August 22nd, 2006
You are currently browsing the articles from the VoIP Digest written on August 22nd, 2006.
T-Mobile’s Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) based T-Mobile At Home service is getting some attention today. Andy Abramson was the first with the news that T-Mobile was working on something like this back in April 2006. Katie then went ahead and dug up the information that the service would launch on September 12th in Seattle and other cities would follow. Someone who has actually used the service gives TMAH mad props in our comments section.The comments, all of them are worth reading and a lively debate is in progress.
Written by Om Malik on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Mobile.
Peopleline Inc. opened their
first VoIP store in Vancouver, Canada recently, choosing a high
foot-traffc area of Main St. They feel that potential customers would
probably like to ask questions as well as actually handle products
(such as phones, adapters, etc.) before purchasing. They have plans to
open more stores. [via Trans World News]
There are a number of online stores, such as VoIP Supply,
but this is the first I've heard of a bricks and mortar store dedicated
to VoIP products. It differs by country, but people likely feel more
comfortable buying products of new technologies in person. Anyone
running boutique electronics stores should take notice of this. Besides
system integration, hardware (adapters, phones, etc.) is one of the areas in the VoIP market that is expected to turn a profit.
Written by ewriter on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Hardware and Phones.
SMBs Becoming More Aware Of VoIP
According to a Q1 survey by Savatar, around 30 percent of SMB (Small and Medium Business) companies are either familar with VoIP or already converting/ converted. [via TMC Net] This of course spells good news for VoIP providers, system integrators and hardware makers.
African VoIP Developments
Kenya's
Information Minister, Mutahi Kagwe, thinks that using VoIP could reduce
the Kenyan government's phone bill by up to 70%. [via Capital FM]
Given that various government ministries owe Telekom Kenya several
billion shillings, VoIP thus seems an appropriate solution. They might
take a cue from the Taipei City government and consider implementing a muncipal Wi-Fi network over which they could conduct VoIP calls.
In
Nigeria, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe says that VoIP is "the engne of telephony in
developing countries". The EVC (Executive Vice Chairman) of the
Nigerian Communications Commission was speaking at a VoIP conference in
Lagos. [via allAfrica]
Australian TAFE Colleges Going VoIP
A group of Australian TAFE
(Technical and Further Education) colleges are switching their
telephony system to VoIP. Approximately 4,000 VoIP handsets will be
part of the migration. Some of the colleges already have VoIP in place,
while others are still being converted. [via ZD Net Australia] Cisco is the project vendor.
Written by ewriter on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Networks and Business.
Orb Networks today announced that consumers have enjoyed a record 66 million minutes -- the equivalent of a whopping 125 years -- of digital media (recorded videos, TV, music, etc.) streamed from their home computer to a mobile phone, PDA or laptop using the free Orb MyCasting service. Orb stated that all this streaming has occurred in just 19 months since Orb's inception.
I've used
Orb's software in the past to stream my personal TV recordings as well as
stream live TV. Quite useful when I'm travelling and the hotel doesn't offer
FOX News or the
YES Network.
The nice thing about Orb is that the software is free and integrates quite nicely with Windows Media Center Edition. My only complaint is that Orb buffers the video, so it makes it difficult to "channel surf". Also, if there is congestion, it takes awhile for Windows Media Player (or RealPlayer) to rebuffer.
That's why I like
SightSpeed 5.0's channel surfing capabilities, which doesn't require buffering. SightSpeed 5.0 is a VoIP/video-over-IP application by day and a cool streaming TV application by night. I was able to channel surf with amazing speed and amazing video quality using this software. Go check out
my review of SightSpeed.
TrackBack (0)
| Comments (0) | Tag with del.icio.us | VoIP & Gadget Blog | Permalink: According to Orb, Internet users are streaming media FIENDS!
Tags:
music,
orb,
sightspeed,
streaming,
tv
Copyright
VoIP & Gadgets Blog
Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on News and tv and streaming and Music and sightspeed.
Telephony has been moving from PSTN/ POTS systems to hybrid IP-PBXes, as far as enterprise VoIP systems go. But some people expect that hybrid VoIP systems, which support TDM and IP calls, will be outdated in just a few years, supplanted by pure IP that is well integrated with data applications. [via Datamation]
Thus,
companies who are currently planning a switch to VoIP need to consider
what sort of system that they want to go with. If this is the situation
you find yourself in, ask yourself how you to plan to use VoIP. If your
business cannot benefit from integrated data applications,
then a hybrid system is probably sufficient. But if you want to be able
to build, say, a sophisticated CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
system, a pure IP system is the direction you should consider.
Written by ewriter on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Software and Networks and Business and Hardware.
After the two weeks of vacation in Austria and two weeks in the office I needed another break. So we decided to add one week in Greece on Creta ...
... having some good food and just relax.
I will now try to resync and start blogging again ;-)
Written by VoIP and ENUM on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Uncategorized.
Televoce's PontiVoce (PonTEE VO-che) Server is an
interesting piece of software that lets you create a 100% software-based
Skype gateway that leverages the Skype API to turn your PC into a Skype gateway for relaying calls. It's worth pointing out that Skype has offered free phone calls within the U.S. and Canada to help acquire more Skype users. Using TeleVoce solution, you can extend this "free offer" to friends and family outside this free calling zone. All you do is find a friend in this free calling zone who has Skype running on his or her PC -- along with the PontiVoce server piece installed. The PontiVoce server can serve any number of users, but only one at a time. When the server PC is used to relay a call, the PC cannot be used for other Skype calls and the PC audio is dedicated to the call.
The PontiVoce Server consists of two
Microsoft Windows software applications. The “client” software is for any PC wishing to place a call to the U.S. or Canada. The server software (gateway or relay PC) must be installed on a PC within the free calling zone of the US and Canada.
TeleVoce offers the PontiVoce Client software at no cost. The PontiVoce Server software is enabled by a software key that can be purchased at with a one-time fee of $5.95. The server software license is for a single Skype user name. Essentially, the PontiVoce Server software converts the server PC (in U.S. or Canada) into a telephone gateway, enabling the user outside the free calling zone to call any phone within the free U.S. and Canadian zone.
According to TeleVoce, unfortunately, the
server PC must be in the US or Canada. I'm not sure why a user can't install this service piece in say South Africa and then this would allow users to make SkypeOut calls to local South African phone numbers and then deducting SkypeOut credits from server PC. Of course, you don't really save any money by relaying through a 2nd PC, since Skype will still deduct the same amount of SkypeOut credits. Except in this case, you're deducting from somebody else's SkypeOut credits instead of your own.
