My VoIP Provider - VoIP Services -

Almost 14 years ago the first commercially available "Internet Phone" was presented at the German IT fair CEBIT in 1994 by the company Vocaltec and released for sale to the public on the 15 February 1995 for $69.

This little application was way ahead of its time and apparently worked pretty well on 33.6 dial-up connections using Windows or Mac - something hard to believe in our broadband age.

All credit goes to the pioneer developers of this software, who without realizing the significance at the time, launched the multi billion dollar VoIP industry.

Although this list of the 100 oldest domains in the world has nothing to do with our irregular VoIP blog we thought it was so interesting that we would publish this with a few modifications after we stumbled upon the original list on spdcc.com (the 61th oldest domain).

It is amazing that many domains (to be exact 16) are parked domains and/or inactive. Are the owners not aware of the value of these domains?

 The Oldest dot com domains

Note: Don't bother checking the availability of any of these domains. We have checked them all and none are available.

A few weeks ago we came across earthcaller.com offering free VoIP calls to US and Canadian numbers.

Now the developers ( Jaduka.com) have launched a new web activated service called Duka Dial offering the same free calls to the US and Canada. It is mainly targeted at US and Canadian residents as you require an incomming North American number to use the service, but there are ways and means to get hold of a free US number and forward this number to your current phone where ever you are in the world.

All you need to do is register (for free), enter the number you wish to call, enter your number and click the "Start" button. This works for both landline and mobile numbers.

Terrasip.com announced today that they would be reducing their alreaday dirt cheap call rates by a further 10%. This would make them one of the cheapest VoIP services in the world. As an added bonus calls to 50 destinations around the world are free of charge provided you have a balance in your account of 0.01 US$ or more.

The Free destinations are for example: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, Poland, Russia, United Kingdom, USA and more.

A complete list of free destinations is available on the TerraSip homepage and you can use either Terrasip's softphone or any SIP compatible ATA to make the calls.

oovoo.com have just released version 1.5 of their high quality video conferencing software. As a promotion until March 1, 2008 all users who download ooVoo 1.5 will receive two hours of free outbound calls on ooVoo to any landline or mobile phone in the U.S. and Canada from anywhere in the world.

Currently more than 1 million video conversations take place on ooVoo every month, and now users can record a face-to-face "reunion" with friends and family members from anywhere in the world.

In addition to saving the video conversation, oovoo's new visual effects package allows users to share a desktop and files from their computer, on screen with participants in a conversation.

Additional features of ooVoo 1.5 include:

* Import contacts from Yahoo!, Gmail, MSN Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger, AOL Mail, LinkedIn, Mac Mail, ICQMail, Mail.com and Lycos Mail

* ooVoo conversation 'sidebar' window allows use of the desktop during ooVo

and the software now supports 15 languages: Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.

With over 1500 VoIP providers worldwide we thought it was about time that we have a look at the popularity of these VoIP services and identify the most successfull (at least according to Alexa.com). Most succesfull in this case means the sites with the most traffic and not the most financially viable.

From our VoIP directory of 1500 VoIP providers from around the world we identified the 80 most visited sites and ranked them according the the data from Alexa.com. We only considered pure VoIP services and not cable companies or triple play offerings.

Although the top position was no surprise, obviously Skype , the second rank already caused some raised eyebrows. No - Vonage is only the third most popular, the second place goes to a relatively unknown PC to Phone provider from the UK - Globe7.com . The majority of the Top 80 VoIP services are from either the US or Germany, which comes as a surprise as well. A closer look reveals that a single company from Germany - the budget VoIP provider - Betamax.com - owns in total 19 of theTop 80 VoIP domains. These companies include nonoh.net (Rank 4), justvoip.com (Rank 8), voipbuster.com (Rank 9), voipcheap.com (Rank 11) and 15 others.

Another interesting company from Germany comming in at position 5 and worth mentioning is Peterzahlt.de . This is a genuine free web activated service with calls to 40 destinations costing absolutly nothing. The drawback is that you need a German, Austrian or Swiss phone number to be able to use this service.  Earthcaller.com from the US also offers no strings attached free calls to landline numbers in the US and Canada. This company is only a few months old and already ranked 45th.

