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Skype Courts Businesses With "Skype for SIP"
Skype has made a new foray into the business front with their announcement of "Skype for SIP." This allows businesses to migrate to Skype without having to move off of their old PBX systems. "Skype has long had a business unit, but that version of its service required computers and software, which is how most users make their Skype calls. With Skype for SIP the company seeks to lower the pain barrier by requiring no hardware installation whatsoever, and the re-configuration of a SIP-enabled PBX to an established codec that presumably is within the skillset of whoever maintains it already."
Sorry guys, my very large employer gives me a big policy denial if I even try to visit Skype.com let alone download anything from them and install it. You have to address the above before you even start to gain the trust of large companies.
My work here is dung.
Skype is like the Microsoft (MSN) of VoIP. It's one of the main players for home and even small business yet it isn't compatible with any of the other players. It also attempts to lock in their customers (as they don't accept or dial out to SIP) so anyone that wants to connect to anyone else needs Skype. Furthermore it's doing some dubious practices behind the doors with three-letter agencies and governments so they can't be trusted. Anyone trying to implement their protocol is either infringing on patents or otherwise will meet a DMCA.
Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
People actually use Skype? Huh. Interesting.
Verizon and ATT offer SIP trunks already, but they don't push them because they're cheaper than TDM ports. Plenty of other VOIP providers like Aretta and Vitelity also offer them. With G729 over IAX2, though, you can get even more calls down a single T1. Is this news just because Skype is doing it?
Just browse through their forums. Their support system is almost nonexistent. The Skype software also seems relatively buggy in my experience.
I have been trying to use both SkypeOut and SkypeIn as my primary phone for almost a year now. SkypeOut is pretty decent, it's really cheap on the subscription plans and it works well. SkypeIn has been a whole different story. It has been very unreliable. Often I miss calls as Skype sends them straight to voice mail (like I'm not logged in even though I am). When this happens there is no trace of anyone calling unless they leave a voice mail. I have to log out then log back in to get the SkypeIn number to start working again. Then just stops working again after a while. It is unusable in my opinion.
I still use SkypeOut but I use a regular SIP provider for incoming calls. I probably won't be using SkypeOut much longer though because there does not appear to be any way to set your caller ID number to anything other than a SkypeIn or cellphone and I want to set it to my SIP incoming number.
We have been doing SIP from our hardware and software phones forever. I do not wee what value Skype brings to the scene. I never saw the value of the Skype technology to begin with and SIP is just a *me too* feature at this point. When I read from TFA that eBay is now the owner, that sealed the deal for me to never use it. I canceled my eBay and PayPal accounts months ago.
Last year at AstriCon a Skype to Asterisk channel driver was unveiled so I don't think it's a jaw dropping announcement that Skype is implementing SIP in a more general fashion. Based on that pricing however their going to be competing with Vitelity, Gafachi, and a few other wholesale VoIP termination/origination providers. Could get interesting.
"Powers. I have them."
So.. will they be calling it SkIP?
then why do we need the "Skype" part?
that are filled with Verizon/SBC/etc patents.
Note to all, the telco monopoly litigate with vengeance when an organization tries to cut into their hostage base. See Vonage case for the ultimate, totally unjustified, vigorish.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070417/005814.shtml
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
When you submit to a global currency ran by the IMF with carbon taxes paid directly to private banks!
Most of the Ten Reasons Why You Should Boycott Skype apply also to businesses. So think twice before you fall into the trap.
You can't build a new building until the wreckage of the collapsed one is carted off.
SIP is the underlying protocol that makes most VOIP work. If you're using Vonage, or Asterisk, or most other VOIP systems/providers, your phone calls are getting coordinated over SIP, with the audio sent back and forth on the side. Using SIP, Cisco systems can communicate with Asterisk systems, which can communicate with Microsoft SoundPoint systems, etc. Any of those systems can connect to a "SIP Provider" to get phone service.
:(
Skype is off in its own little walled garden, with a special protocol and codec. There have been many attempts to link Skype and SIP, and they're usually pretty painful (and proprietary).
SipToSis is a program that will allow you to have a skype "server" that will connect sip calls to skype users and vice versa. It's a bit of a pain to set up, but it walks. He also offers a set of scripts to have multiple skype clients set up, load and unload them as necessary, redirect calls, etc. It's a huge, huge hack, but it works, and is much cheaper than previous solutions of this type.
There was apparently a beta test for an Skype channel driver for asterisk. This would allow someone to setup skype as just another input type (like a Zaptel analog phone connection, or a SIP trunk), and seemed to be the ideal solution. Either it never went anywhere, or they decided they didn't want me in the beta
Gizmo also offers a Skype trunking solution, similar to what Skype seems to be offering. They call it OpenSky. It looks like it would work pretty well for home users, but it would get pretty steep for businesses -- and how many home users would set up friggin asterisk, besides me?
So if you're a business, OpenSky or Skype's current beta is probably what you're looking for. If you're a home user or an admin who either can't wait or has too much time on your hands, give SipToSis a try. It's a bit of a pain to set up, but it costs $2-$14 dollars one time, as opposed to everyone else, who will charge monthly or per minute.
