Source: www.voip-news.com

Vertica Systems and Sigma Systems are holding a webinar about new internet protocol detail record mediation and data warehousing solutions for cable and telecom service providers. The solution being discussed allows providers to analyze terabytes of usage and subscriber data at any level of detail and in real time.

Here’s the detes:

DETAILS:
Attendees will learn how to:
– Do fast, ad-hoc reporting on real-time IPDR and other telecom data
with minimal impact on equipment and systems performance.
– Gain better insight into service fulfillment, rating, charging,
billing and profitability that result in competitive advantage, tight
regulatory compliance and a better customer experience.
– Examine network and call data in real time to improve quality of
service.
– Query years of data at any detail level.
– Eliminate revenue leakage and reduce customer churn.

– Identify fraud.

WHEN:
Tuesday, June 16, 2009, 10:00 AM Eastern time

To register: http://www.vertica.com/.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Add newspapers to the ever-growing list of companies that have transitioned to a managed voice, Internet and data networking solutions package. The Kansas City Star in Kansas City, Missouri, is now using a solution from tw telecom.

“We’d outgrown our old network and needed a provider with the ability to support us in creating a robust 10-location wide area network (WAN) to sustain The Star’s continually increasing network needs,” said John McPhail, Systems Manager for The Kansas City Star. “Important to us was that tw telecom was able to provide The Star with a cleaner, self-healing solution that gives us a better network with improved bandwidth at every site, and a layer of redundancy we didn’t have before. The Star’s headquarters, production facilities and seven distribution centers throughout the metro area are now connected over a much more secure and cleaner network than we had before.”

The company’s new network is a multi-solution, 10-location Ethernet-based network that provides 40 Mbps of metro Ethernet connectivity and voice services.

“Critical to our decision to select tw telecom was its network fiber footprint,” said McPhail. “When we reviewed all the proposals, many of which were priced similarly, none could match tw telecom’s network capabilities or technical sophistication. The Star is now directly connected to a fully protected network, and we immediately reduced our costs by more than 10 percent. We gained more than just an improvement in cost, we were able to upgrade nine of our sites from a consumer-type DSL connection to a production quality T1. In addition, this transition to tw telecom had the added benefit of reducing to one the number of providers we now have to manage.”

Source: www.voip-news.com

A new phone service from sipgate claims to be a landline replacement that has all the functions of a phone service including telephone number but it carries no cost for the set-up, the number itself or any monthly charges or minimums. Sipgate one works with any phone (including standard analog ones, mobile phones and VoIP phones). It operates over the internet.

Calls cost 1.9 cents per minute, but calls to other sipgate users and received calls are free as well, giving it an advantage over Skype where you pay for incoming calls.

“There is simply no barrier to people disconnecting their old phone lines anymore. Phone and cable companies have long been pushing voice plans in the region of $25 to $40 per month–which end up being as much as $60 or more with extra charges–and that’s just ridiculous,” said Thilo Salmon, CEO of sipgate. “Even with calls to other landlines and mobile phones, most users will spend less than $5 a month using sipgate one. And for those people only receiving incoming calls on their VoIP phone, the service is completely free.”

I have to disagree with Salmon on there being no barrier to disconnecting old phone lines — if the internet goes down or the power goes out, you will lose your phone service, which is a problem for some people (like parents who want the security of having an analog backup phone with a traditional line so that you can phone anytime in an emergency). Nonetheless, as far as VoIP goes, this sounds like a good deal.

Here’s the benefits:

At no additional cost, sipgate offers a rich feature set designed to make users’ lives easier and more convenient:

– Need to write down a number while driving? Record any phone
conversation by pressing *6
– Want to customize your voicemail? Upload an mp3
– Want your calls to follow you? Have your home, office and mobile
phone ring in parallel
– Left your mobile phone at home? Simply go online and divert calls to
your office line
– Want to talk to friends in an ad-hoc conference? Bridge them with the
touch of a button
– Missed calls while on a flight? A list is waiting for you in your
email

Source: www.voip-news.com

There is a new suite of performance monitoring service from Tata Communications that offers integrated, end-to-end, network and application performance monitoring in three choices of service: Network Visibility, Application Visibility and Voice over IP Visibility.

