Verizon Business is once again enhancing its already industry-leading suite of service level agreements for Private IP customers by extending its performance commitments for real-time applications, including VoIP and video, beyond the edge of Verizon Business' network all the way to customers' physical locations. Specifically, the company will offer extended jitter, packet delay and packet delivery ratio SLAs to the customer edge, including local access lines.

The new Customer Edge SLAs apply to U.S. and international locations and are available at no additional cost to U.S.-based managed or customer-managed Private IP customers, with availability planned for all Private IP customers by year-end. Verizon Business offers a credit of 20 percent of a customer's monthly recurring charges if any Customer Edge SLA is not met.

Pudding Media announces pioneering technology that will speed the transition to free calling by displaying fun, entertaining and valuable information and offers on any computer or handset screen or inbox based on relevant keywords spoken in a phone call.

Pudding Media is building a platform that opens new advertising real estate, allowing consumers to immediately receive and respond to offers related to topics they are discussing. At the same time, Pudding Media's technology allows any communications provider -- mobile carrier, Internet telephony service, even Web publisher to offer new ad-supported calling plans.

Challenger Mobile announces enhancements to its platform that help mobile operators, wireless ISPs, and related service providers deliver their own branded Mobile VoIP services to subscribers, while enjoying a fast time-to-market and a low cost of entry.

Challenger's white-label Mobile VoIP platform allows subscribers to place calls from their mobiles over the Internet, using a WiFi, GPRS or 3G connection. In addition to core Internet telephony capabilities, Challenger's platform supports remote mobile handset configuration, call detail record support, and flexible billing system integration. For customers choosing Challenger's optional hosting service, the platform also includes attractive call termination capabilities and rates.

Fusion has acquired a license to sell its communications services in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic provides a strong market opportunity for Fusion. The country has a growing Internet penetration that is approaching 23%, and a population of over nine million, representing about one quarter of the population of the Caribbean.

Fusion will offer a comprehensive suite of advanced voice, data and video products to consumers and businesses in the Dominican Republic. Recognizing the importance of connecting Dominican consumers and businesses with their friends, families and associates in markets around the world, Fusion is developing customized solutions to serve Dominican communities, wherever they may be. As it has in a number of markets worldwide, Fusion will establish distribution partnerships to serve the Dominican market, both inside and outside the country.

NextAlarm.com announces the release of the VoIPAlarm Receiver. The VoIPAlarm Receiver allows any alarm central station or response center to utilize NextAlarm's patent-pending Alarm Broadband Network technology for transmission and delivery of alarm signals via the Internet.

"With the vast and still growing number of homes and businesses that have switched to Voice-Over-IP phone service or digital phone lines, central stations are finding that they can no longer receive alarms reliably," said NextAlarm CEO Alex Elliot. "The new receiver uses our proven technology to solve the VoIP problem. The price, for both the central station and the end user, is very economical, right in line with why people are switching to VoIP in the first place."

sipgate is the first VoIP provider to give customers direct access to its system via a designated, proprietary interface. At the same time, "sipgate API" provides a catalog of functions that - within the scope of the product stipulations - can be integrated into third party products and solutions at the discretion of the user. This allows customers and developers to use virtually any sipgate function for their own applications. Information on the interface and the source codes of several model programs are available at http://www.sipgate.co.uk/api.

A great video detailing how to leverage Skype on the iPhone using SoonR.

WiFiMobile highlights the benefits of having their own VoIP client rather than relying on Network Operators supplying handsets with the manufacturer’s client pre-installed. Back in April this year both Vodafone and Orange in the UK instructed a major handset manufacturer to disable the standard Internet Telephony from their top of the range model. This move left a sour taste for the vast majority of mobile VoIP operators as their software relies entirely on the standard VoIP client software stack being installed. Without this their service simply won’t function.

This applies to early iPhone adaptors and just came across the wires.

The following is a letter released Sept. 6, 2007, by Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs.

"To all iPhone customers:

I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale. After reading every one of these emails, I have some observations and conclusions.

First, I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399, and that now is the right time to do it. ..."

"We have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple's website next week. Stay tuned."

Starling announces that MIJET has achieved record performance for high bandwidth Web accessibility, VoIP communications and video conferencing. The MIJET antenna system was installed on a Boeing 737 aircraft and successfully completed a set of flight tests involving a multi-user environment. User-experience was highly productive and enjoyable including transmission and reception at unprecedented high bit rates.

MIJET maintained continuous broadband connectivity between the airborne platform and the Amos communications satellite. The testing team conducted simultaneous video conference calls, made numerous VoIP phone calls (using Skype), downloaded large files via the Internet, sent and received e-mails and surfed the Web. MIJET exceeded nominal specifications, achieving a reception bit rate of more than 20 Mbps and transmission bit rate of more than 5 Mbps.

It appears Apple has been busy. Apple has just announced three new iPods and available in new colors and prices. Smallest to largest we have the iPod nano, iPod classic in the middle, and the iPod touch.

Raketu announces the immediate availability of its Traditional Chinese language version. Currently customers who sign up for Raketu’s prepaid voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) dial out calling service will receive up to 1200 minutes of free calling per month for three months to over 40 countries globally. This same promotional offer will now be available for Traditional Chinese speaking consumers in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, and wherever they live in the world.

PLAYXPERT announces availability of the PLAYXPERT TeamSpeak Widget. The joint solution will ensure that millions of players worldwide can seamlessly communicate through PLAYXPERT in-game. Players can finally not only get an upper hand on their game with PXP in-game tools, they can also strategize using TeamSpeak for real time voice communication with other players on points of attack, focus fire, team targeting, and much more. The solution will be available for demonstration at the IBM Booth at the Austin Game Developers Conference, September 5-7, 2007.

"We are thrilled to be working with PLAYXPERT. They have incredible technology and great business execution," said Florence Espinoza, Director of Sales for TeamSpeak. "With thousands of online gamers using TeamSpeak VoIP technology at any given time, gamers are going to greatly benefit because of the availability of this new widget. In short, users will be able to use the best VoIP toolset in conjunction with the best in-game community platform."

snom announces the launch of its XML contest, “eXtreMeLy snomlified!” Beginning today, and continuing through Oct. 22, this contest calls on the VoIP programmer community and snom partners to develop innovative XML-Minibrowser applications for the snom 3xx series of phones.

Currently, the snom 3xx series of phones, which consists of the snom 300, 320, 360 and 370, has a permanent XML-Minibrowser. The XML contest not only serves to provide working data screens that will work ideally on several snom 3xx series phones, but it will also give momentum to unknown programmers in the community.