Infonet heads into VoIP

Managed service aimed at saving on international calls.

EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. - Infonet this week is joining a growing number of carriers that offer managed IP voice services that can help users get around the high cost of international phone links.

Called IP Voice VPN, the service connects traditional corporate PBXs over Infonet's international packet network rather than over traditional long-distance phone lines. It does this by installing and managing IP gateways at customer sites to convert PBX signaling and traffic to IP.

Other providers offering IP voice include Cable & Wireless, AT&T, Equant and WorldCom, with Infonet standing out for its reputation for customer service and the number of countries it reaches, says Rena Bhattacharyya, an IDC analyst.

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EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. - Infonet this week is joining a growing number of carriers that offer managed IP voice services that can help users get around the high cost of international phone links.

Called IP Voice VPN, the service connects traditional corporate PBXs over Infonet's international packet network rather than over traditional long-distance phone lines. It does this by installing and managing IP gateways at customer sites to convert PBX signaling and traffic to IP.

Other providers offering IP voice include Cable & Wireless, AT&T, Equant and WorldCom, with Infonet standing out for its reputation for customer service and the number of countries it reaches, says Rena Bhattacharyya, an IDC analyst.

Infonet's offerings most closely compare to those of Equant, says Brownlee Thomas, a director at Giga Information Group, because both providers specialize in international networks. Calls between countries are the most expensive, running 8 cents per minute and more, Giga says, and putting them on packet networks can save companies 50% to 70%.

Using the service within the U.S. or Europe won't bring much in savings, Thomas says. "With long-distance at 3.2 cents per minute or 1.6 cents per minute, what's the point?" she says. The IP voice service enables PBX-to-PBX calls in 45 countries. For countries outside the reach of the IP network, Infonet can connect its IP voice customers to public phone networks in 200 countries.

While Equant offers management of LAN-based IP phone equipment, Infonet draws the line at Cisco gateways it leases to customers and that link legacy PBXs to Infonet's network. Infonet plans to manage IP PBXs and even desktop phones down the road.

By working in tandem with existing PBXs, this service lets customers try out IP voice on a limited basis. "One problem is building a level of confidence with this technology. Carriers need to demonstrate this technology can deliver the quality of service customers are used to," Bhattacharyya says.

She notes that many businesses upgraded their PBXs within the past three years to avert potential Year 2000 problems. "To transition away to all IP voice is a big investment. IP phones can cost $300 to $400 each," she says.

Infonet would not reveal its pricing, but a sample network among New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Paris and Rio de Janiero would save 44% off tariff-based calling. That includes 2,000 minutes per month of off-net calling per site.

Read more about voip & convergence in Network World's VoIP & Convergence section.