AT&T: The AT&T videoconferencing service portfolio includes a room-based and an immersive solution. The room-based service is available in either high definition or standard definition using equipment from Polycom or Tandberg. AT&T's telepresence service is built around AT&T-owned Cisco equipment. Telepresence customers can connect with other AT&T-connected companies, but not those using other carriers' networks.

BT Global Services: Through its purchase of Wire One in April of 2008, BT acquired videoconferencing expertise and market share. BT's Jeff Prestel told us that the carrier now has more than 10,000 videoconferencing customers, and that its installed base is growing at double digit rates in Europe, Asia Pacific, and the U.S. BT provides fully managed room-based as well as immersive videoconferencing services, and builds services around the customer’s choice of Polycom, Tandberg and Cisco gear. BT also provides support options that range from proactive "white glove" to lower-touch reactive support.

Masergy: Masergy provides a video grade of transport service called inControl Video, that is specifically designed to support a high quality videoconferencing experience. The carrier does not provide any videoconferencing gear or related services--rather it leaves the video end of the solution to integrators such as Providea Solutions, York Telecom and Whitlock Group.

NTT Communications: NTT Com offers a room-based service that comes in standard and high definition flavors, and it also offers a PC-based service. NTT tells us that it plans to work with partners to support immersive videoconferencing, but at present it plans to limit its immersive videoconferencing services to the transport side of the equation.

Orange Business Services: Orange Business Services (OBS) has offered room-based videoconferencing services since 2002, and last year added an immersive videoconferencing solution based on Cisco products and services that is now available in 35 countries (more countries than any other carrier, they claim). OBS also supports Polycom, Tandberg and Teliris videoconferencing solutions. Concierge services for immersive videoconferencing will be launched in 2009, and intra-company videoconferencing is in the works. OBS differentiates itself from other major carriers by its adherence to ITIL and ISO standards.

Tata Communications: Like other carriers, Tata Communications provides on-site immersive videoconferencing services, but unlike the other carriers we interviewed, Tata Communications has chosen to offer public immersive videoconferencing room rental as an off-the-shelf videoconferencing offering. The carrier has launched a network of public videoconferencing rooms in hotels in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, New Delhi, London and Santa Clara, with New York in the works. The service is based on Cisco’s telepresence solution. Tata intends to roll out 100 rooms before the end of 2009, although that number may be revised downward due to economic circumstances.

Tata product marketing manager Lee Ann Lim told us that the carrier intends to be a "leading provider of connectivity among telepresence networks." They plan to initially interconnect private and public immersive videoconferencing customers on the Tata network, and then expand to connect to customers not on their network.

Telstra: Telstra has a venerable 15-year history providing room-based videoconferencing services based on Polycom. The carrier recently added a Cisco-based immersive videoconferencing service, as well as a managed event videoconferencing service that is also Cisco-based.

Verizon Business: According to Bill Versen, Verizon's Director of Global Unified Communications and Collaboration, Verizon has a legacy of room-based videoconferencing services extending back to 1997 and it recently added immersive videoconferencing services. Fully managed immersive systems are made possible through a partnership with Nortel to install and manage Tandberg and Polycom solutions, and Cisco for Cisco-specific videoconferencing solutions.

Figure 1. Summary of Carrier Videoconferencing Offerings

Conclusions
Videoconferencing is experiencing significant uptake due to improved quality and pressure to reduce costs and travel. Seeing this as an opportunity to increase their value to business customers as well as drive bandwidth sales, carriers are getting on board and offering a growing array of videoconferencing service offerings. Cisco has become a major force in the telepresence market in a short time and has captured big carrier market share through partnerships. Video is here to stay, but we expect to see services evolve as the market matures and both carriers and enterprises figure out what they really need to support video communications.

John Bartlett and Rebecca Wetzel are principals of NetForecast. Rebecca is also president of the marketing consulting firm, Wetzel Consulting LLC, where she provides data communications industry insight and helps vendors and service providers develop and deploy successful marketing strategies. John is also a No Jitter blogger and will be co-leader of the upcoming conference-within-a-conference on videoconferencing being held at VoiceCon Orlando.