Internode unleashes voice over NBN

Internode has begun to roll out voice services over the NBN following the conclusion of a 12 month service trial.

According to Internode product manager Jim Kellett, 30 people from across Australia were involved in the trial, which was divided into two distinct phases.

The first phase, said Kellett, required a hand-tooled XML file to provide handset authentication to the server. That phase was superseded when software based on the TR-069 standard was introduced.

“[TR-069] is used by ISPs to configure customer premises routers and so forth,” Kellett said. “It’s also used to configure the customer voice handset.

"When the device is connected, it goes to the server, provides its MAC address and then gets the configuration.”

A further advantage of using TR-069 is it can automatically update handset firmware, he said.

The initial customers using XML provisioning were automatically rolled onto the TR-069-based service. “From their perspective there was no change,” Kellett said. “It continued to function as normal.”

All the voice customers were also taking the Internode broadband service. “Taking broadband is the only way to get the network termination device,” Kellett said.

The network termination device also includes battery back-up. This back-up allows voice calls in the event of a power failure.

Kellett said there’s been talk of providing network termination devices without battery back-up, however this has caused some concerns about people being able to contact emergency services.

Kellett also said there’s talk of having battery back-up for data services; at present, the battery only supplies power to the voice component.

The Internode Fibre Fone service costs $29.95 per month, with a flat fee of 18c for calls across Australia. A $49.95 set-up fee is waived if a customer signs up for a 24-month contract.