COLT today launched COLT IP Voice, the first Europe-wide IP telephony service for businesses.
In line with COLT's commitment to innovation, COLT IP Voice brings simple, flat-rate pricing to the European business market for the first time and eliminates capital expenditure. This radical approach dramatically reduces business voice costs.
COLT IP Voice meets business demand for more predictable pricing by cutting out the hidden charges of traditional voice services. It offers all local, national and international calls within COLT countries for a flat rate, per-user, per-month fee of €24.50. Businesses do not have to purchase, house or maintain a PBX (onsite telephone system) as all functions are provided by the COLT network and delivered over the customer's local area network (LAN). Handsets and features are covered by an additional flat rate per-user, per-month fee of €20. The combination of these two elements can reduce total cost of ownership by approximately 20%.
"It is about time for businesses to benefit from the same simple, flat rate pricing that consumers have enjoyed for some time," said Jean-Yves Charlier, CEO, COLT. "Now that IP telephony is proven, we have harnessed the best VoIP technology and our advanced European network to offer a radical package to businesses across Europe. We are transforming voice services for businesses across Europe, by offering a package that cuts out capex, drives down costs and provides greater flexibility and functionality for businesses and their users."
The service routes voice traffic over the COLT's extensive European fibre network, which has been enhanced using Siemens softswitch IP technology: this delivers business-quality IP telephony. As COLT's service extends right across Europe, customers also benefit from not needing to maintain multiple vendor relationships.
Ovum predicts that the market for network-based IP telephony solutions in Europe will be worth $1.4 billion by 2008. Chris Lewis, head of Enterprise Practice at Ovum, said: "Enterprise IP telephony solutions are now moving into a new growth phase as we start to see mainstream adoption in many parts of Europe. Network-based IP telephony solutions, especially those offering innovative features such as flat-rate pricing, provide an attractive and cost-effective alternative to a business owning and managing its own equipment and will further add to market growth."
COLT IP Voice offers a flexible, robust service that addresses the needs of a mobile workforce by providing employees with a single number that goes wherever they do. Whether at the office, hot-desking or working remotely, users log in to the phone system via an IP phone or the softphone on their PC to access their own contacts list, voicemail and other features. The service will be integrated with Microsoft Outlook so users can "click to call" and manage emails and voicemails from a single inbox.
COLT IP Voice offers unique management tools – either via a web interface or a console on the customer's premises. These provide user self-administration and allow moves, additions and changes to be made with the click of a mouse. In addition, businesses' directories and features are stored and backed up on the COLT network ensuring that this valuable information is protected in an emergency.
COLT IP Voice is ready for sale in 13 European countries and is already attracting a lot of interest from companies. Avanta, a UK property management organisation, is one of the first companies evaluating COLT IP Voice for its business sites, with the aim of deploying it to new managed properties. Avanta's IT Director, John Leitch, says: "The call quality, network robustness and project management are impressive."