ICG Netcom reaches out for IP voice: Link with VIP Calling gives company international footprint

Just a few months after getting into the Internet telephony market, ICG Netcom is expanding its footprint.

The Englewood, Colo., company last week signed a deal with VIP Calling Inc., which gives ICG access to VIP's gateways in Asia, Europe and South America. In return, VIP will be able to terminate minutes on ICG's points of presence in the United States.

The two companies, which will begin exchanging traffic at the end of this month, said the deal was made significantly easier because both use Cisco Systems' equipment and will not face interoperability issues that pop up in multivendor environments.

"The fact that both companies are using a Cisco solution makes for a beautiful relationship," said Jackie VanderBrug, director of business development for VIP. "We also feel the two companies are extremely compatible in strategy."

VIP, which offers wholesale IP voice and fax services, traditionally has been strong in the Asian market. However with gateway and switching facilities only in New York and Los Angeles, the company often was forced to terminate incoming calls on the public switched network in the U.S. to reach destinations.

"We started with an Asian focus for two reasons," said VanderBrug. "The cost of phone calls was high there, and we wanted to provide focused service. Now we're looking to expand both companies' footprint."

ICG has signed up 50,100 customers in the first two months of offering domestic long-distance on its network for 5.9 cents a minute, said a company spokesman. The VIP deal lets the company take that offer to the international calling market, though it has yet to unveil specific plans.

"We basically will be able to expand our IP calling universe," said the spokesman.

ICG becomes VIP's first U.S.-based partner, but likely will not be the last.

"As things progress, branding is going to become more important and partnering is going to become important," said VanderBrug.