VoIP Backgrounder, Exploring Its Pitfalls

VoIP Backgrounder, Exploring Its PitfallsHow do ‘Normal’ phones work?
Traditional telephony networks aka POTS (Plain Old TelephonySystems) are based on a network fabric using TDM (Time DivisionMultiplexing), a technology that’s been around for a longtime.

How does a POTS call work? When a call is established between two phone users, a “virtual circuit” is established between them and a certain amount of bandwidth reserved across that circuit (usually 64Kb/s). That bandwidth is reserved for the lifetime of the call, even if no-one is speaking. As the connection is synchronous, ie. when someone talks, the voice is sent across the network in the sequence that it was said. This occurs until the end of the call.

It’s different with VoIP
With the move to VoIP, voice first gets digitised, turned into small packets, which are then encoded into IP packets, in turn sent across an IP network. The packetisation actually adds overhead (takes longer and adds to the size), leading to VoIP sometimes utilising more network bandwidth than traditional telephony methods. Of course this can be mitigated by using modern CoDecs (the digitisers) which use more compression than traditional telephony. Unfortunately the more compression used, the lower the call quality. In a mobile network, voice is encoded at 13Kb/s (which increases to 20Kb/s+ when packetised – as an example of the overhead). People are used to this reduced quality, despite it being noticeably different from a phone call using a fixed-line.

VoIP Backgrounder, Exploring Its PitfallsUsing VoIP over the Internet is a hit and miss thing. We know the Internet is fantastic at coping with problems – if there are network errors, the data is re-routed around the black-spots, and when the error goes or traffic gets congested, it just re-routes the data somewhere else. It’s best to think of the Internet as a loose collection of around 30,000+ networks that happen to interconnect at various places.

Where the re-routing works for general Internet traffic, it’s terrible for VoIP as there’s no guarantee that the VoIP data will arrive in an orderly fashion i.e. the first bit of traffic may go one way, then second another and the third another route completely. Each route will have be working at different speeds, so the 3rd piece of VoIP data may actually arrive at the destination first – imagine the third word of the conversation arriving before the first.

Packets arriving in a different order is expected on the Internet and it was designed with this in mind. IP can reassemble the data and put it all back in the right order, but to do so requires large buffers i.e long delays. Unfortunately for VoIP, delay not is something you want as that’s when calls break-up or crack and pop.

In the trade, the packets arriving at different times (relative to a clock signal i.e. like a metronome) is called Jitter.

VoIP Backgrounder, Exploring Its PitfallsVoIP in an ideal world
There are ways to get around this. Such as new technologies like IP/MPLS (IP/Multi Protocol Label Switching) which is a way of ensuring all traffic between two points goes the same way (with back-up routes, in case the primary one fails). It also allows for Quality of Service (QoS) metrics, so VoIP traffic can be prioritised over say Web traffic, minimising Jitter.

Many telecoms companies now run IP networks utilising IP/MPLS, but as they still interconnect over other, public connection points any quality metrics are lost. So as long as all your IP services come from the same supplier, you’re unlikely to be able to maintain QoS.

When does VoIP make sense/when not
VoIP does gives increased flexibility and anyone with a multi-site operation should consider it. If they’re currently paying bills to a telecoms company to transfer calls between sites, the use of VoIP is generally a no brainer, as it give a rapid payback for the added VoIP equipment required.

When to think twice about VoIP
Single site businesses, should be wary. Installing VoIP can consume significant resources when converting from a traditional system in particular using VoIP may require extensive reworking of an internal LAN – you don’t want your phone calls to stop when someone transfers a large file between their PC and the server.

It may be better to look at other options such as Carrier Pre Select (CPS) or Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) or simply another telecom’s provider whose rates are better.

VoIP Backgrounder, Exploring Its PitfallsSecurity implications and therefore costs are a significant issue. The increase in network traffic that VoIP can bring can have other cost implications, such as ensuring firewalls are “chunky” enough to support the VoIP traffic.

One area that isn’t often spoken about, but we feel is a big weakness of VoIP is the potential of all phone calls in and out of the site that are carried over VoIP being lost to a DoS (Denial of Service) attack. Protecting against attacks can be difficult, as the attacks may just look like remote workers trying to establish VoIP calls into the network.

Conclusion
VoIP isn’t a panacea. While it can offer savings and great flexibility, the choice shouldn’t be automatic. Look at the whole picture and work out if there really are savings to be made. If there’s no ROI (Return on Investment), then VoIP is an expensive new toy.