Fring.com and Mobivox.com are the most popular mobile VoIP providers and already 10 different mobile VoIP services are present in the Top 80. The most recent newcomer in the Top 80 is a mobile VoIP startup from South Africa of all places - Yeigo.com . With the mobile VoIP industry expected to grow exponentially within the next 12-24 months you will see quite a bit of movement in the rankings from these mobile providers.

_{Note: The Ranking is based on Alexa data from the 05 February 2008}

A few companies which just missed the cut include webacall.com from Greece, Voicepulse.com from the US, iCallglobe.com and Barablu.com from the UK.

Should we have missed any VoIP service which you feel must belong in this list of the Top 80 VoIP services please contact us and forward the details. We will include it for the following month.

A few weeks ago we published an article on the growing growing perceived credit card scam regarding the Betamax group of companies' VoIP services.

Betamax have contacted us and have provided the following email to contact them with your complaints:

myvoipprovider@betamax.com and alternatively star@betamax.com .

Should your credit card be compromosed in any way please dispute the charges with your card provider or bank and cancel the card immeditely. Most likely you will have the following description your your card statement:

Betamax have promised us that they will look into all complaints and resolve them as quickly as possible. Please let us know if this is not the case.

These are the heading of emails or phone calls we get on an almost daily basis from users of one of the Betamax group of companies VoIP providers.

If you use VoIP to make phone calls you have probably come across at least one of them. Just in case you are not aware, the Betamax group is made up of at least the following websites:

- www.voipbuster.com, www.sipdiscount.com, www.voipcheap.com, www.voipcheap.co.uk, www.netappel.fr, www.sparvoip.de, www.voipstunt.com, www.internetcalls.com, www.voipdiscount.com, www.poivy.com, www.webcalldirect.com, www.freecall.com, www.nonoh.net, www.voipraider.com, www.justvoip.com, www.voipwise.com, www.budgetsip.com, www.smslisto.com, www.12voip.com,  www.lowratevoip.com, www.smsdiscount.com, www.voicetrading.com, www.voipbusterpro.com -

Provided you have a decent high speed internet connection, the call quality generally tends to be good and the prices are almost unbeatable. They could be a genuine Skype alternative, but Betamax seriously lacks a customer orientated approach. Their response to individual complaints is just non existant and the contact numbers and contact forms are nothing better than place holders on their websites.

Whilst in the past we brushed these issues off as startup problems, 2 years down the line we now see a serious escalation of users complaing on VoIP, DSL and consumer related forums around the world.

The problems users are experiencing can be grouped into three main categories:

1. Credit Card Fraud

Over the past 18 - 24 months we have had dozens, if not hundreds of complaints about the Betamax group, all from users and even non-users trying to find an outlet to vent their anger or trying to find a means of contacting the company in Germany.

In all cases the modus operandi is the same: Users who have never used the VoIP services of any of the Betamax VoIP websites find that small amounts averaging between between US$10 and US$35 are charged to their credit cards. In every single instance the credit card charge description was - BETAMAX VOIP CREDIT COLOGNE - (Cologne is the English name of Köln - the apparent headquarters of the group in Germany) and Betamax are the beneficiaries of these fraudulent charges.

As mentioned previously, in the past we were the opinion that it would be highly unlikely for a German based company operating on a worldwide scale would be part of this scam. Due to the increased volume of complaints received in 2007 we are now uncertain about the Betamax group involvement. Normally the credit cards are only hit once, but in some cases uses have been hit 3 to 5 times before they realize their credit cards have been compromized.

Their philosophy is very simple and seems to be working. Nobody would really bother to sue the company in Germany for these small amounts and as long as the credit card companies play along and do not ban Betamax why should Betamax stop with these unethical practices. Around 80% of all users who have complained to us are either from the US or Canada and a few other European countries. Not a single user user from Germany has ever approached us.

