According to gamesindustry.biz, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is discontinuing their Go! Messenger Voice over IP service for the Playstation Portable (PSP) due to lack of users.

We reported the launch of the Go! Messenger service for PSP just last year. In conjunction with BT, the service allowed VoIP communication between users at Openzone hotspots across the UK.

It is worth bearing in mind though that thus far, the only confirmation of the cancellation is a now-missing post on a Sony Europe message board. The message reported that the service would end on March 31st 2009.

I will attempt to verify the statement and update here.

NOTE: This article has been superceded by this update: http://www.voip-point.net/2009/02/27/eurojust-voip-interception-update/

EUROJUST, the European Union’s judicial cooperation unit, is to examine the possibilities of bugging voip calls within the EU.

This comes after news that Italian law-enforcement agencies have requested help from EUROJUST in tapping voip calls made by criminals in Italy.

EUROJUST mention Skype by name but also include their intention to examine other voip systems in their press release. In the case of Skype which uses a proprietary protocol and encryption system, EUROJUST would presumably need to coerce Skype who are incorporated in Luxembourg to hand over encryption keys or create a ‘back door’ in their software to allow government wiretapping.

In the alternate case of SIP or similar VoIP communications, many calls may currently be transmitted ‘in the clear’ and be easy to intercept by simply capturing the packet stream for later playback. In cases where encryption is employed either in the protocol or the connection level, wiretapping may prove to be considerably more difficult as even the fact that a call is being made over a normally-encrypted data connection may be difficult or impossible to detect.

I have compiled a calendar of some of the major trade shows, conferences and exhibitions related to Voice Over IP and IP telecommunications in 2009. These are the events where the suppliers get to meet the customers face to face and the latest and greatest VoIP products are reavealed to the industry and public.

CeBIT March 3-8 2009

Fairground, Hannover, Germany. Not specifically a VoIP event however all the major suppliers will be present.

Unified Communications Expo March 11-12 2009

National Hall, Olympia Exhibition Centre, London, UK

VoiceCon Orlando March 30 – April 2 2009

Gaylord Palms, Orlando, Florida

Voice & IP Comms May 12-14 2009

Part of CeBIT Australia, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre Darling Harbour Sydney, Australia

China VoIP May 13-14 2009

Presidential Plaza Hotel, Beijing, China

ITEXPO West October 27-29, 2009

Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, CA

VoiceCon San Francisco November 2-9 2009

Unsure of Venue pending page update – check with organizers.

If you think I have left anyone out or you spot an error or emission, please let me know in the comments field below.

Daily Yomiuri Online carries news of a group of telephone scammers in Tokyo brought to book who were using Voice over IP telephony services as part of their operation.

I want to point out here that, like most other comminication technologies, VoIP can be used by criminals. That doesn’t make VoIP a ‘criminals tool’ or any such thing but those who break the law are often liable to utilise legitimate tools for nefarious purposes.

While the article doesn’t actually detail what the nature of the scam was, it is noted that the scammers were using VoIP to ‘conceal’ their true location. They used a VoIP service through NTT docomo’s network which allowed them to place calls remotely as if they were originating from Tokyo’s ’03′ area code.

Ultimately, the scammers were not very sophisticated and were traced through NTT docomo. It does however bring to attention the fact that more advanced scammers could operate from outside the country in which the scam is being perpetrated and there ought to be future work on the best methods for securing VoIP networks against this sort of criminal activity.

Comcast say they have reached a collaborative agreement with Vonage which appears to suggest that while Comcast have their own VoIP offering, they wont be blocking or degrading Vonage’s rival product.

Quite where that leaves other SIP and proprietary VoIP users on Comcast’s network is anybody’s guess.

Comcast also say they haven’t been blocking any rivals VoIP in the past either but accusations have been levelled at them.

Connection quality is critical for Voice over IP applications as you need as much of the data as possible to arrive in a timely manner. ‘Packet loss’ in a VoIP conversation can manifest itself as a degradation of quality in the call followed by the call actually breaking up and finally being dropped altogether when too few packets arrive. Delaying of data at the ISP level can cause issues where the latency of the call makes normal conversation difficult.