VoIP is making calls using internet access instead of regular telephone wirings. You can use VoIP on your mobile too if your phone has wifi or 3G network.  At home or in the office, you can connect your regular phone to any VoIP device so you can make and receive phone calls. Do not forget to connect your VoIP device to your internet router or modem.  You can also use your internet router as your VoIP device already. The catalog box of your router will tell you if it’s SIP/VoIP capable, if it’s not there, then don’t bother.  That means, you need to get VoIP device and have it connected to your internet router.

Calls are great that the person on the other line will not notice that you’re not using the regular line (landline or mobile). The only problem is when your internet port is blocking SIP/VoIP calls then that mean you cannot receive calls. This is encountered mostly by BELGACOM customers with their BBOX. To resolve the issue, I saw this great video sent on my email as one of my so-called VOIP alerts (I am VoIP fanatic now). This is about changing the port 5060 to 9999 so that you will be able to receive SIP calls.

iPhone users in the US who have found ways to save calls through Skype will not be happy with the news that AT&T will be charging Skype to Skype calls by 2011. AT&T, which has the exclusive right to market iPhone in the US, has not yet disclosed as to how much would be the charges for Skype calls.  Currently, Skype to Skype call are free thus it would clog up the AT&T network.

Once AT&T will charge Skype calls, this might directly affect iPhone user’s interest to use Skype. Skype users might decide to switch to use VoIP which provides free calls to the same VoIP network.  With the users’ option to replace Skype with other VoIP, it will be more of a loss to Skype than AT&T.  VoIP will still require DATA access thus AT&T will still earn for the DATA services they offered to AT&T subscribers.

Is the clogging of AT&T network the only reason why AT&T will charge Skype to Skype calls or is it because Skype and Verizon’s current partnership will turn to be an exclusive partnership in the future? There are speculations that Skype and Verizon’s exclusive partnership will last for 3 to 3 years, and no other US carrier will be able to get what Skype has to offer.

iPad Release Creates More Demand for Mobile Internet

What’s the use of iPad with out internet connection? You cannot access applications and digital content with out internet connection. The release of iPad in the market has certainly increased the demand for mobile data services.

With the success of iPad, competitors will surely release their own version of iPad which will cater to people from all walks of life. In few months time, competing companies will have the almost same product with almost similar features and with the rates much appealing to the market.

This is the much awaited scenario by mobile providers; people using iPad have no choice but to get their Mobile Data package. “These factors will drive demand for data access, and the iPad along with similar devices provide a compelling new opportunity for mobile operators to increase data subscriptions and hence revenues,” As per Jan ten Sythoff from cellular-news.  They cannot deny the fact that the existence of VoIP technology had knocked them down, and the release of iPad has given them so much favor to recover the lost revenue.

This is a good decision for eBay to have Skype for SIP. However, they were not the first to offer this type of service. There are a lot of SIP providers that can definitely offer  lower rates than what Skype offers. Nothing new with the Skype for SIP features though, thus if you are currently using other SIP, then no reason for you to switch to Skype, unless however you are paying more on  your current SIP provider, but that I doubt.  Skype for SiP will let you do call conferencing, call forwarding, and  voicemails. Since you will be using your existing hardware, no need to download Skype software anymore.

For those who would like to use Skye for Sip Open Beta you need to have installed SIP based IP-PBX system and get your own technician to assist you. For now, the Skye Beta is still on trial status, thus the number of applicant is limited so as the trial will be smooth for them and the Skype could give the testers adequate support.

For those who would like to get simultaneous calls, your SIP profile can support up to 300 channels. Each channels is good for one inbound or one out bound call at any time. As they are introducing this to the public, they are giving each channel for only €4.95 per channel per month. Monthly channel subscription is a must in order for you to get the Skype for SIP Open Beta. All your outbound calls are billed according to the Skpe’s standard rate.

I was having my research done over the internet then I stumble into information about e-Bay buying Skype.  So, I was wondering why the No. 1 auction and bidding site would want to invest on VoIP. Then some blogs are pointing to ebay’s interest in using Skype technology on eBay’s website. For ebay, the technology would simplify the bidding and auction activities since both parties can just communicate directly on the said site.

