VoIP News: September 2008

A fibre optic network would need to service the whole country if the UK wants "to have an infrastructure that matches the needs of the future," according to an expert. Edd Dawson, managing director of broadband. co.

VoIP may soon be used to transmit video as VoIP providers look for new ways to make their product stand out, according to an expert. James Awad, of Octasic, writes on EE Times that adopting a VoIP solution is a "no-brainer" for businesses now, meaning VoIP providers need to look to the future to make their product better than the rest. He believes that the deployment of VoIP infrastructure will make it easier to "switch on" video, so "enterprise and mobile systems can accommodate video streaming and video conferencing".

CMYK Digital Solutions, an office and IT supplier, has chosen to take advantage of the cost-saving benefits and seamless communications of a VoIP solution. The company has recently seen a spell of rapid expansion, with its team growing to 54 staff and new premises opening in Glasgow, Manchester and Aberdeen. It expects the cost-savings of the VoIP solution to cover the initial outlay within three years.

Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) was a popular topic at the first meeting of the Broadband Forum, formerly the DSL Forum. Internet Protocol v6, fibre architecture and IPTV over DSL were also big talking points at the meeting, held in Stockholm, Sweden. The future of FMC was debated by a panel discussion between 3GPP, the WiMAX Forum and the Broadband Forum that looked at how to drive common management and architecture specifications to support the growth of wireless broadband.

VoIP phones are being used to help run an initiative which promotes women in IT throughout the world. Doing IT Around the World is a scheme which followed 36 women IT workers from every continent over the course of a day, from when the sun first rose in Australasia and Antarctica and set in the Americas. The initiative is aiming to change the fact that fewer women are taking up careers in technology, reports Computerworld.