BajaNomad

VoIP News Item

MrBillM - 1-19-2006 at 10:10 AM

PC World Magazine, January 2006 "Plugged In"..................

Numerous Telcos worldwide have purchased software produced by "Narus" that allows them to detect and block or deprioritize VoIP data packets, effectively disabling the VoIP service.

In the U.S., it is illegal to completely block VoIP traffic, but no rules exist regarding prioritizing traffic on the network.

More info on Narus: http://www.narus.com

BajaNomad - 1-19-2006 at 11:47 AM

http://www.contractoruk.com/002460.html

so how does this affect vonage?

sylens - 1-19-2006 at 06:22 PM

i don't quite get the difference between skype and vonage. anyone willing to explain?

tia

JZ - 1-19-2006 at 07:43 PM

Skype is cheaper all things considered. You don't need Vonage.

Vonage

MrBillM - 1-20-2006 at 11:08 AM

Vonage and similar services are compatible only with DSL or Cable modems. They will not work with Direcway Satellite service due to the slow and erratic upload speeds.

Vonage, Skype and ALL VoIP services will be adversely affected by the blocking or prioritizing methods covered in these articles.
Enjoy it while you can.

Would this affect direct calls...

neilm - 1-20-2006 at 01:41 PM

between two users of the same voip system? It would seem that if 2 skype users were connected, there wouldn't be a telco involved...

BTW, I had fair to good results using an old voip (Netpad?) with a D'way 4000 dish system.... good reception; fair transmission.... some people could understand me well, others poorly. I understand the new systems are better.

Neil
Quote:
Originally posted by MrBillM
PC World Magazine, January 2006 "Plugged In"..................

Numerous Telcos worldwide have purchased software produced by "Narus" that allows them to detect and block or deprioritize VoIP data packets, effectively disabling the VoIP service.

In the U.S., it is illegal to completely block VoIP traffic, but no rules exist regarding prioritizing traffic on the network.

More info on Narus: http://www.narus.com

Skype, Vonage and CrystalVoice

losfrailes - 1-20-2006 at 01:58 PM

Misinformation abounds here! All three services will work with DirecWay Internet. There is a latency lag, (delay is another word for it) that both using parties must understand. Just needs understanding and patience.

Learn to say 'over' at the end of your sentence. The other party the same.

There are many, many people using both services without pain when on DirecWay!

Pompano - 1-20-2006 at 02:14 PM

Yup..like losfrailes said. Over

SKYPE/Direcway

mcgyver - 1-20-2006 at 05:00 PM

Yep Pompano, I can tell when I call any one who is ex-military, they get the "Over" right away and I talk to lots of people who have no trouble from go, others do not ever get it because they have NO radio experience, only cell phone experience were as they ramble on, never listening to what they themselfs are saying must less the person they are talking to!
Just go to the grocery and listen to the meaningless conversation while they are shopping!

Don Alley - 1-20-2006 at 07:55 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by neilm
It would seem that if 2 skype users were connected, there wouldn't be a telco involved..


There is always a telco involved.

The new software allows the internet service providers, and telcos, to identify voice data, whether it is going to a phone or another computer.

Now, if your ISP is independent of a phone company, they may have no interest in charging additional fees for voice data transmission. However, these independent providers do use phone company lines, and pay the phone/communications companies for that use. So phone companies could institute a higher price at this "wholesale" level if regulatory rules allow. And guess what...recently the federal government relaxed restrictions that capped what phone companies could charge independent ISPs for use of their lines.

And in Baja (and this is a Baja board) our ISP, prodigy, is Telmex.

The thinking is phone companies are not going to let cheap VOIP calls erode their long distance cash cows without a struggle, and they own a portion of the lines the data must go through.

bajalou - 1-20-2006 at 08:09 PM

But the phone company digitizes the analog data from your home phone - sends it across country as digital packets - then converts back to analog for the receivers phone. - Can they seperate that from the Skype etc. or the AIM or Yahoo chats?

bajalou - 1-21-2006 at 08:32 AM

From Kim Komando's weekly column today--

Start with the phone and cable providers in your area. For example,
Verizon and AT&T both offer VoIP and DSL. Comcast, Time Warner Cable
and Cox provide cable broadband and VoIP. Keep in mind that cable
companies may call VoIP digital telephone service. They think it is
less intimidating to subscribers.

