Batelco showcases Video Telephony at MEFTEC

Visitors to the Batelco Stand have had the opportunity to test the video phone during the opening day of the exhibition on February 12th.

Batelco, Bahrain's leading integrated telecommunications company, is the first company in the Kingdom to offer Video Telephony solutions in collaboration with a number of leading IP (Internet Protocol) telephony vendors.

Successful trials have been carried out by Batelco's management teams at the Company's Hamala Headquarters and Diplomat Office in Bahrain and also at the Company's joint venture operations in Jordan and Kuwait. A significant volume of day to day business interactions between senior staff at all Batelco key locations are now taking place utilising the video phones, leading to a big reduction in time spent travelling between the various sites.

"Following the successful trail period at our offices in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, we are now introducing the technology to our business customers in advance of the commercial launch later this year,"

said Batelco Corporate Affairs General Manager Ahmed Al Janahi.

The high-quality portable Broadband Video Phone features a built-in high resolution camera with high definition LCD screen. The phones, which have both a broadband network interface and a PSTN network interface, can be considered as home terminals that integrate with multiple functions, including videophone, voice phone and multipoint conference.

"One of the key strengths of video telephony lies in it full interoperability with virtually any network, as it operates on Batelco's broadband service (ADSL) or can be combined with Batelco's MPLS based IPVPN service," explained Mr. Al Janahi.

"Added advantages with Video Telephony over Broadband are reduced call rates and the ability to have a video conference with up to four people at the same time," he added.

Besides being an invaluable tool offering a video link between a company's different geographical locations, the video phone also provides enhanced communications between offices in the same building.

Batelco, as the leaders in converged IP solutions, can now offer complete end-to-end solutions for the business and government sectors. With converged video, data and voice being available on a commercial basis it will greatly benefit transactions both within Bahrain and in dealing with multinational corporations.