Tag Archive
Skype to FCC: Keep the Internet Open & Neutral
Skype, a big proponent of open networks and net neutrality, in a filing today with the Federal Communications Commission argued that net neutrality was “about growing the broadband ecosystem and preserving a borderless, open Internet” and said it would “promote investment, jobs and innovation.” The company said that it “welcomes the Commission’s focus on preserving... »
FCC looks at ways to assert authority over Web access
The Federal Communications Commission is considering aggressive moves to stake out its authority to oversee consumer access to the Internet, as a recent court hearing and industry opposition have cast doubt on its power over Web service providers. The FCC, which regulates public access to telephone and television services, has been working to claim the... »
Verizon Looks to Shake Up Wireless Pricing
Larry Dignan (ZDNet) submits: Verizon Wireless (VZ) is going on the offensive as it tweaks pricing plans, pares its device portfolio and markets heavily with its “there’s a map for that” ad campaign. The grand plan for Verizon Wireless: Grab customers, get them using a lot of data and then upsell them to 4G... »
Skype to FCC: Keep Internet Open & Neutral
Skype, a big proponent of open networks and net neutrality, in a filing today with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), argued that net neutrality was “about growing the broadband ecosystem and preserving a borderless, open Internet” and said it would “promote investment, jobs and innovation.” The company said that it “welcomes the Commission’s focus on... »
Virgin Media’s Blaze of Glory
James Enck submits: I’ve previously sung the praises of Virgin Media’s (VMED) top-notch treasury team, and once again they’ve shown what they’re made of. On Monday the company announced a £500m offering of senior secured notes, following on from the senior facilities amendment process of last year, which allowed the company to issue bonds ranking... »
Ericsson Beaming With ‘Pride’: Buys Systems Integrator
Telecom equipment maker Ericsson (ERIC) is buying an Italian consultancy and systems integrator to better offer services such as billing and customer relationship management. Ericsson said on Tuesday it’s purchasing Pride SpA. It did not release the transaction’s financial details. Ericsson, based in Stockholm, will take on about 1,000 new employees, …(136 words) Related Topics: billing,... »
GL Debuts Enhanced Voice-Band Analyzer
GL Communications has announced the release of enhanced Voice-Band Analyzer (VBA) – an analysis tool for monitoring voice-band traffic over VoIP, TDM, and wireless networks.“It can host a variety of analysis algorithms,” said Jagdish Vadalia, GL senior manager. “Built-in algorithms include ITU-T P.56 Active Voice Level analysis, Line Echo (Hybrid) …(251 words) Related Topics: BT,... »
Siemens, Shared Technologies To Partner
Siemens Enterprise Communications said last week that it planned to announce a VAR agreement this week with Shared Technologies. The five-year agreement will enable Shared Technologies to sell the Siemens OpenScape platform on a seat license basis. The company’s move will no doubt boost its channel penetration in the United …(110 words) ... »
E-Bond Trading Platform to Create Wider Investor: Syed Salim Raza
Governor, State Bank of Pakistan, Syed Salim Raza on Monday said that Electronic Bond Trading Platform will enhance investors’ base of the sovereign debt market as it would attract investors from the non-banking sector as well resulting in higher liquidity in the government securities. Speaking at the launching ceremony of this bond here at State... »
New Product Could Ease Handset Radiation Fears
Consumer Electronics Show (CES) — Better known as the name one the world’s first arcade games, Pong might just keep you safe from harm. Pong is a company that makes skins for mobile phones. It released its iPhone skin last year and is now taking pre-orders for its BlackBerry Curve …(176 words) ... »
AT&T’s iPhone Won’t Connect at CES
Consumer Electronics Show (CES)—ATT Inc.(T) can’t catch a break. The Washington Post reported numerous iPhone connectivity problems at this week’s event in Las Vegas, citing “many faces and expressions of frustration.”One B2B writer said she spent 15 minutes trying to refresh her e-mail on her iPhone Friday afternoon. “This is …(172 words) Related Topics: AT&T,... »
BT Global Services Hires Jeff Kelly as CEO
BT’s global services unit got a new CEO on Friday.Jeff Kelly, a U.S. citizen, comes to the Britain-based telecom service provider from Electronic Data Systems Corp. Kelly ran that $10 billion company, which was bought by Hewlett-Packard Co. in 2008. Kelly replaces Hanif Lalani who said he’s leaving BT to …(247 words) ... »
BT Global Services Hires Jeff Kelly as CEO
BT’s global services unit got a new CEO on Friday.Jeff Kelly, a U.S. citizen, comes to the Britain-based telecom service provider from Electronic Data Systems Corp. Kelly ran that $10 billion company, which was bought by Hewlett-Packard Co. in 2008. Kelly replaces Hanif Lalani who said he’s leaving BT to …(247 words) Related Topics: 2008,... »
So What Should Motorola Do Now?
