Mitel's phone looks exactly like a typical business-class phone, with no hint of its IP talents. It has a two-line LCD display and buttons out the wazoo: There are rows of buttons across the top and down either side. There are four lighted call-appearance buttons, four buttons to control the display, and seven programmable buttons. In addition, the 5055 has extra buttons for speakerphone, transfer, hold, muting and headset.
Although it's display control was not as advanced as Polycom's, the Mitel phone was easy to operate--anyone who has used a corporate phone will be comfortable with it. As with the Polycom phone, the first line is activated as soon as the headset is taken off the hook. All the phones have message-waiting indicators, but Mitel's is the biggest and brightest--you could probably use it as a warning beacon for the local airport. The 5055 has only a half-duplex speakerphone, but Mitel says it plans to make full-duplex functionality standard by the end of the year.
We could use the typical TFTP options for downloading new software and configurations, but the 5055 doesn't include any diagnostics capabilities. Again, Mitel says it plans to add remote- and local-access to call-quality statistics by September.
Mitel is a well-known player in the PBX market, but it sells only one SIP PBX, the 3050 ICP, and that supports a maximum of 10 phones. The company says it will add SIP support to its higher end 3300 ICP in 2004.
Mitel Networks 5055 SIP Phone 2.0, $350. Mitel Networks Corp., (800) 648-3579. www.mitel.com
The functionality and ease of use of Siemens' optiPoint 400 were comparable to that of the Mitel 5055. The $440 retail price of the Siemens phone was highest of all the devices tested, edging out Polycom's $435 offering and a lot higher than Mitel's price of $350.
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
Amid ongoing regional uncertainties, telecom infrastructure in the Middle East has expand to include terrestrial low-latency network infrastructure, which offers resilience and agility in navigating political complexities without relying solely on undersea networks.