It might be nice to let Skype callers reach you via SIP or vice versa but otherwise there software is pretty questionable and there tech is subpar. I'll take SIP with a HD codec anytime. This is good news as it seems they want to play in the phone 2.0 world with everybody else, for better or worse that world is SIP based.
For those that dislike SIP please note that without NAT SIP works very well and NAT == Evil things should get better in IPv6 since NAT should never be needed again.
No sir I dont like it.
Now that I think about it more, I see one reason why Skype's SIP trunking might be better: the codec.
The codec for SIP/Skype calls is the same idea as codecs for music files: mp3, ogg, wma, etc. You take a drop in quality in exchange for less data. And if you convert from one to another, you take another drop in quality, because each codec strips out different things.
Any of the current solutions (SipToSis, OpenSky, etc) work by taking the output from Skype, converting it to PCM, and converting it to the codec of your choice. This works, but involves a drop in quality. Unlike music, you don't really care if you lose the sound quality of the lead guitarist, because it's a phone call. But if you're a stickler, the drop in quality may bother you.
When you sign up for Skype's beta, they specifically require you to be able to handle the G.729 codec (a common SIP codec). This means one of two things: either Skype is extremely lazy (I haven't ruled that out), or they have some efficient method of converting to and from G.729 and their own proprietary codec -- without converting to PCM, and without a large quality drop. It's possible, because they hold the keys. If that's the case, Skype for SIP or their (eventual) Asterisk channel driver may be worth it for you, if sound quality is a concern. I'd still say give SipToSis a try though.
If you're using Vonage, or Asterisk, or most other VOIP systems/providers, your phone calls are getting coordinated over SIP
There are an awful lot of us Asterisk folks that use IAX/IAX2 instead. *Far* better choice than SIP if it's offered by your provider.
Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
Why would any company want to do this? It's pretty much the inverse of putting lipstick on a pig.
http://voiceontheweb.biz/2009/03/global-ip-solutions-positioning-codecs-including-silk/
Skype via SIP is a nice idea, but it isn't exactly earth-shattering. The Skype guys were both smart and lucky. Having millions of users worldwide with the double-whammy of proprietary protocol and codec is not at all a bad place to be. The proprietary lock-in was good for hoarding the users, but now they are opening things up a bit to leverage that advantage.
FWIW, FreeSWITCH has had two different Skype interfaces for the past few months. When the new SILK codec specs come out tomorrow they will no doubt be implemented into FreeSWITCH immediately. In any case, you can do Skype + SIP right now if you have a Skype account and a FreeSWITCH server.
-MC
I want to be able to call your IP phone. I don't want a phone company server in between.
Oh, yeah, your IP phone doesn't have a static IP address.
And now we see why there's no rush to implement IPv6.
The main problem is, that there is no much SIP based competition for skype on the desktop market, so they can acquire a big market share quickly with this movement. Most of the SIP based softphone looks like from the past century. There are a few good softphone that could be a viable solution near skype, for example Mizu softphone http://www.mizu-softphone.com/ but unfortunately near skype/msn/yahoo marketing there is no much chance to become popular for small companies.
I get a kick out of this line: "In a continuing sprit [sic] of openness,"
Aside from the typo, hasn't trying to crack Skype's closed down, locked, encrypted protocol been one of the ongoing challenges in the VOIP world?
I'm glad they're opening it up, but I suspect it's more out of fear, competition, or general business troubles that they're grasping into a slightly different market.
Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
Remember skype is the friend of law enforcement around the world.
They my not listen like an Eastern European government in the 1980's in but are very open to any interested party.
The deeper they spread their codes and 'free' software the more end user should take care.
If on skype always consider using a product like zfone, the opensource encryption solution.
http://zfoneproject.com/
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Voicepulse just discontinued their support of the IAX protocol because supposedly it didn't handle redundancy properly. Too bad they couldn't have just done a bit of work on the protocol.
Seems to me that Skype is just Software As a Service that everyone seems to love today.
Or you can call it "Cloud Computing" and then the CEO will LOVE IT!
Damn the security issues. That doesn't matte - its "cloud computing!" That makes everything ok.
Voicepulse just discontinued their support of the IAX protocol because supposedly it didn't handle redundancy properly.
I also have no first hand knowledge, other than suffering thru the IAX to SIP conversion as a customer, but I heard the problem was IAX is too easy to get to work... It Just Works Every Time. So, their support folks were flooded with people whom were "skilled" enough to get IAX to work but had no idea how to run "vi" to configure their asterisk or how to configure their phones or just the most basic trivial stuff that comes with running a PBX.
On the other hand, SIP is such an unholy PITA to securely run thru firewalls and NAT that anyone whom can get it to work is probably either smart enough or lucky enough or rich enough (hire consultants) or doesn't care at all about security, so they will not call support and ask stupid questions.
Again, just making it clear I have no secret internal info from voicepulse, but the story I heard does make a certain kind of sense.
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger