CRM ASP, which offers Web-based CRM solutions including FreeCRM.com, is now working with voice-over-IP (VoIP) vendor Vonage to offer VoIP services that are fully integrated in the company’s premium CRM platform. This will give one-click calling to customers using FreeCRM.com’s premium services.

Voice over IP allows phone calls to be made across a broadband Internet connection, so a separate phone line and phone company charges are no longer necessary. Vonage offers an unlimited nationwide calling plan for $24.95 a month.

Via: Yahoo News 

If pending state legislation to regulate telecommunications companies in Missouri passes, it could stop one local Internet-based phone systems provider from offering service in this area.

Full Story: Kansas City Business Journal 

iiNet is seeking to fill the gap in the small office and SMB VoIP market with the introduction of a multi-line VoIP service, announced today.

Multi-line VoIP is delivered over a single broadband service exactly the same way as single line VoIP, but uses a VoIP gateway switch to dedicate multiple numbers to a customer over the broadband connection.

Full Story: Computer World 

The young and tech-savvy of the Asia-Pacific region spend vast amounts of time online in their pursuit of electronic entertainment. A new ABI Research study focused on online content usage in APAC forecasts that online media activities in the region will deliver at least $6.5 billion in annual revenues by the end of 2013.

“Telcos now regard media and entertainment as an effective means of replacing their declining voice revenues in a market where VoIP, IPTV, and fixed-mobile substitution are rapidly growing in popularity,” says ABI Research analyst Serene Fong.

Full Story: Telephony World 

U4EA’s Solution Provides Advanced QoS and VoIP Security for Pulse’s Enterprise and Carrier Customers

U4EA Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of integrated access technology for converged communications, today announced Pulse Inc., a worldwide value-added distributor (VAD) of data communications, wide area networks and voice over IP (VoIP), as a distributor of U4EA’s Fusion 200 and 400 Series Multi-Service Business Gateways (MSBG).

Full Story: Telephony World 

Covergence, the leading provider of next generation Session Border Control solutions, today announced the successful completion of interoperability testing with PortaOne, a leading global vendor of carrier grade billing and provisioning software for Internet Telephony Service Providers such as BandTel, the first customer to make use of this interoperability. The testing confirms compatibility between the award-winning Covergence Session Manager and the PortaOne PortaSwitch. As the communications landscape quickly evolves, service providers need next generation networking equipment that offers a clear and cost-effective transition path between traditional voice services and IP-based networks. Providers must ready their networks to support the real-time services like video, voice, presence and IM, that users demand.

As a part of this evolution, BandTel delivers SIP trunking solutions to customers as an affordable, high quality alternative to traditional leased line services. Because of its sophisticated network infrastructure which is now enhanced by the Covergence and PortaOne relationships, BandTel is helping customers realize the benefits of VoIP and SIP trunking. Value, quality and policy enforcement are critical success factors for BandTel and its customers.

“By combining the capabilities of the Covergence Session Manager with the flexible routing control provided by PortaSwitch, BandTel can control all aspects of an Internet telephony session,” said Chris Dunk, CEO at BandTel. “The flexibility of the solution has allowed our technical experts to create custom applications that contribute to BandTel’s highly configurable, highly controllable, fully redundant worldwide SIP network.”

PortaOne enables service providers like BandTel to quickly and efficiently implement, manage and deliver a wide range of solutions with PortaSwitch, a single set of software products that include such applications as VoIP billing and provisioning, class 4 and 5 SIP softswitch, unified messaging and conferencing applications, and IP PBX software. The completion of interoperability testing with Covergence further affirms PortaOne’s capabilities to offer complex and flexible solutions to customers like BandTel.

“With proven interoperability between the Covergence Session Manager and the PortaSwitch, we can strongly support the converged services that customers are beginning to demand,” said Roman Khalenkov, Sales and Marketing Director at PortaOne. “While billing and softswitch solutions included in PortaSwitch support inter alia various routing scenarios, real time billing, and highly sophisticated customer and vendor provisioning, the testing with Covergence has allowed us to ensure proper security for next-generation services like encryption, message authentication, and replay protection to data.”

“Telecommunications is moving beyond voice to include multi-media services, and leading vendors like PortaOne need to guarantee a proven solution for delivering these services,” said Bob O’Neil, president and CEO for Covergence. “The Covergence Session Manager works with PortaOne’s offerings to make next-generation communications a reality for customers like BandTel.”

Research and Markets has added the North American Broadband Market Update to their offering. This report highlights current broadband market conditions, analyzes significant events impacting future development, addresses the outlook for fiber and other alternative access methods, examines the market potential of value-added services, profiles consumer perspectives regarding broadband and value-added services, and forecasts future growth.

“Competition among leading service providers has intensified, with the top four service providers owning more than 70% of the market,” said James Kuai, research analyst at Parks Associates. “In order to compete with the cable MSOs in the long term, the two major telcos have shifted their focus from low-priced DSL services to fiber deployment, which can lead to better ARPU, higher customer loyalty, an integrated service bundle, and more advanced features.”

Ciena Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN), announced the completion of its acquisition of World Wide Packets, Inc. pursuant to the terms of the acquisition agreement announced on January 22, 2008. “This acquisition enables us to capitalize on our early leadership in converged Ethernet solutions by accelerating the implementation and time-to-market of our Carrier Ethernet portfolio, drawing in new customers and strengthening our position in existing accounts,” said Gary Smith, Ciena president and CEO. “In addition, World Wide Packets brings strong engineering expertise and business acumen in this technology arena, deepening Ciena’s command of this nascent market and furthering our credibility in the space.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Ciena acquired all of the outstanding shares of World Wide Packets common and preferred stock in exchange for $196.7 million in cash and approximately 2.5 million shares of Ciena common stock. Ciena assumed all then-outstanding World Wide Packets stock options and substituted them for the right to acquire approximately 0.9 million shares of Ciena common stock. In addition, Ciena assumed $11.3 million in outstanding World Wide Packets debt. Based on the closing price of Ciena’s common stock on February 29, 2008, the aggregate value of the shares issued by Ciena (including option assumptions) is approximately $87.8 million. The Ciena shares issued in the transaction are not subject to lock-up provisions and therefore are freely tradable effective with the close.

World Wide Packets will add approximately 180 employees to Ciena, and will continue to operate from its Spokane Valley, Wash. and San Jose, Calif. locations.

Ecamm Networks has introduced Call Recorder for Skype 2.3.

This new version is compatible with the recently introduced Skype 2.7 release. It also includes a new two-track video recording option, enhanced video recording quality, and fixes some minor issues.

Via: PCWorld

It’s official – people love Skype so much that they’ve helped make over 100 billion minutes of free Skype-to-Skype calls since their popular Internet phone call software debuted to the world in August 2003.

Via: IT Wire