Flying high with Equiinet

A British start-up is hoping to bring the simplicity of the telephone PBX to office Internet connectivity.

Equiinet, based in Berkshire, was formed last week by UK IT entrepreneur Bob Jones to sell a product that has been in development since 1995. Netpiilot, as the product is named, is a box that integrates a mail server, ISDN router, Web server and firewall, with pre-configured internal and external Email, security and management. Designed for non-technical users, it comes with a one-page setup guide and Equiinet claims it can be up and running within five minutes.

The philosophy of Equiinet (the double "i" stands for "Intelligent Internet") is to keep the simplicity of the telephone PBX and apply it to Internet access, creating what it terms the "IBX" (Internet Branch Exchange).

The Netpiilot box is designed to plug in between the ISDN line and the hub, and can be configured via a browser on one of the PCs on the network.

Once started up, the Netpiilot scans its environment and automatically configures itself, requiring a minimum of user intervention. For those who want to delve under the hood, a full set of connections for mouse, keyboard and monitor allow you to get into the operating system, which turns out to be the popular freeware Unix variant, Linux.

The box also sports two removable modules at the rear, one of which houses an ISDN connection card. The pupose of the modules is to allow an easy upgrade path to ADSL, cable modem, or other faster access technologies as they become available.

Jones sees voice and data converging in the long term. Eventually, one of the product's modules may contain a voice-to-IP card or some similar technology, allowing the Netpiilot "IBX" to integrate with the PBX, creating an "IPBX".

The Netpiilot costs #1,995, and Equiinet is hoping to recruit ISPs and distributors as resellers.

Equiinet: 0870 608 1530.