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Introducing Level 3 Communications
Kiewit Diversified Group has announced that it has changed its name to Level 3
Communications, Inc., reflecting a change in the company's business focus. Level 3 intends
to provide a full range of information and communication services, primarily to
businesses, over the first end-to-end network designed and built specifically for Internet
Protocol (IP)-based services. The company expects to offer services over interconnected
local and long-distance networks that it is building across the United States. It is
reported that Level 3 has received initial financing of up to $3 billion.
According to President and CEO James Q. Crowe, formerly of MFS Communications, "We
are building a network from the ground up incorporating Internet technology. We are
optimizing the network for IP. As far as I know, we are the only organization with that
kind of business plan. So, our customers will fully benefit from the many advantages of
Internet technology and packet switching."
"There is a fundamental shift occurring today - as fundamental as the shift from
the telegraph to the telephone or the mainframe computer to the PC - that is the shift to
Internet technology and IP-based communications," says Crowe. "What will
continue to drive that shift is economics. These new networks are simply less expensive -
a lot less expensive - than the traditional hundred-year old, telephone networks."
For more information, contact Josh Howell at 402-536-3677.
Ericsson And Sun Target IP Services
Ericsson and Sun Microsystems, Inc., announced that the companies are combining the
Ericsson IP Service Platform and Sun's deployment of network computing platforms to
provide carrier-class solutions for Internet Service providers, telcos, and enterprise
customers. These solutions enable such organizations to rapidly deliver differentiated
services such as virtual intranets and extranets, IP telephony, and "content
hotel" distribution and retrieval of information.
Ericsson and Sun are targeting growing requirements for increased dependability,
scalability, and Quality of Service for IP services, the qualities traditionally found in
telecom networks. Ericsson's IP-based Service Platform, which provides the service
infrastructure for packaging, brokering and differentiating IP services, including strong
security functions, resource management, and flexible charging tools, is combined with
Sun's development of network computing platforms. These solutions also enable faster
deployment of value added services and business critical applications. For further
information, please contact Teresa Camera (Sun) at 650-786-8832 or Maria Lonnberg
(Ericsson) at 650-853-4316.
Aplio Enters IP Telephony Market
Aplio has announced its entry into the U.S. market with its first product, a standalone
Internet telephone. The Aplio/Phone does not require a PC to operate on the Internet and
offers users the convenience of a regular telephone, but at greatly reduced long-distance
charges. The Aplio/Phone connects to a standard telephone, much like an answering machine.
Users simply place a call, then press a single button for activation. The Aplio/Phone then
connects the callers to the Internet, usually with 45 seconds, according to estimates. The
product is designed with high-quality voice communications in mind, and offers full-duplex
G723.1 voice compression and a full-duplex speaker phone. The product is expected to cost
under $200.
In order to benefit from Aplio's product, both parties to a call must be using the
product and maintain an ISP connection, however the product does not require a PC,
browser, or Internet telephony gateway. Aplio expects to offer H.323 compatibility
sometime in Q1 98, which will allow communication between the Aplio/Phone and PC-based
Internet telephony solutions. For more information, contact Olivier Zitoun at
650-794-2760.
Kenwood Bundles Video Conferencing Solution
Kenwood USA Corp. is offering a single-box solution, the Kenwood Video Conferencing
Toolkit, providing laptop or notebook computer users with everything they need to conduct
real-time video or audio conferences over the Internet, a local-area network, or standard
POTS phone lines. The kit also enables users to capture video from any source for use in
multimedia presentations. The package comes complete with the PCMCIA Kenwood
ConferenceCard, an analog CCD camera, a headset with boom microphone, and a CD-ROM
containing several software programs including Microsoft's NetMeeting and Internet
Explorer. The kit retails for $495.
The centerpiece of the toolkit is the Kenwood ConferenceCard, a PCMCIA Type II card for
laptop and notebook computers. Featuring plug and play installation and compatibility with
the Internet and regular phone service, the ConferenceCard is designed for use with
popular video conferencing software to allow mobile conferencing from virtually anywhere.
For more information, contact Kathleen Burton at 310-639-9000.
F5 Labs' BIG/ip2 Server Array Controller
F5 Labs has released a new version of its BIG/ip2 server array controller that allows
traffic prioritization for ISP rate shaping and e-commerce applications, supports
real-time audio and video and other UDP-based protocols, and permits IP packet filtering
for enhanced security. The new version also expands the product's content verification
capabilities and permits logical grouping of interdependent services. The dedicated server
array controllers intelligently allocate Internet and intranet service requests across an
array of network servers to provide high availability for client connections.
