BellSouth extends VoIP to small business

BellSouth said late yesterday that it has expanded its voice-over-IP services to include packaged communications solutions targeted at small and mid-sized business customers.

The bundle, which includes Cisco and Nortel customer premises equipment, is designed to give users an easy migration path to VoIP at a time when more and more businesses are starting to ask about those services. The package, which also includes network transport and professional services, is part of a larger BellSouth effort to capture as much of the evolving next-gen voice market as possible.

"It is an extension of what we’ve been offering in the way of PBX IP solutions," said a BellSouth spokesman.

Next year, the company plans to rollout network-based VoIP services using softswitches. The current offering is geared to any business with more than 11 handsets and can grow to users with several hundred users at multiple locations.