BlackBerry smart phone as a mobile PBX extension; good news, bad news for Vonage

Convergence & VoIP This newsletter is sponsored by NTT Communications Don't Let Poor Network Performance Compromise Your WAN Delivering quality of service with unparalleled efficiency is critical in today's networked environment. SLAs, including jitter, are important for streaming video & music, VoIP, and rich media content. NTT Communications provides financially-backed SLAs displayed in our customer portal to ensure your WAN is optimized. Visit our website for more information. Network World's Convergence & VoIP Newsletter, 05/16/07 BlackBerry smart phone as a mobile PBX extension; good news, bad news for Vonage By Steve Taylor and Larry Hettick Research In Motion (RIM) last week announced its BlackBerry Mobile Voice System (MVS), which allows a BlackBerry smart phone to become a mobile PBX extension. The company has enhanced its BlackBerry Device Software, BlackBerry Enterprise Server and Ascendent Voice Mobility so that BlackBerry smart phone users can be securely authenticated to the enterprise PBX. The interface to “heterogeneous PBXs” are provided by Ascendent Voice Mobility Suite and the software supports interoperability with VoIP systems, legacy TDM PBX interfaces, and mixed systems. RIM did not mention any specific voice service providers as partners that can offer hosted service interoperability, but the company has demonstrated PBX/IP-PBX interoperability with Alcatel, Avaya, Cisco, Fujitsu, Intertel, Mitel, NEC, Nortel, Siemens, Toshiba, and Zultys. Executive Guide - VoIP: No Turning Back Discover how real-work enterprises are deploying VoIP via several case studies Click here for more information. Features include corporate identity via caller ID extended to the handset, simultaneous rings to both desk phone and BlackBerry smart phone, along with standard PBX-phone-like call transfer, park, and extension dialing directly from the BlackBerry phone menu. The system also provides for a consolidated voicemail and user authentication. The system is expected to be available from RIM and Ascendent Systems later this month. In other news, Vonage announced its financial results for Q1 2007. The good news is that it reported revenue of $196 million, a 64% increase from $120 million reported in Q1 2006 and the company narrowed losses to $58 million - representing a 20% year-over-year improvement. Vonage added approximately 166,000 subscribers, finishing up the quarter “nearly 2.4 million lines in service.” But the bad news: it looks like Comcast is now the confirmed VoIP market leader by line count with just over 2.4 million VoIP subscribers.   What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

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Contact the author: Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. For more detailed information on most of the topics discussed in this newsletter, connect to Webtorials, the premier site for Web-based educational presentations, white papers, and market research. Taylor can be reached at taylor@webtorials.com Larry Hettick is an industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience in voice and data. He is Vice President for Telecom Services and Infrastructure at Current Analysis, the leading competitive response solutions company. He can be reached at lhettick@currentanalysis.com This newsletter is sponsored by NTT Communications Don't Let Poor Network Performance Compromise Your WAN Delivering quality of service with unparalleled efficiency is critical in today's networked environment. SLAs, including jitter, are important for streaming video & music, VoIP, and rich media content. NTT Communications provides financially-backed SLAs displayed in our customer portal to ensure your WAN is optimized. Visit our website for more information. ARCHIVE Archive of the Convergence & VoIP Newsletter. BONUS FEATURE IT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered to your inbox each day. Extend your knowledge with a print subscription to the Network World newsweekly, Apply here today. International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: security.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007