Recently we have also noticed that PayPal accounts are also being targeted, but hopefully PayPal will soon put an end to this.

At one stage early 2007 Betamax allowed users to contact them at the following email address: paymentservice@betamax.com. A few users actually managed to get their funds credited, but it now appears that this is no longer the case. Forget ever trying to phone them in Cologne at the phone number listed on their website www.betamax.com/impressum.php?language= , let alone expect to receive a response via their contact form .

If you are a victim of these fraudulent charges immediatly cancel your credit card and dispute the charges with your card provider or bank. Even better list your complaint either here in our comments and/or on www.ripoffreport.com. It is a hassle for this small amount, but if all users were to list their complaints in writing maybe a brave user with time and a few Euros to spare for a German Lawyer would be able to sort this scam out.

Some of our visitors sent us copies of emails they sent to Betamax:

"I have two transactions on my VISA card that I did not purchase.

They are listed as being made to "Betamax VOIP Credit"

One was on Sept. 19 for 50.50 or $104.26 Canadian dollars.

The other was on Sept. 24 for 10.50 or $15.26 Canadian Dollars.

Can you check to see who made these transactions and what they were for? I have made no purchases from BetaMax VOIP - can you explain please.

Thanks.

##Name removed##"

"I had an account with Freecall.com (a Betamax service) and I accidentally allowed them to "top-up" my credit automatically thru my credit card. Big mistake !

I'm now using other voip services and tried to cancel my account with Freecall.com. No luck. When I log in to my account I have the option to
change my credit card details (Change button). Clicking this button takes my straight to the "Buy more credit" page. No way to cancel the account or to remove my credit card details.

I have sent Freecall and Betamax numerous emails (thru their webform)
requesting to cancel my account or at least to delete my credit card details. No reponse at all.

Finally I filled out the webform on the Betamax site and used "Need
large company account" as the subject. Well, I finally got their
attention and they promised to cancel my account. This was 2 days ago
and my account is still active with credit card details present.

Hope this helps some other users. Do not give Betamax your credit card
details.

Email addresses they used:

paymentservice@betamax.com
feedback@freecall.com"

"I have not used my card or my account with your company yet i seen online 2 transactions from my account to your company i didnot make i informed the bank and like to resolve and track down who has been usin my card i'd apprecuiate info on this matter"

"I am reaching you from XXX (Name removed) in California USA.
I found a mastercard Credit Card on my statement leading me to you. The charge is $14.40. Can you send me an invoice for this charge please. CC ending in 0626. I don't reconise this charge and would like to know what the charge was for. Thank you"

"Dear Sirs,
XX Company Name, Sweden removed XX, has on February 22, 2007, been invoiced from Betamax Voip Credit Cologne, EUR 29,75 via Eurocard. Could you please inform us what this is about.

Thank you

XX Name removed XX"

"Last month and this month you charged my credit card card $34.08 for a service that I did not request order, approved or gave you consent. I have never authorized a telephone provider outside the United States to be my carrier of international or domestic calls. My international and local provider is "VERIZON" I am disputer those unauthorized and fraudulent charges. "

"my debit card has charges from your company in the amount of 40 cents and for $13.35. you need to contact me immediately concerning this matter. i can be reached at the email address above or by phone at 1-xxx-xxx-xxxx or 1-xxx-xxx-xxxx. my bank has been made aware of these fraudulent charges also a police report has been made."

"My name is XX Name removed XX. I received a charge of $33.51 on my weststar account charged on 02-22-07. And i did not authorized this charge on my account please reverse these charges and have someone contact me # xxx-xxx-xxxx."

"Dear Betamax.

You have withdrawn five times money from my Visa account, but I am not a customer of you!!! Please inform me asap for which VOIP-account this money was.

Please answer immediately and tell me what you will do in this matter.

Kind regards
XXXX, Austria

2. Error Message Fraud

Whilst any company in the world will have some technical issues somewhere down the line, Betamax and their customers seem to have to live with errors on a regular basis.

In all case these errors will be to the detriment of the user. We have yet to come across a postive comment that the user was actually credited for errors caused by Betamax.

