Net calls get their own area code
51830
The telecoms watchdog Ofcom is considering how to regulate firms that let you make calls via the net.
193018
EarthLink Inc, one of the US&#39;s largest consumer ISPs, said yesterday it has started offering free voice over IP calls to subscribers of its high speed service.
187220
The basic technology is called voice-over-IP and it is referred to as VOIP. Free! Sign up here to receive our SiteWatcher e-Newsletter!
494604
Ring, Ring. Someone answer the computer. Voice-over-Internet Protocol got a boost today as The Federal Communications Commission ruled that providers of the service are exempt from some major state regulations
656255
An adapter made by Siemens allows phones to make calls using the Internet or the traditional phone network.
266713
EarthLink is offering free VoIP calling as an incentive to sign up for its high-speed Internet service. The free service is available to the company&#39;s million-plus broadband customers.
620094
roundup Free-roaming source code breeds new Netsky pest. Also: From IE to Opera, browsers are a likely prey.
231089
In an effort to stop scams that cause unwitting Internet users to get charged premium rates for calls placed by software surreptitiously installed on their PCs, Ireland is going to block outgoing calls to 13 ...
267695
New technology can trick a caller ID box into displaying the name and phone number of an entirely different person or company than the one actually calling.
719626
(InfoWorld) - Intrado Inc., a vendor of emergency dialing technology, has conducted a successful trial of using E911 emergency dialing capabilities with mobile VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) phones, the company said. Intrado's trial in New York in August was aimed at solving one of the major problems with location-based E911, or enhanced 911, service with VoIP phones, said Stephen Meer, Intrado's chief technology officer. E911 relays the location of a caller to the emergency dispatch center, but many VoIP phones are not tied to one physical address -- users can connect the phones to any broadband network to make calls. The Intrado auto-locate trial used back-end 911 system technology from the company in combination with several location-finding technologies, Meer said. Included in the test were GPS (global positioning system) technology, a technology that triangulates high-definition television signals and one that surveys local Wi-Fi access points, he said. Combined with Intrado technology, the location-finding technologies were able to route VoIP 911 calls to emergency dispatch centers, using the dispatch equipment already installed, Meer said. No location-finding technology works in every situation -- GPS, for example, can have problems in densely packed tall buildings -- but a combination of location-finding technology can work, he said. "The real solution here is going to be a bundling of technologies," Meer said. Many large VoIP providers have been slow to provide E911 service to all their customers, with the mobility of VoIP phones being one of the problems. Because VoIP services route 911 calls through IP networks instead of the traditional telephone network, some VoIP phones have phone numbers that can follow the phone wherever it's plugged in. The Intrado test shows this problem has solutions, Meer said, although none of the newer location-finding technologies works as well as a traditional wireline phone tied to one address. The Intrado trial generally provided dispatchers with locations based on latitude and longitude, similar to current wireless phone 911 calls, but not as useful as street addresses, he said. Although the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has required VoIP providers to offer E911 service, more public discussion is needed about how precise a location the E911 call should provide, Meer said. "If the national public policy turns out to be, 'We're sort of going to tell you within a mile or so where you are,' there are going to be no little girls calling for help when their mommy's fallen down the steps," Meer said. "We have to have some interesting discussions about what's the right level for public safety." The Intrado trial doesn't attack a second problem with VoIP phones and E911. Providers such as Vonage Holdings Corp. and AT&T Inc. have allowed customers to pick phone numbers not normally assigned to their local area. This "nomadic" service allows customers to choose a phone number that would not be a long-distance call to family or friends living half-way across the country, but the nonlocal phone numbers make it difficult to implement E911's location pinpointing feature, Vonage and other VoIP providers have said.
191968
No opening the handset case, no soldering -- a hacker group has announced that they've come up with a workaround allowing iPhone owners to make calls via networks other than AT&T.
88288
p2pnet.net News:- A business in Ireland found it had unknowingly racked up nearly $15,000 in calls. Other modem users found they had charges for calls to the South Pacific.
114703
Are there ever âshorter than expectedâ hold times on phone help lines? and other perplexing questions.
272891
If you are in Sudan it is a "missed call". In Ethiopia it is a "miskin" or a "pitiful" call. In other parts of Africa it is a case of "flashing", "beeping" or in French-speaking areas "bipage".
325296
NEW YORK - Traditional phone systems may be going the way of the Pony Express. Voice-over-Internet Protocol, technology that allows users to make and receive phone calls using the Internet, is giving the old circuit-switched system a run for its money.
593907
A new service promises cheaper mobile calls by exploiting VOIP, but it's not going to be easy. The big carriers must be considered, plus customers will have to punch lots of extra numbers. By Rachel Metz.
525195
Overseas WLAN access at no extra charge - for now