Introduction to Fax over IP with FaxxBochs

May 14, 2010 by Garrett Smith

Since you’re reading the VoIP Insider it likely that youā€™ve decided to embark on the road of implementing Voice over IP (VoIP) or already have.

Congratulations!

Whether for reasons of cost, service availability, feature set, or ease of mobility, VoIP is a fantastic technology. However, it does have one major drawback that has been unreliable until recently, fax.

Who needs fax?

You may immediately question the need for fax.

Isnā€™t fax technology something from the past? Who really uses a fax machine anymore when we live in a world of ā€œeFaxā€, scanners, and email?

Simply put, many people.

Fax is a secure method of document transmission that is still relied upon by many in the medical, legal, real estate, and other business fields. Well, no problem. If we need fax, letā€™s just plug our fax machine into an ATA/DTA device and fax away.

Right? WRONG.
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U.S.A Broadband Demand up in the first Quarter 2010

A recent article and report published by Durham NH based Leichtman Research has indicated that broadband services were up for the first time in a long time in the first quarter of 2010.

This report is great news for those end users and carriers interested in selling Hosted VoIP services; Net new broadband circuits probably means that Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) is on the way out for these same businesses.

The Aastra Carrier sales team has several Hosted VoIP carriers who use the embedded base of POTS service as a lead source, of sorts. That is to say if a customer has a lot of older cooper POTS lines or circuits, billing anywhere from $35 to $65 / month / circuit (depending on where you live), the Hosted VoIP carrier will offer SIP Trunking or Hosted VoIP service to replace these connections.

The net result is the customer can disconnect these lines and receive concrete savings as a result of going to the new, broadband based SIP trunk or Hosted VoIP service. Broadband, for both internet and now voice, is becoming the mean vehicle to deliver these services.

I envision the day when the multipurpose, broadband circuit will be all the only wired carrier service needed to run a business. If this happens get ready for the regulated phone companies to go crying to their local department of utilities for a rate increase for those POTS lines.

Follow-up to Metaswitch Forum 2010

Did you ever plan a summer party and then it rains and blows the plans? All of your provisions are sitting in the fridge with know one to serve them to (maybe except the wine and beer which somehow always finds a home).

Well thatā€™s nothing compared with what Metaswitch encountered in the last two weeks when their forum venue, the Gaylord – Opryland Hotel and resort was flooded and their Annual User Conference needed to be canceled.

See photos of the hotel at this link.

The organizers have not announced the rescheduling of the event. Iā€™m sure the more than 800 customers and vendors will find something else to do next week, and Iā€™m also sure that the we all feel for, the Opryland Hotel staff and the people of Tenn. who have a much bigger task ahead of them, rebounding from this event.

Skype Group Video Calls Brings Video Conferencing to Everyone

May 13, 2010 by Garrett Smith

Earlier today Skype announced their version 5.0 BETA.

There’s a number of improvements and new features. They are all of value, but perhaps the most important and intriguing feature release is group video calling.

The highly demanded and anticipated group video calling feature allows Skype users to conduct a Skype video call with up to five other Skype users.

That’s right – five way video conferencing. For free.

All you need is a Skype Web camera, a Skype account and some Skype buddies.

For years video conferencing technology has been out of the reach of small companies. With version 5.0, Skype has enable millions to start leveraging video conferencing to increase productivity, efficiency and even lower costs.

Small businesses no longer need to outlay thousands of dollars to enjoy basic video conferencing if they don’t need to. This is a huge win for Skype and users of the service.

Now this feature release doesn’t signal the end for existing video conferencing providers. If anything it will only further increased interest and use of the technology.

And as interest and usage increases, so to does demand for more advanced and feature rich video conferencing options. This makes the announcement a win for just about everyone.

Oh and we’ll get back to VoIP tomorrow. Promise.

Advantages of Video Conferencing

May 11, 2010 by Joe Shanahan

Video conferencing is a very popular and rapidly growing technology due to the many advantages and cost savings it can provide to both large and small businesses and organizations of all types.

