SIP trunking is something that has really attracted my attention as of late and I cannot read enough about it when time allows. If you follow this blog, Facebook or Twitter page, you already probably know about my recent fetish. I have posted some private label rights articles, republished articles from other websites where sip trunks are explained.

Recently I shared an article about SIP trunking security from http://www,networkworld.com, in which one person who left a comment felt that a business needs to treat their SIP trunk provider like they would any other public network. Most definitely agree and second that. You may be asking; “So do you need a business to use and take advantage of SIP?” This also applies to mobile devices like the iPhone and iPod Touch. You can even turn an iPod Touch into a SIP phone with the right application. However, keep in mind, this type of SIP phone is not completely secure and sometimes require you to share your SIP credentials with a 3^rd party. Your choice, ensure you look into the security precautions and what your provider and 3^rd parties require in regards to credentials and other information.

Do you want more information on SIP trunking or to shop around and compare SIP trunking solutions?

A Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunk is a service that businesses use for live communications including VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). It enables communication with others, outside the enterprise, over Internet Protocol by connecting the SIP to a traditional phone system. It is also very convenient as it helps in creating a single means for voice, video and data by externally connecting an IP phone system through SIP trunking, in lieu of the traditional phone system. But this can only be used with an installed PBX. Hence this service is slowly but surely gaining popularity, because of its cost efficiency and convenience.

3 main components:

IP PBX: The main function of this component is that it allows connection and communication with all endpoints over an IP network. It can switch calls between a VoIP connection and a traditional fixed phone, as well as between two traditional fixed services.

ITSP:Internet Telephony Service Provider ensures connection of the traditional phone system from an IP network. Also, it helps to transport IP communications across an IP network.

Border element: The internal VoIP network, traditional telephone system and the external IP carrier are all connected with the help of this border element. This is usually of two forms: either a switch that transfers calls between the phone system, or it can also be a firewall which is SIP-friendly.

But how does it work?

For example, you need to call a client of yours who is in another city. So you call your client in the same manner as you do now, and your call gets converted to an IP call before leaving your office. This IP call then travels over the IP network provided by your service provider. And before it reaches your client, the call gets converted back to the traditional phone system, and your client receives the call just like a normal fixed line call.

It essentially converts both data and voice into a single conduit. It lets the data network carry voice traffic by transfiguring between the traditional fixed phone and the company’s Internet connection.

Benefits

This service is considered to be really beneficial for businesses. Here’s a quick look of the numerous advantages it brings to businesses:

• Doesn’t require a costly TDM-gateway infrastructure to be purchased.
• It eliminates the need to purchase costly equipment to convert data between the traditional phone system and the IP voice.
• Monthly expenditures are reduced considerable as there is only one voice and data connection.
• Outsourcing the connectivity of the traditional phone system is now a definitely possibility, and results in saving money.
• The benefits of the VoIP can now be used, without compromising on the traditional phone system.
• As a whole, it is considered to be really cost efficient, and is a good long-term investment.

Hence this SIP based technology is a great boon for businesses, especially those that need to constantly exchange audio and video data to others in other parts of the world.

You need to get a real time quote of how much a SIP trunking solution will be for your organization using our SIP quote engine.

A Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunk is a kind of service using which businesses can use real-time communications such as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). But this service can only be used with an installed PBX. It allows communication over Internet Protocol with others outside the enterprise by connecting the SIP to a traditional phones system. Businesses can also take this to the next level by creating a single passage for voice, video and data. This can be done by connecting an IP phone system externally through SIP trunking, instead of using the traditional fixed phone system. Hence in an increasingly global world that we face today, this service can be really cost efficient and reliable at the same time.

But how does it work?

Lets take an example to understand this better: Say you are a sales representative based in New York city, and you need to call your client in California. So you call in the usual manner, dialing the dialing code followed by the number. The call, before leaving your office, is converted in an IP call and then travels to California over the IP network of your service provider. And just before it reaches your client, the call is converted back to the traditional PSTN.

