NetZero gets a voice with Ubiquity

United Online, which operates a number of consumer ISP brands including NetZero, Juno and Classmates, announced it has deployed Ubiquity Software’s SIP Application Server as the softswitch platform for its new voice-over-IP service.

The service, to be branded as NetZero Voice, will only operate using PCs but will have a number of applications including pre-paid calling, interactive voice response and voice mail. Additionally, the package will include presence management and instant messaging. “This lets them control their own destiny based on what things they see their customers getting excited about,” said Jeff Liebl, vice president of marketing for Ubiquity.

As part of the contract, Ubiquity’s Professional Services Organization worked with United Online to create the applications. However, in many cases, consumer ISPs already are well equipped to create their own, Liebl said. “It’s not like it’s a vertically integrated point application designed to do one thing very well,” he said of the company’s platform. “We augmented a lot of their skills with our professional service organization.”

NetZero, which has based much of its business on providing low-cost Internet access, still has a majority of its customers in the dial-up world. However, Liebl said, there are plenty of applications that can be rolled out effectively with a 56 kb/s connection.

“The onus is really on what you can do with that amount of bandwidth,” he said. “Voice over IP is not a super bandwidth hog.”