IP telephony over cell phones—and other mobile devices—has been catching on for some time now, giving users the convenience of placing and receiving long distance and international calls at a fraction of the expense of cellular termination rates.
This week, two leading players in the VoIP over mobile realm— UK-based Truphone and Silicon Valley-based JAJAH—both announced programs that promise to greatly expand the reach of their cost-cutting services.
read full article here
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Wireless VoIP Standard Approved By IEEE
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has finally approved the much awaited roaming Wi-Fi standard, IEEE 802.11r, which primarily aims to allow the Wi-Fi enabled devices to roam amid the WLAN access points.
The service would help in sprucing up the voice over internet protocol (VoIP) enabled services, as swapping from one access point to other takes considerable time, with the existing protocols, thereby embarking quality and security issues for the users.
The new standard, also known as Fast Basic Service Set Transition, would substantially help in maintaining the quality of reception of services, when a user switches to a new access point, as it takes less than 50 milliseconds for enabling the security authentication of the service, during the course of switching over.
Rob Bamforth, principal analyst from Quocirca, has opined that the new addition wouldn’t create any quick impact over the industry; however, he upheld the relevance of the standardization in future of communications.
“This kind of standard is likely to be seen as big comfort blanket by enterprise-scale users”, he added, but the primary concern lies in the amount of time vendors will take in introducing products based on new standards.
Monday, July 28, 2008
What is "Mobile VoIP"?
Mobile VoIP is defined as an extension of mobility to a VoIP network (as described in Wikipedia). Thus, it is a method of expanding the utility of VoIP in our everyday lives and not just a technology.
At the CTIA (News - Alert) (Cellular Telephony Industry Association) show in Las Vegas recently, I saw several innovative approaches designed to tackle the power problem with WiFi and WiMax devices —Broadcom ( News - Alert), for example, introduced a system-on-a-chip that reduced the power requirements by 50 percent. This is the single most critical obstacle to the deployment of direct mobile handsets with “Always On” connections required to support a direct SIP client.
It is this “Always On” nature of a future Mobile VoIP product that we are beginning to see in hybrid Cellular phones, and for any of you playing with them it becomes quite clear that battery life cannot keep up with a pure SIP client mobile solution.
We have yet another major issue in North America with the capacity of Internet Bandwidth falling behind the world quickly, while our costs are not declining as rapidly as in many foreign markets. I note in Jim Baller’s April 10, 2008 broadband newsletter that Japan’s price per Mbps for its highest bandwidth offerings ($0.13/Mbps) is considerably lower than the U.S. ($2.83/Mbps), and that the average download speed in Japan is now 93.7 Mbps, while the U.S. is more than 10 times slower at 8.9 Mbps.
It is for this reason that current practical implementation of a Mobile VoIP solution must remain a “bridge” to broadband networks and operate over existing Cellular infrastructure and in a cooperative fashion with the incumbent providers.
Look out for the WiMax 802.16m standard (see http://wirelessman.org/tgm/) to settle the score between networks and devices. I predict the convergence of 3G technology andWiFi ( News - Alert) to mature into a 4G standard offering 100 Mbps (mobile) and 1 Gbps (fixed) coverage by 2010. I can only hope that this timetable helps explain the “gap” we face until both technology and business models adapt to a very rapidly changing environment. Mobile VoIP is just the beginning — soon expect the “V” in VoIP to also mean Video.
Mark Hewitt is Chief Strategic Officer of i2Telecom (News - Alert) International, Inc. For more information, visit them online at www.i2telecom.com.
At the CTIA (News - Alert) (Cellular Telephony Industry Association) show in Las Vegas recently, I saw several innovative approaches designed to tackle the power problem with WiFi and WiMax devices —Broadcom ( News - Alert), for example, introduced a system-on-a-chip that reduced the power requirements by 50 percent. This is the single most critical obstacle to the deployment of direct mobile handsets with “Always On” connections required to support a direct SIP client.
It is this “Always On” nature of a future Mobile VoIP product that we are beginning to see in hybrid Cellular phones, and for any of you playing with them it becomes quite clear that battery life cannot keep up with a pure SIP client mobile solution.
We have yet another major issue in North America with the capacity of Internet Bandwidth falling behind the world quickly, while our costs are not declining as rapidly as in many foreign markets. I note in Jim Baller’s April 10, 2008 broadband newsletter that Japan’s price per Mbps for its highest bandwidth offerings ($0.13/Mbps) is considerably lower than the U.S. ($2.83/Mbps), and that the average download speed in Japan is now 93.7 Mbps, while the U.S. is more than 10 times slower at 8.9 Mbps.
It is for this reason that current practical implementation of a Mobile VoIP solution must remain a “bridge” to broadband networks and operate over existing Cellular infrastructure and in a cooperative fashion with the incumbent providers.
Look out for the WiMax 802.16m standard (see http://wirelessman.org/tgm/) to settle the score between networks and devices. I predict the convergence of 3G technology andWiFi ( News - Alert) to mature into a 4G standard offering 100 Mbps (mobile) and 1 Gbps (fixed) coverage by 2010. I can only hope that this timetable helps explain the “gap” we face until both technology and business models adapt to a very rapidly changing environment. Mobile VoIP is just the beginning — soon expect the “V” in VoIP to also mean Video.
