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VoIP is great when at home or in the office, but in mobile situations it doesn’t always fare as well. Many VoIP solutions are confined to the physical location where it is installed and mainly used, and when it does extend beyond this environment it often is hindered by firewall or bandwidth issues.

That’s where REVE Systems’ iTel Byte Saver solution comes into play. It is server-side software that lets providers offer VoIP services where client firewalls or low-bandwidth issues hinder usage, a quality of service advantage.

The iTel Byte Saver software basically acts as a tunneling solution that passes client calls that are made with the iTel Mobile Dialer Express through the iTel Byte Saver software before arriving at the provider’s softswitch. This lets the software both reduce bandwidth requirements and bypass firewall blockages, according to the company.

By passing the VoIP call through iTel Byte Saver software, calls are not blocked in areas where SIP or other protocols are restricted by a firewall because the data is tunneled to the software before being handed to the provider’s softswitch.

The software also offers dramatic bandwidth savings of up to 70 percent by using REVE’s dynamic tunneling technology. VoIP calls “made from the iTel Mobile Dialer Express on G.729 codec consumes 25 kbps; however in conjunction with iTel Byte Saver, the bandwidth consumption can be reduced to as low as 9.6 kbps,” REVE Systems explained.

This bandwidth savings makes it easier to use VoIP services on GPRS, 3G or WiFi (News - Alert) connections. It also helps customers save on mobile data costs.

The software also provides NAT support to iTel Mobile Dialer Express, which prevents one-way voice problems.

Calls using Mobile Dialer Express are registered at and will be authenticated directly by the provider’s SIP switch, according to the company. The software only provides tunneling, bandwidth management and NAT service.

“Traditionally, VoIP usage has been limited to those users who have a personal computer or any VoIP device, connected to broadband Internet,” REVE Systems said in a blog post. “This limits VoIP penetration to users who are confined to home or office environment.”

The company added: “Now consumers who own a mobile phone and have access to data using GPRS, 3G or WiFi connection, and they will be able to use VoIP to reduce their international calling rates.”

REVE won TMCNet’s Communications Solutions Product of the Year in 2010 for providing innovation and good return on investment to the companies who use it.

The ability to offer VoIP in firewall and low-bandwidth situations gives providers who use the software a real competitive edge both in service quality and product differentiation.