MCI accelerates VOIP plans

Eager as ever to put the Worldcom/Bernie Ebbers scandal behind it, MCI has announced that it's dipping its toe into the VOIP waters ahead of schedule.

MCI announced Wednesday (IP Inferno neglected to blog it, because we were having fun in South S.F. rubbing elbows with hardcore VOIP developers) that its wholesale VOIP product suite would be immediately available, citing strong demand, instead of rolling out later this year as previously planned.

The suite includes Carrier IP Termination and SIP Gateway Service. The company said the Carrier IP Termination product, available throughout the U.S., is aimed at customers who already own media gateway equipment and want save money by originate their own IP traffic. MCI's SIP Gateway Service is available to at least 54% of the company's U.S. business and residential customers.