Optimum Lightpath, the business-services division of Cablevision Systems, is offering a "hosted" voice-over-IP service for small and midsize businesses with up to 300 employees that builds the cost of phones and equipment into a monthly price.
The Lightpath Hosted Voice service, available through a three-year contract, includes Cisco Systems' Linksys or Cisco-branded phones and either Cisco or Adtran switches.
Glenn Calafati, director of product marketing and development for Optimum Lightpath, said the service is like a "virtualized PBX or a Centrex offering," whereas the company's existing managed VoIP service requires an on-site voice switch.
The customer-premises equipment is provided under a lease, which is built into a monthly recurring charge. "We worked hard with the hardware manufacturers to include this in your bill without an up-front cost," Calafati said.
Pricing for Lightpath Hosted Voice including Internet access starts at $3,498 per month, which includes 50,000 minutes of phone calling for up to 50 employees and 20 Megabytes of bandwidth. The service is available in six tiers ranging between 50,000 and 300,000 minutes of usage.
Optimum Lightpath provides services in the New York metropolitan area, over a fiber-to-the-premises network that covers more than 3,700 route miles.
