NewStep among top FMC vendors

BANGALORE: NewStep Networks, Inc., provider of convergence solutions for carriers and enterprises, today announced that iLocus, a leading market research firm focused on the VoIP industry, has ranked NewStep Networks as number two worldwide in the Voice Call Continuity (VCC)-Pre-IMS category, in a report entitled, “The Impact of Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC) on World Telecommunications Markets.”

iLocus based its rankings on (1) trial activity, (2) technical features of the solution, and (3) market share as of the end of 2006 with the estimated number of FMC subscribers at 436,000 worldwide. NewStep followed Alcatel, which holds the number one spot.

“Fixed-line service providers worldwide are turning to vendors like NewStep in order to offer converged services and remain competitive with wireless providers,” said Faisal Kawoosa, researcher for iLocus. “This report takes a close look at how FMC will affect cellular providers and what they need to do to keep FMC from negatively impacting their revenue stream over the next five years.”

According to Craig Gosselin, chief marketing officer at NewStep Networks, iLocus’ report is in line with what the company is seeing and hearing from its customers. “Service providers clearly understand the opportunity of converged services, and the threat if they fail to take action,” he said.

NewStep currently offers its’ patented, carrier-class CSN server-based software platform in two versions—the CSN30 for enterprises and small carriers, and the CSN1000 for large carriers. Both platforms converge services across diverse networks to enable subscribers to have a single number, single voicemail, simultaneous ringing across multiple phones, and other features like corporate extension dialing, from the mobile phones they use today.

By extending traditional desktop PBX phone capabilities to today’s mobile phones, and allowing the easy transfer of calls between fixed and mobile phones, users get a more consistent, simplified communications experience at a lower cost, and service providers are able to deliver a higher value bundle of fixed-mobile services.