AT&T buys into IP-based conferencing

US carrier plans to acquire collaboration specialist Interwise for $121m

US carrier AT&T has announced plans to acquire conferencing specialist Interwise in a deal worth around $121m.

AT&T said that the deal would allow it to add IP-based conferencing systems to its range of enterprise solutions, and speed up development of collaboration products.

Interwise said that the AT&T purchase could help its collaborative voice, web and video conferencing suite, Interwise Connect, gain more traction in the global enterprise market. Interwise faces competition in the conferencing market from telepresence systems such as HP’s Halo and Cisco’s TelePresence.

“We think high-definition (HD) video conferencing is the least essential part of collaborating where a proper working meeting is concerned,” said Interwise European vice president, Tony Gasson. “Our system is different to telepresence, and allows you to work online with documents like contracts, budgets and complex diagrams.”

The transaction is due to close in the fourth quarter this year.