That's The Point !

MrBillM - 1-21-2006 at 11:48 AM

Bajalou asks:

But the phone company digitizes the analog data from your home phone - sends it across country as digital packets - then converts back to analog for the receivers phone. - Can they seperate that from the Skype etc. or the AIM or Yahoo chats?

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The purpose of the software being marketed by Narus is to identify the VoIP data packets so that they may be blocked or prioritized for the purposes of delaying (disabling) the service.

VoIP

tehag - 1-21-2006 at 05:19 PM

No, they cannot separate their packets from those of Yahoo et al. If they code their own packets for priority and block the rest, they cut themselves off from calls from the many other telcoms. The only phone companies who seem in a position to benefit from the software are those who are not themselves digitizing their traffic. They are dinosaurs and must fairly soon either join the actual world or hang up.

Tehag - The Final Authority ?

MrBillM - 1-22-2006 at 01:21 PM

So, Tehag decrees that this is all a futile effort and the ones purchasing the software are simply "Dinosaurs" that will disappear. Amazing that so many authorities could be so wrong and spend so much money to no avail. I'm sure glad that's cleared up, but then, others say:...........

Narus: Security Assurance Or VoIP Killer?
January 2006 Don't bank on free long distance just yet. As reported in the online edition of the prestigious IEEE Spectrum, phone companies in Egypt, France, Germany, and Saudi Arabia have announced they will block VoIP traffic using carrier-class software called IP Platform from Narus, a Mountain View, California-based company.
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VeriSign Deploys Narus Services
December 27, 2005 Narus Inc., which makes IP platforms, has signed an agreement with VeriSign Inc. that allows VeriSign to offer Narus products to its customers as managed services or licensed software.
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VeriSign to Offer Managed Lawful Intercept Service Signs Agreement With Narus to Offer Suite of Software
December 7, 2005 Brian Partridge was quoted, ?Customers have options in the market. The fact that people are outsourcing lawful intercept to somebody is not something that is new, but what VeriSign will be able to provide via the Narus platform is a compelling offer because Narus is offering a fairly unique solution in the marketplace.?
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Blocking Skype

According to an article in Mathaba, at least one country, Saudi Arabia, is using packet sniffing technology from Narus to identify (and possibly block) VoIP traffic on their telephone system.

In some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, regulations protect a phone company's revenues, prohibiting customers from saving money by making phone calls using any service other than the national carrier, Saudi Telecom, based in Riyadh. Skype users there have gleefully flouted those regulations, paying cheap local tariffs to access the Internet and use it for their calls, instead of directly using Saudi Telecom's expensive long-distance and international calling services.

?a seven-year-old Mountain View, Calif., company, Narus Inc., has devised a way for telephone companies to detect data packets belonging to VoIP applications and block the calls. For example, now when someone in Riyadh clicks on Skype 's "call" button, Narus's software, installed on the carrier's network, swoops into action. It analyzes the packets flowing across the network, notices what protocols they adhere to, and flags the call as VoIP. In most cases, it can even identify the specific software being used, such as Skype 's.
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Can Narus single-handedly kill VOIP telephony?

In a story entitled The VOIP Backlash, the IEEE Spectrum is reporting that Narus, Inc. has:

"devised a way for telephone companies to detect data packets belonging to VoIP applications and block the calls. For example, now when someone in Riyadh clicks on Skype's "call" button, Narus's software, installed on the carrier's network, swoops into action. It analyzes the packets flowing across the network, notices what protocols they adhere to, and flags the call as VoIP. In most cases, it can even identify the specific software being used, such as Skype's."

If, like me, you're just getting into the entire world of Voice over IP or Internet Telephony, this story should be pretty disturbing.

The IEEE Spectrum writes that this solution from Narus isn't expected to affect within-VOIP-network calls (e.g., Skype to Skype) but rather VOIP calls that are redirected out onto the existing telephony infrastructure (Skype calls this "Skype Out" and Vonage makes it a cornerstone of their VOIP offering, for example). The IEEE Spectrum, however, might not be entirely correct...
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and on and on and on, all incorrect ?

VOIP

tehag - 1-22-2006 at 04:20 PM

Gosh, guess I'll just have to use it while I can.