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September 27, 2007

Digium acquires Switchvox to Improve SMB Offering

As you may have heard, Digium announced this morning that it's acquired Switchvox, a well known provider of Asterisk-based phone systems.  Since several people have already asked me about the deal, I figured I'd let you all know my feelings on the matter.  First of all, let me say that I personally think this is a great thing for all the parties involved.
Obviously this gives Digium a more polished product aimed primarily at small- and medium-sized businesses, and it allows the Switchvox team to join a larger organization with a greater reach.  I also think this is a positive thing for the Asterisk community as well, as key pieces of the Switchvox system will be rolled into the open-source version of Asterisk.  (I've personally heard of two or three things that the Switchvox team has done to improve Asterisk, and I'm sure there are lots more I'm not aware of yet.)

The full text of the press release can be found at, and we've tried to answer the common questions we've already received by putting up a question and answer page at http://www.digium.com/en/mediacenter/news/viewpress.php?id=digium-acquires-switchvox.  Obviously this won't answer everyone's questions, so I'm more than happy to field questions (either in private or here on the mailing list) and have them answered by Digium management.  We're also planning an audio conference next Tuesday in which you'll be able to dial in and ask any questions you may have concerning the acquisition.  (I'll post the exact time and details as soon as I have them.)


-------
Jared Smith
Community Relations Manager
Digium, Inc.

Posted by Dal at 03:29 PM | | TrackBacks (0) Posted to Asterisk News

Google Wireless Network Could Cost Almost $17 Billion to Build

Note:  My vote is do it.  The more Google build's independent access to the people who keep the lights on "search users" the better position they will be in for the future where we will have more players competing for the same pie.

It could cost as much as $12 billion and take as long as three years to build a national wireless network from scratch, Google's Washington telecom and media counsel said Sept. 25. That would be on top of a minimum of $4.6 billion to buy the spectrum.

Whether the Mountain View, Calif., search and advertising giant wants to spend that much to become a wireless broadband provider is still an open question, Rick Whitt told students at George Washington University's Institute for Politics and the Internet.
 
"It would cost more money than people think," Whitt said. "Do we really want to take that leap?" Google's interest in obtaining spectrum to challenge traditional wireless providers such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless has sparked intense speculation since the Federal Communications Commission set the conditions for January's 700 MHz auction, largely following the suggestions of Google, other technology companies and public advocacy groups.
 
The FCC dedicated almost a third of the spectrum available – enough to build a national network – to open access, requiring the winning bidder to allow customers to use the phone or device and applications of their choice on the network. The decision, which is already being challenged in court by Verizon, is expected to reduce or eliminate interest in the spectrum from traditional carriers who close their networks to selected devices and services.
 
Like Google, AT&T, Verizon and other carriers have not formally announced their auction strategy. "We may line up some other high-tech companies or smaller telecoms. Some of the second- and third-tier companies may be willing to work with us," Whitt said, adding that Google is willing to talk with "anybody who thinks it makes sense to join us on this."
 
Whitt also said it might make more sense for Google to make another play for a smaller slice of spectrum in the auction or to focus on emerging technologies such as the use of unlicensed spectrum in the interference buffer zones between broadcast channels or, possibly, mesh networks.
 
 

Posted by Dal at 01:59 PM | | TrackBacks (0) Posted to WiMax

Windows GUI for Asterisk PBX - GlassConsole Lite 1.0.20

At last!, I have finally finish the Windows GlassConsole Lite. A fully functional windows console for the Asterisk PBX. People have always askme for an easy to use hand off linux, Asterisk Console. To be totally graphicall and not having to deal with the struggle of going trough a web site or a linux prompt. Well, here it is!.
GlassConsole-Lite, is a message driven console that allows you to monitor every single aspect of your Asterisk server. From active calls, conference rooms, agents , queues, channels. Not only that it gives you alarms triggers. Where you can setup alarms in real time based on events or alarms on the systems. These can be either visually on the screen , to email or to file. Everysingle alarm is also autoamticly log to a file. For those that use asterisk in a production environment GlassConsole-Lite is amust monitoring tool to have. 
 
