Integra Telecom Teams Up With Metaswitch and Joins the IP-based World

Integra Telecom recently disclosed a brand new wireless-based, virtual private network (VPN) backup service. This is a significant indication that the company is ready to improve its product set by providing its customer base with disaster recovery and business continuity.

The new system was co-created with Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ). The Integra service will offer backup from the wireless VPN to customers across the nation. As businesses become increasingly mobile, the service’s extensive capabilities should certainly be attractive to sales representatives covering a wide area as well as traveling executives.

The Wireless Backup service will be available to Integra's SMB as well as its expanding base of medium and larger businesses. Customers are assured that they will be able to access their applications even in the event of a wireline circuit going down, in which case the service will instantly switch over to the Verizon Wireless network connection.

CLECs who are not currently providing VoIP services are struggling to line up clients, mainly because larger companies with several locations are in search of hosted VoIPs.

Based in Portland, Oregon CLEC Integra Telecom wants to shrug off its circuit-based roots and branch upward and outward. Combined with Metaswitch, the company is now offering a hosted VoIP for business users.

The package includes an assimilated voice/data circuit up to 100 Mbps, a per-line feature bundle with optional extras, precise equipment and a secure web portal for service management.

Anyone who is already a user of Integra's fiber, bonded copper or TI services can take advantage of the Wireless Backup as an alternative option to keeping a redundant wireline connection. In this situation, each time a network disruption occurs, the Wireless Backup service automatically switches traffic from the wireline network to the wireless system.

Integra is confident that their VPN Wireless Backup will provide clients with a more complete range of options to keep their businesses connected securely. In keeping with Integra’s mission to maintain business continuity, the Wireless Backup also offers three main components: an existing Cloud Firewall Service to protect VPN customers from Malware Threats, IPsec security that enables data to pass through a wireless connection and Access Control Lists that enable customers to prioritize their network traffic, to make sure vital applications will still run during an outage. (CU) Link