This was a huge week for SIP trunking, with a whole lot of major developments landing throughout the field. With an array of new products emerging from several new companies, there was a lot to talk about this week, and now that we've got a weekend on hand, it's a great time to try and make some sense out of it all. The best way to get a handle on the week that was is with our Week in Review coverage, so strap in and let's head on through the week!

First we had a look at Voxbone (News - Alert) and its use of virtual phone numbers. With these in place, it allowed Libon to boost its coverage area while at the same time working with a single carrier. Since Libon is a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) like Skype (News - Alert), its coverage range is a major issue. Indeed, some were complaining about the coverage areas available with Libon, so Libon's use of Voxbone's virtual numbers should improve things nicely.

Next we took note of 8x8's recent win in the IHS (News - Alert) Infonetics Cloud UC Service Provider North America Scorecard, which actually represented the second such win in a row. The award was given on the strength of 8x8 (News - Alert)'s performance in the field, with focus given to market strategy, financial stability and several other aspects of overall operations. While some believe that 8x8 is a little too focused on the small business market, it's worth noting that the company has moved to larger operations in recent days, diversifying its client base.

Telinta proved that Libon wasn't the only company to partner up with Voxbone, as Telinta joined in with a Voxbone partnership of its own. With this new partnership, Telinta can offer up its hosted softswitch operation to work with the Voxbone API, giving Telinta users access to Voxbone's line of direct inward dialing (DID) numbers. Telinta's range of services was already substantial enough, with wholesale VoIP, call center services and more besides, but the addition of DID numbers only improves the picture.

Then we had a look at SwitchRay's new private branch exchange (PBX (News - Alert)) fraud protection software, a tool specifically designed to combat one of the biggest problems connected with phone services. SwitchRay's new service, the SR-P7000 v1.1 system, currently has six customers to its credit, and it joins a wider array of options SwitchRay offers, including things like signaling and media control at the point where subscribers reach the network core.

Finally, an old favorite brought out a new piece of news as MagicJack unveiled the new magicjackEXPRESS service. A simple, pay-as-you-go service offered up for $5 a month or $35 for a year, magicjackEXPRESS offers up an array of VoIP services, as well as three months of unlimited long distance and local calling. There's even a mobile app version known as the magicApp to help provide these features from mobile devices.

That was the week that was in SIP trunking, and it was a pretty impressive week. New products and services come together and make for a market that left plenty of opportunity for news. Our global online community proved as much, bringing back a load of options to consider. So be sure to join us back here next week for all the latest news in the sector, and every weekend as well for our Week in Review coverage!