Earlier this week, when Google announced its Nexus One phone, it appeared that the new Android-driven connected device ecosystem is going to be a three-headed monster: Qualcomm as provider of the chips, Google as maker of the operating system and HTC as the preferred device manufacturer. (In the PC-centric WinTel world, the infamous troika... »
Google Nexus One Review
The Nexus One. In the modern climate of hyped (and over-hyped) smartphone launches, Google’s official entry into the phone-sales game has excelled in a department where many find difficulty: generating legitimate excitement. Of course, long before the name Nexus One or the recent bounty of pictures and details existed, the very concept of a... »
Skype puts HD video calling on your TV
Finally something from one of my favorite movies, Back to the Future II, has come true. No, we haven’t invented hover skateboards–this is a VoIP-focused publication, remember? We can, however, finally get video phone calls via our HD televisions using Skype. Skype has launched an HD video calling feature for PCs as long as users... »
Verizon CEO Talks 4G, Importance of iPhone Alternatives
Sam Diaz submits: You can’t win a wireless war by competing on price alone. At the Citi Global Entertainment, Media and Telecom Conference in San Francisco, Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg said that his company tries to differentiate itself by strengthening the value proposition. Sure, you have to compete on price for service plans... »
Nortel gets court OK on GENBAND CVAS bid
Nortel has obtained Canadian and U.S. court approval for GENBAND’s stalking horse agreement as well as bidding procedures for the sale of its Carrier VoIP and Application Solutions business. Nortel announced that at a joint hearing it obtained orders from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and the Ontario Superior Court... »
Level 3 Tender Offer Aims to Unload High-Interest Debt
Level 3 Communications Inc. (LVLT) plans to sell eight-year notes for $640 million to help pay for the proposed repurchase of $550 million in high-interest debt that will mature in 2013. The Broomfield, Colo.-based company has been paying between $500 million and $600 million in interest each year since 2001; it …(190 words) Related Topics: BT,... »
Skype Brings 720p to HDTVs and PCs
Skype today introduced a high-definition (HD) video calling service that will work on computers and televisions. The newest version Skype 4.2 Beta for Windows, supports 720p video calling in a 1280×720 pixel resolution at 30 frames per second. The latest version of Skype will come pre-installed on some LG Electronics Inc. and... »
Cloud Telephony Explained And Dissected At ITEXPO East
If you want to get a better idea of what “cloud telephony” is, or just want to start discovering what it could mean for your business, you can’t miss Cloud Communications Summit in Miami taking place on January 20-22. Organized by pal Thomas Howe, better known as Mr Mashup, this summit wants to give you... »
Airtel Introduces Hello Tunes Lite
Bharti Airtel India’s biggest mobile operator has upgraded their one of a kind popular VAS service, Caller Ring Back Tone (CRBT) service popularly known as Hello Tunes. With this service customers… ] Related Topics: BT, call,... »
BT: IT Investment Key to Innovation, Economic Recovery
World business leaders believe underinvestment in IT has harmed innovation and cost them customers during the recession. That’s according to a new international study by BT Global Services. The Enterprise Intelligence survey has also identified the challenges facing chief information officers as enterprises begin to take on cloud services.BT says …(411 words) Related Topics: BT,... »
User Experience Matters: What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From “Objectified”
Braun's Rams influenced Apple's Ive. Photo courtesy of Gizmodo A few months ago, my friend Christian Lindholm, partner at Fjord, a convergence design agency, and father of the Series 60 interface (at Nokia) stopped by for one of our quarterly idea sessions. Our conversation eventually veered towards a topic that’s near and dear to both... »
In just 25 years, the mobile phone has transformed the way we communicate
In the early hours of New Year’s Day 1985, Michael Harrison phoned his father Sir Ernest to wish him a happy new year. There may appear nothing remarkable in such a private show of filial affection, but Sir Ernest was chairman of Racal Electronics and his son was making the first-ever mobile phone call... »
Mobile VoIP: 2010 Will Be An “Exit” Year
A few days ago I posted an article about VoIP as the “industry of the decade“, meaning that VoIP has been the industry with the highest growth in terms of cumulative revenues. 2008-2009 has also been an important period in terms of market consolidation. Ribbit has been acquired by British Telecom after a very... »
BT protest over mobile 3G licences falls on deaf ears
Lord Mandelson is to forge ahead with a consultation to extend indefinitely mobile phone companies’ 3G licences, despite the threat of a judicial review from BT. The fixed-line phone group has written a “letter before action” to the Business Secretary, condemning plans to hand over for good the valuable licences to Vodafone and its peers... »
Ribbit Fluff
I read this very nice year in review on the Ribbit blog. It highlights all kinds of things, but after a year of being part of BT one thing we have yet to hear about is revenue and customers. In the space Ribbit competes in companies like Voxeo, ifByPhone (a client) and Twilio are all... »
India Misses MNP deadline,Sets New Deadline
India has pushed the implementation of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) across selected telecom circles to March 31, 2010, a delay of three months from the earlier deadline of December 31, 2009. MNP… ] Related Topics: BT,... »
The Wish List: 7 Things We Hope Will Come True in 2010
With 2009 coming to an end, it is not surprising that everyone is making predictions about what 2010 has in store. So instead, four of us — Liz, Stacey, Sebastian and I — have put together a wish list of seven things we hope come true in 2010. Facebook Goes Public – What Silicon Valley... »