Verizon Business offering Polycom telepresence

Verizon Business said this week it will offer Polycom’s telepresence video system to its large business customers.

The nonexclusive arrangement comes almost two months after Verizon Business said it would test and conduct customer trials of Cisco’s competing TelePresence 1000 and 3000 video systems. Cisco unveiled its systems in October.

“Verizon Business has meaningful business relationships with both Cisco and Polycom,” a Verizon Business spokesman says. “When it comes to providing our customers with the best products and services, we are vendor neutral.”

Telepresence creates lifelike virtual meetings for participants using large screens and high-definition video to make them feel as though they are all in the same room with one another. In Cisco’s case, the systems require 15Mbps of bandwidth.

To continue reading, register here to become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

Verizon Business said this week it will offer Polycom’s telepresence video system to its large business customers.

The nonexclusive arrangement comes almost two months after Verizon Business said it would test and conduct customer trials of Cisco’s competing TelePresence 1000 and 3000 video systems. Cisco unveiled its systems in October.

“Verizon Business has meaningful business relationships with both Cisco and Polycom,” a Verizon Business spokesman says. “When it comes to providing our customers with the best products and services, we are vendor neutral.”

Telepresence creates lifelike virtual meetings for participants using large screens and high-definition video to make them feel as though they are all in the same room with one another. In Cisco’s case, the systems require 15Mbps of bandwidth.

The new offering, the Polycom RealPresence Experience (RPX) modular conference suite, is sold in combination with Verizon Business’ Private IP VPN and Ethernet services. RPX systems are sold as custom rooms with flat-screen projection displays, ceiling microphones and pop-up LCD screens for sharing data.

The modular rooms come in six configurations to accommodate from four to 28 participants. They cost from $249,000 to $559,000, according toVerizon Business, which does not include the monthly recurring cost for Private IP or Ethernet bandwidth.

Cisco says its rooms also start at $250,000.

Verizon Business is offering the combined suite of services now in the United States but they can be deployed internationally. Global purchasing availability will be announced at a later date, Verizon Business said.

The carrier says it also enables enterprises to mix and match unified collaborative communications systems – including conference room and desktops – from Polycom and other vendors' standards-based systems. That does not include Cisco, the spokesman says.