Residing between the Internet routers and the server array, BIG/ip2 continually
monitors each server for application performance and availability, then automatically
routes incoming queries to the most available server. For more information, contact
Kristina O'Connell at 206-447-1817.
Zoom/Video Cam Now Shipping
Zoom Telephonics is currently shipping the Zoom/Video Cam, an affordable full-color,
full-motion video camera for computers running Windows 95. The camera is being hailed as a
complete solution for video mail, video phone, video meetings, and still image capture. It
plugs into the included ISA capture card or directly into the video jack on any
Zoom/Video-ready fax modem. Real-time, full-motion video can be sent through the dialup
telephone network or over the Internet with any V.80 compatible modem, including many
popular 33.6 or 56K fax modems.
The Zoom/Video Cam comes with everything users need to get started including a
microphone and a CD-ROM containing SmithMicro VideoLink and BoxTop iVisit software.
VideoLink provides videomail, real-time video over the Internet (H.323), dial-up
networking (H.324), and still image capture; iVisit provides the capability for multi-user
video chat. For more information, contact Ray Zamagni at 617-423-1072.
ANS Uses NetCentric's FaxStorm For IP Faxing
ANS Communications, Inc., has announced that they are launching a new Internet fax service
based on Netcentric's FaxStorm technology. The service will be implemented through an
international deployment of fax servers, starting with the United States, Europe, and the
Pacific Rim. The ANS Internet fax service is designed to allow users worldwide to send and
receive fax documents over the Internet using desktop client software, e-mail and
traditional fax machines.
NetCentric's FaxStorm Internet fax system enables Internet network operators to offer
their customers a simple way to both send and receive documents from their desktop
directly over the Internet. Because inbound faxes are captured in electronic form, users
can forward faxes to others directly from their inbox. NetCentric's fax-to-e-mail feature
allows faxes to be delivered to desktop computers as e-mail attachments. For more
information, visit the companies on the Web at www.ans.net
or www.netcentric.com.
Linkon Gateway Available For Sun PCI Servers
Linkon Corporation and Sun Microsystems recently announced the availability of Linkon's
LinkNet IP Telephony Gateway designed for Sun's PCI-based servers, including the Netra T
1100 and Sun Enterprise 450 computing platforms. The LinkNet IP Telephony Gateway will
provide integrated voice/fax communications over Internet and intranet networks. LinkNet
for Sun's Sbus servers has been available for over 6 months, since July 1997.
The PCI-based LinkNet Gateway uses Linkon's Maestro system foundation switching card
for the Sun PCI bus, supporting a full range of computer-telephony integration (CTI) and
IP telephony applications, including voice over IP, Internet fax, and call center
automation. At present, the LinkNet IP Gateway can support from four analog ports to
multiple E1/T1 digital circuits, providing up to 90/96 full-duplex digital communications
channels. Linkon has also announced its support of the H.323 standard. For more
information, contact Marc Robins at 203-319-3123.
Symbol, Cisco Team For Wireless LAN Phone System
Symbol Technologies and Cisco Systems are teaming up to provide a complete wireless
local-area network (LAN) telephone system based on voice over IP technology. The system is
composed of the NetVision wireless telephone handsets and the Spectrum24 wireless LAN
infrastructure from Symbol, and a gateway connection to the PBX, key system, T1 line, or
other PSTN connection using Cisco's recently released 3600 voice/fax modules.
With the new system, users can place or receive calls between wireless handsets or
PC-based telephones at other sites over their company's internal TCP/IP network at no
cost, worldwide. Using the Cisco gateway, outside or internal telephone calls can be
placed or received in the normal manner. Normal telephone charges apply to these gateway
calls. The system conforms to the ITU's H.323 standard. For more information, contact Doug
Picker (Symbol) at 516-738-4699.
$0.05 Domestic Rate For Net2Phone Direct
IDT Corporation, a provider of low-cost international telecommunications announced the
availability of Net2Phone Direct, the company's phone-to-phone Internet telephony service
to consumers and small businesses at a reduced rate of $0.05 per minute from New York City
and Chicago to any telephone in the United States. Net2Phone Direct is currently available
to consumers and small businesses for telephone calling at a domestic rate of $0.08 from
local numbers in over 50 U.S. cities.
