Few have contributed as greatly to the open-source world of VoIP and telecommunications as Mark Spencer. Faced with financial obstacles, he did what any good leader would and built his own solution that has since then benefitted businesses around the world. His open-source framework Asterisk has been able to disrupt the status quo of PBX or Private Branch Exchange, systems while giving business owners a way to inexpensively manage their telecommunications. Education and Beginnings Mark Spencer wasn’t a man who came out of nowhere and built this innovative program. He was enrolled at Auburn University as a computer engineer when the entrepreneurial spirit first hit him. While still a student and finishing up his degree, Spencer decided it was time to put his education to the test and found his own business. This culminated in Linux Support Systems, a company started in 1999 with the original aim of supplying Linux support…
Telecommunication has changed significantly since Alexander Graham Bell’s created the first practical telephone model in 1876. While there have been changes in design, function, features and much more, few can argue that there are any changes bigger than the move to VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) technology. This new invention has not only produced the emerging VoIP market, but it is also leading to the take over of traditional phone systems. Who is the man behind VoIP? None of this would be possible without Alon Cohen. Born in Israel in 1962, his multiple patents have both created and improved on Internet telecommunications. Let’s look into who Alon Cohen is, how he developed this technology and how it has changed the face of phones and audio communications forever. Beginnings Creating the VoIP industry was not on Alon Cohen’s mind when he first started learning about technology. In fact, it wasn’t even the…
With the rate at which the VoIP industry is expanding, there is no doubt that everyone has heard of the term softphone in recent years. Even though most people might not even know what it is, they are certainly aware of the word. They might even be using one already without realizing it. So What is a Softphone Exactly? A softphone (software telephone) is a software program for making phone calls over the Internet using a computer, tablet or smartphone rather than using dedicated hardware. It is often designed to look and behave like a traditional telephone, with a display panel and buttons for the user to interact with, much like a standard phone interface. Most softphones work in conjunction with a headset and microphone that is connected to the computer. Softphone applications can be downloaded from a wide variety of providers and are available for a range of operating systems such as Windows,…
Call centers are at the front line of customer service and are expected to run at peak efficiency while maintaining a high call volume. There are many challenges in managing and operating a call center, one of them being securing inbound calling services that meet both current and future needs. Voice support serves as the backbone for the call center, and it is short-sighted for a brand to risk their reputation by exposing consumers to a substandard voice product. Management is constantly concerned with basic communication issues. Are callers getting a busy signal? Are calls being dropped? Is the voice quality satisfactory? At the same time, the concurrent call requirements have to be managed, to ensure sufficient capacity without wasting money on excess channels. Furthermore, in recent years, organizations have seen their customer base contact them not only through more media channels but also from diverse locations around the globe.…
Well-designed software and plentiful features are essential to having the best softphone: effective and useful. This is especially true of the user interface (UI), where all the necessary functions must be displayed front and center, smoothly integrating voice operations with the workflow processes. In many cases, the softphone is designed to resemble a traditional telephone, with a display panel and buttons for user control, very much like a standard phone interface. Over and above the importance of the user interface, there are a number of factors to consider when choosing the right product. We will discuss these factors in order to assist you in making an informed decision in selecting the best softphone. Cost There is a wide range of both free and paid softphones. In many cases, vendors offer a free, limited-feature version of their paid products. If you wish to use the free version, then you should carefully evaluate this…
The VoIP industry is booming, and this has created a significant demand for DID (Direct Inbound Dialing) services and choosing a DID provider has become harder. Very often, these services are essential to the basic premise of the business or enterprise; incoming calls should reach their required destination efficiently with the proper quality and expected reliability. In all likelihood, voice support serves as the backbone for your business, and it is short-sighted to risk your reputation by exposing employees and consumers to a substandard voice product. Selecting a provider that satisfies your requirements for coverage, quality, scalability, and pricing is a complex issue, and some of the essential criteria to consider during this decision process are: Global Coverage Ensure that your DID provider includes the geographic coverage of numbers that you require for your business, including toll-free, local, mobile, national and SMS-enabled numbers. In addition, the provider should be actively…
If you take a special interest in technology, then you’re part of a group of people that we call Generation T. Your need for information and data is increasing rapidly and you’re probably always in the hunt for the latest tech news. There are hundreds of websites out there that offer what you’re looking for, but you certainly don’t have time to look at each one of them every day. So we made it easy for you and picked our 8 favorite technology websites so you can be up-to-date with tech news, tech innovations, latest gadgets, product reviews, social media, startups and much more. The Best Tech News Websites THE VERGE.COM TheVerge was founded in 2011 with the goal of examining how technology will change life in the future. The site covers tech news on smartphones, apple, android, ios, google. It features laptop, tablet and smartphone reviews, allowing readers to compare…
It would seem quite strange if, by now, you haven’t heard the term VoIP or VoIP technology before, considering it has been named nothing less than the most successful technology of the last decade! If you indeed aren’t familiar with it, chances are big you’re already using it without knowing. And if you are aware of the term, but don’t know what it is or what it means, you’re in the right place. Meaning Voice over Internet Protocol, VoIP is a revolutionary technology that delivers voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. In more simple words, it is an alternative and cheaper way of making and receiving phone calls. Other terms such as Internet telephony, broadband telephony, and broadband phone service specifically refer to the supply of voice, fax SMS, voice-messaging and other communication services over the Internet, instead of via the PSTN (public switched telephone network). How does VoIP…
Are you interested in the VoIP industry and want to learn more about VoIP? There are plenty of VoIP books out there that come in all sizes and some more technical than others. There are volumes that provide a simple straightforward review of VoIP, others cover the use of VoIP for both home and business networks, and a few of them even discuss security issues relating to voice and data networks. There is also a good deal of guides that explain how to evaluate, select, and install VoIP systems. But if you’re not crazy about looking and analyzing through hundreds of technical large VoIP books before finding the one you need, check out the list of our 10 favorite VoIP books for consumers. The Best 10 Books on VoIP VoIP For Dummies: By Timothy V. Kelly Low-cost and written in a clear and engaging way, VoIP For Dummies is one of…
A A2P – Application to person ACD – Average call duration ASR – Answer seisure ratio B B2B – Business-to-business C CDR- Caller detail records CLI -Calling line identification CNAM – Caller ID with Name CoDec – Coder/Decoder CPC – Calling Party Control D DID – Direct Inward Dialing DND – Do not disturb DSP – Digital Signal Processor E E1 – 30 concurrent calls H HD – High Definition I ISP – Internet Service provider IVR- Interactive voice response L LOA – Letter of authorization M MOS -Mean Opinion Score N NAT- Network address translation P P2P – Person to person PBX – Private Branch Exchange PDD – Post Dial Delay PESQ – Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality PSQM – Perceptual Speech Quality Measure R RTT – Round-trip delay time S SBC – Session Border Controllers Nonce Number Once SDP – Session Description Protocol SIP – Session Initiation Protocol SMPP – Short Message Peer-to-Peer SNMP -Simple Network Management Protocol T T1…


