VocalTec Communications
Ltd. today announced that Deutsche
Telekom AG will use its Ensemble Architecture (VEA) products in the
launch of Deutsche Telekom’s T-Online Internet telephony pilot program.
Israel-based VocalTec and Deutsche Telekom currently have a strategic
partnership, with the German communications company owning approximately
20% of VocalTec’s outstanding ordinary shares. Financial details for
today’s agreement were not disclosed.
VocalTec’s software is designed to enable voice, fax and multi-media
communications over packetized (IP) networks and the Internet. The two
firms stated they are working closely to customize VEA components for new
value-added services and applications.
“Through this pilot we are positioning ourselves once again as the
innovative leader in the field of Internet telephony,” said Detlev Buchal,
Member of
the Board of Deutsche Telekom. “So far, we have concentrated on telephone
to telephone connections via the Internet. Now we are expanding our trials
to PC-based Internet telephony. This is another important step towards the
integration of voice and data.”
Deutsche Telekom claims to be the third largest telecommunications company
in the world and Europe’s largest Internet service provider. VocalTec
describes
itself as a leader in developing open standards products that bridge IP
networks and
the traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN) and drive the
convergence of computing and telephone technologies.
Internet telephony has been a hot commodity lately, especially in the
International market. Earlier this week, AT&T announced agreements to
provide telephony through two portal sites, and Compuserve and MediaRing
unveiled voice communication service to European Internet users.
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