Thus, unless Skype starts offering local calling or free calls to other countries it wouldn't make much sense to go through a PC relay gateway located outside a "free zone". Of course, perhaps one day Skype will discount the per-minute rate depending on your IP address. That is to say, perhaps one day Skype will use geolocation technology (using your IP address to figure out your location) to offer a different calling rate. Using both origin and destination to figure out the charges will be just like the PSTN all over again. The nice thing about VoIP is that it's location agnostic. At any rate (pun intended), if this does happen (different rates depending on your IP address), then having a Skype software gateway that works in other countries might make sense.
Summary on how it works: - Similar to international call-back in the old days
- App-2-App Skype API
- Sets up a conference call at the server and mutes the audio
- Note, that this is NOT call forwarding - it's all done in software
Really this software is only going to be useful for international users who make a high call volume to the U.S. and/or Canada. However, who wants to depend on someone leaving their PC on all the time and also not currently using Skype in order to make a free call? Nevertheless, I'm sure this software will have some "niche" users that will find it useful. For more details go
here:
TrackBack (0)
| Comments (0) | Tag with del.icio.us | VoIP & Gadget Blog | Permalink: Turn your PC into a Skype gateway
Tags:
pstn,
skype,
televoce,
voip gateway
Copyright
VoIP & Gadgets Blog
Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Skype and pstn.
Verizon has decided to charge their DSL high-speed Internet customers
an extra US$1.20/mth (for access speeds up to 768 kbps (kilobits per
second) or $2.70/m (for faster speeds). This will probably come as a
surprise to customers who were expecting lower monthly bills based on a
FCC decision last year to deregulate DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) service. [via CRM Buyer]
The old government fee for the USF
(Universal Service Fund) is being phased out. So Verizon and no doubt
other cable providers are taking advantage of it by imposing their own
fee. Of course, they're claiming that this new fee has nothing to do
with not having to pay the USF fee anymore. Great to know that they're
thinking of us.
So what gives? Isn't their monthly service fee enough? Are they really not making any money? (Cable providers are.) Could this new fee be due to expectations that free VoIP over DSL phone calls will clog up their lines? Hmmm. Read between the lines in the CRM Buyer article, and that's what it seems like.
It'll
be interesting to see who the next DSL provider is that applies a
similar charge to customers' bills, and whether there will be a shift
to cable services.
Written by ewriter on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Networks and Services and Regulation.
After a brief summer vacation, the Asterisk Jobs staff have returned and are gearing up for an eventful fall season here in North America. Asterisk Jobs (
www.asterisk-jobs.com) has removed the free access for new employers after a successful 4 month promotion. Asterisk Jobs will continue to function free for all employees or other freelancers searching for employment.
Asterisk Jobs (www.asterisk-jobs.com) is always upgrading and changing the site. Look forward to more announcements in the near future. The next planned release is a complete revamp of the site to include tags and other fancy stuff that will make searching for that dream job involving open source telephony a reality - quicker, and easier!
For more information or to start looking for Open source Asterisk VoIP employment head over to: http://www.asterisk-jobs.com
Thanks,
Asterisk Jobs Staff
Written by Dal on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Asterisk News.
Vonage America Inc., a subsidiary of Vonage Holdings Corp., a Internet telephony provider, today announced that over 85% of its U.S. subscriber lines are now equipped with Enhanced 911 (E911) service (a feature that automatically associates a physical address with the calling party's telephone number).
Over the past three months, Vonage has equipped more than 500 locally-run emergency call centers across the U.S. with E911 -- bringing the total number of calling centers with emergency 911 service to over 5400.
In June, the FCC gave Vonage, and all Internet-based phone service companies, 120 days to create an E911 system from scratch, and provide all of its customers, wherever they are in the U.S., with E911 service. In that amount of time, Vonage worked closely with local 911 centers, also known as Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), across the country to turn on E911 for as many customers as it could. Currently, Vonage continues to test and turn up new PSAPs which are VoIP-ready every day and will continue to do so until Vonage customers have access to E911.
"Today over 85 percent of our U.S. subscriber lines have full E911 capability, which is a tremendous step for Vonage," said Jeffrey A. Citron, Vonage's chairman and chief strategist. "Vonage will continue to work with the FCC, regulators, Congress and public safety until PSAPs across the nation are equipped with E911."
Written by Dal on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Vonage.
Tropos Networks announced a new family of Tropos MetroMesh routers, a product line designed to provide smart routing for multi-band metro-scale wireless mesh networks. The new product family extends the benefits of the Tropos MetroMesh architecture, including the Predictive Wireless Routing Protocol (PWRP), Adaptive Mesh Connectivity Engine (AMCE) and Tropos Insight, to a wide variety of radio technologies.
The first member of the new product family is the Tropos 5320 outdoor MetroMesh router, a dual-band Wi-Fi mesh router. Other products in the MetroMesh router family will include multi-radio routers combining a variety of wireless technologies including MIMO, WiMAX, 4.9 GHz, 3G/4G cellular and more. Tropos Networks also announced the Tropos Metro Wireless Development (TMWD) program, which enables carriers, service providers, spectrum license holders and others to add custom radio interfaces to Tropos MetroMesh routers.
Tropos said that its 5320, which features 802.11a and 802.11b/g radios, is a mesh router that can dynamically create multi-band paths through a mesh network. Both radios can be used simultaneously to form both client and mesh connections. The Tropos 5320 is completely interoperable with the entire family of Tropos MetroMesh routers. Tropos also noted that it has enhanced its MetroMesh OS, which is embedded in every Tropos MetroMesh router, including the ability to identify dynamically the combination of links within the mesh that forms the highest performing end-to-end data path from clients to the wired connection to the Internet, even if those links are in different frequency bands.
The enhancement for metro-scale wireless mesh networks allows service providers and municipalities to use spectrum in the 5 GHz band with the flexibility of dynamically shifting to the inherently more reliable 2.4 GHz band for mesh connections in areas where poor 5 GHz propagation causes performance or reliability problems, the company said. "Mesh vendors without significant outdoor deployment experience throw a bunch of radios in a box and think they're done," said Saar Gillai, Vice President of Engineering for Tropos Networks. "Providing affordable capacity in wireless mesh networks is less about the number of radios in the system and more about the efficiency with which the system uses the spectrum those radios access.
That's why Tropos has focused, and continues to focus, on enhancing our mesh protocols to make the most efficient use of spectrum, no matter how many radios are in the system." Tropos Networks also announced the Tropos Metro Wireless Development (TMWD) program, designed to enable carriers, service providers, spectrum license holders and others to contract with Tropos to add custom radio interfaces to Tropos MetroMesh routers. The Tropos 5320 will begin shipping in October.
