Channel News September 2004

Posted: 9/2004

Channel News

Qwest Launches Qwest OneFlex to
Channel

Qwest Communications International Inc. has
introduced its national VoIP service for business customers; the technology will
be sold through the companys Business Partners program. The solution, called
Qwest OneFlex, gives customers local and long-distance voice service as well as
high-speed Internet access. Users need only add VoIP phones.

Qwest says OneFlex allows customers to tailor
their services to meet their business needs. By using a Web interface, customers
point-andclick for features such as conference callings, adding new users,
settingup voicemail and more.

Kathy Hickey, marketing director for QBPP, says
Qwest is rolling out a VoIP certification program for its partners in the
September timeframe.

While she fully expects some partners to test
out of further training, she says the program is intended to identify as well as
cultivate the crime de la crime of convergent partners to team with the Qwest
direct sales force in bringing OneFlex to market. Hickey says partners have been
briefed on the OneFlex product since May and some have taken on-site training to
sell the products.

Qwest OneFlex was first turned up at the
beginning of August to business customers in Boise, Idaho; Denver; Minneapolis;
and Phoenix.

By the end of 2004, the product is planned to be
available in the following metropolitan areas: Albuquerque, N.M.; Baltimore;
Billings, Mont.; Bismarck, N.D.; Boston; Casper, Wyo.; Chicago; Columbus, Ohio;
Des Moines, Iowa; Los Angeles; New York; Omaha, Neb.;

Orange County, Calif.; Philadelphia; Portland,
Ore.; Salt Lake City; San Diego; San Francisco; San Jose, Calif.; Seattle; Sioux
Falls, S.D.; Washington, D.C. Qwest will continue to expand OneFlex to
additional markets in 2005.

Alcatel Creates Partner Program

IP PBX equipment provider Alcatel has created a
partner program that gives resellers a streamlined quotation process and other
helpful tools. The program called the Alcatel OmniPCX Enterprise Express (OXEE)
revolves around the Alcatel OmniPCX Enterprise IP PBX.

OXEE provides authorized regional and large
independent carriers access to the ExpressQuote quotation tool. ExpressQuote
outlines a customers equipment requirements based on data that include the
number of station lines, voicemail needs and contact center requirements. The
online or PC-based interface also supplies a network diagram.

In addition, OXEE offers online training and a
configuration wizard, which lets technicians and customers configure the OmniPCX
Enterprise system. The tool even can import text files and use applications such
as Excel to fill in data fields.

The OXEE program targets customers who have
anywhere from 50- 250 users.

X-Change Offers VoIP Leasing

The X-Change Corp. says its wholly owned
subsidiary, Innovative Telecommunications Technologies Inc., is rolling out a
flexible lease program for the Advanced IP Communications Inc. (AIP) iPBX46
Business Phone System. Innovative Telecommunications is an authorized master
value-added reseller for the AIP system.

The X-Change subsidiarys lease program gives
traditional carriers and startups an opportunity to build distributed VoIP
networks without upfront investment in central office equipment and
architecture. Innovative Telecommunications offers custom lease programs of up
to five years to customers in its target markets. The company is launching the
program in the United States and in parts of Asia.

Our primary market is the small to medium
business. These companies find monthly payment programs attractive, says Robert
Stevenson, general manager of Innovative Telecommunications Technologies.

All of the companys lease programs include the
AIP VoIP Business Phone System, and hardware and software support.

Nuvio Signs Free Flow, Futura

Free Flow Technologies, a telecommunications
provider to businesses, has chosen branded VoIP from Nuvio Corp. for its
customers in the Washington, D.C. area, and startup wireless ISP Futura
Technologies also has joined Nuvios private-label partner program.

For Free Flow, Nuvio will handle all aspects of
billing, customer equipment provisioning and support through its Powered by
Nuvio branding program. As the VoIP market takes off, smart broadband
providers are bundling [VoIP] with their standard offering for a more complete
package, says Jason Talley, president and CEO of Nuvio.

