BroadTone vs Skype
We had a run in with one of our customers who thought they might try skype SIP services. We think Skype is an outstanding communication platform but not for business use. We say this, because businesses need support. Its a critical component to smooth operations. The difference between BroadTone Networks and skype is support. BroadTone Networks is not new to SIP technology, we have been at it professionally since the very early days of voip. Our engineers contributed to the development of robust SIP proxies such as SER and OpenSER. Besides, our Carrier Grade telegrid softswitch is installed by a few much bigger voip providers. Companies choose BroadTone Networks because they need someone to talk to, they need support, they need true business services such as number portability. At this point in the game a few dollars more a month is not the decision breaker.
With BroadTone Networks you get the best of both worlds, insanely low pricing, insanely good support and an insanely reliable product from a bunch of the best minds in internet telephony.
Posted at 11:41PM Mar 03, 2010 by BroadTone Networks in General | Comments[0]
BroadTone Nationwide DID Coverage.
BroadTone Networks is please to announce the real-time provisioning of our nationwide DID product. This new product enables us to response to customer needs in real-time. The Nationwide DID pricing is structured differently than our NYC local DID product but is still designed to be low-cost and affordable. Pricing for our Nationwide DID starts at $4.95 per month and then just 1.4 cents per minute. This is still an excellent value for small businesses and a great option for customers needing Nationwide DID coverage. Contact us today to order DID's anywhere in the US.
Posted at 08:33PM Mar 02, 2010 by BroadTone Networks in General | Comments[0]
BroadTone Networks Launches TeleGrid Technology
TeleGrid is our latest softswitch and trunking platformed designed, built and tested over the past 2 years. SIP Trunking is a big part of our business. Traditionally we have been doing that through our Hosted PBX platform. But it was limiting, our PBX platform is limited by 200 calls, with our new TeleGrid softswitch we can increase that ten fold to 2000 calls. Currently our hardware configuration we can handle several hundred simultaneous calls with the ability to double capacity with the flick of a switch.
Our TeleGrid technology is based on Mature open-source software such as SIP Express Router and. We really try to stay away from Asterisk, but do use it in some media related scenarios. All the call processing logic is handled in custom modules which provide an LCR engine capable of handling 3 million routes. We also implemented a special cache mechanism to provide lighting fast route lookups. Its important to process calls as fast as they come in. Another very important piece of the TeleGrid platform is the ability to geographically locate media relays they provide the Mesh of the Grid technology. Another critical feature that is built into the TeleGrid softswitch is the rating and billing component. This gives us the ability to provide finer grained control over class of service. Also enables our customers to create toll-restrictions so they minimize the risk of toll-fraud. Lastly the TeleGrid softswitch provides a rich web interface that provides provisioning and customer management. It also provides a dash board that gives realtime insight into your account.
Posted at 02:23AM Feb 18, 2010 by BroadTone Networks in General | Comments[0]
BroadTone Networks Launches Washing DC POP
BroadTone Networks launches it's redundant east-cost Location. Currently BroadTone Networks has infrastructure in New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, Virginia, and now Washington DC.
Our latest softswitch TeleGrid enables us to bring voip closer to our customers which in effect provides them with better call-quality and redundancy.
We have come up with our TeleGrid technology which lets us build voice networks that are location aware. We completely separate the media and the signaling so that signaling is redundant across the network, but media flows from the nearest POP. Based on the call-origination we can pass media to our SBC, which is closest to your home-office, the shortest distance the media travels on the open network provides better call quality. This concept is very new and only one or two other voip providers actually deploy similar topology.
We are also excited to announce our Denver POP for our Mid and West coast Customers. We really need to be close to our customers. They benefit from better call quality. Its important. Right now our west coast customers are using east-coast servers. Its has worked well for them, but we want better, we want clearer and we want reliability. Our west coast data center will provide this.
