Source: www.voip-news.com

SAI will be showcasing their Sierra Gold VIP Call Accounting software at Cisco Live 2009 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco from June 27-July 2. The conference is for IT and communications professionals.

“We are very pleased to be exhibiting at Cisco Live 2009, which is known for bringing together technology innovators like SAI with enterprises looking for innovative solutions to safeguard and streamline their telecom operations,” said Debra Basaldua, Director of Marketing for SAI. “The ability to deliver the right information to the right people at the right time makes Call Accounting even more relevant in today’s troubled economy.”

According to SAI:

During the event, SAI will showcase its Sierra Gold VoIP Call Accounting software that offers integrated solutions for Cisco products. Sierra Gold enables enterprises to collect and report on key telecom metrics to enhance VoIP network configuration, establish and enforce corporate security and compliance standards, and align IT and telecom operations with business needs.

Source: www.voip-news.com

VoIP & Gadgets Blog compares OpenSky and SkypeForSIP.

Smith on VoIP comments on Vonage’s latest ad campaign.

ChannelWeb talks about the new FCC rules on VoIP.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Sometimes when the FCC makes a new rule it’s for the better. That’s the case this week when the FCC approved a new rule that requires failing VoIP vendors to give their customers and federal offices reasonable notice of an impending shutdown. That is intended to prevent situations where VoIP customers find out that their service no longer exists — the hard way.

According to PC World:

The commission also approved a rule requiring phone providers to provide number portability within one business day instead of four.

The FCC did not specify how far in advance a VoIP provider would have to provide this notification except to say that it should be done in a reasonable amount of time.

Read more here.

Source: www.voip-news.com

OneAccess will be assisting TeleCable in providing new telecommunications services with VoIP technology for their Asturias business customers. TeleCable will be using a One Access ONE100 router among its new technology.

“TeleCable has a strong track-record as one of Spain’s most innovative telecoms operators. Its selection of our ONE100 multiplatform router demonstrates that the ONE100 is the best solution available in terms of the services it enables and therefore the new revenue streams it provides for the operator. It also cements OneAccess’ position as a leading supplier to the Spanish telecoms market,” said Alan Brazier, CSO of OneAccess.

According to the companies:

The ONE100 equipment allows TeleCable to offer digital telephony services without having to modify its current network, which already has two interfaces for ISDN Basic, or four interfaces for larger businesses.

With this move, TeleCable reaffirms its trajectory as one of the most innovative telecommunications operators and OneAccess strengthens its position as the leading provider within the Spanish market.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Good news for Vonage.

You may remember that back in February I told you all about Vonage being in danger of being delisted by the New York Stock Exchange. Basically, the internet telephony company had fallen below the minimum average global market capitalization of no less than $100 million over a consecutive 30 trading day period.

Well, a few days ago, the NYSE accepted Vonage’s plan of compliance — which is a plan saying what they will do to ensure they remain compliant in the future.  The document includes operational and financial initiatives, projected impact on the company’s bottom line and more.

So, Vonage is safe from delisting … for now. But they now need to submit to quarterly reviews by the NYSE to ensure that they are following the plan.

Day’s never finished …

Source: www.voip-news.com

Need to get CCIE certification? The Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert Voice certification is an industry-recognized accreditation for senior engineers in IP-enabled Voice technology disciplines.

One training company, IPexpert, is now training for the new 3.0 version of the test.

According to  IPexpert:

To become CCIE certified, engineers spend years preparing for an exhaustive 8-hour hands-on “lab” exam conducted by Cisco, the global leader in computer networking solutions. IPexpert (http://www.ipexpert.com/) is a training organization focused on preparing seasoned computer network engineers for the coveted CCIE exams, through various learning solutions including self-study materials and instructor-led training courses.

As enterprise networking technologies continue to evolve, Cisco implements changes in the CCIE exam topics to ensure that the individuals being certified as experts are adept with the current technologies. Due to technology enhancements, modifications to the various CCIE exams tend to be made every two to three years, with the most recent affecting the Voice specialization.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Group Centurion says that they have cut their monthly telephone bills by 85 percent since deploying VoSKY’s PBX-to-Skype gateway, which lets them make low-cost Internet-based Skype calls. The UK-based company’s phone bill has dropped from 2500 pounds to just 400 pounds.

The gateway they are using is VoSKY Exchange Pro VIT1/E1 Centurion.

“It was good to bring in a new system that integrated VOIP as it’s been great for business. VoSKY’s Exchange Pro VIT1/E1 has saved us a huge percentage of our monthly phone bill, enabling us to redirect resources into other areas of the company, and with savings like these we expect the whole VoSKY project to pay for itself in less than 6 months,” said Andrew Broster, head of IT for Group Centurion. “We bought the equipment through our existing Avaya Business Partner and VoSKY reseller AbbiTek who has provided us with a strong level of support during the installation, but as the gateway is literally plug and play it was easily integrated with our existing infrastructure – deployment really couldn’t have been simpler.”

Centurion said that the new gateway was easy to install.

Source: www.voip-news.com

The wireless IP interconnection technology from Tata Communications has been successfully trialed as part of the international GSM Association’s program to develop next gen wireless services.

According to the company:

Tata Communications’ trials were part of the GSMA’s IP eXchange (IPX) Pre-Commercial Implementation Project, which is verifying the design and operation of IPX networks through a series of trials designed to validate technical and commercial specifications. Once adopted, IPX will act as a private global IP backbone, open to any telecommunications company adhering to the required standards. IPX will provide fixed and mobile service providers with a technical and commercial platform for the performance-based exchange of IP-based services.

