Vonage and Nortel Agree to Settle Patent Dispute

Vonage and Nortel today announced that they have agreed in principle to end the litigation pending between them. The contemplated settlement involves a limited cross
license to three Nortel and three Vonage patents and will not call for any monetary payments by any party. Claims relating to past damages and the remaining patents will be dismissed without prejudice. The settlement is subject to final documentation.

"We are pleased to resolve this issue and enter into a productive relationship with Nortel," said Vonage Chief Legal Officer Sharon O'Leary.

For more information on VoIP and digital voice visit www.bridgevine.com

Global Crossing Expands VoIP Local Service to 16 Mexico Markets, Nearly 400 More U.S. Cities

Service Now Offered in 21 Countries Worldwide

Global Crossing a leading global IP solutions provider, today announced it
has once again broadened the scope and reach of its Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services for customers around the world by extending its Global Crossing VoIP Local Service(TM) to 16 major metropolitan cities in Mexico and nearly 400 additional cities in the United States. The addition of Mexico brings to 21 the total number of countries worldwide where the service is offered. In the U.S., the company expanded availability of VoIP Local Service to nearly 400 additional cities, including Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and Tucson, bringing that total to more than 1,400 nationwide.

Initially, Global Crossing will be serving 16 metropolitan markets in Mexico with VoIP Local Service, including Mexico City, Guadalajara, Puebla, Leon and Monterrey. Global Crossing VoIP Local Service also is available in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. A complementary offer, Global Crossing VoIP Outbound(TM), is available from 29 countries around the world and provides the consistency customers
require from global services.

For information on VoIP and other digital products and services visit www.broadbandnational.com

ATT Accuses Vonage of Violating VoIP Patents

America’s leading telephone operator, ATT Inc., filed an intellectual property lawsuit against the troubled VoIP provider, Vonage Holdings Corp yesterday, seeking damages for alleged patent infringement.

AT&T’s lawsuit, filed at a U.S. District Court in Wisconsin, alleges that Vonage willfully violated an ATT patent concerning telephone systems that allow customers to make VoIP calls using standard telephone equipment.

AT&T claims that it tried to reach a licensing agreement with Vonage, but was unsuccessful, forcing it to file suit against its smaller competitor.

This latest legal woe comes just days after Vonage settled a similar dispute with wireless carrier, Sprint Nextel, for $80 million. Vonage is also fighting a losing battle against New York-based telephone giant, Verizon Communications, to which it lost another massive patent infringement suit earlier this year.

Vonage and Sprint Settle Patent Dispute

Vonage today announced that it has settled its pending patent dispute with Sprint Communications LP and entered into a licensing arrangement under Sprint's Voice over Packet ("VOP") patent portfolio. The parties have entered into an agreement to resolve this patent dispute as well as entered into a business relationship. In addition, Sprint has agreed to license Vonage its VOP portfolio.

The agreement is valued at $80 million, including $35 million for past use of license, $40 million for a fully paid future license, and $5 million in prepayment for services. On September 25, 2007, a Kansas jury handed down a verdict finding that Vonage had infringed six Sprint patents.

"We are pleased to resolve our dispute with Sprint and enter into a productive future relationship," said Sharon O'Leary, General Counsel for Vonage. "We believe this deal is good news for Vonage, our customers and our shareholders. It allows us to put this litigation behind us and continue to focus on our core business by removing the uncertainty of legal reviews and long term court action."

Move with the Changing Times by Switching To VoIP

VoIP has become a rage world over due to the numerous advantages it has over the traditional public switch telephony network. With the rising popularity the demand for VoIP service has increased tremendously in the past few years and continues to rise at a high rate.

VoIP termination can help the industry and residentials alike in following ways-

1. Cheaper rates - Now it is possible to make local calls at a cheaper rate. No need to pay around $30 just for dial tone anymore!
2. Cheaper long distance and ISD calls - VoIP offers long distance and international calls at a much reduced rate. There are some resellers who offer free unlimited calling to USA and maybe other destinations like Canada.
3. Ease of operations - It is very convenient to use VoIP termination service. One can make VoIP calls through their laptops, IP phone http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifor even their old fixed line phone.
4. Mobility - You can take your VoIP phone with you on a holiday or a business trip without having to worry about missing important calls while you are away.
5. Reduced operating cost - VoIP Telephony service needs lesser equipments to route the call thereby reducing the cost of operations. It uses minimum equipments as opposed to other modes of communication.
6. Flexibility - VoIP termination business plan assists mobile workers or contact center employees to work from their home or while on the move at much cheaper rates and in some cases free of cost too.

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Best Buy launches new VoIP services for businesses

by Brian White

Telecom companies are in trouble these days as more and more customer dump landlines for cellphones and use Voice-over-IP (VoIP) products instead of those expensive home telephone services. Did you ever think retailers would be competing with telecom companies for customers?

Best Buy, Inc.'s (NYSE: BBY) Best Buy for Business subsidiary has you covered on that topic, as the division of the nation's largest consumer electronics company is introducing its "EasyVoice" VoIP service for businesses. Best Buy's new service offering is being marketed on a "cost per employee" basis, starting at $19.95 per employee. This appears to be the largest-yet launch of a service that was born out of the Speakeasy purchase earlier in the year.

