February 1999

Headlines

• AltiGen Announces VoIP Gateway For Server
• Jetstream Debuts Gateway, Architecture For CLECs
• Aplio Upgrades Internet Telephony Phone
• iReady, Open Port Plan Low-Cost Internet Faxing
• Applix, ATIO To Deliver Real-Time CRM Solution
• MIND CTI Billing Announced Interoperable With Gateways
• VIP Calling, Siemens Ally For Services To Asia
• Bellcore Intros Software System For CLECs
• OpenROUTE, Merlot Sign Pact For Multimedia Platform
• IDT Launches Upgraded PC-To-Phone Service
• Dialogic Announces T.37 Compliance
• Hypercom Adds IVR To IP Gateway
• ICG Extends IP Long-Distance
• Telia Light, VocalTec Plan Internet Telephony Effort
• KPN, Qwest Venture For European IP Network
• Verio Expands VPN Services
• Eicon, .comfax, and Net2Phone Plan Internet Fax/Voice
• Enikia Offers Home Networking Over Household Lines
• Cisco, VocalTec Develop Interoperability
• TouchWave Intros Enhanced IP Phone System
• SilkRoad Announces Bandwidth Breakthrough
• DSPR Adds PCI Interface To VoIP Board
• NetPhone Intros ISDN-Based PCI For NT
• AudioCodes Unveils FoIP/VoIP Board
• Compatible Targets NSPs With VPN Switches
• ShelCad Intros Client-Based CTI Solution
• SBS Micro Intros CompactPCI Rackmount Unit
• CCPU Launches Kit For Sun CompactPCI Boards
• Lucent Releases Wireless Network Tool
• TransMedia Unveils "Media-Aware" Edge Switch

News

AltiGen Announces VoIP Gateway For Server
AltiGen Communications, Inc., has announced the addition of an integrated VoIP gateway option for its NT-based AltiServ telephone system specifically designed to meet the changing needs of small businesses and branch offices. The new AltiWare IP R2.1 software is designed to work with AltiWare OE R2.1 and AltiGen's new Triton DSP board to provide robust Internet telephony integration with existing AltiServ features - all managed through a single point of administration. The solution is expected to integrate with the Internet at many levels to allow telecommuters, remote workers, and other offices to function as if they were all on one corporate phone, voice mail, and e-mail system. Additionally, the system can deliver top voice quality, simple and quick dialing, corporate-strength voice mail, auto attendant, basic ACD, Microsoft Exchange integration, an e-mail server, and robust Internet integration for multimedia traffic.
No. 501, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

Jetstream Debuts Gateway, Architecture For CLECs
Jetstream Communications has introduced the CPX-1000, a large-scale voice gateway designed to enable CLECs to deliver circuit-switched, local telephone service over emerging, packet-based DSL access networks. The CPX-1000 is expected to allow CLECs to quickly and profitably penetrate the $46 billion small business communications market. The product, as the core of the company's new Unity access network architecture, can perform all functions necessary for a CLEC to deliver up to 100,000 subscriber telephone lines over a DSL access network, including circuit-packet conversion, routing, call control signaling, and active network management. The Unity architecture is designed to leverage standard DSL and ATM to enable CLECs to deliver two to 16 telephone lines and continuous, high-speed Internet access over a single copper wire pair for reduced cost of service delivery by an order of magnitude relative to traditional transport methods.
No. 502, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

