| Vendor | 3Com | 3Com | Avaya |
| Web site | www.3com.com | www.3com.com | www.avaya.com |
| Phone number | 1800 678 515 | 1800 678 515 | 02 9352 9000 |
| Price range | AU$199-$308 | AU$199-$308 | AU$285-$945 |
| Featured model | 3101 Basic, 3101SP Basic | 3102 Business | 4602 |
| RRP | AU$199, AU$231 (estimate based on US price conversion) | AU$308 (estimate based on US price conversion) |
US$195 |
| Warranty | 12 months | 12 months | 12 months |
| Protocols | H.323, SIP | H.323, SIP | H.323 & SIP |
| RJ45 ports | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| PSTN port | N/A | N/A | No |
| Headphone socket | No | Yes | Yes |
| Encryption | Proprietary | Proprietary | AES |
| Simultaneous calls | 1, 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Power over Ethernet (PoE) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Speakerphone | No, Yes | Yes | No |
| Other features | LCD | LCD | LDAP support for directories |
| Name directory | Name directory | 10 fixed buttons & keypad | |
| Call history | Call history | Multilanguage support | |
| G.729 | G.729 | Message Wait Indicator | |
| 4 programmable buttons | 18 programmable buttons | SNMP V2 support | |
| 10/100 switch | 10/100 switch | Application support | |
| QoS - IP TOS, 802.1p | QoS - IP TOS, 802.1p | 2 line display | |
| Adaptive jitter buffer | Adaptive jitter buffer | QoS diffserv and 802.1p | |
| TAPI support | TAPI support | Acts as a probe for QoS applications | |
| DHCP support | DHCP support | Downloadable firmware | |
3Com + Avaya specifications
| Vendor | Avaya | Avaya |
| Web site | www.avaya.com | www.avaya.com |
| Phone number | 02 9352 9000 | 02 9352 9000 |
| Price range | AU$285-$945 | AU$285-$945 |
| Featured model | 4620 | 4625 |
| RRP | US$395 | AU$945 |
| Warranty | 12 months | 12 months |
| Protocols | H.323 & SIP | H.323 & SIP |
| RJ45 ports | 2 | 2 |
| PSTN port | N/A | N/A |
| Headphone socket | Yes | Yes |
| Encryption | AES | AES |
| Simultaneous calls | 24 | 24 |
| Power over Ethernet (PoE) | Yes | Yes |
| Speakerphone | Yes | Yes |
| Other features | LDAP support for directories | LDAP support for directories |
| WML support | WML, JPEG & WBMP | |
| 10 fixed buttons & keypad | 10 fixed buttons & keypad | |
| 24 button expansion unit | 24 button expansion unit | |
| Multilanguage support | Multilanguage support | |
| Message wait indicator | Message wait indicator | |
| SNMP V2 support | SNMP V2 support | |
| Application support | Application support | |
| 168x80 (gray scale) display | 320x240 (colour) Display | |
| QoS diffserv and 802.1p | QoS diffserv and 802.1p | |
| Acts as a probe for QoS applications | Acts as a probe for QoS applications | |
| Downloadable firmware | Downloadable firmware |
1%
8%
ISP's are currently battling the broadband war. The race for customer aquisition is aggressive. What is the holy grail... VoIP or basic broadband revenue? The answer lies in the current broadband price offerings of ISP's.
The cost savings of VoIP to corporations is unquestionable and the future economic benefits of widespread adoption is inevitable. One just needs to review the developments of such products as 'Skype' over the last 12 months to arrive at the realisation of just where VoIP is heading. Companies in Asia have even commenced manufacturing 'Cisco ATA type' devices which interface with skype enabling VoIP calls from your normal PSTN phone. The future of VoIP is cemented and the war for market share is definitely on.