The only limit to developing IP communication is the imagination, says Steve Smith, Managing Director of Buzz Networks. His company's innovations aim to take VoIP from infancy to maturity, while creating big opportunities for Buzz Networks' growing number of resellers.

The way the channel does business is changing, claims Smith, because what dealers sell today is dramatically different from what they sold in the past. That change has, of course, also affected companies such as Buzz Networks. "Our roots go back 15 years and our reputation was built on non-geographic numbers," he commented. "We're still a high profile player in that sector but for the last three years have set out our stall to become a technology leader in next generation IP communications services."

Smith thinks that, while a growing number of companies are offering VoIP products, their solutions are often unnecessarily complicated. "I saw a demo recently where three competitors raced to provision a line. Despite the fact that around half of each service was pre-provisioned, it still took each of them about 20 minutes. With our IP Centrix soft switch it takes about three minutes."

There's still something of the frontier spirit about VoIP, and technology is changing at a rate that means vendors cannot be complacent about keeping up with rising customer expectations. "We're confident that we can meet and indeed exceed customer expectations," says Smith. "But there's still a lack of understanding of what customers can get out of VoIP, and resellers have a role as educators rather than solely as sales drivers. The possibilities are limited only by the imagination."

The new Buzz VoIP service is built around a virtual PBX with carrier-grade centrally located switches. "Because users no longer need a box on the wall, they don't need a mass of hardware and the maintenance costs that go with it," added Smith. "Buzz VoIP has also been designed to reflect how people actually work now. Gone are the days when everyone worked in the same office, at set times, in one location. But until now the technology just hasn't caught up and recognised this fundamental shift. Our solution is totally flexible, and has been designed to meet the need of businesses of all shapes and sizes. Provisioning is easy, and with lower call costs, free internal and multi-site calls, and even free mobile calls in some circumstances, it makes a compelling proposition."

Buzz Networks' latest launch is the Hubb@ 3G Access Gateway with integrated broadband, VoIP and Wi-Fi capability that enables businesses to connect without the need for a fixed line. The Hubb@ delivers a high speed broadband service, with downloads up to 7.2Mb and uploads up to 5.6Mb, wherever a 3G signal can be received. With some networks promising 98 per cent UK coverage by the end of 2010, that means the service will be applicable to the vast majority of businesses across the country.

"The Hubb@ works in concert with our IP Centrix soft switch, numbering services and mobile handset solution," Smith commented. "We think of it as a ‘business in a box' that delivers a complete voice and data solution capable of supporting up to eight people. It's particularly attractive for both dealers and users because commissioning is quick, it's portable and there's only a single point of service contact."

Smith points out that leading hardware vendors agree that dealers have to adapt their business model to accommodate VoIP or else face wipe-out. "A recurring revenue flow based on continuing fees is how they will make money in future. This will be software rather than hardware dependent and means that income will be generated at, say, £50 a month long-term rather than £1000 in a single hit.

"There's a lot of imaginative applications coming on stream. We've made a breakthrough with our One Number product. We allocate a single number that routes users' calls directly to wherever in the world they happen to be, regardless of the receiving device."

Another product that Smith expects to launch later this year is a web phone. Smith added: "It's currently at an advanced development stage. All that will be needed is Internet access and by keying in a user name and password, and going to a web page on any PC, anywhere, you have a fully featured phone. As I've said, the only limit to developing IP communication is imagination."

Buzz Networks promises to take the mystique out of billing. "In many dealers minds, it's the major block to setting up a network service," said Smith. "So we've worked hard to make the billing process effortless and totally transparent, with an array of different reporting features.

"There's another promise we make: The dealers are our first and foremost priority, and we'll do everything in our power to support them. We know the value of the channel and we shall never compromise our relationship with it."