We have seen that Nokia have announced the release of the new 6301 handset and it uses UMA (unlicensed mobile access) to make use of wireless hot spots for calls. However the killer feature is that it will hand a live GSM call over to a WiFi network if it is detected. Besides saving minutes on a mobile network call plan, the dual-mode phone offers the promise of better coverage where traditional reception is poor.
Regular readers of the Iridiacom Blog will know we have a keen interest in Mobile Operators trying to block the progress of VoIP however with UMA the Operator controls the call over WiFi so they can still charge for the call, it will be interesting to see how this new feature is handled - lets see !
To learn more about UMA have a look at the UMA website www.umatoday.com
Regular readers will know that VoIP security is a hot issue with us and we saw an interesting Press Release on the National Computing Centre website, the NCC is a very well respected organisation.
They have undertaken a survey that shows that only 15% of companies have any VoIP security on their networks.
The survey was more wide ranging looking also at WiFi networks and USB devices.
As usual we all need to heed the warnings and secure our networks as there are always people looking to exploit any loopholes you leave ope.
Full article here
We do not want to be seen as ‘Skype bashers’ but they have one of the highest profiles in the VoIP market place, and after their well publicised recent problems they have now suffered a Worm attack specifically designed to hit Skype users.
The worm arrives via a cleverly worded chat message, supposedly from an IM buddy. The message includes a link to what is apparently a JPEG file. In one example described elsewhere, the name and path make the file appear to be an erotic image. Clicking the link produces a pop-up window asking the user to run a screensaver (.scr) file. Clicking the OK button loads the worm onto the victim’s computer, which then sends the same message to that user’s buddies.
Currently the damage the worm has done to users’ computers remains unknown. One thing is clear is that this could not have come at a worst time for Skype as it’s reputation for reliability took a big knock with the recent outage that lasted for more than a day. That high-profile incident prompted much speculation about whether Internet VoIP is reliable enough for small businesses, the latest problem will make it all the harder for Skype to argue that it is.
On a positive note most of the large Virus Checker companies have a fix for the Worm and Skype have published a manual fix albeit that users need to be pretty PC savvy to implement it.
It is a couple of weeks since the high profile failures that Skype experienced with their network on 16th August – To be fair to Skype they have been pretty open about the problems, have a look here
The area we are interested in is the effect it will have on Consumer or Users confidence in using or migrating to VoIP, a quick search on google for ‘Skype failure’ gave in excess of 2 million pages so this has been widely reported not only by the specialist press and web sites but also by the general press, we found reports on the BBC and other news sites. For sure there has been a lot of ‘scare-mongering’ but I guess the general press does that to make a better story.
All new technology has problems from time to time and we hope that this type of incident will not slow the adoption of VoIP technology into the market place plus the very nature of VoIP means a company like Skype can have consumers all over the world using the same service.
Category GSM/3G, VoIP | 
Author admin | 
25 September, 2007 11:19 pm | 
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