XO Communications and Fonality announce that Fonality PBXtra and trixbox Pro phone systems have passed XO Communications' certification for standard interoperability with XO's SIP-based integrated voice and data communications solution.

XO Communications is a leading provider of business-class VoIP services and solutions, supporting more than 15,000 businesses and 500,000 customer employees. Fonality's IP-PBX phone systems are known for reliability, superior features, simplified deployment, and offering cost savings up to 80 percent off the price of competing solutions.

SHAPE Services released its cross-platform application IM+ for Skype in the App Store on iPhone. IM+ for Skype enables text chat and cost-effective calls to Skype contacts and to any phone numbers. Reliable callback technology is used for calls thus providing best phone call quality with no extra delays and latency typical for VoIP.

IM+ for Skype is available in App Store on iPhone under the Social Networking category.

Skype announces the launch of Skype 4.0 for Windows, the most distinctive new release in the company's five-year history. Thanks to the feedback of tens of thousands of people, the new version offers full-screen video calling, crystal clear call quality and is easier to use than ever before. In addition, Skype users will find all of the features they have come to expect - free voice and video calls to other Skype users, instant messaging, SMS, as well as calls to landlines and mobile devices around the world at very low rates.

TalkSwitch announces the appointment of NETXUSA as an official distributor of TalkSwitch IP-PBX phone systems. NETXUSA specializes in the sales, service and support of VoIP products, is a trusted source of more than 5000 independent resellers and has provided over 30 years service to the communications industry.

With NETXUSA's distribution and sales centers located in the United States, TalkSwitch resellers benefit from east-coast and west-coast facilities that provide rapid regional response, economical product delivery and support.

Voxbone has been chosen by to enable Jott’s new voicemail-to-text conversion service, Jott Voicemail. The service saves customers time by allowing them to read (or skip) messages as e-mails or SMS messages, rather than having to listen to them, one by one. Jott Voicemail is compatible with all major U.S. mobile operators and a growing number of smaller operators.

ICC Worldwide has implemented a major upgrade to its VoIP call traffic handling capabilities. The firm now has three European VoIP Point Of Presence sites located in Milan, Amsterdam, and London. At the Milan site, ICC has recently installed its own DIGITALK Intelligent Switch and Data Server. This action dramatically expands the firm's call handling capacity and overall network reliability. The centrally managed system also enables highly effective network utilization, ensuring the preferential use of capacity to route traffic in a way that is most cost effective for international calling destinations. This allows ICC to efficiently pass savings on to customers, thus ensuring the firm is able to provide the best possible value to its VoIP services subscribers.

The Next Generation 911 vision is being developed in response to the E911 needs of emerging technologies. It is vital that all participants in the 911 community, from telecommunications service providers to public safety answering points, understand the intent of Next Generation 911 and prepare themselves for the inevitable. As several organizations, including the FCC and the National Emergency Number Association, iron out the details, a clear picture has emerged of the overall intent and high-level design of Next Generation 911, as defined here. Understanding the direction and implementing its necessary steps will give service providers, PSAPs, and enterprises a leading edge.