PHILADELPHIA-( )- today introduced Comcast Business VoiceEdge™ Conferencing, an award-winning enhancement to its cloud-based phone service, Comcast Business VoiceEdge, which simplifies the way conference calls are initiated, joined and managed. The new Audio Conferencing application allows end-users to initiate an audio conference with a single click while eliminating common conferencing frustrations. The service is included for all Comcast Business VoiceEdge subscribers. With Comcast Business VoiceEdge Conferencing, employees can instantly initiate a call with up to 50 participants via an easy “click to start conference” command. Users can join by clicking a “join conference” link. Advanced management controls make it possible for conference hosts to view and identify each participant, eliminating the need for individuals to identify themselves. “With an increasingly distributed and mobile workforce, conference calls are an important tool for keeping teams connected, but this can become challenging from a user standpoint when different people are trying to access a conference call while traveling, in remote locations, from a different office,” said John Guillaume, vice president, product management at Comcast Business.
“We’re continually innovating and evolving our voice platform with a focus on improving the end-user experience and overall business impact. With Comcast Business VoiceEdge Conferencing, the days of remembering long phone numbers and PINs or asking ‘who joined the call,’ are now a thing of the past – saving our customers both time and resources.” Comcast Business VoiceEdge Conferencing was recently recognized. VoiceEdge Conferencing is the latest enhancement to Comcast Business VoiceEdge Desktop and Mobile Companion applications. The app also enables click-to-dial from some of the most commonly used business productivity tools, including Google Chrome, Skype for Business, and Microsoft OWA. VoiceEdge Conferencing offers the conference call moderator a simple, integrated interface that works directly with Comcast Business VoiceEdge.
About Comcast Business. Comcast Business offers Ethernet, Internet, Wi-Fi, Voice, TV and Managed Enterprise Solutions to help organizations of all sizes transform their business. Learn if your device meets the minimum requirements for using the Xfinity Home. For Apple (iPhone, iPad or iPod touch) and Android (phone or tablet) devices.
Features include:. Scale up to 50 participants plus a moderator.
One-click access - from the app, simply click “start conferencing” to automatically open the bridge from your desk phone, mobile device, or any other phone. Notifications of who joined and left the call.
Moderator dashboard - allows the host to see who is on the bridge as they join. Security – PIN protected conferencing. Interoperability - works with Mac, PC, iOS and Android Customers can download the Audio Conferencing Application by visiting. Comcast Business provides a modern portfolio of voice solutions for large enterprises as well as small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB). For more information on the Comcast Business advanced voice solutions portfolio, visit About Comcast Business Comcast Business offers Ethernet, Internet, Wi-Fi, Voice, TV and Managed Enterprise Solutions to help organizations of all sizes transform their business.
Powered by a next-generation, advanced network, and backed by 24/7 technical support, Comcast Business is one of the largest contributors to the growth of Comcast Cable. Comcast Business is the nation’s largest cable provider to small and mid-size businesses and has emerged as a force in the Enterprise market; recognized over the last two years by leading industry associations as one of the fastest growing provider of Ethernet services. For more information, call 866-429-3085.
Follow us on Twitter @ComcastBusiness and on other social media networks at. About Comcast Cable Comcast Cable is one of the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone providers to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses. Comcast has invested in technology to build an advanced network that delivers among the fastest broadband speeds, and brings customers personalized video, communications and home management offerings.
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So I just inherited an NEC system that is older than me. The company has been looking at different Voip solutions for some time but has not pulled the trigger but now I am on board it is my job to take care of this. We have an office of 40 users, and almost 50 remote users. We pay for about 10 home phone lines for regional directors which I would like to remove.
The other remote users are super mobile and just use cell phones. I feel like cost wise Comcast can't really be beat in price. Does anyone have experience recently with the service? I am also on the understanding that the data connection for phones is run off a separate network which could also be used as an office backup ISP to our normal Comcast line.
This would eliminate a $1500 T1 bill as well. Thoughts are much appreciated! A concern when using a hosted service like this is of course internet bandwidth.
For the people working in the office, you will want to remember that a call from extension to extension with a hosted system takes 87-100 Kbps of Internet bandwidth using the G.711u voice codec (one of the most common). Calls to parties outside the company as well as calls to folks inside the company would also take this same amount of bandwidth. You'll want to have a rough idea of how many people will be on the phone at a time in the office to really know how much internet bandwidth with be required strictly for VOIP traffic. Technically if the phones would run on a separate Comcast modem than unless you go outside their normal routine (phones connect back to separate switch which than plugs into 2nd Comcast modem dedicate just for phones) you wouldnt be able to piggy back the pc's through the phones. With carrier independent hosted voip offerings (at least the ones we roll out for our customers) even if there is a 2nd ISP in the mix we handle that at the router/firewall rather then logically separating the physical connections. That way you could still use the built in switch in the phones to connect other things like pc's.
VoiceEdge is a fully featured hosted PBX solution. It comes with dedicated network over coax or fiber, where we bring a dedicated modem or port depending on the connection type, and this is included in the service. Business continuity is also included to address issues of handset or other connectivity problems due to weather, etc., which will reroute calls inflight to an alternate number like a cell phone or second site automatically. VoiceEdge offers service for businesses from campuses to home offices, and a mobile capability and app for folks that are always on the road. The mobile app allows for extension dialing, access to your voicemail and corporate directory right from your phone. Letting users access their service anywhere, anytime.
