Tag: VoIP

Change the Way you Work for the Better with Unified Communications

With the recent signing into law of the Telecommuting Act of the Philippines, working from home or telecommuting is expected to boost in popularity. Given the severe traffic conditions in Metro Manila, working from home really does sound very attractive not only for the employee but for employers as well. Allowing work from home not only gives the employer potentially significant savings in office space but can also improve productivity by over 10%. Employers who allow their staff to work from home also see increased worker satisfaction and lower attrition rates. Obviously, not all jobs can be done from home and some jobs will always require face-to-face interaction. However, for jobs where the actual employee location isn’t important, a number of employers still hesitate to offer an option for their staff to telecommute. Most often the reason for the hesitation would include: Lack of oversight, and employees shirking their duties Lack of direction Security Lack of employee interaction/brainstorming All of the above though can be easily overcome through the use of Unified Communications Technologies. Unified Communications refers to the integration of various communication methods into one system or device. Unified Communications facilitates effective Remote Working by combining and integrating multiple communication and collaboration tools. Through Unified Communications, employees can: Answer office phone calls from anywhere in the world. Collaborate with other employees for free via instant messaging, video conferencing or teleconferencing. Utilize project management and collaboration tools. Utilizing UC need not be expensive or complicated. There are a number of free/freemium tools that facilitate Unified Communications even for the smallest of businesses: Long-distance calling/collaboration –Skype, Viber, Magic Jack Video/Teleconferencing –Skype, Google Hangouts Instant Messaging –Facebook Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, etc. Groups/Forums –Google groups, Yahoo groups, Facebook Groups Document Management –Google Apps/Docs, Google Drive, Dropbox Project Management –Github, Asana, Basecamp A step up from using the free tools above is availing of a Hosted Unified Communications Platform. A hosted platform allows you to have a full-featured UC System without the capital expenditure and technical expertise needed for setting it up and maintaining it on-site. It is a more secure solution than using free/freemium tools and is a fully integrated system where all components readily communicate with each other (i.e. email<->sms<->messenger). It is a more formal/professional configuration, indistinguishable from a traditional office communications system. Our sister company, Elisha Telecom, has been offering a Hosted Unified Communications Platform for over 12 years now. Starting at less than Php 350.00/month per user, they offer a very affordable entry point to Unified Communications that will allow your employees to work from home efficiently. Contact Elisha Telecom and get a free demo today. This Article was based on the presentation: Remote Working and the Virtual Office, presented during UCX Asia 2015 at the SMX Convention Center.

Sangoma FreePBX and Vega Session Border Controller (SBC) in the Philippines

EACOMM Corporation is happy to announce that it is now reselling Sangoma FreePBX Appliances and Sangoma Vega Session Border Controller (SBC) in the Philippines. Sangoma is a publicly listed company in Canada that has been operating since 1984 and is a recognized world leader in providing VoIP equipment particularly to opensource/Asterisk-based VoIP Systems Sangoma FreePBX Appliance   Sangoma FreePBX is one of the world’s most trusted opensource PBX applications and the Sangoma FreePBX Appliance is a highly reliable and affordable PBX Appliance that can scale easily to your business requirements. Ideal for small to medium businesses who wants a hassle-free VoIP PBX deployment, EACOMM is currently selling the FreePBX Phone System 60 (good for up to 60 users) and FreePBX Phone System 100 (good for up to 100 users). Prices start at just Php 35K+VAT for FreePBX 60 and 65K+VAT for FreePBX 100. Telephony cards and gateways are available for analog (FXO/FXS) or Digital (T1/E1) integration. Contact us for more information. Vega Enterprise Session Border Controller A Session Border Controller or SBC is a network appliance used to control signalling, particularly of Voice over IP traffic, across your network. A SBC helps prevent fraudulent use of your VoIP infrastructure that could lead to expensive call charges made by hackers. Certified for use with Skype for Business, the Vega Enterprise SBC is an affordable security appliance that is a must have for any robust and secure VoIP system. The price of the Vega Enterprise SBC starts at Php 120K+VAT inclusive of 25 simultaneous calls. Additional licenses are available upon request.       *Prices Subject to Change without Notice. Please contact us for the latest prices.

