'You've got phone!': Nortel adds voice over IP to its Internet call waiting

Nortel Networks has released the second version of its Internet call waiting product, incorporating a function that lets a user with voice over Internet protocol capability take a call over a PC or transfer it to an analog phone.

Nortel's first ICW application, released in December 1997, notified the Web surfer of a phone call. The user then logged off to let the call ring through. Release 2 lets a user remain connected while taking the call as an IP voice call.

"Currently, we believe about 20% of the user base is equipped for [IP voice]," said Gary Schechtman, Nortel's senior manager for ICW business development. "That's increasing rapidly because all new PCs are equipped for [it]."

Users can take the call in IP format and then switch back to POTS-"for example, if you take the call on your PC and it's for your wife who's in another room," Schechtman said. The ICW client automatically disconnects the user's Internet session before transferring the call back to the voice network.

For the service provider, the ICW server bridges a central office switch, via primary rate ISDN, and the Internet via dedicated connection. When an end user logs on, the PC's ICW client contacts the server with the user's current IP address. An incoming call is redirected to the ICW server using "call forward busy," then goes over the Internet through an integrated IP telephony gateway. The client converts it back into an analog call and into an IP voice call if necessary.

Nortel's first ICW release operates on 22 servers in 16 North American cities. Most providers charge about $5 to $7 a month, Schechtman said.

"That's the right price point-less than half the price of a second line," said Dana Thorat, an analyst for International Data Corp.