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      8x8 Launches Virtual Trunking Services8x8 (News - Alert), Inc., the provider of Packet8 business, mobile and residential communication services, is hailing the introduction of a brand-new, broadband agnostic IP
 trunking solution called Packet8 Virtual Trunking.
According to the company, the solution is designed to enable businesses to benefit from the cost efficiencies of VoIP
while retaining their existing phones and phone system hardware and optimizing the use of their existing connectivity to the Internet.According to 8x8 vice president of marketing and sales Huw Rees (News - Alert), “The base pricing structure of the new service is as follows: For the installation and the equipment, the list price is $1,500, with a $500 discount for a one-year contract and a $1,000 discount for a two-year contract, so that’s a net cost of $500 on a two-year agreement. The monthly recurring cost is $25 per line, and that includes 500 minutes per line, and then if you go over that 500 minute limit, it’s 3.5 cents per minute after that.”
But affordability should not be confused with a lack of quality.
Idaho-based interconnect Thompson Communications, a pilot customer who has been testing Virtual Trunking over a wireless Internet connection, had this to say about the service: “As a leading interconnect, our success is dependent on the quality of the services we recommend and deploy. Packet8’s Virtual Trunking solution installed seamlessly over our existing wireless network and has exceeded our expectations for ease of deployment and voice quality. We look forward to recommending Packet8 Virtual Trunking to all of our customers.”
According to Rees, 8x8 was somewhat surprised when they realized they would be testing the solution over a wireless connection.
“We didn’t realize when we decided to use them as a beta site, that it was going to be wireless Internet,” Rees told TMCnet. “When we got there, we sort of took a deep breath and said, let’s see what happens. As it turns out, it’s been flawless. We’ve been very pleased with the result.”
Said Rees, “Ultimately it really doesn’t matter what the pipe is, as long as it has the right characteristic in terms of bandwidth, latency, jitter
and packet loss and in this particular instance it’s been a good solid connection.”This latest solution from 8x8 is increasing the addressable market for a company that has traditionally served smaller businesses.
“Our customers vary from approximately four FXS lines through customers with one or two T-1 lines. We are currently looking at some customers who have multiple T1s, about five. This offering expands the range of the types of customers that we serve. Typically we serve pretty small businesses. Although we have a few Virtual Office customers with over 100 employees, this new Virtual Trunking service will enable us to hit the larger businesses, from say 50-person businesses, up to several-thousand-employee businesses, because by installing a Virtual Trunking service like this, it’s a pretty minimal disruption or change to the end user behavior.
“The proposition is a cost savings proposition, as opposed to selling a completely new feature set,” Rees said.
Furthermore, Rees told TMCnet that while they do see some significant demand it’s difficult to put an exact number on the market opportunity.
“There is clearly some demand in the marketplace, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it grows. For somebody that has a PBX
or key system that they purchased not that long ago, that’s not fully depreciated, and they don’t really want to get rid of the equipment, it gives them the opportunity to get the cost savings side of VoIP initially.”In-Stat (News - Alert) Senior Research Analyst David Lemelin believes that the opportunity is indeed significant. “We believe that two-thirds of all U.S. businesses will have some form of VoIP phone service by 2011, whether it’s a hosted PBX (News - Alert) service, an IP-PBX switch or a hybrid solution. 8x8 is well poised to take advantage of this market growth with services like Packet8 Virtual Office and now, Virtual Trunking, both of which offer businesses a reliable, affordable and easy-to-implement path to IP telephony.”
The new service is designed to work well in conjunction with a number of the other services available from 8x8.
Rees explained, “Let’s say we’re talking to a large organization that may have a headquarters and a bunch of small branch offices. If we persuade them to deploy the Virtual Trunking solution at the headquarters, and we persuade them to deploy the Virtual Office solution at their branch offices, the advantage that we see for them is that not only can they save money on their phone bills in terms of their general PSTN
calling, but as long as somebody’s on our network, whether they are on Virtual Office or their on one of these virtual trunk lines, any calls between these offices are always free. So you stay on network regardless of the product or service you buy from us.”Coincidentally to the launch of Packet8 Virtual Trunking services, 8x8 is expanding their domestic regional sales team, who will be tasked with building out a telecommunications reseller network to sell into the SMB channel.
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Greg Galitzine (News - Alert) is editorial director of TMCnet. To read more of Greg’s articles, please visit his columnist page.
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.
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