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By Marguerite Reardon
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Bell Canada is moving more aggressively toward Internet Protocol technology. Top on its “to do” list: voice over IP service for residential customers.

At its annual shareholder meeting in Toronto on Wednesday, Michael Sabia, chief executive officer of the Canadian phone company, outlined his company’s strategy for moving all of its communications services onto an IP-based communications network.

“It’s clear the future for the industry is IP,” Sabia said in a statement. “The company is solidly engaged, and we have the plans and the proven ability to execute to support our determination to compete and win in an IP world.”

Bell Canada’s overall objective is to migrate 100 percent of its traffic, including all of its voice traffic, onto a national IP backbone network within three years. The carrier said that IP-based communications will provide its customers with several benefits including simpler provisioning, greater self-service and multimedia Internet. The company said the move also will significantly reduce operating costs.

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TechTerra Deploys New Xten Technologies in Delivering Free SIP-to-SIP Calling and Other Integrated Services

AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dec. 15, 2003–TechTerra Communications, Inc., a leading VoIP service provider, today announced the expansion of its product line to include: free SIP-to-SIP, TerraConnect and TerraCall X-Pro Business Edition. TechTerra is proud to be the first service provider to deploy these services powered by new technologies from Xten Networks, Inc.
TechTerra’ SIP-to-SIP (StS), also known as PC-to-PC, is a free service allowing voice calls from one PC (or other approved SIP-enabled endpoint) to another. TechTerra is offering a free broadband TerraCall X-Lite client to access the free service, with which landline and cellular calls can also be made at very low rates. StS will also support the Actiontec Internet Phone Wizard, a USB device that merges your regular telephone and VoIP into one endpoint.

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This isn’t really related to telephony today but there is some crossover which will become apparent very soon. This battle is reminiscent of the VoIP regulatory issues we are experiencing these days as well.

I support Lindows as I believe that they are being bullied by the software giant in Redmond, give them hell Michael!

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Microsoft is putting European resellers in the middle of its trademark battles with Lindows, and in Sweden, Microsoft is winning.

Lindows isn’t Windows. Apparently plain old folks don’t know this, however, at least according to the City Court of Stockholm, Sweden. The court issued an injunction at Microsoft Corp.’s request on Dec. 10, barring San Diego-based Lindows.com Inc. from marketing its LindowsOS operating system in Sweden.

In its declaration, the City Court “prohibits, for the time until the case has finally settled or anything else has been decided, Lindows.com to use Lindows, Lindows.com and LindowsOS, as marks for products or services regarding operative systems.”

The injunction is the latest salvo in an increasingly nasty war in which Microsoft appears determined to quash the Lindows name permanently. “What we’re asking Lindows to do is to change its name,” says Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler. “It is Lindows.com that put these [European] resellers in a compromising position by their deliberate infringement on our trademark.”

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By Ben Charny
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Broadband telephone service provider Vonage said Monday that it has replaced Cisco Systems with Motorola as its exclusive telephone adapter supplier.

As a result of the deal with Motorola, each of the approximately 2,500 subscribers that Vonage adds each week will be given Motorola’s VT1000v. Known as an Analog Telephone Adapter, the device plugs into a broadband connection and lets traditional home or office phones make telephone calls that use the Internet and avoid additional charges from telephone companies. Vonage continues to use Cisco network gear, including gateway and call-manager products.

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A new report by independent market analysts Datamonitor (DTM.L) says demand for outsourced voice solutions amongst enterprises globally is set to rise considerably within the next two years. The report “Creating demand for outsourced voice services”, predicts that by 2005, $76.5 million will be up for grabs if voice vendors play their cards right. That’s an 80% growth on 2003 revenues. For enterprises, outsourcing voice services negates the heavy hardware costs associated with on-premise systems and delivers these high-end technologies without additional training and expertise requirements on the purchaser. North America currently accounts for the bulk of revenues; however, Datamonitor expects Asia Pacific (APAC) and the Caribbean & Latin America (CALA) to experience the fastest growth due to their higher propensity to outsource. The report acknowledges that low market awareness and lack of understanding of modern voice business solutions are a current inhibitor to voice outsourcing but believes they will be overcome.

Outsourced Voice applications are gaining recognition in the public eye..

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IP Unity has announced that CommPartners has selected IP Unity’s platform to serve as the voice messaging and unified messaging engine for its VoP services. IP Unity’s Harmony6000 Media Server solutions platform supports provisioning multiple and enhanced services on a single system.The company’s Media Enhanced Services Architecture (MESA) also delivers secure partitioning for customers to be co-hosted on the same platform.

ITXC and ZAO Sonic Duo, which operates in the Moscow area for Russian nationwide mobile network MegaFon, have established an agreement for the bilateral exchange of international voice traffic to and from Moscow over ITXC’s VoIP network, ITXC.net. ZAO Sonic Duo will benefit from the revenue it receives when it terminates calls to its subscribers sent to it over ITXC.net from countries around the world.

Quintum has announced addition to their Tenor VoIP MultiPath Switch product line. The Tenor DX Series of VoIP products addresses the needs of enterprisesand service providers. This product will extend Tenor’s capabilities and transparent installation to support larger PBXs that are utilizing multiple digital trunks.

Quintum is also announcing that shipping with the Tenor DX Series is a Tenor Configuration Manager with Graphical User Interface (GUI). The Configuration Manager runs on a PC and can remotely configure a Tenor anywhere IP access is available.