January 2000

BY MIA CARLEY

These days, IP telephony service is all the rage, with companies promising lower long-distance bills and carrier-grade quality. Recently, I had the opportunity to learn about a newer and more "liberated" type of service: wireless IP telephony. My initial reaction was: "very interesting." Later, after I had mulled over the details in my mind, I realized the potential for wireless IP. This new service could fuel the demand for IP telephony that is still somewhat lacking in the mainstream market.
While VoIP has proved itself to be an invaluable Internet CRM tool for sites like Easysurf.com, it has yet to be fully embraced by the business community because of quality and usability issues.

Hoping to reap the benefits of IP telephony, service providers are beginning to offer VoIP in an effort to expand their services. Entering the voice market, however, is a tricky and expensive undertaking due to its complexity and the competitive market. Most service providers are not experienced in providing the level of carrier-grade quality and extensive customer service, including a billing and payment infrastructure, normally provided by the traditional telcos. Regardless of these obstacles, there is a strong movement in this direction for both wireless and wired ISPs.

MAKING THE VoIP JUMP
Sanswire.Net is an example of a wireless service provider jumping into the long-distance market with wireless IP telephony service. Currently, Sanswire.Net is a developer and marketer of wireless technology that provides high-speed Internet service. While their traditional market has consisted of businesses and hotels, their new focus is the IP telephony market. Sanswire.Net plans to have deployment in 165 cities worldwide by the end of the first quarter of 2000, when they will be either selling directly or through reseller channels.

The Making Of An IP Telephony Service Provider
How does a service provider enter a competitive and demanding market such as voice? As I noted earlier, the transition to the voice market often demands great resources, plus it requires adherence to standards. Rather than create their own solutions, service providers often look for outside solutions and partners for help. So it’s no surprise that Sanswire.Net partnered with experts in the field.
First, Sanswire.Net will be co-locating their equipment at AT&T facilities around the world. The other part of the Sanswire.Net strategy is the deployment of Hypercom’s turnkey solution, e-Telephony, including the IP.tel voice gateway. Hypercom’s e-Telephony comprises important features for supporting industry standards while addressing the needs of clients such as Sanswire.Net:

• Open Standards: e-Telephony supports compression standards H.323, G723.1, CCITT G3, and T38 for fax packets; G.726, G.727, and G.729A algorithms for voice.
• Billing System Suite: An billing solution that integrates an IVR driver, authentication systems for pre-/post-paid calling cards, a customer account database to track balances, and billing information for customers who don’t use cards. The customer then has the choice between Web-based or traditional, printed bills.
• Payment Options: e-Telephony offers its customers several different payment methods including post-paid calling cards, credit and debit cards, and its newest endeavor: the virtual calling card. Of course, all these services are accessible over the Internet. This makes it easier for you to access and pay your account as well as help Sanswire.Net save on customer service administrative costs.
• Launching VoIP Services Online: Providing online availability is crucial, and as a part of the e-Telephony solution Hypercom provides the Internet Merchant System, which helps to reduce the time to market for VoIP carriers rushing to provide service. The Internet Merchant System includes several features like the StoreBuilder; pre-configured templates for creating Web sites to launch businesses in a matter of minutes. Another feature, the StoreManager, lets carriers and resellers track sales, call traffic, customer account balances and payments, and customer response to marketing promotions. Additional features include customized promotion capabilities and extensive customer service and account management facilities.

CENTS AND SENSIBILITY
While the rates have yet to be finalized, I found out from Sanswire.Net’s president, Michael Molen, that their intention is to have one rate — $0.05/minute — for all domestic calls, any time to anywhere with no monthly service charge. International rates are still in the works, but Molen told me that their intention is to have international rates around $0.10/minute.

For those interested in wireless Internet service, monthly service charges will be separate, but dial-up access accounts will be free if the customer retains a $50 per month long-distance bill.

CONCLUSION
It’s great to see such diversity and competition in the voice market, and the progression of IP telephony into the wireless market is certainly worth watching. Not only does IP telephony liberate subscribers from the traditional carrier’s grip and allow greater mobility, but it also holds the potential to solve some of the broadband availability issues. And while, Sanswire.Net is only one example, their story illustrates demand for wireless IP telephony and the expansion of IP telephony services.  For a full listing of cities where Sanswire.Net offers service, visit their Web site at sanswire.net, or call 888-88-SWNET. I keep hoping they’ll come to Connecticut, but even if they don’t, you can be sure another service provider will.

Mia Carley is the assistant Web editor for TMCnet.com. She can be reached for comment at mcarley@tmcnet.com.