Nuvio also will support Futura Technologies
through Powered by Nuvio, giving the company a branded Web site, private-label
billing, referrals coordination, technology support and marketing materials.

As an emerging wireless Internet service
provider, we realize that this is the time to take advantage of a revolutionary
market, says Josh Garrett, president and CEO of Futura Technologies.

Nuvios private-label program provides
solutions that will enhance the services we provide to our customers and
elevates our company to the next level.

Nuvios partner program helps high-speed
Internet providers offer VoIP to consumers and small to medium-sized business.

Nuvio is cultivating partnerships with broadband
providers, network integrators, technology VARs and retailers.

Telrex, Artisoft Offer Call
Recording

Telrex, developer of VoIP call recording and
monitoring software for SMBs, and Artisoft Inc., provider of open systems IP PBX
and call center products, have released a packetbased call recording and
monitoring solution for Artisofts TeleVantage, an open systems IP PBX.

The relationship, formed under Artisofts Open
Communication Alliance, allows both companies to promote partnership solutions
to their respective channels.

The companies say the integration of TeleVantage
with Telrexs CallRex provides businesses with an affordable tool to improve
productivity and enhance customer service.

CallRex uses packet sniffing technology to
record calls through TeleVantage. With the integrated solution, calls can be
recorded and monitored as needed or via automatic triggers, and can be flagged
with additional information. Specific recordings can then be located via
multiple search criteria such as date/time, user name, inbound number, caller
ID, recording group, or flagged name or value.

Multiple playback options allow users to listen
to recorded phone calls through the phone or through computer speakers.

Recorded calls can be viewed by day, week,
month, or custom date range. Managers also can assign monitoring, recording and
playback rights on a peruser basis, and can track calls from multiple remote
locations through one interface.

PowerNet Global Launches ATM-Grade SLAs

Aleron Broadband Services, the wholesale subsidiary of
PowerNet Global Communications (PNG), has launched ATM-grade SLAs for IP
services for its wholesale customers purchasing VoIP, IP VPNs and transit.

PNG/Aleron is now guaranteeing worst-case latency and jitter
levels for the industrys first ATM-Grade IP-VPNs (point-to-point worst-case
latency under 65ms and worst-case jitter under 0.5ms). In addition, PNG/Aleron
guarantees that point-to-point worst-case latency and jitter for VoIP SLAs will
never exceed 65ms and 0.5ms, respectively.

The services were now offering provide SLAs for IP that
exceed those of ATM, says Aleron Broadband Services General Manager
Christopher Bradish. The company plans to add several premium services in the
coming months, he says.

The upgrade is made possible by Aleron Broadbands recent
deployment of Axiowave Networks XCR128 service convergence router across its
IP network.

PNG says the ATM-grade SLAs will let customers migrate from
legacy services to IP. Our Toll-Quality VoIP service benefits not only our
business customers, but also our wholesale customers who need to interconnect
disparate VoIP islands and extend their reach on a global basis, says Bernie
Stevens, president and CEO of PNG. At the same time, our ATM-grade transit
service lets customers replace their rigid, expensive leased-line circuits with
a more flexible, usage-based IP service that offers performance equivalent to
that of leased-line.

PNG customers can expand without investing in physical
infrastructure, and the tiered SLAs let them select services appropriate to
specific applications.

Users also can consolidate transit services on a single access
port into PNG/Alerons IP infrastructure.

wIPphone Targets Residential, Small Business Customers

New York-based Worldwide Telco has introduced its Worldwide IP
Phone or wIPphone service for residential and small business customers.

The company is offering potential buyers a commitment-free
trial with a free download of the X-PRO SoftPhone and 30 free minutes to more
than 45 countries.

Worldwide Telco executives say business users can add wIPphone
to their current office phone systems, and cut international and domestic travel
phone costs by using wIPphone on their laptops with a headset and any type of
Internet connection.

wIPphone rate plans are customizable and provide unlimited
free wIPphone to wIPphone calls; allow users to order United States or
international phone numbers; have multilingual customer support; allow call
hunting; and more.

wIPphone is sold through authorized resellers and
distributors. WorldWide Telco also is expanding its private-label
partnerships.