Aplio Upgrades Internet Telephony Phone
Aplio, Inc., has unveiled the latest version of the Aplio/Phone - Aplio/Phone 2.0 - designed to deliver state-of-the-art Internet telephony, including the Open Aplio feature, which can deliver industry-standard, H.323-compliance, enabling Internet calls between Aplio/Phones and PCs or other compliant devices. The new version is designed to offer enhanced digital audio quality - PacketPlus technology - user-friendly remote configuration, and an improved user interface, which is available in nine languages. Resellers and ISPs can also leverage this new tool to enhance customer service while offering "plug-and-play" solutions. Aplio/Phone 2.0 features the Aplio ConfigurationAssistant software for facilitated initial configuration. The software is designed to allow users to remotely set up any Aplio/Phone, instantly, anywhere in the world. Users enter the unique ID of the device they wish to reach and, within a few seconds, the phone on the other end will ring.
No. 525, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

iReady, Open Port Plan Low-Cost Internet Faxing
Open Port Technology, Inc., and iReady Corp. have announced a strategic partnership to make low-cost Internet faxing as simple as pushing a button on a fax machine. Both companies are working together to add Internet fax gateway protocol support to iReady's Internet Tuner for MFPs and Fax Machines module. As a result, the MFPs and fax machines can send faxes via ISPs deploying Open Port's Harmony NSP fax solution. With the Internet Tuner module, manufacturers can easily and inexpensively enable their MFPs and fax machines to send faxes over the Internet, resulting in expected low-cost Internet faxing for the mass market.
No. 528, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

Applix, ATIO To Deliver Real-Time CRM Solution
Applix, Inc., and ATIO Corp. have unveiled plans to create and market CyberCall for Applix Enterprise, designed as one of the first customer relationship management solutions able to queue, distribute, and manage incoming communication from all types of media, simultaneously. CyberCall for Applix is expected to improve the customer/vendor experience by ensuring that customers receive consistent and timely service, no matter how they choose to communicate with companies. Comprising ATIO's CyberCall and Applix's Applix Enterprise, the new solution can allow companies to manage all marketing, sales, and customer service communication via virtually any medium, including the telephone, e-mail, fax, Web call back, chat, VoIP, and Web collaboration. Regardless of how the customer contacts the company, the information is designed to go directly to the most appropriate vendor contact, who can fulfill the customer's needs, rather than reroute the request to various departments around the company.
No. 503, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

MIND CTI Billing Announced Interoperable With Gateways
MIND CTI has announced that its MIND-iPhonEX billing system works concurrently with ITXC's network and the Lucent and VocalTec gateways. MIND CTI is providing ITXC with the billing package for its wholesale accounting and billing of voice and fax communications. ITXC is one of the first Internet telephony exchange carriers to offer commercial service across two leading Internet telephony platforms in a revenue-generating environment. The MIND-iPhonEX system is reported to be one of the first billing systems to work in this new interoperable environment.
No. 529, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

VIP Calling, Siemens Ally For Services To Asia
VIP Calling, Inc., has announced a strategic alliance with Siemens Business Services (SBS) to provide Internet telephony solutions to carriers in the Asia-Pacific region. The partnership is intended to expand VIP Calling's Asian footprint and complement Siemens' services to its customers. This agreement is designed to help carriers in Asia gain an economic advantage in the global telecommunications market. Siemens plans to take advantage of the VIP Calling Network, a state-of-the-art Internet telephony network designed to offer PSTN-level quality. Carriers are expected to increase their profitability by using this technology and to pass the savings on to their customers in lower rates.
No. 505, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

Bellcore Intros Software System For CLECs
Bellcore has introduced for emerging CLECs the MediaVantage JumpStart Operations Solution, designed to help carriers establish and manage the critical functions of their telecommunications business. Running on Windows NT, the solution consists of seven critical components designed to support a CLEC's key business processes and allow for the capture of essential customer data from the initial startup of operations. The seven components include Service Request Entry; Number Administration; Interconnection Management; Network Provisioning; Trouble Management; End User Billing; and Management Reporting. The functions are expected to help CLECs attract customers, activate and maintain their service, and retain their client base.
No. 506, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

OpenROUTE, Merlot Sign Pact For Multimedia Platform
OpenROUTE Networks, Inc., and Merlot Communications, Inc., have announced a technology transfer agreement designed to incorporate both hardware and software into Merlot's converged solutions for small to mid-sized businesses. OpenROUTE expects to make it easier for ISPs and CLECs to provide combined voice, video, and data services to small businesses. "OpenROUTE's expertise in secure Internet access, combined with Merlot's innovative LAN technology, will help ISPs and CLECs provide customers with truly integrated, multimedia services from the edge of the carrier's network to the desktop," said Merlot President and CEO Michael Centrella.
No. 508, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