Then, there is another angle that ebay is getting billion richer each year that they have to invest their wealth, convert their assets to another profitable investment rather than keeping it and distribute it to shareholders. Thus, since VoIP is the most promising investment today, eBay decided to buy Skype.

Whether eBay decided to buy Skype to use VoIP technology on their website, or bought Skpe to multiply their assets, ebay have made the wrong move when buying Skype. eBay spent $2.6 billion in 2005 to purchase Skype but had never hold control of Skpe’s technology. Now, they are spending huge amount of money to come up with software that would be helpful in continuing to run the VoIP technology that they purchased through Skype.

Hopefully, eBay would be successful with this endeavor and could come up with new development in VoIP world; otherwise they will less likely loose their customers. As of the moment, eBay pursuit for the right to the Skype technology is still under litigation. We just wait and see then what’s next between Skype and eBay.

I’ve been using this SIP software for a year now and never have I got a problem with it. It’s very easy to download and fast to configure.

Good for Windows, MAC, and Linux.

Download here:  http://www.counterpath.com/x-lite.html

If you would like to switch to VOIP from landline, here’s what you need to do:

Get DSL or cable internet, if you already have it then good for you because you are maximizing your savings.

Get VOIP equipment or commonly known as phone adapter. This adapter will connect your phone line to your internet connection. Most VOIP provider will provide you the equipment either for rent or for purchase.

No need to worry if you can’t drop your number, with VOIP you can switch phone service with out changing your number. Your VOIP provider will give you instructions on how to successfully transfer your phone number.

Once the number transfer is complete, you can do the home wiring yourself and all the phones in the house will be getting the same line. Before you rewire the entire house with VOIP line, you make sure that you are totally disconnected from your landline provider. To do this, you have to go outside your house and locate the demarcation box. The demarcation box is where the phone company’s network connects with the customer’s phone wiring. Once you have located the demarcation point, open it and locate the line that is connected to the phone wiring inside the house, then unplug it so you will be disconnected totally from your previous provider. After doing this, you are now free to use your home wiring for VOIP. No need to change any current phone settings. Just keep one phone jack empty, and then connect your VOIP adapter to it. The rest of the phones will get the same VOIP line. Just don’t forget to connect the VOIP adapter to your internet modem or router.

Many observers and industry participants had expected a significant role for “UMA” (Unlicenced Mobile Access) technology among dual-mode phones and new operator business models. UMA enables GSM-based cellular carriers to extend their services, via broadband and WiFi (or Bluetooth), into users’ homes, improving coverage and offering low-cost in-home telephony. The intention is for “seamless roaming” between cellular and WiFi domains. UMA’s advocates hope to continue the trend of substituting mobile calls for traditional residential fixed-line phone services.

But the study finds that just 5.5m households worldwide will use WLAN-based UMA services by the end of 2009, with 6.7 million UMA VoWLAN phones being sold during that year. Although UMA-based services are first-to-market in the FMC arena, limitations to the business model will stall roll-out and uptake, letting competing approaches, based on standards like SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), catch up. Simpler, “unconverged” VoWLAN services are likely to take the lead, ignoring the complexities of roaming in the short term.

UMA does not currently support 3G services, nor integrate with corporate telephony systems. Given that carriers are looking to upgrade their best customers to 3G services, providing them with new and expensive 2.5G/WLAN phones seems a retrograde step. Although Bluetooth-based UMA handsets will be inexpensive, WLAN-equipped ones are likely to be much more costly.

Other factors will also diminish the attraction of the UMA proposition.

Dean Bubley, author of the report and founder of Disruptive Analysis, explains “UMA generally ignores the existence of the user’s PC. But if a customer has a multimedia-capable, WiFi-connected device, using their paid-for broadband connection, he or she will probably want to link the two. For voice calls and basic coverage improvement, this isn’t a major issue. But if the phone is also an MP3 player and a multi-megapixel cameraphone, customers will be annoyed if it cannot access the PC’s hard disk – or benefit from the PC’s connection to the real Internet, to access email, music, VoIP or other services. There may also be complex security and customer support issues, connecting a UMA-phone via a customer’s existing WiFi access point, that mobile operators will struggle to deal with.”

Source ; cellular news