Global Crossing today announced it has been awarded a three-year contract to offer Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) as part of a new service targeted at the research- and-education and consumer markets. The service forms part of a triple-play offering being launched by Inuk Networks later this year aimed initially at a UK university student population of more than three million. The service will include broadband Internet access, IPTV and VoIP. Global Crossing has extensive experience providing IP network services to operators of research and education networks worldwide. Customers include: SURFnet in the Netherlands; GEANT, operators of the DANTE network in Europe; HEAnet in the Republic of Ireland and the Brazilian National Research and Education Network (RNP) and Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP), the two largest academic research institutions in Brazil. Inuk Networks has developed an innovative platform, known as Freewire, that delivers broadcast-quality television over IP networks that have a multi-casting capability. The Freewire bundle includes VoIP and Internet services. Since July 2005, Inuk has been collaborating with UKERNA, operators of the JANET education and research network in the UK, to use this high-capacity IP infrastructure to transport both IPTV and VoIP services. Through a single connection, students will be able to receive mainstream and premium television content, as well as low-cost telephony to keep in touch with fellow students, university staff and the world at large. In connection with the agreement, Ubiquity Software, an affiliate of Inuk Networks, announced in July that it has entered into a separate agreement to become a preferred supplier of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Application Server technology in Global Crossing's global IP network. Ubiquity Software has been leading the development of the integration of VoIP functionality into the Freewire platform. Using Freewire VoIP service, students will be able to make calls from Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones or "soft-phones" on PCs. Calls to other students will be free and Global Crossing will terminate fixed-line and wireless outbound calls to domestic and international destinations via its global VoIP network. External callers will be able to make calls at highly competitive rates using a single 0844 local rate number. Incoming traffic also will be routed over Global Crossing's VoIP network. "This is a perfect opportunity for our companies to use their complementary skills to further deploy IP solutions," commented Global Crossing CEO John Legere. "Aside from the technology, our mutual understanding of the higher education sector provides us a template for offering triple-play services to academic communities worldwide." The Freewire service is being trialled over the summer, before the start of the academic year in September, with approximately 5,000 students at five universities. After the conclusion of the pilot, the service will be offered to all 120 universities in the UK, representing a student population of 3.2 million. "Our collaboration with Global Crossing will help us realize the full potential of a service that will improve the lives of students," said Inuk Networks CEO Marcus Liassides. "The UK student market is just the start. We are very excited about expanding Freewire to other academic communities around the world." Users can download the software and make VoIP calls to other members of the Freewire community for free and there is no set-up fee for standard VoIP services. Registration is required to access additional capabilities such as voicemail and to make calls that connect to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Students will benefit from preferential rates for PSTN termination of national, international and mobile calls. Family and friends will be able to make inbound calls to students using the new 0844 local rate number. Students will access the VoIP service through a downloadable software client suitable for personal computers. In addition, SIP-capable phones will be available for purchase on an individual basis or included in the rooms as part of an established service agreement with universities. Global Crossing also was responsible for the creation of the America Latina Interconectada Con Europa (ALICE) network that interconnects the research and educational community in Latin America. Last year, the company supported SARA, the academic computer center in Amsterdam, to set a world record for generating the largest transatlantic real-time data stream to date for ultra-high-resolution visualization. The Global Crossing VoIP Service is generally available in most commercial centers throughout North America and Europe. Global Crossing now transports more than 2.5 billion VoIP minutes per month, and VoIP traffic accounted for 78 percent of all voice traffic transported by Global Crossing in the first half of 2006. IP traffic on Global Crossing's global IP backbone increased 65 percent in 2005 and grew 102 percent in the first half of 2006.