Thank god for call recording! Calls made to local councils this year have just been made public thanks to call recording – and amongst the monotonous council calls, there are some absolute gems hidden away that must make life just about bearable for council workers!

Callers have rang up with bizarre questions, such as what the plot of an 18^th century play was all about and where a person could buy the rifles that pest control officers used. One caller, according to the information, wanted to see if he’d be allowed to roll up the zebra crossing near his home and yet another person enquired as to whether a parking lot was haunted as her car seemed to have moved. One German man even demanded political asylum, refusing to believe that as a member of the EU, he didn’t actually need it.

Calls like these – they certainly seem to make the day go faster!

Several workers at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in Belfast were dismissed and others resigned after an investigation revealed some serious discrepancies in their work at the contact centre.

The workers had apparently fiddled with the claims of ethnic minorities, to ensure that they didn’t receive the benefits they were entitled to. An investigation was started after a complaint was filed by a customer about their changed records.

Cases like this highlight the need for security measures in such places. Things as simple as putting passwords on computers and call recording on the phones can make all the difference.

Sundial Telecom has come up with an app for the iPhone mobile which could really come in handy for business people. It’s a call recording app that can record calls you make from your iPhone.

However, there is a catch, as always. Although the app itself is free, to use it isn’t. In order to record your calls, you get routed through a premium rate phone number. So technically, a recorded call from a mobile could cost you £5 for ten minutes. Quite a hefty price to pay.

However, it isn’t all doom and gloom. Call recording has long been a requirement with certain industries but mobile call recording has presented a bit of a problem. Although far from being a finished product, this app is a step in the right direction.

In business, call recording is a must for a number of reasons, be it legal or ethical. However, since smartphone mobiles have made an appearance, call recording has taken a bit of a nosedive – after all, it’s a lot harder to record calls on a mobile – and tapping into calls on a mobile? Forget it. That kind of technology costs a bundle and is solely the realm of law enforcement and government agencies. Or is it?

Chris Paget, a technology security consultant, has developed a cheap and easy-to-build IMSI catcher – i.e. a device that allows you to tap into calls made on mobile phones and listen in to them – or record them. He’ll be showing fellow hackers how to build this device at the annual Defcon security conference in Las Vegas.

Avaya, popular phone system provider, has added yet more features to its well-received Aura SIP platform. The new features are due to a hike in demand for call centre features, particularly in the case of smaller businesses.

One of the foremost updates is the WorkForce Optimisation tool which allows companies to utilise call recording, analytics and quality control – staple requirements to run a quality call centre.

As well as the WorkForce Optimisation tool, Avaya has also upgraded the IQ analytics tool to version 5.1, offering companies a more effective way to handle calls.

The Chief Executive and former Chairman of mobile phone and telecoms company Deutsche Telekom will not face data interception charges it has been decided.

A probe into whether or not Klaus Zumwinkel, then Chairman, and Kai-Uwe Ricke, former Chief Executive were spying on board members and journalists during 2005 and 2006, has discovered that there isn’t sufficient evidence to make a case.

A couple of years ago, Deutsche Telekom admitted to data interception and call recording and monitoring phone records. However, Klaus Zumwinkel and Kai-Uwe Ricke have vehemently denied any knowledge of wrong doing. And people say telecoms is boring!

Gloucestershire Police Force is using a call recording solution to greatly improve their efficiency. The new system allows easy access to all call recordings stored in the system, just like the call recording solution that elitetele.com offers.

By employing an easy-to-use user interface, the police can employ search criteria to call up information on certain phone calls. So rather than search through hundreds of files, police can simple view records of the call recordings they need for things like information or evidence.  Calls can be found in minutes rather than hours. Technology – doesn’t half make things easier!

Software firm Cellcrypt has introduced the Enterprise Gateway software which is designed for security against call recording and listening devices. With data security such a huge issue, a few corporations have become worried about business travel to countries that can sometimes be hostile. So rather than run the risk of your calls being intercepted and recorded, the Enterprise Gateway software allows you to make secure calls from your mobile to your business phone system.

The software works on Nokia and BlackBerry mobiles at the minute and it links into your phone system, protecting your call and also providing the user with certain aspects of phone system functionality such as voicemail and conferencing.

We earlier published a story about how the Financial Services Authority was debating on whether or not to record mobile phone calls in the financial industry (read the full story here). Vodafone, never one to be wet behind the ears, has offered its services with indecent haste.

The mobile phone provider has broadcast the fact that it can record calls from mobiles – except for iPhones. Call recording an iPhone is a) difficult and b) not allowed by Apple. So really, Vodafone can only get call recordings from Blackberry and Symbian mobiles at the minute.

The rules apparently allow personal mobiles to go unrecorded – but just how long will that last?

Financial companies have long since had to record all phone calls from landlines, but new regulations from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) could see call recording used for mobile phone calls – and then stored for six months. The objections to this proposal centre on other companies following suit to call record mobile phone calls.

By law financial companies have to record email conversations and phone calls from fixed lines however, mobile phone calls were previously exempt from this regulation as the technology simply couldn’t handle it. Now, the technology is well able to record mobile calls. The FSA is currently holding a consultation before deciding to include mobile calls into the rules.