Written by Dal on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on WiMAX.
Ingate Systems, which develops firewall technology and products that enable SIP-based live communication for the enterprise while maintaining control and security at the network edge, showcases traversal and security solutions for enterprises connecting to SIP trunks, with Ingate Firewal and Ingate SIParator products at the VoiceCon show.
SIP trunking is a service offered by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) which permits businesses to adopt Voice-over-IP (VoIP) with its attendant benefits and remain connected to others who rely on the PSTN. For the enterprise SIP trunks can offer significant cost savings, as they eliminate the need to purchase either the local PSTN gateway or costly ISDN BRIs (Basic Rate Interfaces) or PRIs (Primary Rate Interfaces). The local IP-PBX can be connected to the service provider's PSTN gateways over the Internet.
Ingate Firewalls and SIParators solve the Network Address Translation (NAT) traversal issues that are faced by businesses using a SIP trunk. All voice traffic (as well as data traffic) must traverse the enterprise firewall/NAT. However, SIP traffic cannot traverse traditional enterprise firewalls and NAT devices. This is because traditional firewalls do not differentiate between SIP traffic and unwanted traffic. As a result, the firewall/NAT device blocks all SIP traffic, which includes VoIP. Ingate products resolve this issue, enabling enterprises to utilize SIP trunks.
Ingate's fully SIP-capable, proxy-based Firewalls and SIParators also provide flexibility to interoperate with carrier-specific requirements like numbering plans and authentication. They establish least cost routing rules, which offers businesses the ability to use multiple service providers, and to switch between them depending on which offers the best possible rates (which may vary by time, day or location). Long distance calls cost the same as a local call, reducing expenses for businesses as well as their customers, partners, etc. trying to reach, for example, the corporate sales force.
SIP trunks further reduce costs as they eliminate the need for separate voice and data connections, expanding the potential for communications convergence using both voice and data together. SIP trunking also offers scalability so that, as a company grows, all necessary infrastructure to handle additional voice/data traffic is already in place.
Security Over The Public Internet
Ingate products are specifically designed to leverage all the security benefits available with SIP communications. Ingate's enterprise-class Firewalls secure data and SIP traffic, while SIParators secure SIP media while leaving the traditional firewall in place (working in parallel to the SIParator) to secure data traffic.
Both products feature Ingate's full SIP proxy technology, which allows for advanced filtering, verification, authentication and routing, as well as dynamic control of the opening and closing of media ports. Encryption of the signaling is done using Transport Layer Security (TLS) and of the media (voice, video, etc.) using Secure RTP (SRTP). With encryption, the sessions are kept private with no chance of eavesdropping.
They also secure full VoIP redundancy, as traffic can be routed to a back-up carrier if the primary carrier is unavailable. And Ingate's proxy-based solutions can be used to provide local call management if the service provider cannot be reached; and, if the enterprise has a local gateway installed, outgoing calls can be routed to the PSTN if all connections to the hosting provider are unavailable.
"SIP trunking offers enterprises the benefits of converged communications and saves substantial expense by eliminating the need to purchase their own PSTN gateway," said Steven Johnson, President, Ingate Systems. "NAT/firewall traversal is a critical issue in any SIP trunk deployment. Ingate's SIP-capable Firewalls and SIParators offer an elegant solution to this problem, while also securing voice traffic."
Connecting Remote Workers To The SIP Trunk Without VPN
SIP trunking, when used in conjunction with Ingate's Remote SIP Connectivity software module, allows remote users to traverse most SIP-unaware residential firewalls and NAT devices and use all the IP-PBX functions installed in the enterprise. Remote SIP Connectivity complements SIP trunks, as remote workers can use the software to interface with their corporate IP-PBX and, if they were making calls to outside the enterprise, do so using the SIP trunk.
For more information, please visit us at Ingate's VoiceCon booth #639, or online at www.ingate.com.
Written by Dal on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on SIP.
Global IP Sound (GIPS), the leading provider of embedded voice processing technology for the Voice over IP (VoIP) market, today announced it has extended its relationship with Skype. This relationship will enable hardware manufacturers the ability to offer Skype-compatible IP phones. These hardware solutions will utilize GIPS technology, specifically, GIPS Voice Engine Embedded.
The two companies have enjoyed a long, productive relationship, beginning with Skype's licensing of GIPS VoiceEngine PC in the summer of 2003. The result was the first PC-to-PC VoIP deployment to reach critical mass, allowing at first hundreds and then millions of users to connect and make free, high-quality phone calls. The rapid uptake of this technology signaled the beginning of a telecommunications revolution.
The agreement will help further accelerate VoIP migration as the North American market for IP phones is expected to double between 2006 and 2009, according to Infonetics Research.
"Skype has clearly revolutionized global personal communications with its offering," said Gary Hermansen, President and CEO of Global IP Sound. "This latest step in our relationship helps to solidify this growing market by expanding the options for Skype-enabled hardware devices and the ability for consumers to have a consistent, high-quality user experience regardless of platform."
Written by Dal on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Skype.
Digium, Inc., the creator of Asterisk and pioneer of open source telephony, and BandTel, global provider of next-generation VoIP termination to the PSTN for high volume telecom users such as Call Centers, Enterprise users, Teleconferencing Companies and Internet Voice Response (IVR) users, has announced that BandTel has become a Digium service partner.
As a result of this agreement, Digium and BandTel will partner in marketing initiatives to resellers interested in the cost and flexibility benefits of an open source telephony solution.
The alliance provides Digium and BandTel's channel partners worldwide to expand their portfolio of VoIP service-offerings and provide customers with a highly fault-tolerant, cost-effective and feature-rich VoIP solution. BandTel provides SIP-based VoIP solutions that fully support the Digium open source platform.
Source: Digium
Written by Dal on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Asterisk News.
Allied Telesis has announced the AT-WA1104G, its wireless router/bridge device for Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) and small business networks. Configured as gateway, Model AT-WA1104G acts as broadband router and provides connectivity to both wired and wireless devices.
For small businesses, two AT-WA1104G devices can be configured in bridge mode to link together 2 remote LANs. Unit can also be deployed as wireless access point and for wireless distribution system support. Built-in firewall protects network from incoming intrusions, while outgoing access to undesirable web sites can be limited by URL filters.
