Colt launches Europe-wide VOIP service

DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY – Colt Telecom Group launched on Thursday one of Europe’s first Internet telephone services aimed at businesses.

The VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) service, now available in 13 European countries, costs €44.50 (US$57.50) per phone, per month, said Colt spokeswoman Gill Maclean.

The price has two components: a monthly telephone service flat fee of €24.50 per phone, and a monthly phone rental flat fee of €20.

In addition, businesses signing up for the new service must pay a one-off installation fee per phone, according to Maclean. Pricing details about the installation fee were not immediately available.

Customers must agree to a three-year contract.

“According to our market research, businesses can reduce their telephone costs by as much as 20 percent with our VOIP service,” Maclean said.

Not included in the VOIP service are calls made to mobile phones, premium rate numbers (also known as “non-geographical” numbers) and countries outside those covered by Colt, such as the U.S., Japan and China.

The VOIP offering is a fully managed network-based service that provides all the functions and features of a PBX (private branch exchange) without requiring businesses to buy and operate equipment on their premises, according to London-based Colt.

Calls are carried over corporate LANs using VOIP over MPLS (multi-protocol label switching) via 100BaseT or 1000BastT Ethernet, or DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) systems.

VOIP traffic is routed over Colt’s extensive fiber-optic network. The network uses softswitch IP technology from Siemens AG to deliver carrier-grade voice quality.

Colt uses Point-to-Point Tunnel Protocol (PPTP) to establish secure tunnels for phone calls.

The service is backed by “stringent” SLAs (service level agreements), according to the operator.

Service is available in the following countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K.