Telecom Carrier XO Communications Offers Industry’s First Bandwidth-Based Pricing for Converged IP Services (VoIP, Unified Communications)
Pricing starts at about $400 to $550 a month for 1.5Mbps service, depending on location and based on a three-year contract. A basic long-distance calling plan would cost an additional $60 a month. XO also offers one-year and five-year contracts. The new pricing model could cut costs for companies, particularly small and medium-size businesses with volume of about 50 calls per hour by getting a T1 line. 
The business and pricing model, announced Wednesday along with expanded services of XO's VoIP and Unified Communications offerings, allows U.S. business customers to set a price based on bandwidth ranging from 1.5Mbps to 45Mbps, instead of the number of lines used.
Under its new XO IPfolio, XO Communications is making several significant enhancements to IP services offerings, including the launch of XO IP Flex, the nationwide availability of XO SIP, and the introduction of the industry’s first bandwidth-based pricing offering for converged IP services. The new XO IPfolio gives businesses and enterprises a broad range of IP convergence and networking service options, including XO IP Flex, XO SIP, XO One iPBX, XO MPLS IP-VPN, and XO IP Flex with VPN. In addition, the XO IPfolio introduces a unique and simplified pricing concept for businesses to better manage the consolidation of their voice and data networks over a single IP infrastructure.
“XO led the industry with innovative voice and data convergence solutions when it offered the first flat-rate, integrated communications bundle on a single bill in 2000,” said Tom Cady, president of XO Business Services. “With IPfolio, we continue that leadership by providing businesses with a comprehensive suite of advanced IP and networking services and solutions with a new pricing paradigm based on IP bandwidth, not lines. Bandwidth-based pricing is about more than cost, it’s about creating a model that makes business sense in an IP world.”
XO Changes the Pricing Paradigm for Converged IP Services
XO Communications is the first major nationwide service provider to offer an innovative pricing concept for converged IP services that eliminates pricing based on the number of voice lines. Unlike other approaches to IP pricing that still are based on traditional TDM services pricing models, XO’s bandwidth-based pricing acknowledges that voice is simply another application on the IP port and offers rates based on the size of the port, not on the number of voice lines. Customers simply select an IP port speed from 1.5 to 45 Mbps, a calling plan and any additional features. Because voice is just another application on the IP port, customers pay nothing for incremental lines or voice channels provisioned within the port speed they have with their service. This innovative and unique bandwidth-based pricing is now being offered with XO IP Flex, XO IP Flex with VPN and XO SIP.
“XO Communications’ bandwidth-based pricing for converged IP services is a truly unique concept in the industry,” said William Stofega, research manager with IDC. “By removing the complexity of buying IP services with simplified pricing and offering a broad portfolio of services, XO is helping businesses make the transition to a converged IP environment much easier.”
XOptions Flex Upgrades to XO IP Flex
XO Communications today announced the launch of XO IP Flex, a new converged IP services bundle that upgrades and replaces XOptions Flex, XO’s industry-leading VoIP services bundle. XO IP Flex extends XO’s VoIP services to larger business customers by offering new higher-speed bandwidth options including 4.5 Mbps and 10 Mbps, leveraging XO’s robust Ethernet capabilities. XO IP Flex works with existing phone systems and offers a number of standard features, including:
- More than twenty standard voice features including voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, call forward, three-way calling, and one toll free number;
- Dedicated Internet Access with Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation
- Unlimited local calling
- Unlimited site-to-site calling for multi-location customers with IP Flex, IP Flex with VPN and XO SIP locations
- Long distance calling with choice of calling plans
- Online Feature Management through the XO Business Center
- Optional features, including Auto Attendant, Call Center, Account Codes and Voice Virtual Private Network.
XO SIP Nationwide Launch
Now available nationwide, XO SIP delivers converged voice and data services to businesses with IP-PBX systems over a single, high-speed IP connection. XO SIP is a fully integrated solution designed to support the needs of businesses with the most demanding voice and data applications at single locations or multiple locations nationwide. Session Initiation Protocol uses a native IP-based facility to manage all traffic between a customer’s IP-PBX system, the XO IP network, and the Public Switched Telephone Network. The service provides greater efficiencies by eliminating the need for businesses to maintain multiple access facilities for voice and data services and eliminates the need for bandwidth-consuming protocol conversions, thereby, simplifying the overall deployment and management of customers’ enterprise IP telephony services.
XO SIP includes a broad range of bandwidth options to maintain optimal network performance. XO SIP features include:
- Dedicated Internet Access with Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation
- Unlimited local calling
- Unlimited site-to-site calling for multi-location customers with IP Flex, IP Flex with VPN and XO SIP locations
- Long distance calling with choice of calling plans
- Optional Voice Compression
- Online Feature Management through the XO Business Center
XO SIP is currently interoperable with Avaya IP Office, Cisco Call Manager, Cisco Call Manager Express and Digium Asterisk Appliance. XO SIP also utilizes the BroadSoft BroadWorks VoIP platform to provide customers additional advanced IP-PBX features, including auto attendant, call center and voice VPN.
XO Communications plans additional new services and enhancements to the XO IPfolio throughout 2008.
For more information about these XO services go to www.xo.com, or to speak with an XO sales representative, call (866) 349-0134.
tag: VoIP, Unified Communications, Converged IP Services, Avaya IP Office, Cisco Call Manager, Cisco Call Manager Express, Digium Asterisk Appliance, XO SIP, XO IPfolio, XO IP Flex, XO One iPBX, XO MPLS IP-VPN,
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