Asterisk Advanced Training with Digium-Certified Asterisk Professional Exam in the Philippines

Our Sister Company, Elisha Telecom Ltd. is organizing the very first Asterisk Advanced Training (formerly Asterisk Bootcamp) here in Manila, Philippines in cooperation with Digium, the makers of Asterisk open source VoIP. The 5-day training event will culminate with the Digium-Certified Asterisk Professional Exam or dCAP. The event will be held from September 24 to 28, 2012 at the University of the Philippines Information Technology Training Center (UP-ITTC) located at Vidal Tan Hall Quirino Avenue corner Velesquez Street Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Metro Manila, Philippines. The classes will be taught by dCAP engineers coming from Digium in the US. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER Course Description: The Asterisk Advanced course is a five day hands-on course which covers the knowledge and skills that an advanced Asterisk administrator should know to be effective at his or her job. It is a combination of both lectures and labs designed to give the students both the theory behind the concepts and the hands-on experience to be able to effectively deploy Asterisk-based solutions. Students will learn to create advanced dial plans and create innovative telephony solutions by using the features of Asterisk. Along the way, students will also get important insight into Voice over IP, and how to design robust VoIP networks. Students will also explore connecting Asterisk to a variety of devices, including analog phones and phone lines, digital phone lines, and VoIP providers. Digium-Certified Asterisk Professional (dCAP) The Digium-Certified Asterisk Professional (dCAP) certification is a verification of your knowledge of Asterisk. The certification covers a specific released, stable version of Asterisk. The dCAP test consists of a 115 question written exam concerning Asterisk and Asterisk-related technology, and a hands-on practical lab exam in which you are asked to configure a PBX according to a given specification. To pass the dCAP exam, it is recommended that you have read Asterisk: The Definitive Guide, 3rd Edition by O’Reilly, have actual working knowledge of setting up and maintaining an Asterisk server, have familiarity with the Asterisk sample configuration files, and have taken the Asterisk Advanced course. Information on open source Asterisk can be found at Asterisk.org. Course Fees and Inclusions: The course is priced at a discounted rate of US$2,000.00 (typically US$3,000) inclusive of: Digium TDM411B Analog card (1 FXO port + 1 FXS port) Digium TE122P T1/E1/J1 card SIP Desk Phone Training Courseware Asterisk Computer Laptop Backpack Taking the optional dCAP certification exam at the end of the course is priced at US$300.00. Note that this is considered an advanced course and it is recommended that participants have at least intermediate knowledge of the Linux operating system and have prior experience in installing Asterisk from source. SLOTS ARE  LIMITED SO PLEASE REGISTER EARLY! FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: Elisha Telecom Asterisk Advanced Training Course Registration Page: http://www.elishatelecom.com/training/index.php Information on Manila Asterisk Advanced Training on Digium Website: http://www.digium.com/en/training/locator/view_accommodations/165 About the Asterisk Advanced Training Course: http://www.digium.com/en/training/courses/#advanced About the Digium Certified Asterisk Professional Exam: http://www.digium.com/en/training/certifications/#dcap About Asterisk: http://www.asterisk.org

Digium Products for the Philippines

EACOMM Corporation in partnership with Elisha Telecom Asia-Pacific is proud to announce the availability of a range of new products from Digium for the Philippine Market. This includes: TDM410 Series Analog Cards – Next generation 4-port analog cards able to accept Digium’s 32 channel echo cancellation module. Designed to replace the TDM400 series analog cards. TDM800 and AEX800 Series Analog Cards -8-port Analog TDM Card with optional Hardware-based echo cancellation module. TDM800 requires a standard PCI slot while AEX800 series requires a PCI-express slot. TDM2400 and AEX2400 Series Analog Cards – 24-port Analog TDM Card in PCI (TDM series) or PCI-express (AEX Series) models. All units can accept optional hardware-based echo cancellation module. EACOMM ships these cards with 6 feet 50-pin M<->F cable for free. Requires a 24-port Patch panel to terminate to standard analog RJ-11 cables. Next Generation TE-series Digital Cards – Includes TI/E1 TDM PCI and PCI express card models, option for echo-cancellation modules, and BRI models. Available in single-span, dual-span, and quad-span models. Asterisk Business Edition – Licensed version of Asterisk Open Source PBX. Asterisk Appliance -Full blown Asterisk PBX supporting up to 50 extension in a small box. Available with up to 4 FXO and 4 FXS ports. Lumenvox Speech Recognition Engine – Powerful Speech recognition software designed to work with Asterisk open source PBX. Download our current price list for Digium VoIP Products in Philippine Pesos here. For inquiries and requests for quotation, kindly contact Ms. Liza Castillo at +63 2 438 2983-85 local 212 or email us at sales@elishatelecom.com.

