Whether you're a small business or home Internet user, you've been hearing about VOIP for the better part of the last decade.
Now Telstra is claiming a first for VOIP in Australia, launching Digital Business, which a press announcement states will include the first VOIP for small to medium businesses that's guaranteed by Quality of Service features. The upshot is that from late May, small businesses in capital cities will be able to signup for "high definition voice". Or in other words, VOIP that shouldn't fall over and make you look like you're running a two-bit operation.
Telstra's claims to be upping the ante on VOIP by upgrading 1600 telephone exchanges across the country to support Quality of Service features. This will start in capital cities, but by September Telstra claims 90% of Australian small business will be able to connect to upgraded Exchanges.
And with it will come the type of call routing tricks that might give small shops or home offices the veneer of a more sophisticated operation:
- an auto-attendant to route calls to your mobile or another fixed line
- the ability to have your office phone and mobile ring together
- a feature that tells the system to start trying other lines if the first doesn’t answer
- have your voicemails forwarded to you as an email or SMS.
The better-than-consumer high definition voice service is being marketed under the Digital Business brand; a bundle of products including "business grade" ADSL2+, IP calls, and a variety of add-on features, such as hosted Exchange servers for email, backup, and domain hosting.
Telstra's sales pitch is that if you have fixed broadband, mobile phones and possibly also wireless broadband, the new Digital Business plans will make it easier and cheaper to combine them under the one bundle.
The mobile phone plans include the option of Windows Phone 7, iPhone or Android, while the mobile broadband plan includes the option of a Samsung Galaxy Tab.
