Acme Packet announced that Wind Telecomunicazioni has deployed the Net-Net session border controllers to support its new residential VoIP offering. Wind’s VoIP service promises a unique, user-friendly consumer experience and will be available to potentially 80% of Italy’s population. The Net-Net SBCs are elements of an Alcatel-Lucent triple-play deployment and IP network transformation program announced in October 2006.

The Cloud’s Hotspots get internet-rate phone calls from Truphone. From any of The Cloud’s 7,500 public Wi-Fi hotspots in the United Kingdom allows for the latest generation of Wi-Fi equipped mobile phones to make low cost calls.

Truphone's free software enables Wi-Fi-equipped mobile phones to make internet-rate phone calls (VoIP calls) over Wi-Fi connections. When the phone is not in Wi-Fi range it reverts to being a normal mobile phone.

The Cloud has hotspots across the UK, including Europe’s largest public access Wi-Fi network in a business district at Canary Wharf, Manchester city centre, and the imminent City of London Wi-Fi zone. The Cloud is constantly adding new hotspots - recently it announced the addition of 232 Little Chef restaurants - and is a leader in providing public Wi-Fi access across the UK.

Raketu Communications announced a partnership with Mnogo.ru to introduce Raketu’s peer-to-peer (p2p) voice over Internet protocol technology to the Russian market. Club Mnogo.ru, which is owned and operated by Lavtech.com who provides promotion services to hundreds of retail companies as well as operating a Web-based Consumer Club with over a million members. Using Raketu’s "RakOut" dial-out VoIP services, Russian consumers will have access to free VoIP calling to over 40 countries, including free calling to Moscow and St. Petersburg, regardless of where calls originate.

“We are extremely pleased to partner with Lavtech.com and their Mnogo.ru platform,” said Greg Parker, President of Raketu. “As a leader in the Russian market, they are an ideal partner for us in delivering localized services in their native tongue - a key component of our global strategy.”

Microsoft and Swisscom announced they are working together to deliver converged communications services to Swisscom's small and midsize businesses. By deploying the Microsoft Solution for Enhanced VoIP Services, Swisscom will be able to offer its customers a range of communications that help integrate telephony services with the PC.

Swisscom will be able to deliver a combined offering of voice, e-mail, presence, instant messaging, collaboration and desktop services to its SMB subscribers. The combination of business applications with communications tools will help SMBs improve workflow and increase productivity. For instance, users will be able to initiate telephone calls directly from their PC, forward their desk phone calls to another fixed or mobile phone, and select the preferred device for callers to reach them on.

Skype, the leading VOIP company which allows global communications between computers-to-computer for free and call-to-traditional phones at a fraction of normal prices, has a special promotion this weekend.

Aimed entirely at Skype clients in Spain who want to call phones in the U.K. using the Skype Out service. The promotion is for absolutely free calls over the weekend. It starts on Saturday December 2nd and ends on Sunday December 3rd from Midnight to Midnight the entire 48 hours.

Alberto Lorente, Skype’s Market Development Manager for Spain and Portugal says, “After the success of the Skype Tour Bus and free SkypeOut weekend calling campaigns in other countries, Skype wanted to spread its campaign to Spain, giving people free calls to UK landlines during the first weekend of December”.

To take advantage of this offer all you need is a broadband connection and to open a free Skype account at www.skype.com/go/uk/

So don't be a ham this holiday season, call home and talk to those loved one's.

Coms switches on its Internet Telephony network for UK public use. Unlike Skype, Coms will work on all devices that support the SIP protocol, which is recognised as the International standard for voice over IP (VoIP) networks, bringing simple, cheap internet telephone service to a wide range of PDAs, mobiles and landlines.

Coms uniquely lets each customer select their own free UK personal number from a range of two million Ofcom allocated numbers in 185 different geographic area codes. Incoming calls are free and calls between Coms users are also free. Coms charges low rates to UK phones, mobiles and international destinations and for enhanced messaging services.

There are over two million British households using the Internet to make calls, and numbers are only set to increase. Further, SIP is becoming standard in most portable devices. By 2008 most mobile phones and PDAs will be able to receive VoIP calls from the nearest wireless hotspot.

