IsaDalí Hotels is one of North America’s largest hospitality companies with operations in both Canada and the United States. They offer individual consumers and business customers a broad array of hospitality products and services as well as various accommodation alternatives and price ranges through their premier portfolio of world-renowned brands. IsaDalí’s Canadian operation encompasses 510 rooms over 6 different properties. A priority at IsaDalí hotels is ensuring that guests are comfortable enough in their hotels that they never have to leave. Their company promise is comprised of offering exceptional service “end-to-end”: from no-hassle reservations, impeccable housekeeping, quality restaurants, and impeccable in-room and on-premise entertainment. In 2009, the hotels and associated restaurants in their Southern Ontario properties began to roll-out a two-phased program of switching off of traditional phone lines. By mid-2010, two hotels, six restaurants, and the valet booth’s communications were running on a carrier-provided MPLS network that was one year into a three-year contract. The system was slow and was not living up to the promises made by the carrier. Phase Two of the upgrade was about to commence, involving the network upgrade of another hotel and two additional restaurants in the immediate area. IsaDalí management were concerned that the existing MPLS network was not providing enough bandwidth to support the business currently and feared that the expansion would only worsen the existing performance. They began looking at alternatives. “Let’s face it,” said hotel GM Sonia Quinn, “bandwidth is everything, these days. A single smart phone [application] takes up more bandwidth than an entire laptop did five years ago when we first installed our broadband links.” Not only were the reservation system’s speeds slower than the industry benchmark, the slower speeds meant that communicating with head-office through their VPN was also difficult and time-consuming. Their “no-hassle reservations” guarantee was being adversely affected by a crippling latency in their MPLS network. In fact, the slow speed of the MPLS network was negatively affecting all aspects of the IsaDalí business – across the different properties. They recognized the need for a solution that would either replace their existing MPLS (a solution that would cost IsaDalí dearly as there were penalties to get out of the carrier contract) or a solution that could leverage their existing infrastructure, and provide the bandwidth they required. Spend money to increase services, but kill the margin?Understandably, IsaDalí’s first step was to approach the carrier with whom they had their existing MPLS network in order to find a solution through them. “Expansion was on the brain, and I think [The Carrier] lost sight of our requirements,” Recalls Ms. Quinn. The Carrier suggested running expensive fibre lines to all of the locations in order to rectify any up-time issues, but also to speed up the existing, under-performing MPLS network. The hotel was spending $4300CAD (net) monthly on their complicated MPLS network for the area, and needed an Internet and Data solution that wouldn’t add too much to their fixed costs as margins were already tightening in the market — the original reason for the switch to Voice over IP. The hotel’s team scoped out their requirements as a minimum 10Mbps/site download speed. A $1500/month price-tag for the fibre connections (with additional construction costs on top), it turned out to be one of the most expensive upgrade projects the company had considered. “[The Carrier's Solution] just wasn’t going to fly internally,” Ms Quinn comments in the aftermath, “Sure, we needed to enhance our network, but we’re also a business that has to ensure profit margins are considered, and laying fibre to these locations was going to cost us a small fortune.” Autonomous Network AggregationIn the end, IsaDalí chose to open up the solution-hunting to other suppliers. Our partner brought TELoIP to the table with our Ana System. Ana™ is a patent-pending solution that aggregates bandwidths of multiple communication links to deliver greater speed and reliability to the end-user. The Ana system would be used to aggregate DSL and Cable links into each of the sites, increasing the bandwidth and reliability of all on-site connections, and providing QoS for voice for IsaDalí. The proposed TELoIP solution for Phase Two would alleviate the burden of slow network performance by running a managed MPLS and an Internet WAN solution in parallel. The combined systems were proposed to increase the overall speed of the IsaDalí Groupnetwork, while providing a redundant data path for the site that could take advantage of TELoIP’s Ana system. TELoIP delivers IP ConfidenceTELoIP was able to deliver, through a simple combination of inexpensive network links, a solution that met IsaDalí’s bandwidth requirements and also increased the speed and reliability of their existing MPLS network. The proposed solution would satisfy all the needs of IsaDalí’s flagship hotel, and offered a savings of over $500/month to each of the three new locations. With the added savings, the hotel chain upgraded their MPLS network by placing TELoIP hardware at existing points in their network. Download this Case Study at http://teloip.com/Doc/TELoIP_Wins_Again_Over_MPLS.pdf TELoIP creates and sells telecommunications technology-as-a-service through our Partner Programs. Our solutions are based on a breakthrough next-generation aggregation technology that improves network connectivity and application performance for all types of businesses. Come visit http://www.teloip.com and learn more about the “Autonomous Network Aggregation” system ? Ana?.