IDT Launches Upgraded PC-To-Phone Service
IDT's Net2Phone has unveiled its completely redesigned version of Net2Phone, one of the first PC-to-phone services. The new 32-bit version - Net2Phone 9.0 - is designed to download 30 percent faster, install considerably more quickly, and occupy less space in the computer than its predecessor. Some new features include a compact GUI, Web page push from the customer service center, faster performance, and the ability to recharge a Net2Phone account directly from the client. In addition, the new version is also able to improve speech quality and a streamlined user interface with a cell phone-like appearance.
No. 509, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

Dialogic Announces T.37 Compliance
Dialogic Corporation has announced that its computer-based fax platforms are T.37 standards-compliant to allow store-and-forward faxing over IP networks. The entire line of Dialogic CP fax boards can support the T.37 standard and help develop Internet fax applications such as LAN fax servers or interoperate with Internet-enabled fax machines. Dialogic T.37-compliant products have been implemented in, and are supported by, many leading Internet fax solutions. T.37 is the new standard for store-and-forward Internet fax, determined by the IETF and ITU. Store-and-forward FoIP involves a fax being converted to a computer file and then routed or forwarded across the Internet and delivered through the use of existing Internet mail gateways.
No. 514, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

Hypercom Adds IVR To IP Gateway
Hypercom Network Systems is aiming to help Internet telephony providers cut bandwidth costs dramatically and improve voice quality by integrating IVR intelligence into remote IP.tel 6000 gateways. The newly available IP.tel IVR is designed to reduce bandwidth consumption in applications such as calling card services, by eliminating the need for user prompts such as "please enter your card number" to be sent across the network as digitized voice. Once the caller's card number is authorized, the remote Hypercom gateway is able to send calls directly to other remote gateways without going back through the central switch. By handling prompts locally, IP.tel IVR can reduce administrative traffic that blocks carrier backbones. Designed with needs of international carriers in the forefront, Hypercom's integrated IVR capability is fully programmable, able to support pre- and postpaid calling cards and other applications in 99 languages.
No. 510, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

ICG Extends IP Long-Distance
ICG Netcom has announced the second stage of its launch of IP long-distance service to 70 new cities around the country, increasing its total cities to 101 and offering a 5.9 cent-per-minute rate to customers. The company's IP long-distance service can now serve customers in 101 U.S. cities, with a year-end goal of 166 cities. The second deployment marks the first time ICG customers can make coast-to-coast, 5.9 cent-per-minute calls on the company's IP network, expected to cover approximately 90 percent of the long-distance traffic in the country by year's end. ICG's offering is designed to enable customers to make voice and fax calls. International calling capability is planned for later this year. The network uses Cisco System-developed gateways.
No. 512, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

Telia Light, VocalTec Plan Internet Telephony Effort
Both companies announced that Telia Light has chosen the VocalTec Ensemble Architecture (VEA) from VocalTec Communications, Ltd., as the foundation for their Internet telephony services, designed to expand on an existing phone-to-phone pilot, with PC-to-phone and new, enhanced features. Telia Light also plans to launch VEA-based PC-to-phone and Web-based call center services. In addition, the companies have announced an agreement to develop more PC-based, IP communications services, which Telia Light expects to deploy in 1999. Telia Light's PC-to-phone service is expected to be based on the VocalTec Internet Phone Lite solution. Telia Light also expects to enable its corporate customers to set up Web-based call center solutions, using VocalTec's Surf&Call plug-in solution - designed to work in conjunction with the VocalTec Gateway.
No. 518, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

