Net2Phone Wades Into WiFi
VOXILLA.COM News Report
4/22/04
Net2Phone, a turn-key hosted VoIP telephony service provider, has announced plans to deliver a suite of wireless VoIP solutions globally, enabling Net2Phone resellers to offer residential and business customers mobile VoIP applications.
Building on its recently announced unbranded VoiceLine broadband telephony offering, Net2Phone's wireless VoIP solutions will offer service providers SIP-based hosted wireless telephony services that can be sold as an enhancement to existing products.
Wireless VoIP extends the existing reach of voice and data services by removing the necessity for copper or fiber last-mile access to the Internet.
Demand for wireless IP local area networks or Wi-Fi (802.11) continues to grow. According to Pyramid Research, Wi-Fi penetration will grow to about 700 million users globally by 2008. Wi-Max, an extended wireless broadband network reaching as far as 25 miles, is becoming a viable alternative for customers to receive high-speed Internet access in rural areas and in areas where wired broadband is not an option because of low high-speed data availability.
By extending its retail VoIP offerings to the wireless environment, Net2Phone believes it can ride the wave of wireless broadband deployments by offering a bundle of telephony in conjunction with a high-speed wireless data offer.
"Net2Phone's wireless solutions remove the tether associated with VoIP, delivering the flexibility of a cellular phone anywhere in the world there is a Wi-Fi hotspot, without the need to be tied to a cell phone carrier, " said Stephen Greenberg, CEO of Net2Phone. "Net2Phone is well positioned to ride the burgeoning Wi-Fi network explosion to offer consumers and businesses affordable mobile telephony solutions."
Net2Phone routes all calls over wireless IP networks to its SIP-based platform, which performs call management, provides Class 5 features, billing, provisioning and enhanced services and distributes the infrastructure required for interconnecting onto and off of the PSTN network. Net2Phone offers service providers an affordable mobile telephony solution together with a complete set of features and functionality, including inbound and outbound calling with phone number selection, call waiting, caller ID and voicemail.
The company also announced that its first customer, IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT), a leading multinational carrier and technology company, plans to deploy commercial Wi-Fi phone service in a series of locations throughout the United States.
The Ironbound area of Newark, New Jersey will be the first area covered and will enable users in residential and affordable housing to bypass local phone companies and make domestic and international phone calls via a wireless connection to the Internet. |
