SBC Communications, the second largest phone carrier in the United States, has jumped into the Internet phone business band this week, unveiling a service that will allow businesses to manage all calls through a Web portal, the Mercury News, a Silicon Valley-based newspaper, reported Friday.

"As we look at what analysts are saying, we see a trend of customers moving away from traditional phone systems to voice-over IP," Marianne Gedeon, director of voice and data convergence for SBC, was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

SBC's IP phone service, available this week in 18 regions in the US, uses voice over Internet protocol technologies to carry calls over a data network, instead of traditional phone networks, the paper said.

Moving calls over a data network such as the Internet allows customers to avoid long-distance charges and to merge phone services with desktop computer applications such as calendars and address books. IP phone also allows companies to save money because they no longer have to manage in-house phone networks.

SBC said in a recent statement that its IP phone service will allow businesses to converge voice and data applications onto a single platform, resulting in cost efficiencies and powerful tools that can increase employee productivity, such as a single inbox for voice and e-mail messages, "click-to-call" functionality from PCs, and "find me, follow me" call routing options, which enable employees to forward calls to a mobile phone, remote office, another extension, etc.

With SBC's service, called PremierSERVSM, users would place all their calls through an Internet phone connected to their desktop computer. With the click of a mouse, users could control whether to accept calls from certain people or to route them to voice mail or another phone. They could also place calls directly from their contact lists.

Aimed at businesses with up to 250 workers, the service costs 39 US dollars a month, per person, and includes calls to anywhere in the country.

Several other major US communications companies are already offering Internet phone service to consumers. Qwest and Verizon both announced IP phone services recently. And AT&T has been adding to its line of business-oriented IP phone services.

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