Skype To Sell Warner Music VoIP Ringtones

Skype Announces Deal With Warners To Sell VoIP ringtonesLooking for new sources of revenue beyond their Internet telephony service, Skype have announced a deal with Warner Music Group to flog ring tones and artist images.

The agreement – the first between a music company and an Internet telecoms outfit – will see Skype marketing the ring tones and artist images.

The tie-in will see Warner Music Group supplying the ring tones to Skype, with each song snippet being available for 68p (€1, $1.50), with pricing for artists’ mugshots yet to be announced.

Skype Announces Deal With Warners To Sell VoIP ringtones“We are excited that more than 70m Skype users around the world will now have the ability to enjoy content from Warner Music artists,” said Alex Zubillaga, executive vice-president in charge of digital strategy and business development at Warner Music (that’s some job title – we wonder if he meets people saying, “Hi, I’m Alex Zubillaga, EVPICODSABD at Warners?”)

The service is launching with Madonna as a “featured artist” with Skype adding: “In the coming months, consumers will be able to download master ringtones from WMG artists including Madonna, Green Day, Mike Jones, Paul Wall, D4L, T.I., and many more to Skype’s leading Internet calling service.”

The move sees eBay looking to cash in on their considerable investment in Skype, and with an estimated 74m registered users, there’s considerable scope for some juicy ringtone-shifting action.

Skype Announces Deal With Warners To Sell VoIP ringtonesRingtone sales have proved a surprise hit for mobile operators and content providers, coining in an astonishing $4bn in worldwide sales in 2004 – around 10 per cent of the $32.2bn worldwide music market.

Not surprisingly, record companies love the additional bonus revenue scooped in from ringtones, particularly as their emergence comes at a time when sales of compact discs are in decline, partly as a result of illegal music downloads (and partly as a result of their greedy pricing strategies).

Skype
Warners Music

Tesco VoIP: Further Pressure on BT

Tesco VoIP: Further Pressure on BTBT’s dominance of the UK home telephone is coming under fresh pressure as the phone call market becomes the most liberal in Europe. Previously, their pricing levels have had to be agreed in advance with the UK regulator Ofcom, but with it understood that this is going to be lifted soon, price cuts are expected.

In a sign that the gloves are well and truly off, Tesco has unleashed a price-busting Voice over IP (VoIP) package designed to lure customers from the incumbent operator.

It’s further proof (if any were needed) that VoIP continues to shake things up in the voice phone market.

The Tesco package will be marketed at just under £20 and will include a ‘normal’ phone handset that plugs in to a broadband-enabled PC’s USB port, and the software need to drive it. Calls will be made at a fraction of the current cost.

Many other companies continue to pressure BT. Talk-Talk, the landline phone service by The Carphone Warehouse, has already consolidated two of the traditional landline competitors and it’s likely that Sky would also welcome call revenue via its recent Easynet acquisition.

Pressure is also coming from outside the UK. US giant AOL has BT in its sights with a programme to exploit the Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) agreement BT made with Ofcom, which permits AOL and others to house high tech Voice over IP equipment at exchanges throughout the country.

Tesco VoIP: Further Pressure on BTTechnical-savvy Skype callers have for a long time taken advantage of VoIP calling to obtain free or cheap calls.

The danger for BT is that the trickle of the public away from its traditional services over recent years could become a torrent, as more content, including broadband TV starts to be delivered by IP, BT could lose their in-built advantage as the default delivery gateway to UK homes.

Is all of this price cutting good news for British consumers? Well, certainly lower call prices will benefit the majority of UK call makers, but there is a question mark in the long run. It could bring mixed blessings for the UK’s telecoms infrastructure as BT tries to cut costs and investment to ensure that its institutional shareholders remain happy as they operate on slimmer margins.

Philips VP-5500 VoIP Videophone

Philips VP-5500 VoIP VideophoneIt’s been a long time coming, but Dutch enormo-corp Philips are looking set to finally roll out their innovative Wi-Fi-enabled VoIP telephone, the VP-5500.

Currently only scheduled for release in the land of the cannabis café, the attractively styled VP-5500 is powered by Linux and lets users enjoy live video calls or – if they’re suffering a bad hair day or caught in a compromising situation – make a conventional voice call instead.

Philips VP-5500 VoIP VideophoneAnnounced way back in Sept 2005, the VoIP phone comes with a VGA camera that rotates up to 240 degrees, letting users check out their look on the built-in, high-resolution LCD display before committing a potential videocall fashion catastrophe.

Users can zoom in and capture still images for storing on the phone’s internal memory, with roaming made possible thanks to a built-in speakerphone and hands-free headset compatibility.

