ITXC, Intel to Mend Internet Telephony Quality

Internet telephony reseller ITXC Corp.
Wednesday signed up for licensing PC-to-phone software technology from
leading chipmaker Intel Corp.

Intel’s soft switch technology is designed to improve Internet call
connection quality as more service providers take voice communication over
the Internet into mainstream service offerings.

The licensing agreement allows ITXC to incorporate
Intel’s Internet telephony software technology into
its flagship webtalkNOW! Service.

ITXC offers voice services to Web portals and Internet telephony device
customers, who can integrate access into existing Web pages and other
applications. The technology allows companies to offer Web-to-phone
capabilities from a user’s Web browser.

Abel Weinrib, Intel Architecture Labs director of communications, said as
its Internet telephony technology is integrated into ITXC’s products,
consumers would experience high quality, interoperable IP telephony services.

“Our work with ITXC is part of Intel’s continuing commitment to greatly
accelerate the Internet voice-call experience,” Weinrib said.

ITXC is combining the capabilities of the Intel telephony software with its
proprietary call routing program. ITXC’s patent-pending voice traffic
management technology is designed to deliver carrier-grade voice quality
over the Internet for Web-based callers.

Tom Evslin, ITXC chairman and chief executive officer, said its new
wholesale Web-based partners benefit from the ability to serve their
customers by using the advanced Intel technology over ITXC.net.

“We are working with Intel and other industry leaders to accelerate the
growth of Internet telephony by offering better quality and features that
the traditional telephone network simply can’t deliver,” Evslin said.

Intel’s Internet telephony software technology improves voice quality by
implementing features such as acoustic echo cancellation, decreased audio
breakup, noise reduction and bandwidth conservation. The improvements
create clear, crisp voice communications when making calls from a PC to a
phone.

The software also integrates audio and configuration “wizards” designed to
make it easier to integrate the software into Web pages.

One of the barriers that slowed deployment of Internet telephony has been a
lack of interoperability across networks. Both Intel and ITXC are members
of the International Multimedia
Teleconferencing Consortium, an industry group comprised of more than
150 companies working to establish open interoperability industry
specifications for Internet telephony.

ITXC considers its firm the service providers’ service provider for voice
on the Internet. It provides phone-to-phone wholesale call completion for
carriers and resellers in addition to PC-to-phone calling services for Web
portals, ISPs, and communications Web sites.

Both services provide quality-calling access over the public Internet by
routing calls on ITXC.net. The network consists of 250 points-of-presence
in more than 145 cities and 59 countries worldwide.

Carrier affiliates
include SBC Communications Inc. subsidiary Ameritech
Corp., and Bell Atlantic
Corp.