IP Communications Featured Articles

IP communications and cloud-connected services provider Vonage (News - Alert) was granted four new patents by the United States patent office this month. These will be welcome additions to the portfolio, as in just 2014 alone that is 24 new U.S. patents. To date, that makes 61 in total with an astonishing 249 pending U.S. patent applications.

Issued this week, “Systems and Methods of Conducting Conference Calls” or U.S. Pat. No. 8,897,177 creates a feature for users to enable incoming calls to automatically join a conference call in progress. This feature can be toggled on or off as the user sees fit.

"Conference calls have traditionally been inconvenient to set up, involving the distribution and use of conference bridge numbers and authorization codes.  The '177 patent eliminates these steps, allowing invitees to dial the host directly and immediately join the conference call.  The '177 patent complements a patent granted to Vonage last year, which provides a group 'dial-out' solution that also eliminates the need for bridge numbers or authorization codes," said Chief Legal Officer Kurt M. Rogers.

Issued November 18, U.S. Pat. No. 8,892,748 “Systems and Methods for Enabling Data Communications (News - Alert) to a Telephony Service” allows for a VoIP service to remain connected when a user is not on a call.  This battery-friendly method keeps mobile devices connected to guarantee a reliable VoIP connection.

“Systems and Methods of Improving the Quality of VoIP Communications” was issued on November 11. U.S. Pat. No. 8,885,457 instructs devices to reboot to resolve connectivity issues. The operator detects the issue and communicates directly with the device.

The fourth patent recently granted to Vonage is U.S. Pat. No. 8,879,476, or "Method and Apparatus for Performing Network Registration” was issued November 4 and aids in determining the IP address of a user by leveraging social media platforms and Wi-Fi hotspots. The VoIP operator can complete a call request to the user by accessing their IP information from the third-party network.

Rogers continued, "Vonage has also focused on improving consistency and quality in delivering incoming call requests despite challenges inherent in providing voice-over-data services, especially on mobile devices. The '748, '457 and '476 patents each address aspects of this problem, improving efficiency and reliability in connecting VoIP calls."

It is great to hear of new innovations in the IP communications space. Greater collaboration and connectivity is highly welcomed but as an enterprise, do your research. Choosing a provider is an important decision. An enterprise must ensure that needs are met and said provider can offer the scalability in offerings to grow with your company.