Charter Business' SIP trunking service challenges incumbents, CLECs for larger business customers

Charter Business (Nasdaq: CHTR) is making good on its promise to aggressively chase large business after leaving its financial problems behind in 2009, and its new SIP trunking service is an illustration of that trend.

Not having to deal with the legacy baggage owned by its ILEC competitors like AT&T (NYSE: T) and other CLECs it faces in the regions it serves, Charter would be able to appeal to larger businesses that may be nearing the end of the contract with an incumbent provider.

The promise of SIP trunking, a segment whose worldwide revenue, according to Infonetics Research, grew 143 percent in 2010, is that it can converge voice and data without the need for the customer buy separate circuits or connections for voice traffic.

Complementing its previously launched Primary Rate Interface (PRI)-based voice trunking, the new SIP trunking service will enable the cable MSO to target larger businesses with IP-PBX systems.

What the service offers Charter Business and its customers is greater flexibility. Jim Bagnato, senior manager for Charter Business, said in a Light Reading Cable article that it can use SIP trunking to sell services in call-path increments of four, unlike traditional PRI trunks that require businesses to buy packages in increments of about 20 channels.

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