Embarq is launching a hosted IP services platform branded as Smart IP Enterprise. The service will offer “dedicated Internet access, local and long distance voice service, and IP-enabled call management features, including incoming call routing, simultaneous ring to wireline and wireless phones and sequential ring to help reduce missed calls. The solution also offers click to dial with Microsoft Outlook integration, remote click to dial and voicemail to email features.” The solution does not require an on-site PBX or key system. Pricing starts at $499/month per location with a five year agreement.

Matanuska Telephone Association (MTA), an Alaska based independent telco, has announced they are beginning their transition to an IP based infrastructure. MTA is transitioning their circuit switched network to the MetaSwitch distributed softswitch platform, which according to a MetaSwitch press release, enables the “delivery of both traditional and IP-based voice services.” MTA serves 40K subscribers in south central Alaska.

The move by MTA is representative of a growing trend among independents in the U.S. The transition to IP networks is well documented for tier 1 carriers like Verizon and AT&T. But that same transition is quite active among the smaller independents as well. Those independents are facing some of the same competitive pressures as the larger carriers, with cable MSOs increasingly offering competitive triple play services in all parts of the country. Independent ILECs also face that pesky trend that just doesn’t seem to go away - wireless substitution. Transitioning to IP based next generation networks is driven not only by efficiency gains and modernization, but also by the promise of revenue generating application development. The hope by all involved is that these new IP powered applications will create both additional value for landlines and additional revenue generating applications to relieve the potential of declining subscriber ARPU. It's real early in this game, so there are a lot of fingers crossed, hoping that this promise will indeed come true. Will it?

XO announced the launch of several new IP powered services. The new services include XO SIP, XO One iPBX and XOptions Flex with XO MPLS IP-VPN. These new services target both small and medium business and enterprise sectors with a variety of IP networking products. The XO SIP service targets customers using IP PBX’s and offers a SIP networking connection allowing a single connection into XO’s IP network for voice and data.

CableLabs and the Digital Transmission License Administrator (DTLA) have reached an agreement that will allow cable operators to distribute their content in IP format across home networks. The new standard represented by this agreement is known as Digital Transmission Copy Protection-IP (DTCP). This agreement will most likely result in the easy transfer of content, including VOD, to a variety of devices within the home, including laptops and mobile media players. Major Hollywood studios, including Sony Pictures, Walt Disney, and Warner Bros. have signed off on the deal. The proliferation of home networks has made the issue of content distribution much more relevant.

By reaching this agreement, the cable industry is moving forward in a unified way to ensure their operators have an effective and approved in-home network distribution method. The adage that subscribers want to consume content anywhere, anytime, and on any device is a driving force behind this move. This new agreement will contribute to the cable industry’s effort to meet this growing demand, and increase their competitiveness.