Voice-over-IP software vendor BridgePort Networks has announced availability of its new SoftMOBILE solution, bringing together the company's NomadicONE Network Convergence Gateway, a standard mobile phone and a soft phone client designed for PCs or laptops.

The suite is targeted at allowing mobile carriers to offer teens, young workers, work-at-home employees and road warriors a single-number, multi-interface solution. The new offering improves on other soft phone solutions by allowing mobile carriers to offer converged services to existing mobile phone numbers of their customers, BridgePort claimed.

Using the SoftMOBILE solution, mobile providers can route calls to and from the soft phone. Mobile service subscribers will be able to maintain a single identity number that is used via their mobile phone or from the soft phone on their PC. The same soft phone can also be used to send and receive text messages, and will have access to voice mail. To use the SoftMOBILE solution, subscribers will download and configure the password-protected, mobile provider branded soft phone onto their PC or laptop. After selecting two configuration options when the application is initially launched, all calls and messages made to the user's mobile phone number can be received on the soft phone. When the subscriber logs out of the soft phone (i.e. when the user needs to be mobile) calls and messages are received back to the user's actual mobile phone.