Speakeasy (News - Alert), which operates a private, carrier-class, nationwide network delivering next generation services to both businesses and residential customers, has reportedly selected Empirix’s (News - Alert) Hammer XMS monitoring and analysis solution to ensure that its customers are getting the quality VoIP they are paying for.

“A key focus for Speakeasy is simplifying Voice over IP and broadband while giving the best customer support in the industry,” said Speakeasy CEO Bruce Chatterley in a press release. “We do this by staying ahead of the technological curve and providing unparalleled service. Proactive monitoring of our network quality is a best practice for the industry that too few service providers have embraced.”

As such, Speakeasy has come to embrace Empirix for its Hammer XMS solution, which incorporates “the strongest signaling and media analysis and call correlation capabilities in the market.” The solution is used to monitor network traffic in real-time for the purpose of assessing network performance. With its patent-pending signaling analysis, high-performance probes and highly scalable architecture, Hammer XMS helps VoIP service providers quickly troubleshoot problems and deliver the best possible signal quality on the user’s end.

Because Speakeasy operates its own network - which never touches the Internet - it has more control over the quality of the VoIP and other next generation services it delivers to its customers. Its network features VQ technology, which prioritizes voice packets to ensure better quality and fewer dropped calls. The company claims it is primarily focused on meeting the needs of small businesses and professionals who rely on such services to boost productivity.

In a survey which it conducted earlier this year, Empirix found that only one-fifth of VoIP service providers were using network monitoring systems to ensure service quality. When asked how their network engineers most often identified problems in their networks, the dominant response (36 percent) was “subscriber complaints.” This backwards approach to QoS is what leads to churn – sometimes even mass defections.

“Relying on customers to identify network problems is not a sustainable model for success,” said Duane Sword, vice president of product management and marketing at Empirix. “Speakeasy should be commended for its proactive approach to ensuring Quality of Service. We are very pleased to have them join the growing list of service providers who are taking that critical step to ensure customer satisfaction.”

Empirix made news on TMCnet in September when it announced that Voilà IP Communications had selected Hammer XMS to monitor its VoIP service as well.

For more information about Empirix, visit http://www.empirix.com

For more information about Speakeasy, visit http://www.speakeasy.net

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Patrick Barnard is Associate Editor for TMCnet and a columnist covering the telecom industry. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page.

VoIP Quality of Service