Hence this service converts both data and voice into a single conduit. It allows the data network to carry voice traffic by converting between the traditional fixed phone and the business’s internet connection.

3 main components of SIP Trunking:

IP PBX: Connecting and communicating with all the endpoints over an IP network is the main function of this component. It switches calls between a traditional fixed phone and a VoIP connection, or between two traditional fixed lines.

ITSP (Internet telephony service provider):This component helps in connecting the traditional phone system from an IP network. Also, it helps in transporting IP communications across an IP network.

Border element: usually managed by the service provider, these border elements helps connect the internal VoIP network, the traditional telephone system and the external IP carrier. The border element can either be a switch transferring calls between the phone system, or SIP-capable firewall.

Benefits

SIP Trunking service has numerous advantages for businesses. Some of the benefits that companies get by using this service are:

• No need to purchase a costly TDM-gateway infrastructure
• Eliminating need to purchase costly equipment that can convert data between IP voice and the traditional phone system
• Only one data and voice connection reduces other monthly expenditures
• Companies can now outsource their traditional phone system connectivity to a third party
• Enables making use of the advantages of a hosted VoIP service, without giving up on the services of a traditional phone system.
• In essence, companies can realize a lot of savings by investing modestly in a SIP trunking service

Hence for growing businesses, with a global nature, the SIP based technology can really save costs and increase convenience. It is even far more reliable, and you can realise savings in as short a period as 6 months!

Hence this SIP based technology is a great boon for businesses, especially those that need to constantly exchange audio and video data to others in other parts of the world.

You need to get a real time quote of how much a SIP trunking solution will be for your organization using our SIP quote engine.

What is SIP Trunking?

An SIP trunk is a logical connection from one point to another via the Internet.

A SIP trunk is simply the use of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) to set up communication using the net between two parties, i.e. a customer and an Internet telephony service provider (ITSP). The SIP calls are then transferred to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). As opposed to traditional telephony, there are is no need for physical wires were.

The advantages that Sip trunking offers are as follows:

1. Freedom from BRIs/PRIs/PSTN Gateways

SIP trunking greatly lowers telephone costs by eliminating the need to purchase Basic Rate Interfaces (BRI), Primary Rate Interfaces (PRIs), or local PSTN gateways. Although it is simpler and less costly to extend one’s system over IP, additional hardware costs have to be incurred to move from E1/T1 to two.

2. A SingleVoice and Data Connection

The need for separate voice and data connections is eliminated, the costs go down drastically. Another added advantage is that a single SIP trunking account can handle voice/data traffic for the entire organization. Thus, as the business grows, there is no need to upgrade the infrastructure further.

3. All Calls are now Local Calls

The providers of SIP trunks to businesses, enable firms to outsource their PSTN connectivity to a third party. SIP calls are transferred over the Internet to a termination point which is owned by a service provider. Further the call is transferred to the local PSTN, thus, long-distance charges go down considerably

4. Get the convenience 800 Numbers, but Not the Costs

A SIP Trunking service provider establishes local numbers in specific locations for customers to call on instead of giving them a 800 number. These calls are then terminated locally and placed on the net and delivered to the company’s call center.

Infrastructure Investment Vs. The ROI

For the enterprise, converting to Voice over the net the following investment in infrastructure is required:

• the purchase of an IP-PBXIP Phones or soft clients i.e. those which operate on typical PCs or laptops
• a SIP-aware firewall to maintain security while admitting VoIP traffic.

SIP trunking can generate a reasonably good return on investment. In fact the initial cost of installation might be paid back as soon as six months from installation.

Summary

Thus, even though a small investment is essential before one can avail the benefits from the use of SIP-based communications. However the overall reductions in costs in terms of eliminating the need of Basic Rate Interfaces (BRI), Primary Rate Interfaces (PRIs), or local PSTN gateways and enabling savings on long distance calls, makes the investment more than worth it. To conclude, it’s a robust enterprise solution for telephone bases communication which has huge potential in the coming years in the world of Voice over Internet communication solutions.