EACOMM Integrated Solutions now offering VoiSmart VoIP GSM Gateway

EACOMM Corporation Integrated Solutions division is excited the announce the availability of the VoiSmart vGSM Series VoIP GSM gateways. This is the first 100% Asterisk compatible PCI bus card, for multiple channel (up to four) GSM communication management.This board allows systems integrators to transform highly priced fixed to mobile voice traffic into a much cheaper mobile to mobile call management, with considerable savings. No external gateways needed. 100% compatible with EU and US GSM networks (900/1800/1900 MHz) and with Brazil and Japan networks. SMS are handled in native modality, thanks to a new Asterisk application for messages TX and RX, available free together with this board. The VooSmart vGSM cards are available for ordering and purchase at the EACOMM On-line Store

Pacific Internet Launches VOCAL VoIP Service

Pacific Internet Philippines is offering a VoIP package that comes with a FREE grandstream or linksys VoIP Phone. Available plans start at Php 900.00 per month with 125 call minutes free. Higher priced plans comes with DID in UK, US or other countries. Compared with foreign offerings from the US or Europe, Pacific’s offering seems a bit expensive. With effective per minute charges to the US ranging from Php 5.00 – 7.20/minute. The free IP Phone would be the biggest come-on though, albeit at the price they’re charging perhaps a higher-end phone would have been nicer. For more information, visit: http://vocal.pacific.net.ph/index.html

THE SECRETS OF VOIP BILLING

We have tried out a variety of VoIP providers in the past few months and the way they bill for calls are almost always unique to specific providers. We thought we’d run down some of these billing techniques in this article so to help us all choose which type of billing system is best for our different applications. Unlimited Billing. Typically for residential and ‘small business’ users, most VoIP companies offer some sort of “Unlimited” Plan. The best suggestion one can give for these plans is READ THE FINE PRINT!!! You’ll see that most of these plans are unlimited, “Based on the Average Usage of a Residential/Business Customer”. In other words, the providers reserve the right to bill for “Overusage” or to upgrade your plan if they think you’re abusing it. So essentially, what’s so unlimited about them then? How unlimited plans work is the providers think up of an estimate of the number of calls a ‘typical’ client would make…let’s say the slightly above average Residential Customer would make 1,500 minutes of calls per month and a Business Customer would make 4,000 minutes of calls per month. Now let’s say the package is for continental USA and that the providers cost of connection is US$ 0.01/minute and cost of providing a DID (traditional telephone number) to it’s customers is US$5.00/month. Hence they’ll give out an Unlimited Plan of 0.01×1,500 = US$ 20.00/month for Residential Users and US$45.00/month for Business Users. Laws of statistics say that as long as most of their customers will fall well below their predicted consumption they stand to make a ton of profit and the beauty of it is, if specific customers are heavy users (i.e. above the predicted call minutes per month), then the provider can say you’ve ‘overused’ the system and must pay more…hence the provider will never lose money on a single “Unlimited Subscription”. Pay per Use. A much more versatile plan is paying per use. In this plan either you have a fixed subscription (i.e. for DID rental) then you have to pay for your call charges or you pay for everything up-front. This seems to be very straightforward an upfront vs. unlimited billing, but it’s not. Where the providers differ in the Pay per Use scenario is how they treat your per minute charges. Minimum Billing – Some providers require a minimum call charge regardless of how long the call is. Some provide a specific monetary amount such as minimum of 1 cent per call, or minimum of 1 Minute Charge. Seems harmless, but over an entire voip system, you’ll be surprised of the amount of calls that last less than a minute! Billing Intervals – Some providers bill per second, per X second interval, or some even per minute! Treatment of Sub-cent Charges – Billing for half a cent is obviously impossible and it only makes sense to roundup charges to the nearest cent. However, providers do have the option of aggregating the total call charges and just bill on the Cent level on actual invoicing or practice rounding up sub-cent charges on a per call basis. Rounding-up per call over MILLIONS of call minutes is a Huge money earner. Let’s say a provider offer 1 cent/minute and per second billing, and you make a 90 second call. The Charge should be 1.5 cents. If they round up per call this is charged 2 cents. Lines/Channels. For those of you using VoIP termination for a PBX, this is a big consideration. Lines or Channels limit the number of inbound and outbound connections your server can make simultaneously. True wholesale termination will give you UNLIMITED number of Lines/Channels. However, hosted PBX providers, DID providers and “PBX termination” typically limits this. Again, if you need this service, make sure it’s available before you sign-up! Some providers discuss channel limitations in very small fine print in the deepest recesses of their websites! And if ever you need to expand your number of channels the additional fees can be PHENOMENAL. For example one provider we tested offered 4 channels free and US$20.00/month per channel over that. Another provider offered 2 channels free and $10.00/month per channel over the first 2…but on minimum bulk purchase of 10 channels! The bottom line is read the fine print! Also note that we’ve not discussed Quality of Service in this article, you might be getting the cheapest fairest deal with your provider but it turns out he’s running his VoIP setup from a Pentium 3 desktop in his house! As there’s a multitude of companies out there, make sure you do your research on the companies you sign up with, test various providers before settling with a big investment with one, and READ THE FINE PRINT!