KPN, Qwest Venture For European IP Network
KPN and Qwest Communications International, Inc., have announced a venture to build and operate a high-capacity, European fiber-optic, IP-based network in Europe, expected to be linked to Qwest's North American network for data, video, and voice services. The equally owned venture, "KPNQwest," is expected to combine KPN's fully owned pan-European fiber-optic backbone (EuroRings) with a high-capacity, transAtlantic link to the 18,499-mile fiber-optic Qwest network in North America. EUnet, a leading European business ISP, is expected to play a vital part in the venture. The venture can deliver services from day one to the existing customers of KPN and EUnet, and is expected to sell carrier services, including dark fiber, and offer IP-based services in the spring. Future plans include voice, frame relay, and ATM-based services.
No. 513, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

Verio Expands VPN Services
Verio, Inc., announced it has significantly expanded its VPN services for business customers nationwide. To enhance the versatility and performance of its LAN-to-LAN, remote access, and Extranet VPN services, Verio can now offer substantially higher-speed VPNs, VPN-enabled firewalls, and personalized smartcards for user authentication. Verio is also introducing managed VPN security services designed to provide fully outsourced VPN solutions for eliminating customers'need to invest in costly equipment and technical expertise. At the core of the services are three security products expected to help businesses safeguard critical data on the Internet; they include Watchguard's Firebox II network security product, IRE's SafeNet family of VPN solutions, and Axent's Raptor Firewall.
No. 523, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

Eicon, .comfax, and Net2Phone Plan Internet Fax/Voice
Eicon Technology has announced partner agreements with .comfax and Net2Phone. Under the terms, Eicon plans to integrate .comfax's Internet fax software and Net2Phone's Internet telephony software into its DIVA line of ISDN remote access products. Eicon customers can expect to communicate from their desktops over .comfax's and Net2Phone's global network of Internet fax servers and Internet voice gateways, bypassing traditional long-distance telecommunications networks. With these services, users can eliminate the need for fax servers, fax service bureaus, and dedicated phone lines, significantly reducing the costs associated with long-distance calls. Eicon plans to include the Internet-based fax and voice software with its DIVA and DIVA PRO ISDN interface cards.
No. 521, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

Enikia Offers Home Networking Over Household Lines
Startup Enikia Incorporated has introduced one of the first technology platforms to convert common household power lines to home networks that operate at the Ethernet 10 Mbps speed. Enikia's technology is designed to allow computers, cable modems, DSL modems, peripherals, and consumer electronics devices to be interconnected in a home via a network residing on standard household electrical wiring. In addition, the Enikia-based home network is expected to serve as a common household host for Internet, telephony, and communications services that can be distributed to any device connected to the home network. Enikia's products will center around its Ethernet-compatible transceiver designed to work with off-the-shelf Ethernet controllers (MACs).
No. 516, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

Cisco, VocalTec Develop Interoperability
Cisco Systems, Inc., and VocalTec Communications, Ltd., have announced that they are developing interoperability between their Internet telephony solutions based on the ITU's H.323 Version 2 international standard. Currently underway, the first phase plans to interoperate the intelligence of the carrier-grade VocalTec Gatekeeper with Cisco gateways, including the Cisco AccessPath-VS3, AS5300, 3600 series, and 2600 series. The project's second phase is expected to focus on interoperability between the two companies' complete product sets, including gateways, gatekeepers, conferencing servers, and clients. Product availability is slated for the first half of 1999.
No. 519, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

TouchWave Intros Enhanced IP Phone System
TouchWave has designed its new WebSwitch 2000 to offer Internet telephony alongside traditional service and save companies and organizations long-distance and international phone costs. New voice compression technologies are designed to allow the WebSwitch to provide high-quality service over IP networks such as the Internet. The WebSwitch hooks into a company's IP network that allows free voice traffic. Employees across the country can phone each other and speak for free, for an unlimited time, simply by dialing each others' extensions. TouchWave's PhoneLink, a companywide PC-based directory, can allow users to optionally dial extensions directly from their PCs. WebSwitch's installation involves plugging in phone lines and connecting the WebSwitch's Ethernet port to the network.
No. 524, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

