voip
voip

voip

Willcom taps Sonus Solutions for VoIP

Sonus Networks, Inc., a leading supplier of service provider Voice over IP (VoIP) infrastructure solutions, announced today that WILLCOM, Inc., a major Japanese provider of wireless data and voice services and the largest operator employing Personal Handyphone System (PHS) technology in Japan, has selected Sonus Networks as the foundation for its new nationwide long-distance network to support WILLCOM’s PHS system. This agreement marks the development of Japan’s largest VoIP network for PHS subscribers. WILLCOM will utilize key components of the Sonus solution including the GSX9000 Open Services Switch, the PSX(TM) Call Routing Server, and the Sonus Insight(TM) Management System, which includes the Element Management System (EMS).

CES 2006 Preview

Said to be the world’s largest consumer electronics tradeshow, CES, gets underway 5-8 January, in Las Vegas. While not open to the general public, CES previews consumer electronics and wireless technologies, devices and networks from over 2,500 exhibitors. The conference program, keynotes, SuperSessions, exhibitor news and press releases announce thousands of products. Announcements for new products are available for broadband, home networking, mobile/vehicle electronics, personal electronics, satellite systems, telephones, video, WiFi and wireless communications, as well as mobile entertainment and consumer VoIP. Check out the Wireless TechZone for the full list of upcoming presentations.

Latest Release of Skype for Mobile Japan Friendly

Latest Release of Skype for Mobile Japan Friendly by Mobikyo KKSkype has just introduced two new, updated clients for the Windows Mobile 5.0 platform: Skype for Pocket PC Beta version 1.2 and Skype for Pocket PC low CPU Beta version. This latest release claims full support for low-CPU devices with 300+ MHz processors. Users will be able to download and install the Internet telephony application with Danish, Dutch, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese Brazil, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish language plug-ins and it also supports the new call-forwarding feature and landscape mode for 240×240 and 480×480 screens.

We expect to see even more buzz on this development in the local wireless community with Willcom’s new Zero3 dual-mode Smartphone, made by Sharp, which just hit the street here last week. In fact, eager buyers were lining up to order the unit in early December and we’ve even noticed a Wiki site [Japanese only] dedicated to the Zero3, one of the hottest QWERTY handsets available in the domestic market.

The potential of VoIP flat-rate voice calling for mobile — including long-distance — takes another huge step with this announcement. Yes, it’s a narrow niche of users who will adopt this here… for now. However, for incumbent cellcos, the kanji is on the wall and they will undoubtedly have to respond to this truly disruptive technology if they wish to save their voice-centric business model.

Softbank Trials Pressure DoCoMo

DoCoMo competitor BB Mobile, a SOFTBANK Group company, LG Electronics (LGE) and Nortel have demonstrated wireless "triple play" – the ability to deliver simultaneous broadband voice, video and data services – across multiple wireless broadband access technologies. The BB Mobile, LGE and Nortel tests were conducted across BB Mobile’s live trial HSDPA 3G cellular network and LGE and Nortel’s pre-WiMAX (802.16e) and WLAN networks in Japan’s Saitama prefecture, located northwest of Tokyo. The demonstration also included Nortel’s Multimedia Communication Server 5100, which delivers SIP-based multimedia and collaborative applications to end users.

Can Visto, Vodafone, Nokia Push Email into Corporate Pockets?

Nokia E-SeriesA brief prediction. While idly surfing about the web today, I noticed that Visto, a US-based developer of corporate email solutions, has started a Japanese-language website; there’s no new, startling information, but they’ve translated their product & corporate data, news releases, etc. — presumably, at some cost. Why the big effort? They’ve just announced a deal to deliver push email on Nokia’s new E-series business devices (did someone say "Looks like a Blackberry?"); they are also working with Vodafone in The Netherlands for mobile email.

It doesn’t take a great leap of imagination to predict they’ve got a deal cooking with Big Red in Japan. Could Visto and Vodafone, the come-from-behind 3G carrier, have a chance to place a Nokia Blackberry-style device into Japan’s potentially lucrative corporate market, populated by salarymen who have until now disdained ultra-cool email-capable 3G phones for anything other than low-margin voice calls? Until now, only DoCoMo has provided any sort of mail-capable, PDA-type device, and only to mixed results (the devices, notably from Sharp and Motorola, have been rather pricey). December’s shaping up to be an interesting month.

Fujitsu Launches USX Field Connectivity Software Solution

Fujitsu Limited today launched its new USX(TM) field connectivity software package, which is designed to help accelerate customer innovation in the field and bring ubiquitous connectivity to the front lines of businesses. The new software package will be commercially available in Japan beginning today. The USX package is comprised of server software and client software. It leverages sophisticated presence management(*1) functions developed by Fujitsu, capable of delivering ubiquitous networking phone features that automatically route calls over the optimal network, such as wireless LAN (via internet or intranet) or internal or external phone lines, depending on the location of the mobile handset user. It also supports an optional Push-to-talk over Cellular/Wireless (PoC/W)(*2) function, enabling a user to transmit voice or data messages to multiple recipients simultaneously.