According to IDT president Jim Courter, Due to increased demand from our customers in
New York and Chicago, we're reducing the rate to give them the greatest cost savings.
We've had tremendous success with Net2Phone Direct thus far, and look forward to expanding
our network and offering this service both nationwide and internationally."
For more information, contact Sarah Hofstetter at 201-928-2882.
ZipLink Selects Bay Hardware For Major Build-Out
Bay Networks, Inc., announced that ZipLink, a provider of Internet backbone and access
services for the WebTV Network, and the exclusive Internet and one-number
telecommunications service provider to MTX Paging Products, has selected Bay's System
5000-based model 5399 carrier-class Remote Access Concentrator for its Internet connection
requirements. ZipLink also chose Bay Networks' Backbone Concentrator Node, a routing
solution for its new network backbone requirements. In a market that demands high
reliability Bay's 5399 Remote Access Concentrator meets ZipLink's requirements for
scalability and high port density by providing support for more than 2,300 simultaneous
dial-in users in a standard 8-foot cabinet.
ZipLink president, Christopher Jenkins said, "We chose Bay Networks because they
have the best end-to-end solution...as well as a clear migration path to future IP
technologies such as voice/fax and multimedia." For more information, contact Matt
Burke (Bay) at 978-916-1320 or Ronald C. Lipof (ZipLink) at 978-551-8911.
Summa Four, e-Net Sign VoIP Agreement
e-Net, Inc., announced it has signed a letter of intent with Summa Four, Inc., a provider
of open, programmable switching platforms, to jointly integrate e-Net's Data Telephony
system for voice over IP (Telecom 2000) with Summa Four's VCO Series of open programmable
switches. The result of the partnership will be a new, high-capacity, carrier-class voice
over Internet gateway.
e-Net and Summa Four will port and enhance e-Net's voice over IP technology to run on
Summa Four's recently announced Service Platform Card (SPC) which contains up to 32 Texas
Instruments TMS 320C548 series Digital Signal Processors (DSPs). By combining SPC cards
with Interface Controller Cards (ICC) which support up to 16 T1/E1 spans, it will be
possible to scale gateway capacity to support in excess of 1,000 simultaneous calls in a
single-shelf, carrier-certified chassis. For more information, contact Peter Carlino
(Summa Four) at 603-625-4050.
RADVision Licenses H.323 GateKeeper
RADVision has announced the availability of its GK-323 GateKeeper, a stand-alone, H.323
standards-based software application for IP telephony and multimedia conferencing product
developers and solutions providers. RADVision's software provides network managers with
the control they need to:
- Preserve the integrity of IP networks.
- Control total resource usage.
- Inject system administration policy into the H.323 system.
- Induce call routing.
- Support application-specific supplementary services.
- Interface to user applications for billing, call detail reports, ACD functions, and the
like.
A gatekeeper defines and manages all activities in a "zone." A zone is that
part of a network consisting of any number of H.323 entities such as terminals, MCUs,
gateways, and so on. RADVision's GK-323 GateKeeper is available in source code and object
code for multiple operating systems. Pricing for the stand-alone GateKeeper package
includes a licensing fee, annual maintenance, and a one-time prepaid royalty for each
"runtime" GateKeeper according to zone capabilities. For more information,
contact Marme Van Leuvan at 201-529-4300.
InfoBlazer Improves Internet Access And Telephony Applications
InnoMedia, Inc., announced the availability of the InfoBlazer ISDN terminal adapter, to
provide improved access for Internet, remote access, and PC-to-PC communication services.
The InfoBlazer family offers ISDN modem functionality for improved data access and
mini-PABX features for voice management over standard telephone lines.
InfoBlazer supports Multilink Point-to-Point-Protocol (PPP) providing digital
high-speed Internet access up to 128 Kbps by combining two B channels (2 x 64 Kbps). While
using both B-channels for data communications, InfoBlazer's Dynamic Voice Override feature
will assign one B-channel automatically to an outgoing voice call and transparently return
the channel to the data application when the voice call is completed.
The product also provides a very-high-speed data connection into the ISDN network that
can operate simultaneously with calls to or from the telephone network. Simultaneous Voice
and Data (SVD) utilizes three user ports - one for connecting to a personal computer and
two for use with standard phones, fax machines, or other analog modems. InfoBlazer is
ideal for remote users who require high-speed access to the Internet or corporate LAN with
simultaneous use of either their phone, fax machine or modem over the same phone line. For
more information, contact Jay Blazensky at 408-562-3535.
