Voice Over IP Gateway Replaces Costly Satellite LinkMulti-Tech Talks Over the Internet and Saves $15,000 Per Month
Multi-Tech needed 24-hour access between its headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota and its development lab in Bangalore, India. Using a satellite tie-line to Bangalore, while costly, allowed these sites to maintain a mission-critical voice/fax communications link that was cheaper than the PSTN.
MultiVOIP is a turnkey IP telephony product that is ideal for small to midsize businesses that want to reduce long distance costs in point-to-point applications anywhere in the world. It works over any IP network, including the Internet or private dial-up, frame relay, leased line, or satellite intranet. Hari Arimilli, Multi-Tech Engineering Manager, said of Multi-Tech's MultiVOIP installation, "We did it without disturbing our existing infrastructure. We already had an Internet link, so we just had to plug this small box into the network at both ends." MultiVOIP connects directly to Ethernet LANs, routers, WANs, and phone systems, making installation fast and easy. Former Satellite Link Solution
This solution, which was a necessary part of doing business multinationally, cost Multi-Tech over $100,000 per year. "In April, when MultiVOIP was ready for testing, it seemed natural that we test it within Multi-Tech. We didn't remove the existing satellite link during testing," Arimilli said. "So we didn't risk disrupting existing data and telephone communications." New VOIP Solution
"After three months of testing we were able to remove the satellite link in our headquarters and use the T1 line we already had for the Internet. And in India, they upgraded from a 56K dial-up analog line to a 64K leased line, while greatly reducing our long distance calling costs," said Arimilli. Easy Installation "I can't emphasize enough how easy this product is to install," Arimilli said. "You don't have to disturb your network's existing infrastructure. It is as easy as adding a PC to the network." Reliable Communications Arimilli spends about ten hours per week using the MultiVOIP at Multi-Tech headquarters to talk to the development lab in India. "Since we released MultiVOIP, we have not had any problems talking to India. In fact talking over the Internet with MultiVOIP has actually provided better voice quality for both ends than our previous satellite link," Arimilli said. In addition, Multi-Tech uses MultiVOIPs for off-network calling to further reduce long distance costs. In Arimilli's case, he sometimes needs to call India after 10 P.M. Minnesota time. He can place a call from his home in Minneapolis to India by dialing into the MultiVOIP at Multi-Tech headquarters. The call from Arimilli's home to headquarters is a local call, so his call to India costs no more than a local call. The MultiVOIP solution has worked so well that Multi-Tech added MultiVOIPs to sales offices in the U.S.A., France, U.K., Germany, and a distributor in Mexico. While the totals are not yet in for these sites, Arimilli expects Multi-Tech to save thousands more on long distance voice and fax communication. Trademarks: MultiVOIP, Multi-Tech, & the Multi-Tech logo: Multi-Tech Systems, Inc. |
Like most multinational companies, Multi-Tech Systems must maintain costly voice/fax connections with remote offices and business partners around the world.
Recently, Multi-Tech deployed its patented voice over IP (VOIP) gateway between headquarters and the development lab. Multi-Tech's 
Multi-Tech maintained voice/fax communication with India over a 64K leased line from its headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota to a satellite tie-line in New York. The New York satellite sent communications to another satellite in Bombay, India. From Bombay, a 56K dial-up digital line was used to reach the Multi-Tech development lab in Bangalore. 
A MultiVOIP was installed at Multi-Tech headquarters between the PBX and an existing IP router on the Ethernet LAN. A second MultiVOIP was installed in the development lab between the existing key telephone equipment and IP router.