Although next generation technologies have posted a challenge to traditional facsimile operations, the reality is that broadcast faxing is still very much a part of the global enterprise.

For one Aculab (News - Alert) client, the challenge was finding and implementing a technology refresh, while also proactively combating a potential decline in its legacy broadcast fax business.

While many consider facsimile to be an outdated technology, this sector actually remains a major income source. Beyond broadcast fax and desktop fax, generally facsimile is an essential component of emergency notification and other forms of announcement facility.

At the beginning of the process, the client was seeking to develop the capability to handle T.30 fax over RTP, with the idea of cutting fax call costs using IP as the transport medium. The focus then became V.34 fax transmission over traditional telephone lines, although the need to cut the cost of sending faxes still existed.

The ultimate challenge was to produce a high density V.34 fax capability on a PCI platform. This appeared to the client to be a difficult task as their first forays into the market suggested the competition had suitable offerings, yet fell short of the densities required for a competitive solution.

The client instead needed to find the right supplier with the right enabling technology and a proactive partnership approach to delivering the required functionality with the requisite densities to make the project viable. An enabling solution with a powerful fax API would allow the client to offer a globally compliant broadcast fax solution.

The hosted server platform was required to have signaling protocol options for worldwide network connectivity and one of the key protocols needed was support for INS 1500 with variable gain control. The selected vendor also had to meet specific density criteria and V.4 modem performance.

Aculab evaluated the requirements from this client and embraced the challenge by offering its next generation Prosody X PCI card with a comprehensive base feature set, including fax. This solution could satisfy the immediate requirements and provide a future proof migration path from traditional fax to IP fax.

 
Being ‘host independent’ approved for use in many countries around the world positioned Prosody X as an ideal solution. It also offers a comprehensive portfolio of digital telecommunications signaling protocols, thereby offering the client an established, reliable platform with a vital PSTN connectivity and interoperability and a ready made migration option or IP.

Aculab’s dedication to fine tuning its software development certainly sets it apart as a key supplier of specialist, DSP-based media processing and signaling protocols. By offering such intelligent media processing resource cards like the Prosody X, Aculab was able to meet the challenge to add value in this fax environment.