ZDNet UK VoIP Toolkit

eBay prepares to spin off Skype

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Dawn Kawamoto) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:08:02 +0100

The online auction company plans an IPO for the VoIP service, which has failed to live up to eBay's hopes for business synergy

Skype on taking care of customers

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Rupert Goodwins) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:24:02 +0100

In an interview with ZDNet.co.uk's Rupert Goodwins, Skype's COO says the company is making focused moves to improve the customer experience and service

Skype for SIP goes public

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (David Meyer) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:16:01 +0000

Skype for SIP, a service that lets businesses plug their IP-based PBXs into the popular VoIP firm's services, has gone public after a closed beta period

Google Voice acquires VoIP client Gizmo5

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Tom Krazit) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:25:02 +0000

Terms of the deal for the VoIP software company were undisclosed, but the acquisition will be used to help Google Voice

Skype deal averts shutdown, allows sale

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (David Meyer) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:49:02 +0000

The VoIP company's founders will regain some control over the firm and eBay will be able to sell off a majority stake in Skype, after settling an intellectual property dispute

Sign-ups begin for BT's cloud-phone Ribbit service

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (David Meyer) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:50:02 +0000

Ribbit Mobile, which will let users make or answer mobile-phone calls on the internet and convert voicemails to text, will open to the public as a beta trial early next year

Skype and Lenovo agree pre-installation deal

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:21:33 +0100

Skype has signed a deal with Lenovo that will see the PC manufacturer pre-install the communications service on all its enterprise laptops and desktop computers. Beginning immediately, all...

Internet watchdog challenges 'bogus' VoIP patent

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Marguerite Reardon) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:33:02 +0100

Civil liberties group the Electronic Frontier Foundation says it has found a prior patent and reference material to invalidate a VoIP patent

Real Desperation at Skype?

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:59:00 +0100

Ok, I might have been wrong. It is certainly starting to look like I was, although I'm not quite ready to give up yet. It looks like the battle between Skype and JoltID might be more than a...

Skype founders sue eBay over copyright dispute

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Michelle Meyers) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:50:02 +0100

Joltid, a company founded by Skype's developers, alleges its P2P software is being infringed upon every time someone downloads and uses the popular VoIP service

Brutally Frank

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:32:40 +0100

You've got to admire someone who is willing to make brutally frank assessments. The Skype Cheerleaders (aka The Skype Journal) have just published an interview with Ben Lilitenthal about the...

eBay/Skype vs. Joltid - an Insider's View

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 07:47:05 +0100

Here is an interview and opinion from someone who was in the VoiP business at the time that eBay bought Skype. It sounds like he has had the same opinion that Xwj has expressed here - someone had...

Why All the Noise About Skype?

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 15:25:52 +0100

The internet seems to be inundated suddenly with doomsday articles about how Skype might have to "shut down" by June. What the heck is that all about? In my opinion, it is truly a "Tempest in a...

Skype aims to avoid shutdown with new tech

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (David Meyer) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:37:02 +0100

The eBay-owned VoIP firm is trying to develop new P2P technology to replace that which might be taken away in a legal dispute with Skype's founders

Skype handles around 8pc of int'l voice calls

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:15:51 +0000

The telecoms analyst and statistic firm TeleGeography has released its latest data about international long-distance voice calls, and claimed that the VoIP company Skype now handles 8 percent of...

Skype opens up to business phone systems

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (David Meyer) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 09:00:00 +0000

The VoIP company has launched Skype For SIP, which will let businesses hook up their existing IP-based PBX systems to the popular internet-telephony service

Enum VoIP registry goes live in UK

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (David Meyer) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:24:01 +0000

The service allows pure internet-based calls, something registry operator Nominet says can help businesses reduce or eliminate call costs to supplier and clients

Birmingham council hopes to cut costs with VoIP

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Kable) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:00:02 +0000

Cabinet members at Birmingham City Council are to vote on whether to spend more than £5m renewing the authority's telephone system

EU agency backtracks on Skype crime claims

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (David Meyer) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:13:01 +0000

Eurojust, the EU's judicial co-ordination agency, has significantly revised a statement in which it claimed Skype was being used by organised crime for undetectable communications

EU to investigate VoIP-tapping techniques

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (David Meyer) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:43:02 +0000

The European Union's Judicial Co-Operation Unit is looking at how to intercept calls made over services such as Skype, at the urging of Italy's anti-Mafia directorate

Skype booms amid economic downturn

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Marguerite Reardon) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 09:41:02 +0000

The internet telephony provider may be one of the only technology companies thriving as the economy tanks

Truphone adds Skype, Twitter to iPhone client

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (David Meyer) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:39:02 +0000

The internet telephony company has turned its client for the iPhone and iPod Touch into an aggregator for Skype, Twitter, Google Talk, MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger

Skype 2.8 for Mac set for release

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Rafe Needleman) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:14:01 +0000

Mac users will be the first to see new features such as screen sharing and an integrated Wi-Fi hotspot connector

Google Enters Audio / Video Chat Market

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:55:53 +0000

Google has released an audio/video chat plugin for their GMail service. I don't use GMail, so I'm not going to try this out personally, but from what I can tell, it is of the "browser plugin"...

VoxOx - New Video/Audio/Text IM/Chat Program

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:50:26 +0000

There's a new program coming into the Video/IM market, VoxOx from TelCentris Inc. From the description on their web page, it could be quite interesting, combining Multisystem/Multiprotocol IM,...

SightSpeed Acquired By Logitech

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 07:30:51 +0000

What an interesting piece of news to wake up to this morning! SightSpeed is to be acquired by Logitech! Not a lot of information available yet, but Peter Csathy, SightSpeed CEO, who has posted...