A business Voip solution is an alternative to a traditional switched-voice service. Instead of using dedicated trunks between PBX’s, you can share the bandwidth with your data services, making better use of the available capacity. With prioritization techniques, you can ensure that your voice traffic gets through the network in the appropriate time to maintain voice quality. For a typical internet telephony application, assume that you have a number of offices that need to communicate with each other. The telephony traffic can be carried across the internet or across a third party network or VPN …. and be delivered to the distant end without using the PSTN or a leased line. It depends on what you want to achieve. You can have an IP PBX for internal use only, with all your staff connected over the same LAN infrastructure as they use for data – separating voice and data traffic by using VLANs, with external access to the PSTN. If you have more than one office, you can link them using leased T1 or DS3 bandwidth lines, or metro ethernet in the same way as you would for a data service – VoIP is, after all, voice packets being transported in the same way as data packets. As the VoIP traffic is handled just like any other data traffic, it doesn’t really matter where your PBX is located, just as you can have a hosted server for your data, you can have a hosted server for your VoIP. You can have the IP-PBX in your office or in a data centre, it makes no difference. SIP trunking? Now there’s a buzz phrase. SIP is a signaling protocol in the same way as H.323 or QSIG are protocols. SIP is a standard and lots of manufacturers interpret the standard in their own way but, fortunately, lots of the SIP interpretations work together. Session Initiation Protocol works over IP and should enable replacement of PSTN trunks by the internet. So, again, voice traffic can go over the internet instead of the PSTN with a resulting saving in cost. Don’t forget though, that the internet is unregulated and unmanaged. Voice traffic is sensitive to packet loss, delay and jitter (variation in delay). So at peak times ( just after school in the evenings and on weekends) your voice traffic may break up. Meaning it would be worthwhile looking at having a managed network service to guarantee the quality of your voice traffic for those critical calls. In order for your voice to transmit digitally through the internet, you need to be sure you have enough bandwidth to facilitate the communication link. To optimize the quality of your business connection we recommend a minimum of a T1 Line or DS3 bandwidth – a dedicated link directly to the internet that is guaranteed to be up over 99.999% of the time. Since you will be entrusting all of your business voice communication to this new technology, your connection to the internet becomes the critical link. You don’t want to risk a company-wide phone outage to save a few hundred dollars on your bandwidth connection. So always opt for at least a T Line over DSL. It just makes business sense. VoIP works between products from the same manufacturer and sometimes it works between manufacturers. Some manufacturers have produced interfaces and some third parties will provide gateways to enable collaboration. My recommendation would be to check first. Hardware? Go for something that lots of other people use.. Cisco, Avaya, Alcatel. Cisco started in data and moved into voice. Avaya and Alcatel started in voice and moved into IP data. They have their own ways of implementing VoIP. Cisco is only VoIP. Avaya and Alcatel can give you a migration from traditional voice, reusing handsets from their analog and digital services adding IP telephones as the transition continues. IP telephone handsets are expensive. For more help in designing the right business VoIP solution for your network …. I recommend taking advantage of the services at Business VoIP Solution. The assistance is free …. and they often can find special deals from providers in your specific location. Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications …. including Business VoIP Solution.com. Michael also is the author ofBroadband Nation.
Unlimited local and nationwide calls, including, Canada, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands; low monthly rate Caller ID, call waiting, 3-way calling 250-number phone directory, 9 speed dials Talking voicemail-to-email call forwarding; 60-day call log Competitive international rates, web-based directory assistance, reverse lookup Amazon.com Product DescriptionAmazon.com Product Description AT&T CallVantagesm Service from AT&T is a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone service that utilizes the latest in Internet technology to deliver features that are beyond the means of traditional phone companies. With VoIP, calls are transmitted over the Internet, allowing you to communicate nationwide for a single monthly fee. You pay additional charges only for international calls, which are billed at competitive … More >> AT&T CallVantage Service VoIP Telephone Adapter
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) involves the transmission of voice signals over Internet lines and data networks. VoIP allows users to place phone calls from just about anywhere using a broadband Internet. VoIP calls are placed using conventional telephones, computers, or special IP phone systems. Customers with computer-based services place calls using a microphone or headset. Because of mobility, cost savings, and flexibility, millions of businesses have switched to PBX VoIP, with many more in the process of switching. The business VoIP industry has been projected to double by 2010. In most cases, Business VoIP PBX includes an Internet connection directing calls over a private network. A business VoIP PBX phone provides many advanced features that include desk to desk calling, quality phone calls, automated attendant, managing extension, and much more. One important advantage of using PBX VoIP for businesses is the low long distance rates compared to traditional land line telephone services. This is important for businesses with employees that are located in many different geographic areas. Lower rates are the result of digital technology where users are on the same network even if they are in different locations. Also, VoIP providers do not have to maintain infrastructure like