Telia tests inexpensive IP-telephony

Telia tests inexpensive IP-telephony Telia is now initiating tests on a new and less expensive way to make calls via broadband. In cooperation with Umeå Energi, up to 1000 households in Umeå will participate in the IP telephony testing through November of this year. Telia is now the first traditional network operator in the world to conduct testing on a larger scale. The participating households will be connected gradually during the testing period. All participants in the test have broadband and the only requirement is that they connect a small 10x10 cm box between an ordinary telephone and the home's broadband connection. The box is easy to connect and makes it possible to make calls without a computer, using only an ordinary phone. Lesser trials with IP telephony, as this new technology is called, have been carried out for several years in Sweden and other countries. In the future, the service will make it possible for households with broadband to utilize a less expensive "second" telephone that customers can use as much as they want for a low, flat monthly rate. The telephones in the pilot project use the data network instead of the ordinary telephone network. This means that the sound quality may be affected if the user is connected to the Internet while using the telephone. Otherwise the sound and availability will be the same as for a mobile phone. "Since we are using a new, as yet untested technology, we cannot guarantee the same high quality of ordinary fixed telephony," explains Telia's project manager Hans G Eriksson. According to Hans G Eriksson, Umeå is a perfect city for this type of technical and market testing. Telia's cooperating partner, Umeå Energi, started building an urban network for broadband as early as 1995 and the city of Umeå probably has Sweden's highest broadband density, with 70 percent of households connected to the Internet, of which 45 percent have dedicated lines. Umeå Energi is the provider to the households participating in the test. All information for the participating households will be available at Umeå Energi's website www.umeaenergi.se. Technical questions about the project can also be submitted at this site via e-mail. Telia's technical cooperating partners and IP equipment suppliers are the American companies Komodo Technology and Cirilium, which can be contacted via www.komodotechnology.com and www.cirilium.com. For further information please contact: Anna-Carin Uddenberg, Press Officer Telia Carrier&Networks Phone +46 70 530 40 63 anna-carin.uddenberg@telia.se ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/06/20/20000620BIT00700/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/06/20/20000620BIT00700/bit0002.pdf