The May 16th edition of the New York Times had an article about looking beyond Vonage as to other VoIP service providers.

The NY Times article explains why VoIP is so cheap, not requiring installation of expemsive network equipment, and goes on to list some of the other advantages to using VoIP.

Beyond looking at some of the general benefits of using VoIP, the Times article quotes Henry Kaestner, CEO of Bandwidth.com as saying,

This is a real boon for the 5-to-10-person office.

Certainly the smaller office stands to benefit the most in terms of service versus cost. Smaller offices can save quite a bit over traditional long distance phone calls using VoIP, and at the same time benefit from high-end services such as call forwarding.

There are several applications that can help you shield your phone numbers, whether cell, land line or VoIP.

For call handling and call blocking, take a look at Jaxtr. This service gives you a Jaxtr URL. On someone’s Jaxtr URL you can enter you phone number and Jaxtr calls you and the other person for the cost of a local call.

Craigsnumber is a free service that generates a phone number where people can reach you. Before they can connect, however, users will need to leave a short message. Once you hear the message you can choose to connect with the caller or not.

For premium call blocking (maybe your VoIP number is already public) check out Privacy Corps. This $100 device can block up to 175 numbers or even entire area codes or area codes + prefixes.

Of course your reasons for wanting to get through to a phone number by which you have been blocked are legit.

If someone blocks your VoIP callls by filtering out Skype and other VoIP packets, there are two primary options worth considering.

Routing calls through a VPN (virtual private network) means that all your VoIP packets are encrypted and unreadable.

Another option is to use services like those from Solegy. These encrypt VoIP packets and the accompanying information without using a VPN. Though services like these do not use a VPN, the packets are still unreadable by prying ears or eyes.

Microsoft is getting on track for becoming a dominant IP telephony provider. Their VoIP phone announcement on Tuesday represents a significant step toward Microsoft’s IP telephony goals.

15 IP telephones, by nine manufacturers, were unveiled and compatible with Office Communications Server 2007, Microsoft’s software for providing IP PBX functions over a corporate network.

What this means is that companies using Microsoft’s phone solution will have options beyond headsets. A study, which Microsoft had commissioned, shows that its soft phones provide better quality than some desk phones of Cisco’s.

Although the study seems to indicate that Microsoft was counting on their headsets and soft clients run on PCs, the latest announcement has proven otherwise.

May 16th the new Skype for Mac 2.6 was released, chock full of new features:

One of the new features, exclusively for Mac users, is a call-transfer feature that is able to transfer an ongoing call to another Skype user on the original user’s contact list. This can be done by accessing the More > Call Transfer menu.

Many of the features available in this release have been available on other platforms in the past:

• A chat indicator that lets Skype users see when others are writing a message
• The ability to join public chats
• Skype Prime –which is a premium support resource that can be paid for with Skype credits.
• Automatic Updates allow Skype users access to new features and updates without having to visit the website.

For more information, visit the Skype for Mac 2.6 site.

Provider of Packet8 broadband VoIP services, 8×8, announced yesterday that they have been awarded another U.S. Patent for VoIP using a communication routing system that connects over a broadband data network.

Example portions of this invention include routing non-local calls through a broadband data network as well as utilizing a broadband data network to provide telephony services. This includes default and programmed call routing to a user’s voice mail, email or virtual extension.

This patent (No. 7,218,721) was issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on May 15th. One of the 16 claims reads:

A communication routing system having a plurality of local and remote
communication devices communicatively coupled through local and remote
PSTNs, respectively, the system comprising: a user-programmable
database associating each of a plurality of user identifiers with a
device identifier, each device identifier corresponding to one of the
communication devices; a call-routing switch arrangement coupled to one
of the PSTNs through a portal communication device having a portal
identifier and responsive to a received call designating a destination
user identifier, the call routing switch arrangement adapted to use the
user-programmable database to route the received call via the other of
the PSTNs to a destination communication device.

The first obstacle to determining the best mobile VoIP is deciding what exactly is meant by ‘mobile VoIP’. Is this software that lets you make WiFi calls using a dual mode handset? Is it software that lets you make VoIP calls using your cell service? Or does it let you make cell calls that end up being delivered over the internet?

Currently, mobile VoIP is much more of a marketing term than a particular technology or service.

Two examples of the purest form of mobile VoIP (where data travels the entire way to the handset over IP links), are Skype Mobile and Frig.

Mino Wireless uses client software to initiate calls to users’ cell phones as well as the number being dialed, then connects them from in between. This is a combination of traditional telecom service and IP infrastructure that offers low cost solutions.

ISkoot uses client software on the handset along with VoIP transport, delivering cell calls to Skype. The software uses the cell network to setup calls and then connects through the Skype network through users’ cell phones.

As you can see, the configurations are so varied that when looking into mobile VoIP it’s all about doing your homework and choosing the provider best suited to your particular set of needs.

On Tuesday NextAlarm.com announced two-way voice monitoring that is compatible with VoIP. Two-way monitoring will allow communication to and from the security dispatcher, who an listen in on the home through microphones in the security system keypads as well as speak through the keypads to pass information on to responding authorities at the scene.

Because many VoIP systems compress voice and the DTMF (touch tone) digits, most alarm systems are not compatible with broadband VoIP service. NextAlarm, however, is one of only a few alarm system providers who offer VoIP-compatible alarm systems.

We feel this two-way voice feature is going to be very popular with our subscribers. The feature doesn’t require a phone line and is available at a very reasonable price.

said Alex Elliot, NextAlarm’s founder and CEO.

Today Skype debuts Skype-Certified hardware in 1800 Wal-Mart stores. Wal-Mart has also begun selling pre-paid Skype calling cards.

This deal with Wal-Mart will bring with it Skype-ready webcams, headsets and handsets. These items include low cost items such as webcams for under $25, handsets under $30 and headsets under $15, from such names as Philips, Plantronics and Logitech, to name a few.

This move by Skype is an attempt to market Skype goods to small-town America, where Wal-Marts abound, but stores such as Best Buy and CompUSA simply don’t exist. Naturally, Skype hopes that Wal-Mart customers interested in trying out the new Skype products will also be interested in signing up for Skype service.

VoIP technology has enabled customers to organize their business communications such as voicemail messages and faxes into a single Microsoft Outlook folder. Yet expanded integration such as calendar synchronization and directory dialing have only recently become available.

With the ability to receive all communication in one Microsoft Outlook inbox, many users will be much better able to respond to voicemail messages. Particularly with detailed issues, voicemail can be much more difficult to digest than visual media like email.

Today’s top VoIP providers are offering Microsoft Outlook integration special features and capabilities. These features are certainly worth seeking if you already use Microsoft Outlook and would like to expand upon those organization features.