Doing business in communications in Latin America means understanding local customs and realities, and can be challenging, but the opportunity in the area is vast for the savvy operator willing to find a good regional niche.

On Wednesday, Skype chief strategy officer Christopher Dean will deliver a joint keynote address to both the VON and Channel Partners audiences. VON editor Richard Martin caught up with Dean, via e-mail, to preview his speech and discuss the industry landscape heading into VON and Channel Partners.

Cisco’s Joe Burton has a “suggestion” for the industry on the best architecture for unified communications: Combine on-premises and on-demand delivery.

While some vendors have made a big splash with telepresence rooms that have the production values of a Hollywood soundstage, IP communications providers are betting on desktop video to finally push videoconferencing beyond the niche phase.

Convergence of voice and data enabled by IP is inherently more efficient and cost-effective than traditional methods. And that cost savings is a major hot button for businesses of all sizes in the current trying economic climate.

The question is not whether WiMAX will smack down LTE or vice versa. It's likely the two will peacefully coexist.

FaxBack has announced its new HTTPS Fax Platform, a technology partnership with Pangea Communications and an alliance with FaxSIPit.

Comptel Corp. has announced that it has signed a Technology Alliance Partnership Agreement with Juniper Networks to deliver an automated fulfillment solution for Carrier Ethernet services orders.