Digium announces release of New Products

High Performance Echo Cancellation – For quite some time now, Digium has been offering On-board Echo Cancellation for its TDM2400 and TE series of cards, while those using the smaller TDM400 cards are left to tweak echo cancellation using Asterisk Software. Last Feb, Digium announced the availability of High Performance Echo Cancellation that users can download and install for FREE if they own a Digium Card or can purchase for US$10.00 if they don’t. HPEC is available directly from the Digium Website. We’ve yet to test the HPEC but Digium claims it provides ‘Carrier-Grade Echo Cancellation’. The catch though is the tremendous CPU Power that the HPEC will consume: “Digium recommends that users requiring 8 channels at 1024 taps run a PC comparible to a 3.0 GHz Pentium 4, while users only requiring 4 channels at 1024 taps may run a 2.5 GHz Pentium Celeron” Nonetheless the added CPU load could be a small price to pay if it makes it easier for all of us to create the ever elusive ‘Echo-Free’ calls we’re all looking for. TDM800 Series – Also this February, Digium has announced the availabilty of its TDM800 Series of Cards. Addressing the ‘middle range’ between its TDM400 entry level series and the TDM2400 cards. The TDM800 can accept both the X100M Single FXO and S100M Single FXS daughter cards as well as the X400M Quad FXO and S400M Quad FXS cards. There are 2 Available slots for Quad Modules and up to 4 available slots for Single Modules. Giving a configuration of 1-6 or 8 slots (mix of FXO and FXS). The TDM800 does not come with the Echo Cancellation Module available for the TDM2400 and TE series cards but the Digium’s HPEC software can provide Carrier Grade Echo Cancellation for this PCI card. The TDM800 Series is available for purchase on-line for the Philippine Market from EACOMM’s Online Store.

Grandstream Budgtone 101

The Budgetone 101 is an excellent entry level phone. Simple ‘no-frills’ design, reliable performance, and decent documentation and support. You can purchase this from on-line stores quite cheap (see previous post) or from local retailers for around Php 7,000.00 up. Grandstream enjoys MASSIVE popularity especially for the Open source VoIP Community, and as far as ‘China Designed’ phones go, I think this is probably the best bet! The Grandstream line of products in general are quite reliable and it’s GXP-2000 model is to drool for. Quality-wise, I’d place this in between the cheaper, less known China Brands and the Western brands like Polycom and Mitel. For anyone looking to ‘play’ with VoIP before making any huge investment, 2 or 3 Grandstream phones and a Trixbox Server is the way to go.

AsterConference Asean Roadshow 2007

AsterConference Asean Roadshow 2007 www.asterconference.com which will be held at the following cities: Jan 31, 2007 Jakarta Venue: Le Grandeur Hotel (formerly Dusit Hotel) Feb 2, 2007 Manila Venue: Linden Suite, Ortigas Feb 5, 2007 Bangkok Venue: Arnoma Hotel After a successful AsterConference in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 31, 2006, the organizer, SEC Training and Expo together with JCMEX as one of the sponsors, is bringing this Asterisk Conference right to your door step. The conference will feature a panel of regional speakers plus local speakers from each of the country who will be speaking on the exciting development and technology of Asterisk. This conference targets anyone, especially business owners, decision makers, IT Managers, entrepreneurs, solution providers, who is interested to learn and know more about Asterisk and its benefits it brings to a company.