Hence this SIP based technology is a great boon for businesses, especially those that need to constantly exchange audio and video data to others in other parts of the world.

You need to get a real time quote of how much a SIP trunking solution will be for your organization using our SIP quote engine.

These days, all communication technology faces the issue of privacy and identity theft, with Bluetooth being no exception. Almost everyone knows that email services and networks require security. What users of Bluetooth need to realize is that Bluetooth also requires security measures as well.

The good news for Bluetooth users is that the security scares, like most scares, are normally over dramatized and blown entirely out of proportion. The truth being told, these issues are easy to manage, with various measures already in place to provide security for Bluetooth technology.

It’s true that there has been some Bluetooth phones that have been hacked into. Most devices that are hacked into are normally those that don’t have any type of security at all.

According to Bluetooth specialists, in order to hack into a Bluetooth device, the hacker must:
1. Force two paired devices to break their connection.
2. Steal the packets that are used to resend the pin.
3. Decode the pin.

Of course, the hacker must also be within range of the device, and using very expensive developer type equipment. Most specialists recommend that you have a longer pin, with 8 digits being recommended.

Fundamentals of security
The “pairing process” is one of the most basic levels of security for Bluetooth devices. Pairing, is two or more Bluetooth devices that recognize each other by the profiles they share – in most cases they both must enter the same pin.

The core specifications for Bluetooth use an encryption algorithm, which is completely and entirely secure. Once the devices pair with each other, they too become entirely secure.

Until they have successfully paired, the Bluetooth devices won’t communicate with each other. Due to this pairing process and the fact that it is short range – Bluetooth technology is considered to be secure.

As the news has indicated, experienced hackers have developed ways to get around this level of basic security. There are ways to get around this threat, as you can install software to prevent hackers from getting in.

With Bluetooth becoming more and more popular, it’s really no wonder that security is always in question. As Bluetooth gets bigger and better, security will always be something that no one really takes lightly.

If you’ve been concerned about Bluetooth security in the past, rest assured that newer devices will offer bigger and better security. Preventing hackers from getting in is something every owner is concerned about – and the manufacturer’s are very aware.

The profile found in Bluetooth will describe how the technology is used.  Profiles can be best described as vertical slices through the protocol stack.  It will define options in each protocol that are mandatory for the profile.

The profile will also define the parameter ranges for each protocol.  The concept of the profile is used to decrease the risk of interoperability problems between the different products.  These profiles won’t normally define any additions to the Bluetooth specification, which is why you can add new profiles where you need them.  The  Bluetooth underlying technology is the same, only the specific method that it’s used is defined.

Generally speaking, all profiles of Bluetooth are based on the GAP (Generic Access Profile).  There are 9 profiles that fall in the GAP category, and they are below:
1.  AVRCP – Audio/Video Remote Control
Profile
2.  ESDP – Extended Service Discovery Profile
3.  CIP – Common ISDN Access Profile
4.  PAN – Public Area Network Profile
5.  HCRP – Hardcopy Cable Replacement
Profile
6.  GAVDP – Generic Audio/Visual Distribution Profile
7.  A2DP – Advanced Audio Distribution Profile
8.  VDP – Video Distribution Profile
9.  HID – Human Interface Device Profile

To put it another way, usage models will describe Bluetooth device applications and the associated profiles that are used.  The usage model focuses mainly on three categories – voice/data access points, peripheral interconnects, and PAN (Personal Area Networking).

The voice and data access points involve connecting
computing devices to communicating devices through a wireless link. This way, data can be transferred in a wireless manor, without the need of cables or other types of connectivity.

PAN  is another very important usage model with strong appeal to business customers.  Bluetooth networks are easy to set up in virtually any type of environment.  An example would be meeting others at a trade show. Instead of having contact information beamed via infrared, business cards can quickly and easily be transferred via Bluetooth wireless.  The fact is that many documents can be exchanged this very same way – making the uses and possibilities virtually endless.

The Bluetooth profile is very important to the specification, as it enables you to do so much more.  You can use peripherals and devices with the profiles, and virtually anything else that you decide.

