Australian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and telecommunication carriers have shrugged off any notion that free Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services such as Skype are threatening their businesses. … more

The bitter battle over the future of the Internet calling service Skype appears to be nearing an end. … more

Steve Largent, president of wireless association CTIA, told reporters Thursday that his trade group will use the FCC’s recently announced notices of inquiry on innovation and competition in the mobile marketplace to share his industry’s success story. Having a fact-based examination, which FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski requested at last week’s Commission meeting, will “be a good thing for our industry,” Largent said. Genachowski has faced pressure from Congress and smaller telecom firms to investigate whether firms like AT&T, Verizon and Sprint Nextel are unfairly dominating the space. … more

Some computer viruses have a crude but scary ability to spy on people by logging every keystroke they type. Now hackers and potentially law enforcement have another weapon: a virus that can eavesdrop on voice conversations that go over computers instead of a regular phone line. … more

Players in communication markets are no longer the traditional alternative operators providing voice services, but a range of service providers including Internet Service Providers and cable television service providers who provide VoIP services and broadband access. This paper assembles some evidence on developments in investment by incumbent and alternative telecommunications operators during the period 2000-2005. … more

Russia’s most powerful business lobby moved to clamp down on Skype and its peers this week, telling lawmakers that the Internet phone services are a threat to Russian businesses and to national security. … more

Time Warner said on Thursday that it would file for divorce in one of the most ill-fated marriages in the history of the media and technology business, its 2001 merger with AOL. The companies hope the separation is complete at the end of the year. … more

The 3GPP has published the first femtocell standard, the Femto Forum, an industry organization involved in the standardization process, announced today. … more

Internet calling companies such as eBay unit Skype have called on European policymakers to adopt policies that let consumers access their services through smart phones on any public network. … more

Free phone calls to anywhere in the world? And no landline phone bills? The future should have been bright for broadband phone services, but it seems that making telephone calls over the internet has remained merely a niche interest. … more