RingCentral platform helps ISPs differentiate telephony offerings

RingCentral today introduced a technology platform that it says will help ISPs differentiate their offerings via enhanced telephony services.

The technology family ranges from BuzMe Internet Call Waiting that allows dial-up consumers to manage incoming calls while online to 800-Works Unified Communications which builds private toll-free 800 service for broadband users. It also includes services such as Internet fax and fax-to-e-mail; Internet voice mail and v.92 consulting.

A major thrust of the offering is aimed at America Online’s version 8.0, which features a fee-based call waiting service, said Jay Ward, the company’s president. Ward said BuzMe would give ISPs competitive pricing to AOL.

RingCentral, he said, acquired technology from call waiting provider BuzMe.com for pennies on the dollar. It also has a Russian-based development team.

“We run on a very lean, cost-effective basis so we’re able to offer call waiting to our ISP partners at $2.95 so they can offer it to their subscribers and still undercut AOL’s $3.95 pricing with a comfortable margin,” he said.

There is, Ward emphasized, still strong demand among ISPs and their customers to add telephony features.

“Telephony services are tremendously complementary. If an ISP is already providing an end user with Internet access, why not provide Internet fax, voice mail or Internet call waiting?” asked Ward.

The service, he said, complements voice-over-IP since a VoIP subscriber can use it to identify incoming callers and determine how to respond.

“It brings broadband functionality to the voice-over-IP experience,” he said.

ISPs can purchase either branded or non-branded technology from RingCentral.

“We will create the entire customer service delivery mechanism from registration through billing with your look and feel, provide it on your customer’s phone line to add these services, do the billing and send a check at the end of every billing cycle with a revenue share of the number of subscribers from your ISPs that signed up for our services,” he said.