Ingram Micro To Distribute Vocal'Net Gateway
Inter-Tel, Inc., and Ingram Micro, Inc., have entered into a distributorship agreement
under which Ingram Micro will distribute Inter-Tel's Vocal'Net Internet telephony gateway.
Ingram Micro will distribute Inter-Tel's Vocal'Net turnkey systems, boards, and software,
as well as installation and service contracts administered by Inter-Tel. Ingram Micro
currently has Inter-Tel's IP Telephony products in inventory for distribution to domestic
and select international resellers.
The Inter-Tel Vocal'Net allows organizations to bypass traditional public
telecommunications networks and reduce long distance costs by providing a gateway between
circuit-switched phone systems and packet-switched Intranets or the public Internet. As a
result, organizations can maintain their current phone system, while choosing to route
long-distance calls across the same network they use for data communications. The
Vocal'Net is available in multiple port sizes. Vocal'Net will interact with telephone
systems that support standard telecom interfaces such as T-1, E-1, ISDN, and analog single
lines. Planned applications for the Inter-Tel Vocal'Net include virtual telephone
networking for multi-location companies, telephony-enabled Web pages to connect users to a
call center agent from a company's Web site, and virtual office applications for traveling
employees. For more information, contact Inter-Tel at 602-302-8900.
Dialogic's DM/IP2000 Improves Performance, Scalability
Dialogic Corporation recently announced an addition to their DM3 IPLink family of
products, the DM/IP2000. Billed as the first enhanced IP telephony platform with an
integrated high-speed Ethernet interface, the DM/IP2000 is designed to significantly
reduce latency while increasing scalability and system reliability for developers. Based
on Dialogic's DM3 mediastream resource architecture, the new offering provides H.323 call
control, DSP-based G.723.1 standard coders.
The Ethernet interface is the data network interface used to connect to networks of
other computers located within the same building, campus, intranet, or over the Internet.
The DM3 IPLink is fully compatible with Microsoft's NetMeeting, Vocaltec's Internet Phone,
and Intel's Internet Video Phone. The product family supports G.723.1, G.729.a, G.711, GSM
and Voxware RT24, and high-performance fax over IP. For more information, contact Jane
Mazur at 973-993-3000 x6118.
Interactive Distance Learning From One Touch Systems
One Touch Systems, Inc., has announced Front Row, a Web-based application that delivers
real-time audio, video, and Web knowledge to Interactive Distance learning (IDL) students
at their desktops via corporate intranets. Front Row minimizes the impact of traffic on
corporate networks by incorporating the latest compression and transmission standards.
Delivering 15 fps video while using less than 3 percent of the bandwidth of a typical
10Base-T Ethernet network, Front Row employs H.263 video compression and G.711 audio
compression in the Intel MDS streaming multimedia framework.
Front Row is just one element of the complete IDL solution introduced by One Touch. The
others are One Touch Network Management System, a database application which simplifies
the administration and maintenance of classroom products; and One Touch interactive
objects for Microsoft PowerPoint, which permit instructional designers to use PowerPoint
to author presentations. For more information, contact Howard Green at 408-436-4607.
Vista Imaging's ViCAM Digital Camera
Vista Imaging, Inc., announced the availability of ViCAM, a high-speed, high-resolution
desktop color digital video camera for IBM PC-compatible computers. The ViCAM interfaces
to a standard parallel port, and produces fast 30 frame-per-second video in full color in
support of motion video applications, and features high-quality, 24-bit true color still
image captures with resolutions ranging from 160 x 120 to 640 x480. The camera also offers
support for up to 16.8 million True Colors and 256 gray scale formats. Furthermore the
ViCAM includes an IEEE-1284 compatible parallel port pass-through device that allows
printing from the same parallel port without the need to disconnect the camera to access
the printer.
The product operates without requiring an add-in card, and is completely powered by the
PC, making it an ideal solution for laptops or in moving desktop systems in a busy office.
The suggested retail of the camera is $199.95, a price which includes a copy of MGI
VideoWave SE+ desktop video publishing software, MGI PhotoSuite SE PC photography
software, Microsoft NetMeeting, and a trial version of Visionics' FaceIt face recognition
software. For more information, contact Vista Imaging at 650-802-9685.