Yak WorldCity Rollout on Track

Yak Communications Inc. continues to roll out its WorldCity
VoIP services to residential and SMB consumers, and was on target for full
commercial deployment worldwide by early this month. WorldCity will be available
through agents and in retail stores.

We currently have consumers making inbound and outbound
calls using both IP phones and regular telephones, with operational connectivity
between high speed cable, IP and PSTN networks, and it works well, says
Charles Zwebner, Yaks president and CEO.

Yak will release WorldCity with features, including caller ID,
call forwarding, call waiting, three-way calling, voicemail, message waiting,
personal call manager online portal and more. The company says 911 operator
services will follow soon after. Pricing for the bundled services including
local, long-distance and basic features should range from $19.99 to $34.99.

NetFabric Signs Master Agreement with ABP Technology

NetFabric Corp., a developer of VoIP products, has signed a
master distribution agreement with Dallas-based ABP Technology, which markets
VoIP products through specialized resellers, ISPs and carriers. ABP will
distribute NetFabrics new Cashmere line of VoIP Call Routers and IP Service
Adapters.

The Cashmere unit will VoIP-enable any four- and eight-line
PBX or key telephone system, immediately creating toll and line cost savings of
up to 50 percent, says Robert Messer, president and CEO of ABP.

The implementation of VoIP connectivity is made so easy
that its literally Plug and Play.

The Cashmere line works with legacy PBX equipment. NetFabric
says IP service providers can place a Cashmere unit between the PBX and the
central office lines, and automatically start routing traffic to their IP
service for long-distance and international call termination.

Cashmere offers additional features including a screen pop-up
of Caller ID information on PCs on the companys local area network and access
to services such as a corporate do-not-call list.

ISG Readies VoIP Program

Interconnect Services Group (ISG) says it soon will rollout a
VoIP product for sale through its agents. Few details were available at press
time.

The interconnect/integrator is able to function as a carrier
with in-house billing to sell VoIP or PBX systems without increasing end users
expenses. This is done through ISGs division Network Billing Systems (NBS).

We recognize that VoIP has finally gained the type of
traction in the marketplace, which has long been anticipated and projected,
says Jon Kaufman, CEO of ISG. We see limitless potential for this service,
whose applications are only limited by ones imagination, and have developed a
new marketing paradigm and end-user value proposition to have NBS bring VoIP to
market. NBSs assets uniquely position it to structure our enduser offerings
in the way this service requires. Because of the complexity of VoIP vis-a-vis
traditional telephony, our history of partnering with the agent channel by
offering the ongoing support of seasoned sales and technical people throughout
the sales cycle and during the entirety of the end user relationship will serve
us well.

CommPartners Enables Cross-Country Footprint

Hosted VoIP wholesaler CommPartners has introduced its NFL
city footprint. By mid-2005, the company intends its network to cover
population centers served by Tier 1 through Tier 4 carriers in the United
States, including Alaska and Hawaii. The service will enable access to more than
8,500 local calling rate centers, the company says.

CommPartners hosted VoIP services are designed for ISPs, IT
integrators, MSOs, IOCs, FTTH and overbuilding entities CommPartners has chosen
technology vendors Telica and BroadSoft Inc. to provide Class 4/5 switching and
routing, as well as advanced VoIP applications such as IP Centrex, hosted PBX
and conferencing.

CommPartners also operates a Syndeo Corp. Syion softswitch
that is PacketCablecompliant for the cable market. The company has selected Acme
Packet to provide session border control.

Meanwhile, Internap Network Services Corp. will carry
CommPartners VoIP traffic between broadband end users and CommPartners
Super PoPs, which house the companys routers, softswitches and session border
controllers. Internap provides route control technology and IP solutions; it
will offer CommPartners customers 100 percent Internet availability through
its multihomed architecture. CommPartners says its ability to avoid Internet log
jams also allows it to eliminate most of the latency and jitter associated with
Internet calls.