The product with an attractive price point under 100 euros, can be used in several different modes, including as a broadband wireless router and a wireless point-to-point bridge. It can also be deployed as a wireless access point and for wireless distribution system (WDS) support. The AT-WA1104G is so versatile that small companies can use this single cost-effective device to meet all of their wireless communications needs while driving costs down.
With little training needed, the AT-WA1104G includes a web-based setup wizard that is easy to use for non-IT specialists, contributing to fast deployment as well as reduced operating costs. The AT-WA1104G also provides peace of mind for small businesses with its state-of-the-art security features.
Written by Dal on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on WiFi / Wireless.
FreeSWITCH, an open source telephone soft-switch, reached a new milestone this week by combining three revolutionary VoIP features into one application. In Early April the project first announced interoperability with the GoogleTalk voice chat client making it possible to gateway calls to SIP or the public phone network. Three months later, the software made big news with successful switching of calls at 16 kilohertz. Traditionally, VoIP calls operate at 8 kilohertz (about 1/5 the detail in CD quality).
With this improvement in detail, voices have more richness and clarity improving the overall experience of a phone call. This week the software has brought the first two elements together and topped it off with a new capability that may change the way we interface to our phones.
GoogleTalk has recently released a new version of their client capable of transmitting audio at 16 kilohertz making it possible to call FreeSWITCH and interact in a conference bridge or listen to a text-to-speech engine read you your favorite news story all in high definition audio.
Now for the twist, not only can you interact with the system on the phone by listening to the audio and dialing a few digits, now you can send and receive text messages with the system at the same time.
Imagine being asked out loud for your account information and being asked to type your name into the chat box and actually have the other end of the call able to intercept the information and react accordingly. This may break the paradigm of the auto-attendant altogether.
Written by Dal on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on VoIP Software.
Business 2.0 covers blogging entrepreneurs in its latest cover story, calling the upstarts “Real businesses, with real revenue streams from real advertisers — not overhyped next big things with pick-a-number valuations based on selling out someday to some overenthusiastic big-media sugar daddy.” Writers Paul Sloan and Paul Kaihla herald the entrance of “mainstream blogdom” (the MSB?). Obviously, since B2.0 is Om’s former employer and he continues to write a column for them, there are a lot of conflicts of interest here, so we’re throwing the rookie into the ring! Yay.
The story keeps its eye on the money, pegging Gawker’s revenue at $3 million this year, Boing Boing and paidContent at more than $1 million per year, with TechCrunch making $60,000 per month (making an additional $50,000 from sponsors at that party last Friday) and Fark “soon” making $600,000 to $800,000 per month. Meanwhile, paidContent, GigaOM, and the Huffington Post have raised venture capital.
Sugar Publishing (which is raising VC money now) gets 12 million page views per month but “doesn’t expect to earn a dime until the end of next year,” though after that it’s purportedly going to make “$15 million in revenue in 2008 and $40 million in 2009.” The big exit so far is Jason Calacanis’ $25 million. For a note of skepticism, B2.0 notes Organic’s estimate of total blog ad spending at just $40 million, with bloggers selling most of their ads at discount rates.
New publishing technologies are thrusting media empire-building into warp speed. We all know how dude-with-a-blog can quickly turn to dude-with-a-brand, but it’s not clear how dude-as-a-company will work. Don’t blink!
Written by Liz Gannes on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Startups.
The VoIP blogosphere is buzzing about a hot new application called Hullo. Alec Saunders, who has been using it for awhile, describes it as “one of the slickest VoIP concepts I’ve ever seen, especially for the college crowd.” Could it become a challenger to folks like Gizmo and Skype because of its social networking focus. Alec’s review is here. Phone Boy is not as impressed because it only works on Windows machines. We would love to see a web based implementation of this, totally devoid of any installs.
Written by Om Malik on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on VoIP.
In the wake of all the inane chatter about who blogs (Nicholas "The Curmudgeon" Carr") and what's a blog (led by Robert Scoble), it was refreshing to read a post by Rick Segal on how blogs help provide easier access to all kinds of people - be they corporate executives, authors, reporters, etc. To prove his point, Segal conducted an unscientific experiment by setting up a new, free e-mail account to hide his identity, and then sending questions via e-mail to 50 bloggers as well as 30 senior executives who did not have blogs. The response rate was, all in all, pretty impressive with lots of people such as Jeff Jarvis and Mathew Ingram providing answers. Segal's hit list included me, which involved some questions about newsrooms operate. (Fortunately, I have a policy of responding to all e-mail unless it looks really suspicious). I think what Segal tried to prove is that blogging is a great platform for conversations both on and off line. Personally, blogging has provided me with access to all kinds of people with whom I would have never got a chance to "meet". A good example is Om Malik, whose blog I started reading well before he became a blogosphere superstar. I had just finished his book, Telecom Bandits, and sent him a compliment using the e-mail address on his blog. Om responded, and over the last few years, I've talked to him about telecom issues, interviewed him for stories, and had him do a keynote at the mesh conference. Segal's blog also coincides with my belated reading of Naked Conversations, which focuses on why blogging is becoming an increasingly important communications tool. I've just started it but I have to confess the first chapter looking at Microsoft's blogging activity and Scoble's involvement don't exactly provide a jump-start.
Written by Mark Evans on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Uncategorized and Web 2.0.
We got a peek at some cool new Facebook features yesterday and one of them is live today. Each user now can add “notes” to their profile, including text, photos, tags, and comments. Users can also choose one external blog (presumably their own) to syndicate within their notes. And as with all things Facebook, the privacy settings are flexible–you can limit who can see or comment on the notes. As Adam points out, Facebook is dissociating itself from the word “blog” — which is becoming such a loaded term these days! From the FAQ: “Why aren’t notes called blogs?†Answer: “Because then you’d be a blogger. 
†Call it what you want to call it; “blog” seems accurate to us.
Written by Liz Gannes on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Software 2.0 and Startups.
As the average cell phone user in the U.S. becomes more comfortable with text messaging, startups are busy creating services to unlock information with SMS. Only 36% of U.S. cell phone subscribers send text messages according to M:Metrics, though that usage grew almost 6% over the past months. This is a good opportunity for start-ups like 4INFO and 411Sync, and big players like Google, who are using SMS to find information like flight times, job listings, and movie times. TextMarks, a San Francisco-based start-up, joined their ranks recently but has created an SMS-info service targeting even smaller niches.