Remote towns in Nueva Ecija now using VOIP service

Reposted with permission from INQ7.net By Alexander Villafania 12/20/2006 The Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture (OPAPA) and the Muñoz Science Cybercity in Nueva Ecija have installed barangay-level voice-over-Internet protocol (VOIP) connection in three remote towns in Nueva Ecija as part of a nationwide connectivity program for agricultural locations. Click here for the Full Article Barangays Linglingay, Rang Ayan and Villa Isla in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija were connected to the “Telepono sa Barangay” project, which is itself associated to OPAPA’s parent project called the Knowledge Networking Towards Enterprising Agricultural Community (K-AGRINET). This project seeks to organize all agricultural communities and link them to a wide area network for researchers and farming groups nationwide. The Internet link for the three remote barangays was provided by the Philippine Rice Research Institute facility in Nueva Ecija, beamed 9.3 kilometers to the Bureau of Post-harvest Research Training and Extension access points, which in turn transmits the VOIP signal to the three barangays.

PLDT, Innove at loggerheads over VoIP call access charges

POSTED WITH PERMISSION FROM INQ7.NET By: Erwin Oliva THE PHILIPPINE Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) announced that it has “temporarily barred” incoming landline calls from its rival Innove Communications’ voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, while the two companies work on an interconnection agreement. PLDT said it filed a complaint with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) against Innove, which is a subsidiary of Globe Telecom, Inc. The company said Innove had been routing international calls to PLDT’s network without an interconnection agreement. A legal counsel of GlobeQuest, however, stressed that PLDT has “nothing to block” since the problem was resolved two to three months ago. Click Here for the Full Article

VoIP: Enabling Home Working in the Philippines

Something particularly we Filipinos should not ignore is how VoIP can enable organizations to utilize the Labor Force of the ENTIRE Philippines versus being dependent on where the business is located. A lot of businesses, particularly in Manila have been complaining on how high the salary has become here and how difficult it has become to recruit people. Relocating a business in other cities or even rural areas provides a business the lower cost of labor and a large, untapped labor pool of skilled professionals who would otherwise have to find work in Manila, Cebu or Davao. However, most businesses need to locate in Manila and the other major cities simply because the clients are there. VoIP, combined with other Internet enabled applications offers the solution: Retain your Head office and sales team in the major cities, recruit and hire your ‘back-office’ manpower from the provinces. With VoIP PBX, your employees need not be in the same location but your clients wouldn’t know the difference. Your secretary could be working from in Cebu, your accountant in Bicol, your sales in Manila, etc. Through the Internet, you can call, instant message or even video-conference with everyone for free! Your Client calls your office in Manila, the call gets transferred to your secretary in Cebu who entertains the call and transfer it to your production team in Davao! The savings to your organization would be ASTRONOMICAL. Wages in the provinces can be up to 50% less than what you are bound to pay in Metro Manila. Even the additional compensation you’d need to provide all your employees Broadband connection and other tools would be insignificant to your cost savings in wages and office space. Getting interested? Here’s a shopping list of what you’d need: Broadband connection for all your employees (~Php 1,000.00/month) Trixbox (http://www.trixbox.org) – (FREE!) TDM Card to connect to the PSTN (~PHP 6,000.00/line) An old worn down PC you’re employees refuse to use as it’s a ‘Pentium 3’ –(FREE if you have it, Php 10K or less if you need to buy one) Softphone for each of your employees (FREE!) Headset per Employee (~Php 500.00) Webcam for Video Conference per Employee (~Php 1,000.00) Instant Messenger per Employee (FREE!) PC for each of your Empoyee (FREE is you recruit people already with a PC or Php 20K if you need to provide it). Total Cost per Employee – (Php 2,500.00 if the have their own PC at home or Php 22,500.00 if you need to supply it.) + The cost of the PBX Server (Php 6,000.00/line connected to it) Say you need 20 employees with an average salary of Php 18,000.00 in Manila. You decide to recruit in the Provinces, and get the same level of skill for work at home employees for an average salary of Php 12,000.00+2,500 to equip them with DSL and other equipment. That’s Php 70,000.00 in SAVINGS each month or Php 840,000.00 over one year!!! And that doesn’t even include your savings in Office Space, Electricity, etc.! What are the disadvantages? Most managers would not be used to managing their employees remotely. However, this is mainly a case of implementing strict Management Systems vs. managing in a ‘personal’ level. There are A LOT of open source applications you can use to help you out in this…from groupware/project management suites to opensource ERP’s. The typical concern is that you wouldn’t know if your employees are really working or just sleeping. Again, management systems should be in place, such as employees should be required to answer instant messenger queries in less then 5 minutes, they should be visible via webcam, or if you’re REALLY paranoid you can install spyware on their PCs so you know EVERYTHING…and think about it…Do you think they’re working 100% of the time in YOUR office? Working at home removes the ‘camaraderie’ of office life. Hmm…no easy answer to that…but it does remove the ‘evils’ of office politicking, rumor mongering and the like. It also gives the employees much more in terms of their personal life and family life. And with your cost savings, why not give back by treating all of your remote employees to Boracay once a year? Granted, there would be some industries where this wouldn’t be appropriate but for majority of service-related businesses in the Philippines, Managers should seriously ask themselves…is there really anything preventing our organization to adapt a work from home model?