traditional telephone providers so the savings are passed on to the customer. VoIP consulting often use the savings to offer special features with no additional fees such as conference calling, follow-me call forwarding, voice mail, voice mail to email, and synchronized ringing of cell phones and home phones. Another benefit to using PBX VoIP is its mobility. After a PBX provider installs the VoIP service, transferring phone numbers is as easy as unplugging the IP phone and plugging it into the new location. There is very little hardware and no expensive circuit reconfiguration. As well, employees who travel frequently have the ability to use the system no matter where they are in the world. They can answer the business phone from their cell phone or laptop. Some PBX VoIP providers sell “virtual numbers” that have other area codes allowing the customer to be charged for a local call. As data based technology, PBX VoIP has a number of technological advantages. Some of these advantages include web and video conferencing, calls that are directed to an “Automated Attendant” giving the impression of a much larger company, can be used to screen where calls are directed, and allows customer service representatives to see customer information when a call comes through allowing for a quicker and improved quality of service. PBX VoIP can also be programmed to block specific phone numbers, or place them on “virtual ring”, where the call does not come through. For faster payments, the credit card machine line can be left on 24 hours a day 7 days a week thereby delivering fast card number validations at a low cost. Not only is PBX VoIP telephone systems cost effective, they help boost employee productivity. Some productivity enhancements include reducing the time it takes to connect with contacts, employees have access to a central communication location that consists of fax, email, and voice which allows them to instantly retrieve customer information, both landline and cell phones can be programmed to ring at the same time before going to voice mail thereby reducing missed calls, and employees have the ability to hold virtual conferences. Switching to business PBX VoIP has never been easier and affordable. It is important for business owners to do their research to find the appropriate service and features to meet their company, employee, and customer needs. To succeed in business, keeping up with technological advancements is essential. PBX VoIP is one of those technological advancements. To help make the decision regarding the best PBX VoIP provider, businesses can use comparison resources like www.VoipReview.org, a shopping source for residential and business VoIP phone services. Asterick phone systems provider offers cost effective telecommunication solutions including open source call centre Toronto, IP phone systems and other telephony hardware. When looking for Asterisk consulting in Toronto, consider these services.
Let’s talk turkey for a moment (or Vonage if you want to throw a pun into the discussion ha ha.). The age old question (OK recent topic of concern) among VoIP users and those whose bandwidth is used to make those calls is……how much bandwidth does VoIP use? Well Virginia….that’s an interesting question. Any discussion may illicit potentially tense reactions. So let’s try and shed some light on the subject….in a practical fashion. Bandwidth isn’t measured like it was a garden hose of water. ON and OFF, measuring it’s usage. It can be read that way, but it isn’t actually looked at that way. Not by most providers anyway. (Unless of course they are trying to rationalize prices to the FCC). For instance; as a business you may have numerous DS3/OC circuits that you pay for each month. A DS3 for instance rounded off is 45mb of pipe. Now, you pay the same thing for that circuit each month whether you put 1 voip line on it, or an entire network with hundreds of computers and such. Same with your VoIP. You pay the same amount on an unlimited calling plan whether you make 1 phone call or 1000 calls. To try and measure actual Mega or Terabytes of data as a means of determining cost is pure rationalization. Ma’Bell, Level 3, or any other backbone has “X” amount of bandwidth that they can use simultaneously. Some of that bandwidth is dedicated, some isn’t. Some are using ATM so it can better utilize the bandwidth among inconsistant users, while there are also other flavors like Frame and TDM. The point is, while some providers and backbone and backhaul carriers might charge a metered circuit, most sell fixed amounts of bandwidth. That’s why your ISP has little statements like; “UP TO 1.5MB” or “Speeds may Vary”. Just because voip has started making a presence, doesn’t mean that ISP’s have had to automatically start buying more bandwidth from the backbone. If they tell you that, they are full of ……it. When DSL and cable broadband are sold to you, the max bandwidth that you are buying is formulated into their pricing and bandwidth demands. For what it’s worth, more bandwidth was probably used, until recently, on streaming audio/video, torrent, MP3 downloads, distributed computing, etc. If your service provider gets too saturated, they will offer more bandwidth at a higher price, which is what they will use to buy from the backbone/backhaul providers. However when you have 10 people that are using the bandwidth (for VoIP) that would supply 50-100 average (internet using) joes….. not only is that causing more congestion at that junction box, but you are also causing the provider to buy more bandwidth. You know as well as I do they will not make another tier! They will just raise the prices on the ones already established. How many average people max out their connections on a regular basis? Anyway, the VoIP companies for the longest time have been getting pretty much a free ride on the PSTN and the ISPs…. plus were not subject to the same taxes MaBell is. So…. you can see why there is so much tension about bandwidth? If you’d like help find just the right VoIP based solution….covering all the bandwidth in’s and out’s…..I suggest you take advantage of the free consulting services offered at http://Business-VoIP-Solution.com. Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications including DS3-Bandwidth.com. Michael also authors Broadband Nation with the latest broadband news, tips, insights, and ramblings.