CommPartners planned to file CLEC certifications in all 50
states by the end of August.

IPtimize Hosting Services Through
6DegreesIP

Master agent IPtimize Inc. is selling a hosted
IP PBX service using New Global Telecom Inc.s 6DegreesIP product suite.
IPtimize plans to offer business customers long-distance calling, DID telephone
numbers and more. The company says using 6DegreesIP will help its customers save
money and increase functionality.

i2 Releases VoIP Phone with Cellular Bridging

i2Telecom International Inc. has unveiled the InternetTalker
EVoIP-4310 with cellular bridging. The phone is a 4-channel microgateway for
businesses that allows users to make inexpensive worldwide VoIP calls from any
cell phone. i2 also says Global Direct Inward Dial assigns a unique U.S. phone
number to each channel, regardless of the units physical location, and that
Dynamic Media Transfer Rate technology adapts the InternetTalkers data rate
to maintain the call quality under varying network conditions.

The phone also is compatible with previous i2Telecom products.
It is available through VARs.

New Global Telecom Enhances 6DegreesIP

New Global Telecom (NGT) has released version 3.0 of its
6DegreesIP managed wholesale product suite, giving service providers a turnkey
solution for the business or residential markets.

The new release includes upgrades such as a premium
residential/SOHO TelPack feature package; retail OSS functionality for online
ordering, billing and customer management; flexibility offered by VoiceConnect
and VoiceSelect origination and termination services; on-demand conferencing for
audio and Web conferencing services; and more.

Interest from a wide range of service providers has
confirmed the advantages of our managed wholesale VoIP business model, says
Caitlin Clark-Zigmond, director of VoIP product management for NGT. Our focus
will continue to be on product enhancements that facilitate successful market
penetration and growth for our service provider customers.

CAL Comm Chooses NGT IP Solutions

CAL Communications Inc. (CAL Comm), a reseller of telephone
systems and long-distance services and a systems integrator, is using IP
solutions from New Global Telecom (NGT) to deliver VoIP services to businesses.
NGT is a provider of outsourced switching and network operations services. Its
6DegreesIP product suite will enable CAL Comm to deliver VoIP nationally and
internationally.

CAL Comm initially is focusing on sales to Chicago-area SMBs,
including the companys 2,500 end-users. The company plans to expand to more
cities over the next two years. As a Hispanic-owned Certified Minority
Business Enterprise, we will be marketing hosted IP solutions to governmental
agencies as well as to the Hispanic business community and other businesses,
says Carlos A. Lopez, CAL Comms president.

PointOne Lets SIPphone Users Receive PSTN Calls

VoIP operator PointOne is providing enhanced network access to
SIPphone Inc. users who will now be reachable from the PSTN on local inward dial
numbers in 18 U.S. markets.

SIPphone, a company from MP3.com and Lindows founder Michael
Robertson, does not charge customers connect to other SIP-based phones.

The enhanced access will require SIPphone users anywhere in
the world to use the Instant Messenger Connect function of the PointOne Global
Bridge network.

SIPphone is a service based on the VoIP standard, SIP, which
enables two or more people to make phone calls to each other using the Internet
to carry the call.

CloseCall Offers VoIP Service Via Agents

CloseCall America has jumped on the VoIP train with its
CloseCall VOIP Phone Service, available to consumers and businesses with
high-speed Internet access. A Plug & Connect box connects any phone with
highspeed Internet to CloseCalls service; software or special dialing is not
required.

Available through agents and directly, CloseCall VOIP Phone
Service starts at $4.99 per month. Other packages are available for unlimited
service, including unlimited international calling packages.

Customers can choose telephone numbers from locations all over
the world so incoming callers can dial local numbers.

CloseCall VOIP Phone Service customers also can call one
another free anywhere in the world. The company provides round-theclock support.

