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Hoping to expand videoconferencing to more individuals and smaller offices, Glowpoint on Monday introduced a new class of service for its IP-based video communications.
The Hillside, N.J., service provider launched its Individual Video Access service, which provides a lower-bandwidth videoconferencing service for small businesses and offices.
The new service is compatible with video endpoints from such vendors as Polycom Inc., Tandberg ASA and Sony Electronics Inc. that support the H.264 video transport protocol.
H.264 provides a compression technique that allows high-quality video calls to be delivered at lower bandwidths, said Mike Brandofino, chief technology officer at Glowpoint Inc.
Glowpoints Individual Video Access service, for example, supports calls at 264 Kbps, compared to rates starting at 384 Kbps for its business-class service.
The new service starts at a lower price than the enterprise service. It costs $299 a month for a single connection into an office or business and for unlimited calling between Glowpoint locations within the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Puerto Rico.
“These small businesses are saying, We want to get into the video space but dont want to spend $499 a month and spend $10,000 on an endpoint,” Brandofino said.
Brandofino said Glowpoint has seen demand from small businesses as well as from large companies that want to add videoconferencing connections into small, branch offices or into executives home offices.
The Individual Video Access service also comes with a set of standard Glowpoint features, including a direct-dial video number that is similar to a phone number, support for connecting to ISDN videoconferencing users and access to a live video operator, the company said.
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