Lucent Technologies announced the
availability of its Internet Telephony Server (ITS), based on Compaq hardware. The server enables users to send
and receive voice and fax messages over the Internet.
The enterprise version of the ITS, currently available in a turnkey
package, includes a Compaq ProLiant
2500 Pentium server, Microsoft's
Windows NT operating system, ITS software, and telephony interface cards
from Natural Microsystems. The
enterprise ITS ranges from $2,500 to $4,000 per port.
According to Stephen Loudermilk, spokesman for Lucent, the company chose
Compaq servers because "It's part of our strategy to basically put our
Internet communications on open platforms. Compaq gave us that platform.
This brings IP telephony to the masses."
The enterprise ITS works with the existing network to convert voice and
packet data over the LAN, connecting to a Private Branch Exchange (PBX)
that allows communication between a business and the public network.
ITS uses Bell Labs' voice compression technology, which compresses voice to
10 to 12 kbps, thus accounting for only 16 percent of a T-1 line. "Voice compression software has a tremendous affect on the voice quality, and gives you more bandwidth," Loudermilk said.
According to Lucent, ITS can reduce the cost of long distance calls from 22
cents per minute to 3 cents per minute--costs fall because Internet phones always use local rates--while offering the voice quality of a cellular phone. Users dissatisfied with the voice quality have the option of falling back to the public-switched telephone network.
Users must have a PC equipped with an Internet phone to take advantage of ITS. Loudermilk quotes research done by Probe which estimates that 16 percent of
PC users have the capability to move to Internet telephony in the next
three years.
Lucent also announced that Transfer
Technologies, a prepaid calling card company, is the first customer to
sign up for the ITS on a commercial basis.