“Tata Communications’ participation and completion of the GSMA’s IPX trial is key to our strategy of delivering innovative voice solutions to our customers worldwide,” said Michel Guyot, President, Global Voice Solutions for Tata Communications. “Our company is committed to working with the IPIA (IP Internetworking Alliance) to promote and support the launch of IPX services and is planning to launch its own IPX rich, integrated offering to service providers – like TELUS and Telekom Austria – delivered over next-generation network architecture. We truly believe the IPX model will have a very significant impact on the industry.”

Source: www.voip-news.com

Enfield, Connecticut, is not unlike many other towns in the U.S. With schools and municipal infrastructure that ran independently of one another, the city was spending more than it needed to on communications while the school side ran on an antiquated system.

To bring the company into the 21st Century, the town investigated ways to install a unified communications system that would bring together the town’s communication lines while cutting costs. The solution: VoIP.

According to Enterprise VoIP Planet:

Decision makers also liked Enterasys’ reliance on open standards. “With Cisco, they would have preferred us to buy Cisco VoIP products, whereas with Enterasys we have already looked at Siemens and Nortel as potential VoIP partners,” Russell said. “With open standards, it opens up our ability to use other vendors, which we see as a very nice component.”

Vendor selection wrapped up in May, installation began once school let out, and the system went live in August. Cost of replacement: About half a million dollars.

There is still more wrok to do bringing the system to VoIP, but the positive results are already being felt.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Benefits Consultant Group wanted to provide superior customer service to their customers. To do that, the company decided to make a change. The Delran, New Jersey, company that was founded in 1958, chose a local VoIP  service provider to implement BroadWorks, a hosted VoIP-technology solution.

According to the company’s PR firm:

This fall, with the economic downturn in full affect and BCG’s customers concerned about their investments, customers were able to connect instantly with their agents, no matter where they were. The agents appreciated that their VoIP lines could transfer to their cell phones or to an available agent so customers could reach them anytime, which made customers more comfortable. This type of activity could then be tracked in real-time call center reports as well, and therefore, BCG could staff appropriately.  This activity tracking was not possible with their old system.

The management team also appreciated the use of the real-time call center supervisory report and management tools so they could monitor activity as it occurred.  They were able to integrate the reports into a more meaningful way than before, capturing real-time data where previously the same type of data had to be manually tabulated and reviewed.  With another hardware-based solution, this type of reporting system would have cost them $30-50K; however, using Alteva’s integrated solution, the service for 50 users was only $2500.

Not only did the solution help the company provide excellent customer service during a economically hard time, but Benefits Consultant Group also saved more than $9,000 in phone bills and more than $80,000 in hardware as compared to a on-site VoIP solution.

Source: www.voip-news.com

The California Community College has upgarded to an unlimited license of Elluminate Learning Suite so that they can continue to have enterprise-wide web and audio conferencing.

“I continue to be excited about our relationship with Elluminate and the many tools they bring to the table,” said CCC Confer Project Director Blaine Morrow. “It is Elluminate’s people, products, and spirit of partnership in providing a cost-effective solution in this time of economic downturn that makes the difference. We’ve seen tremendous growth in the use of e-conferencing throughout our system, and we are able to accommodate that growth with robust tools, a flexible approach to service and support, and the same high standards that have already made CCC Confer so successful.”

According to Elluminate:

Elluminate Live! was selected for its high-quality participant experience, ease of use, ADA compliance, session archiving, and audio capabilities that include VoIP as well as support for a phone bridge and teleconferencing. The product is integrated into the CCC Confer portal to facilitate use for meeting, training, tutoring, student and library services, and a wide variety of online classes. Schools can also integrate Elluminate Live! into their existing learning management systems from Blackboard, Moodle, and others.

In addition, the purchase of Elluminate Plan! will allow CCC Confer to package content and activities before the live, online session, while Elluminate Publish! enables the creation of standalone recordings and podcasts of Elluminate Live! sessions. These products enable organizations like CCC Confer to deliver learning easily and extensively by integrating it with enterprise applications or shifting it to a student’s preferred device, accelerating end-user adoption and ROI.

“Elluminate is extremely proud to have earned the confidence of CCC Confer in our ability to serve the entire California Community College System,” said Maurice Heiblum, president of Elluminate, Inc. “With the Elluminate Learning Suite, CCC Confer can now support what happens before, during, and after the live, online session, facilitating communication, collaboration, and education enterprise wide. We are very pleased to have taken our partnership to a new level, and look forward to working with CCC Confer to enhance education and produce higher student outcomes for all their stakeholders.”

Source: www.voip-news.com

Competitive Companies Inc. (CCI) has just purchased carrier-grade microwave towers originally constructed by AT&T and MCI, from Worldwide Communications, Inc. For the bargain price (ha!) of $1,998,761, the towers are located in tier three and tier four markets in 13 states across North America.

The company plans to take advantage of funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture RUS Funding Program. The program can fund more than $2 billion for the development of broadband Internet services in the so-called America’s Heartland.

According to the company:

CCI, with its existing fiber optics core fixed wireless equipment and its proprietary propagation technology, allows for the aggressive pursuance of lucrative rural market demand for the delivery of broadband-IP services (including VOIP, data, multi-media, and interactive services). The tower assets will afford CCI oversight and control of a robust network, whereby WIMAX and CDMA 2000 network providers will seek to align with CCI to enable their service platforms for broadband IP services.