The UK subsidiary of Canada’s Mitel Corp has unveiled an integrated voice/data remote access solution via ISDN lines, aimed at the small business and branch office market in Europe. The product, known as Kontact, was developed in the UK, and is aimed primarily at the European market, as leased lines tend to prevail in that market segment in North America, rather than ISDN, explained Mitel’s technology director, Dave Hardcastle. It draws on the technological expertise gained from the company’s 1997 acquisitions of both Global Village (now renamed MediaLink) and Gandalf, which had differing approaches to the question of remote users. While Global Village, took a LAN-style approach, putting a box on the line and supporting the main protocols currently in use, Gandalf preferred to use compression technology on the line to reduce connection times. By acquiring both companies, said Hardcastle, we now have a convergent product portfolio. Kontact exists in three configurations, varying from a 2-trunk version with two ISDN channels and six extensions to a 6-trunk one with six channels and 12 extensions, at prices from 1,900 pounds – 2,500 pounds.