Mark Hewitt is Chief Strategic Officer of i2Telecom (News - Alert) International, Inc. For more information, visit them online at www.i2telecom.com.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Securing your VoIP Connection from eavesdroppers
Internet telephony can connect you to the world. But what can you do to keep the entire world from listening in on your calls?
It's no secret that Internet telephony is vulnerable to eavesdroppers, much more so than conventional phone calls. That's because IP phones aren't part of the public phone network, where tapping requires a specific, physical wire connection. Calls transmitted via a LAN, a WAN or the Internet can be easily intercepted by anyone with a protocol analyzer, simply by capturing and analyzing the voice packets. This means that just about anyone can snoop on your business and personal calls, including employees, business partners, competitors, law-enforcement authorities and government officials.
Since you probably don't like the idea of everybody and anybody listening to your conversations, you'll want to take action to ensure your VoIP privacy. The best way to accomplish this is with encryption.
As you probably already know, VoIP voice traffic is data that is transmitted over networks. This means, like any type of computer data, VoIP can be protected by encryption. Unfortunately, while VoIP encryption tools are widely available, not many people have taken the minimal time and effort required to use the technology. That's a shame, because encryption can make it make it nearly impossible for someone to snoop on IP telephony calls. Here's a look at five different VoIP encryption approaches.
Zfone:Perhaps the easiest way to encrypt VoIP calls is with Zfone. The software's chief designer is Phil Zimmermann, who created PGP (Pretty Good Privacy), the world's most widely used email encryption software. The technology is simple enough to be installed and used by just about anyone. The software's biggest drawback is that it requires both callers to install the application. This means that calls to people you already know, at least those who are willing to install Zfone, will be secure. But calls to banks, brokers, government agencies, and various other organizations and strangers won't necessarily be protected.
Internal Encryption: Many VoIP clients have responded to customer security concerns by incorporating encryption into their software. Skype Ltd., for example, has installed encryption support into its proprietary software. Check your client's provider to see if any encryption services are available.
TLS (Transport Layer Security) and IPsec (IP Security):TLS and IPsec are handy ways of encrypting VoIP calls. TLS encrypts VoIP data traveling between two applications, while IPsec encrypts information for two devices and all the applications running on them. Both protocols aim to keep unauthorized parties from interfering with or listening to calls, and they are almost impossible to manipulate externally. Both approaches are well worth considering.
SRTP (Secure Real-Time Transfer Protocol):SRTP is ideal for protecting VoIP traffic because it has a minimal effect on call quality. For each call you make, a unique encryption key is created, which makes eavesdropping almost impossible. This attribute alone makes SRTP a good choice for day-to-day calls, as well as highly confidential conversations.
VPN (Virtual Private Network):If your business has a VPN, you can leverage its built-in encryption feature to protect your IP telephony calls. Best of all, this protection is extended to all users — even traveling employees who log in to the VPN from a laptop. Remember, however, that a VPN can only secure the data from gateway to gateway. Once calls are on your LAN, you'll need additional protection.
People expect their phone calls to be as private as when they're speaking to someone in their own office or home. VoIP technology by itself can't guarantee this level of protection, so it's up to you to provide the safeguard — encryption — that will keep your conversations confidential.
It's no secret that Internet telephony is vulnerable to eavesdroppers, much more so than conventional phone calls. That's because IP phones aren't part of the public phone network, where tapping requires a specific, physical wire connection. Calls transmitted via a LAN, a WAN or the Internet can be easily intercepted by anyone with a protocol analyzer, simply by capturing and analyzing the voice packets. This means that just about anyone can snoop on your business and personal calls, including employees, business partners, competitors, law-enforcement authorities and government officials.
Since you probably don't like the idea of everybody and anybody listening to your conversations, you'll want to take action to ensure your VoIP privacy. The best way to accomplish this is with encryption.
As you probably already know, VoIP voice traffic is data that is transmitted over networks. This means, like any type of computer data, VoIP can be protected by encryption. Unfortunately, while VoIP encryption tools are widely available, not many people have taken the minimal time and effort required to use the technology. That's a shame, because encryption can make it make it nearly impossible for someone to snoop on IP telephony calls. Here's a look at five different VoIP encryption approaches.
Zfone:Perhaps the easiest way to encrypt VoIP calls is with Zfone. The software's chief designer is Phil Zimmermann, who created PGP (Pretty Good Privacy), the world's most widely used email encryption software. The technology is simple enough to be installed and used by just about anyone. The software's biggest drawback is that it requires both callers to install the application. This means that calls to people you already know, at least those who are willing to install Zfone, will be secure. But calls to banks, brokers, government agencies, and various other organizations and strangers won't necessarily be protected.
Internal Encryption: Many VoIP clients have responded to customer security concerns by incorporating encryption into their software. Skype Ltd., for example, has installed encryption support into its proprietary software. Check your client's provider to see if any encryption services are available.
