The popular internet telephone provider Tpad is shunning the approach shown by its competitors by providing a unique incoming SIP number to every customer free of charge.

While most other VoIP companies charge yearly for this number, Tpad are offering this service for free and will provide as many as the customer wants at no extra charge.

Steven Johns, Marketing Manager for Tpad, said: "We believe that it is unfair to charge people just for a number to receive calls -- that's why we give all our customers a free number.

Aastra has significantly expanded its SIP Telephone portfolio offering with the launch of the Aastra 5i Series. Comprised of four new telephones and two expansion modules, this new family of SIP-based products allows Aastra to offer additional choice and flexibility to customers looking for standards-based IP desktop and mobility solutions.

Designed by a team of North American and European engineers, the Aastra 5i family features an elegant global design, large LCD display screens, additional programmable function keys and expansion modules for console and reception functions. The family also incorporates all of the productivity enhancing features found on Aastra’s existing SIP telephones including; embedded XML browsers, full duplex speakerphones, and an industry leading simplified deployment and upgrade design. Continuing a commitment to be fully interoperable, the Aastra 5i series has also been designed to integrate with leading IP Telephony platforms making it appeal to a wide range of SMB and Enterprise customers.

Pingtel, announced that version 3.6 of the company’s SIPxchange ECS solution has been released. The 3.6 version is focused on extending Pingtel’s Enterprise Communications Server (SIP PBX) leadership through more robust technology and features, improved flexibility, and increased value of the SIPxchange solution by further reducing operational cost.

The new version of Pingtel’s SIPxchange ECS also enhances the solution’s superior voice quality. By being built on the SIP standard, SIPxchange ECS has always routed voice packets on a peer-to-peer basis along the fastest path between end-points and not through the PBX. Now, in version 3.6, SIPxchange ECS fully supports Polycom HD Voice technology and the new HDVoice-equipped Polycom IP phone, the SoundPoint IP 650. Using the SoundPoint IP 650 with SIPxchange ECS will enable clearer calls and more productive communications.

Vocalscape announces that they are participating in an open source softphone project - the Ekiga softphone.

"Joining the open source community working on the Ekiga softphone allows Vocalscape to share our experience with VoIP technology and provides our customers and end-users with added functionality more quickly," said Ron McIntyre, President of Vocalscape. "Soon, in addition to our Eyefon softphone for Windows, end-users running Linux operating systems will be able to make calls on the Vocalscape network. Additionally, the Ekiga softphone will give users some added functionality such as video calling and text messaging." The number of subscribers to retail VoIP services rose by 83% during 2005, from 10.3 million at the beginning of 2005 to over 18.7 million subscribers worldwide by the end of 2005.

Ekiga (formerly known as GnomeMeeting) is an open source VoIP and video conferencing application for GNOME. Additionally, the first version of Ekiga for Windows was released recently. Ekiga uses both the H.323 and SIP protocols. It supports many audio and video codecs, and is interoperable with other SIP compliant software and also with Microsoft NetMeeting. Learn more about the Ekiga softphone at: http://ekiga.org

Arcosoft announces the release of VONaLink SoloRecord for Mac OS X. SoloRecord works with any VoIP phone system based on the open SIP standard, such as Vonage, to record phone calls and to provide screen pops. Also available is a separate ScreenPop product, if recording is not required. SoloRecord and ScreenPop were previously available only for Windows.

With traditional phone systems, calls are recorded with either analog equipment or expensive, proprietary products from the phone company. With the latest VoIP systems built on open, standard protocols, calls can be recorded by monitoring network packets. Call recording benefits a company by allowing business transactions over the phone to be verified and disputes resolved.

BorderWare and LignUp, respective leaders in IP security and converged communications solutions, announce the integration of BorderWare's SIPassure VoIP Security Gateway into the LignUp Communications Application Server. Powered by BorderWare, LignUp's server provides enterprises and service providers with a single source for cost effectively building and deploying secure VoIP-enabled applications across any network. The integrated product is available today from LignUp. It can be implemented by enterprises and service providers as an on-premise or hosted solution.

Under the agreement, LignUp is embedding BorderWare's application-layer security into its Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) based software. The LignUp Communications Applications Server and LignUp Communications Web services provide all the functionality developers need to voice-enable Web applications, portals and processes. The combination of LignUp software and BorderWare's SIPassure enables secure deployment by protecting against SPIT (Spam over Internet Telephony), Denial of Service (DoS), unauthorized registration and other types of VoIP attacks that would easily penetrate packet-layer security devices. Because BorderWare is network-agnostic, companies can extend the benefits of secure, VoIP-enabled business processes to remote workers, supply chain partners and other authorized users, regardless of how they connect into an intranet or secure website.

snom announced the latest addition to its line of IP business phones, the snom 370. The snom 370 will provide users with the flexibility and features needed to maximize productivity and efficiency in a business environment. Larger display, expanded memory and VPN access offer business users a simple and secure way to manage calls.

“The high quality, security and customization that snom provides is very attractive to business users,” said Michael Knieling, CFO and executive vice president of marketing and sales for snom. “With the addition of the 370 to our line of SIP-based IP business phones, snom is able to provide a business-class phone with a rich feature set at a fraction of the cost of the other VoIP phones on the market today.”

Andy Abramson and Om Malik talk about GizmoProject's release of GizmoCall, a new web based calling service, which is now live.

Andy Abramson says, "So what does this mean? Well for starters since you can point any SIP service to GizmoProject it means that the idea of a softphone as a piece of software becomes unneeded, because any browser now becomes a softphone. That's very similar in approach to VoIPster and Abbeynet, but with a difference. GizmoPoject already has hundreds of thousands of users and they have built some telco relationships with carriers such as SingTel. Gizmo also leverages Level3's network and capabilities and since migrating away from some Tier 2 carriers here in the USA has seen their quality steadily rise."