It is especially powerful for multi-location businesses, as it allows all sites to have the same service and features, allowing extension dialing between sites and all calls between these sites are free, on-net and included (along with all local and domestic LD calls). If you sign up for a 3-yr term or longer, the service comes with a Polycom HD Soundpoint 335 handset included, so for almost no upfront cost (capital) you get a new phone system.
VoiceEdge offers a number of other Polycom phone models for folks looking for executive, video, or receptionist capabilities or Gig networks. Besides HD voice, users also get HD video calling capability included. Users can leverage the free soft phone that comes with the Unified Communication seat off their PC or Mac (with a camera) or use one of the other video calling enabled handsets that VoiceEdge offers. A salesperson can provide case studies and references for you, as well as more information on the features and services. Let me know if you need more details.
George I appreciate your responses. Let me try to clear this up a bit I think there is some confusion, as I probably did not explain things the right way. We pay 1500$ a month for a backup T1 data line. We are currently running Comcast for our main data line. I am cancelling the T1 but there is no comparable backup option to the comcast for our building.
My idea is that if I do choose the Comcast hosted voip solution that I could use that voip line as a backup for data/internet in the case the main comcast line ever goes down. Kind of kill two birds with one stone type deal.
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WegotIT wrote: George I appreciate your responses. Let me try to clear this up a bit I think there is some confusion, as I probably did not explain things the right way. We pay 1500$ a month for a backup T1 data line. We are currently running Comcast for our main data line. I am cancelling the T1 but there is no comparable backup option to the comcast for our building. My idea is that if I do choose the Comcast hosted voip solution that I could use that voip line as a backup for data/internet in the case the main comcast line ever goes down. Kind of kill two birds with one stone type deal.
If you back up a Comcast line with another Comcast line, the odds of one staying up when the other goes down is exceedingly low. Do you have quality 4G LTE signal in your building? If so, get a LTE router for your backup connection. It will actually be faster than your T1 anyway.
This isn't a bad product offering and isn't a great one. It frees you from the issue of having to do a lot of this yourself so it makes it easier in some respects.
It will work and has decent basic functionality. Bandwidth generally isn't the issue on a dedicated cable pipe so I wouldn't even sweat it. However, everyone above who has stated to be at least wary of this being your 'backup' per Comcast. These folks are selling you something and any good sales person or sales engineer never says NO until you've signed the paper and written a check.
YMMV Having said that, if you aren't having issues w/ your current Comcast connection then I wouldn't be horribly concerned re: your new one. One item you might clarify with them is mobility routing for users at home for cell phones. You likely can set that up on their side and ditch all the home office phones w/ push to mobile. In fact, you should examine what it would take to push ALL CALLS to mobile phones in an outage and/or how you'd route and to who.
The odds of Comcast's line(s) to you going down are notably higher than their entire voice switch. So at least understanding this path would be a good one to plan for.
Lastly, you are still ultimately responsible for your own network. These phones that they will provide will be inside your area of responsibility. CROSSING THE FIREWALL AND TRAVERSING YOUR INTERNAL NETWORK ARE WHERE MOST OF THE PROBLEMS HAPPEN. So in order to prepare yourself for your side of things: you need to understand and verify that they're using SIP, how you'll handle existing/new wiring (two drops vs. One and computers through phones), power (POE switches), how this affects routing to the gateway (as George mentioned above), and what network changes do you need to make internally to ensure voice quality (maybe none, but you should at least know how to configure QOS/VLANs).
I also recommend if you haven't dealt w/ SIP before that you do a quick read on it and understand the kinds of issues that are common. It is the strange problem George per carrier solutions in that the traditional carriers never really 'got' premise solutions. They always were more concerned about their network vs. Yours and rarely took your needs into account. However, most carriers have recognized that things must change and a few have started moving in that direction. I personally feel that the issue remains a cultural problem vs.
A technical one. Old-school management have flourished in the old environment and any change risks their positions. But as the technology matures (and old management retires) I think we will see better solutions coming from them. The current Comcast offering is a good example of that. You can see the fear of VoIP 'carriers' and hosted PBX companies when a carrier with steady revenue elsewhere enters the fray.
With margins flattening out for pure voice providers and everyone in the hosted space competing for fractions of a penny per transaction vs. The traditional model of ownership they are all one quarter away from disaster. That's why the evolution into semi-hosted models has been inevitable. It saves a few pennies in network costs for them and prolongs the lifespan of their organizations. Right now it is more about what makes the most sense for your company today. I'd be hard-pressed in most situations to invest in any premise telco product that didn't have a clear near-term ROI.
Otherwise I'd just go hosted until more things calm down in the market. John i dont disagree that companies need to view options on a case by case basis. I was just speaking to an 8 site 400 extension prospect yesterday who just wont fit cloud or hosted based on $$$ So they can spin up a VM at the corp site and then host the PBX from there over their existing MPLS network. Other customers jump to the cloud like there is no tomorrow but dont have the same carrier at all locations.
I just dont like locking in with 1 carrier for everything. As far as I am concerned let the Comcasts of the world do what they do which is provide a pipe. (I am a fan of multiple connections at each site anyway for redundancy) Then the PBX can (and should be) carrier agnostic.
That way if something goes bad your not forced to deal with the phone system all over again. This point of view really just comes from the school of hard knocks. When it comes to on prem vs cloud to me its all just software. Where that software resides is really just based on the business requirements and / or environment.