[October 28, 1999]

TMC Introduces ConvergeNET, The VoIP Interoperability Proving Ground; Issues Challenge To VoIP Vendors

At the first INTERNET TELEPHONY EXPO™, held recently in San Diego, CA, TMC™ launched what will become a fixture at all of its future events, an interoperability proving ground for disparate IP telephony equipment, called TMC ConvergeNET™. During his keynote address at the EXPO, Conference Chairman and TMC President Rich Tehrani invited all exhibitors to accept the TMC ConvergeNET™ challenge, by plugging their IP telephony products into a common network running IP (Internet protocol) on the show floor, and attempting to interoperate with products supplied by other participants. Eleven exhibiting companies took up the challenge and earned Interoperability Achievement Awards at the show.

"IP-based data networks have gained widespread popularity as the unifying platform to carry voice, video, fax, and data," said Tehrani. "IP telephony gateways have emerged as cutting-edge devices that allow the packetization and transportation of voice over IP, and also bridge the gap between the traditional PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) and IP-based data networks, allowing voice calls to traverse voice and data networks seamlessly. But do they actually work together?"

"As the home of TMC Labs™, an independent, in-house testing facility dedicated to providing unbiased and in-depth product reviews," Tehrani said, "TMC™ prides itself on providing readers and conference attendees with honest, proven analysis of products and services. That’s why we’ve created TMC ConvergeNET™ as an ongoing feature of all of our upcoming trade shows. This TCP/IP-based network brings IP telephony gateways and gatekeepers together in a proof-of-concept environment -- right on the exhibit floor."

Operating on the trade show's IP network, TMC ConvergeNET™ allows each exhibitor to connect its products with the products of other exhibitors to prove that their Internet telephony products do work with those of others. In its continuing effort to provide attendees with real-world demonstrations of technologies and services in operation, TMC ConvergeNET™ is where attendees can truly be educated about VoIP interoperability -- not just in theory, but in practice.

Exhibitors Make The Grade
During INTERNET TELEPHONY EXPO™ at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, CA, October 7-8, several exhibitors took up the TMC ConvergeNET™ challenge. Elemedia’s Gatekeeper successfully demonstrated interoperability with products from Inter-Tel, Quicknet, and Tundo, and some limited success with iFace.com. iFace.com did achieve H.323 interoperability with Quicknet, however. Other success stories included VocalTec Gatekeeper and Cisco Gateway interoperability, Dialogic and NetMeeting interoperability, Motorola MCG and NetMeeting interoperability, and dynamicsoft’s SIP interoperability with Pingtel.

The 11 companies earning TMC ConvergeNET™ Interoperability Achievement Awards at INTERNET TELEPHONY EXPO™ were Nokia, Elemedia (Lucent), iFace, Motorola MCG, Tundo, VocalTec, Dialogic, Inter-Tel, dynamicsoft, Cisco Systems, and Quicknet.

"At our upcoming CTI™ EXPO Fall '99 in Las Vegas, NV, December 8-9, we're hoping to have even more exhibitors showcase their Internet telephony devices (software or hardware) on TMC ConvergeNET™," said Tehrani. "The underlying protocol isn't of primary importance. (Although we suspect H.323 and iNOW!, a superset of H.323, will predominate, at least initially). What matters is that TMC ConvergeNET™, with the help of the participating vendors and sponsors, will be a testing ground where the rubber meets the road and the various products are expected to interoperate. And perhaps in a small way TMC ConvergeNET™ can accelerate the industry's progress towards the ultimate goal: real world Internet telephony interoperability."

INTERNET TELEPHONY EXPO™ 2000, October 4-6, will again be held at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego. CTI™ EXPO Fall ‘99 will be held Dec. 7-9 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and Communication Solutions EXPO™ Spring 2000 will be held April 26-28 at the Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC. For information on any of these TMC™ events, call Hilary Inman at 1-800-243-6002, extension 146.

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