Voxbone has joined Stealth Communications’ Voice Peering Fabric to enable it to exchange voice traffic directly with other VoIP providers.

As a VPF member, Voxbone can now interconnect with carriers and enterprise to buy, sell and peer DID/termination services across a private network. Additionally, through the use of the VPF ENUM Registry, Voxbone can now send and receive calls with VPF members directly, completely bypassing the public telephone network and the public Internet.

“We are committed to providing our customers with the highest levels of service quality combined with highly competitive pricing,” said Rodrigue Ullens, co-founder of Voxbone. “Joining the VPF is consistent with both of these goals.”

Voxpath Networks announces that it has reached agreements with several Houston-based telecommunications and IT providers to distribute Harmonica Complete services to small businesses throughout the Greater Houston market.

Harmonica Complete provides customers with complete end-to-end communications services, including the phone system, expanded local, long distance and international phone service, and broadband access services. Harmonica Complete offers a full range of enhanced small business features, such as advanced voice mail, group call routing, “Find Me” capabilities, music on hold, configurable line and extension status keys, multi-location support, and virtual receptionist. These elements are bundled into a single-source solution to give small businesses a comprehensive, robust communications system for a fixed monthly fee. In addition, Harmonica Complete customers enjoy a highly efficient and user-friendly system, and do not have to worry about managing or maintaining complex premise-based communications systems, or trying to decipher complicated monthly phone bills.

AccessLine, announced the availability of its new retail version of SmartVoice Service for business in Virginia. SmartVoice, the company’s hosted VoIP service that delivers the benefits of advanced business telephone service at a fraction of the cost, is specifically designed and built for Small and Medium Businesses and offers as much as 50 percent savings over traditional business phone service rates. Combining local, long distance, and toll free phone service with no need for the purchase of any phone equipment, AccessLine’s SmartVoice Service delivers savings while making it easy for customers to transition from their current legacy phone service.

Raketu Communications announces that their P2P communications service will soon be available for use on mobile phones that use the Symbian Operating System (OS). Symbian creates and licenses Symbian OS, the market leading operating system based on open standards for advanced mobile phones, also called “Smartphones.” Some phones which use Symbian OS include Nokia's E70 and N80. Through Raketu, mobile phone users will be able to make free voice over IP (VoIP) calls to over 40 countries.

“For the first time in history, we are enabling consumers around the world to make free calls to friends, family, acquaintances and business associates located in more than forty countries via their mobile phones,” said Greg Parker, President of Raketu Inc. “For locations not covered by our free global communications services, Raketu also offers lower calling rates and higher quality calling services than other VoIP competitors like Skype.”

Currently, all pre-paid customers of Raketu’s PC based "RakOut" dial-out VoIP services enjoy free calling to over 40 countries. All calls to locations in these countries are free regardless of where they originate. To run Raketu on mobile phones that use the Symbian OS, consumers can download the software at www.Raketu.com starting January ’07.

VSNL Singapore announces that its been chosen by Yahoo! for voice peering and termination services to exchange high quality VoIP traffic on a global basis and provide premium international retail call termination for Yahoo!’s voice services.

Yahoo! is using the Teleglobe VoIPLink service, a fast, simple and cost effective way to bridge interoperability between VoIP networks, to terminate traffic anywhere in the world. Yahoo! is also utilizing the Teleglobe VTS Service to ensure high quality, cost effective retail termination for users of Yahoo! Voice’s Phone Out (PC-to-Phone) service worldwide. VSNL International is among a suite of providers delivering high-quality termination calling services for Yahoo! globally.

NewStep Networks announced that it will demonstrate its ability to deliver seamless Voice Call Continuity between cellular/Wi-Fi networks, and between mobile, fixed, and soft phones at ITU Telecom World 2006 in Hong Kong. This demonstration confirms NewStep’s capability to commercially deliver valuable services across fixed and mobile networks in order to meet the growing demand for converged services from service providers and enterprises alike.

NewStep’s demonstration will show the company’s standards-compliant Voice Call Continuity solution, Dual-Mode Handoff, which allows subscribers to make and receive calls on cellular/Wi-Fi phones using presence-based call routing and with seamless handover between cellular and Wi-Fi networks without any interruption in the voice call. The dual-mode solution leverages hosted VoIP and enterprise-based IP PBX capabilities together with mobile GSM, UMTS, CDMA, and WiMAX networks to deliver a unified communications experience.

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.

On4 has launched a free prize draw following a poll of its customer base. On4 which is a Desktop technology delivering free VOIP, video and audio messaging, SMS and regular phone calls at low rates, chat and a comprehensive range of other services asks it's customers for ideas. Overwhelmingly they all wanted fun and intrigue, and of course discounts or money back schemes.

On4 is built using SIP, the open, global internet telephony standard and to use the system everyone has to have an identity. On4 doesn't make people get a new phone number and the system is free to use for anyone. Anyone signing up to On4 who provides their mobile phone number will receive a text message with their free draw number, and all they have to do is check to see of their number has been selected and displayed on the News Tab of the ON4 desktop. If their number is displayed they have to claim their prize that day. If they don't claim they don't win. Prizes will change frequently and include free CD vouchers, games consoles and cash, up to $1000. There are no charges whatsoever, and anyone anywhere has a chance to win. The only rule is that you have to claim on the day and upload your photograph, so that the On4 world can see the happy winner. If they don't have a mobile phone, ON4 has also hidden a unique draw number on every On4 desktop, and if a customer can't find it, all he has to do is call the operator for help.

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.

On Instant has developed a unique integrated desktop solution that helps business advertise, communicate and trade with each other. Using sophisticated preference engines business owners pre-select the areas of industry and that they are interested in and automatically receive or generate business opportunities.

Working like a B2B equivalent of Match.com, On Instant is designed to improve Internet search. Internet Search engines rely on information from web sites which they have indexed. Websites typically act as a online brochures and often don't contain detailed product information. On Instant however allows a business to explain exactly what they are looking for, and for the reader, in this case another business, to interpret and respond to that information accurately and rapidly. The On Instant process saves considerable time and money.

ShoreTel announced its customers’ participation in multiple panel presentations at VON Enterprise 2006 (December 4-6, Cobb Galleria, Atlanta, GA). ShoreTel customers Hitachi Consulting, and Sovran Self Storage, will discuss their experience selecting, installing, and managing IP-based communications technology across their companies. In addition, ShoreTel will be taking the stage to discuss the decision-making process that enterprises face when making a switch from traditional phone service to VoIP.

Michael Shisko, director of IT for Hitachi, will join a panel discussion on December 5 at 9:30 a.m. EST entitled, “Choosing the Right IP PBX.” Responsible for the design, implementation and management of Hitachi’s voice over IP (VoIP) system, Shisko attests to ShoreTel’s ease-of-use and low total-cost-of-ownership. “We deployed the ShoreTel system beginning in February, 2001 and we’ve continued to generate savings,” said Shisko. “But perhaps most notable is how little we’re spending on voice. For instance, our long distance costs across 17 offices and 1200 employees come in at – or under – $2,000 per month. We just opened an international location and anticipate continued savings thanks to the low cost of administration afforded by the ShoreTel system and being able to by-pass the tolls on our international calls.”