Video calls are displayed on a large high-resolution colour LCD display, with a video out port letting others watch the video action on a TV set or see a slideshow of captured photos.

Philips VP-5500 VoIP VideophoneBuilt around established standards-based technologies like Wi-Fi and Linux, the VP5500 can be upgraded wirelessly, opening the door to future upgrades – giving operators the chance to add value-added services as the becmoe available.

Although no date has been set for a release outside of Holland, Philips has stated that it is looking to partner with third party operators in most European countries.

Philips VP-5500 VoIP VideophoneTo be honest, we’re still a little unsure about video calling.

Sure, there’s a certain space-age charm in being able to see each other while you chat, but outside of the office environment we could see problems.

Would you really want your new date seeing you looking like a dishevelled prune when he/she rings early on a Sunday morning? Or your mum nagging you about your silly hairstyle when she rings up for a video-chat?

And work-shy shirkers ringing up the boss for a day off may have to now take on board acting lessons to accompany the well-trusted croaky voice routine…

Philips

Sony VN-CX1: Skype Mouse Phone

Sony's VN-CX1 Skype Mouse PhoneNo idea if we’re ever going to see it turning up in Blighty any time soon, but we love this crazy new Sony VN-CX1 USB optical mouse-phone.

The press release is only in Japanese, but we worked out that mouse-phone (‘phouse’?, moune?) is able to notify you of incoming calls via flashing LED and built-in speaker.

When closed, the mouse works like any other with the dial in the middle functioning as a scroll wheel.

Sony's VN-CX1 Skype Mouse PhoneThe clever stuff happens when a call comes in.

The user can then flip open the mouse to reveal a functional phone, with the mouse-wheel being used to adjust the volume. Pressing the scroll wheel mutes the call.

The built in echo cancellation feature should guarantee decent call sound quality, and finishing the call is as simple as flipping the mouse-phone shut.

Sony's VN-CX1 Skype Mouse PhoneA potential problem might arise if you wanted to use the mouse when you’re on a call, but we think you can just switch to speakerphone mode. Or maybe not (the translated press announcement goes on about ‘knitting machines’ so it’s a bit vague).

Being a Sony product, the Sony VN-CX1 looks to please groovy feckers, offering the mouse in 5 trendy colours to match their shade of laptop/shirt/nail varnish.

Sony's VN-CX1 Skype Mouse PhoneAlthough the VN-CX1 doesn’t look like the most comfortable mouse we’ve ever seen, it’s small and light enough (45.5 × 23.9 × 89.2 mm, 67gms) and certainly looks a fun product.

Pricing and availability is to be announced.

Translated Sony press release

D-Link Unveil Skype USB Phone Adapter

D-Link Unveil Skype USB Phone AdapterD-Link’s new Skype USB phone adapter (DPH-50U) is a neat widget that lets users make and receive Skype calls on their existing corded DECT or cordless phone, without the need to have a pesky ‘call centre’ headset stuck on their head.

The DPH-50U lets users take both Skype and regular telephone calls from the same phone with the ability to switch from a Skype call to a landline call (and vice versa) like a conventional call waiting service.

A display on the unit flashes up whether the incoming call is from a Skype or landline connection, and it’s also possible to take part in conference calls between regular telephone and Skype lines.

D-Link Unveil Skype USB Phone AdapterThe concept seems a winner to us – by using your existing telephone you should enjoy better sound quality than a cheapo headset, and D-Link claim that you’ll be able to use your phone’s built-in features such as speed dial, redial, mute and caller ID2 for both Skype and landline calls.

Best of all, if you own a cordless phone, you’ll be able to wander about your gaff while chatting away for free.

“At D-Link, we know that the digital home is all about integration and ease-of-use,” said Keith Karlsen, executive vice president, D-Link. “By extending Skype to be accessible through traditional phones, we can make the benefits of Skype even easier to experience.”

D-Link Unveil Skype USB Phone AdapterThe DPH-50U comes with custom software, two RJ-11 ports and a USB port to connect up the regular phone line, telephone and computer, with the unit drawing power from the computer’s PC port.

The phone adaptor will be available in Europe from February 2006 for around forty quid (~$70 ~e58). I think we’ll be buying one.

DPH-50U Skype USB Phone Adapter

Microsoft And MCI Look To Take On Skype

Microsoft And MCI Look To Take On SkypeWith a fearful eye on Skype’s runaway success, Microsoft has joined the stampede to offer Internet-based telephony services by announcing a cut price, pre-paid PC-to-phone service, the result of a deal with the US telecommunications group, MCI.