“As global enterprises depend highly on their IT infrastructure to deliver quality applications to end-users, they require efficient, end-to-end view of network and application performance. To that end, Application Performance Visibility Service facilitates improved performance and management of all network elements, including managing remote sites from central locations, while reducing costs and delivering detailed reports for wise capacity planning decisions,” said Genius Wong, Senior Vice President, Global IP and VPN services for Tata Communications. “This is especially relevant now during the global, economic crisis.”

Here’s the detes:

Application Performance Visibility Service equips IT managers with in-depth, real-time, historical data on every network site. The service offers comprehensive views across the infrastructure (Layers 1 – 7), that multiple users can share simultaneously to plan capacity, create reports, troubleshoot performance problems, and reduce mean time to resolve (MTTR). Enterprises can monitor events across the infrastructure, including the local loop, port, site-to-site circuit, application, and server performance. In addition, they can test performance of business-critical network applications before rolling them out into production. In-depth visibility options provided by this service can be combined with the Application Performance Optimization Services launched in 2008, which offer optimization, compression, and acceleration features for a complete WAN and application performance management solution.

Tata Communications will be the first Indian-based provider to offer integrated network and application monitoring services.

Application Performance Visibility Service includes cost-effective, scalable architecture based on Fluke Networks’ proven Visual Performance Manager Platform, a complete system for monitoring end-to-end performance of applications and services across the enterprise. While real-time monitoring occurs, this platform archives network, server and application data in a back-end database that delivers a holistic view of enterprise performance with up-to-the-second granularity.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

I still have until June 11 to make a decision on what to do about my AT&T U-verse service.  

Source: www.voip-news.com

EMBARQ has launched EMBARQ Managed IP Telephony service, an always-on managed IP solution with monitoring and alerting, management and support services. The service oversees a business’s voice communications systems including call servers and voicemail servers.

“Unmanaged growth could result in problems with speed, throughput, response time and other issues causing jitter and latency,” said Susan McQueeny-Scholes, Director of Marketing Communications for EMBARQ Business. “Allowing EMBARQ to take care of these issues can help businesses focus on their core competencies while lowering their costs and needs for internal support.”

Here’s the detes of what EMBARQ offers:

EMBARQ(R) MIPT service provides life-cycle support for day-to-day management and monitoring and offers two levels of protection to match the evolving needs of a customer’s enterprise.

Monitoring and Alerting Service
– 24×7×365 device monitoring
– Remote diagnostics and minor remote repairs
– Help desk support with 24×7 live response
– Notification of events through phone, e-mail or both
– Up/down and ticket status
– Monthly traffic and alarm activity reporting

Comprehensive Services
Includes all Monitoring and Alerting Services plus:

– Design and engineering assistance
– Project implementation
– Assigned technical engineer
– Proactive management of alarm monitoring, notification and escalation
– Software management services, including annual major software updates
– On-demand business management reporting through a secure Web portal.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Angola and Mozambique represent two emerging communications market where revenues from mobile communications are expected to be considerably higher over the next few years, according to a new report from Frost & Sullivan.

“Mozambique and Angola are both emerging from long civil wars,” said Frost & Sullivan research analyst Silvia Hirano Venter. “Their governments have put together reconstruction plans to rebuild the basic infrastructure from roads and power supply to communications.”

According to Frost & Sullivan:

Many foreign companies have been attracted to these countries due to their available commodities and high GDP growth rates. They are creating a demand for a range of services, with communications being high on the list. As they are not just basing themselves in cities with established fixed-line infrastructure, there is a significant opportunity for mobile technologies.

“Foreign companies are importing staff from countries with developed technology, so they are likely to demand services like VoIP and value added services,” Venter said. “Operators are therefore investing in infrastructure development to support these services.”

Additionally, local populations are increasing in their demands for communication services including basic voice and sms.

“Operators in both countries will have to look at offering services that are in line with the needs of the population,” Venter says. “For instance, services customised to sugar farmers in Mozambique, such as commodity prices on demand, could be quite successful.”

