VoIP

AT&T, Vonage and other carriers are probably coming to terms with the notion that voice over Internet Protocol is the future of residential and business telecom. So, apparently, is Patton Electronics Company, which is shipping the SmartLink M-ATA, an ultra-miniature analog telephone adapter that Patton claims is the world's smallest.

The SmartLink M-ATA can connect any standard analog phone or fax machine to a service provider's VoIP network over a broadband Internet connection. Using VoIP can significantly reduce phone charges, which is especially important to small businesses with remote offices.

The adapter was designed to be … Read more

A new federal regulation ordering broadband providers to include backdoors in their networks for wiretaps is expected to be challenged in court.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation said Wednesday that it plans to file suit against the new federal rule, announced last Friday and scheduled to take effect in early 2007. The suit won't be filed until the rules are officially published (probably next month) at the earliest.

In Friday's announcement, the Federal Communications Commission said that broadband providers and Internet phone companies that link to the public telephone network (Vonage, Packet 8, SkypeOut) must rewire their networks to … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission thinks you have the right to use software on your computer only if the FBI approves.

No, really. In an obscure "policy" document released around 9 p.m. ET last Friday, the FCC announced this remarkable decision.

According to the three-page document, to preserve the openness that characterizes today's Internet, "consumers are entitled to run applications and use services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement." Read the last seven words again.

The FCC didn't offer much in the way of clarification. But the clearest reading of … Read more

In a typical case of "oops," Internet telephony provider Packet8 last week accidentally disclosed the e-mail addresses of about 21,000 of its subscribers.

The addresses are those of customers who subscribe to Packet8's monthly e-mail newsletter, a company representative said Tuesday. An employee attached a file containing the addresses to the newsletter, she said. The incident was reported earlier by U.K. tech news outlet VNUNet.com.

Such a list of e-mail addresses is a feast for phishers, who could use it to target Packet8 users with tailored scams. Phishing attacks combine e-mail messages and fraudulent … Read more

Later this year, ViseonMedia is coming out with the VisiFone, a broadband digital telephone designed for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service.

Next year, in a pilot program to pipe entertainment and news to the VOIP phone, ViseonMedia will deliver programming from ABC News Now, the interactive arm of the broadcast news company. In a partnership announced Tuesday, ABC News Now will offer video-on-demand clips of news shows to people with the VisiFone. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

VisiFone is just one of many companies offering VOIP phone service. According to research firm IDC, roughly 3 million people … Read more

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina is returning to her telecom roots via a keynote speech about voice over Internet Protocols at an industry trade show this fall.

VoIP is a technology that allows phone calls to be placed over the Internet rather than via the public circuit-switched networks.

Fiorina, 50, who in February was ousted from HP after serving as CEO for about five and a half years, has been working with the Washington Speakers Bureau, a group that offers politicians, businesspeople, athletes and others for paid speaking engagements.

She's now signed up to give a keynote address at … Read more

Internet portal giant Yahoo has acquired Dialpad, a 6-year-old provider of Internet phone services. The acquisition, which was announced on Dialpad's Web site, will place Yahoo in direct competition with traditional phone companies such as SBC, as well as Net phone providers like Skype and Vonage.

In its announcement, Dialpad noted that "Yahoo plans on leveraging Dialpad's PSTN calling capabilities to add to Yahoo Messenger's recently enhanced PC-to-PC voice calling offering. These products are very complementary and by combining our strengths, we are better positioned to take advantage of the fast growing IP telephony market and … Read more

Net phone operators on Thursday were given an October deadline to provide the same kind of 911 service as when someone calls for help on a landline or cell phones.

By then, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) operators must steer 911 calls to the geographically-appropriate emergency call center, and the calls themselves must be accompanied by the originating address and phone number, the Federal Communications Commission unanimously decided Thursday.

The commission is facing up to concerns from lawmakers and the public as a growing number of U.S. residents use VoIP services, which allow a broadband connection to double as … Read more

While Vonage Chief Financial Officer John Rego wouldn't say as much during a recent interview, the inference was clear: much of Vonage's recent $200 million in funding is going towards advertising, on top of what is already a lot of Vonage TV, print and Web messaging.

The move makes sense on at least one level. As with any virtual operator that piggybacks their service on someone else's communications infrastructure, brand recognition is Vonage's only real asset. But the risk is that even more ubiquitous ads turns off new subscribers.

It remains to be seen whether Vonage'… Read more