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Cablevision Systems Corp. is tearing up the industry memo putting Internet-protocol telephony on hold until 2004, by coming out with an aggressive plan to roll the technology out to its entire Optimum Online high-speed data footprint by the third quarter of this year.
The rollout, which will turn up a telephony service passing 3.1 million homes in the span of roughly one month, will mark the first full-scale deployment of an all-IP voice service by a major U.S. cable operator.
Cablevision will test each market before lighting up the voice-over-Internet protocol systems, "but really our plan is to have our entire footprint launched within the span of a month to a month and a half," said Optimum Voice vice president of product management Tanya Van Court. "So we have got a really aggressive launch."
Trial pays off
The rollout is an outgrowth of an IP telephony trial in western Long Island, and it will keep the same pricing and features. Offered for a flat $34.95 per month, Optimum Voice will provide unlimited local, regional and long-distance calling, as well as call waiting, caller ID, call forwarding, call return and three-way calling. The MSO said it has obtained all necessary regulatory approvals to offer regional and long-distance service.
"Essentially we wanted to package together the features that our customers indicated they wanted most, and that is what we did," Van Court said. "And we wanted to give it to customers in a very simple fashion that wasn't confusing, with lots of call plans and per-minute charges and regional and long distance charges.
"We're giving our customers a $34.95 all-you-can-eat package."
Cablevision...