Tektronix (News - Alert) announced this month that its MTA loopback VoIP test solution won a 2006 Product of the Year award from Internet Telephony Magazine. The company’s solution was honored for its ability to perform VoIP testing on cable networks using a probe installed on the media gateway.

 

The ability to replicate a true analog call between the probe and the home makes VoIP testing much more efficient for providers, Scott Sumner, senior manager of active test products at Tekronix, told TMCnet during a recent phone conversation. 

 

Loopback testing is performed silently, Sumner noted, so the customer does not know it is taking place. A softswitch is used to ensure that the customer always hears dial-tone when he or she picks up the phone.

 

“This test probe talks to the softwitch on the network and negotiates to open a loopback call to your telephone adapter,” Sumner said of Tektronix’s solution. “You can test IP loopback, or the actual audio loopback. You’re hearing what a customer would hear on their phone.”

 

Sumner added that Tektronix’s loopback testing capabilities are now embedded in switches from all the major vendors. The result is that, in many cases, providers have enjoyed a 40 percent reduction in the number of house visits they have to make to service their customers, since the testing and troubleshooting now can be performed remotely.

 

Tektronix’s active test division, formerly Minacom, introduced the MTA loopback test solution in June, 2006. In August, the solution was certified interoperable with Cedar Point’s SAFARI C³ system.

 

Each year, the editors of Internet Telephony Magazine present Product of the Year awards to companies that demonstrate vision, leadership and attention to detail.

 

“The Product of the Year awards exemplifies the best that this industry has to offer,” explained TMC Editorial Director Greg Galitzine, in a statement. “The companies earning this distinction have demonstrated a commitment to quality and the further development of the IP telephony industry through their contributions.”

 

For more information about IMS and VoIP test solutions, please visit Tektronix’s TMCnet.com channel, VoIP Test Solutions.

 

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