VoIP service puts telephony hardware manufacturers in tricky position

Sunday, January 29th, 2006 | Posted in IP Telephony, VoIP News, VoIP Phone | No Comments »

An interesting comment from Christopher Sacca, principle in new business development at Google, on how the emergence of VoIP service is putting hardware manufacturers in a tricky position when they try to get into VoIP, but maintain their relationships with cellular telephone companies:

But hardware makers are also exploring ways to take advantage of VOIP (voice over IP), which could leave cellular operators and their per-minute billing out of the equation, he said.

"We’re getting stuff shipped to us by everybody — by Motorola, by Siemens, by Philips, by Sony, by Nintendo," Sacca said. Some of the devices are coming from behind-the-scenes development groups at those companies — some of which are deeply involved in the traditional cell phone business. In some cases, "we’re meeting with somebody, but it’s behind the CEO’s back," he said.

This is a tough position for the manufacturers to be in.  On the one hand, they don’t want to damage relationships with their existing customers, the cell companies.  On the other hand, VoIP is really taking off, and being one of the first movers on it will probably bring a major competitive advantage.

VoIP Sercurity Roundup

Wednesday, January 25th, 2006 | Posted in IP Telephony, VoIP News, VoIP Security | 1 Comment »

Here’s a roundup of some current important articles on VoIP security problems:

Cambridge prof warns of Skype botnet threat :

Voice-over-IP apps could be used to cloak networks of zombies, used to launch denial of service attacks, a Cambridge professor has warned.

Armies of ordinary PCs - "botnets" - that have been infected by a virus and put under malicious control, could be controlled and orchestrated by messages hidden in VoIP traffic generated by programs such as Skype, warned Jon Crowcroft, Marconi professor of communications systems at Cambridge University.

How bad is the Skype botnet threat? :

In the botnet threat, Skype is not the threat itself, but a tool others might use. In a "botnet" a set of PCs are infected with Trojan software; they can then be controlled remotely and used to launch a denial of service attack on any victim. Skype is therefore being hijacked as the channel though which these bots can be given instructions.

Botnets are usually tracked down by the commands used to control them - usually an IM or IRC stream. "VoIP offers a lot more scope for hiding informaiton in the traffic," says Ian Brown, who leads the Internet security group at the Communications Research Network, which has publicised the threat. "There is a lot more traffic coming through, and audio traffic is a lot of random looking bits. If you can’t see the botnet messages, you can’t dismantle the botnet."

Skype 2.0 triggers Data Execution Prevention Warning :

"With the DEP exception in place, an even bigger concern is the security implications of turning off DEP protection for Skype.  Skype is an application that interacts with the wild and public Internet and Skype has had its share of vulnerability issues in the past so turning off a critical protection mechanism like DEP is the last thing I want to do," George points out.  "Having DEP enabled on Skype will at least give users some protection if Skype has any future vulnerabilities." 

Why pay $2,995 for VoIP security advice? I have a better idea :

You won’t believe where I’ve just read a very authoritative report on VoIP Security.

No, not one of those overpriced consultant reports- the ones you pay $2,995 for and come away from with a "tell me something I don’t know" reaction.

Actually, this one is from a term paper, gleaned from journals available via the Rowan County Public Library in Salisbury, N.C.

Entitled "Sound Choices for VoIP Security," the paper is written by Jonathan Casteel. The 10-page PDF tome contains plainly written and authoritative info on such subjects as implementation flaws (Remote access, Malformed request DoS, Load-based DoS) and IP PBX vulnerabilities such as Operating system attack, Support software attack, Protocol attack, Application attack, Application manipulation, Unauthorized access,and Denial of Service.

Skype earned eBay $24.8 million last year

Friday, January 20th, 2006 | Posted in Skype, VoIP News, VoIP Service Providers | No Comments »

eBay is well on its way to earning back the US$2.6 billion it paid to acquire Skype last year.  In its earnings release on Wednesday, eBay announced that Skype earned it $24.8 million from the time of acquisition to the close of the year.  At this rate, the deal will be profitable in no time!

http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3578411

UK’s Tesco to compete with BT, others, on VoIP Phone Service

Friday, January 20th, 2006 | Posted in VoIP News, VoIP Phone, VoIP Service Providers | No Comments »

Add the UK’s supermarket giant Tesco to the list of companies competing in the free-for-all IP telephony market:

Supermarket behemoth Tesco, led by Chief Executive Terry Leahy, announced yesterday that it was launching a new telephone service that would put it head to head with the U.K.’s current fixed landline leader with 19 million customers, BT Group. Keeping in line with Leahy’s famously lucratively expansion beyond groceries to non-food items, Tesco is now hoping customers will add its $35 handsets, using Voice-over-Internet protocol technology, to their shopping lists. The devices, which plug into a home computer, will also rival other Internet telecom upstarts like Vonage and eBay’s Skype. Calls to U.K. landlines will be charged at 2 pence (3.5 U.S. cents) per minute, with the same tariff applying to many other countries around the world, including the U.S., Canada, Australia and Ireland, according to The Associated Press.