Ariel Poler created TextMarks late last year on a shoe string budget, with co-founder CTO Dan Kamins. Poler previously founded Topica and IPRO, was Chairman of the Board of LinkExchange, and now sits on the board of Odeo and is Chairman of StumbleUpon. Using TextMarks, consumers and small businesses can create a “TextMark” word, which a user texts to the company’s code “41411″ to receive a message in return. Say a book club wants to coordinate what time and day to meet up, or a local restaurant wants to publish its daily special, the code can be changed to fit the user’s needs. Examples of textmarks that users have already created include jokes, rental information and a code for checking on the moon’s phases.
The service opened up to the public a few weeks ago, and will likely have both free and premium services. The basic service is free right now. But making money and convincing users to pay for a TextMark might be difficult, given there are several other startups offering similar services. Startup Mozes offers mostly free codes for texting, though Mozes has more of a hipster feel and targets bands and advertisers. TextMark’s bare-bones site looks like something mom could easily figure out and use to organize messages for a kids soccer team.
Poler says he created TextMarks for very few funds so far, has not raised any venture funding, and has no immediate plans to do so. That means there is likely little barrier to entry for this initial service, and the success of the company will likely rely on how the company positions itself.
We decided to give the service a go — text GIGAOM to 41411 and get our daily message. What do you think? Too many start ups in the SMS Info space?
Written by Katie Fehrenbacher on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Uncategorized and Mobile.
Always love to see a Top 10 list, so it was cool this morning to see an article on Cybernet about the Top 10 cameras used on Flickr. (So many photos!)
Anybody guess how many times Nikon and Canon appear on that list?
Where are all the other digital cameras made by all of those other manufacturers?
TrackBack (0)
| Comments (0) | Tag with del.icio.us | VoIP & Gadget Blog | Permalink: Top Digital Cameras (According to Flickr)
Tags:
canon,
cybernet,
digital cameras,
flickr,
nikon
Copyright
VoIP & Gadgets Blog
Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Digital Cameras and canon.
Folks, the wise men say that you should pay attention to your phone bill and read all the fine print. If you don’t there is a good chance you might actually be getting stiffed. Verizon DSL-only customers are finding out that just about now.
Earlier this month, Verizon Online (the DSL business) stopped charging the FUSF (Federal Universal Service Fund) recovery fee. A ruling said so. Verizon and other phone companies had asked the Federal Communications Commission to deregulate DSL service, and classify it as an information service. As a result customers could save between $1.25 to $2.83 a month.
Good news right? Nope - Verizon is going to charge a “supplier surcharge.” Think of it as a dictator imposing a new tax, just because he can. The company has the nerve to say that they are charging this tax, I mean surcharge - between $1.20 and $2.70 a month - to help offset the costs from a very mysterious network supplier.
Good lord - that’s like Exxon asking you to pay a few pennies more so that they can pay for actual gas stations. Doublespeak and a desperate attempt to pay for those pesky price cuts? Still, What is Verizon’s justification?
Bobby Henson, a Verizon spokeswoman, cited “new costs that we’ve developed over the past year as we’ve been developing and delivering this standalone DSL service. That service doesn’t have the benefit of the revenue that was coming in from voice.'’
Written by Om Malik on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Broadband.
VoIP call recording software for popular VoIP applications such as Skype, Google Talk, Windows Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, and the rest is something I get asked about all the time. I can't tell you how many times I get email requests for recommendations for the best VoiP call recording software as well as requests for call recording software and/or hardware to record strictly PSTN or traditional PBXs conversations. Even the VoIP Forums has a few threads involving requests for call recording, including this three-page thread titled "Call Recording Software" and this VoIP Forum posting, "SOHO VoIP call recording".
It's tough when I get so many of these help requests (usually via email, sometimes via phone) since it is in my nature to want to help people out. However, I am getting paid by TMC to test VoIP products, write product reviews, and provide my own VoIP industry analysis - and not to be a personal consultant for everyone that asks me for assistance.
Don't get me wrong though, I often DO respond to email queries for help. If the request is simple, I usually respond, but often times the answer is quite complex - it depends on the user's exact requirements, what type of network environment, etc. that would just take to long to solve their problem with a single email. So if I spend too much time of my workday playing "VoIP consultant" to strangers, my boss will not be happy with me. You don't want me to get fired, now do you? 
Nevertheless, since I have received so many queries about VoIP call recording, I thought I would provide some useful info - a "VoIP Recording FAQ/Primer" if you will.
I should point out that there are several companies offering VoIP call recording both for the enterprise and for personal use. First, let's look at enterprise-class VoIP call recording solutions that are used to record conversations on IP-PBXs/VoIP hard phones and then we'll look at personal call recording solutions that work with Skype, Google Talk, etc.
First, NICE Systems is one of the leaders in enterprise VoIP recording. In fact, NICE solidified their industry-leading position by purchasing Dictaphone's call recording business last year, which was one of NICE's competitors and was one of the leaders in call recording and quality management. NICE Systems VoIP recording technology is fully integrated within NICE's current product line, NiceLog and NiceUniverse, enabling any NICE user to add VoIP recording into their present environment. The solution provides intelligent recording of VoIP interactions for full-time recording, recording-on-demand and quality management. I know they are interoperable with Cisco Systems' Internet Protocol Contact Center (Cisco IPCC), but I'm sure NICE integrates with other VoIP solutions as well.
Witness Systems is another well-known company offering very good call recording and QM (quality monitoring) solutions, including their flagship VoIP recording product called eQuality ContactStore for IP . They claim to be the first to support SIP call recording.
Now let's look at some "personal use" VoIP recording solutions. If you are using a hard IP phone, such as a Cisco 7900 series IP phone, then you can use a cheap telephone recorder device, such as the Recorder Control - Model 43-228 ($26.99), which you can pick up at Radio Shack. It is designed to work with a standard tape recorder and features a "remote tape control" feature that automatically starts/stops the tape. Thus, it automatically records when receiver is lifted from the phone. Of course, most people will want to record to their PC instead, so you can simply connect the microphone output to your PC's sound card and leave the tape control output plug unplugged.
Another Radio Shack model is the Mini Recorder Model 43-1237 ($17.99), which is a bit cheaper than the 43-228 model, but it doesn't have the automatic record feature when the telephone receiver is lifted from the phone. Still, since most users don't need the remote tape control, this device should suffice for most users. However, the one 43-1237 model I did try had a lot of static/noise in the background. I'm not sure if I got a defective unit or if the mic plug was not the correct size. It's possible this model was designed specifically for tape recorders mic input and not a PC's sound card. They are similar, but not exactly the same.
