Going mainstream

ATLANTA--Considering the difficulty associated with bringing technologies such as voice over DSL to the mass market, Jetstream Communications and Panasonic may have hit a home run. The two companies have teamed up to develop a "voice over broadband" phone that will be marketed to consumers. So far, however, no carrier has come forward with plans to deploy the phones to its customers.

The combination consists of Panasonic's Broadband Telephone and Jetstream's CPX-1000 broadband voice services platform.

"With voice over DSL, the target was small- to medium-sized businesses," said Manish Gupta, vice president of corporate development at Jetstream. "But now people are starting to look at the consumer/residential market. Now we are taking the technology and targeting it at the residential space," Gupta said.

For an entry into the consumer market, having an association with a strong consumer-oriented company such as Panasonic will bring instant credibility to the product, according to Gupta.

"Consumers have a comfort level with the brand [Panasonic] and it is a technology they understand," Gupta added.

To stay under the critical consumer price point, the two companies expect to keep the price of the unit under $300.

An IXC and a couple Tier 1 CLECs are looking at rolling out the product, according to Gupta.
Liane LaBarba is Senior Editor at Telephony. She can be reached at labarba@airmail.net.