Caron Carlson

At Shalom Adult Health Center, calling for help in medical emergencies is an unfortunate, but integral, part of the business. Until now, however, it wasnt possible to call 911 over the voice-over-IP system that the Cleveland center converted to about 18 months ago. Before VOIP can become a viable widespread substitute for traditional voice service, […]

An ISP gets a call from an FBI agent demanding the delivery of sensitive customer information and ordering the ISP not to tell anyone anything about the transaction—ever. Soon after, the same demand follows in the form of a letter on official FBI stationery, even though the FBI has no subpoena or judicial authorization to […]

Joining the arena of IP equipment manufacturers aiming to make the cell phone an extension of the PBX, NextWest Inc. this week will roll out its latest technology, called NextMobility. The offering is aimed at salespeople and field service personnel who want the functions of the office phone system—extension dialing, call transfer, voice mail—when theyre […]

Network equipment manufacturers are plugging new gear this week for telecommunications carriers of all kinds to provide faster, more reliable broadband services at lower cost. Eight years after the Telecommunications Act promised robust competition by authorizing all carriers—local, long-distance, cable and so forth—to get into one anothers businesses, networking technologies are beginning to make it […]

With few direct comments on IT or telecommunciations policy from President Bush or presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, Washington pundits are digging deep into party ideologies to gauge the upcoming elections potential effect on technology industries. According to the forecasters, four more years of the Bush administration would mean a continued deregulatory agenda, relying heavily […]

Before negotiating telecommunications contracts for clients out West, Bill Harris made a habit of reviewing network outage reports filed with the Federal Communications Commission, scanning for clues that carriers had laid fiber on open ground in areas prone to wildfires. “Its not something a typical customer would think of, but if Im in California, would […]

As Congress clambers to wrap up its work for the year, cyber-security proponents are scrambling to ensure that the safety of data networks is not lost in the debate over physical security and the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Legislators could begin voting on a bill at the committee level as early as this week, […]

To bring the benefits of voice-over-IP monitoring and management into small and large offices, Qovia Inc. later this month will roll out two new versions of its server appliance and accompanying software. Built to work with IP PBX systems from 3Com Corp., Nortel Networks Ltd. and Cisco Systems Inc., Qovias flagship appliance, the Ion, and […]

Due to the global nature of voice over IP, governments worldwide are eagerly seeking ways to fit the fledgling technology into existing regulatory frameworks. The European Commission is working toward a set of recommendations to be issued later this year. The commission recently received feedback from groups around the world on a short set of […]

To help establish what it is calling the “virtual enterprise,” Nortel Networks Ltd. this week will launch a suite of upgraded office tools that let users work from any place at any time. At the heart of upgrades to its Communication Server 2100, Alteon operating system and Communication Server 1000 is the integration of SIP […]

Small businesses looking for more broadband choices are unlikely to get help from the Bush administration, which is taking a hands-off approach to cable regulation. Despite a federal appeals court ruling overturning their decision, federal regulators are continuing to push their edict that cable companies, unlike telephone companies, do not have to give rival ISPs […]

To give enterprises a better way to manage internal and external user access to Web applications, security software maker Netegrity next week will roll out Version 6.0 of its Identity Minder technology. Identity Minder allows administrators to assign attributes to employees and provide access to applications based on those attributes. The new version comes with […]