Microsoft VoIP Phone Announcement Is Serious Business

Still worried about being a Vonage user? Just because it's not on the front pages this week doesn't mean you shouldn't be looking at alternatives, just in case. And you may be surprised at what other carriers can offer you. Vonage's big advertising budget tends to drown out some of its smaller competitors but that doesn't mean they can't provide a good service.... ...

Telepresence: Current and Future

Keep those blue screens of death jokes coming, but don't be fooled. However funny it might seem to entrust your phone system to the software everyone loves to hate, Microsoft is on track to become a dominant IP telephony player. It surely won't mind if people get the wrong impression about what it can or wants to do. After all, the more clear it is about its plans, the fiercer oppositio... ...

What’s Google Doing With All That Dark Fiber?

It’s not often that a feisty upstart attempts to go head-to-head with industry behemoths such as Cisco Systems and Hewlett-Packard, but Telanetix is doing just that. Putting a hi-tech spin on the battle of David vs. Goliath, the fledglin... ...

Polycom Podcast From VON Show - Part One

Today’s high-priced telepresence systems may be out of reach for most, but if industry experts are right, it won’t be long before this revolutionary visual conferencing tool is as much a part of corporate America as coffee mugs and staplers.With offerings from major players such as Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, Teliris, TANDBERG and Polycom, a telepresence system &ndas... ...

5 Cool Functions to Look For in VoIP Phones

Question: Which mobile VoIP client will end up the winner? Answer: What do you mean by mobile VoIP client? Is it software that lets you make VoIP calls via your cellular data service? That lets you make WiFi calls using your dual mode handset? That lets you initiate cellular calls that end up being delivered over the Internet? Or some or all of the above? You see the problem. At present, mobile... ...

ShoreTel IPO May Benefit Customers and Investors Alike

Starting a few years ago, Google began buying thousands of miles of so-called “dark fiber”--fiberoptic communications wiring that was installed in the ground but going unused. The fiber was historically cheap thanks to a fiberoptic building boom that had gone bust, allowing the Mountain View search giant to acquire large amounts of it for pennies on the dollar. ...

One FXS voice port supports legacy (analog) touch tone telephones.

One FXO port for calling or receiving calls via PSTN line.

Two RJ 45 connections to 10BaseT Ethernet hub, switch, router, or modem.

SIP 2.0(RFC 3261), TCP/UDP/IP, RTP/RTCP, HTTP, ICMP, ARP/RARP, DNS, DHCP (both client and server), NTP, PPPoE, STUN, TFTP, etc.

Built-in router, NAT and Gateway.

Powerful digital signal processing (DSP) to ensure superb audio quality; advanced adaptive jitter control and packet loss concealment technology.

Ultra compact (wallet size) and lightweight design, great companion for travelers.

Support various vocoders including G.711 A-/U-law, G.723.1, G.729A/B, G.728, G.726, iLBC.

Support silence suppression and VAD, AGC, and echo cancellation (G.168).

Support standard encryption and authentication (DIGEST using MD5 and MD5-sess).

Support layer-2 (802.1Q VLAN, 802.1p) and layer-3 (DiffServ, ToS) QoS.

Support automated NAT traversal without manual manipulation of firewall/NAT.

Support remote automated provisioning and software upgrade even through firewall/NAT to enable "zero configuration" and "plug-and-dial" for end users.

Support device configuration via built-in IVR, Web browser or central configuration file.

Support Caller ID/Name display or block, Hold, Call Waiting, Call Transfer, Call Forward, Flash, Three Way Conferencing (pending).

Support customizable ring tone (pending).

Fax pass through and T.38.

Support DNS SRV Look Up.

SIP Server Fail Over (pending).