Canadian service provider start-up focuses on multimedia

Last week, we had the chance to meet with OneConnect, which will be Canada’s first independent service provider to deliver an advanced IP multimedia communications suite to Canadian businesses.

OneConnect is joining the competition as a subsidiary of Globalive. Globalive delivers telecom applications and services internationally.

With technology supplied by Nortel, OneConnect offers businesses carrier-class communications, including IP-based hosted and managed services for IP voice, video, data, collaboration and conferencing.

Led by President and CEO Ron Dekker, OneConnect became fully operational April 1. According to Dekker, recent changes in the Canadian regulatory environment allow OneConnect to offer very cost-effective access, including access through a broadband IP-VPN connection.

OneConnect says its customers would see a 15% to 30% savings on telephony and Internet connection costs by using its service.

While voice services are included in the product bundles, the offering isn’t just about replacing traditional voice with VoIP. Rather, the company believes it can bring in a rich suite of multimedia services. Companies that have a PBX or key system can start to get the benefits of OneConnect without replacing their current system.

OneConnect will initially focus on the Toronto and Montreal markets, home to 60% of Canada’s businesses, representing $2 billion of the Canadian telephony market.