VoIP News

New York-based telecom giant, Verizon Communications, has launched a patent infringement lawsuit against Charter Communications, its second legal action against a major cable company in the space of a month.

Verizon filed its case against Charter on February 5 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, which has traditionally been favourable to plaintiffs in patent infringement cases.

The telecom giant is alleging that Charter’s digital phone service infringes on eight Verizon-owned patents relating to the delivery of phone services over data networks. An almost identical lawsuit, citing the same eight patents, was filed against another American cable company, Cox Communications, last month.

In the Charter case, Verizon is seeking damages that are “no less than a reasonable royalty,” as well as an injunction blocking Charter from using the technology. It says that the Texas court has jurisdiction over this matter because Charter provides service to some 182,200 customers in the state.

The cable company would only say that it is “currently analyzing Verizon’s claims and cannot comment on our defenses at this time, but Charter does intend to vigorously defend itself.”

Verizon won a $120 million patent infringement settlement against independent VoIP provider, Vonage, last October, in a case involving two of the same patents being used against Charter and Cox.

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Japanese electronics giant, Sony Corp., has delayed plans to add Skype VoIP functionality to its popular PSP gaming device, on the grounds that Skype has not yet approved the necessary peripherals.

“Sony Computer Entertainment Japan … announced that it would postpone the release of two microphone products for PSP, SINGLE PACK (with one microphone, PSPJ-15010) and TWIN PACK (with two microphones, PSPJ-15011), scheduled to be released in Japan on Thursday, January 24th, 2008,” Sony said in an online statement.

“SCEJ planned to release the microphone along with the introduction of Skype features for the new slim and light PSP. However, it was found that the microphone did not meet the Skype specifications in part to obtain certification and SCEJ has determined to postpone the release of the microphone,” the statement continued. “New release date will be announced as soon as decided.”

“With this, SCEJ has also reached a decision to postpone the introduction of the Skype features and services in Japan, scheduled in late January as part of the system software update for PSP. Solutions to enable users to start using Skype features and services on their PSP are being sought for and will be announced in due course.”

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America’s biggest phone company, AT&T Inc., has begun offering a VoIP telephone service over its fiber-optic network in Detroit, Michigan, with rates as low as $20 per month.

Subscribers can order unlimited calling within the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico for $45 per month, or 1000 minutes of calling time at a monthly cost of $35 (+$0.07 per overtime minute). Customers who also order AT&T’s U-verse broadband or TV service receive a $10/month discount, while those who sign-up for both of these services are credited $15/month.

AT&T’s digital phone service comes with a number of convenient perks, including an option for U-verse TV subscribers to view their call histories on their TV sets. Call forwarding, call screening, and call display, as well as “do not disturb” and international call blocking options are all included.

There is a $50 fee to install the new service, but this is being waived until the end of this month for customers who also sign-up for U-verse TV.

In the months to come, AT&T will likely extend its U-verse VoIP service to other cities, as a way to compete on equal grounds with cable phone providers, and stem ongoing subscriber losses in the fixed-line telephone market.

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Japanese consumer electronics giant, Sony, has revealed that it is bringing the well-known Skype VoIP service to its PlayStation Portable gaming console in the near future.

Full details of the new service will be unveiled at the Consumer Electronic Show in Law Vegas next week, according to Sony, which stated that users will be able to “call friends, talk trash to fellow gamers, and catch up with acquaintances via Skype for PSP.”

Skype, which is famous for offering free telephone calls over the internet, has grown to become a major international phenomenon in recent years, with 245 million people now registered to use the service on their PCs.

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Increased laptop shipments, 802.11n Wi-Fi deployments, and mobile VoIP demand will help drive growth in the wireless networking industry in 2008, experts predict.

Wireless networking has performed strongly in 2007 after a “bumpy adolescence” in previous years, according to managing director, Ian Schenkel, of enterprise wireless consultancy, AirMagnet.

Security concerns, among other issues, will continue to challenge wireless deployments, Schenkel said, but 2007 will likely be remembered as the year the wireless industry finally grew up. AirMagnet expects the global wireless industry to grow a further 40% in 2008.

Laptop computers, most of which are now Wi-Fi-enabled, will contribute significantly to wireless growth in the coming year, according to AirMagnet. Researchers cited a recent Gartner study projecting 19% annual growth in laptop shipments through 2011, as well as the incoming wave of 802.11n-based networking products.

“The new high speed Wi-Fi standard, 802.11n, promises increased network speeds and reliability with raw data throughput theoretically capable of reaching as much as 600Mbps, over 10 times that of 802.11g,” AirMagnet said in its report. “Demand for 802.11n networks is set to be a key driver for wireless networks in 2008 as organizations look to increase speed and bandwidth for data intensive applications.

AirMagnet also mentioned the growing market for Wi-Fi-equipped dual-mode cell phones, but said that before this technology can become truly widespread, it has to be as reliable as fixed-line voice networks.

