weeks from inside my London apartment and elsewhere was very good. Only downside I saw seemed to impact TMO where they seemed to have less control of the media and I would suffer from latency when the apartment’s broadband was being slammed.

When you take the ABI report and add in some thoughts from other analysts like Dean Bubley, plus commentary from the land down under’s Jo Best of ZDNet/AU you have to realize that FMC is not just someone’s dream, it’s someone else’s reality.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

Memo to all the AT&T Board of Directors:

In advance of the AT&T annual meeting on Friday, April 25, ya’ll are invited to my house to check out a real life deployment of U-verse.  Just let me know when you are coming to town and I will arrange for your transportation…meaning I can pick you up and bring you back to your hotel. 

Then, we can go to the Starbucks in my neighborhood, which is the first one of its kind in the U.S. to have iTunes up and going on AT&T WiFi.

And finally, we’ll top things off, I would like to treat you to a free milkshake at our editorial offices at the Olmos Soda Fountain.

In order to qualify, you must identify yourself as being one of the following.

Gilbert F. Amelio, Lead Director
William F. Aldinger III
Reuben V. Anderson
ames H. Blanchard
August A. Busch III
James P. Kelly
Charles F. Knight
Jon C. Madonna
Lynn M. Martin
John B. McCoy
Mary S. Metz
Toni Rembe
Joyce M. Roché
Dr. Laura D’Andrea Tyson
Patricia P. Upton

If you need a ride from your hotel, call me at 210-410-3075.  Or just email me at alan@weinkrantz.com.

No kidding!

Mi AT&T Casa es Tu AT&T Casa!

Source: www.voip-news.com

VoIP security isn’t what it should be. Voice can be eavesdropped on and systems can be hacked. But there has been little of that … yet.

According to eWeek, despite the vulnerability of VoIP systems, there have been relatively few attacks on the technology so far. However, it’s best for VoIP users to prepare for the worst.

Here’s a snippet:

Collier and Endler recommend that enterprises have a security assessment done by an outside expert when implementing VOIP on their networks. And, Endler said, they have a list of 10 or so best practices, such as enabling encryption to prevent eavesdropping, changing default passwords, applying patches in a timely manner, separating voice traffic into its own virtual LAN, and implementing VOIP-aware firewalls that can open and close ports dynamically.

Collier also recommends enabling logging on critical equipment in the network, so that if there is an attack, it’s “a lot easier to figure out what happened,” he said.

To read more, click here.

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

AT&T Launches New Services to Help Wholesale Customers Meet Increased Demand

Offers Include VoIP With Ethernet Access and eMaintenance

San Antonio, Texas, April 2, 2008

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) has announced that the company is introducing Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services to help wholesale customers meet the burgeoning demand for these growth services.

AT&T is announcing the availability of a Gigabit Ethernet connectivity interface for AT&T Voice Over IP Connect Service (AVOICS) and the AT&T BusinessDirect^® portal for AT&T Global Hubbing IP Access (GHIA) customers.

The AVOICS Gigabit Ethernet connectivity interface enables customers to interconnect with the AT&T network more efficiently, more easily manage their networks and edge equipment and help reduce costs through the use of less expensive interface hardware.

The GHIA platform will now incorporate the award-winning AT&T BusinessDirect customer portal to manage all service maintenance issues, providing a virtual telecommunications department that helps customers manage their communications services online. This will help customers increase productivity, improve the speed and accuracy of transactions, optimize network efficiency in near real time and reduce costs.

Industry analysts have noted that VoIP is a growth engine for the wholesale industry. "The wholesale VoIP industry is expected to continue to grow through 2010," said Judy Reed Smith, founder and chief executive officer of ATLANTIC-ACM, which provides strategic consulting and research services to businesses around the world. "AT&T’s VoIP services enable service providers to broaden their footprint and increase their bandwidth by connecting to the AT&T IP network platform."

AVOICS is the flagship wholesale VoIP offered to U.S. service providers that require IP-based connectivity to AT&T’s global IP network for long distance call termination. Customers connect to AVOICS via AT&T’s Multiprotocol Label Switching-Private Network Transport (MPLS-PNT) service. AT&T’s advanced worldwide voice-networking infrastructure provides the foundation for a variety of unbranded and unbundled domestic long distance and international service offerings to wholesale customers for both resale and internal use. Just five months after AT&T announced the expanded availability of AVOICS, the company is responding to customer demands by adding an Ethernet access option.

The GHIA platform is designed to provide flexible solutions for both U.S. and global customers with high international call volumes. GHIA is a centrally managed service that allows service providers to easily establish and operate IP telephony services over AT&T’s award-winning global network.

"By adding these options to our portfolio, we are demonstrating our agility and continued commitment to provide innovative voice and IP solutions to our wholesale customers," said Rise Frankel, executive director of Wholesale Marketing for AT&T Operations Inc. "Ethernet is quickly becoming the de facto access method that wholesale customers are looking for in terms of capability and flexibility because it can be used as the foundation for VoIP, IP access, intranet connectivity and MPLS core services. An Ethernet interface typically allows for seamless growth as customer bandwidth requirements increase."

As a global leader, AT&T delivers a full portfolio of end-to-end, reliable and highly secure network, voice, data and IP solutions to the six wholesale industry segments that it serves: carriers, wireless operators, cable providers, systems integrators, Internet service providers and content providers. AT&T is one of the largest wholesale transport and communications service providers in the world — maintaining connections to more than 400 carriers in more than 220 countries and territories. AT&T brings value to wholesale customers through its global networking, industry-leading portfolio and vertical expertise.

For the complete selection of AT&T Wholesale offerings, visit www.att.com/wholesale.