Caerus brings back 'free' soft switching

Perhaps stuck in a time warp that makes it perpetually the year 2000, Caerus Networks, an Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based start-up vendor, is offering carriers a free softswitch in exchange for purchasing voice transport, high-speed data and enhanced services from its network subsidiary.

The concept, though not new, is one that all but vanished with the dot-com implosion. However, according to Shawn Lewis, president and CEO of Caerus, the company went cash-flow positive after a month of operation.

Lewis, who co-founded softswitch pioneer Xcom Technologies, which was acquired by Level 3 in 1998, said the idea came to him when he was contemplating why voice-over-IP services hadn’t taken off after years of work.

“Two things stuck out,” he said. “One was the capital expenditure that was going into the traditional model without any return on investment. And second there was no one really developing advanced services.”

Providing a free softswitch to carriers, particularly smaller ones, removes the capex barrier to entry. To help with the application development, the company is offering a free CTI development kit and four ports on an IP PBX for free to any developer that wants to test applications.

“Our methodology dates back to Xcom,” he said. “It’s a managed service. We’ve taken it a step further. It was important this time around to provide complete control to the carrier all the way down to the individual port.”

Volo Communications, the company’s network arm, also distributes the Caerus technology. Additionally, Caerus has a billing and mediation group that can provide the back office support for carriers wanting to outsource those functions.