SilkRoad Announces Bandwidth Breakthrough
SilkRoad, Inc., has unveiled a newly patented technology designed to exponentially increase the amount of information able to be carried along a single strand of fiber-optic cable using a single wavelength of light. The company reports the SilkRoad Refractive Synchronization Communication (SRSC) is proven to convey as much as 200 Gbps of information through a fiber-optic cable and has the potential to transmit at 10 terabits per second - the capacity of the fiber cable, itself. The company reports that 840 channels of satellite programming were transmitted 100 km over a fiber-optic cable at 93 Gbps, using only a single laser. Four guiding principles of bandwidth, accessibility, scalability, and simplicity drive the solution. The company plans to introduce LAN products in late 1999, and currently is holding discussions with leading corporations expecting to benefit from dramatically increased bandwidth.
No. 527, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

DSPR Adds PCI Interface To VoIP Board
DSP Research, Inc., (DSPR) has introduced the VIPER-12 549/PCI - the latest member of the DSPR VIPER family of MVIP DSP Resource boards. The VIPER-12 549/PCI is designed to allow up to 60 channels of H.323 VoIP to run on a single board, with an added high-speed PCI interface for applications that need high-data bandwidth between the host and DSP resource board. The new addition was developed for voice and telecommunications infrastructure applications such as H.323 VoIP gateways, IS-136/IS-95 cellular base stations, remote access servers, wireless local loop gateways, and satellite base stations. By supporting up to 60 H.323 vocoders or fax with line echo cancellation, each board can drive the per-channel hardware cost below $70. The board combines the MVIP bus with 12 Texas Instruments TMS320VC549 DSPs.
No. 500, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

NetPhone Intros ISDN-Based PCI For NT
NetPhone, Inc., has announced NetPhone PBX-ISDN, designed as one of the first PCI-based ISDN PBX boards for Windows NT communications servers to deliver full PBX call processing features and to support 24 analog phones per board. The product can be used alone or in conjunction with other NetPhone boards to offer a platform for highly reliable telephony solutions and voice and data applications which scale to support small offices and enterprises alike. The PBX-ISDN also can support standards such as TAPI, TSAPI, and SCSA to enable customers to use productivity applications - such as NetPhone's PhoneMaster call control and VoiceMaster visual voice mail solutions - and is based on the company's Always Up! architecture.
No. 504, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

AudioCodes Unveils FoIP/VoIP Board
AudioCodes has announced the TrunkPack-VoIP/04, a new four-port PCI analog VoIP/FoIP board for Internet telephony, designed to offer small Internet telephony gateways, VPN networks, and enterprise sites the ability to take advantage of AudioCodes' technology. The short PCI form factor baseboard includes AudioCodes' recently announced AC48104A-C audio compression DSP, which can perform compression, echo cancellation, in-band signaling, call progress detection and generation, and T.38 fax relay supporting up to five-second delay. Two dual-line interface daughter cards can also be installed to create various combinations of FXS, FXO, and E&M solutions. Supportive Windows drivers are designed to be compatible with the digital TrunkPack series' APIs and drivers, so the same gateway application can utilize both analog and digital boards.
No. 507, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

Compatible Targets NSPs With VPN Switches
Compatible Systems Corporation has released two new, carrier-class VPN switches designed to allow NSPs to deliver VPN-based, remote access to frame relay and MPLS intranets. The IntraPort Carrier-2 and IntraPort Carrier-8 can integrate dial-up remote access via IPSec VPN connections with Layer-2 services such as frame relay and MPLS, allowing NSPs to incorporate roving users into packet-switched WAN offerings. The products can support capacities of 40,000 and 10,000 connections, respectively. With the IntraPort Carrier series, customers are expected to access the intranet by making a local PPP connection to any ISP. Using IntraPort client software - available for Windows 95, 98, and NT, Macintosh, and Linux - dial-up users can create a secure IPSec VPN tunnel through the public Internet to an IntraPort Carrier located at an NSP facility. The product is designed to terminate the tunnel and establish a connection to the private frame relay or MPLS service.
No. 511, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