Skype puts video front and centre

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Rupert Goodwins) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:55:02 +0100

ZDNet.co.uk's Rupert Goodwins talks to Skype's COO about what to expect in the next update, as net-based calling moves beyond VoIP

Study: Chinese Skype service censoring messages

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Elinor Mills) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:30:02 +0100

University of Toronto researchers say TOM-Skype is engaging in 'extensive surveillance', recording and censoring customer text chats

Skype Roundup

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:51:30 +0100

It looks like I'm not the only one who is absolutely sick and tired of Skype, and their poorly functioning, broken software that they show no interest in either fixing or supporting, and the Skype...

Skype Refuses to Comply with Ofcom 999 Ruling

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:30:32 +0100

Very interesting - but not at all surprising: Windows Watch reports that Skype simply will not comply. Period. Translation and summary: We are Skype. We do as we please, we don't care what...

In-Flight VoIP

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:54:58 +0100

With American Airlines having started offering Aircell's in-flight internet access, and several other airlines due to introducing soon, articles on using VoIP in flight now abound. Practically...

SightSpeed - A Closer Look

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:02:56 +0100

I spent part of the weekend trying out the new SightSpeed build that I mentioned on Friday. WOW. There is so much more to this - it seemed like the more I looked, the more I found and the better...

New SightSpeed Build Available

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:35:03 +0100

I noticed today that there is a new build for Windows available on the SightSpeed download page. It's still called 6.0, but build 6536. I have downloaded and installed it, and done a bit of...

Skype 4.0 beta - STILL No Multi-Party Video

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:35:04 +0100

Skype has announced their 4.0 beta release, with the typical amount of hype and intentionally misleading propaganda (see below for details). Unfortunately, what they DON'T say, of course, is what...

Skype 3.8 Release Available

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:12:15 +0100

Skype has released 3.8 "Gold" for Windows. They made one change that is half-good. Incoming contact requests pop up without the picture. That's a start. But why don't they get it? A new...

Why would the calls use inclusive call minutes?

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:47:20 +0100

Surely the Skype calls are made over GPRS or 3G? That's the whole point of VoIP, calls over a data connection. There would be no point in making Skype calls otherwise, you might as well just use...

Skype tests mobile Java client

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Matthew Broersma) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:46:01 +0100

The company has released a test version of a client for Java-enabled mobile devices and plans to make a public release soon

SightSpeed Light on MySpace

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 07:29:25 +0100

The people at SightSpeed continue to impress me with their originality and creativity. I received an announcement this morning in my email of a new (beta) version of SightSpeed Light for MySpace....

Cash raised for Voice 2.0 plans

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:28:39 +0100

Truphone, the mobile VoIP company, has gathered up £16.5m in an investment round. Last week the company also bought SIM4travel, a global pay-as-you-go mobile network. Truphone says its new cash...

Skype - Unlimited Calling Plan is now VERY Limited Calling P...

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:55:38 +0100

Here's an interesting thread to read in the Skype User Forums: http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showtopic=115181 The "Reader's Digest" version is that until late last year, Skype offered an...

CallOut from VoIP Programs to Fixed/Cell Phones

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:24:17 +0000

I have to start this blog entry with an apology. I wrote in December that I had tried to put some money on my SightSpeed account so that I could try their CallOut capability, but I couldn't do it...

3CX Phone System for Windows

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Alan Stevens) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 10:14:02 +0000

Very easy to configure and manage, the 3CX Phone System for Windows scores well on functionality and is compatible with most SIP handsets, gateways and services. Scalability could be an issue for larger organisations, though.

Typical - Skype Version Confusion

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 22:05:30 +0000

In a typical show of carelessness (or incompetence), Skype has announced that they have a new version available for download, and someone from Skype Staff has suddenly appeared in their User...

New ooVoo Release - GOOD STUFF!

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:13:48 +0000

I started the day today thinking that I would write a "Calm Before the Storm" blog entry, saying that things have been quiet for the past few weeks, but new releases are likely to be coming soon...

Skype planning multiparty videocalls etc

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:02:56 +0000

I popped over to Skype's West End offices yesterday to interview Stefan Oberg - VP Telecoms - about a range of issues, most importantly the 0207 debacle and the possibility of Skype opening up its...

Skype's 0207 snafu - more analysis

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:35:09 +0000

As analyst Ian Fogg told us yesterday, Skype has a battle on its hands to regain the trust of business users, after it withdrew almost 10,000 0207-prefixed SkypeIn numbers from its user base. I...

Skype outage - manna for some

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:12:47 +0100

Tech journalism is a great place to be if you enjoy naked displays of corporate opportunism. Take the recent two-day outage at Skype, a company that is terribly selfish in being by far and away the...

T-Mobile forced to open up to Truphone

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 18:22:19 +0100

Score one for the underdog. Truphone has succeeded in its application for an injunction against T-Mobile. To recap, the mobile phone operator had been blocking its users from calling any number...

Take on Skype for £250

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 09:37:36 +0000

While trawling through what was a largely news-free VoIP for Business conference yesterday, I happened upon the stand of Babble, a VoIP company which is roughly as longstanding as Skype itself. ...

Food for VoIP thought

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 17:31:36 +0000

There can be few hotter topics in IT than securing converged voice and data networks. While some IT professionals have really got their head round the extensive security problems that can be...

Directory enquiries is dead - in theory

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 17:59:10 +0000

Sometimes, the end of an era cannot come soon enough. Much as Ofcom's intentions in dismantling BT's 192 directory enquiries monopoly were honourable, the chaos subsequent to that decision in...

VoIP regulation update

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 12:35:11 +0000

Good to see the nationals following up on our coverage of Ofcom's impending VoIP regulation (see here and here - why, it's a pleasure!). Keith over at Telebusillis has also been on the case -...