Apple just finished its blockbuster announcement of the new set of commandments issued by Steve Jobs - aka the rumored Apple Tablet - which it turns out is called the iPad and is both less and more than the huge media storm leading up to the launch would have us believe. BUT from the telephony point of view there is one big thing missing - there is no phone.

There's a lot going on in the world of the open source Asterisk phone system platform. Just this week all the following things have happened...

Like in any other growing industry, the growing number of VoIP connections and customers are attracting increased security breaches in VoIP networks. A convenient summary of modern VoIP security vulnerabilities and possible solutions can be found here. The article, written by McAfee security researcher Kevin Watkins, discusses multiple types of VoIP security breaches including eavesdropping, denial-of-service and more. It also provides general advice about what causes security vulnerabilities and how to protect against them, applicable to systems with both H.323 and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) standards.

Recently most of the exciting news in telephony is coming out of companies that are enabling telephony applications and mashups that extend traditional software and web-based applications by adding voice services. A great example is Twilio that is aggressively promoting its API for adding voice to all kinds of web applications. The Cloudvox acquisition by Ifbyphone is no exception and it brings together an aggressive hosted phone services company with a company providing great web- or coud-based voice services. The combination is going to be a strong player in providing services that run the gamut from traditional hosted phone service through to cutting edge Web 3.0 voice apps that are totally web based.

Just as MagicJack plans to launch a femtocell service T-Mobile USA has dropped its own cellphone to VoIP home service, according to Rachel King at ZDNet. The program, called HotSpot@Home, offered free, unlimited calls with a T-Mobile cellphone from home networks. Unfortunately there were only ever two compatible phones offered for the service - neither one was a phone that was otherwise attractive to consumers. In contrast, the MagicJack plan is to work with ALL cellphones from all carriers.

The FCC is going to miss a mandated deadline of February 17th for delivering a plan to ensure that all Americans have access to a 'high-speed, affordable' broadband service. So it has asked for a one month extension to complete the plan. This is the same plan that underlies the FCC's additional plan to transition all phone calling from the old PSTN to VoIP. The FCC asked for public input to that plan in December but has revealed almost nothing of what it intends to recommend. So far it is known that they intend to recommend an overhaul of the Federal phone-subsidy program and that some airwave space gets reallocated for the provision of wireless broadband (presumably for broadband access in remote areas that will be difficult to wire).

MagicJack, the company behind the popular and successful VoIP gadget that sells via infomercial and at places like Walmart, is now trying to do for the cell phone what it and many other companies did for the landline - make it much cheaper and scoop the remaining revenue for themselves, using a device called a femtocell.

Canadian and American courts have come together to approve a stalking horse bid for Nortel’s carrier VoIP and applications business, or CVAS business, a leftover from the Avaya takeover. Genband, a firm headquartered in Plano, Texas, has put in a bid worth $182 million. Interestingly, this price, cited from the Ernst &Young Monitor’s report, is $100 million less than the $282 million bid announced by the two companies on December 22, 2009. That $100 million difference is the result of a number of “price adjustments,” including a TSA escrow and two different tax-related escrows.

Both LG Electronics Inc. and Panasonic Corp. have just announced plans to release new models of television monitors that come with Skype pre-installed. The Panasonic VIERA cast TVs and the LG Netcast Entertainment Access product line both come with HD webcam accessories and are both scheduled to launch in June. These monitors will work in conjunction with the newest release of Skype, (version 4.2 beta) for Windows, which offers a HD video calling service. 

In response to the FCC's request for public comment about the proposed move from regular landlines (PSTN) to an all IP network, AT&T has supported the move with its own plan and timeline for withdrawal from the PSTN. In its response AT&T also addresses its desire to see changes to regulatory policies around universal service, inter-carrier compensation and other related rules that it feels are inhibiting its ability to operate effectively in the new wired and wireless broadband environments.