[January 14, 2003]

Motorola, Avaya, Proxim Collaborate On Converged Wireless Communications

Motorola, Avaya, and Proxim announced they will collaborate on the creation and deployment of converged cellular, Wireless Local Area Networking (WLAN), and Internet Protocol (IP) telephony solutions that will deliver new levels of communications mobility and network connectivity. These solutions will be enabled by an array of new products including a Wi-Fi/cellular dual-system phone from Motorola, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-enabled IP telephony software from Avaya, and voice enabled WLAN infrastructure from Proxim.

The jointly-developed, standards-based solutions will support contiguous voice and data service to users across enterprise networks, public cellular networks, and public hotspot WLANs based on 802.11 technology (commonly known as Wi-Fi). The convergence of these technologies will enable businesses to gain new cost savings, user efficiencies, and enhanced communications capabilities.
Cost-savings can be achieved through reduced network management expenses, lower usage charges and device consolidation. User efficiencies will result from increased accessibility to the business network and greater mobility through seamless wireless access to business networks, applications, and information within or outside of a work campus. These solutions will also provide enhanced communications capabilities, including on-demand conference calling and speech access to key business applications such as email, calendars and corporate directories.

"Motorola believes that tying together wireless LANs, IP telephony, and cellular technologies in a single handset will extend the mobility of the cellular networks inside the enterprise, and provide the best available access to the user," said Dan Coombes, senior vice president and general manager for Motorola's Network Systems Group. "Both Avaya and Proxim are industry leaders, and we eagerly anticipate working with them to create integrated networks to provide everywhere-connectivity for our customers."

"Avaya views this collaboration as a significant advancement in mobile workplace communications," said Michael Thurk, group vice president for Avaya's Converged Systems and Applications Group. "Companies are demanding increased business results from their communications networks. This converged solution is a natural extension to the way Avaya serves the enterprise, with innovative MultiVantage capabilities such as Extension-to-Cellular. Together, we will bring unprecedented value to an organization's network by expanding employees' desktops beyond office walls to virtually wherever an employee happens to be working."

"As the only wireless networking company offering integrated, end-to-end connectivity, we are big supporters of convergent solutions such as this," said Angela Champness, senior vice president and general manager of Proxim's LAN Division. "We have already integrated VoIP into our wireless WAN products and this is a logical next step in the development of our WLANs. Businesses will enjoy increased employee productivity and the opportunity for significant cost savings through convergent networks that can scale to their needs."

The converged infrastructure solutions will tap into a new and widening enterprise market that demands key technologies to boost the performance of enterprise communications. The IP telephony application is enabled by Avaya MultiVantage Software, which provides reliable and scalable communications. Motorola will create network Mobility Management components that control the hand-off between local (WLAN) and cellular networks; and Proxim will provide voice-enabled Wi-Fi WLAN infrastructure, quality of service software, and centralized management systems to facilitate hand-offs between access points.
"There is a huge opportunity for this converged solution given the strengths of the IP telephony, WLAN and cellular markets," said Jeremy Duke, President, Synergy Research Group, a market research firm based in Phoenix, Arizona. "These three industry leaders together bring the expertise and the vision required to bring this solution to market."

Voice-enabled Wi-Fi WLAN infrastructure from Proxim and SIP-enabled communications applications from Avaya are expected to be made available early in 2003, establishing a ready base for converged communications. Trials of the joint solution are expected to begin in the second half of 2003.

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