Source: www.voip-news.com

There is a new market sizing and forecasting service that looks at the migration to all-IP network infrastructures and the rise of packet-enabled products. It’s been created by Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com) and Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com).

“The IP Network Transformation Quarterly Market Tracker delivers concise and complete intelligence covering one of the telecom equipment industry’s most critical landscapes – the evolution of telecom networks from circuit-switched TDM to packet-switched IP,” notes Jim Hodges, Senior Analyst at Heavy Reading and creator of the new service. “It stands alone as a one-stop source that offers unrivaled breadth and analysis of the ongoing Class 5 network transformation in an easy-to-use package.”

Here’s the detes:

Each quarter, the IP Network Transformation Quarterly Market Tracker Service provides a fully updated, comprehensive view of the actual and anticipated rate of deployment of VoIP infrastructure in fixed networks in strategic markets around the world – all in one single, convenient package. The debut version includes coverage of North America, Western Europe, Central/Eastern Europe, and Asia/Pacific; the service will include coverage of Latin America in future releases.

The IP Network Transformation Quarterly Market Tracker offers a sweeping array of information and analysis, including:

– Timely updates charting the progress of IP network transformation in
wireline telecom networks by region and by national market.
– Regional and country-specific forecasts for packet- and
circuit-switched deployments through 2013, updated quarterly to
reflect new market realities.
– Detailed IP deployment statistics and forecasts for 59 individual
network operators through 2013, updated quarterly.
– Deep market intelligence and analysis covering key customer wins and
losses in the IP transformation sector by country and specific
operator, focusing on 16 leading IP transformation vendors, including
Alcatel-Lucent, BroadSoft, Cedar Point, Cisco Systems, Comverse,
Ericsson, Huawei, Italtel, MetaSwitch, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel
Networks, Sonus Networks, Thomson, UTStarcom, Veraz Networks, and ZTE.
– Ongoing tracking of the key technologies (IMS, softswitches,
application servers, etc.) that carriers are deploying as part of
their IP transformation initiatives.

Source: www.voip-news.com

There is a new service control and subscriber data management system that allows the rapid and cost-efficient launching of mobile broadband and VoIP services on WiMAX networks. Bridgewater Systems says that the Bridgewater ServiceMAX 500 offers connectivity service network (CSN) functionality that WiMAX operators need for rapid deployment, as well as managing subscribers and supporting both pre- and post-paid billing.

“WiMAX operators have told us that they need a proven, entry-level integrated system to speed their time to service launch, with a compelling price-point and the scalability to meet their subscriber growth objectives. The Bridgewater ServiceMAX 500 is perfectly packaged to meet key business and network requirements and has optional advanced features for differentiation and service expansion,” said David Sharpley, Senior Vice President, Bridgewater Systems.

Other cool points:

- The ServiceMAX 500 incorporates the market leading Bridgewater(R)
Service Controller (AAA) to securely authorize and authenticate
subscribers and performs critical accounting functions. It is
anchored by Bridgewater’s Subscriber Data Broker(TM), a sophisticated
subscriber data management product that unifies subscriber
information including service entitlements, devices, billing
profiles, preferences and context, and provides the tools to broker
this data to systems and applications.
- Optional modules include lawful Intercept support, a regulatory
requirement in many countries, the Bridgewater(R) Policy Controller
for over-the-air device configuration and service activation, server
redundancy, and custom plug-ins to allow for future expansion and
service innovation.
- This new turnkey system enables operators to:
- Rapidly launch commercial services using a pre-integrated software
and hardware system that easily scales to meet subscriber growth
requirements.
- Reduce risk by implementing market leading, widely deployed
service control and subscriber data management products that have
proven interoperability and integration with leading WiMAX
equipment vendors.
- Deliver innovative, personalized services including flexible
prepaid and postpaid charging models, seamless roaming, and
optional support for mobile advertising, casual usage, over-the-
air provisioning, location-based services, and other advanced
applications.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Cablecom, the largest cable-network operator in Switzerland, is going to use SmartNode 4630 Multiport BRI VoIP Router for its connect PBX ISDN VoIP and data service for SMBs.