TLS (Transport Layer Security) and IPsec (IP Security):TLS and IPsec are handy ways of encrypting VoIP calls. TLS encrypts VoIP data traveling between two applications, while IPsec encrypts information for two devices and all the applications running on them. Both protocols aim to keep unauthorized parties from interfering with or listening to calls, and they are almost impossible to manipulate externally. Both approaches are well worth considering.
SRTP (Secure Real-Time Transfer Protocol):SRTP is ideal for protecting VoIP traffic because it has a minimal effect on call quality. For each call you make, a unique encryption key is created, which makes eavesdropping almost impossible. This attribute alone makes SRTP a good choice for day-to-day calls, as well as highly confidential conversations.
VPN (Virtual Private Network):If your business has a VPN, you can leverage its built-in encryption feature to protect your IP telephony calls. Best of all, this protection is extended to all users — even traveling employees who log in to the VPN from a laptop. Remember, however, that a VPN can only secure the data from gateway to gateway. Once calls are on your LAN, you'll need additional protection.
People expect their phone calls to be as private as when they're speaking to someone in their own office or home. VoIP technology by itself can't guarantee this level of protection, so it's up to you to provide the safeguard — encryption — that will keep your conversations confidential.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Enterprise VoIP Feature
Enterprise VoIP system sales are now far outpacing those of legacy systems. In fact, as of last year, VoIP system sales showed 31 percent growth over the year before, while sales of traditional voice systems fell by 20 percent during the same period. The two fastest growing VoIP system vendors, according to the study, are Cisco Systems and Avaya. Meanwhile, VoIP system vendors Alcatel, NEC, Nortel, and Siemens are all treading water.
Worldwide PBX revenue declined 1.4 percent in 2005, the turning point year. In 2004, the market's total revenue was $8.5 billion. The sector hit a low of $8.38 billion in 2005. On the other hand,IP PBX an upward trend, thanks to VoIP growth. IP PBX revenue grew by at least 15 percent to reach $2.88 billion. Total revenue from converged PBXs grew by 10 percent to $1.38 billion. The combined revenue of $4.26 billion from IP PBX sales and converged PBX sales exceeded the traditional PBX revenue of $4.12 billion for the first time that year, according toGlobal Sources.
At the beginning, the voice quality for those using VoIP was not as good as with a traditional phone line. However the continual technological advancements have meant that the difference in quality is now not as apparent. For this reason and many others, there are many that are already abandoning existing telephone networks and solely using VoIP.
Five Major Small-Business VoIP Solutions and Products
Here are some of the Small Business VoIP solutions and Products
1. IP phone.
2. IP - PBX using normal PC architecture.
3. Network routers with VoIP support.
4. Hybrid PBX - Supports very less analog ports with VoIP.
5. Hybrid PBX - Supports mostly 30 analog ports with VoIP.
Click here to find the details.
1. IP phone.
2. IP - PBX using normal PC architecture.
3. Network routers with VoIP support.
4. Hybrid PBX - Supports very less analog ports with VoIP.
5. Hybrid PBX - Supports mostly 30 analog ports with VoIP.
Click here to find the details.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
VoIP in ‘08 - Good News, Bad News
With a new year, comes new worries about vulnerabilities, attacks and the like, and 2008 is no different. Whether it’s pertaining to VoIP, IT or just your e-mail account, the stuff is out there swirling around and although it’s anybody’s guess where it can land, it can be an educated guess. The folks at Network World have a good piece on what we can expect in terms of VoIP vulnerabilities in the new year and while the bad news is that threats and attacks will still continue, the good news is that from their vantage point, the situation is not as critical. Phew! You can read the entire piece right here, but in the meantime, a short excerpt:
The potential danger is very real. VoIP is susceptible to the many exploits that networks generally are heir to — denial of service, buffer overflows and more. VoIP PBXs are servers on corporate networks and are only as secure as the networks themselves.In addition, there are many voice-specific attacks and threats. These have been chronicled by researchers and vendors intending to alert users and suggest ways to guard against them.
For instance, two protocols widely used in VoIP — H.323 and Inter Asterisk eXchange — have been shown to be vulnerable to sniffing during authentication, which can reveal passwords that later can be used to compromise the voice network. Implementations of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), an alternative VoIP protocol, can leave VoIP networks open to unauthorized transport of data.
In addition, tools that can help find vulnerable deployments have been published online by a VoIPSA, an industry group dedicated to securing VoIP. The VoIPSA tools are intended to help businesses test and secure their networks, but these and other online tools can be used to probe for weaknesses as well.
Still, there have been few exploits so far and none that have been widespread or crippling to businesses. “We are not hearing about attacks. We don’t think they are happening,” says Lawrence Orans, an analyst with Gartner.
Part of the reason may be that the largest VoIP vendors use proprietary protocols, such as Cisco’s Skinny, Nortel’s Unistim and Avaya’s variant of H.323, Orans says. That makes them difficult to obtain and study for potential security cracks. “These systems are not readily available to the bad guys,” he says.
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