VoIP Evolution

The Top 25 VoIP Advances of 2009

There were more advances than true innovations in the VoIP world in 2009. That's because some of the most important developments had more to do with commercial and political maneuvers than with technical creativity. Still, such maneuvers often helped spread the benefits of VoIP as much as did technical innovation. And collectively, the advances brought some already-evident trends into clearer focus. A key such trend is the increasing integration of voice with other applications and services. Another is the intensifying interest in HD voice. A third is the growing interconnection of VoIP services, in part in response to the possibilities that end-to-end HD voice offers. With such trends as background, here, in no particular order, are our top 25 VoIP advances of 2009.

Ribbit Mobile No Google Voice Clone

The most common reaction to the newly introduced Ribbit Mobile service is that it's a Google Voice competitor. In some ways that's true, but there are significant differences between the two. The main one is that Ribbit Mobile makes one's existing mobile number the main number, while Google Voice hangs all its services on a new number it provides. For most users, one approach will be clearly better than the other.

AT&T's, Verizon's Mobile VoIP Moves Reveal Political Concerns

The timing of the announcements by Verizon Wireless and AT&T was almost transparent. Both came just a couple of weeks after new FCC chairman Julius Genachowski's September 21 speech on network neutrality. In that speech, Genachowski stated, among other things, that neutrality rules should cover wireless communications. Even then, it was clear that mobile VoIP would be the most explosive issue in the network neutrality battle.

Skype Adds Cisco SMB Interoperability

Skype business announcements are coming fast and furious these days. One big one was the introduction of Skype for Asterisk earlier this month. Others are the result of the introduction of Skype for SIP beta service in March. ShoreTel was the first to announce certification of its IP PBXes with that service earlier this month. SIPfoundry followed with certification of its sipXecs product about a week ago, and now Skype has added the biggest name yet: Cisco.

Skype Business Push Continues With ShoreTel SIP Interoperability

The push to integrate Skype with SMB IP PBXes is speeding up. On the heels of the commercial availability of Skype for Asterisk comes Skype for SIP for ShoreTel. The new capability allows ShoreTel users to make and receive calls via the Skype for SIP service. Skype announced that service in March, and ShoreTel is the first SIP-capable IP PBX vendor to achieve certification with it.

How Skype for Asterisk Can Help Businesses

It was one of the most obvious match-ups ever, particularly in the current economic climate. Combining Asterisk open-source IP PBX software with Skype's cheap Internet calling service was the ultimate penny-pincher for cost-conscious small businesses. Ironically, Skype for Asterisk costs money, while the Asterisk software itself doesn't. Either way, the combination lets a company's employees make and receive calls to and from Skype users, as well as people using landline or cellular phones, around the world cheaply or for free.

Skype-Tapping Program Actually Windows Trojan Horse

A recently released program for tapping Skype calls is actually a Windows Trojan Horse program, Skype has explained in a blog post. A European software developer released the Trojan.Peskyspy program as a public warning of the potential danger it posed. The Swiss government had asked the developer's employer to create software that could listen in on Skype and other VoIP calls. The developer hoped the release would encourage other developers to come up with ways to counter the program.

Voxbone Provides iNums to Burning Man Attendees

Voxbone's iNum service gives subscribers a single number that can reach them no matter where in the world they or their callers are. INums use the recently created ITU country code +883, which means callers in any country can use the same number to reach the subscriber. Subscribers can likewise have calls to the number directed to them wherever they happen to be. They might even be in the middle of the Nevada desert – say, at the upcoming Burning Man festival.

VoIP Central to FCC Wireless Inquiries Under Obama

It's clear that the FCC's emphasis has changed dramatically under President Obama. Most notably, the agency has become a lot more serious about increasing openness and competition in the telecommunications industry. One part of its effort is a strong push for network neutrality in general – that is, for mandating that Internet providers treat all traffic equally, to legally prevent them from blocking or degrading services that compete with theirs. Another part is a focus on the mobile communications business in particular. VoIP will be central to that part of the effort.

GIPS Codec Now Powers Yahoo Video Calling

When it comes to real-time Internet communication, quality is always an issue. Internet connections are so inconsistent they can turn talk into gibberish. It takes sophisticated technology to make Internet conversations sound consistently good. The challenges are even greater with Internet video calling. The quality of both images and sound has to be good, and the two must also be in sync. That's why companies that can afford it pay lots of money for custom video equipment connected over private IP links.

Codecs are key to making Internet voice and video work. These pieces of software, embedded in physical phones or Internet calling applications, process the audio and video for delivery over IP connections. Among other things, codecs adjust for different levels of Internet bandwidth between callers, and compensate for delay, inconsistent delivery and loss of packets carrying the voice or video streams.