WiFiMobile launches a Mobile VOIP service on the Nokia S60 handsets which enables users to make free calls to each other over Wi-Fi regardless of location. Mobile VOIP calls can also be made where no Wi-Fi connection is available by utilising a network operator data plan.

The WiFiMobile service is available at www.wifimobile.com. Using the basic service users can call other VOIP users completely for free. A premium service is also available that permits calls to be made to ordinary landlines or mobile phones at heavily discounted costs.

Calls can be made when the user is in a Wi-Fi zone. Alternatively WiFiMobile also enables VOIP calls to be made over a conventional GSM service by routing the call over an existing 3G data plan. In either of these situations VOIP calls will not eat up any bundled voice minutes.

Vonage states that it views the Court of Appeals' granting of a temporary stay on Friday allowing Vonage to continue to add customers as the first step toward resolving this matter in Vonage's favor. The stay will remain effective while the Appellate Court considers making the stay permanent.

Vonage will continue to provide digital telephone service to existing customers indefinitely by paying into escrow a quarterly royalty of 5.5% throughout the appeals process. Separately, the District Court required Vonage to post a bond of $66 million to secure Verizon's damages judgment.

Vonage is pleased that existing customers will not experience any interruption in service. The Company continues to believe it will succeed on appeal and continues to work on designing around the Verizon patents.

Rosum issued comment on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation’s hearing on “VoIP and the Future of 9-1-1 Services,” to be held April 10. Rosum also responded to recent remarks by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin on the need for more accurate location determination of E9-1-1 calls from mobile devices.

“There are multiple trends in consumer telephony today that highlight the need for reliable ‘in-building 9-1-1’ location capability,” said Skip Speaks, CEO of Rosum Corporation. Speaks noted four specific trends: the growth in wireless-only subscribers who use their wireless handset as a primary line, the growth in users of nomadic VoIP services and users of VoIP lines as a primary line, data showing the bulk of wireless 9-1-1 calls are made indoors, and the emergence of home base stations that need to be located indoors for activation and 9-1-1 purposes.

Just have time for a quick news roundup post today. So let's get right too it!

• Looking For VoIP Values. Great tips to consider if your organization is looking into VoIP.
• VoIP Supply Named ONE of WNY’s Best Places to Work. I keep in contact with Garrett Smith of VoIP Supply and I'm happy to pass along my congrats to VoIP Supply being named on of the best places to work!
• Tom Keating has been busy this week with his thoughts on Vonage inks deal with VoIP Inc bypassing Verizon patent claim and Vonage NOT Saved by VoIP, Inc.
• Review of KX-WP1050, the Latest Wi-Fi Phone from Panasonic.
• Joost, not that cool and I agree. After beta testing it months ago I'm still not overly impressed with Joost.
• India to ban VOIP -Skype, Yahoo, Vonage?
• Gumiyo users brought closer with Jajah.

Wizzard Software is pleased to announce that WizzTones will be highlighted in the latest version of the Skype software.

The WizzTones application can be found today under “Personalised” in the Get Extras section in every download of Skype 3.0 for Windows or later.

WizzTones gives Skype users an easy, entertaining and practical way to manage their Skype contact list. By downloading WizzTones, users can create a personalized ring tone for everyone on their Skype contact list, giving them the freedom to walk away from the computer but still keep tabs on who is trying to get in touch.

The unique feature of WizzTones allows users to create personalized "talking" alerts using Wizzard's one-of-a-kind online text-to-speech creation process. This exclusive feature provides the ability to produce an announcement alert, spoken in a computer-generated, life-like male or female voice, in up to 10 languages.

WizzTones can manage all ringtones for Skype, including the many free, pre-recorded ringtones built-in with each WizzTones download. Another fun feature of WizzTones allows users to create ringtones using their voice and a microphone.

CounterPath announces an agreement that would see Zfone integrated as an option into CounterPath's softphone solutions including eyeBeam 1.5 and X-Lite 3.0. This agreement adds a new level of security to CounterPath's VoIP softphone solutions and increases their importance for the enterprise market.

Zfone media encryption for VoIP communications uses a new protocol called ZRTP to achieve risk-free security without reliance on a PKI (Public Key Infrastructure), key certification, trust models, certificate authorities or key management complexity. Zfone performs its key agreements and key management in a pure peer-to-peer manner over the RTP packet stream and interoperates with any standard SIP phone. CounterPath's SIP softphones and softphone SDKs (Software Development Kits), including the eyeBeam 1.5 softphone, provide VoIP, Video over IP, IM and Presence functionalities, and offer flexible VoIP solutions for some of the world's largest service providers and equipment manufacturers including Cisco, Lucent, AT&T, British Telecom and Deutsche Telekom.