“In order to cope with this increased demand for voice over wireless enabled phones, organisations must optimise wireless access points already installed as well as investing in additional access points where necessary to support additional traffic,” AirMagnet stated. “Effective wireless network planning is key to ensuring the success of voice over wireless.”

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UK telecom regulator, Ofcom, has ruled that internet telephone carriers must provide uninterrupted access to Britian’s emergency number, 999, as well as the European Union’s universal emergency line, 112.

Carriers have until September 2008 to comply with the ruling, which applies to all VoIP firms that allow their customers to call normal phone numbers over the internet.

Ofcom says that the regulation is necessary to ensure that emergency victims can summon help as quickly as possible. According to a recent survey, an astounding 78% of those using non-emergency-enabled VoIP services in the UK thought that they had access to 999 and/or 112.

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Internet search giant, Google Inc., may be poised to acquire the world’s leading online VoIP service, Skype, according to speculation in the blogsphere this week.

The rumours originated with the UK’s well-respected Guardian newspaper on Monday, and have been reverberating through investment firms and the blogsphere all week. No solid basis has been provided for the speculation, but there are logical reasons for Google to consider acquiring, or at least forming a partnership with Skype, which is currently owned by online auction leader, eBay.

“Currently in favor around London’s webbist community is the rumor that Google has been in negotiations to buy Skype,” wrote Jemima Kiss, a blogger with the Guardian. “Google bases all of its mobile projects in London, so this is the fitting place for such a rumor.”

It’s true that Google and Skype have been moving in a similar direction in recent months; for example, partnering with several other companies to fund Fon, a Spanish startup attempting to build a worldwide network of shared Wi-Fi hotspots.

Skype and Google also have some shared interests with regard to an upcoming 700-MHz airwaves auction in the U.S., where both companies have pressured regulators to make existing wireless carriers “open up” their networks.

A Google acquisition of Skype “makes sense on a number of levels, particularly because it fits with Google’s ambitions for disrupting the mobile industry through its new open mobile phone development platform Android,” Kiss wrote, noting that a such a deal might also be attractive to eBay, “which was recently forced to admit that it had paid too much for Skype.”

When asked to comment on the speculation, however, Skype itself remained silent, insisting that it does not respond to rumours.

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Broadband phone provider, Vonage, discovered on Thursday that it must pay $120 million to settle its patent infringement dispute with Verizon Communications, after a U.S. Court of Appeals denied a request to rehear the case.

Vonage has already agreed to settle the case, but would have only had to pay $80 million if the court had agreed to a rehearing. Granted that this did not happen, the VoIP startup must now pay a total of $117.5 million to Verizon and $2.5 million to charities, as per the terms of the companies’ settlement agreement.

“We were not surprised but disappointed that the court denied our request for a rehearing of the case,” commented Vonage spokesman, Charlie Sahner. “We are pleased to continue putting litigation behind us and keep focusing on our core business.”

In recent weeks, Vonage has also settled a patent infringement case with Sprint Nextel, and made progress towards doing the same with AT&T. Its ailing stock has more than doubled since the Sprint settlement was announced, but remains more than 85% lower than its $17 IPO price a year and a half ago.

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Vonage has reached an “agreement in principle” to settle its intellectual property dispute with AT&T, the VoIP pioneer announced yesterday.

The deal under discussion would have Vonage pay $39 million over five years, in exchange for AT&T dropping its patent infringement lawsuit. Vonage would also agree to drop its counter suit against the telecom giant.

“We’re moving in the right direction with regard to AT&T and are focused on finalizing our agreement by the end of this month,” said Charles Sahner, a spokesman for Vonage. “We would like to be able to put AT&T behind us together with Verizon, Sprint and our other recent settlements.”

Vonage’s new strategy of settling patent infringement complaints has been a convenient and effective way of avoiding crippling injunctions against its technology, but it has also been very costly, cutting into the unprofitable company’s ever-dwindling supply of cash.

“The company’s cash requirements in the fourth quarter increased due to the release of $78 million of restricted cash to Verizon, an additional $2 million to Verizon, $40 million placed into escrow and reported as current restricted cash until the Verizon appeal is decided, $80 million to Sprint and $2 million in other IP litigation settlements,” the company said in its most recent financial statement.

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Vonage Holdings Corp. has filed a motion for review of a U.S. Appeals Court’s decision to uphold Verizon’s parent infringement victory against the struggling broadband phone provider.

The Appeals Court ruled on September 26 that Vonage had infringed on two of Verizon’s patents, and upheld a lower court decision ordering the Vonage to pay damages and royalties to the telecom giant.

Vonage has been hit with a number of legal setbacks since its initial public offering in May 2006, causing its stock to plummet 89% in a seventeen-month period.

The company did manage to settle a similar patent lawsuit with Sprint Nextel Corp. earlier this week, however, and said that it would “explore all legal options available to put the Verizon litigation to rest,” indicating that compromise is one possible outcome in this case.

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