iBasis, the global VoIP company, announced that SunRocket, one of the nation's fastest-growing Internet phone service providers, has interconnected to iBasis' global Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network to connect international calls. The deal further cements iBasis as the leading international telecommunications provider for the rapidly growing consumer VoIP industry. iBasis will be exhibiting at VON in booth #1561.

Providing low-cost, high-quality international voice is a key differentiator for SunRocket. In July, SunRocket launched its SunRocket SunSpots Edition plan, which allows customers to make unlimited calls to 41 countries and cities for a $299 annual fee. By interconnecting with iBasis, SunRocket is able to take advantage of the lower-cost global VoIP infrastructure of the iBasis Network to deliver inexpensive and clear international calling for its customers.

"SunRocket is dedicated to providing affordable, crystal clear voice quality each time a customer picks up the phone - whether they are calling across the street or across the world," said Mark Fedor, chief technology officer at SunRocket. "So we are not only looking for the best possible price from our international telecommunications wholesalers, but also the highest quality routes. iBasis' global VoIP network has provided us with both."

SunRocket is the latest residential VoIP provider to interconnect with iBasis, joining the more than 40 consumer VoIP companies, including Skype and Yahoo!, that rely on iBasis to connect their customers' international calls. iBasis transmits approximately 10 billion minutes of voice traffic over its global VoIP network annually. The iBasis Network is the most extensive international VoIP network in the world, with over 1,000 points of presence providing direct service to more than 100 countries. iBasis utilizes proprietary patent-pending technology that assures high call completion and voice quality equal to and often exceeding the PSTN.

"Voice, like most other communications services, is moving inexorably and rapidly to IP," said Ofer Gneezy, CEO of iBasis. "As consumer adoption of high quality VoIP services from innovative providers like SunRocket continues its rapid growth worldwide, iBasis is exceptionally well positioned to continue to grow our share of this market as the preferred international telecommunications provider."

Consumer VoIP providers represent 10 percent of iBasis' wholesale business and its fastest-growing market segment. Research analyst firm In-Stat forecasts the number of worldwide VoIP subscribers will grow from 16 million in 2005 to more than 55 million in 2009. Expanding its suite of capabilities for consumer VoIP providers, iBasis also announced today DirectVoIP Transcoding, an industry-first solution that overcomes a long-standing VoIP hurdle by integrating real-time media translation capabilities into The iBasis Network. As a result, providers of consumer VoIP services can now take advantage of a variety of specialized codecs to send voice calls over iBasis' global VoIP network without loss of quality or incurring the cost of converting the calls into other compatible formats.