Qwest unveiled a series of new features for its OneFlex VoIP product suite Tuesday, including an application that lets users compress their voice calls to free up more bandwidth for data transmissions.

Thuy Ha, a director of product management for Qwest, says that the compression feature can let users double or even triple the number of paths they have dedicated to VoIP. Ha says that the compression feature does not cost any additional money for OneFlex customers.

Ha ads, however, that while users will be able to compress their voice traffic to get more use out of their bandwidth, they will still have to pay additional money if they want to purchase additional phone lines. She also says that customers will only be able to take advantage of the compression feature if they have up-to-date compression-capable equipment. Customers who don't have compression-capable equipment will have to upgrade, she says.

In addition to the compression feature, Qwest has added an "escape to operator" feature that gives inbound callers access to an operator from their voice mail, and also Sub Office Administrator Portals that allow office administrators to outsource office management functions to employees at different office locations.

OneFlex is a business VoIP service that Qwest first rolled out in 2004. Jeff Randolph, president of the Illinois-based engineering consulting firm Randolph & Associates, says his company has subscribed to Qwest's OneFlex service for about a year and that it has provided his company with the ability to work more flexibly by allowing employees to set up dedicated VoIP lines in hotels and home offices that act as extensions to office lines. Randolph also says that the service has helped his company save money by putting voice services over the company's T1 line.

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