ATIO's Next Generation Internet Call Center Software
ATIO Corporation is offering its next-generation Internet Call Center software solution,
CyberCall 2.5. The product provides corporate Web sites with the added dimension of
personal contact with a call center agent. In addition to its Internet callback feature,
CyberCall 2.5 allows businesses to directly assist customers via interactive chat, voice
over the Internet,, and intelligent e-mail queuing.
ATIO's newest version of CyberCall utilizes the Web as an intelligent way to route both
callers and information about them to a company's agents. Agents and customers can be
linked in real-time by both phone or computer and mirrored home page screen pops. If a
customer chooses, the agent can return a call at a later time, with the screen pop being
saved for future use. This alleviates the inconvenience of waiting in a hold queue. For
customer e-mail inquiries, CyberCall 2.5 intelligently routes and queues the e-mail so the
most appropriate agent can handle the request. For more information, contact Donna Nixon
at 612-931-2573.
Latitude Releases Version 2 of MeetingPlace
Latitude Communications has announced the release of MeetingPlace 97 Release 2, an upgrade
to its flagship in-house conferencing system. MeetingPlace is designed to leverage a
company's existing communications network to improve the process of holding productive
business meetings among people in different locations.
Unlike service bureaus and traditional in-house bridging systems, the MeetingPlace
conference server manages the entire meeting process, including activities such as
scheduling meetings, notifying participants, distributing meeting materials, managing
conferences, and archiving recordings for future access via the Web or telephone.
Key new features of the MeetingPlace 97 Release 2 server software include:
- Voice Quick Tour, an interactive audio overview of basic system features and functions.
- Scheduling Activity Report, which identifies all instances when a meeting could not be
scheduled due to capacity constraints.
- Internet URL Attachments, a feature which lets meeting organizers automatically point
meeting participants to an Internet URL containing information relevant to a specific
meeting.
For more information, contact Michael Fratesi at 408-988-7260.
Deutsche Telekom Acquires 21.1 Percent Of VocalTec
Deutsche Telekom and VocalTec have announced that pursuant to a Memorandum of
Understanding dating back to last August, the two companies have reached final agreement
on a Share Purchase and comprehensive Strategic Cooperation Agreement. All told, Deutsche
Telekom will acquire a 21.1 percent stake in VocalTec and has agreed to purchase more than
$30 million of VocalTec's products and services, $21.7 million of which will take place
before December 31, 1999.
Deutsche Telekom is Europe's largest telecommunications company and the third-largest
carrier in the world. They are also the first of the major carriers to develop a portfolio
of Internet telephony services to supplement their existing telephony services. VocalTec's
software enables audio, video, data,, text, and collaborative communications between
personal computers and other devices over the Internet. For more information, contact Jo
Lee (VocalTec) at 201-768-9400 or Theresa Edo (LNS Communications for Deutsche Telekom) at
617-577-9777.
Davox Offers Web-Based Application, Scripting Design
Davox Corporation announced its LYRICall application and scripting design software for
call centers. The LYRICall software, the latest addition to Davox's Unison suite of call
management solutions, incorporates browser technology to deliver robust,
platform-independent agent applications. LYRICall will initially support Netscape
Navigator 4.0, with Microsoft Internet Explorer to be qualified thereafter. Davox plans to
continue to evaluate and qualify other major browsers as they become available.
The LYRICall application is based on open, Internet standards such as HTML, Web
browsers, and Java computing. By incorporating these standards, LYRICall is designed as a
platform-independent product, enabling application designers to create an application once
and then run it on any device that supports a browser and Java script, including PCs, UNIX
workstations, and network computers. LYRICall gives non-programmers the ability to quickly
build and deploy application/script pages, thereby providing call center managers with an
effective tool for rapidly responding to script changes and new customer requirements. For
more information, contact Jennifer Cyrs at 978-952-0882.
RADLinx Serves Up PSTN To LAN Gateway
RADLINX Ltd. announced that it has released the PF-8, a multi-port PSTN to LAN gateway,
the latest in the PASSaFAX product line to set the stage for the rapidly growing Internet
fax market. The gateway is targeted at Fax Service Providers (FSPs) and large corporate
offices, where multiple simultaneous fax transmissions are required along with simplified
management.
The PASSaFAX PF-8 PSTN to LAN gateway connects standard (G3) facsimile devices to the
LAN. Supplementary features include internal line hunting and least-cost routing.
