Archive for the ‘VoIP’ Category

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Orange HD voice – when will the whole world go HD?

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

Mobile operator Orange has hit the headlines today with the launch of its HD voice service. Trials for this service, which uses the Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband codec (AMR-WB – otherwise known as  G722.2), began in June this year in the south of England.

The service is initially only for Orange HD handset to Orange HD handset.  This is quite easy to do as “on-net” HD calls using the same codec don’t require transcoding and also do not therefore enter into the black art world of interoperability. 

HD voice has been the subject of discussion amongst the VoIP community in the UK this year.  A fair few vendors (more…)

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Posted in VoIP, internet, mobile | No Comments »

Thumbs up for the Cisco SPA525G VoIP phone

Thursday, 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

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 (more…)

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Posted in Reviews, VoIP | 2 Comments »

Voice over IP – a techno-regulatory view

Friday, 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

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Posted in VoIP, regulatory | No Comments »

Mobile operators wreaking havoc with pricing

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

At the ITSPA Summer Forum, held yesterday at Polycom’s City offices  there was a panel of VoIP wholesalers debating the health of the market. The panel consisted of representatives from BT, Gamma, X-Connect, Magrathea and Timico (ie moi).

The market it turns out is very healthy with everyone reporting growth in VoIP minutes over and above old fashioned TDM minutes. We also debated number porting – a large subject in its own right that has already featured on this blog but is going to be a lot more visible over the next few months.

(more…)

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Posted in VoIP | 1 Comment »

VONGA is dead – long live FVA? – Openreach

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

BT has killed off VoNGA. Bit of a shame really because I was kinda fonda VoNGA. Voice over Next Generation Access or VoNGA was BT Openreach’s initial stab at voice over fibre and initially at least notionally aimed at new developments where it didn’t make sense to put legacy voice infrastructure into an exchange.

Now BT has strangled VoNGA in the womb. We never really heard it’s first cry.

Don’t get me wrong. It was only the acronym I liked – I thought it sounded good. The product itself, a reduced feature (more…)

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Posted in General, VoIP, internet | 4 Comments »

ITSPA AGM and Summer Forum at the v plush Polycom offices in the City

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Just stepped into the Polycom offices at 69 Old Broad Street in the City. I am here for the ITSPA council meeting, AGM and Summer Workshop.

The offices are super plush and impressively I didn’t have to sign in at reception. The receptionist pushed a button on a panel and a lift door opened to take me directly to the 16th floor. There were no buttons inside the lift to press other than “door open” and “alarm”.

I was whisked straight to the 16th floor and the lift door opened. The receptionist on the 16th floor said “welcome Mr Davies” and showed me to the coffee lounge. (more…)

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Scandalous delays by Openreach harming consumers and competition

Monday, July 5th, 2010

If you want to port your existing telephone number to a VoIP provider (Internet Telephony Service Provider/ITSP) you can do, by and large. If this number is the number of the analogue phone line that carries the broadband connection that the VoIP service runs over you are knackered because the minute the number is ported the analogue line is ceased and therefore the broadband will stop working.

Of course you can’t run VoIP on a broadband connection that isn’t a broadband connection because it isn’t working. How good is that?

If consumers want to move away from an incumbent telco (for incumbent read slow moving, lacking innovation (more…)

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Posted in VoIP | 5 Comments »

ITSPA event just two weeks to go #VoIP #polycom #microsoft

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

It’s only two weeks to the Internet Telephony Service Providers’ Association (ITSPA) Summer Forum due to take place on Tuesday 13th July at the Polycom offices, Old Broad Street, London.

These events, chaired by yours truly, have become “must attend” occasions for ITSPs in the UK. On this occasion we have a Keynote Speech from Microsoft, an update from BT Openreach on their NGN VoIP plans, a talk from Polycom and a panel discussion on “Wholesale “VoIP. There is also an update from Matt Townend from Illume on the “State of the Union” in the VoIP market.

The wholesale panel has representation from the leading wholesalers in this space: Gamma, Magrathea, BT IP Exchange and X-Connect.

If you want to come there are still some places left though these things usually sell out nearer to the day so you need to be quick. Email admin@itspa.org.uk for more info.

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Posted in VoIP | No Comments »

Sonus Networks SBCs and the South of France

Friday, June 18th, 2010

It either makes me feel old or says how long I’ve been in the VoIP business when I say that I first met the founder of Sonus Networks, Ruben Gruber at a Pulver.com Executive Retreat in the South of France in 1998. I don’t think they even had a product at that time.

Sonus was Ruben Gruber’s 13th startup. 11 of these companies either floated or were sold privately and the two that didn’t make it were absorbed into the parent. That was an impressive record. 

(more…)

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#VoIP SNOM #SIP and the Football #WorldCup

Friday, June 18th, 2010

When I first started looking at SNOM phones, perhaps 9 years ago, they were not very impressive. The handset was easy to knock off its cradle and the voice was tinny.

The phone firmware was impressive and the fact that SNOM was a very early runner in the SIP market is to their great credit.  SNOM is an entrepreneurial business.

The fact that SNOM is still around is also hugely to their credit and their handsets have come on in dramatic leaps and bounds. The quality of the plastics has improved and their expertise in software still comes clearly to the fore.

(more…)

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