Om Malik gives GizmoCall a big thumbs up, "From a usability standpoint, this one gets a big thumbs up from me. After installing this tiny plugin, you are given a screen that is pretty much a Flash-based replica of the Gizmo Project soft client."

Blue Networks announced general availability of its next-generation customer provisioning and control panel and began free VOIP trials.

"We're very excited about our latest addition to the stable of technologies here at Blue," said Stephen Misel, Director of Technology of Blue Networks, Inc. "Our next-generation customer control panel was designed from the ground-up to be powerful and easy to use," Misel added. Some of the features in the web-based system include balance notifications, phone number provisioning, SIP/IAX trunks, CDR and Channel support.

Free Trial
"We invite anyone with a need for SIP origination and termination services to sign up for our free VOIP trial and evaluate our technologies," said Jed Stafford, President of Blue Networks, Inc. Trial accounts are created immediately, and with no strings attached. "Potential customers are given ten minutes of US termination and access to Blue's customer tools, including the next-generation provisioning and control panel, to evaluate the services," Stafford said.

For information: http://www.sellvoip.net

CosmoCom has forged a strategic partnership with BandTel, yielding tremendous potential savings for enterprise contact centers. The combination of CosmoCom’s all-IP unified customer communications platform and BandTel’s session initiation protocol (SIP) trunks will optimize the overall cost structure of IP contact centers.

Many enterprises have recognized business benefits by adopting CosmoCom technology on their premises using VoIP gateways with legacy telephone lines. The significant gateway-related costs were justified by the overall benefits. But with CosmoCom and BandTel joining forces, companies who deploy CosmoCom technology on their premises with BandTel’s SIP trunks can completely eliminate the hardware, maintenance and IT personnel costs associated with VoIP gateways, making the cost benefits of the IP call center even more dramatic.

Germany's VoIP service provider Betamax provides corporate customers with overseas phone connections into over 449 national landline and mobile networks from EUR 0.005 per minute via www.voicetrading.com. A technological pioneer in this field, the company also provides simple and rapid installation for all SIP communications devices along with the low per-minute charges.

"While only private users were able to profit from the low costs of Voice-over-IP up to now, we have developed a suitable solution for businesses," says Gary Sherman, marketing manager at Betamax GmbH. The target group mainly consists of call centres and call shops that conduct a large number of international calls. Regardless of the number of SIP devices and extension numbers, one single account at www.voicetrading.com is enough to secure the cost advantages of this service. After registration, the access data only need to be entered once into each SIP device or router to reduce telephone expenses by up to 90%.

CounterPath Solutions announced today that Technology Marketing Corporation's INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine has named CounterPath's eyeBeam 1.5 softphone as a recipient of a 2006 Product of the Year Award. INTERNET TELEPHONY has been the VoIP Authority Since 1998.

CounterPath's SIP softphones, including the eyeBeam 1.5 softphone, and softphone SDKs (Software Development Kits) provide VoIP, Video over IP, IM (Instant Messaging) and Presence functionality and can be either co-branded or private labeled. Built upon open standards in conformance with SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), CounterPath's software application suite powers the VoIP solutions of some of the world's largest service providers and equipment manufacturers including Cisco, Lucent, AT&T, British Telecom and Deutsche Telecom.

Zoom Technologies has reportedly begun shipping the Model 5800 Zoom VoIP Freedom, a nifty little analog telephone adapter (ATA) that lets a user choose which VoIP service they want to use based on their needs.

As the company so observantly points out, most VoIP providers tend to hold their customers hostage by furnishing hardware which only works with their service. Zoom’s new VoIP Freedom, though, lets them choose from up to 25 SIP-based providers using a Web-based chooser. Using the chooser (which allows for very quick and easy change in service provider) a user can choose VoIP services from providers in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The chooser’s menus are available in several languages including English, Spanish, German and Vietnamese. Once a user selects a service, the Zoom VoIP Freedom device automatically configures itself for that service. Best of all, there is no charge for registration – and the device itself costs only $59.

AccessLine Communications completed a multi-year migration of its telecommunications network to the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) standard. Through leveraging its highly flexible SBC technology and sophisticated internal signaling, AccessLine can normalize complex SIP interoperation nuances and offer unified access to multiple VoIP domains via a single interconnection with AccessLine. The company is one of the first nationwide VoIP application service providers to invest in – and complete – nationwide network support for the SIP standard.

Nokia announces that users of the Nokia N80 Internet Edition will have easy access to low-cost calls over the Internet with SIPphone's Gizmo Voice over IP (VoIP) services. The Nokia N80 Internet Edition is optimized for SIP-based Internet calls, and now Nokia and SIPphone have worked together to create an easy way to configure and make calls using Gizmo VoIP directly from your multimedia computer.

"Mobilizing the Internet is a key focus for Nokia and I'm excited to see how a multimedia computer like the Nokia N80 Internet Edition can provide people with the convenience of Internet calling," said Ralph Eric Kunz, Vice President, Multimedia, at Nokia. "Our collaboration with SIPphone makes Internet calling easy, plus our open VoIP platform allows for any SIP-based VoIP provider to incorporate their services in our device architecture, giving consumers the best of the Internet world."

Nokia N80 Internet Edition users download the free Gizmo VoIP settings from the Download! folder in their device, automatically beginning the installation process. During installation, users go through a simple two-step process for creating a free account that they'll use to make Internet calls. Other capabilities, such as customizing voicemail greetings, purchasing Gizmo Call Out credit for dialing landlines and mobile devices and managing Gizmo account settings are available by using the Nokia N80 Internet Edition to browse the www.gizmovoip.com web site.