BOSTON--In the drive to differentiate their services, VoIP providers now have another arrow in their quiver--customizable ringback tones.

BroadSoft this week announced that its BroadWorks VoIP application platform will enable both wireline and wireless service providers to let users customize the tones that callers hear and offer video ringbacks as well.

“This is something that obviously has commercial appeal,” said Diane Myers, senior product marketing manager for BroadSoft. “It would allow companies--like retailers, for example--to leverage their existing advertising campaigns to offer outgoing video messages that reinforce brands or promote specials. If you don’t have a video phone, you hear the audio message.”

Custom ringbacks are just one of the applications that service providers are seeking both as a point of differentiation and as a new source of revenue, Myers said.

“This is very similar to the wireless model,” she said. “You can charge an extra $1 to $2 a month to provide the service.”

Service providers can also get a piece of the licensing action for songs or other content used in providing the ringback.

The technology is already deployed in Asia, where wireless ringback tones are practically ubiquitous and where where companies such as Samsung Networks in South Korea and SingTel in Singapore are delivering services over wireline networks.