Business meetings, educational training, medical procedures and collaboration, stockholder meetings, distance learning, surveillance and military operations are just a few of the many different environments where video conferencing is used on a daily basis.

The Main Advantages of Video Conferencing

Cost Savings

The most obvious advantage of utilizing video conferencing is the reduction of travel costs that is realized when face to face meetings are conducted via video rather than in person. Cutting travel expenses is an excellent way for a company to help the bottom line while keeping the same level of service to customers and business associates that they are accustomed to.
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Video Conferencing Solutions Now Available at VoIP Supply

May 10, 2010 by Garrett Smith

If you don’t know it already or can’t tell from my posts I talk a lot.

More precisely I communicate a lot.

From face-to-face meetings, phone calls, emails and text messages more than half of my waking hours are spent communicating.

And recently, I’ve added a new hammer to my communications tool box – Video conferencing.

Whether I’m leveraging the Polycom HDX 8002 video conferencing system in our training room or desktop video calling using Skype and a web camera, video conferencing has helped me become a more efficient and profitable employee.

I no longer have to travel to EVERY meeting. I can foster better relationships and collaboration with theĀ  Manufacturers we represent. And I can now tell when someone’s snoozing onĀ  a call šŸ™‚

Now you can too.

I was supposed to keep this quiet until Wednesday, but I can’t keep quiet any longer. Video conferencing equipment is now available at VoIP Supply.

Look for more on video conferencing solutions from the likes of Polycom, FREETALK, Grandstream and others over the coming weeks as VoIP Supply brings together voice and video for the first time.

In the mean time, check out the following articles to get you primed for what’s to come:

Cisco IP Phone Headsets

May 3, 2010 by Garrett Smith

So you have put the research into it, tried out a demo unit, and finally you have decided on Cisco IP Phones for your VoIP deployment.

Selecting a headset for a Cisco Phone

In most cases the headset to use with your new VoIP phone is a hasty afterthought. VoIP Supply has done the research for you on headsets so you can decide quickly and with confidence which headsets are your best bet to use with your new Cisco IP phone.
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New Hours of Operation

In addition to Canadian expansion, VoIP Supply is also expanding our hours of operation to meet the needs of west coast customers.

Starting today VoIP Supply’s new hours of operation are 8:3am until 9pm EST Monday through Friday. During this time live sales and service associates will be available to answer your questions, service your account and process your orders.

For more information, please call 800.398.8647 or email [email protected].

VoIP Supply Invades Foreign Soil

voip_supply_canada

If you’ve followed the VoIP Insider or VoIP Supply for any length of time you will know that for years we’ve been servicing a worldwide customer base. While theĀ  United States is our primary market, we’ve always had a strong presence within North America, especially in Canada.

Over the years we’ve kept a close on eye on the Canadian market place through our Canadian VoIP Store and over the last few months we’ve made a number of investments to bolster our ability to service the Canadian market.

In addition to a revamp of our Canadian website, today we’re happy to announce that VoIP Supply now has a physical presence in Canada. Starting soon orders placed through VoIPSupply.com or CanadianVoIPStore.com will ship from our Canada location.

This will allow Canadian customers to purchase product in Canadian dollars, avoid shipping delays and customs fees all of which should make purchasing VoIP equipment easier and less expensive.

Migrating to VoIP using a gateway

April 28, 2010 by Brian Hyrek

More and more companies have begun considering a new phone system. Chances are you are looking into one too.

Since the last time you’ve looked into a phone system, though, a lot has changed. Today you have more choice than ever.

Despite the choice and after dragging a fine-tooth over the feature sets and costs savings of VoIP vs. Analog phone systems, you’ll likely find that moving your phone system to VoIP is a conclusive no-brainer.

But that doesn’t mean that the PSTN isn’t useful, nor does it mean that you necessarily have to completely replace your existing phone system – thanks to VoIP Gateways.
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