March 2000

Each month in this space, Internet Telephony magazine will explore news from the world of standards and interoperability. This months overview takes a quick look at some of the news regarding the following standards: DOCSIS 1.0, G.lite, and WAP. If you have any standards-based news youd like to submit, or if youd like to see expanded coverage of a specific standard in this feature, please send e-mail to ggalitzine@tmcnet.com. I also urge vendors interested in participating in ConvergeNET at Communications Solutions Expo to contact Adam Altman of TMC Labs as soon as possible. His contact information follows the brief ConvergeNET write-up.

DOCSIS 1.0
Cable Television Laboratories (CableLabs) announced that DX Antenna Co., Ltd. has achieved CableLabs Certified cable modem status. The company becomes the 14th manufacturer to have a high-speed, always-connected DOCSIS 1.0 cable modem certified for retail sale.

According to David Bukovinsky, cable modem project leader and vice president for Broadband Services at CableLabs, We are pleased to see the cable modem suppliers working together to ensure widespread availability of certified product. In this case, DX Antenna licensed hardware and software from a previously certified cable modem supplier. The DX Antenna implementation passed all the CableLabs-specified criteria to be classified as an OEM of a certified modem. Once CableLabs verified that the design of the device is identical to the certified manufacturers device, certification status was awarded between certification waves.

CableLabs expects to see more products encompassing DOCSIS standards submitted across the five certification testing waves during 2000. A CableLabs Certified seal identifies products that win CableLabs approval. This seal informs consumers and cable operators that a modem complies with Cable Labs cable modem specification and that the product will interoperate with qualified cable system headends. Headend equipment from Arris Interactive, Cisco Systems, and Motorola has already been certified by CableLabs. For more information, visit www.cablelabs.com.

Vendors Previously DOCSIS 1.0 Certified

• 3Com
• Arris Interactive

• Askey Computer Corp.

• Best Data

• Cisco Systems

• Com21

• General Instrument

• Philips Electronics

• Samsung

• Sony

• Terayon

• Thomson Consumer Electronics

• Toshiba

G.Lite
At the recent Consumer Electronics Show, 12 leading DSL equipment vendors demonstrated widespread interoperability of their ADSL products based on the consumer-friendly G.lite standard technology.

Significant progress in G.lite product development has been made since earlier G.lite interoperability demonstrations For example, all participating companies publicly demonstrated G.lite interoperability with fast retrain. A unique feature of G.lite, fast retrain allows G.lite modems to optimize data and voice performance in the home quickly by storing profiles of multiple home phone line characteristics.

Another significant development is the continued maturation of G.hs, a standard protocol that enables phone company central office equipment and customer DSL modems to handshake, or establish a connection. As a result, telephone companies can provide one piece of equipment that will support G.lite and full-rate (T1.413i2 and G.dmt) modems dynamically. The G.lite standard was approved by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in late June 1999.

Interoperability Demo Participating Vendors

• Analog Devices, Inc.

• Centillium Communications

• Copper Mountain Networks

• Fujitsu Network Communications

• Integrated Telecom Express, Inc. (ITeX)

• Intel Corporation

• Lucent Technologies

• Motorola

• Nortel Networks

• Orckit Communications

• Pairgain Technologies

• PCTel

WAP
Oracle Corp. and Cap Gemini, a European system integrator, recently announced plans to jointly deliver integrated solutions for the telecom industry in Europe based on Oracles Portal-to-Go. The announcement is designed to enable European telecoms to draw upon Cap Geminis industry expertise to implement an extension of the Internet and e-business to the wireless world. With Oracle Portal-to-Go, a wireless portal solution designed to enable wireless devices to access Web or database applications or content, including secure e-business applications, telecom providers will be able to launch wireless e-service programs, tapping into the potential of this rapidly expanding market.

The two companies intend to develop, market, sell, and implement products and services and provide collaborative solutions to joint clients. The two companies have established centers of expertise in Holland and France with additional centers planned in the United States and Singapore. Additionally, Oracle and Cap Gemini plan to leverage their respective geographic strengths in response to the global need to implement wireless Internet solutions quickly and effectively.

ConvergeNET
At the inaugural INTERNET TELEPHONY EXPO in San Diego, CA, TMC launched what has become a standard fixture at all of its events an interoperability proving ground for disparate IP telephony equipment called ConvergeNET.

TMC invites all exhibitors at Communications Solutions EXPO Spring 2000, April 2628 in Washington, D.C., to put their IP network products to the test on ConvergeNET. ConvergeNET consists of a TCP/IP-based network that brings IP telephony clients, gateways, and gatekeepers together in a proof-of-concept environment right on the exhibit floor.

Operating on the trade shows IP network, TMCs ConvergeNET allows each exhibitor to connect its products with the products of other exhibitors to prove that their Internet telephony products do in fact interoperate. In its continuing effort to provide EXPO attendees with real-world demonstrations of technologies and services in action, ConvergeNET is where attendees can truly be educated about VoIP interoperability not just in theory, but in practice. And perhaps in a small way ConvergeNET can speed up reaching the ultimate goal of real world Internet telephony interoperability. For more details, contact Adam Altman of TMC Labs at aaltman@tmcnet.com.