snom has forged a new technology partnership with SIP Print, a maker of SIP-based call recording, accounting and management software. After a battery of tests, SIP Print’s call recording platform has been approved as interoperable with snom’s portfolio of desktop phones and IP PBXs, including the snom ONE plus IP PBX appliance.

With both companies well-entrenched in the small and medium-sized business space, the partnership offers smaller companies and organizations an enterprise-class solution for call recording and accounting in a package designed specifically for SMBs. For organizations either required to track and record calls for compliance reasons, such as emergency call centers or small financial or legal institutions, or interested in call recording for internal business intelligence purposes, the snom-SIP Print combination provides an easily installed and managed, end-to-end solution with minimal capital investment.

Integra Telecom has earned Digium’s SIP Trunking Interoperability certification with Digium’s Switchvox SMB unified communications solution.

This certification enables the Digium UC solution to work seamlessly with Integra’s SIP Trunking. Integra is expanding the number of business phone systems certified to operate with its SIP Trunking service so its business customers can benefit in the following ways:

• Gain more efficient use of bandwidth by combining voice and data networks into a single service
• Receive dynamic bandwidth allocation so that voice is prioritized over data, meaning Internet bandwidth will increase when voice sessions are not in use
• Maximize capacity through multiple compression options that place more calls over the same bandwidth with no need for additional circuits

The SIP Forum announces that it has ratified Version 1.1 of the SIPconnect Technical Recommendation, with the unanimous approval of the SIP Forum Board of Directors. The new version of the recommendation, developed by the SIP Forum’s SIPconnect Task Group, is a follow-on to Version 1.0 ratified in 2008, and provides a more definitive and standardized set of guidelines for seamless, end-to-end interoperability between SIP-enabled IP-PBXs and service provider networks.

The SIPconnect Technical Recommendation, which represents the consensus of a broad cross section of the global telecom community, is one of the most important initiatives of the SIP Forum, aimed at providing an up-to-date, international framework for direct IP peering between SIP-enabled enterprises and service provider networks, ensuring the interoperability of network elements across the IP environment and providing a level playing field for vendors and service providers as they develop new equipment and IP applications for deployment.

For those of you looking to replace PSTN connectivity, so you can take full advantage of VoIP, giving you much cheaper local, toll-free, domestic and international long-distance services, then SIP trunking can help you save money. That’s why it’s increasingly popular.

SIP trunks eliminate costly time-division multiplexing trunks and gateways, allowing calls to be routed over the carrier’s backbone and use the same IP connection for all communications.

But the caveat is that it needs to be secured. With most VoIP systems, the PSTN serves as a barrier between a company and the outside world, minimising the risk of attack from the Internet. If SIP trunking replaces the PSTN, then that barrier is removed and your phone system becomes vulnerable to IP-based attacks through the SIP trunk.

This system is able to combine data, voice and high-speed Internet connectivity over one connection, thereby providing existing and potential customers significant cost-savings while enjoying the benefits of VoIP.

SIP is a service that is deemed more cost-effective than any other telephony solutions available today. It is a streamlined next generation IP telephony solution which allows exchange of voice traffic through Internet connectivity rather than traditional physical cables or PRIs, which translates to cost savings and enhanced efficiency.

4PSA announces the revamping of its Certified Trunk Provider Program, a partnership program through which SIP Providers can attest the compatibility between their SIP trunking solutions and 4PSA's award-winning VoipNow Unified Communications Platform.

4PSA Certified Trunk Providers will have their services showcased directly in the VoipNow web interface through provider templates. These templates simplify SIP channel configuration, are automatically pushed to all VoipNow installations in real-time and they are easily accessible to VoipNow administrators.

ITP VoIP is offering two digital phone plans custom-tailored for businesses. The hosted PBX and SIP trunking plans both start as low as $19.99 and allow business owners to choose between managing their systems in-house or letting ITP VoIP handle everything remotely.

Many businesses - small businesses in particular - are not interested in hiring an additional person or persons for an IT department to handle their phone and computer systems, so ITP VoIP offers to do it for them with its VoIP hosted PBX service.

The hosted PBX plans begin with the Metered Plus plan at under $20 per month. From there, clients can upgrade to a selection of Unlimited Plus plans offering support for multiple business lines, as well as unlimited calling through the U.S. and Canada. The hosted PBX packages include conference calling, caller ID, online call log viewing, number portability, music on hold, and individual extensions, among other features.

Tpad announced its confidence that SIP trunking services will reach its all-time high demand in 2011. It announced that with companies all over the world seeking to improve existing telephone systems, it is only a matter of time for SIP trunking to be integrated fully into the telecommunications industry and deployed in business enterprises worldwide. "We are positive that this new service we provide will become widely accepted, especially for companies that make and take calls from clients, local and international," says Tpad CEO Tahir Mohsan.