Skype, the global Internet communications company, announced the results of its Talk for Britain survey. According to the research, almost three quarters of respondents admitted talking to friends and family while on the toilet and 17 percent have actually fallen asleep while chatting on the phone to someone else.

The survey also revealed a number of other results suggesting that Britain is a nation of obssessive natterers. Even a small percentage of respondents admitted to talking on the phone while driving a tank!

Alistair Shrimpton, Skype’s Market Development Manager for the UK, says “The bathroom seems to be a popular place for Britain to do most of its talking. And that goes for both men and women! People love talking on the phone as well as guessing which celebrities are the biggest chatterboxes. Of course, Jonathan Ross was crowned king of chitchat but Graham Norton was relegated to third position.”

Skype is offering 6 months free landline calls for its UK subscribers to UK landlines. Provided you buy a minimum of £10 Skype Credit.

So the deal isn't totally free, however it's a decent deal if you are currently using Skype credit for international calls, sending low-cost SMS messages, and a new ringtone to personalise your Skype..

The deal is "unlimited calls to UK landlines for 6 months at £1.66 per month, which is a bargin if you call a lot of people.

How long will the promotion last?

You can claim your free calls until 31st December 2006. This means that if you are a UK user and you buy Skype Credit before 31st December, you can make free calls to UK landlines for six months starting from the activation date of your free calls.

Skype is gambling that you'll become hooked as millions of others have on calling all your friends on their old-fashioned telephones and continue to pay for the service after your free trial expires.

"Orange and Microsoft have struck a deal under which Orange's 135 million European cellphone customers will be able to exchange instant messages with the 240 million Windows Live Messenger IM users around the world."

The service is accessible from either an Orange mobile or PC and provides customers with all of Oranges portal services. These services include: email, blog, ring tones, logos and access to the Windows Live services. The Orange PC application also provides PC-to-PC free VoIP calls, video calls and send SMS.

Verizon Business announced the successful deployment of IP voice and data communications systems at The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (QEIICC) in London. The QEIICC is using IP Integrated Access, part of Verizon Business' global VoIP services, to support advanced conferencing communications services.

The QEIICC, a conference and exhibition venue situated in the heart of Westminster, is an executive agency of the newly-created Department for Communities and Local Government, and one of the first government agencies to migrate its voice services to a voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) system. The venue regularly hosts high-profile public and private-sector clients, such as the Confederation of British Industry, the California Institute of Technology and the Russian Business Federation.

SMC Networks' WiFi phone for Skype will now be able to make Internet-based Skype phone calls when within range of a Cloud hotspot. When the calls are from another Skype users the calls are entirely free. However calls to fixed and mobile users will be at a substantially reduced cost of Skypeout minutes. The phone also provides its users with access to their Skype accounts and contacts.

"The Cloud currently has some 8,500 hotspots in the UK, Germany, the Nordic countries and The Netherlands. It also operates large scale networks across the City of London, Canary Wharf, Amsterdam and seven other UK cities and two London boroughs."

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c43156) has announced the addition of Forecasting the Commercial Impact of Wireless VoIP in the USA and Western Europe to their offering.

Forecasting the Commercial Impact of Wireless VoIP in the USA and Western Europe answers your key questions:

pulvermedia announced that the VON Europe Autumn Conference & Expo will take place in Berlin, 6-8 November at the International Congress Center (ICC) in Berlin. This event marks the ninth year that the European IP communications industry has gathered at VON Europe to meet and map out the future, and the first time that pulvermedia has hosted a VON event in Germany.

Ubiquity Software announced it has been awarded a three-year contract with Inuk Networks to provide the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) platform as part of a forthcoming service targeted at the UK-based academic research, education and consumer markets. The service will include broadband Internet access, IPTV and VoIP. Through a single connection, students will be able to receive mainstream and premium television content, as well as low-cost telephony to keep in touch with fellow students, university staff and the world at large at very competitive, low cost rates.

AMITELO Wireless SL, located in Campanillas-Malaga, a 100% subsidiary of AMITELO AG (Zurich), continues the geographical expansion of its IP-network at the Costa del Sol, Spain. The company provides broadband services to, amongst others, the specific areas of Coin, Ojen and East Marbella. This represents the second implementation phase of the network connection program and services rural areas to the rear region of Marbella and in the city of Malaga itself. The services are also provided in the hinterland.