Internode spends half a million on telepresence

Internode has bought a Cisco TelePresence system, which uses dedicated boardrooms and high quality video and audio for videoconferencing. As well as internal meetings, Internode is using the system to communicate with business partners, vendors and customers.

However, due to Cisco's proprietary codecs that are incompatible with open industry standards, the system will only communicate with other Cisco systems. Cisco telepresence systems cannot make videocalls to similar systems used by competitors Polycom, Tandberg and LifeSize.

The ISP is the first South Australian customer to buy such a system from Cisco, which is a major Internode partner.

Using five-year projections based on its 2007-08 activity, Internode estimates that its telepresence suites will eliminate more than 150 tonnes of carbon emissions from its operations through reduced travel.

Internode is already using the telepresence system to connect its Sydney and Adelaide offices. Its Melbourne office will come online later this year after the fit out is complete.

Patrick Tapper, CEO, Internode said the facility will help it win business.

"Our main reason for installing TelePresence is to make Internode's expertise more accessible nationally," he said.

"Whether it's a sales meeting or a technical planning session, we can bring in the right person, regardless of where they are located. 

"In addition, we expect it will significantly cut our travel costs and, of course, that translates into a reduced impact on the environment, which fits with other 'green' initiatives by Internode."

With a large business customer base, Internode earns most of its revenues outside its home state of South Australia.

The national company has 430 staff at its Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne offices.

The systems are designed to create a "virtual table" around which as many as four participants can meet.

It also supports multipoint meetings, allowing the connection of all three locations.

Each TP 1000 installation has a 65-inch, 1080p high-definition plasma screen to display life-size images of two meeting participants at each location.

Tapper said Internode had configured its Adelaide and Sydney telepresence suites to be mirror images of each other, so everyone in the meeting appears to be in the same room.

"After a few minutes in the meeting, you actually forget that you're talking to someone on a screen. The sound and vision are so immersive that technology disappears from the communication," he said.