Cable operators filling out VoIP vendor lineups

The face of cable operators’ voice-over-IP rollouts this week continued to come into focus as vendors for both Comcast and the National Cable Television Cooperative said they had signed contracts to provide support for the new services.

Cedar Point Communications said its Safari C3 Media switching system has been picked as the primary switch for Comcast’s VoIP deployment in new markets. The platform, which had been in tests with Comcast, gives the cable operator several architectural options, said Andy Paff, president and CEO of Cedar Point.

"It gives the operator a lot of flexibility and it keeps the economics in line with the business model," he said. "You can start in a city at very low penetration and upgrade the switch if you see an area that is growing very quickly."

SAFARI C3’s unique integrated architecture will enable Comcast to deliver the call features flexibility and price efficiencies of VoIP while significantly reducing capital expenditures, system integration and operations costs.

In a separate announcement, Net2Phone said it has been chosen by NCTC as the first Platinum Vendor of VoIP services to its members. NCTC, which has more than 1000 mostly small cable operators, will act as the distributor of Net2Phone’s cable package. That package, implemented first at Liberty Cable in Puerto Rico, will include bulk pricing on transport and switching, provisioning and billing integration and public network interconnection for cable operators wanting to get into the VoIP market fast. Net2Phone also will provide the feature sets and operator services for cable operators.

For Net2Phone, the deal gives it access to a group of cable companies it simply wouldn’t be able to negotiate with if it were to approach each one individually.

"Instead of having to negotiating with every 5000-subscriber cable company, we’re giving them the advantage of bulk pricing through NCTC," said a Net2Phone spokeswoman.