Zultys & Aastra Telecom Partner

Zultys and Aastra Telecom have reached an OEM pact to delivery the next line of ZIP Phones. As part of the announcement, Zultys and Aastra announced full interoperability between the Aastra 5i Series and the Zultys MX (Media eXchange) line. I'm a huge fan of Aastra SIP-based VoIP phones and they are perhaps my favorite of any brand due to their XML capabilities and extensive customization capabilities. I have one sitting on my desk right now. The 57i CT in fact, which comes with a cool cordless handset that communicates wirelessly with the desktop IP phone.

"In Zultys, we are delighted to find a SIP PBX partner that shares our core underlying philosophy that open standards should afford customers an easy-to-use, cost-effective communications solution that offers the maximum flexibility," says John Drolet, Vice President of Sales at Aastra Telecom USA.

The interoperability testing involving the Aastra 5i Series, which consists of a line of SIP-based desktop and wireless telephones and expansion modules, including:
• 51i - Entry level single line set with 3 line/16 character display and 9 configurable speed dial keys using the number keypad
• 53i - Featured set with 3 line/16 character display and 4 programmable keys; compatible with up to three 536M expansion modules
• 55i - Advanced Featured set with 144 x 75 backlit LCD display, up to 26 programmable function capability; compatible with up to three 560M or 536M expansion modules
• 57i - Full Featured set with 144 x 128 backlit LCD display, up to 30 programmable function capability; compatible with up to three 560M or 536M expansion modules
• 57i CT - All the features of the Aastra 57i plus integrated cordless base providing VoIP mobility employing secure 2.4GHz Frequency Hopped Spread Spectrum technology
• 536M - Expansion Module with 36 programmable keys
• 560M - Expansion Module with LCD Screen and 60 programmable keys

Using any of the Aastra 5i series phones paired with the latest build of Zultys' MX software (version 3.2 or higher), gives some cool "out of the box" advanced functionality. In fact, Zultys told me, "MX software tightly integrates a suite of predefined critical features, including the so-called "Four P's" – that is, Paging, Parking, Pick-Up and Provisioning."

As a result, Zultys will soon make available the following additions to its portfolio of award-winning phones: the ZIP 53i, ZIP 55i, ZIP 57i, ZIP 57i CT as well as the ZIP 536m and ZIP 560m expansion modules. Under the terms of the OEM arrangement, those phones will be rebranded by Zultys and made available to its distributors and resellers.

"The addition of the Aastra 5i Series to our Zultys community creates a truly unique opportunity for organizations of all size migrating to pure IP or a converged IP environment. This further reinforces our commitment to offering customers unprecedented freedom of choice in finding a solution that is perfectly suited to meet their needs," explains Jonna Paquette, VP of Sales and Marketing at Zultys.