SIP Trunking is a telecommunications technology that allows convergence of voice and data into one single, merged line. The SIP trunk will serve as a converter that enables the data network to access voice traffic through Internet connectivity. With SIP Trunking, companies can enjoy local and long distance calls, video conference, E911, caller ID, and directory listing features with their current telephony systems without shelling out big investments. Calls are specifically routed through a VoIP network so call charges are significantly reduced. Tpad Marketing Manager Steven Johns adds, "This new technology allows enhanced use of our clients' existing IP or IP-PBX phones without the need for additional physical hardware like PSTN circuits to convert TDM to voice."

Windstream and IPitomy announced that they have successfully completed interoperability testing between SIP products and services. Windstream is now interoperable with IPitomy’s Pure IP PBX platform.

IPitomy designs and manufactures IP telephony equipment for businesses. Windstream delivers telecommunications services to residential and business customers in 29 states and the District of Columbia.

IPitomy’s PBX and Windtream services create a complete telecommunication solution for businesses of all sizes using SIP trunking as well as traditional TDM services.

Sipera Systems and voipGATE announces a partnership to better secure enterprise UC and SIP trunks. The partnership enables voipGATE customers to benefit from comprehensive UC security through the Sipera UC-Sec appliances, and the Sipera E-SBC session border controller, the industry's first device for SIP trunk termination to include a unique enterprise VoIP integration module for rapid installation and implementation.

voipGATE's greatest customer advantage is the cost savings from inbound and outbound telephone charges. This translates into immediate savings for businesses. Many voipGATE clients have found cost reductions of 25 percent or substantially higher as a result of using voipGATE as their SIP VoIP provider. Conventional local and international telephone services costs are a sizable percentage of most businesses' current telecom budget. voipGATE SIP Trunking Services are designed to save money while delivering excellent quality.

With the partnership with Internet service provider Supanet, Tpad can now provide business-grade connectivity that will make more efficient use of the an organization's existing PBX Tpad telephone systems. This coming together of sorts represent a marriage of two integral services that the business industry needs most for high quality communication lines within the company and out. As Tpad CEO Tahir Mohsan puts it, "Tpad is committed to providing quality services that aptly meets the needs of the times. We continue to seek towards addressing the needs of our clients and the businesses we cater to, which is why this partnership became possible. We are looking forward to even more innovative solutions in the near future."

Junction Networks announces a new service, getonsip.com, with the sole mission of providing free SIP addresses to the world. With a getonsip.com address, users can communicate with anyone on the Internet via the open protocol SIP.

The team at Junction Networks hopes to encourage more people to “get on SIP” with getonsip.com. By simply filling out a few fields, visitors can get a SIP address in the form of name@getonsip.com for free. They can then register a SIP device or softphone with the credentials sent to them via email. That’s all users need to start making and receiving free calls to and from friends, family, and colleagues who are also using SIP.

Mirial announces that Motorola Xoom and HTC ThunderBoltT have been added to the list of certified devices for Mirial ClearSea.

Motorola Xoom is the first Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet. It features dual core processor and 10.1" widescreen HD display, 2-megapixel front camera and 5-megapixel back.

ClearSea is the only professional video conferencing solution including a software client for Android devices that enables organization to connect Pc, Mac, Android or iOS devices and any standards-based H.323/SIP equipment, such as videoconferencing room systems.

Cbeyond announced that chief technology officer Chris Gatch has been re-elected to the Session Initiation Protocol Forum Board of Directors. The SIP Forum is an industry association composed of decision makers from leading IP companies that seeks to further the interoperability and adoption of products and services using SIP communication tools.

During previous leadership roles with the SIP Forum, Gatch engineered the transition of the SIPconnect Interface Specification, which facilitates connections between users and service providers, from Cbeyond to the SIP Forum. In 2006, a team led by Gatch released the SIPconnect Technical Recommendation establishing the first industry standard for SIP trunking between IP PBX and service provider networks. During his new term he looks forward to supporting the SIP Forum’s roll out of a major update to SIPconnect in version 1.1.

Market research firm Infonetics Research this week released VoIP and UC Services and Subscribers, a market share and forecast report that includes two Business VoIP Service Provider Scorecards that will be published later this year, and an IP Centrex Provider Tracker highlighting deployments by provider, region, service, and platform.

ANALYST NOTE

“The VoIP service market weathered the economic turmoil of the last couple of years, and, with increasing customer adoption, reached $49.8 billion in 2010 (compared to $34.8 billion in 2008). While the residential services segment remains the largest of the market at 69% of total revenue, business VoIP services are growing at faster rates; a notable example: SIP trunking had a breakout year with 143% revenue growth in 2010,” notes Diane Myers, directing analyst for VoIP and IMS at Infonetics Research.