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Fonality Launches Open Source Telephony Ecosystem

By Anshu Shrivastava, TMCnet Contributor

Fonality (News - Alert), a provider of open source phone systems, has introduced Fonality Authorized Certified Ecosystem (FACE).

 

FACE certifies third-party products for trixbox CE, trixbox Pro and PBXtra, which enables customers and resellers to deploy them with complete confidence.

 

Fonality informs that FACE certification validates interoperability and identifies the best components for use with Fonality’s software platforms.

 

Moreover, Fonality provides support discounts and incentives to resellers and IT consultants who select FACE-certified hardware products when building Fonality phone systems for their customers.

 

Chris Lyman (News - Alert), CEO at Fonality, said in a statement that the big problem in the emerging, open market is the glut of questionable hardware and non-compliant providers.

 

Explaining that this creates a confusion, which leads to customers inadvertently using sub-standard components, and then paying the price for it, he added, “FACE removes any uneasiness about compliance, allowing customers to deploy phone systems with complete confidence.”

 

The ground floor FACE partners are Aastra and Polycom (News - Alert), IP phone manufacturers; Bandwidth.com, a communications service provider; and Sangoma, a provider of connectivity hardware.

 

Fonality officials pointed out that their company’s FACE partners provide the “highest quality technology and the deepest integration” with Fonality’s IP-PBX VoIP phone systems.

 

Yves Laliberte, executive vice president at Aastra (News - Alert) Telecom, stated that Aastra and Fonality are both committed to developing and implementing open standard VoIP products and systems for the needs of small and medium businesses.

 

“Our respective products have been tightly integrated to exceed our customers’ expectations for value and performance,” he added.

 

Expressing his company’s excitement at participating as the Platinum network service partner in the Fonality FACE program, Henry Kaestner (News - Alert), CEO at Bandwidth.com, said,

“This certification is a testament to our commitment to Fonality and to the hundreds of mutual customers that have already benefited from a certified IP communications solution.”

 

Chalan Aras, vice president of marketing at Polycom Voice Communications Solutions Group, believes that by supporting Polycom’s full line of SoundPoint phones, Fonality is able to deliver a reliable, turnkey solution to SMB customers on both PBXtra and trixbox.

 

He also said that together, “we provide integrated, cutting-edge solutions that enable our customers to smoothly transition to VoIP for more streamlined, cost-effective business communications.”

 

“We’re pleased to be Fonality’s partner to bring the highest quality IP-PBX systems to the SMB. Our award-winning cards combined with Fonality’s breakthrough technology, guarantee reliable calls and great voice quality,” said Dave Mandelstam, CEO at Sangoma.

 

Anshu Shrivastava is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Anshu’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Internet Protocol (IP)	X
IP stands for Internet Protocol, a data-networking protocol developed throughout the 1980s. It is the established standard protocol for transmitting and receiving data in packets over the Internet. I...more

Voice over IP (VoIP)	X
A real-time communications system that converts voice into digital packets containing media and signaling data that travel over networks using Internet Protocol....more

Private Branch Exchange (PBX)	X
Originally, telephone features were provided by telephone central office switching systems, often called CENTREX.�PBX systems emerged as customers wanted to have more calling features and control over...more