Kitchen and laundry appliances retailer Kleenmaid is rolling out a national IP network linking its head office on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, its data centre in Brisbane and 34 retail outlets across Australia.

The converged solution includes an IP VPN, and OneStream phone lines which utilise MultiProtocol Label Switching (MPLS), combined with an advanced IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) VoIP Softswitch.

The rollout marks the second stage of Commander's implementation of a full end-to-end IP solution for Kleenmaid.

In December 2006, Commander and Nortel installed an integrated Nortel IP PBX and contact centre into Kleenmaid's head office.

This included installation of a new Nortel CS1000S PABX system with IP handsets, contact centre software, voicemail and voice recording. Kleenmaid IT manager, David Ingram-Johnson, said it is a very robust data network and IP-based PABX system.

He said the converged network provides greater data bandwidth to all its stores along with improved telephony call rates.

"Initially 15 of our 34 stores nationally will enjoy access to significantly higher bandwidth which will allow us to consider the delivery of additional functional benefits including content management, IP telephony (providing free inter-office calls), in store cameras and video conferencing," Ingram-Johnson said.

Commander Communications group general manager for the enterprise, Steve Evans, said the communications company has one of the largest business-dedicated technical forces in Australia.

There are plenty of IP rollouts currently underway in Australia as companies migrate from TDM technology to IP-based systems.

For example, big rollouts are underway at Suncorp, Whirlpool and the NSW Institute of Sport.

Research firm Infonetics says sales of TDM voice systems dropped 22 percent worldwide last year, while IP PBX sales grew 18 percent.