Pactolus Intros 2,000-Participant IP Event Conferencing And Hardware-lite Reservationless Conferencing.

BOSTON and MARLBOROUGH, Mass. -- Deployed at North American Tier 1 Carrier, Next Gen. Service Becomes First IP Conferencing Solution to Support 2,000 Participants in a Live Deployment.

Pactolus Communications Software Corporation, makers of the telecom industry's most broadly deployed and comprehensive VoIP applications portfolio, today introduced the industry's first IP audio conferencing service that accommodates large events such as corporate investor calls with support for up to 2,000 event participants. Developed for a Tier 1 IP carrier, Pactolus' next generation SIPware Conferencing Calling application sets new industry benchmarks for high-end IP audio conferencing scale with unparalleled high availability features. The announcement was made at the Collaboration Service Providers (CSP) Summit sponsored by Wainhouse Research at the Fall VON Show in Boston.

Pactolus also announced a new "live lift" feature for its SIPware Conference Calling solution that transparently lifts all conference call participants from its software-based RapidFLEX Media Server to a DSP-based hardware media server. With the industry averaging approximately 6 participants for reservationless conferences, the feature allows conferencing service providers to start offering reservationless services with a highly cost effective, software-only IP conferencing solution and then add in DSP-based media servers as their service needs grow, providing the utmost in configuration flexibility.

"VoIP and IP based applications enable much greater service features and more efficient resource utilization. Pactolus continues to expand this theme in the IP conferencing space with the release of its scalability and flexibility features, including 'live lift', which further removes the barriers to replacing TDM-based audio conference bridges," said John Longo, Heavy Reading Senior Analyst.

SIPware Conference Calling incorporates a comprehensive range of advanced usability features to drive service profitability and subscriber loyalty. These include: zero-touch subscriber self-provisioning, service configuration, a comprehensive range of Web and IVR controlled moderator support and participant features, assisted/unassisted conferencing options with SIPware Operator Assistance, customizable user interfaces, and support for 13 languages.

"Live Lift" Enables IP Service Initiation With Minimal Hardware Costs: SIPware Conference Calling's innovative "live lift" lets service providers introduce reservationless conferencing services in a pure IP framework with economical software-based media server resources, and migrate individual calls automatically to more expensive DSP-based resources when warranted by the number of conference participants on a given call. The RapidFLEX Media Server saves as much as 75% of the "per port" pricing of DSP-based media servers, letting service providers sharply reduce market entry and ongoing service expansion costs.

"We've worked hard in the last year to give conferencing service providers a solution that actually supports and grows with their business models, at both the low and high end. We're proud to help reshape entry point economics and service differentiation at both ends of the market, and are delighted with our next gen. SIPware Conference Calling solution's live performance, market-proven scale and value," concluded Pactolus Founder and CTO David Horton.

Availability:

The SIPware Conference Calling release with both the Event and "live lift" capabilities will be available Q4.

About Pactolus

Pactolus Communications Software Corporation is the leading developer of SIP-based IP voice services, installed in 50+ carrier networks such as WebEx, Primus Canada, VCG Telecom, USA DataNet, LatiNode and XO Communications, supporting in excess of 2 billion minutes of use per month. Its core innovations such as advanced call control capabilities for SIP-based networks are also deployed in leading carriers through the market's dominant VoIP platform OEMs, and are unmatched in the industry. Pactolus' customizable SIPware(TM) services suite includes broadband IP telephony, prepaid and post paid calling card, reservationless and event audio conferencing, voice messaging and service-integrated operator assistance. Pactolus' RapidFLEX Service Delivery Platform and Service Creation Environment (SCE) combine to create a comprehensive, open, and flexible software framework. (www.pactolus.com)