Internet2, Aastra and Level 3 Communications Collaborate to Deliver SIP Voice Services to U.S. Colleges and Universities

Internet2, the world's most advanced networking consortium, today announced an agreement with Aastra and Level 3 Communications, two communications industry leaders, to provide managed voice services to college campuses throughout the country. Texas A&M University and Tulane University are among the early adopters who will depend on the new services. Aastra will be demonstrating the solution at the ACUTA 41st Annual Conference and Exhibition at the JW Marriott in Indianapolis, IN from April 29 - May 1, 2012.

The "Voice in the Cloud" SIP Services from Internet2 is the latest in a long history of innovative services that Internet2 has offered to its members. This hosted VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) PBX and SIP Trunking shared service eliminates the need for millions of dollars in capital expense to create a private communications network on an institution's campus. By leveraging the infrastructure delivered by Internet2, at the same time with Aastra and Level 3, member institutions can receive carrier-grade service at a very cost-effective price per line. Based on industry-standard SIP protocols, the solution is designed to provide control and flexibility over the administration of critical Unified Communications services like voice and video communication, and empower institutions to customize the solution to meet their unequalled campus needs.

Top priority for Internet2

"Providing transformative multi-institutional joint services that help individual campuses refocus on strategic priorities is a top priority for Internet2," said Rob Vietzke, vice president of network services, Internet2. "We are excited to offer Internet2 members this SIP communications solution so they can begin to migrate their campus voice services to these hosted services that Internet2, Aastra and Level 3 will provide. These services maintain local control, reduce upfront investment and provide a platform for advancements in personal communications."

"The SIP Services offering from Internet2 is furthermore validation of their commitment to provide leading research solutions with excellent value for their members," said Charlie McMahon, Vice-President for Information Innovation and Chief Innovation Officer, Tulane University. "Aastra and Level 3 have strong experience providing voice and network solutions to the Higher Education sector and are excellent additions to the Internet2 community."

Aastra's Clearspan® is a VoIP network platform providing actually unified communications for organizations requiring high-capacity, mission critical performance. Clearspan offers classic PBX (Private -Automatic- Branch Exchange)-like services, however also a rich set of enhanced services including unified messaging, fixed-mobile convergence, interactive voice response, business conferencing and contact center applications. Clearspan allows employees to make and receive calls from any device, at any location, with only one phone number, one dial plan, one voice mailbox, and a unified set of features.

"Aastra is privileged to partner with an esteemed association like Internet2 to provide hosted voice services to its member community," said Tim Whittington, Regional Group President, Aastra. "Our many years of deploying communications solutions for colleges and universities have given us a deep understanding of their in a class by itself requirements. Our Clearspan hosted solution delivers the quality, reliability, scalability, and value required during allowing them the flexibility to tailor the solution to meet their specific campus requirements."

Level 3 Communications will provide SIP-based services just as long distance trunks, local trunks, conference bridges and other services. As a result, Internet2 will be able to offer the reliability that member institutions demand over a large scale.

"This arrangement builds on a successful and long-standing relationship between Level 3 and Internet2, and adding SIP services to the network infrastructure we already deliver is a result of that," said Edward Morche, Level 3 senior vice president of Government Markets. "Because of our end-to-end IP network - not a hybrid TDM/VoIP network like other providers - as then as our leadership in delivering VoIP, Internet2 will be able to converge voice and data on a single network, creating tangible network and operational expense savings during laying a foundation for at once generation communication and collaboration tools."

To see a demonstration of the Clearspan Hosted PBX solution at the ACUTA Annual Conference, visit Aastra in Booth #600/602. For additional information visit www.internet2.edu/sip

Member-owned advanced research community founded

Internet2® is a member-owned advanced research community founded by the nation's leading higher education institutions in 1996. Internet2 provides a collaborative environment for U.S. technology and education organizations to solve common research challenges, and to develop innovative solutions in support of their educational, research, and community service missions. For more information, visit www.internet2.edu.

Level 3 Communications, Inc. provides local, national and global communications services to enterprise, government and carrier clients. Level 3's comprehensive portfolio of secure, managed solutions includes fiber and infrastructure solutions; IP-based voice and data communications; wide-area Ethernet services; video and content distribution; data center and cloud-based solutions. Level 3 serves clients in more than 450 markets in 45 countries over a global services platform anchored by owned fiber networks on three continents and connected by extensive undersea facilities. For more information, please visit www.level3.com