Mozcom Launches VCALL VoIP Service

Mozcom launched earlier this week their new consumer-oriented VoIP Service. Specifically targetted to the Filipino Market, the service offers US$0.08/minute calls to the US Mainland. Interested parties need only log-on to http://www.vcall.ph and create a FREE account. You can then purchase credit to call on-line using Mozcom’s Pay Easy Service. Vcall also offers US DID termination for Php 750.00/month. We expect these prices to fall as more and more consumer-oriented VoIP Providers come on-line in the Philippines, from new startups, established ISPs, and the Telcos themselves. Given the wholesale VoIP rates are now in the realm of less than one cent per minute, and DID subscriptions can be had for less than $3.00/month if you know where to look, Mozcom is still charging a pretty hefty margin that should and will come down eventually.

Call centers, IT storage demand behind Cisco growth in RP

By Alexander Villafania Posted with Permission from INQ7.net NETWORK company Cisco said the bustling call center business and the IT storage requirements of various industries are the main drivers for its growth in the Philippines. The company’s Philippine office did not disclose actual financial figures but reported 36-percent year-on-year growth in terms of bookings for purchases of its products in the Philippines as of the end of its fiscal year 2006 in July. Most of its business came from the IT storage industry, which contributed a 333-percent growth in bookings, followed by the call center industry with 100-percent growth as of fiscal year 2006. Meanwhile, Cisco Philippines’ wireless network and network security businesss contributed 107 percent and 66 percent each. Cisco’s worldwide revenues reached 28.5 billion US dollars in its 2006 fiscal year. The US market still is the company’s main market at 53 percent, followed by Europe with 22 percent and Asia Pacific with 11 percent. Japan and other emerging markets contributed four percent each to Cisco’s overall revenue growth. CLICK HERE FOR THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE

CICT to pilot VoIP technology

By Erwin Oliva POSTED WITH PERMISSION FROM INQ7.net THE COMMISSION on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) will conduct pilot tests of voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology before it rolls it out to other agencies, an official told INQ7.net. VoIP uses the Internet instead of the traditional telephone network to route voice calls, resulting in lower costs. CICT chairman Ramon Sales said the agency initially wanted to start with the Palace. Palace security, however, had concerns over CICT engineers inspecting their telephone systems, he added. Sales said the agency is looking at developing or outsourcing their VoIP system. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo earlier instructed the CICT chairman to work for increase VoIP use in government…. CLICK BELOW TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE: http://technology.inq7.net/infotech/infotech/view_article.php?article_id=15667

Digium Pricelist – August Update

The Digium pricelist has been updated to take into account the availability of the next generation TE-series cards with DSP-based Echo Cancellation (TE207, TE212, TE407, TE412). Download the Digium Philippine Price list here

TrixBox – Easy to Install Asterisk-based PBX

Trixbox, formerly Asterisk@Home doesn’t get a lot of credit, mainly because of it’s former name. Don’t be fooled by how easy it is to install and configure, Trixbox is a fully-functional PBX. In fact, probably 70-80% of people looking for an IP PBX need not look further than using Trixbox. Trixbox would be ideal for SOHO/SME’s looking to venture into IP telephony. This very comprehensive software package includes: Asterisk Open Source PBX – This is basically the CORE of the product and what makes it a PBX. CentOS Linux – A very good and secure Linux ‘flavor’ FreePBX – formerly called “Asterisk Management Portal or AMP”, this is a web based application for configuring the system. Fairly easy to use and understand, and quite powerful. Flash Operator Panel – Nice monitoring tool to view realtime operation of your PBX. AstBilling – Pre-paid calling card management software built for Asterisk. SugarCRM – Open source version of a very good CRM application with native integration with Asterisk. And more! If you want to join the Asterisk bandwagon, and don’t know where to start, I strongly recommend starting with TrixBox. And I’m betting you won’t need anything else but this software package.