Features With the GlassConsole Lite you can view:
 
* Actual bridge calls.
* Actual register phones in the system.
* Number of CHannels being use either in Zap, Sip, Iax. The single server license has the following alarms:
* Alarms if the console is exited.
* Alarm when the console get s started.
* Alarm if connected to the Asterisk server.
* Alarm if you loose connectivity to the server.
* Alarm if a phone does not re-register in the time required.
* Alarm if a Zap Channels goes down.
* Alarm when a Zap Channels clears.
 

Posted by Dal at 01:54 PM | | TrackBacks (0) Posted to Asterisk Software

F5 Networks Updates IP Multimedia Traffic device

The BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is aimed at organisations using a variety of multimedia applications and networks. The product is compatible with infrastructure management service (IMS), manages traffic for service providers’ migration from circuit-switched to packet-switched networks and carries out application-layer switching for session initiation protocol (SIP), real-time streaming protocol (RTSP) and steam control transmission protocol (SCTP).
The TMOS platform boasts several security features, such as a TCP and application proxy, optimised IP stacks and virtual network segmentation. It is claimed that the tool blocks online attacks against company networks and applications before they reach the server.

The updated device is available from October with a software upgrade to 9.4.2 on the 1500, 3400, 6400, 6800, 8400, 8800 platforms. No additional license is required.
 
Source: SC Mag 

Posted by Dal at 01:42 PM | | TrackBacks (0) Posted to SIP

September 26, 2007

Nokia Launches New WiFi GSM Combo Phone

Nokia has annouced the launch of the Nokia 6301 which automatically switches between GSM and WiFi networks. Nokia launched today and is already making a lot of noise in the mobile phone market. It has the ability to use Unlicensed Mobile Access as it can access WiFi networks as well as GSM cellular networks.

The technology is called UMA technology. This feature is supposed to guarantee cell phone users that they can enter a building at any time and when their cellular service drops out, the phone switched to a WiFi network without losing the call.

The Nokia 6301 has a 2 megapizel camera as well as a 2″ QVGA screen, a microSD memory slot, and support for Bluetooth. It is not likely that it will ever appear in the United States but it is expected to be a big seller in Europe where it is launching. It will be available across Europe by the end of Q4.

 

Source: DB Techno 

Posted by Dal at 05:00 PM | | TrackBacks (0) Posted to Wireless Hardware

September 14, 2007

AstLinux 0.4.8 Released to the Public

AstLinux 0.4.8 has been released.  The only updates were to Asterisk and Zaptel.  Most of the development effort is focused on implementing Asterisk 1.4 and releasing AstLinux 0.5, which should be both happen fairly soon.  Expect many more changes in those releases!

Click Here to Download AstLinux

Posted by Dal at 12:19 PM | | TrackBacks (0) Posted to Asterisk Software

WiMax Case Study: Ertach’s WiMAX Experience in Argentina

Ertach was founded in 1998 by Millicom International Cellular and the business group Sociedad Comercial del Plata (SCP). In that year, Ertach was awarded licenses of 50 MHz of spectrum in the 3.4-3.7 GHz frequency band for data transmission and value-added services. Today, the company is one of the leading providers of broadband wireless solutions in Argentina and Latin America. But the success they enjoys today was not an easy battle. The company commented to us about the challenges they overcame in order to occupy their present position in the Argentinean market.
Their strategy, which was initially focused on the provision of broadband wireless services to residential users using the traditional technology Wireless Local Loop (WLL), was completely reformulated during the severe economic recession of 2002. The company started focusing on providing services to the business market segment: corporate users and SME. In 2003, Ertach launched the “First National Broadband Wireless Network,” an expansion plan that covered 40 new cities in only 12 months.
 