If you want to go really high-end (and expensive $125), the JK Audio THAT-1 is a high-end telephone recorder used by radio stations to record and play sound bytes. The grey pushbutton selects which audio will be sent into the telephone (OUT = talking on the handset, IN = sending audio in through the RCA jack). The output RCA jack contains a mix of the audio from both sides of the conversation, as well as the tones being pressed on the keypad. The volume control adjusts the volume of the signal going to your powered speaker or tape recorder. I use a THAT-1 connected to my phone's handset to record my phone conversations and it works great with excellent sound quality. But you will pay a premium for this unit.
TelRex CallRex - is a software-based VoIP call recording solution that supports integration with 3Com NBX, Cisco Call Manager, Mitel ICP, Nortel BCM, Artisoft Televantage, Avaya IP Office, Siemens HighPath, NEC NEAX, Shortel Shorewave, and Zultsys MX250.
ASC's VoIP Server Software eVOip captures VoIP packets and allows the user to store, reproduce, archive and play back the entire interaction. EVOip is a passive VoIP recording solution that monitors the RTP / RTCP packages on local area networks (LANs). They currently support tight integration with Cisco, Avaya, Siemens, innovaphone, Mitel, Nortel, and a few more, but they claim it operates with any IP vendor or signaling protocol. They even offer a free 1-license download for trial.
An option to go "cheap" is to download the FREE open-source Ethereal packet sniffer program. Ethereal can decode VoIP packets, including the RTP stream and save it as an .au file (you can convert to .WAV if you need to, but most likely your PC will play .au files. You just leave the software running on your PC in the background and then setup a filter to only capture VoIP traffic. It won't work with Skype, but should support many other VoIP applications and IP-PBXs, especially those that support the SIP standard.
Here's some info from Ethereal's web site:
____________________________________________________
Ethereal 0.99.0 has a functionality RTP Analysis that can be used to convert RTP packets to ".au" sound-file.
There are a lot of programs that can convert from .au to .wav if you really need to use the .wav format but actually you should be able to play the .au file direct, I assume. Currently this only works for G.711 (PCMU and PCMA).
If the RTP packets are not shown as RTP you first have to select one of the packets and use the "Tools/Decode As..." menu item and select that the packets shall be decoded as RTP. http://www.ethereal.com/faq.html#q5.21
Then you mark one of the RTP packets and use the "Tools/Statistics/RTP Analysis..." menu item to obtain some statistics about delay and jitter. If the codec is G.711 (PCMU/PCMA) you should be able to use the "Save voice data as..." button in the RTP Analysis window.
Yet another option, WinEyeQ VoIP network capture utility They have a trial version that comes bundled with Win Pcap 3.0 (packet capture driver) and is designed specifically for VoIP.
Just to give you an idea of what types of features to look for in a VoIP call recording software solution, I'll include WinEyeQ's Voice and Video Call Monitor/Analyzer features:
- Completely software-based test tool.
- A true H.323 and SIP call monitor with complete call analysis and media monitoring
- Detects new H.323 and SIP call attempts (both inbound and outbound) automatically
- Maintains registration information to gatekeepers and registrars giving you a complete call profile
- Detailed reporting of protocol violations and call anomalies as well as user-defined alerts and alarms
- Detailed reporting for network usage, call summaries, call traces and media QOS measurements
- Monitor entire network segments or specify IP addresses or ranges
- Measure bandwidth usage of VoIP signaling, voice, video and other network traffic
- Set watches for key call identifiers such as E.164 number, SIP ID or IP address
- Specify protocol layers to monitor (IP, TCP, UDP, RAS, H.225, H.245, SIP, RTP, RTCP, etc.)
- Detect and alert unwanted traffic on the network
vEmotion by VoiceEmotion.com is a personal use VoIP recording product that works with all of the major IM/VoIP software clients, including Skype, AIM/AIM Triton, Gtalk, Msn, Yahoo Messenger, QQ, ICQ, and Windows Live Messenger. It has some cool features, including the ability to set background music for VoIP conversations so you can share music with your friends. The nice thing about this software is that it's automatic. When you begin a VoIP call, recording automatically begins. When the call ends, the recording stops automatically and a new record is stored.
Other features include:
• Send voice emotions (lively audio clips) to who are talking with you. Anything you have inconvenience in expressing it with your mouth or text, you can communicate it by voice emotions.
• Record voice conversations into disk files, in single-track, dual-track or single-track double frequency mode. Data is encrypted, and passwords can be assigned to protect your call records against unauthorized access.
Finally, here are some other call recording solutions. Some are for enterprise use and others for personal use.
Cain and Abel is an interesting VoIP call recording application. Cain & Abel was designed as a "network administrator security tool" to pinpoint security holes. I put that it quotes, since it can also be used as a hacker's tool.
Essentially, this "security" software product can record your SIP-based VoIP applications. Cain's sniffer can now extract audio conversations based on SIP/RTP protocols and save them into WAV files. The following codecs are supported: G711 uLaw, G711 aLaw, GSM, MS-GSM, ADPMC, DVI, LPC, L16, G729, Speex, iLBC.
Gabcast is a unique hosted call recording application that actually lets you instantly create podcasts for your blog with integration with your blogging software. The neat thing about Gabcast is that it supports conference calling their service both via the PSTN and VoIP. Using your favorite SIP softphone you simply dial the SIP address: 422@sip.gabcast.com along with other particpants dialing in using PSTN or VoIP and it will record the conference call into mp3 format.
Hotrecorder is another option, which I wrote about here. It works with PC-initiated calls through Skype, AOL Instant Messenger, Net2Phone, Yahoo! Messenger and probably others. The free version of the software is supported by advertisements that are targeted according to the consumer's location, gender or age or you can buy the software ad-free for $14.95.
The aforementioned are just a sampling of the VoIP call recording solutions out there -- I could go on and on with a list of many other solutions, but hopefully this will give you a a headstart in finding the right VoIP call recording solution. Feel free to drop me a line with any good VoIP call recording solutions you use or if you need help with any VoIP solution. I'll do my best to try and help you out.
TrackBack (0)
| Comments (11) | Tag with del.icio.us | VoIP & Gadget Blog | Permalink: VoIP Call Recording
Tags:
call recording,
calls,
phone,
record,
voip
Copyright
VoIP & Gadgets Blog
Comments on this Entry:
(Muhammad Asif Siddiqui on
Dec 15, 2004 10:48 AM)
Hi
I read your article and found it really helpful. We also want to develop our own VOIP call recording solution. We are using Zultys exchange which is connected to a switch. We want to develop an application which will be connected to switch and sniff all the VOIP packets (SIP + RTP) and save each voice conversations in a different file. Until now, we have looked into Etherreal, Java APIs for sniffing and JMF. We have been able to separate RTP packets and classify them as one stream.