As Bluetooth expands and gets bigger and better, you can count on the profiles to expand and get even more functions.  If you have experience with Bluetooth profiles, you should know exactly what they are and what you can do with them.  If not, all you need is a Bluetooth device – and a vivid imagination.

The networking standards of Bluetooth will transmit data via low power radio frequency.  Bluetooth communicates on a 2.45 GHz frequency.  This very band of frequency has been set aside by international agreement for the use of industrial and medical devices.

Many devices that you already known and use take advantage of this frequency band.  Garage door openers, baby monitors, and the next generation of mobile phones all use this frequency within the ISM band.  Ensuring that Bluetooth and the other devices don’t interfere with each other is a crucial part of the design process.

One of the ways Bluetooth will avoid interfering with other electronic devices is by sending out weak signals of around 1 mw.  In comparison, even the most powerful of cell phones can transmit a signal of 3 watts.

The low power signals will limit the range of a Bluetooth device to around 32 feet, which cut the chances of interference between your computer and other electronic devices.  Even though it has low power, Bluetooth doesn’t require a line of sight between the communicating devices.  The walls in your home won’t stop the signal, making it great for rooms throughout the house.

Bluetooth can connect 8 devices at the same time. With each of those devices on the same radius, you may think they would interfere with each other, although it’s very unlikely.  Bluetooth utilizes a technique known as low frequency
hopping, which makes it harder for more than one device to transmit on the same frequency at the same time.

With this technique, a device will use 79 individual, randomly chosen frequencies within a designated range, which change from one another on a regular basis.

In the case of Bluetooth, the transmitters will change frequency 1,600 times or more every second, meaning that more devices can make full use of the radio spectrum.  Since every transmitter of Bluetooth will use spread spectrum
automatically, it’s very unlikely that two transmitters will be on the same frequency at the exact same time.

When the Bluetooth devices come within close range of each other, an electronic conversation will occur to determine whether or not they have data to share or whether one needs to take total control.  The user doesn’t have any buttons to press or commands to give – as the conversation will occur automatically.

Once the conversation has occured, the devices will form a network.  Bluetooth devices will create a PAN (Personal Area Network) or piconet that may fill a room.  Once the piconet has been established, the devices will randomly hop in frequencies.

In the United States, Bluetooth gets absolutely no respect. It is however, becoming more and more common in notebooks, PDAs, and especially cell phones. Bluetooth will provide wireless users a way to transmit small amounts of data over short distances.

Now, Bluetooth is facing stiff competition from new wireless technology. Referred to as UWB or Ultra Wideband, it promises data transfer of up to 480 MB a second – while most current Bluetooth devices transfer data up to 721 KB a second.

For the time being, Bluetooth devices are surely cropping up. Below, we will look at some of the accessories offered with Bluetooth technology.

Talking to the dashboard
When pairing it with a cell phone, the CCM Blue Warrior car kit becomes a great speaker phone that plugs into the power adapter of your vehicle. The noise cancelling microphone will reduce background
noise efficiently, with the large buttons making adjusting the speaker volume a snap. Although the Blue Warrior is far from sexy or sleek, it’s very practical.

Tiny tuning box
Part MP3 player and part hands free phone, the compact and lightweight Sony HBM-30 is an attractive gadget that lets you accept calls with minimal interruption of your tunes. When you get an incoming
call it will automatically pause your music, then you speak into the built in microphone that you can wear around your neck or clip to your clothes.

The pen
With Nokia’s SU-1B digital pen, you can doodle and make hand written notes in ink on a special pad then transmit them from the pad to your Bluetooth phone. Being an alternative to typing on a cell phone keypad, the pen is very handy, although a pricey tool from MMS fans.

Snapshots
If you want to make slide shows with your camera photos, the Nokia SU-2 image viewer will let you disply your pictures on a TV or projector. Simply hook this square gray device to your TV’s input with the built in cable, then beam the pictures to the SU-2 from your Bluetooth enabled phone and the photo fest will begin.