Furthermore, the PF-8 all-in-a-box solution translates to simple management and
maintenance. Corporate users can send on-line faxes over their private IP LAN/WAN or the
Internet instead of using the PSTN. FSPs can offer their users a low-cost, real-time fax
service with increased availability and simplified management. The PASSaFAX PF-8 allows
for concurrent faxing while using the least cost routing function. This maintains the
PASSaFAX's key feature of transparency to the end user, as well as tremendous cost
savings. The PF-8 connects to a PABX and creates a direct connection, over a TCP/IP
network, between the sending and receiving fax, thereby providing a confirmation of
receipt for the user. For more information, contact Varda Lubling at 201-828-9494.
Lucent's Message Care Integrates E-mail/Fax Message Capabilities
Lucent Technologies recently announced Message Care, software which enables businesses to
efficiently and effectively route, track, and respond to customer generated e-mail and fax
messages quickly and easily. Message Care enables businesses to create a centralized
process for managing electronic inquiries and requests through their existing call center.
The software directs the flow of e-mail and fax messages, routing the requests to the call
center agents who are most qualified to respond.
Lucent's Message Care software provides call center agents with tools to effectively
process received messages based on the customers' needs. Agents can include the original
message in their response, use a spell check option, and preview and edit their responses.
Standard answers to frequently asked questions can be created and integrated into the
agents' messages along with existing documents and information to speed response time and
ensure consistent content. For more information, contact Andrea Papa at 212-841-4315.
ITXC Announces WWeXchange Service
ITXC Corp., announced that its WWeXchange Service will both link Internet Telephony
Service Providers worldwide to each other and also connect all affiliated ITSPs to every
telephone number in the world using a combination of IP and traditional telephony. The
result is that callers will be able to make international calls to anywhere at a
considerable savings over traditional telephony alone and Internet telephony is expected
to grow much more quickly than when it was restricted to computer users and to calls
completed within the network of a single ITSP.
Until now those who make international phone calls on the Internet have enjoyed low
prices - but only on a very limited selection of routes. This selection is further limited
by the fact that the networks of the very many small companies who offer Internet phone
calls do not connect with each other so callers must deal with separate companies to call
different cities. WWeXchange links the networks of ITSPs together and adds in the ability
to reach every telephone worldwide.
The company made the announcement as it began open sign-ups of ITSPs who will exchange
traffic through ITXC's WWeXchange Service. ITSPs include traditional telephone companies,
telephony resellers, Internet service providers (ISPs), and new companies formed
specifically to provide Internet calling. For more information, contact Mary Evslin at
732-940-4333.
Bellcore Launches Soliant Internet Systems
Bellcore today announced the formation of Soliant Internet Systems, a new business unit
dedicated to making Internet telephony on the emerging "business class" Internet
a reality. As the Internet business unit of Bellcore, Soliant will offer reliable,
scalable software products, systems integration, and consulting. The business unit is
targeting existing and emerging telecommunications carriers, cable companies, Internet
service providers (ISPs), and Fortune 1000 enterprises with software solutions in three
areas critical to the Internet's viability as a business network: Net infrastructure,
Internet telephony and Net commerce.
Soliant also plans to pursue an aggressive alliance strategy to help develop the
business class Internet. In fact, Sun Microsystems and Soliant Internet Systems have
announced they will be jointly marketing a hardware and software solution to help speed
traffic on the Internet. This new product, the Soliant Advanced DNS system, streamlines
the process of finding and validating IP addresses by reducing the number of round trips
required to different Domain Name Servers (DNS). For more information, contact Soliant at
888-876-5426.
e-Net Enters Voice Over Cable Market
e-Net, Inc., today announced that it has signed an agreement to provide its patented Data
Telephony software to worldwide cable modem system manufacturer, Com21, Inc. Com21 will
integrate e-Net's Telecom 2000 technology into the comUNITY Access System, delivering
voice, fax, and data through the existing Com21 cable modem system. This will also allow
cable operators the opportunity to offer voice services incrementally to their
data-over-cable subscribers. Under the agreement, Com21 will pay e-Net with a combination
of cash and per-unit royalties.
e-Net's Data Telephony will allow Com21 cable modems to offer standard telephone
connections via cable television service featuring clear voice quality fully compatible
with existing telephones, faxes, and modems. This means that customers can use their
choice of standard telephone instruments, including cordless phones, modems, and fax
machines. For more information, contact e-Net at 301-601-8700.
