July 29th, 2010
The SPA525G is the flagship model in Cisco’s small business range of IP phones. trefor.net takes it on a road test, kicks the tyres and gives an opinion.
Look & Feel
Cisco SPA525G phone with colour display
If you think the SPA525G looks familiar it’s because this phone and the other models in the range are the direct replacements for the popular SPA900 series, inherited by Cisco as part of the Linksys acquisition in 2003.
There is, however, a considerable uplift in the quality of plastics used throughout and the receiver itself appears to be lifted directly from Cisco’s higher priced 7900 range.
The general impression is of a very solid device that will survive the rigours of office life for many years to come.
Once you power the unit up you can admire the full colour screen which you only get on the 525G. The other models in the range make do with a monochrome display. You can set the background image from a number of pre-loaded files or import one of your own by using the integrated USB Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Cisco SPA525G review
Posted in Reviews, VoIP | 2 Comments »
July 27th, 2010
We are currently seeing an explosive growth in the distribution and delivery of digital video content across both fixed and mobile networks. Four years ago 100 million videos were watched on YouTube every day. It is two billion today. The BBC’s iPlayer launched in December 2007. It now delivers over 120 million requests every day which adds up to 7 petabytes of data a month.
As a result of this, the volume of data carried by mobile operators has risen twentyfold over the last two years (thanks iPhone), and is forecast to grow almost as much again in the next two years. The figures for fixed operators are less dramatic but still very significant.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: BBC, BT Wholesale, Gartner, iplayer, Sally Davis, YouTube
Posted in bandwidth bandit, internet | No Comments »
July 27th, 2010
Big headliner from Ofcom this morning is that average broadband speeds in the UK have increased by over 25% in the past year. Research, conducted in partnership with broadband monitoring specialists SamKnows, has found that speeds have increased from 4.1Mbit/s to 5.2Mbit/s.
This is no surprise really as ISPs move their base from ADSLMax (“up to 8Meg”) over to ADSL2+ (“up to 24Meg”). It’s a shame that the average is not higher but that’s copper for you. The research showed that cable customers fare significantly better than ADSL.
The Ofcom data also reveals some very interesting stats about performance during peak times that don’t do some ISPs any favours. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: broadband speeds, Code of Practice, Ofcom
Posted in broadband, internet | 4 Comments »
July 26th, 2010
Regular readers may have noticed the distinct lack of block posts last week. At least there were none relating to ip networking, the internet, communications or any other subject I normally spout on about.
That’s because I was out of the office most of the week in an exhausting series of meetings and dinners culminating in a couple of days in Lymington on the south coast. I spent the entire time talking about MPLS, Unified Communications, “the cloud” and current regulatory hot topics in the ISP industry.
The picture below shows me coming up on deck with the team for fresh air before moving on to talk about data centres and the future of mobile data / handheld devices.
In case anyone worries we did make sure that we were well fed and watered during the meetings. A supply of premier cru chablis and bordeaux accompanies the smoked salmon/crab/lobster/duck/caviar/aged aberdeen angus fillet steak (delete according to taste).
Trefor Davies (centre) surrounded by some hardworking Timico customers taking a break from talking networks
PS I have a backlog of jobs to get on with this week including some more serious blog posts. Watch this space.
Tags: sailing
Posted in General | No Comments »
July 22nd, 2010
Its tough at the top and it takes a special breed of individual to stay the pace. In this case the pace was being set by Timico Business Partner UES who had sponsored a horse race at the UK’s newest track, Ffos Las near Llanelli.
I have to admire the marketing nouse of UES whose sponsored race was entitled the “Reduce your utility bills with UES Maiden Handicap Stakes”. This message will have been carried in every newspaper in the UK on Tuesday -” The Watchtower” excepted if it is still going.
You may have noticed that the weather was a little damp. It’s what makes God’s Country so green and pleasant.
Rows of unhappy bookmakers brave the elements at Ffos Las racecourse
From left to right Andrew Diplock, Commercial Director, UES, Gerallt Jones, Partner Corporate, Hugh James, Christian Pegrum, EON, me, Kate Williams, Marketing Manager, UES
Tags: Ffos Las, UES
Posted in General | 1 Comment »
July 20th, 2010
A prize for anyone who can guess what I’m playing.
Prize if you can guess what I'm playing
Tags: guitar
Posted in General | 10 Comments »
July 19th, 2010
One of our VoIP engineers Wayne Mills-Kiddals is setting off this week on a drive to Ulan Bator in Mongolia. It’s going to take him a month or so but it is in a good cause – he is raising cash for the Christina Noble Foundation. I will be providing periodic updates on his progress and in the meantime have created a temporary page on this blog so that we can track him via GPS.
It has been a huge organisational effort for Wayne. His passport is now much thicker as it has visas for Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia and finally Mongolia.
Wish him luck – we want him back 
Tags: Christina Noble Foundation, Mongol Rally
Posted in General | No Comments »
July 16th, 2010
The Child Exploitation and Protection Centre (CEOP) and Facebook announced an initiative that gives Facebook users direct access to CEOP’s advice and reporting centre from their Facebook homepage.
The initiative is not based on a standard panic button solution but on a CEOP Facebook App and a CEOP Facebook page. This means that only users who install the app will have direct access to CEOP.
I have met CEOP CEO Jim Gamble during the course of meetings between CEOP and the ISPA and understand the hugely difficult nature of their job. CEOP volunteer staff have to spend much of their time looking at horrendous photographic evidence of child abuse. It isn’t something that a person can do for too long due to the mental stresses involved.
The success of the whole Facebook initiative depends on whether or not the CEOP app becomes viral. To facilitate the distribution of the app, Facebook has agreed to support the initiative via an advertising campaign.
CEOP deserves your support.
Tags: CEOP, Facebook, ISPA
Posted in Security, internet | 1 Comment »
July 16th, 2010
Here is an article written by Trefor Davies and Louise Lancaster in the Institute of Telecoms Professionals’ Journal and published this month.
It covers a bit of the history of VoIP technology, where it has evolved to today and some current issues such as number porting and naked DSL.
vol4_p2_26-32
For more information on the ITP you can visit their website at www.theitp.org/journal
Tags: Naked DSL, number porting
Posted in VoIP, regulatory | No Comments »