OWWA and Microsoft to Provide Global Communication Services for OFW’s and their Families

FROM: http://www.microsoft.com/philippines/pressroom/0607_04.asp Manila, Philippines – The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and Microsoft Corp. announce they are working together on Konek Ka D’yan 2 (Connect! 2), a pilot service that will soon allow Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to speak with their families utilizing some of the most cost-effective methods (WiFi and Mobile Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP) and to remit their earnings and digitally transfer them to their designated beneficiaries from a Windows Mobile 5.0 (WiFi/cellular enabled) device. Hailed as the “new heroes of the Philippine economy” with their regular remittances to the country amounting to $10.7 billion in 2005 alone (or 10% of the Philippine annual gross domestic product), OFWs are sea- and land-based Filipino workers who struggle to maintain family connections while contributing to their economic well-being from around the world. Currently estimated at 8 million (15% of the working age population) and growing at a rate of 50,000 net new OFWs per month, these Filipinos can spend a significant portion of their earnings to stay in touch with family members while abroad, and are part of the reason that the Philippines is the text messaging capital of the world, sending an average of 200 million text messages a day, at a cost of around Php 0.90 per message. “Some OFWs can spend as much as US$100 (Php 5,300) a month to simply stay connected,” said Marianito Roque, Administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. “This new service will significantly reduce those costs by utilizing available WiFi and VoIP services to turn an international call into a free or local call. For Filipino seamen, in particular, this is quite significant because many of their host ships are WiFi-enabled.” Konek Ka D’yan 2 will provide global communication services to OFWs through low cost, long-term loans for purchase of Windows Mobile 5.0 (WiFi/Cellular enabled) phones to take with them and use in their country of employment. This is complementary to the Konek Ka D’yan! program launched in April by OWWA and Microsoft, wherein personal computers (PCs) with broadband service are being made available to OFW’s family homes through OWWA’s Family Assistance Loans (FAL). The first phase of this trial with OFWs is currently underway. “We believe Konek Ka D’yan 2 will provide valuable support for our countrymen to strengthen their family ties through better communication and allow them more options for the management of their money,” said Antonio Javier Jr., Managing Director, Microsoft Philippines. The Konek Ka D’yan 2 pilot service will utilize Microsoft Office Live Communications Server (LCS) and a Microsoft Communicator-based User Interface (UI) through which OFWs can interact with their families via Instant Messaging, Presence (the ability to see the online availability and status of your contacts) and VoIP. Participating OFWs and their beneficiaries may be provided with debit bankcards and digital accounts powered by Microsoft Windows Live ID. The digital accounts are intended to allow OFWs to digitally transfer remitted funds directly to their designated recipients using either the Windows Mobile 5.0 phones or PCs, eliminating secondary remittance fees that are typically charged to send and receive funds today. “Konek Ka D’yan shows how our software platform approach can bring revolutionary economics and intelligence to bear on communications, and make a real impact on people’s daily lives,” said Gurdeep Pall, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Unified Communications Group. “This pilot is a powerful affirmation of our vision for unified communications.” Stated Roque, “We are very, very pleased at how Microsoft – the first IT company to approach us with a vision of empowering OFWs through technology – continues to look out for better opportunities for OFW families to stay intact. Konek Ka D’yan 2 will definitely make a positive impact in the way our OFWs will be relating with their loved ones, it’s quite exciting how technology makes it all possible.” Starting in 2004, OWWA and Microsoft have been working closely to enable OFWs maximize their full potential through technology. Tulay: An Unlimited Potential Program for Overseas Filipino Workers gives participants, mostly domestic helpers, access to both technology and technology training, in the hope that this will give them the skills to find better employment opportunities as well as help bridge the physical divide between them and their families in the Philippines.

Towers Business Center 11th Floor, Cyber One Building, Eastwood City Cyberpark E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue, Bagumbayan, Quezon, City 1110 Philippines Tel: +63 (02) 7217 0372, +63 917 1335642 info@eacomm.com