Unsurprisingly, Andy Dewhurst, chief executive of Tesco Telecoms, told the AP that he hopes the new product will be snapped up by en mass by consumers, making VoIP itself a "niche product, previously the domain of tecchies."

A spokesman for BT–which reportedly earns about $6.2 billion a year in revenue from fixed line calls–hit back: "BT has been at the forefront of voice calls over the Internet… and BT’s own broadband packages offer a better deal." But surely Tesco is now a viable threat? "I think it’s for you to draw those conclusions," the spokesperson said. "We think this is actually a poor deal for customers." Either way, the shoppers will decide.

Seems like everyone thinks they’re going to strike it big with VoIP service these days.

Directory assistance for VoIP phone service?

Wednesday, January 18th, 2006 | Posted in VoIP News, VoIP Phone | No Comments »

Telephones only work if you know the number of the person you’re trying to reach.  But what do you do if you don’t know the number?  Call directory assitance?  It’s been quite a while since 411 was truly useful however, even before the advent of IP telephony we had cell phones to deal with.

Chris Risley, President and CEO of Nomimum, Inc. writes an interesting areticle in Converge Network Digest on the topic:

The Internet is poised for its next major burst of growth and usage as billions of telephones, fax machines and PDAs join the desktops, laptops and servers already communicating on the Internet. This is a critical moment for traditional telephone carriers and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) developing next-generation voice, data and multimedia services; missteps or slowdowns can be enormously costly in the race for market and mindshare.

No one questions the inevitability of the convergence of voice, data and multimedia on IP networks worldwide. We probably can’t even foresee all the ways that this convergence will affect our daily lives. What we can and should question is exactly how we are getting there. Are today’s IP networks really ready for dial-tone?

Protocol maturity is not the issue. Open standards such as the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) are becoming de facto methods for connecting IP telephony devices. The various telephony system components are coming into place as VoIP services roll out around the globe. Session border controllers and gateways are connecting VoIP services to the world at large. Even bandwidth and routing capacity are not in question.

The questions are more basic – how are all of these calls going to connect to each other, particularly in a time of convergence and transition? How do the VoIP “islands” find each other to connect calls most efficiently, without requiring users to change their calling behaviors?

At issue is the seemingly simple process of dialling the phone.

IDC: VoIP phone service boom to boost semiconductor sales

Wednesday, January 18th, 2006 | Posted in VoIP News | No Comments »

Technology research firm IDC says that the hot VoIP / IP telephony industry will drive major growth in semiconductor sales, forecasting a compound annual growth rate in semiconductor sales of nearly 39% from 2004 to 2009.

"With basic product line ups complete, VoIP equipment vendors must look for opportunities to differentiate their offering and deliver tailored solutions," said Ian Eigenbrod, senior research analyst with IDC’s Semiconductor program. "This need is creating new design-in opportunities and is ushering in the next phase of the VoIP semiconductor market evolution and it will be key to establishing market leadership long term."

These are among the key findings of IDC’s new VoIP study entitled Worldwide VoIP Semiconductor 2005-2009 Market Forecast and Analysis.

ipoque releases new Skype blocker

Monday, January 16th, 2006 | Posted in Skype, VoIP News, VoIP Phone, VoIP Security | No Comments »

Skype blocking is getting popular these days:

Leipzig, Germany, Jan. 12, 2006 – ipoque releases new VoIP filter module for its line of PRX traffic managers which support detecting and blocking of Voice over IP traffic including Skype^TM. The new entry-level Gigabit Ethernet appliance PRX-250 is added to the PRX line. Prices for all Fast Ethernet models have been reduced.

Skype^TM Detection with the VoIP Module

Modular extensions for various application classes can be installed optionally. ipoque releases the new Voice over IP module for detecting and blocking of Skype^TM and SIP connections.

The high proliferation of Skype^TM clients, their strong encryption for Internet voice calls and their ability to circumvent firewall systems cause various problems. Among them are a significantly increased traffic volume, potential interference with other applications and the violation of national legislation for traffic monitoring and interception. Furthermore, Skype^TM clients in company networks pose a security threat. This makes the VoIP module an interesting option for company network operators, Internet service providers and national carriers.

Also available for the PRX traffic managers are modules for filtering, shaping and blocking of peer-to-peer-based file sharing and for blocking of instant messengers. File sharing causes significantly more than 50% of the Internet traffic, and most files contain copyright-protected material. The usage of instant messengers cause problems mostly in company networks. They pose severe security risks and degrade staff productivity.

Call for Patents for IEEE 802.16 Patent Licensing Program

Monday, January 16th, 2006 | Posted in VoIP News | No Comments »

From the press release:

Via Licensing Corporation is pleased to expand its outstanding call for essential patents reading on the IEEE 802.16™ specification to include the IEEE 802.16e™ amendment. The IEEE 802.16e specification, titled "Air Interface for Fixed and Mobile Broadband Wireless Access Systems—Amendment for Physical and Medium Access Control Layers for Combined Fixed and Mobile Operation in Licensed Bands," is identified by the IEEE as document number IEEE Std 802.16e-2005 and is also referred to as Mobile WiMAX.