3Com Adds VoIP To Total Control
3Com Corporation has announced the addition of Voice over IP (VoIP) capabilities to its
Total Control remote access concentrator. The list of customers currently evaluating the
solution includes IBM Global Services, Siemens, and USA Global Link. In addition, the
Internet solutions business unit of Siemens Telecom Networks has embraced the Total
Control system as the standard platform for integration into VoIP solutions currently
under development.
Supporting both the ITU standard T.120 and H.323 protocol stacks, the new Total Control
VoIP system is designed toward standards-based, interactive, multimedia communications.
The system implements standard G.711, G.723.1, and G.729 voice coders and decoders for
ensured compatibility with standard global phone systems. The enhanced capabilities (such
as VoIP) are made possible by 3Com's advanced HiPer DSP technology and programmable DSP
engines. For more information, contact Philip Anast at 847-797-6576.
NetXchange Partners With KDD
NetXchange Communications has entered into an agreement with KDD America, a subsidiary of
Kokusai Denshin Denwa Co., Ltd. to bring NetXchange's Internet Xchange Web telephony
platform to corporations worldwide. KDD America's own fax delivery and broadcast service,
TeleWeb Fax, will provide connectivity to NetXchange's Internet Xchange for Fax to route
fax communications over the Internet. With this partnership, KDD America has also joined
the NetXchange Global Community of Internet Xchange-enabled fax service providers and will
now offer fax delivery to Internet Xchange for Fax users throughout the KDD America
network, as well as offer its value-added fax services such as fax broadcast to
NetXchange's customers.
NetXchange provides messaging software solutions and infrastructure designed to enable
service providers to offer fax communications over the Internet/intranet to their
subscribers. The company's XchangeWare "software switch" technology allows users
to optimize the use of the Internet, intranet, and PSTN for seamless message delivery. For
more information, contact NetXchange at 408-248-6200.
elemedia Cuts Costs, Raises Quality Of Audio Conferencing
Lucent Technologies' elemedia business venture has released two software products designed
to lower costs and raise the quality of audio conferencing. The CX1000S and CX2000S
modules allow hundreds of participants to collaborate simultaneously, whether they are
using ordinary phone lines, corporate networks, Internet telephony gateways, or
conferencing software applications, such as Microsoft's NetMeeting and Netscape
Conference. The two software modules are designed for environments that use compressed
audio, such as the Internet, simultaneous voice and data systems, and packet-based
networks.
The products were jointly developed by elemedia and MiBridge, Inc., a subsidiary of
I-Link, Inc. MiBridge develops products that include DSP-based and host-based real-time
software that provides toll quality communications such as voice, fax, and audio
conferencing over low-bandwidth networks. The CX1000S is capable of supporting 50
endpoints, while the CX2000S runs on DSPs to support conferences with hundreds of
participants. For more information, contact elemedia at 908-949-3300.
VINA Adds Local Call Routing To T1 Integrator
VINA Technologies announced support of Local Call Routing (LCR) in its integrated access
device, the T1 Integrator. The T1 Integrator is designed to offer the intelligence to
route local and long-distance calls to optimize the use of T1 lines. VINA's integrated
access solution routes all voice and data traffic over a single T1 line while routing all
911, 411, local, and toll-free calls over telephone lines from the incumbent local
exchange carrier (ILEC). The LCR feature of the T1 Integrator enables interexchange
carriers (IXCs), competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), and other network service
providers to offer toll service without incurring the capital cost of deploying local
switches in every city.
The T1 Integrator integrates a 24-channel channel bank, a router, a T1 DSU/CSU, an
Internet firewall, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) for Internet addressing,
Simple Network Management protocol (SNMP) for incorporation into network management
systems such as HP Open View, and HTTP for management through an Internet standard
browser. For more information, contact Nancy Smith at 510-413-1315.
High-Speed Internet Access From Microsoft, ATCOM/INFO, CGX
Microsoft Corp., ATCOM/INFO, and CGX Communications, Inc., unveiled plans to collaborate
on commercial trials of a high-speed Internet access service for hotels. ATCOM/INFO's
IPORT product is designed to let business travelers easily access the Internet, e-mail,
and private networks from their guest rooms. The service will allow users to connect their
laptop computers to high-speed Internet connections at speeds up to 50 times faster than
traditional data ports and dial-up modems.