The new service, combining MCI’s existing VoIP network service with Microsoft’s software, will regale under the less-than-snappy title of “MCI Web Calling for Windows Live Call” and is expected to launch in the first half of 2006.

The service will work through Windows Live Messenger, the soon-come successor to the MSN Messenger instant messaging service which currently boasts more than 185m active global users. It is thought that VoIP technology from recent Microsoft purchase, Teleo, will be used.

Microsoft And MCI Look To Take On SkypeIn recent months, Google, Yahoo! and eBay’s Skype unit have all chipped in with their own cheapo PC-to-phone VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services.

By teaming up with a powerful ally (PCI is being acquired Verizon Communications), Microsoft are clearly hoping to shove their hefty size nines into the lucrative VoIP market before it runs away from them.

The calling costs of the Microsoft/MCI service will be comparable to their rivals, with users paying 2.3 cents per minute for calls within the US and between the US and other countries.

Yahoo’s service – bundled in with its IM service – is expected to charge 1 cent per minute to call a phone in the United States from a PC outside the country, with calls to about 30 other countries costing about 2 cents per minute.

Microsoft And MCI Look To Take On SkypeSimilarly, Skype, the current big boys of the PC-to-PC VoIP market, are offering calls for about 2 cents a minute from a PC to a phone in the US other countries.

Taking a leaf out of Skype’s service, Microsoft/MCI customers will also be able to purchase prepaid calling cards and make calls to ordinary fixed line an mobile phones from entries in their contact list.

The service is currently undergoing limited beta trials in the US, with France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom trials expected shortly.

We’ll have to wait until the product officially launches to get the final details and pricing schemes, although Microsoft and MCI have already stated that users will eventually be able to call more than 220 countries.

MCI

Skype Integrated Into Eniro, Swedish Phone Directory

Skype Integrated Into Eniro, Swedish Phone DirectoryEniro, the Swedish equivalent of Yellow pages and the phone directory have integrated the Skype URL, callto:, in to their online directories.

This boon for Skype users, gives browsers the ability to simply click on the targets details to use Skype to open a voice call with them.

Currently the only examples we could find used ‘normal’ phone number, so clicking on them connects your Skype to their phone number, using your SkypeOut minutes – much to the joy of Skype we’d assume.

MSN and ICQ ID can also be listed, but these don’t have the same simple click to use functions.

Skype Integrated Into Eniro, Swedish Phone Directory“It’s important for us to add all types of contact information and that makesadding Skype to that logical”, says Cecilia Geijer-Haeggström, VP ofproducts and market at Eniro.

This is currently only available for contacting individuals, but it is planned to offer the same through Yellow Pages for companies.

Skype Integrated Into Eniro, Swedish Phone DirectoryWe also understand that they’ll be printing the Skype ID’s in the printed directories for a small fee.

Many phone directories are owned by the countries incumbent telco, making it highly unlikely that they would offer similar services, as it ‘steals’ call revenue out of the pocket of their telco owners.

The Swedes are as high tech as you like, but we suspect that the fact that Skype CEO, Niklas Zennstrom is from Sweden somewhat smoothed this deal.

Eniro
Skype

Call forwarding and more added to PC Skype v1.4

Call forwarding and more added to PC Skype v1.4Skype has today announced a new version of their Windows release of Skype.For the first time, several more functions are added to make Skype both a more serious communication tool, and at the same time, more frivolous.First the serious side. v1.4, which has been in beta since August, includes call forwarding for when you aren’t sitting by your computer, or if you’re a little more advanced, you’ve dropped out of WiFi range on your handheld version. If Skype finds you unreachable, you can set it to forward your calls to up to three landlines, or mobiles. The forwarding for the person initiating the call is free, with the Skype user paying for the privilege from their SkypeOut minutes.We see the Real Excitement is around the ability to forward calls from one Skype ID to another, giving the ability to have more than one Skype ID. Until now this had to be handled by all sorts of complexity of running two versions, separate from each other. Calls forwarded to another Skype ID are free.What the significance of the whole of Call Forwarding? Your SkypeIn number, or Skype ID becomes your first point of contact, something we’ve seen before with Unified Messaging (UM). UM didn’t set the world alight when it came to techy attention 2-3 years ago, but Skype has timed this perfectly, realising that people are now ready.Call forwarding and more added to PC Skype v1.4Personalisation
Personalise Skype allows, in Skype’s words, “callers to easily express themselves with original pictures, sounds and ringtones for as little as 1 euro ($1.20).” Quite why people need to fall back on pictures, sounds and ringtones to express themselves on a service that is all about communication is a little beyond us. Perhaps we’re not the target market.We suspect the allure of the global ringtone market being forecasted to grow to $5.2 billion in 2006, and ringtones now accounting for over 10% of the $32.3 billion worldwide music market (Arc Group) gives us a strong clue as to the reason it’s being offered.We’ve had a good look over the new version of the software and can’t find out where Personalise Skype is configured. Perhaps they’re bringing it on later.Quite how this will work will the add-on handsets that are currently on the market is unclear, but we suspect they will continue to have a single tone to alert of all calls.Call forwarding and more added to PC Skype v1.4Skype users love it
Skype has taken this release to tell the world how much Skype users love it, and how frequently they call on it. The figures, from an unnamed, independent study, are as follows

