There’s an interesting new survey out by Alcatel-Lucent that’s raising some eyebrows within the VoIP industry.
The reason?
The report noted that a portion of the respondents deemed paid VoIP services to be expendable, whilst a land line connection (and a cellular phone) was an essential. This is in stark contrast with a series of surveys and reports that have continually shown decreasing land line adoption rates and higher levels of churn.
Of course this is just one survey, but it does point to an often echoed point that VoIP service providers have to do more than offer a low cost to continue to earn the loyalty of consumers. Perhaps this is just one signal that the era of VoIP simply being a low cost alternative is over and that the industry, as a whole, needs to continue to drive innovations such that there is more to VoIP than price.
While it’s unlikely this will happen tomorrow, if survey responses like these become the trend, innovation within this space might start to turn-up again.
Posted by
Cory Andrews on June 24th, 2009 in
Technical Advice

If you are a fan of Snom phones, you might be interested in a handy CGI script for mass provisioning Snom phones that I came across recently.
Click to Download CGI Script for Mass Provisioning Snom IP Phones
This snippet of code will save you a ton of time if you are deploying a number of Snom phones and don’t have time to hand configure each unit. This CGI script was authored by a gentleman by the name of Conrad Wood. Conrad also offers Asterisk consultancy and can be reached at asterisk (at) conradwood (dot) net or at +44 (0) 207 099 4804.
Posted by
Cory Andrews on June 23rd, 2009 in
VoIP Phones
The Aastra 57i-CT is the flagship SIP desk phone from Aastra, supporting up to 9 simultaneous calls. The 57i CT includes a WDCT cordless handset for coverage up to 300,000 sq ft. You can pair additional wireless companion handsets ( up to 4 total) and you can also expand the phone by adding the 560M or 536M Expansion Modules (Up to 3).

The Aastra 57i-CT has a large 144 x 128 pixel graphical backlit LCD display and 6 dynamic context-sensitive softkeys. The Astra 57i CT is fully interoperable with leading IP Telephony platforms like Asterisk, Trixbox or Switchvox. The Aastra 57i CT also offers advanced XML capability to access custom applications.
VoIPSupply.com is currently offering the Aastra 57i CT at the unprecedented discount price of $265!