BT takes deeper dive with Cisco TelePresence

Telepresence continues to gain speed as more operators work on inter-carrier agreements that extend the technology beyond their sometimes-limited islands.

Now, BT, which earlier this month signed a deal with Verizon (NYSE: VZ) to make sure their Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) telepresence offerings interconnect, has announced it has achieved TelePresence Video Master Authorized Technology Provider (ATP) status from Cisco.

The designation means BT has the in-depth knowledge to deploying the entire Cisco video endpoint portfolio, which comprises single and triple-screen Cisco TelePresence units, custom TelePresence suites and infrastructure solutions.

BT, like many service providers, is looking at telepresence and video conferencing as an opportunity to expand their service portfolio. The segment has been slowly growing since a short burst of excitement in 2008, and now ther service is seen as another way operators can leverage their networks to expand revenue.

Earlier this month, AT&T (NYSE: T) and Orange Business Services announced their own inter-provider connectivity agreement.

Tata Communications, late last month, said it would team up with nine other service providers-- including Sprint (NYSE: S), Glowpointand TELUS in North America, Safaricom in Africa, Telstra in Australia, Etisalat, Qtel and Mobily in the Middle East, and Neotel in South Africa-- to interconnect their business networks.

Increasingly, providers of videoconferencing, telepresence and other UC services are addressing interoperability issues that have served as a barrier to adoption of the technologies.

BT, for example, is a founding member of the Open Visual Communications Consortium (OVCC), which said it will specify standards, best practices and connectivity agreements. It also said that service providers would be able to deliver a consistent business-to-business video experience that enables enterprise users to place and receive video calls beyond corporate firewalls and across proprietary video platforms as early as mid-2012.

For more:
- see this release

Related articles:
Verizon, BT expand telepresence offering with inter-carrier deal
BT offers full interoperability with cloud-based videoconferencing
OVCC champions video-conferencing adoption, interoperability; but where are Cisco and Vidyo?
OVCC targets videoconferencing interoperability