The most common error seems to be Code Error 33, which will means that either your account has been blocked or in some cases "The other party did not reply due to unknown error"= Money gone !!

Another favourite is blocking accounts within 24-48 hours after making a payment or older accounts are suddenly blocked without explanation or feedback from Betamax.

3. Duplicate /Triplicate Charge Fraud

Billing, Billing Billing - Another favourite Betamax pastime activity is to charge users double or triple the amount they are trying to top up.

And if you ever try to hassle Betamax with regular requests for an update on the progress of your request you will be sent the following email:

"Final request: Please stop e-mailing us. If you don't stop e-mailing us we will ban your e-mail address so your e-mails won't get through. Also we will block your account permanently.

Kind regards,

Betamax Customer service"

Unbelievable - this is a prime example of their attitude towards customers. Whilst many users may have an unproblematic experience using any of the Betamax VoIP services (including us) there are just too many complaints that these issues can go unnoticed any longer.

So what can you do?

1. Just move over to another VoIP service, but please cancel your account

2. Decide to move away, but give Betamax endless daily hassles until they resolve your request and then cancel your account.

3. Actively complain on forums and warn others of future potential problems with Betamax.

If anybody (preferably in Germany) decides to take action please let us know and we will cover the details here in this Blog.

Good luck !!

Voipax is a relatively new VoIP service, based in Germany, offering free VoIP calls to over 40 destinations worldwide.

Launched towards to the end of 2007 Voipax already appear to have quite a following with their "Free VoIP" feature.

Just downloading their SIP based softphone client and registering will entitle you to make 60 minutes of free phone calls to any of the following "free" destinations.

Free Destinations

Andorra Landline, Australia Landline, Austria Landline, Belgium Landline, Canada, Chile Landline, Cyprus Landline, Czech Republic Landline, Denmark Landline, Estonia Landline, Finland Landline, France Landline, Germany Landline, Gibraltar Landline, Guam Landline, Homg Kong Landline, Hong Kong Mobile, Hungary Landline, Iceland Landline, Ireland Landline, Israel Landline, Italy Landline, Japan Landline, South KoreaLandline, Liechtenstein Landline, Luxembourg Landline, Malaysia Landline, Monaco Landline, Netherlands Landline, New Zealand Landline, Norway Landline, Panama Landline, Portugal Landline, Puerto Rico Landline, Puerto Rico Mobile, Singapore Landline, Spain Landline, Switzerland Landline, Taiwan Landline, United Kingdom Landline, United States, Vatican City Landline, US Virgin Islands Landline

Should you be satisfied with their service and call quality all you have to do is add a few Euros to your account and then you can call any of the destinations in their free list.

There is however a limit - 300 minutes per week. Once you have exceeded your limit you will have to pay rates of between 1-3 Euro cents per minute.

This is where their VoIP service is almost identical to the Betamax Group (Voipbuster, Voipcheap, Lowratevoip etc.), but hopefully they have no intentions of copying the disasterous and non-existant Betamax customer service.

In addition VoIPax also offers a "mobile" solution at wap.voipax.com . This is not a true mobile VoIP solution, but will let you use their service if you are away from your PC.

Well the service is not free for ever and only avaialble for 12 months for new suscribers (BYOD ATA or Softphone) and only to certain areas in Canada.

Toronto 647
Montreal 514
Ottawa 613
Vancouver 778
London 519

There are hardly any strings attached except for the following:

1. Users are obliged to write a small review about their current service with Acanac on any Voip or DSL related review web site.

The order form: https://www.acanac.com/cgi-bin/acanac.cgi/Free-Voip.html

* Important: Please note that there is no termination outside those calling areas. You can call from Toronto to Montreal or Ottawa to Toronto but you can’t call outside those calling areas. If you wish to call outside those areas you would need to subscribe to their paid service.

* One order per person

These accounts auto expire after the 1 year term. If you wish to continue service you must contact Acanac before the free 1 year is over.

Well worth a try for the first 500 applicants!!