This device is a snap to set up and use, although it displays resolutions of up to 640 by 480. If you have a newer phone that takes high resolution photos, you won’t be able to use the Nokia SU-2 image viewer.

Keep in mind, the 640 by 480 pixel photos will appear blocky on TV screens, no matter what you do. If your phone can send batches of photos, you can create a slide show – although Nokia claims you can use sequentially beamed shots as well.

Below, you’ll find a list of the most used terms in Bluetooth technology. They can serve as a look up,
or to help you learn more about Bluetooth terms in general.

2 in 1 handset
The situation where a subscriber’s handset is acting as a remote handset to a base unit that provides a network connection.

3G
Third generation, referring to the next generation of digital phone technology.

802.11 WLAN
A wireless LAN specification defined by the IEEE.

Access code
Each base band packet will start with an access code,which can be one of 3 types – CAC, DAC, and IAC.

ACK
Acknowledge.

ACL
Asynchronous Connectionless Link. This is one of the two types of data links that are defined for Bluetooth.

ACO
Authenticated Ciphering Offset.

Active mode
During the active mode, the unit will actively participate on the channel. The master will schedule the transmission based on traffic demands from the different slaves.

AP
Access point.

Authentification
The process of verifying who is at the opposite end of the link.

Authentification device
A device whose identity has been verified during the lifetime of the current link based on the authentification procedure.

Baseband
This describes the specification of the digital signal processing aspect of the hardware – the controller – which carries out the baseband protocols.

BB
Abreviation of baseband.

BD
Bluetooth device.

BER
Bit Error Rate.

The above is more of an intro to the terms that are used with Bluetooth. Bluetooth currently has hundreds
of devices, making it the best wireless solution in the world. With more coming out every day, you can
bet that Bluetooth will be around for many years to come.

If you are new to Bluetooth, the terms used can be very helpful. There are hundreds of glossary terms
that apply to Bluetooth, many of which describe shortcuts to common terms. You can learn a lot by
reading over the meanings, especially if you have never used Bluetooth technology before.

Those of you who have experience with Bluetooth, can look over the glossary of terms to brush up on your knowledge or just check out what an unfamiliar term actually means. Nothing is complicated with the meanings, although they make take some getting used to.

Once you have been around Bluetooth for a while, you’ll find yourself right at home with the terms and meanings to the technology. All you need to do is play around with it, and read books or manuals whenever you get the chance. Before you know it, you’ll be a professional in the vast world of Bluetooth wireless.

Bluetooth is a specification for the use of low power radio communications to wireless phones, computers, and other network wireless devices over short distances. The name Bluetooth is actually borrowed from Harald Bluetooth, a Denmark king more than 1,000 years ago.

The technology of Bluetooth was primarily designed to support simple wireless networking of devices and peripherals, which includes cell phones, PDAs, and wireless headsets. The wireless signals that are transmitted by Bluetooth cover short distances of up to 30 feet, generally communicating less than 1 MPps (Mega Byte per second).

The networks of Bluetooth feature dynamic topology called PAN or a piconet. The piconets contain a minumum of two and a maximum of eight peer devices. The devices will communicate using protocols that are part of the specification.

Even though the Bluetooth standard will utilize the same 2.4 GHz range as 802.11b and 802.11g, the technology isn’t suitable for a Wi-Fi replacement. When compared to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth is much slower, limited in range, and actually supports less devices.

For short range devices, Bluetooth is rapidly becoming the best. The technology is more popular with cell phones, as Bluetooth headsets are the way to go these days. To use Bluetooth, your cell phone will need to have it enabled, or an infared device somewhere on the phone.

Upcoming devices are utilizing Bluetooth as well, such as PS3 and the Nintendo Revolution. The wireless controllers will be Bluetooth enabled, which will give players the cutting edge.

If you own a cell phone or other wireless device, you should look into Bluetooth. The technology is nothing short of spectacular, making it something that will be around for years and years to come. As technology gets bigger and bigger, you can expect Bluetooth to advance as well.