MONTREAL – Bell has launched a new video exchange service that it says provides customers with the ability to communicate more efficiently using video over IP networks.
The Bell Video Exchange Service makes Bell the first communications company in North America to offer a video exchange service that provides secure multi-point video conferencing for intra and inter-company reservationless (on-demand) bridge access across federated Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network (IP-VPN) Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) networks. This network cloud-based video conferencing service federates customers’ IP-VPN networks and provides cross-network access for Internet and ISDN communication without the need for customer premise gateway equipment or additional network access.
"Bell IP-VPN users will be able to intercommunicate securely and efficiently by simply dialling a meet-me video bridge number," said Stéphane Boisvert, president of Bell Business Markets, in the announcement. "Our customers are currently challenged with how to communicate with their partners, customers or remote users outside their existing IP Wide Area Network. This new service will allow Bell Video Exchange subscribers to communicate with each other by meeting in Bell’s cloud, no matter what type of network technology they have.”
Boisvert added that the service will also offer Bell IP-VPN users more secure, better-quality communications through an MPLS network with video quality of service enabled for high definition video, but without the network congestion, latency or packet loss that’s found on the public Internet.
The new service provides full system interoperability for TelePresence, HD and SD between Cisco CTS, Tandberg, Polycom, HP Halo, Lifesize and other open standard video and TelePresence systems.
Bell said that it’s first customer is CSA Group, a global testing, certification and standards development organization headquartered in Toronto that has offices, testing laboratories and affiliates in Canada, the U.S., and more than 60 countries.
"CSA Group is committed to incorporating and leveraging the latest technologies in an effort to reduce operating costs and at the same time, greenhouse gas emissions from business travel," said director and chief information officer, John Harrickey. "With federated video bridge numbers, Bell has made it possible for us to communicate with our international offices and mobile staff via video conferencing in a simple and secure manner, whether connecting using the MPLS WAN, via ISDN access or over the Internet."
