Tag archive: VoIP

Number-three mobile operator Sprint has filed separate lawsuits against Time Warner, Comcast, Cox Communications, and Cable One, alleging the companies violate a dozen Sprint patents related to digital phone technology. The patents in the suits date back to the 1990s, and some of them are the same patents that Sprint used back in 2007 to extract an $80 million settlement from Vonage over its VoIP operations. In all the complaints, Sprint says… Read More

Microsoft said late Thursday that the $8.5 billion deal announced back in May to acquire Internet phone company Skype was now complete. The news came following last week’s EU regulatory approval. A statement released by the Redmond-based company Thursday evening said that the acquisition meant Skype was now a new business division within Microsoft. Skype CEO Tony Bates will remain in charge of the company, though will now report directly to… Read More

Microsoft's massive $8.5 billion deal to buy Skype seems to be working its way through U.S. regulatory scrutiny without much trouble, but there may be a new wrinkle emerging in the European Union. Italian VoIP company Messagenet has written to the European Commission warning that if Microsoft is permitted to acquire Skype, it will solidify Skype's dominant position in VoIP calling, excluding other VoIP companies from the market.… Read More

Earlier today, Google announced that all active members of the Unites States military with a valid .mil email address can use Gmail's calling service to place calls to home completely free of charge. In order to active this feature, members of the military need to register their .mil email address with a Google account and install the voice and video Gmail plugin to get started. Once that is installed, they simply click “Call… Read More

Almost a year ago Google embedded Google Voice VoIP-based voice calling into its popular free Gmail offering for users in the United States; now, the company is hoping to convince even more Gmail users to try VoIP calling by taking the program global: over the next few days, voice calling within Gmail will roll out in 38 languages and offer service to 150 destination countries. And just to make the deal more appealing, Google has lowered its… Read More

VoIP leader Skype—in the process of being acquired by tech giant Microsoft—has rolled out version 2.1 of its Skype application for Android phones, substantially expanding the number of handsets that can handle video calls. Initial versions of the video calling feature—just launched in June—supported video calling on just a handful of smartphones. Version 2.1 adds explicit support for 17 new handsets—and Skype… Read More

VoIP operator Vonage is aiming to take some of the pain out of international calling—and tap into the huge market of iOS device owners at the same time. The company's new Time to Call application enables users of iOS devices (iPhones, iPads, and the iPod touch) to place international VoIP calls to more than 190 countries. However, unlike most apps that tie into commercial services, Time to Call users don't need Vonage… Read More

Skype announced today the second version of its mobile app for Android devices, Skype for Android 2.0. The update application gives Android users the ability to make two-way video calls over either WiFi or a 3G wireless connection, along with other added features. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for all Android phones — at least for right now. According to Skype, only the HTC Desire S, Sony Ericsson Xperia neo, Sony Ericsson Xperia pro and… Read More

In what may prove to be a major step forward for mobile network neutrality, the Dutch parliament has approved a bill that would require mobile Internet operators to enable customers to use Skype or SMS app WhatsApp on their networks without additional charges. The bill would also prevent operators from giving preferential service to their own offerings. The bill still needs to be approved by the Dutch senate, but that step is usually a… Read More

The U.S. Department of Justice has tacitly approved Microsoft's recently-announced plan to acquire VoIP operator Skype, granting “early termination” to its review of the proposed takeover. The early termination action essentially means that the Justice Department found no reason to believe the acquisition would harm competition or negatively impact consumers. Last month, Microsoft announced plans to pay some $8.5 billion to… Read More

Luxembourg's Via Vadis has been pursuing patent infringement litigation again VoIP giant Skype in Europe for a while, but now that Skype is being acquired by Microsoft in an $8.5 billion deal the company is bringing its case to the United States: Via Vadis is suing Skype for patent infringement in the U.S. District of Delaware. The papers were apparently filed the same day Microsoft announced it had reached a deal to acquire Skype. Via… Read More

Nearly a fifth of all adults in the United States have made a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) call on the Internet, according to a new survey by Pew Research. Among Internet users (a majority of the population), that number is 24 percent and on any given day 5 percent of Internet users go online to make phone calls. The number is a big increase from the 6 percent of U.S. adults who made Internet phone calls in 2007. Among them, only 2… Read More

Rumors may have pointed toward a Google or Facebook buyout, but Microsoft announced today that it has definitively agreed to purchase Skype for $8.5 billion in cash (we learned about this last night). The buyout has been approved by both companies. The Redmond software giant claims that it will continue to support Skype on non-Microsoft platforms, but is quick to point out that “Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone, and a… Read More

In what would be its biggest ever acquisition in its 36-year history, Microsoft looks set to take over Skype in a deal that could be worth as much as $8 billion. A report by the Wall Street Journal, citing “people familiar with the matter,” suggests that a deal with the Luxembourg-based company may be announced as early as Tuesday – although the report also stated that it “could still fall apart.” That may be the hope of skeptical Skype fans who… Read More

Attention all Mac owners who use Skype. A flaw has been identified in Skype 5 that enables an attacker to gain remote control of a Mac computer running the software. Gordon Maddern, a member of a group of ethical hackers based in Australia that goes by the name of Pure Hacking, wrote in a blog post on Friday that he had identified the security flaw last month. “The long and the short of it is that an attacker needs only to send a victim a… Read More