Equant unveils worldwide voice/data net

From...

March 9, 2000
Web posted at: 8:36 a.m. EST (1336 GMT)

by Jim Duffy

(IDG) -- Global network service provider Equant on Tuesday launched what it claims to be the world's first global service to integrate voice and data over IP.

Using 15,000 routers from Cisco, the service is available now in 50 countries over Equant's private intranet and extranet, says Laurence Huntley, Equant's executive vice president of marketing. The service can be turned up in four to six weeks after receipt of an order, Huntley says.

Equant has been taking orders since mid-February, Huntley says. Coca-Cola Amatil in Australia, a bottler for the global soft drink giant, is currently using it, he says.

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With this service, users can make phone calls, send faxes, transfer files, stream live or stored video, and perform data conferencing simultaneously over the same network connection. Users can save 30% to 50% on voice calls with this service, Huntley says.

Equant charges a flat rate per month for a committed information rate, and then voice rides on that line, he says. There are no per-minute charges for voice calls, he says.

Equant is offering service-level agreements in 84 cities, guaranteeing that 99.5% of calls are completed and that 95% of calls will be connected within four seconds, Huntley says.

The service provider can offer such guarantees because voice is running on its private IP network, not the Internet. Reliability, quality and security issues arise when users contemplate running voice over IP, especially on a shared infrastructure like the Internet.

While the initial service will ostensibly save users money, it will also be the foundation for several new converged voice/data applications, such as Web-based call centers, unified messaging and customer relationship management, Huntley says. "It's the beginning, not the end, of the road for integration," he says.

In addition to taking orders, Equant and Cisco are demonstrating the service this week in several cities around the world.

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