Mobile WiMAX devices such as mobile phones and portable computers will have the ability to travel between base stations while maintaining long-range broadband connectivity for voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), audio, video, and data services.

US telecom market outlook for 2006

Monday, January 16th, 2006 | Posted in VoIP News | No Comments »

From Red Herring:

SBC and Verizon became the biggest spenders of 2005, scaling up into dueling giants in hopes of surviving in the net-based era.

January 16, 2006 Print Issue

In 2005 SBC bought its former parent, AT&T, for $16 billion, bringing both Cingular and SBC under the old Bell umbrella and the AT&T brand.

SBC CEO Edward Whitacre pulled off the biggest deal of the year, creating a $70-billion company and the largest telecommunications provider in the United States.

As the leading seller of cellular, DSL, local, and long-distance phone services, the new AT&T is a very different company than the old AT&T Justice Harold Greene confronted when he ordered that monopoly to be broken up into seven Baby Bells more than two decades ago.

Consolidation also had Verizon shell out $8.5 billion in the year’s second-biggest deal for long-distance provider MCI. But these new constructs are a far cry from the days when phone companies could control prices, dictate the markets, and set demands.

In the era of eBay, Skype, and free web-based phone calls, they had to band together just to survive. The AT&T and Verizon mergers ranked No. 1 and No. 2 on Red Herring’s Top 10 Deals List but they were part of a raft of deals in a year when almost half of the 10 largest involved telecoms.

TI releases PIQUA IP telephony quality of service product

Monday, January 16th, 2006 | Posted in VoIP News | No Comments »

From the press release:

DALLAS, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN) (TI), today unveiled PIQUA, a new system of Internet Protocol (IP) quality management elements that will enable service providers to deliver an advanced level of service quality to consumer and business subscribers moving to Internet and IP-based services, such as Voice over IP, Video over IP, IPTV and Internet-based music services. Working initially with industry partners, including Motive, Inc. and Viola Networks, TI will make available critical information necessary to properly manage emerging services from its IP communications technology offerings with PIQUA. This will empower providers to dramatically improve their subscribers’ experience and reduce overall network operating costs. For more information, please visit http://www.ti.com/piqua .

PIQUA, based on TI’s digital signal processor (DSP) technology and embedded software solutions, provides a real-time distributed system of complete quality management elements designed to monitor and improve the quality of IP-based services, such as voice, data and video. PIQUA utilizes sophisticated real-time calculations to instantly assess quality parameters related to the user’s experience, allowing both equipment manufacturers and service providers to dynamically adapt to changing conditions and make adjustments which today are either impossible or done manually. These quality management tools enable the discovery, monitoring and repair of services, devices and networks, allowing operators to proactively manage factors like echo, dropped-packets and line-delay.

"Our studies show that as service providers continue to roll out new communications services, their ability to cost-effectively install, manage and support a growing subscriber base is an increasing challenge," said Lindsay Schroth, Senior Analyst, Yankee Group. "As an embedded management tool, PIQUA provides operators a cost effective solution that enables them to gain greater visibility into their subscribers’ experience, while more effectively managing their operating costs."

Until now, IP has been associated with data networking and voice as a cost-effective alternative to traditional phone services, offering consumers and businesses reasonable savings and performance. With PIQUA, however, TI plans to enhance the subscribers’ experience, making IP the preferred method for voice, video and home networking communications, offering digital quality and enhanced features unmatched by traditional services. PIQUA’s real-time diagnostic tools and historical reporting capabilities will make it possible for operators to identify trends and avert problems before customers are even impacted.

"Leveraging our strengths in both silicon and embedded software, TI is offering a truly unique opportunity for service providers to roll-out new IP services and benefit from much lower operating costs and greatly increased customer satisfaction," said Greg Delagi, vice president of DSP Systems at Texas Instruments. "While PIQUA is focused primarily on voice quality today, other IP-based communications applications, such as video, home security and home automation are all areas where we foresee PIQUA making dramatic improvements."

TI has begun to enlist original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), original design manufacturers (ODMs) and third-party suppliers of network provisioning tools to make PIQUA part of their solutions. The first implementations of PIQUA, targeting VoIP applications, will be available in customer and thirdparty equipment later this year. TI’s software development roadmap includes a long-term approach to improve all forms of IP network communications, including video delivery and consumer ease-of-use features.

"Motive is always exploring innovative ways to improve the experience of both the broadband consumer and service provider," said Sanjay Castelino, vice president of industry marketing, Motive. "We see value in the PIQUA approach because it adds new quality of service insight that can be used to actively improve the consumer experience and to understand what is occurring on an individual connection-by-connection basis."