The 4x4 was one of the more expensive phones tested, coming in at $400 retail. For that price, though, you get five switched Ethernet 10/100 ports, including the port used to connect the phone to the network. The phone was also the only one to come with its own headset.
However, the 4x4 is the only phone lacking a Web interface, something Zultys says it will add by year's end, along with support for the G.729 codec. This meant that we had to make configuration changes on the phone itself or edit configuration files.
Zip 4X4, $400. Zultys Technologies, (408) 328-0450. www.zultys.com
The Snom200 is a small, low-profile phone without as many bells and whistles as its rivals, but it's one of the least expensive devices tested, with a retail price of $289. The Snom200 includes five lighted call-appearance buttons that can be reprogrammed for other functions. In addition, it sports a scrollable menu, as well as keys to control the speakerphone and to conference and redial.
Like the Siemens optiPoint, the Snom200 supports H.323, though it does not implement QoS (Quality of Service) support at Layer 2 (Layer 3 QoS is present, but that doesn't help the phone-to-wiring closet connection). We consider this a major weakness for a phone that is sharing voice conversations with data from a PC, and Snom's score reflected it.
However, we decided to give Berlin-based Snom a break, in part because it has some unique solutions for dealing with NAT (network address translation). The company says its SIP phones support both UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) and STUN (Simple Traversal of UDP through NAT; RFC 3489). We tested the Snom200's UPnP compliance, and it worked well (see "SIP and NAT: Not So Perfect Together,").
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.
