News Briefs March 2005

InfiniRoute Networks, a VoIP interconnect provider for carriers, is using Excel Switching Corp.’s new IMG 1010 media gateway for VoIP interconnectivity and termination. InfiniRoute says the gateway provides functionality for SS7 to H.323 signaling networks and TDM-to-IP interconnections in a way that complements its existing interworking capabilities, while expanding the number of carriers it can accommodate. The IMG 1010’s scalable 1u form factor also lets InfiniRoute add network PoPs as it builds in cities around the world.

Service provider Telstra Inc. has unveiled its new Service Provider Solutions, a series of customizable data communications services available to carriers, service providers, resellers and systems integrators in the U.S. market. Providers use the network on a pay-as-you-go basis. Telstra will provide customized SLAs and global technical support.

iBasis Inc. has introduced PremiumCertified, a service designed to deliver high-quality termination of phone calls to more than 500 internaitonal destinations. PremiumCertified is available on a wholesale basis to traditional TDM carriers, mobile service providers and providers of voice over broadband services. Routes are monitored in real time and managed by iBasis to achieve performance within 5 percent of the companys retail quality index. iBasis uses PremiumCertified to provision its own retail services.

FiberNet Telecom Group Inc., a provider of managed network services, has completed an expansion to the Meet-Me-Room at 60 Hudson Street in New York City. The company doubled the size of the room, combining the transport and colocation services of the original Phase I facility with new interconnection solutions. The 7,400-square-foot Phase II addition also delivers optical and electrical interconnection systems for colocation and network services for domestic and international carriers in FiberNet’s metropolitan network infrastructure.

telx Group Inc. and HKCOLO, two neutral colocation and network interconnection providers, they have partnered to strengthen trans-Pacific and global communications networks. As a result of the deal, carriers and large network enterprise customers in the respective sites no longer will need to establish a physical PoP overseas to interconnect to others in a different hemisphere. HKCOLO is based in Hong Kong. It serves more than 160 carriers; telx works with more than 180.

Ecuity Inc., a VoIP company targeting the SMB and residential markets, is using TeleGea Inc.’s VoIP Delivery Management software to automate its wholesale and retail VoIP services. The technology manages and integrates existing OSS functions, details service delivery processes and increases operating margins, TeleGea says. The software is pre-integrated with more than five softswitch and feature server platforms, including BroadSoft Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., VocalData and Sylantro. Last year, Ecuity finished launching its V-Tone family of VoIP services for businesses. The company offers technical support, and billing and customer service.

Level 3 Communications Inc. says its European operating subsidiaries now provide IP services in Prague, Czech Republic. Level 3 is offering (3)CrossRoads, its wholesale high-speed Internet access service, targeting customers including ISPs, cable providers and international carriers selling communications services to Prague enterprises. Level 3 is using optical wavelengths leased from another service provider to accommodate the expansion. Level 3’s fiber-optic network now spans 23,000 miles. It serves