The Alcatel IP Telephony Starter Kit, a New Voice/Data
Convergence Package for Medium to Large Enterprise
Customers
Alcatel Resellers to Sell Enterprise Bundle as a Cost-Effective Way of Trialing IP Telephony
CALABASAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 28, 2000-- Alcatel (NYSE:ALA - news) today announced the availability of the
Alcatel IP Telephony Starter Kit, a compact enterprise voice and data convergence solution.
The key objective of the Alcatel IP Telephony Starter Kit is to provide resellers with a low-risk convergence solution to offer any size
enterprise considering IP telephony within their branch offices or network environment.
The Alcatel IP Telephony Starter Kit, comprised of an Alcatel OmniPCX 4400 IP-based voice communication system, an Alcatel
OmniStack 6024 Stackable Workgroup Data Switch and 10 Alcatel IP Reflexes(TM) desktop telephones, delivers a solid voice and
data convergence solution with investment protection. The starter kit is suitable for installation in a branch office environment where
users will be able to experience the feature-rich Alcatel OmniPCX 4400 as well as evaluate voice over IP (VoIP) interoperability
through the Alcatel OmniStack 6024. This combination of Alcatel enterprise voice and data products guarantees Quality of Service
(QoS) effectiveness for VoIP. Being a full-fledged PBX, the Alcatel OmniPCX 4400 can also support analog and digital connections
besides IP connections.
``Customers are increasingly looking to implement converged communications solutions, but many are concerned about the ease of
implementation and the necessary level of investment. A fully bundled offering, providing full data switching, traditional voice
functionality, and telephones in a fully IP environment, goes a long way in allaying those fears,'' said Jeffrey Snyder, principal analyst,
Dataquest.
``Alcatel's IP Telephony Starter kit allows our partners to offer IT/telecom managers a seamless and cost-effective deployment of IP
telephony within their organization. This bundle will enable enterprise customers to become more familiar with the reliable and
feature-rich convergence solution that Alcatel has to offer,'' said Mark Truhlar, Alcatel VP/GM, IP Telephony. ``The scalable
architecture of the Alcatel OmniPCX 4400 will allow more users to be added onto the IP telephony environment as needs increase.''
``The Alcatel IP Telephony Starter Kit offers potential customers the ability to evaluate IP telephony while maintaining an existing
PBX system,'' said Edwin F. Franceschi, President of Datavoice Solutions, an Alcatel Convergence Partner. ``With this starter kit, we
can demonstrate to customers how easy is it to implement a reliable IP telephony network within their enterprise.''
The Configurations
The Alcatel IP Telephony Starter Kit consists of an Alcatel OmniPCX 4400, an Alcatel OmniStack 6024 and 10 Alcatel IP
Reflexes(TM) phones. The starter kit is scalable and can be upgraded by adding another chassis. PBX features available with this
starter kit include voice mail, phone directory, call by name, text messaging and multi-line conferencing.
The Alcatel OmniPCX 4400 supports network signaling based on QSIG, a standard ITU protocol. This allows users to build powerful
networks with Alcatel systems. It also eases the transition from traditional PBXs (most of which support at least some QSIG functions)
to the new PCX architecture.
Pricing and Availability
The Alcatel IP Telephony Starter Kit will be sold through Alcatel's North America channel partners from Nov. 1, 2000 till March 31,
2001. Recommended street price is $19,995, which includes hardware -- one Alcatel OmniPCX 4400, one Alcatel OmniStack 6024
and 10 Alcatel IP Reflexes(TM) phones, one day of installation and one year of maintenance. For East Coast sales inquiries, call
800/995-2612. For West Coast sales inquiries, call 800/586-1114.
The OmniPCX 4400
The Alcatel OmniPCX 4400 is the world's most advanced IP-based voice communication system. Based on a client/server UNIX
architecture, the OmniPCX 4400 includes scalability from 50 to 50,000 users, innovative Reflexes telephone handsets, 99.999%
reliability, one-number mobility, unified messaging, voice-over-IP networking with quality of service management, Web-based
customer contact center, and comprehensive network management. Internet Telephony Expo 2000 Best of Show award winner.
The OmniStack 6024
The Alcatel OmniStack 6024 is a 24-port 10/100 Ethernet switch with uplink options that can be stacked four high for a total of 104
ports. Each unit has two optional slots for stacking modules, fiber-optic Fast Ethernet modules (100BaseFX), or Gigabit Ethernet
uplink modules (1000BaseSX, 1000BaseLX). Individual switches are connected together using 4 Gbps stacking connections, which
ensures high performance for the entire stack. Within the stack, each unit forwards traffic at wire-speed. The OmniStack 6024 also
supports port-based and 802.1Q VLANs for network segmentation without the use of routers. These VLAN capabilities can also be
combined with the 802.1p QoS feature to give priority to certain groups of power users.
About Alcatel
Alcatel builds next generation networks, delivering integrated end-to-end voice and data networking solutions to established and
new carriers, as well as enterprises and consumers worldwide. With 120,000 employees and sales of $26 billion (EURO $23 billion) in
1999, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit Alcatel on the Internet: alcatel.com
Contact:
Alcatel
Monica Li, 818/878-5389
monica.li@ind.alcatel.com
Ed Essa, 818/878-5472
eessa@ind.alcatel.com |
