Siemans, Skype, Clearwire, and Tata – Apple opens the iPhone
Skype for Call Centers
Peer to Peer VoIP provider Skype will be the backbone for the AltiGen Communications call center solution. Through a partnership with VosKEY, the Skype Certified VosKEY Exchange VoIP application gateway will provide access to the Skype network.
In addition to saving call centers tons of money in communications costs, the AltiGen/VosKEY/Skype offering adds four new capabilities to AltiGen’s call handling and management functionality.
- Remote Agents: Allows remote agents the same access to AltiGen’s IP PBX as on site agents utilizing Skype’s free client on their computers.
- Web Click-to-Call: Web site visitors will have click to call access to call centers, reducing toll free number costs and increasing conversion rates by giving them real time access to experts and/or sales staff.
- Skype Trunking: Reduces toll charges using Skype Pro and SkypeOut, saving 90% on US/Canada calls, and 50% on international calls.
- Global Direct Inward Dial (DID): Gives businesses a local presence anywhere they want by using local access numbers for incoming customer calls on the Skype network, reducing toll free number costs.
The VosKEY Exchange is a rackmounted hardware appliance that connects the AltiGen PBX phone system to the Skype network.
On the Wireless Front
Indian service provider Tata Communications Ltd. announced plans to build the largest fixed WiMax network to date, covering 110 cities for Enterprise, and 15 cities for retail by the end of 2008.
Tata already has over 5000 customers in 10 cities, Bangalor alone deploying 600 base stations. They plan to increase their customer base to 200,000 by 2009.
The wireless ISP will use Telsima WiMax solutions to deploy over 3000 base stations in India.
Clearwire’s fourth quarter results indicate 47,000 new subscribers over the year, giving them just under 400,000 total subscribers. Revenue per user however, fell $.30 and churn rate increased from 1.9% to 2.4%.
Clearwire is still negotiating with Sprint to try to work out a deal to build a nationwide WiMax network, with Intel being rumored in there to help facilitate a deal.
Siemans Goes Soft
German company Siemans Communications has said that it is restructuring its business from hardware to software based. It drove the point home recently by announcing it would close down factories and layoff about 6,800 employees.
Siemans Open Space Unified Communications Server is the app that will transition them to a software company, their view being that voice as a standalone technology is no longer feasible. Microsoft, with their Office Communications Server, seems to have the same point of view.
iPhone Opens Up
In an effort to get a piece of the Blackberry market, Apple will offer a software development kit (SDK) to third party developers to write applications directly for the iPhone. Users will be able to download them from iTunes after the iPhone 2.0 release.
Apple caved to Microsoft, and the iPhone will now offer native support for Exchange with Active Sync. Other business friendly upgrades include VPN security and authentication, and enhanced WiFi security.
The switch from a consumer based to a businesscentric Apple might seem to some as too little too late.
Related Articles:
AltiGen & VoSKY Partner to Deliver Advanced Skype-Enabled VoIP Call Center Solution for Businesses
Tata Communications Rolls Out World’s Largest Commercial WiMAX Network with Telsima
Clearwire Increases Subscribers, Revenue and Losses
Unified communication with Siemens OpenScape v2.3
Apple and Business – Is it 25 Years Too Late?
Prostitution on the Web?
Sex is once more in the news. And why not? The prominent governor of New York, and once zealous moralizer, finds himself resigning in disgrace as his wife stands stoically by his side. Elliot Spitzer got caught booking escorts over the web, paying up to $3,600 and having them flown in to D.C. to join him on his frequent business trips to have sex.
Is anybody surprised that you can do that on the Internet? The porn industry has thrived on the new media and in fact is responsible for many of its early innovations. With streaming media and broadband connections becoming common place, those who will pay and those that are willing are bound to get together, by credit card or cash.
Today’s prostitution websites, such as the Emperors Club from the Spitzer incident, are sophisticated and fully functional, and many are applying some state of the art marketing techniques. Jason Lee Miller offers some insight about just how easy it is to get “hooked” up on the web. Prostitution websites are not shy about being found. They employ SEO, AdWords, and Web 2.0 social networking. According to Miller, even some niche players are getting into the field, offering free websites to call girls in return for who knows what.
The Internet is all about communication, whether it be voice, video, or text, and people hook up for a variety of reasons all over the world. For a website to accept payment by credit card to a bank in a country where prostitution is legal is not hard to do. On a medium where the most popular keyword searched is “sex”, what a great place for the world’s oldest profession to set up shop.
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