Posted at 02:10AM Feb 18, 2010 by BroadTone Networks in General | Comments[0]
Single Point of Failure
Inbound carrier failure can result in a single point of failure. Because a single carrier owns the number routing, when they are down we suffer. Its not really possible to have redundancy. We try our best to pick reliable carriers, but even they have problems. We experienced an outage today that affected many of our east-coast customers. Our inbound carrier had switching problems resulting in loss of inbound service. The outage was temporary but long enough for customers to notice and be unhappy. Interesting was customer response. Some customers screamed while others were understanding. We try our best to provide extremely reliable services. When a problem occurs on our own network or our switches we can respond swiftly, our engineers are on-site monitoring and ready to provide a fix during business hours and on-call during off-hours in case of emergencies. A resolution is almost always immediate on components we have ownership over... But when the problems occur outside of our control, we are also left frustrated and wondering when it will be resolved. Its up to our providers to have the right engineers to handle the problem without delay. (While we like to choose the best, I hate to say that our providers are not as experienced as us on in the voip world.)
Posted at 12:26PM Jan 13, 2010 by BroadTone Networks in SIP Servers | Comments[0]
Voice 2.0 - The Future of Communications
Voice 2.0 is the future of communications. If your business relies on the use of communications which all do then voice 2.0 might worth understanding.
The definition is not very clear of what Voice 2.0 is so I will give you our definition and you can categorize it the way you like. Voice 2.0 has 2 categories, the first one being applications, such as Google voice, BroadTone Hosted PBX, these application enable customers to use a single point of contact being a phone number that can route to various destinations depending on the call rules you setup. This will enable workers to be more mobile and remove the dependency to be in the office. The second category of Voice 2.0 which ties in to the first is presence and unified communications. Presence is the ability to detect whether you or on the phone, away from your desk or busy. Presence information can include much more such as geographic information. This ties into the the first definition which enable applications to handle the call-routing accordingly.
Voice 2.0 is about unifying the voice experience into a more productive less cluttered world of communications.
Posted at 03:49PM Jan 07, 2010 by BroadTone Networks in General | Comments[0]
Telephony in the cloud.
Cloud based computing and virtualization is the latest craze for businesses looking to improve business efficiencies and reduce costs. Software as a service is another avenue for businesses to reduce costs even more and get access to technology on a pay-per use level.
BroadTone Networks a leader in hosted telephony is pleased to add to the list of cloud services or outsourced hosted and managed services, with the introduction of Cloud Telephony. Cloud telephony is a way to IP enable your communications infrastructure. It enables your business to operate much more efficiently and response quicker to customer demands. By having an IP enabled voice platform you can route calls globally and unify the experience of customer service. Offer enhanced calling services to improve customer relations. Give employees access to tools that increase worker productivity.
In our world and our model we give businesses from small to large the tools, expertise and service they need to grow their business with the technology that enables them to work better, smarter and faster.
Posted at 08:38PM Jan 05, 2010 by BroadTone Networks in General | Comments[0]
Hosted Business VoIP 2010
Well 2010 is finally here, and so is voice 2.0. Voice 2.0 is cloud based telephone systems for businesses. What we do here at BroadTone Networks is provide hosted voice services for small and growing businesses. Our enterprise grade soft-switch enables us to provide a feature-rich call platform that is price-within-reach for small businesses.
Communications and Telephone systems in general are an integral entry point to your business. How efficiently you handle phone calls helps improve customer service. How professional your voice presentation sounds help leave a more impressive business appearance which is important for business perception.
At BroadTone Networks we can deliver these enhanced voice services to small business at a price-point they can all afford. Starting at $49.95 businesses can take advantage of our hosted-pbx platform and at just $11.95 per user give their employees access to business improving technology.
We believe so much in our product and our model that we offer our customers a no-contract no-commitment term on most of service-based products. Which means if a customer is not happy they can cancel anytime and not have to pay a cancellation penalty, this is a huge incentive for customers to try-before they buy and see the difference.
Posted at 08:27PM Jan 05, 2010 by BroadTone Networks in General | Comments[0]
BroadTone Networks Reliable Hosted VoIP - Our technology.
Its really simple. we dont sell anything magical, its not an illusion. We sell a service that relies on a process and understanding.
