Do ISPs Block VoIP?

Filed under: IT + More, Telecommunication + More — admin at 5:42 am on Friday, October 17, 2008

Having used VoIP problem free for for ages I was perplexed as to why recently I had been having so many problems. Sound quality has gone right down and latency issues have increased significantly. Users on VoIP online forums in the US and other countries, such as France and Mexico, having issues since last year. For a while Voice over IP might seem like a good deal for the average person, entrenched interests in the telecoms industry view it differently - and are taking action against it.

Consultation

Well aware of what has happened elsewhere the UK telecoms regulator Ofcom took the unusual action in January of announcing that it will look at the burgeoning Voice over IP industry and report next month on whether new laws are necessary to shield it. The consultation document says: “VoIP service providers have expressed concern that their ability to provide a reliable service may be impacted by internet access providers (ISPs) selectively degrading or blocking their VoIP traffic.”

Ofcom says it has no proof this is happening in the UK; only about half a million customers use it. But the prediction is for that to increase by 2.5m in the next six months.

And VoIP barring occurs in other countries, more often than not those where there is still only a single incumbent telecoms company. In Saudi Arabia, for instance national carrier Saudi Telecom is using software from US supplier Narus to bar all Voice over IP phone calls.

Telcos in the US and other countries are hesitant to have their bandwidth used by traffic from which they earn no revenue and have been challenged over similar alleged incidents of internet telephony barring. Blocking internet telephony traffic is a challenge but not illegal and barring specific kinds of internet traffic is on the increase.

Luxembourg-based VoIP provider Skype who are now owned by the pre-eminent auction site eBay has been particularly controversial. Skype is used by over 75m people. But not everyone wants Skype on their network.

Skype is seen by many to pose a potential security risk as it opens an encrypted channel out of the network and forms supernodes that sit on it and connect VoIP calls. There is considerable debate about how much bandwidth such supernodes eat up. There have been claims that in supernode mode, Skype may even saturate a 100 Mbps line.

How you can get a Cell Phone Deal with Free Line Rental

Filed under: Telecommunication + More — admin at 6:35 am on Sunday, August 10, 2008

12 month free line rental products are quite a new type of contract and are therefore little understood by most people. Perhaps this fact is one of the reasons they are the best mobile deals being sold at the moment.

Bar none, the most cost competitive way of buying a free line rental phone contract is online. As free line rental products are a little obscure package you would be well advised to use a mobile phone comparison site to see the most cost effective products at that given moment.

Theoretically a free line rental cell phone contract is not supposed to cost a penny to operate. That assumes the person taking out the contract is successful in their request for for 100% cashback. More often than not this is not as easy as consumers are lead to think because of the fact that mobile stores include some pitfalls within the fine print of free line rental products to cut down the numbers of successful consumers.

A free line rental cell phone contract is a type of redemption offer. With a 12 month free cell phone contract you must continue to pay the cost of the phone as usual for the initial months until you are able to get your 100% cash refund. At a later point you have to remember to claim the cost of the mobile cell phone back from the store who initially sold you the mobile cell phone.

In spite of the potential difficulties of free line rental contracts they remain legitimate and it is possible for potential buyers to get absolutely free phone for full duration of a 12 month contract.

12 month free is a compromise of sorts, as they are only offered with older phones. The most significant risk of free line rental contracts is that in the event that the vendor fold you have now way to redeem your cash.

Compare the Motorola RAZR2 V8

Filed under: Telecommunication + More — admin at 9:36 pm on Saturday, July 5, 2008

Launched in June 2007 the Motorola RAZR2 V8 has been a very popular Flip style handset. Compared to some of the more well known models for the price the RAZR2 V8 is quite functional, if a little basic. Motorola have done a good job on the interface of the Motorola RAZR2 V8 making this mobile handset easy to use.

The most cost effective way to purchase a mobile in today’s market is not on the high street, but from the Internet. Buying online can allow you to take advantage of significant cost savings, it is even possible to get a Motorola RAZR2 V8 with 12 months free line rental , which, if you are clever will not cost you a penny.

This mobile phone is bluetooth enabled for compatibility with a great deal of accessories. Polyphonic, MP3 ring-tones are enabled on the Motorola RAZR2 V8 along with a vibration alert . The Motorola RAZR2 V8 has a battery duration of 330 hours reserve charge and talk time of 7:50. The battery fitted to the RAZR2 V8 is a Standard battery, Li-Ion 770 mAh,. The Motorola RAZR2 V8 supports 2G GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 . The RAZR2 V8 has an integrated 2 MP, 1600×1200 pixels, video(QCIF) camera. If you use the Internet on the move, you will be pleased to know a WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML (Opera 8.5), compatible browser is included. Compared to competing mobile phones on the market the Motorola RAZR2 V8 is small and comfortable to carry. Weighing in at 117 g this mobile phone is pretty light. If colour matters you may like to know that the RAZR2 V8 can only be bought in Dark Pearl Gray,. Regarding the the display the handset is fitted with a 2.2 inch screen, which is an average display if you look at the other options available for the price. The screen is a TFT, 256K colors. This mobile handset also has a few extra features, for example. , Built-in handsfree, Voice memo, Organizer, Java MIDP 2.0, Calculator and MP3/AAC/AAC+ player

Although this is a relatively new model, it has already been surpassed. This means it is possible to get some great bargains on the RAZR2 V8.