The integration of Zfone media encryption into CounterPath's softphones will significantly increase VoIP security levels for CounterPath's customers and end users. Enterprises, service providers and infrastructure manufacturers deploying these softphones will benefit from protection from security threats such as Spam, Denial-of-Service attacks, eavesdropping, spying and wiretapping, while enjoying the same level of security and convenience that they have come to expect from email.

Sayers Media Group announces the launch of PBX Prompts. PBX Prompts offers a variety of standard voice prompt packages for the Asterisk Open Source PBX and custom voice prompts for your IVR, Voicemail, or in addition to our standard prompts packages. Recorded in professional sound studios, PBX Prompts’ standard, advanced, and custom voice prompts give your company a voice that is representative of your business. With no minimums, and a quick 72 hour turnaround, PBX Prompts can meet the demands of any voice prompt project.

EchoStar and Google have entered into a partnership agreement to introduce the first automated system for buying, selling, delivering and measuring television ads on EchoStar DISH Network's 125 national satellite programming networks. Google will have access to a portion of DISH Network's advertising inventory that spans across all channels and dayparts. The agreement is the first of its kind for a national pay-TV provider and Google.

This partnership extends Google's current advertising platform to a national TV audience with the aim to deliver more relevant and measurable ads. EchoStar and Google are working together to provide automated online campaign planning, scheduling, delivery and measurement of ads on the DISH Network.

Read more on Google's TV Ads Trial.

Comtrend announces that Oklahoma-based Pioneer Telephone Cooperative has selected Comtrend’s CT-5621 Multi-port ADSL2+ Router as the key residential premises equipment to support deployment of IPTV and broadband services to its customers.

IPTV is a major initiative for Pioneer, which covers 30 Western Oklahoma counties. The cooperative chose CT-5621 routers due to its superior feature set and proven performance record established by a wide range of telecoms.

Comtrend’s CT-5621 is a versatile router that supports a wide array of residential and SOHO services at high-speed ADSL2+ rates up to 24Mbps. The device has four Ethernet ports and a USB interface; it also functions as either a router or a bridge, allowing multiple computers to access the Internet simultaneously.

uControl expands its next-generation home and small business security service to the Dallas and San Antonio areas. The Austin-based company is the first to offer an enhanced service that connects to existing, installed alarm systems that communicates over three redundant connections - broadband, cellular and phone lines. In addition to delivering always-on connectivity and real-time security, uControl enables users to control and monitor their alarm system from the Web or from their cell phones - anywhere, anytime.

EMI Music announces that it is launching new premium downloads for retail on a global basis, making all of its digital repertoire available at a much higher sound quality than existing downloads and free of digital rights management restrictions.

The new higher quality DRM-free music will complement EMI's existing range of standard DRM-protected downloads already available. From today, EMI's retailers will be offered downloads of tracks and albums in the DRM-free audio format of their choice in a variety of bit rates up to CD quality. EMI is releasing the premium downloads in response to consumer demand for high fidelity digital music for use on home music systems, mobile phones and digital music players. EMI's new DRM-free products will enable full interoperability of digital music across all devices and platforms.

SunRocket has eclipsed 200,000 residential subscribers -- a testament to the rising strength of the category and the firm's determination to redefine what is possible when it comes to enhancing home-centric communications. The company has also launched or expanded service in several key markets over the past few weeks, bringing SunRocket's unique and compelling value proposition to the doorstep of millions of U.S. broadband households.

"Building a 200,000 subscriber base from scratch in a relatively short period of time demonstrates how rapidly consumers are embracing the value, simplicity and enhanced feature set of SunRocket Internet phone service," said Lisa Hook, president and CEO of SunRocket. "And while category growth has been impressive -- approximately 10 million U.S. consumers subscribe to VoIP -- we have barely scraped the surface in a market with more than 50 million broadband households ready, willing and able to make the switch to SunRocket."

Fusion has registered more than One Million subscribers to its Efonica VoIP services.

"Fusion is very pleased to announce we have reached over One Million subscribers to our Efonica VoIP services", said Matthew Rosen, President and CEO of Fusion. "Now that we have achieved this major milestone, we are concentrating our efforts on driving revenue through marketing our paid services to consumers and corporations, directly and through the creation of strategic distribution partnerships around the world", continued Mr. Rosen.

Efonica offers subscribers the ability to call each other for free and the convenience of registering their existing landline or mobile telephone number as their Internet telephone number. Calls can be made to and from any combination of PCs, Internet phones, and regular telephones (with a SIP adapter), connected to either a wireless, broadband or dial-up Internet connection. The service incorporates Fusion's patent-pending worldwide Internet area code, which combined with a subscriber's existing telephone number, further simplifies the process of making a call. Consumers subscribe to Efonica by visiting http://www.efonica.com and completing a simple registration process.