Companies choose BroadTone Networks for their in-depth understanding of the voip marketplace and the ability to deliver a tailored solution that is reliable and affordable. Since 2005 (Early days of SIP VoIP Implementations) we have delivering Voice over IP solutions that help businesses run more efficiently. We decided to offer our customers a hosted voip solution to even further reduce the upfront spending and also because we believe that it is the future of telephony.
Now our technology is based on oopen-source technology. Not a big surprise since we have been working with linux since early 2000. We not ashamed to say we use free software, because we have developed a process and a formula for which to make it work. Yes it is very easy to setup and install a single asterisk server, but once you get involved in scalability and load balancing then your back to the drawing board. By taking adavntage of open-source technology we have been able to piece together a solution that is highly scalable, fault tolerant and very well designed. So surely the technolgy is available for free, but the brain power to build and architect these soltions come with a price.
Posted at 04:33PM May 21, 2009 by BroadTone Networks in General | Comments[2]
Mobile VoIP
Not to bash my business, but Mobile VoIP should certainly replace this "antiquated" voip telephony. I am personally one of those who feels like infrastructure should be as mobile as people are. Telephone Lines as we are used to them with the exception of mobile carriers are pretty much location dependent. Which is good and bad. The good part is that it helps to "know" where you are in case of emergencies, the bad part is you actually have to be present.
I think the idea behind a voip carrier is to port your once physical phone number and make it portable. Thats what we do at BroadTone Networks. We port your number to an internet based carrier that will then let you use that number globally. The good part is that solves the mobility of the number, but not the endpoint. Untill modern mobile phones include SIP support, a few do, there is even an app download called fring for your iPhone that lets you connect to your SIP carrier, your still left with a small problem, SIP requires WiFi or Public IP not GSM. So while you can setup anywhere there is a WiFi Hotspot, you cant expect stay connected whereever you go. Which brings us to a new challenge of dealing with handoff. Handoff is when you exit one WiFi zone and enter a completely new one. In the GSM world, that is pretty transparent, but the VoIP world is still dealing with that challenge. CF-SIP is dealing with this issue, but its not well adopted. SIP is only used for the signaling not for the actual media, the RTP streams will need to be forked and redirected to another station for mid call mobility. Its not that difficult, however, it requires engineering and time and pattience and most of all everyone to agree on the standard.
One day soon we will get there, for the time being, sit tight with our Hosted VoIP platform.
Posted at 12:27PM May 15, 2009 by BroadTone Networks in General | Comments[0]
We work from the internet.
I am not really ashamed to admit that most of the time I work from home. Our team is virtual based, meaning, if you send a support ticket through our ticketing system, you will probably get a reply from overseas. We dont do this to keep costs down we do this to employ the best people. We found not cheap but experienced people who are qualified to handle our support overseas. And to better service or customers we employ them. Customer are always first in our business. We dont look to save we are in the growing phase, we are looking to create a process. A process that includes the best way to deal with supporting customers, managing our technology and offering innovative products.
For some reason the idea of workign from home doesnt sit well with some clients. I dont really understand the pshycology because if I am not working in your office, what does it matter to you if I am sitting at home, on a boat or across the globe. As long as I am able to provide you with the solution you need in a cost effective time sensitive manner, whats the difference.
Its not professional, what defines professional today?
In any case this blog post is a testiment to the fact that we work from home and are proud of it. And besides the fact that we waste less time on travel and more time on customers makes it a win-win situation for our clients and ourselves.
Posted at 09:59AM May 15, 2009 by BroadTone Networks in General | Comments[0]
SIP Trunks are for Kids Silly Customer
We had an unusual request today from a potential client looking for digital SIP trunks. I dont claim to know everything, but about VoIP and SIP in general I consider my self at the very least a local expert. We have been providing SIP based application since 2005. In any case, the request was regarding analogue vs digital SIP trunks. I may have been too technical for the guy on the other line, but when he called in and asked if I sell digital SIP trunks, I kind of had to think about this for a second.