ShelCad Intros Client-Based CTI Solution
ShelCad Engineering, Ltd., has designed the Hi-Phone to allow an enhanced level of personal control at the desktop for making and receiving Internet, intranet, or regular PSTN telephone calls. The Hi-Phone is a small, external device designed to link the telephone to a computer, helping avoid awkwardness and lack of privacy in using a computer microphone and speakers. The CTI technology includes onboard integrated voice processing and all telephony-related interface features. The package targets developers using ActiveX, Wave, and TAPI software drivers. Developers, systems integrators, and OEMs can enhance the product by creating special, custom integration applications for call centers, corporate client-based productivity applications, unified messaging, and many other niche market applications.
No. 515, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

SBS Micro Intros CompactPCI Rackmount Unit
SBS Micro Alliance has announced the Model CP8000 industrial rackmount, CompactPCI enclosure, designed to be used in a variety of applications such as telecommunications and wireless communications. The CP8000 features an 8-slot CompactPCI backplane for 6U cards and can accept special telephony backplanes. In addition, the 9U enclosure is designed to accept a wide spectrum of plug-in, CompactPCI CPU cards from the PowerPC to the Pentium II processor. Dual 250 watt hot-swappable power supplies can allow the system to continue operation if one supply malfunctions. The control panel consists of a recessed power and reset switch with power-on and hard drive LEDs.
No. 520, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

CCPU Launches Kit For Sun CompactPCI Boards
The Continuous Computing Corporation (CCPU) has announced the launch of one of the first Telco Starter Kits for Sun Microsystems' UltraSPARC processor-based CompactPCI platform. The kit is designed specifically for the central office and contains features required by the CO environment such as redundant, dual-feed power supplies, remote power cycling, and a robust operating system. This system is designed to deliver high-quality telco applications to market quickly and cost-effectively. The kit is available in simplex and duplex, high-availability configurations. The systems include - in addition to the SPARCengine CP 1500 processor - dual-feed, -48 VDC power, an SCSI dual disk drive, and CCPU's proprietary hardware and software network, monitoring, and control technology for sophisticated system maintenance. Applications for the kit include the advanced Intelligent Network, operations systems support, and the Internet.
No. 517, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

Lucent Releases Wireless Network Tool
Lucent Technologies has announced a new release of its WaveMANAGER/Client tool - Site Monitor - designed to allow easier installation of the WaveLAN WLAN. The newly integrated Site Monitor tool can monitor several access points simultaneously to help reduce the time required to perform a site survey for determining placement of access points. Site Monitor can also reduce overall network installation costs, with its designed greater accuracy expected to identify that fewer access points are actually needed to cover an area, as compared with alternative site survey methods. The Site Monitor can also perform post-installation verification of full building coverage. Installed in a portable laptop with a WaveLAN PC card, Site Monitor can visually show all the access points within reach of the mobile station and show the quality of the links between the station and each access point.
No. 522, www.itmag.com/freeinfo

TransMedia Unveils "Media-Aware" Edge Switch
TransMedia Communications, Inc., has announced a new-generation, "media-aware" edge platform designed to revolutionize the way carriers can deliver services to small and large businesses - for seamless convergence of high-performance data communications with traditional public voice communications to provide lower-cost services and rapidly provision new value-added managed, multiservice offerings. Targeting established and new service providers, the TransMedia MultiMedia Switch (MMS) 1600 is one of the first carrier-grade edge platforms with the power and intelligence to integrate ranging carrier networks - the PSTN, IP, frame relay, and ATM; and media traffic types - voice, data, or video; as well as transport speeds - from DS0 to OC-48. The system can help create a "virtual provisioning point" designed to speed the evolution to an integrated voice/data highway for new customer services. TransMedia's MultiPath technology and high-density, scalable architecture are designed to give the system its "media-aware" intelligence.
No. 526, www.itmag.com/freeinfo