With technology developed by Microsoft Consulting Services and ATCOM/INFO, and
implemented by selected system integrators, IPORT will enable hotels to compete
effectively for business customers by providing a complete range of sophisticated
high-speed remote access options. CAIS Internet, a division of CGX Communications, will be
a major cosponsor of the trials and the primary integrator for trial hotels intending to
use existing telephone wiring for the service, using its OverVoice technology. For more
information, contact Mike Rothenberg (Rothenberg Communications for CAIS and CGX) at
703-820-1270.
Bay Networks, NetSpeak Sign OEM Agreement
Bay Networks, Inc., and NetSpeak Corporation have signed an OEM and joint development
agreement to provide sophisticated, system-oriented voice and fax over IP solutions to
enterprise and service provider customers. The agreement signifies the first phase of
Application Services, a component of Bay's Adaptive Networking IP Services strategy, with
the roll out of a complete voice/fax over IP solution.
Under the terms of the agreement, Bay Networks will integrate NetSpeak's voice and fax
technologies into its BayStack remote access and router platforms to deliver
next-generation gateway devices to convert voice/fax signals to IP. Additionally Bay will
resell NetSpeak's scalable suite of IP telephony server software, which supports an array
of value added services. As a major category in Bay's IP Services, Application Services
are designed to provide the capabilities necessary to optimize IP applications. For more
information, visit the companies' Web sites at www.baynetworks.com
or www.netspeak.com.
Infonet Unveils Global Frame Relay Services
Infonet Services Corp. announced a breakthrough in global frame relay services for the
global networking services market. The new services are designed to more cost effectively
address the increasing use of frame relay in support of sophisticated enterprisewide
software applications. Infonet has established three new levels for its global frame relay
services, all three of which are available immediately via the company's global frame
relay access points located in more than 40 countries worldwide.
The services are VC/interactive, VC/lan2lan, and VC/access. The VC/interactive service
is designed for rapid response in legacy SNA applications as well as voice over IP; the
VC/lan2lan service is for applications such as Lotus Notes, MS Exchange, Internet
browsing, and other generic LAN multiprotocol traffic; and VC/access is for batch traffic
where transmission delay is not a key issue, in such applications as file transfer,
e-mail, and Internet access. For more information. contact Bill Principe at 310-335-2820.
MICOM, Tech Data Team To Provide VoIP Solution
MICOM Communications Corp. has teamed up with Tech Data, appointing Tech Data as a
national computer-telephony integration (CTI) Master Distributor for MICOM's V/IP voice
over IP phone/fax gateway products in the United States and Canada. Tech Data will sell
MICOM's products through Tech Data's existing customer base, which includes VARs,
integrators, and dealers serving the small to medium-size business community throughout
North America.
The MICOM V/IP gateway creates an overlay voice and fax network on top of any IP
network, thus allowing any user, from any telephone or fax machine, to make free, G.729
toll-quality calls over the IP network regardless of the underlying WAN. The V/IP product
family consist of analog and digital voice/fax cards that plug into a singe host PC at
each remote enterprise location. V/IP supports a host running NetWare, MS-DOS, or Windows
95. The V/IP interface card is compatible with any phone, fax machine, PBX, key system,
Centrex, or CO trunk line. For more information, contact Stacey Doherty at 805-577-2222.
Zoom Telephonics' Access IG & IG Plus
The Zoom/Access IG product family offers a range of economical solutions for connecting
LAN users to the Internet. Using a 128 Kbps ISDN dial-up or Centrex line, LAN users can
share access to the Internet. The IG product family includes the Zoom/Access IG and the
Zoom/Access IG Plus. The Zoom/Access IG enables up to five LAN users to concurrently
access the Internet. The Zoom/Access IG Plus provides Internet access to an unlimited
number of concurrent users, and includes a 15-mailbox Internet mail server that is
upgradable to an unlimited number of mailboxes.
Internet access with the Zoom/Access IG or IG Plus requires installing the included
ISDN terminal adapter and gateway software on a non-dedicated PC running Windows 95 or
Windows NT. The gateway software automatically establishes high-speed Internet connection
for LAN PC users on demand. The Zoom/Access IG product family provides a natural firewall.
Since the server PC is the only machine that is running TCP/IP with an Internet IP
address, none of the LAN file servers or user PC clients are accessible from the Internet.
For more information, contact Ray Zamagni at 617-423-1072. |
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