Verizon tops VOIP market

A combination of a large subscriber base and financial stability has put Verizon Business on top of Infonetics Research's rankings of enterprise VOIP providers, reports Network World.

Verizon ranked behind New Global Telecom in terms of overall enterprise VOIP subscribers and behind Global Crossing, Apex and XO in terms of overall trunk connections, the company's overall financial stability boosts its ranking to the top spot.

Infonetics analyst Diane Myers, author of the study, says Verizon's international footprint makes it well-positioned to service large multinational companies, as well as national companies such as retailers.

Optimum Lightpath is the first US service provider to roll out high-definition voice services as part of its hosted VOIP offering, states Telephony Online.

HD VOIP enables a higher sound quality by using uses voice energy that lies outside the 3kHz frequency of traditional telephone calls, to create much richer voice quality based on SIP technology and the G.722 wideband codec standard.

Optimum Lightpath already has G.722 wideband codes deployed in its network, says Glenn Calafati, director of product marketing at Optimum Lightpath, so the only upgrade required to offer the service is deployment of an HD phone set at the customers' premises.

Truphone has brought its VOIP application onto the Apple iPod Touch, putting voice and instant messaging (IM) onto one device, says TMCnet.

It enables users to make free calls when in WiFi to other Truphone users as well as Skype and Google Talk users. In addition, Truphone users can send free instant messages when in WiFi to different IM services as well.

The application also shows call rates before initiating a call. It even displays recent call history and also enables users to change calling tariffs within the application itself.