Now, I want to convert RTP Payload (in G.711 format) to some wav or mp3 format. How can I do this by using some free API or tool?
We are stuck in this for a week. An urgent response will be highly appreciated.
(Neil D on
Feb 1, 2005 9:30 PM)
Callrex works well with several platforms including Zultys. What makes it real nice is that you mirror the only the port that the zultys is plugged into and it supports the g729a codec - not just g711. check out www.callrex.com. Not free - but I think they offer a good trial program.
(Suvendu on
Mar 15, 2005 4:57 AM)
Is there any open source available to implement similar concept of Ethereal...capturing RTP, analysing and storing as *.wav files?
(Roger Reed on
May 17, 2005 6:14 PM)
Converged Software offers the VoiceWarehouse call recording product for use with Cisco CallManager networks. This solution is JTAPI-based and integrates with CTI ports, as described in the initial post. This type of configuration is ideal for quickly providing network-wide access to on-demand recording of conference/standard calls and dictation. Unlike solutions geared towards high volume call center recording which require complicated SPAN port configuration, the VoiceWarehouse can be installed by a CallManager administrator in about an hour on an available server meeting minimum specifications (http://www.convergedsoft.com/vw_eval.jsp).
This solution is offered at some of the best prices in the industry. It's also one of the easiest to use. When a recording is made an e-mail is sent providing a link to a user's personal inbox in the VoiceWarehouse web application. The user can then annotate the recording and control playback on their IP phone via a web interface.
(Roger Reed on
May 17, 2005 6:37 PM)
The link in the above posting should be:
http://www.convergedsoft.com/vw_eval.jsp
(SULTAN on
Aug 12, 2005 5:42 AM)
You can use "CAIN" for VoIP sniffing and security testing for VoIP Traffic.
It works very well and you can record the call
(SULTAN on
Aug 12, 2005 5:44 AM)
You can use "CAIN" for VoIP sniffing and security testing for VoIP Traffic.
It works very well and you can record the call.
PS: I can't give you the download link because it's a free hacking tool but you can search :) !!!
(Duxoft on
Mar 13, 2006 9:47 AM)
Duxoft Voip Calls Recorder allows you to record SIP, H.323, MGCP or Skinny calls.
Read more here:
http://www.duxoft.com
(Roger Reed on
May 9, 2006 5:30 PM)
Converged Software now offers SPAN (packet sniffing) and CTI port recording in one application at the BEST pricing in the industry.
Features for recording on Cisco CallManager networks include:
- Always on, or full-time recording
- Initiate recording via IP phone XML service
- Capture entire call whenever initiated
- Webmail-like playback and management
- Flexibility to record in any environment with combinded SPAN and CTI recording architecture
Read more:
http://www.convergedsoftware.com/
(Chris on
Jul 18, 2006 11:09 AM)
Excellent article with good info on call monitoring. Another company to look at is Intelica Networks. It's TruVoice product for VoIP monitoring records all voip call flows and RTP streams and converts media into wav format.
(Steve on
Jul 31, 2006 6:06 PM)
I have had an excellent experience with the VoIP Call Recording solution VOXNET from A-VOX Solutions (www.avoxsolutions.com). They also offer a free demo download that will let you record 4 VoIP phones for 50 calls. It's a completely browser-based administration, search, replay, and live-monitoring application. They have all kinds of advanced options for encrypting recorded calls, support for SIP, H.323, and many of the propietary protocols such as Cisco and Mitel.
Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on VoIP and phone and call recording.
YouTube today introduced a new campaign that casts a “pro” as one of its users. Paris Hilton, famous for being famous, has a pop album. YouTube is giving her a “brand channel,” where Hilton appears in a choppy video welcoming visitors and asking them to leave a comment. It’s like real-time reality television; when I visited, she had logged on two minutes before. Hilton comes off as strikingly similar to the 20-something amateur YouTube ladies who primp and pontificate in front of their webcams (in some cases, for the benefit of large fanbases).
As part of the campaign, YouTube is selling ads for Fox’s Prison Break and sharing some of that revenue with Hilton’s label, Warner. Selling ads on ads — strong work! But instead of dealing with making money from amateur material (and potentially sharing ad dollars with the amateur creators), YouTube seems to be creating a new kind of amateur. Since Paris Hilton already blurs that line, by choosing her YouTube seems to reassure us it’s in on the joke. Who next — Puck from Real World or Survivor’s Richard Hatch?
Everyone wants to know if YouTube can profit on its potential. This is an interesting tweak, but it’s not going to bring the revenue pouring in. As many are pointing out, the campaign doesn’t apply to the vast majority of YouTube’s videos. Still, it’s good to see YouTube try before cashing out. A similar new initiative, an ad for the movie Pulse that users can rate, share, and comment on just like any other YouTube content, has been viewed nearly a million times in four days, according to Reuters.
YouTube, it seems, is “charging [Fox and other advertisers] based on the number of users regardless of whether the consumers actually watch the videos,” according to the Wall Street Journal. I assume this means the number of visitors to a “brand channel’s” page, or the home page when the brand is featured, not YouTube’s total visitors (11 million per week and counting)…but it’s not clear. The WSJ also reports YouTube wants to turn this into an AdSense-like program, brokering video ads for other sites. That’s a good business, but Google would clearly have the edge on syndicated video ads if push came to shove.
Getting this many users for a free service was a mix of smarts and luck. Working out how to make money off them? That’s tough.
Written by Liz Gannes on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Connected Home and Featured and Software 2.0 and Startups.
Not too many gadgets hit the age of 50, especially in the world of computers, but the hard drive is still going strong at 50 years of age!
(I never would have guessed!)
(An age that many may feel depressed about while looking longily at retirement, which looms not that far on the horizon).
Now, analysts are predicting that more drives will be sold over the next five years than in all the previous years combined.
The hard drive has become ubiquitous, being used in everything from iPods to TiVos to cars (that sounds funny)-- and still in computers, for that matter.
Nice brief from CEA Smartbriefs, which points to the always reliable The Mercury News, which has the whole great story.
And yes, that big bad thing to the left is the first hard drive, with 50 spinning, 24-inch-wide disks covered with red paint.
(Like the red paint touch -- wonder why they picked that color? After all, it was an IBM product that came out of the lab in Silicon Valley -- San Jose, to be exact).
