* Accenture will use AT&T Business Exchange to link with external parties for business-to-business video conferencing
AT&T’s telepresence solution just picked up another client that will use the AT&T Business Exchange to link with external parties for business-to-business video conferencing: Accenture has signed a non-exclusive agreement with AT&T. Accenture already has 50 telepresence rooms worldwide used for meetings between employees in remote locations. Accenture began its own telepresence investment two years ago as part of its ‘Collaboration 2.0’ program, and estimates it has since saved millions in travel-related expenses, eliminated hours of employee travel and reduced carbon emissions.
Commenting on the deal with AT&T, Frank Modruson,CIO at Accenture said in a statement, “Our telepresence rooms are already very popular with employees. Now that we’re open for business on the AT&T Business Exchange, we expect usage to grow exponentially as employees seize the opportunity to communicate with clients, suppliers, partners and other external constituencies. We look forward to benefits, such as stronger relationships, quicker decision making and improved supply chain.”
The AT&T Business Exchange runs over the company’s MPLS-enabled network — connecting more than 50 companies via hundreds of AT&T Telepresence Solution and Cisco TelePresence sites worldwide. The exchange also allows Accenture to connect with more than a thousand other Cisco TelePresence meeting endpoints worldwide.
In other recent news, Cablevision confirmed recently that the company is testing voice calls over its metro-area Wi-Fi network — using dual mode mobile phones that are Wi-Fi enabled. Cablevision has built a Wi-Fi network in the New York City area that gives its broadband subscribers access in public areas, and it has also provided VoIP to its customer base for years. However, Cablevision does not operate its own cellular network, so while its approach to using unlicensed spectrum for voice over Wi-Fi is similar to T-Mobile’s hot spot access service, Cablevision will need to come up with a way to hand-off mobile calls between its Wi-Fi hot spots and the public cellular network.