“As a business service provider, we require innovative technology with the highest level of reliability, and SmartNode hits both targets. Partnering with Patton-Inalp enabled us to establish our voice service at the highest level of quality,” said Sacha Jooss, Cablecom Product Manager

SmartNode 4630 provides up to 5 BRI ports and 8 VoIP channels.

“The SmartNode equipment works so reliably that management never hears from them, and that is a good sign. Selecting SmartNode enables us to meet the demanding expectations of traditional ISDN users,” said Jooss.

According to SmartNode’s manufacturer, Patton-Inalp Networks AG:

Cablecom’s decision was driven by Patton’s unique price-performance equation: SmartNode delivers voice quality comparable to ISDN combined with first-line stability and reliability in a low-cost, standalone form factor. A rich ISDN feature set allows users to use their handsets and PBX features exactly as they are accustomed.

Another deciding factor was the high-precision clock, unique to SmartNode, which eliminates interoperability failures with DECT, PBX and FAX communications that commonly occur when VoIP is deployed in ISDN environments.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Verizon Business is launching a new managed service that is intended to help corporate users control their UC solutions easily.

Verizon Business Application Management for Office Communications Server uses the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 platform. Users have enhanced communication capabilities with real-time IM service, web conferencing, VoIP and more.

“Unified communications is a transformative technology that has the power to change the way people communicate and work together to be more effective, creative and productive in the office or on the go,” said Michael Marcellin, vice president of global managed solutions, Verizon. “By managing this leading software-based solution, Verizon Business can help customers take the complexity out of introducing unified communications across an enterprise while keeping their resources devoted to their core business activities.”

So, what are the key features? According to Verizon Business:

– On-Premises Web Conferencing: Users can create, join and modify Web
conferences in real time. The technology makes collaboration easy,
with the capability for IM, audio, video, application sharing and
slide presentations built in and simple to use. Users benefit from a
secure, stable Web conferencing platform running within the Office
Communications Server platform.

– Enterprise Voice: This VoIP-powered solution allows users to choose
the best way to interact with colleagues, either by phone or computer.
For instance, users can place a call by clicking on a contact in
e-mail or IM, as well as access voice mail from their computer and
e-mail on their phone. Verizon Business Application Management for
Office Communications Server provides full integration and support
with any Microsoft-certified PBX or SIP Trunk. The technology is
particularly beneficial for workers who are traveling or
telecommuting, as the VoIP functionality enables users to place a call
from their computer wherever an Internet connection is available,
without incurring additional long-distance charges.

– Enhanced Presence: Enables users to choose the most effective means
for communicating with other users by providing information on status,
location and availability.

Source: www.voip-news.com

E911 Manager from RedSky Technologies is compatible with Nortel Communications Server 1000 (CS1000). The company just announced the success completion of testing in a Nortel lab. The product is also compatible with Nortel’s CS2100 server.

“RedSky offers a comprehensive E911 solution for Nortel CS 2100 and CS 1000 customers. E911 Manager’s enhanced Network Discovery is ideal for large customers who need to identify callers down to the desktop,” said Bob Kimble, RedSky director of Business Development for the Nortel Channel.

E911 Manager automatically tracks and manages location information for analog, digital and IP phones, allowing for the easy locating of employees in emergencies.

According to the companies:

The Communication Server 1000 is a full-featured IP PBX solution and a cornerstone for Enterprise unified communications deployments from a few hundred to several thousand users. The Communication Server 1000 provides the benefits of a converged network plus advanced applications and over 750 world-class telephony features. Fully distributed over IP LAN & WAN infrastructure with built-in reliability and survivability, Communication Server 1000 supports business-critical applications, including unified messaging, customer contact center, IVR, wireless VoIP and IP phones.

The Communication Server 2100 is a large-scale enterprise converged solution based on its carrier derivative, the Communication Server 2000, which is deployed and proven in the world’s leading service providers’ networks. The Communication Server 2100 addresses the needs of demanding large enterprises and the U.S. government with a highly scalable converged solution deploying a “best of all worlds” philosophy. The Communication Server 2100 incorporates Nortel’s leading enterprise features and applications, plus combines the carrier attributes of scalability, reliability and networking typically only found in carrier solutions.