Will Best Buy be able to service companies at the required quality of service level that businesses demand? If telecom issues erupt with consumers, the world generally doesn't stop spinning. But, with companies, telecom problems cause revenue flow interruptions and customer service nightmares. As Best Buy begins to compete with established telecommunications companies with its new telephone service, it needs to keep that high in its mind. That, or customers will turn tail to companies like AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T) just as fast as they went to Best Buy for phone service.

Verizon Business Rolls Out VoIP Enhancements

Verizon's Integrated Communications Package upgrades its VoIP offering with access to e-mail, calendar synchronization, and fully managed voice communication

Verizon Communications' Business unit will launch a VoIP service for customers of its Hosted IP Centrex package that will give users access to new features like text messaging and calendar synchronization.

Verizon Business' Integrated Communications Package is targeted at businesses and government agencies whose employees want more collaboration and mobility functionality with their VoIP phones, Verizon said. The package is designed to reduce the time and effort needed to connect employees, the company said.

The package allows users to access voice e-mail, control incoming and outgoing calls, manage their online presence, send text messages, and synchronize contacts and calendars, Verizon said.

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Skype Hit By Bug

The popular Internet calling service Skype has been hit by a bug that has caused it to go offline in certain regions, it has been reported.

Many users in Europe and the Americas were unable to log on to the service on Thursday because of what Skype called a "software problem". Users in Germany, Finland, the US, Brazil and Colombia all reported problems with the service. Many could not log in for up to 14 hours. The company stated: "Our engineering team has determined that it's a software issue. "We expect this to be resolved within 12 to 24 hours."

Skype was founded by entrepreneurs Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis in 2003 and was sold to the internet auction giant eBay in 2005. Services offered by Skype include voice and video conferencing, transferring files and instant messaging. Zennstrom and Friis are also the team behind the new internet TV site, Joost and the file-sharer Kazaa. Click here for information on other digital products and services.

VoIP Battle Predicted

A VoIP "war" is set to begin between providers Cisco and Microsoft, according to a new report.

Writing for CRN, Larry Hooper suggests that the two firms will soon go head to head in the VoIP market. The situation arises as Microsoft prepares to launch its unified communication strategy this fall.

Dubbed Office Communication Server 2007, the new package includes instant messaging, email, mobile and VoIP telephony, as well as videoconferencing. But Mr Hooper warns Microsoft that Cisco did not find things easy in the early days of VoIP. He states that it took Cisco a number of years to establish its channel program in the voice market.

"Time will tell if Microsoft will hit the same bumps in the road to VoIP, but the journey will be fascinating to watch," the writer suggests. Announcing the new product earlier this year, Microsoft business division president Jeff Raikes said that unified communications will be behind "the next major advancement" in the mobile work environment.

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Verizon Business Named Top Service Provider

Verizon Business Named Top Service Provider

Verizon Business has been named the best service provider to big companies and the government by a consulting firm.

Frost & Sullivan awarded Verizon Business its Product Line Strategy Award for enterprise wide area networking (WAN) services. The company was recognized for its ability to introduce new WAN products in a strategic way to compliment the products already in place. Nancy Gofus, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Verizon Business, said: "Our product set underpins the next-generation services our customers require to do
business better around the world. http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

"As a global networking and IT leader, we will continue to invest in and lay the right foundation for large businesses and government agencies to communicate and operate reliably and seamlessly around the globe." In rewarding Verizon Business, Frost & Sullivan particularly highlighted the company's 2006 expansion of its Ethernet Virtual Private Line service from the US to six countries in Asia as a crucial improvement of its Enterprise WAN portfolio.

Meanwhile, a jury has ruled that the Internet phone giant Vonage must pay Verizon Wireless $58 million for infringing three patents. The patents were among the technologies that made it possible for Vonage to offer its much-touted low-cost telephone service over the Internet, Verizon contended.

For more information on Verizon Business Products and other broadband services visit www.broadbandnational.com

Skype Teams With Nokia To Provide Broadband Calling Experience

Skype Teams With Nokia To Provide Broadband Calling Experience

Popular Internet calling service Skype has joined with Nokia to develop a new mobile calling function. Announced at the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, the collaboration basically consists of making Skype mobile on the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet. As long as there is a wireless Internet connection available, customers can use Skype wherever they so choose, under the new service.

Ari Virtanen, vice president, convergence products at Nokia, said: "Skype is the recognized leader of internet communications with over 136 million registered users worldwide. "Nokia's new N800 Internet Tablet is designed for mobile Internet. Together, we can develop communications devices beyond expectations." The Nokia N800 is to become available sometime in the first half of 2007.

Meanwhile, special software has been developed as an add-on for Skype, which can tell whether a person is lying. The software analyzes the voice stream of the person and shows their stress levels to the user. Skype is currently the most widely used Internet communication service and is available in 28 languages. Users of Skype can avail themselves of free voice, video and instant messaging over the Internet.

"Digital voice is one of the fastest growing broadband services," states Mark Weibel, EVP of Marketing for Broadband National, the industries leading comparative shopping website. For more information on VoIP and digital voice visit www.broadbandnational.com