My mind works differently than most, I am very trusting, I could be an expert, but I always believe that everyone knows more than me, except if they ask me for help then I assume I know more because they asked me.
When I replied to the customer I am not sure I understand your request, perhaps you can describe the application, he automatically assumed that we dont know what we are selling and hung up.
Well, next time this guy googles around for Digital vs Analog SIP trunks, perhaps he will get this blog post and understand that SIP by nature is a protocol, it is not Analog or Digital. It uses digital IP for communications and that could be over copper, over fibre even wireless. However if he meant that he had an analogue device that he want to convert to SIP then he could have simply inquired about the application.
In any case, I hope he finds what he is looking for, I am certain that some sharp telecom sales guy will sell him some Analog + Digital in HD SIP Trunk with a side order of fries.
Posted at 02:00PM May 14, 2009 by BroadTone Networks in General | Comments[0]
We Love New York
The truth is that their is lost of National competition, however, in the New York Market, few companies can actually the way we do. We don't mean to toot our own horn, but when it comes down to planning and execution, we get it done on the most efficient way possible. I guess that comes from our expertise. We love New York, because we were born in New York because we walk the streets New Yorkers walk and ride the subways that are customers ride and do business efficiently in New York.
You know building a buisness is one thing. We focus on our market, we know who are comeptitors are in our market what they are offering and how we respond better to customer needs. When we get calls to setup service in far-off places, we usually turn it down. Sounds stupid right, after all VoIP is a global business, however, you know we give lots of attention to our customers and our solutions to their problems. Sometimes it requires a technician to be on-site to make site specific changes, we cant do that for customers outside our coverage area. Sure we can outsource or hire consultants to go on-site, but that doesn't strike us as a sound solution, usually because these consultants are not focused on building our business.
If your business in located in New York City, Brooklyn or Queens or even Nassau County Long Island, BroadTone Networks might be the company for you. We dont push you into any particular system, rather we evaluate your needs and offer suggestions on the best route to handle your particular challenge. We always try to sell are hosted solution first, but if your business requires an on-site solution, we can do that as well.
Posted at 12:39PM May 13, 2009 by BroadTone Networks in General | Comments[0]
VoIP Billing Software.
Here is a run down of some voip billing softwares to use. Theses softwares are open-source, and pretty powerful.
Google the FreeSide billing software. It is FreeSide.biz I think. They offer a perl based solution that is pretty customizeable.
I think this software is good for most companies its faster development and easier to get working. We had it up and running in a day. But then we had to customize it.
A little more advance billing system, however, requires much more expertise is JBilling. JBilling is a Java Based open-source billing software.
This software is more advanced than freeside, however, it requires tons more expertise. I think for most companies they will find freeside sufficient for rating and billing.
If you have advanced billing requirements like the big telcos, than you should consider JBilling. JBilling is much better at complex billing algorithyms.
We are available for consultation on both these softwares.
Please call 212-937-8855.
Posted at 09:59AM May 08, 2009 by BroadTone Networks in General | Comments[0]
We are very very small.
Behind our website, we are a very small company. In essence we are only a few guys working together to get the job done.
This is our greatest asset. Being small enables us to provide outstanding support to our customers. It also enables us to cut the chase and get the job done. At BroadTone Networks we dont waste time, we are very quick to evaluate your needs and propose a solution that works.
More over being involved in the technology business for over 10 years, we have had to the opportunity to understand virtually every technology platform. From Windows, to Mac, to Unix and Linux, even Legacy IBM AS400.
By virtue of being in NYC, and working with lots of diverse products we gained tremendous experience that helps us better our product and improves our problem solving abilities.
Now for the good part, whicle we are a very small company. Were not stupid, we rely on those big guys. We have done the leg-work to find out who to talk to at the Very big companies. So our clients hire us, to provide service which is in essence provided by the Big guy, however, we provide some technology, configuration and assesment to make sure your getting the right technology to run your business in the most efficient manner possible.
How is that for true-value?
Call 212-937-8855 should you have any new technology needs.
Posted at 09:54AM May 08, 2009 by BroadTone Networks in General | Comments[92]