TrackBack (0)
| Comments (0) | Tag with del.icio.us | VoIP & Gadget Blog | Permalink: The Hard Drive Hits 50
Tags:
hard drive,
ibm,
ipod,
the mercury news,
tivo
Copyright
VoIP & Gadgets Blog
Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Computer Hardware and iPod and ibm and tivo.
Soon after the AWS spectrum auction exited stage one, more than $12 billion had been bid, and two high profile groups — the satellite consortion, Wireless DBS, and the cable group Dolan Family Holdings — had already left the building. In the second stage of the auctions, we shall soon know who will emerge winners and how much they are willing to spend in this closely-watched wireless spectrum auction.
There are only two stages in the AWS auction and the second stage is marked by the fact that bidders need to bid actively on at least 95% of current bids in each round starting with Round 31 — stage one bidders had to be active on 80%. The rule is meant to keep the auction progessing in a reasonable amount of time, and stop companies from holding off on bidding until the last minute.
Stage two is a good indicator that the bidding is winding down, though doesn’t indicate exactly when the auction will be over. The big licenses seem to have been pretty much decided, while various bidders are still moving on smaller licenses. The top overall bidders have remained the same for awhile, with T-Mobile at $3.74 billion, Verizon Wireless at $2.80 billion, and SpectrumCo at $1.57 billion.
There are 136 eligible bidders as of Round 32, down from 168 at the beginning. OK, so its getting slow for us too. Maybe it’ll end this week?
Written by Katie Fehrenbacher on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Mobile.
DonÂ’t get me wrong, I love VoIP, and think tech is pretty cool, but if I was stranded on an island with the choice of one inanimate distraction, it would be a piano, hands-down. Jazz and blues are real core passions, and when a jazz buddy shared this with me, I just had to post about it.
If youÂ’re a jazz fan, you know all about Blue Note Records - and if you donÂ’t, but want to, look for me at VON, and weÂ’ll walk over to Berklee and go from there. Anyhow, Blue Note recently launched a series of custom ringtones, drawing from their incredible catalog of modern jazz, mostly from the 50s and 60s. The jazz mind thrills to the thought of having the cell phone ring with classics like Watermelon Man, My Funny Valentine or Straight No Chaser. And my favorite, Horace SilverÂ’s Song For My Father. If youÂ’re a big-time Steely Dan fan like me, youÂ’ll really want that one. In case you donÂ’t know it, this is the tune the catchy riff from Ricky DonÂ’t Lose That Number was lifted from. Check it out if you donÂ’t believe meÂ…..
And to whet your appetite,I can think of no better image to bring this together than the vintage Blue Note album from one of my faves, Dexter Gordon – appropriately titled Dexter Calling, with a cover shot of Dex making a call from a phone booth. How cool is that? Of course if Dex was still with us, he'd be doing it today with a mobile phone.
Nobody ever thought ring tones would be a big business, and it’s incredible what people will – and will not – spend money on. As frivolous as ring tones are, Blue Note is simply extending the idea in a creative way that totally works for their audience. It’s tasteful and hip at the same time – not crass marketing, and it’s not Warholian pop culture. And if it liberates a few disposable dollars from cell phone users and funnels them back to the jazz community, then we have capitalism that even Castro would like.
That’s what’s so great about IP and a lot of today’s other technologies – they work equally well for a large market as for a niche market. In that regard, IP is a lot like the improvisational nature of jazz – it’s flexible, open, and thrives on user-defined content and highly personalized experiences. Now if we could just make jazz as popular…..
Technorati tags: Jazz, Jon Arnold, Ring Tones, Blue Note
Written by Jon Arnold's Blog on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Gadgets/Cool Stuff.
Now that Cisco is sexy again (stellar fourth-quarter results, strong growth for fiscal 2007, savvy acquisition of Scientific-Atlanta), tech/TV watchers should pay heed to its latest acquisition: the $92-million purchase of Arroyo Video Solutions, which makes software to help cablecos and carriers deliver video-on-demand services. The acquisition is the latest in a string of video-related deals that Cisco has made in recent years (perhaps Linksys could be included given it expand video within the home) to reposition at a time when many of its rivals (Nortel, etc.) are scrambling to figure out where they want to be and what they will look like in the wake of fierce competition. Cisco, meanwhile, is ahead of the pack with a strategy that may be CEO John Chamber's legacy. Watch this space, watch this company.
Written by Mark Evans on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Telecom Equipment Makers and M&A.
Cisco Systems, the San Jose-based router giant has bought Pleasanton, Calif-based Arroyo Video Solutions, a four-year-old video on demand software company for about $92 million in cash. Given that Cisco rarely parts with cash and often uses stock for acquisitions, it seems that the company is placing high strategic value on the deal. Signing that big check must be easy, given that Arroyo has the attention of some of the major cable operators such as Cablevision.
The move is yet another part of Cisco’s bid to turn itself into a consumer centric company. As you might remember, it has spent over $6 billion and acquired companies like Linksys, KISS Technology and Scientific Atlanta. It has also made investments in consumer video offerings such as Akimbo and Cinema Now.
Arroyo, is the latest and perhaps the most crucial piece of the puzzle. Since Arroyo’s products allow carriers - wireless, wireline and cable operators - to deliver video on demand to any platform: television, computer of mobile phone, Cisco now has acquired three must-have features of any future video offering.
These features are allowing consumers to access web video on all “three screens,” time shift the traditional video experience, but most importantly, place shift the video content to the device of their choice, regardless of location. (Read: Place Shifting is everywhere.) Arroyo is said to be a market leader in the controversial but interesting technology called the networked personal video recorder, which is slowly winning over the cable operators and content owners.
The Arroyo acquisition seems to be a counter move to Microsoft’s IPTV effort which promises seamless video experience across computers, set-top boxes and mobile phones. (As long as they all use Microsoft OS.) Motorola has its own version of place shifting and time shifting technologies, and is Cisco’s archrival in the cable operator markets.
When we posed this question to Paul Bosco, Cisco Vice President responsible for video and cable initiatives, he said, “We don’t necessarily as a competitive move, but more really it is about broader adoption of the media, devices, and video on those machines.” He explained that carriers are also looking at the user generated content quite closely, and are making moves to bring the open content to the traditional living room environment. He was quick to point out that Arroyo also has products for TelcoTV markets. Sure, but that’s like saying Hummer 3 is small and fuel efficient, compared to H1.
The biggest winners of this deal are Arroyo investors - Matrix Partners, Doll Capital Management, and Foundation Capital, and the venture arms of Comcast and Time Warner. Arroyo raised about $25 million in venture funding.
More on Cisco’s consumer strategy later!
Written by Om Malik on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Connected Home and Featured and Broadband.
