MCI extends VoIP to private IP network

MCI today announced it was broadening the capabilities of its private IP MPLS network to include VoIP service and contracting BroadSoft to provide advanced Centrex IP.

The new services will extend MCI’s reach much farther into the enterprise, allowing customers to merge their data and voice networks and fully migrate their voice capabilities to IP without upgrading equipment, said Joy Das Gupta, senior product manager for MCI.

The new VoIP services over the private network will be available immediately along with a basic suite of Centrex features. As BroadSoft turns on more markets this Spring, MCI expects to have full IP Centrex feature sets available across its domestic markets by this summer, Das Gupta said. BroadSoft will add call-screening, simultaneous ring, third-party conferencing and Web-based receptionist services to MCI’s feature set on both hosted IP and IP Centrex platforms.

"We chose BroadSoft because of their compatibility with our network," Das Gupta said. "They’re SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) based, and we’ve always been a SIP proponent. BroadSoft also has the scalability we need."

The new service set also gives MCI far more reach into its enterprise customer base by offering its VoIP services over both public and private networks, and can lead customers down the IP migration path while allowing them to still connect to their remote offices and teleworkers using public infrastructure. But MCI is also targeting the services at small and medium businesses, particularly those that want cost savings from converged networks but don’t want to pay the costs of upgrading their voice equipment, Das Gupta said.