Arab police arrest VOIP providers

Police in the Arab nation of Oman have raided 121 Internet cafes throughout the country and arrested 212 people for providing illegal voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services, reports The Register.

Providing telecom services without a licence is illegal in Oman, and that includes VOIP. Those who violate the law stand to be fined about $130 317 or spend two years in jail or both.

According to police officials, cyber cafes and individuals had been using VOIP to provide cheap international phone service, saying this resulted in huge losses for local telecoms.

VocalTec Communications has teamed up with Runcom Technologies to drive WiMax and VOIP solutions into developing countries, states TMCnet.

The joint offering enables the delivery of both broadband and voice services to remote areas where traditional access is unavailable.

"We see a good opportunity for fixed and mobile WiMax growth in emerging markets," says Guy Givoni, VP of sales at Runcom. "We value VocalTec's experience and technology, and look forward to rapidly deploying our joint solution, allowing service providers to benefit from enhanced voice services.”

Fring, a mobile application which allows users to communicate via free VOIP calls over Skype, MSN, Google Talk and SIP, has been rolled out onto the Android platform, says Mobiletor.

It allows users to enjoy free calls and instant messaging with all online friends, view their real-time status, and find actual location of their friends. Fring makes the mobile phone an ultimate social device.

Fring for Android functions over 3G, GPRS and WiFi Internet connection and can be downloaded from the Android market.