With IP (Internet Protocol) telephony and voice/data convergence now on the radar of many businesses, a brand new name has today appeared on the UK telecoms scene. Evoxus is the new trading name for EEscape in the business market. It is one of the fastest growing telcos in the country and the UK’s first true ‘IP generation’ communications company. Evoxus is one of a new breed of telecommunications companies that has IP telephony and voice-data convergence at the heart of its service offering. The company is also announcing today that it has become the first UK carrier to complete a PSTN interconnect from BT to a VoIP (Voice over IP) Carrier exchange.
Established in 1999 as a joint venture between BT Group, Unisys and Bank of Scotland, EEscape (trading under the brand name “Quip!) was the UK’s first true e-telecommunications company. The company was originally created to target high value, international spending, residential telephony customers. Evoxus is now providing voice services to SME and corporate business markets and the consumer market, whilst also providing wholesale services to resellers in the telephony market. Above all, Evoxus is aiming to help customers with a smooth transition to IP-integration.
The company has a unique position in that its IP network is accredited to be connected to the BT Public Switched Telephony Network. Evoxus is the gateway between the emerging world of IP transported telephony and the “old” world of circuit switched telephony.
“The world of telecoms is changing for the better, but times are uncertain for customers,” says Mark Lower, CEO of Evoxus. “Everyone is talking about Voice over IP as if it’s brand new, never-been-tried-before technology. The fact is that IP has been around for years and is well proven. The focus, however, is shifting from whether VoIP works to whether service
providers are able to integrate VoIP with existing systems. Many say they can, but the reality is that most cannot!
“Businesses are unsure of what to do next. That’s because the telecoms market is so confusing, issues of security and reliability are paramount and no-one is going to throw away tried and tested equipment easily. What businesses need is the reassurance that VoIP will work and that the transition can be managed smoothly without disruption or risk. That’s what
Evoxus is all about.”
By using private, secure broadband connectivity and carrier grade switches and support systems, businesses and consumers can communicate just as easily and reliably, but at a much lower cost. The new VoIP services can also be fully integrated with Information Technology (IT) Data services and share resources lowering the overall cost and reducing the complexity for the customer of managing separate voice and data suppliers and platforms.
“We lead the UK market with carrier grade IP telephony and next generation services: Evoxus Hosted IP PBX, IP Centrex and Evoxus IP Voice,” says Lower. “Evoxus customers can now use IP telephony with the same ease as traditional networks, with enhanced reliability, more features and security, whilst enjoying significant savings.”
Evoxus IP Centrex is distinctive from other IP telephony services, as it is a carrier grade, fully managed IP service that negates the need for capital investment in on-site equipment. However, for organisations that have already invested recently in equipment and private networks, Evoxus IP Voice creates a bridge between existing and new technology allowing a
seamless, planned migration and a smooth journey to the next generation of services and platforms.
Evoxus also operates a traditional circuit switched network with tens of thousands of voice lines connected, providing a rich seam of existing customer relationships with whom Evoxus has a track record of innovation and success. The company has a unique position in that its IP network is accredited to be connected to the BT Public Switched Telephony Network;
Evoxus is the gateway between the emerging world of IP transported telephony and the “old” world of circuit switched telephony. Evoxus’ services will provide end users with unique features – each integrated and able to interwork with legacy technologies in the voice and data
communications market.
In June this year, BT announced that it would spend £10 billion and take five years to build an Internet Protocol (IP) next generation network. As BT deploys this network, Evoxus’ target market will extend from servicing companies who communicate over their own private IP networks to servicing
the customers connected to BT’s new network. Eventually the addressable market will extend to the entire UK business market.
Evoxus is one of the fastest growing telcos in the UK, with over 50,000 consumer customers and 2,500 Broadband connected business customers. Turnover is growing at over 50% in 2004/05. However, it is in the IP-arena that Evoxus is leading the way. Mark Lower said: “I’m confident the demand we are experiencing for VoIP services and from customers asking us to take their business through the migration from where they are today to VoIP,
will place us as a company with a turnover of £100m in five years.”
Evoxus has key partnerships with Huawei Technologies and BT Wholesale.
A global company, Huawei has a comprehensive portfolio of core network LAN and WAN switches, routers, optical transmission and access equipment including Mobile GSM and GPRS switches, toll and local switches and local access devices for voice and data services. The UK’s first ‘carrier grade’ IP soft switch, supplied by Huawei, is installed and fully
operational at Evoxus’ carrier hub sites.
BT Wholesale is at the centre of BT Group, providing network services and solutions to communication companies. With 28,500 employees and 6,500 operational buildings, BT Wholesale is still the largest network operator in the UK.
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