OzEmail, Bay Networks in Telephony Pact

Australia-based Internet services provider OzEmail Ltd. said today it signed an agreement with Bay Networks Inc. to integrate and promote the companies’ respective Internet telephony technologies.

Terms of the alliance call for OzEmail’s Net telephony business,
Interline, to provide call routing, termination, and authentication services to support Bay Networks customers looking to deploy Voice-over-IP (VoIP) solutions.

“Together we intend to provide Bay Networks’ customers around the globe
with the option of carrying voice calls using Internet technology,” said
OzEmail Chief Executive Officer Sean Howard, in a statement.

OzEmail said this latest co-venture is part of its strategy to pursue
partnerships with a number of international hardware suppliers, ISPs, and
telco providers in an effort to grow its VoIP network.

According to the company, the contribution of Santa Clara, CA-based Bay Networks’ voice-enabled equipment will aid in creating a backbone for transmitting Interline’s telephony traffic.

“Based on this agreement, Bay Networks and OzEmail Interline will be able
to draw on each other’s resources and expertise to develop voice-over-IP
solutions which will provide the greatest possible coverage of IP-based
telephony services to subscribers,” said Paul Finke, Vice President and
General Manager, IP Services, Bay Networks Inc. “By expanding the coverage
for voice-over-IP we can increase the economy of scale, resulting in an even
more cost-effective service to subscribers.”