However, Ertach faced what they called the “Bandwidth War” – increasing competition from other operators who provided DSL and cable modem speeds of 1–2 Mbps at very competitive prices. The WLL service lost competitiveness because it could not provide enough bandwidth to users. Mr. Luis Galli, General Manager of Ertach, commented that at that time they needed to implement a technology upgrade that allows them to keep a leadership position in the sector of wireless communications.
 
“We saw in WiMAX a promising opportunity. We adopted the 802.16-2004 standard and the growth possibilities of the company multiplied,” Mr. Galli added. In 2004, Ertach deployed “The First WiMAX Network in Latin America,” providing internet access, data transmission, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) with the standard 802.16d.
 
“In the short term, WiMAX provided us with many benefits such as the possibility of providing our customers with bandwidth speeds of up to 10 Mbps and QoS that allowed us to strengthen our business and equally compete with the other telcos; in most cases we were able to improve upon their price offerings and quality,” said Mr. Ezequiel López Alcalá, Manager of Products and Marketing.
 
 

Posted by Dal at 11:22 AM | | TrackBacks (0) Posted to WiMax

September 09, 2007

Cisco Rolls Out Enterprise Class Wi-Fi

Cisco Systems debuted on Sept. 4 its first enterprise-class wireless LAN access point based on the Wi-Fi Alliance's 802.11n standards. According to Cisco, the Aironet 1250 access point is the only commercially available product to have participated in the Alliance's 802.11n Draft 2.0 testbed.

Although the Draft 2.0 standards are still at least a year away from final adoption, Cisco said it is moving ahead since chip makers and laptop companies are already building the standard into new PCs and other wireless devices.

The 802.11n Draft 2.0 joint interoperability testing was conducted with Intel at the Intel Oregon testing facility, which is set up to simulate a typical enterprise environment. Cisco said its experience in radio-frequency communications allows the company to deliver a fivefold increase in throughput and MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) technology.

"802.11n is being looked at by businesses of all sizes and it's being looked at as the first new standard for overall robustness," said Ben Gibson, director of Cisco's mobility solutions, in San Jose, Calif. "It will allow the enterprise to embrace wireless more fully."

Cisco's next-generation Unified Wireless Network will include the modular Aironet 1250 Series access point, as well as the 48G-bps scalable Cisco Catalyst 6500-based WLAN controller system, and wired and wireless services with the Unified Wireless Network Release 4.2.

In addition, Cisco will also deliver, through its Catalyst switches, the ability to fully power the dual-radio Aironet 1250 Series from a single Ethernet port.

Click Here to Continue Reading 

 

 

Posted by Dal at 08:04 PM | | TrackBacks (0) Posted to Cisco

September 04, 2007

Is Radio, Touchscreen and Wi-Fi coming to the iPod?

Nothing gets the rumour mill turning quite like an upcoming Apple event, so ahead of the 5 September launch, let's take a look at the speculation so far. One of the most interesting rumours brings digital radio to the iPod range, with a 'buy-now' facility offering users the chance to purchase the track they're listening to on their desktop PC from iTunes.

This could be made handier still if the iPod does actually go wireless, as some reports suggest it will. Apple has had the patent on file for a while now and being able to wirelessly sync the device with a home computer seems a logical step for the company.

Suggestions that the flagship iPod, possible called the Touch, will incorporate technology from the iPhone also look likely to bear fruit, with a full touchscreen and banishment of hardware buttons the first among numerous design elements likely to be borrowed from the phone handset.

Speculation that the Touch will be powered by Mac OS X instead of the iPod's standalone operating system also persists, and would certainly make sense if the touchscreen interface is adopted.

Observers are also expecting a large widescreen display and flash memory in place of a hard drive, though how this will affect storage capacity and price is unclear.

Source: PC Pro 

 

Posted by Dal at 10:32 AM | | TrackBacks (0) Posted to Wireless Hardware

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