Richmond, Va.-based telecommunications service provider Cavalier today announced that it's teaming up with MetaSwitch to revamp its network architecture to better support its small and midsize business clients. 

 

With “IPeer,” Cavalier’s new PBX and unified communications service powered by MetaSwitch (News - Alert) -- a provider of systems and software “solutions” for carriers migrating to open, packet-based architectures -- small and midsize businesses no longer have to spend loads of money up front to power up their phone systems, Lou Sommi, senior vice president of marketing for Cavalier Telephone (News - Alert), LLC, told TMCnet.

 

“MetaSwitch enabled us to launch iPeer,” Sommi told TMCnet, adding that most of Cavalier’s customers are SMBs who buy “Integrated Access T1” or higher-speed “Ethernet over first-mile” phone systems. “MetaSwitch does everything, all over IP, and has technology that allows all forms of data to be integrated.”

 

Now, the physical architecture is much smaller and consumes less power. This, in turn, saves IT directors at SMBs a ton of money, Sommi said.

 

As part of the partnership, Cavalier will use MetaSwitch’s standards-based IP-oriented infrastructure to bring Cavalier’s mid-Atlantic customers feature-rich services and software updates via it hosted platform. MetaSwitch’s “MetaSphere Enhanced Application Sever” will be deployed in a central data center, along with nine other MetaSwitch MG3510 media gateways spread throughout Cavalier’s service territory.

 

“It’s sort of a ‘pay as you grow’ phone model,” Chris Carabello, MetaSwitch’s director of marketing, told TMCnet. “You don’t have to worry about the management of the phone system. We really make it easy for a service provider to operate our systems.”

 

For the real-estate and health organizations that Cavalier counts as its clients, the new technology is full of even more advantages, like tools for remote workers who want to manage their operations outside the office.

 

“You could work from home and look like you’re working from the office,” Sommi said. “You, the user, have presence; you maintain a single identity. You can block certain numbers, and have control over your outbound controller ID.”

 

The MetaSwitch-fueled IPeer application will also help Cavalier bring its customers a suite of unified messaging tools, including the ability to click-to-dial from Microsoft (News - Alert) Outlook or manage fax, voice-mail and e-mail through a Web-based portal.

 

“Another nice advantage for our business customers,” Sommi said, “is that even with your phone system out, you never lose your front-end greeting.”