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|  | Eager to get 
cracking in the Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) market after years of 
delays, the cable industry is pressing federal policymakers to impose just a 
bare bones set of national regulations on IP telephony players and fend off any 
pesky state regulatory mandates. 
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|  | Shares of WorldQuest Networks rocketed 82% to a nearly four-year high of $6.75 Wednesday after the tiny telecom outfit agreed
to merge with Ntera Holdings, a privately held provider of
voice over Internet protocol, or VoIP, technology. WorldQuest is in the business of selling phone cards that
route calls over VoIPnetworks likeNtera's. 
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|  | Just a day after a forecast 
that voice services over broadband won't be a major market in Europe, analysts 
are saying voice may well end up the biggest value-added opportunity for 
broadband service providers. 
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|  | Internet phone services 
could play a vital part in driving the rollout of extremely fast web connections 
across Britain, according to research published on Monday by Brunel University. 
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|  | BOMBAY, 8 April — For 
non-resident Indians (NRIs) calling up home has always been a major drain on the 
purse. Hearing the voice of ones loved ones and knowing their well being is what 
keeps most of the NRIs going. And now there is good news. Starting from April 1, 
2002, Internet telephony was legalized. Well, mostly everyone spoke to loved 
ones at home over the Net despite it being illegal but now, it is finally 
legalized. So probably, this will make the service better and the voice 
transmission will be clearer with lesser lags. 
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|  | Convergence 
cometh, like it or not. Should we care? You bet. And here is why. Soon the Department of Communications (DOC) will pop up a 
Convergence Bill for Parliament. Once law, the 
Bill will encourage the growth of some comms technologies, and put paid to 
others. It will shape entire industries for decades, and affect your internet 
speed, cost and devices. 
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|  | people telecom is in the process of 
fine-tuning both residential and business voice over IP (VoIP) services to 
launch this year. 
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|  | NEW YORK — When 
friends and family dial Tom Tribolet’s Phoenix number, the phone rings in his 
home in Argentina. It’s not simple call forwarding, but a rapidly emerging 
technology that allows this retired veterinarian to make or receive calls with 
his local phone number anywhere he has high-speed Internet 
access. 
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|  | As information 
technology professionals, we are constantly bombarded with new products and 
ideas claiming to be revolutionary. And for a brief amount of time, a few of 
these technologies seem to grab all the headlines, in trade magazines, on tech 
sites and at industry conferences. The technology darling of late is 
VoIP. 
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|  | VADODARA: They need not 
bother about wiretaps, radio surveillance,bugs that intrude digital privacy, or 
the fear of being eavesdropped during cellular conversations any more - local 
mafias seem to be a step ahead when it comes to using 
technology. 
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|  | PUNE: Are your STD bills 
stripping your purse thin? Then, look forward to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s 
(BSNL) voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) plans. Your telephony woes may soon 
come to an end if BSNL gets the nod from New Delhi to roll out its VoIP network 
in the city. 
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|  | BANGALORE/CHANDIGARH: 
An illegal telephone exchange was unearthed in Nelamangala on the outskirts of 
Bangalore on Wednesday and a sales manager of a cellular service provider and an ex-serviceman were arrested in this connection. The racket came to light following disclosures made by Mohinder Pal Saini, who was arrested in last week for operating long distance international call receiving exchange. 
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|  | BANGALORE: Despite being 
confined to closed user groups (CUGs), IP telephony is gaining rapid momentum in 
India and is expected to cross 1 lakh units mark this year. The industry 
forecasts a 250 per cent year-on-year sales growth in IP phones. 
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|  | On Mar. 12, the 
Justice Dept., FBI, and Drug Enforcement Administration delivered an 
83-page 
petition to the Federal Communications 
Commission demanding dramatic new surveillance powers. If they're approved, the 
FBI would have the right to require Internet service providers (ISPs), voice 
over Internet protocol (VoIP) companies, and others that rely on broadband 
access to the Net to redesign their networks to support standards designed by 
law enforcement for wiretapping and tracing. 
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|  | SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Before 8x8 Inc. launched an 
Internet phone service in late 2002, it drafted a business plan, set up its 
equipment, posted a Web site and began taking orders from customers. As with 
most online ventures, U.S. government approval wasn't needed. That would change 
if the Department of Justice succeeds at persuading federal regulators to 
require new online communications services - such as Internet calling - to 
comply with wiretapping laws. 
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|  | A number of fledgling VOIP 
companies in the UK - not including BT - recently joined together to form a 
trade association, ITSPA (Internet Telephony Service Providers Association), to 
push their cause, and several overseas companies, especially from the US, are 
expected to begin a British invasion later this year. 
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|  | An Islamic mission in 
southern Sudan is helping Internet phone services join the ranks of wartime 
communications. 
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|  | How a web-based service for 
making phone calls is changing the way we talk, work - and get billed. It could 
even replace the phone altogether. 
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|  | E-mail is all very good, but 
there's nothing like a good old chin wag. Cheap call charges mean the trend for 
talking over the net is growing. 
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|  | Although you may never have 
heard of VoIP, it's the wave of the future. With VoIP -- voice-over-Internet 
protocol -- you can use the Internet for phone calls. 
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