VoIP News: Networking Hardware

VoIP phones are becoming more widely supported in domestic settings as internet service providers offer residential gateways, rather than basic modems. Infonetics Research says there are numerous benefits to using residential gateways, including the ability for the service provider to remotely update the firmware and add new features. "Gateways need to support a growing list of features to ensure the quality and security of the content being delivered in the home," says directing analyst for broadband access Jeff Heynen.

Cordless VoIP phones operating on a network boosted by a FRITZ!WLAN Repeater from AVM could benefit from a firmware upgrade that promises improved functionality on a range of audio-themed issues. Some of these are not directly linked to VoIP phones - for example, the unit can now stream radio stations directly from the internet over the wireless local area network (WLAN). However, for people with next-generation handsets, new capabilities like using a smartphone as a remote control for the FRITZ!WLAN Repeater could help to manage the network from a distance.

IP telephony solutions can be supported with the right network configuration, a Digium blog post suggests. Sales engineer David Faulk helps organisations to solve their complex communications problems by using Digium IP telephony solutions. In his Inside the Asterisk blog post of March 15th, he notes how prioritising the data packets that carry the voice or video signal can help to do this.

Cordless VoIP phones capable of operating over wireless local area networks (WLANs) could become more popular as a greater number of businesses upgrade their infrastructure. According to figures from IDC, the global market for WLAN equipment - both retail and enterprise - grew 12. 4 per cent in 2010, with a slightly lower sequential rise of 11.

The FRITZ!Box Fon wireless local area network (WLAN) 7270 DECT base station could support a broader array of IP telephony solutions thanks to a raft of new features unveiled by manufacturer AVM at the Cebit 2011 consumer electronics show. Among them is the inclusion of the DS-Lite standard in FRITZ!Box firmware, meaning pure IPv6 environments will still be able to communicate using IPv4. "This enables IPv4 addresses to be accessed from the home network, even if the router is connected to the internet only via IPv6," AVM explains.