Broadband wireless service provider NextWeb announced today that it will launch voice-over-IP services through a strategic partnership with VoIP solutions facilitator CommPartners. Spanning 175 cities and 3500 square miles across California, the deployment represents the U.S. market's largest VoIP rollout over a pre-WiMAX network thus far.

NextWeb's VoIP service will go live next month, promising its target small and medium business customers low-cost advanced calling features and bundled service options. NextWeb will make its VoIP offering available as a stand-alone service, or bundled with data services at a reduced cost.

According to NextWeb, its service will include features such as call waiting, voice mail, caller ID and call forwarding, as well as a Call Manager Web portal enabling self-management of advanced options such as personal phone lists and Outlook integration.

"One advantage we have is that we've already engineered a network to deliver premium Internet for businesses, so putting voice on the connection is not as difficult as it would be for other providers," said Eric Warren, NextWeb's Director of Marketing and Business Development. "Some people have to re-engineer network to deliver voice, but we're selling to business customers, so they demand that kind of network quality."

When NextWeb first announced in late 2004 its plans to deliver voice services, it named Level 3 as its VoIP facilitator. Following Level 3's decision to vacate the business wholesale market, Warren said the company chose to work with CommPartners instead.