Techontap launches IP service business

New business service provider, Techontap, has launched a managed, IP-based communications service targeted at large SME's and small corporates. The new service offers pay-per-user billing, VoIP, remote PBX hosting, unified communications and managed security.

Speaking at a briefing on Thursday, Techontap's executive chairman Graeme Boorer believes that current communication technology is 'dead' and that VoIP and IP applications are now past the 'early adopter stage'.

Previously, technological limitations arising from slow, congested bandwidth had restricted the adoption of VoIP in business applications. Techontap's provides a carrier grade service with a guaranteed 1:1 contention ratio. Additionally, for businesses without a PBX, the company will offer remote hosting through a PBX server.

Security is provided by partnerships with Nokia, ThinkSecure and Check Point, while hardware will be provided by Cisco Systems.

The company is heavily promoting its 'single bill, single customer' subscription model, which provides detailed billing information per user, per service. This means that all video, voice, storage and web services can be broken down at the user level -- something that Boorer says will not only provide excellent marketing data, but 'increase accountability' for employees.

Telephony costs are free for inter-business calls, 10c for local calls and 10c per minute (plus 10c flag fall) for interstate and international calls.