Sales of voice-centric IP phones for the business sector are taking off, according to the latest study from In-Stat (News - Alert), which said shipments of voice-centric business IP phones will approach 31 million by 2012.

 

In fact, the Arizona research firm says IP adoption among enterprises will drastically outpace the consumer segment by more than 10 to 1.

 

“Within the business market, corded IP phones remain the standard, and will continue to dominate the enterprise IP phone market through 2012,” said Norm Bogen, In-Stat analyst.

 

Bogen says WLAN and IP DECT (News - Alert) phones will continue to grow, especially within some specific vertical and geographical markets.

 

One of the primary benefits of IP-based communications over traditional TDM networks is the ease with which IP phones can be moved within the enterprise. This mobility presents new challenges to critical services such as enhanced 9-1-1 which automatically deliver the precise location of callers in need to emergency responders.

 

“As telephony systems enable endpoints that can operate from anywhere, at anytime, it drives the requirement for real-time endpoint location determination (LD) systems that can support both emergency calling and other location-based services,” said Nicholas Maier, senior vice president at RedSky (News - Alert). 

 

RedSky markets solutions that automate location information management for E911 and other location-based services and work with all three enterprise VoIP leaders identified in the InStat report: Avaya, Cisco and Nortel (News - Alert).

 

Unlike most traditional wireline phones that already provide the caller's location to emergency services, enterprise VoIP requires the specific location of phones to be programmed into an organization's telephony network and updated when these phones move within the enterprise. Location information management solutions ensure that emergency responders can quickly find 9-1-1 callers within a building or campus.

 

 RedSky is an active voice in the E911 industry, participating in the working committees of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), the leading advocates and standards bodies for 9-1-1 in North America. Additionally, RedSky participates in FCC (News - Alert) policy proceedings that shape the policies, legislation and technical standards that govern E911 service.

 

The public safety implications of VoIP technology has kept alive the potential for the federal government to implement a national program complete with a set of rules and requirements designed to address this issue. In the meantime, fourteen states have enacted some form of E911 legislation requiring enterprises and owners of buildings over a certain size, occupying multiple floors of a building or those purchasing a new multi-line telephone systems (e.g. PBX) to implement E911 to protect employees, visitors and residents.

The intent of these laws is to assure those using VoIP services that they will have the same access to emergency services as traditional phone service and wireless service.