StarNet Expands
Wholesale VoiceEclipse

StarNet Inc., a wholesale dialup and VoIP provider, announced
in August the expansion of its VoiceEclipse service into new markets, adding
areas of Texas, Arizona, Southern California, New York, New Jersey and New
Hampshire to its footprint.

Although VoiceEclipse customers can always use the service
from anywhere with a broadband connection, our expansion into these new markets
allows us to offer phone numbers from more local area codes, as well as the
ability to allow customers in these areas to migrate their existing phone
numbers to VoiceEclipse service, says Russ Intravartolo, StarNets CEO.

The new markets join Chicago, Providence, Boston, Kansas City,
Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and additional rate centers in those states, plus
Indiana and Michigan.

Centrepoint Adds to TalkSwitch

Centrepoint Technologies, designer and manufacturer of
telephone systems for small business, has introduced the TalkSwitch 48- CVA, a
hybrid telephone system that offers combined access to the PSTN and VoIP.

The TalkSwitch 48-CVA is sold through authorized resellers and
online.

Each TalkSwitch 48-CVA unit accommodates up to four callout
lines and four VoIP trunks, eight local extensions and eight remote extensions.
Up to four units can be networked to make a system with 16 callout lines, 16
VoIP trunks, 32 local extensions and 32 remote extensions per location. The
system includes free software updates. The TalkSwitch 48-CVA is SIP-compliant.

The system was created for businesses with 1 to 32 users per
location. It includes features such as 3-digit dialing between branches,
call transfer among locations, and access to IP network services such as
Internet calling. All calls can be made with standard analog phones.

Ring 9 Launches Partner Channel

Florida-based VoIP carrier Ring 9 Communications has opened
its partner channel, offering commission rates from 10 percent to 17 percent as
well as agent support. The company does not require term or volume commitments
from partners or customers.

The carrier plans to add several features during the third
quarter of 2004, including Microsoft Outlook Plug-in and SIP 2.0 endpoint
integration. Its current features range from Caller ID, local, long-distance,
station to station and international calling to find me/follow me, unified
messaging and remote calling.

Ring 9 executives say the carrier provides business-quality
endto- end call management and nationwide portability.

St. Louis Joins Nuvios Private-Label Program

VoIP provider Nuvio Corp. has entered into a private-label
partnership with St. Louis Telecom LLC, an independent telecommunications
agency. Through Nuvios Powered by Nuvio partner program, St. Louis will
receive a branded Web site, customized marketing materials, private-label
billing, customer equipment provisioning and private-label support.

We chose Nuvio because their inclusive VoIP package met all
of our requirements for fast entry into the market, and better yet, required no
capital investment, says Ruben Chapa, CEO of St. Louis Telecom.

WilTel Selects Telica Softswitch

Carriers carrier WilTel Communications Group Inc. has
chosen VoIP switching company Telica Inc.s PLUS softswitch for its IPbased
voice services. WilTel says the addition of PLUS allows TDM and VoIP to coexist
on WilTels network.

The PLUS architecture gives service providers scalability,
TDM, packet, Class 4, and wireline and wireless services. Telica says its PLUS
softswitch supports up to 7.5 million calls per hour and contains more than one
terabyte of memory to sustain database and routing requirements.

WilTel planned to launch its VoIP Gateway service in the third
quarter of 2004, allowing carriers and resellers to interconnect to the WilTel
network via Dedicated Internet Access, MPLS IP VPN or peering.

Twister Networks Introduces Newest IP Phone

Twister Networks Inc. has released its new VoIP phone, the
i350, available for agents to sell. The VoIP provider, which targets businesses
in Asia, China, America and Europe, already offers the i100, i300 and i400 VoIP
phones. The i350 features more advanced features than Twisters other phones,
including a more ergonomic handset.

Steven Dao, president of Twister Networks, says the company
charges new agents $500 to sign up; the fee covers training, account setup, and
back-office and technical support. There are other optional costs for access to
Twister Networks e-commerce Web site. The company also requires agents to buy 10 phones up-front.