Skype is used once or several times a day by 76% of its callers, far surpassing the usage levels of traditional IM-based voice calling services. Callers also recognized Skype’s leadership in sound quality – 72% of Skype users consider call quality to be good to excellent. Skype callers are more international, with 85% communicating with people living abroad. Skype’s broad base of early adopters are eager to embrace new features, with 79% interested or very interested in receiving calls from landlines, and 73% interested or very interested in adopting call forwarding, key innovations unique to Skype.

Other goodies
We’ve noticed a couple of other additions, not highlighted by Skype themselves. A marketing line appearing on the Skype player just above the box to type in phone numbers has appeared. And a feature previously achieved via a plug-in has hit the main product – Auto pause for music playing on WinAmp appears – we don’t recall seeing previously.As the world-and-his-wife knows, Skype sold to eBay recently for a _huge_ amount of money.Strangely, when we first clicked on ‘Check for Updates’ on one of our copies of PC Skype, we received the message that we had the latest, despite it running v1.3x. Checking again later we were offered 1.4.0.71.This looks like another serious upgrade to the Skype family. Another step forward to world domination.Skype

Windows Based Palm Treo On The Way

Windows Based Palm Treo On The WayTo the sound of a thousand wailing Palm Pilots, Palm has unveiled a version of the classic Treo smartphone running on Windows Mobile 5.0.

Possibly called the Treo 700w (or maybe the Treo 670 – details are scarce!), the new phone will initially only be available from Verizon Wireless, running on the carrier’s EV-DO broadband network.

A series of ‘first look’ photos on Engadget shows the new Treo to be slightly narrower than the Treo 650, but at the cost of what looks like a smaller 240×240 pixel display, instead of the usual 320×320.

Confirmed specs include Windows Mobile 5.0, a one megapixel camera, EV-DO, Bluetooth and 64MB of memory.

Windows Based Palm Treo On The WayPalm users still waiting for the Wi-Fi card categorically promised at the Treo 650 UK launch in April will be mightily miffed to learn that a SD Wi-Fi card worked straight out of the box with the Windows Treo – a classic example perhaps of why people are leaving the Palm OS.

Formerly bitter rivals, Palm and Microsoft’s collaboration looks to add the security and functionality of Microsoft’s new Window Mobile 5.0 OS to the solid and well-respected Palm Treo 600/650 range.

Palm president and CEO Ed Colligan called the Windows Treo an “historic” product, adding, “We’ve long believed that the future of personal computing is mobile computing, and our collaboration with Microsoft is an historic step in delivering that vision to a larger market.”

Already, pundits are suggesting that the introduction of the Windows Treo marks the end of the Palm OS Platform, still reeling from the withdrawal of the technically groundbreaking Sony Clie range.

Windows Based Palm Treo On The WayCarmi Levy, Senior Research Analyst at Info-Tech Research Group commented that the new Treo signals a massive shift in the handheld/smartphone market, adding that “when viewed in conjunction with the sale of PalmSource earlier this month, it’s an acceleration in the demise of the Palm OS platform and final confirmation that its once-dominant position in the broader handheld market is gone for good.

“As popular as Palm has traditionally been with end-users, it has always been a marginal corporate player,” continued Levy.

The Palm OS has traditionally lacked robust corporate security features, making the Windows Mobile platform more attractive to corporate IT departments.

What Microsoft has lacked, however, is a killer piece of hardware, something they’re likely to now have with a Windows Mobile-based Treo.

Windows Based Palm Treo On The WayThere’s been no release date set for the Windows-based Treo yet, but it is expected to be available “very early” in 2006.

Palm plans to bring the Windows Treo to other wireless carriers in the second half of 2006, including GSM/GPRS carriers in Europe and Asia.

Treo
Engadget Treo pics