Internap offers IP-based videoconferencing

From...

By Stephen Lee

(IDG) -- Internap network services announced a package on Tuesday that will enable videoconferencing "at TV-level quality" over the public Internet, according to Alan Norman, Internap's vice president of corporate development.

The offering from the Seattle-based ISP includes a CPE (customer premise equipment) device from Cisco Systems and Polycom, in conjunction with IP connectivity over Internap's network.

Norman added that companies can reach speeds of as much as 2Mbps by using the joint Cisco-Polycom CPE. The offering consists of a Cisco 1720 Modular Access Router and a Polycom ViewStation video communications hardware device, which interfaces with a TV set and includes a camera for delivering video and audio for both point-to-point and multipoint applications. Internap is reselling different versions of the equipment at prices ranging from $6,000 to $15,000.

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Combined with Internap's network, videoconferencing is now ready for enterprise use, Norman said. The network links public backbones through access points in cities including Seattle, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Jose, Calif., London, and Tokyo.

"In the past, people have used ISDN and IP over private networks, both of which are far more expensive solutions," Norman said. "Over ISDN, there are a lot of issues. It takes a long time to set up all the calls, you get dropped, and you're billed on a per-minute basis. But now, with a standard Internet connection like a T1, you can have videoconferencing that works as simply as turning on your TV."

Norman added that the bandwidth offered through Internap's network provides high QoS (quality of service) levels.

"It's like you're in the room with someone, in real time," he said. "That experience really changes the effect of videoconferencing."

Steven Harris, an analyst at IDC, a research firm in Framingham, Mass., said that Internap's unique business model could work well for companies that want to use videoconferencing applications.

"Internap's whole reason for being is that the Internet doesn't function very well for mission-critical applications," Harris said. "Their value-add is that they buy transport from all of the major backbone companies. So if anyone was to do videoconferencing or real-time applications, Internap's model bodes well for them being able to offer that. If one network is having a problem -- and they all do at times -- they can just switch to another network."

Harris noted that Internap's service costs more than those of other ISPs, but many companies are willing to pay for the higher reliability.

According to Melinda Lewison, Internap's videoconferencing product manager, videoconferencing applications are growing in popularity, especially as companies seek to reduce travel costs.