Along with the benefits of reduced call costs, there is also the option of setting up converged networks that bring together voice and data networks and a host of other options.

A key benefit of internet telephony is that calls costs are based on whatever it costs the company to connect to the internet. This is usually lower than the costs traditional telephony providers such as Telstra and Optus charge for subscriber trunk dialling and international calls.

It also offers greater flexibility and mobility to staff. Workers can access their companies’ internet telephony and converged network services wherever they can gain access to suitable internet services.

However, despite the benefits, it seems internet telephony is not being widely taken up on remote sites.

Oil and gas major Woodside, for example, has applied Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony to its new headquarters in Perth.

But while it is gaining acceptance in the larger end of town, mining industry groups report that besides the major players it appears there has been little obvious uptake of VoIP and other internet communication options among the smaller miners.

That is probably partially due to the fact the VoIP markets are only just emerging.

Another problem is the lack of communications infrastructure available to remote sites.

There has been a marked increase in the VoIP market in the US, Europe and Japan and there have been several new office developments designed with VoIP telephony in mind.

There are a number of companies offering IP telephony products in Australia such as Engin and Nortel.

The products have gone a long way from the computer-based “soft-phones” of the mid-1990s. These days IP can be offered through a company’s PABX system.

iiNet general manager (regulatory affairs) Steve Dalby said IP telephony was likely to become a common thing in the future but admitted iiNet was not in that market yet.

“We see it as a low cost way to provide telephony services,” he said.

“In the long run, we will have a VoIP offering as people are demanding it.

“In the CBD a lot of the corporates are turning to it. But if you don’t have access to broadband (as many of the remote mining sites would not) then you may need some sort of satellite based solution.”

WestNet product development manager Chris Thomas said satellite-based broadband was one way of handling remote sites.

Now one of the fastest growing ISPs in Australia, WestNet has built its business through offering broadband to remote communities.

Thomas said if mining companies decided to take the IP telephony route there were a number of offerings they could choose from. He said the broadband requirement could be solved through ISPs that could provide coverage to remote areas.

“If you’re talking about a business or a mine with a PABX, then there are products that can turn that PABX into a VoIP gateway,” Thomas said.

“It’s one of those situations where if a mine had a need for broadband internet on its site, then it can look at VoIP.”

While internet telephony can provide benefits, some companies are trying to take the communications technology a step further and bring video, voice and data services into the one phone call through converged networks. These networks also allow conferencing, instant messaging, file exchange, and call screening and routing.

WebEx is one company offering web conferencing, one of the main uses of converged networks. It is an alternative to bringing staff on remote sites to a central point for meetings and training. It also offers IT help-desk services over the internet.

Another company working in the converged network space is Nortel.

Nortel’s Mick Regan said while such technology was available to mining companies, the problem remained of leveraging existing investments in older telephony systems before they could take advantage of converged, IP-enabled networks.

He said some companies, Nortel included, were developing smart devices for mining companies that integrated the functions of older analogue systems with newer IP-capable systems.

Regan said while converged network systems were usually pretty easy to set up, largely “plug and play” products, companies could need some help to set up some of the IP functions.

He said companies also needed to ask some questions of their converged networks.

“What of security, management and more robust communications services?” he asked.

“Look out for features such as call centre applications that combine personalised agent interaction and customer support with advanced web-based solutions, interactive voice response that delivers information and ordering services from the keypad of a touchtone phone, and unified messaging, which increases productivity by consolidating all incoming messages – including email, voicemail and faxes.”

Australia's Mining Monthly.