Glenayre's communications products deliver all the features that the big companies can provide, in a modular package designed for medium and small service providers.

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Associate Editor [January 22, 2003]

Glenayre delivers a messaging platform that service providers can use to deliver voice mail and other unified messaging services. With a modular pricing plan, service providers can start by using the product to deliver only voice mail, adding additional services as they wish.

With all modules installed, the Unified Communications Suite gives subscribers access to all messages (fax, e-mail, voice, phone, cell phone, SMS, WAP, USSD) in a single mailbox that can be accessed by voice or over the web. Subscribers can view faxes on a computer, receive notification alerts when messages arrive, create their own notification schedules, record custom greetings, screen calls, and send calls to an attendant. They can also access messages from a cell phone using voice, WAP, or USSD (USSD is a WAP-like technology popular in Europe that provides text features to legacy cell phones that are not compatible with the latest protocols).

Bill Edwards, Glenayre senior vice president of sales, marketing, and customer service, said that the product works on almost any network. He said, "we do not make a telephony switch or a PBX. What we do is in the customer's office. If they don't answer the call, then we do. We are technology agnostic to any network."

Edwards added that the product works for customers of all sizes, noting, "we can do IP and SS7. We can work with large customers who need centrex services and with SOHO clients. We can answer phones, do call return, link to PDAs, run voice commands or be pad driven, integrate voice and fax and, with unified communications, add e-mail too. We also use speech and text-to-speech technology. It's all built in to the Versera platform."

The suite has two modular optional add-ons: Versera Voice Services Suite and Versera Multimedia Messaging Suite. Glenayre says the Multimedia Messaging Service Center (MMSC)—the provider-side portion of the Versera Multimedia Messaging Suite—is interoperability tested for SS7oIP gateways, WAP 2.0, and Cisco's ITP, and has many features, including:

• Single platform for IP-SMS and MMS
• A powerful message storage system
• Message retrieval using standard protocols such as HTTP, IMAP, and POP
• Compatibility with all commercially-available MMS phones and PDAs that use Windows CE and PocketPC

The client-side applications allow users to create, send, receive, and delete multimedia messages through a web interface. They also allow users to purchase content or storage from the service provider, enabling the sale of comics, greeting cards, or personal photo albums. Users can also forward a URL via SMS to anyone using a cell phone that does not have multimedia capabilities.

The Versera Voice Services Suite allows subscribers to:

• Access voice, fax, and e-mail messages using voice-activated services
• Use voice commands to place calls or even (with Glenayre's Personal Conference service) set up conference calls
• Access information such as stock quotes and sports results through a voice portal with customizable preferences
• Use personal address books

The Versera Voice Services Suite supports up to seven languages on one platform, and Glenayre has 35 languages currently available, with more in development.

Edwards concluded, "smaller service providers are getting the same quality and capabilities as large carriers at a low entry price. Our Versera product enables them to do a lot of things for a low investment."

Glenayre's most recent customer win is FairPoint Communications, a holding company that owns and operates 29 Rural ILECs (RLECs). The company is medium-sized. It has 1,199 employees and reported $235 million in revenue in fiscal year 2001. Its portfolio of RLECs can be viewed here.

Pricing and availability
The Versera Unified Communications Suite is available for installations as small as 20,000 subscribers, and starts between $100,000 to $250,000 depending on features required. It comes with a one year warranty and service agreement, after which the fee is 12 percent of the initial price per year, with volume discounts available in some cases.

The Versera Multimedia Messaging Center and applications are available now in starter kits that support as few as 10,000 subscribers and can expand to support millions of subscribers. Pricing was not available.

The Versera Voice Services Suite is available now. Pricing and minimum subscriber count were not available.

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