[January 19, 2005]

IBM, Airespace, VeriSign Join Program for Mobile to VoIP Convergence

BY JOHANNE TORRES

Chicago, IL-based BridgePort Networks, a MobileVoIP convergence company, announced today a new alliance program called MobileIGNITE (short for Mobile Integrated Go-to-Market Network IP Telephony Experience). According to the company, the program was developed to unite industry leading organizations that will help service providers to rapidly deploy MobileVoIP convergence services. MobileIGNITE solutions are based on open standards and bring interoperable solutions to service providers to improve the quality, coverage and cost of mobile service delivery, and to add mobility to fixed VoIP ( define - news - alert) telephony services, using a single subscriber phone number identity.

To join MobileIGNITE, members are asked to collectively bring a full complement of pre-tested, end-to-end hardware and software for network infrastructure and end-user devices together with deployment and integration services to address service providers' need to rapidly offer simplified convergent services.

" Mobile and broadband service providers are finding that time-to-market is critical in offering MobileVoIP," said Mike Mulica, president and CEO of BridgePort Networks. "The MobileIGNITE program brings together the partner ecosystem that can get service providers to commercial service launches months or years sooner, reducing costs and integration risks.”

MobileIGNITE’s first members include:

San Jose, CA-based Cisco company Airespace, Inc.—who brings in its support of voice services over Wireless LANs. With its secure RF management, seamless mobility, granular location, and strong management capabilities, Airespace provides a robust platform for the delivery of voice services. "The Airespace WLAN system was designed from the ground up to seamlessly support converged voice and data services," said Robert Tinker, VP of Business Development at Airespace. "Together with the other MobileIGNITE partners, we can deliver best-in-class voice over WLAN services that are easy to scale, cost effective to manage, and secure enough for business usage."

IBM—The company’s Open Specification strategy and its eServer BladeCenter (data center) and eServer BladeCenter T (central office) will serve carrier needs for scalability, availability, and manageability in their data centers, as well as ensure proper management of the service providers' infrastructure for converged services. "IBM's BladeServer Open Specification strategy combined with the partners of the MobileIGNITE ecosystem and BridgePort Networks brings service providers solutions for fixed mobile convergence that reduce risks and accelerate time-to-market for new services" said Juhi K. Jotwani, systems group director, BladeCenter Alliances, IBM Systems and Technology Group. "With BridgePort Networks' certification on the eServer Blade Center, they bring the critical missing link for convergence to the solutions.”

VeriSign—The company’s secure hosted infrastructure model for mobile to VoIP roaming will be providing the needed integration with other IP and SS7 networks, and hosted services and applications which helps reduce service providers' capital spending. "VeriSign enables mobile roaming and VoIP to come together," said Tom Kershaw, VP of VoIP Services, VeriSign "BridgePort Networks' technology enables us to converge our inter-mobile carrier SS7 roaming services with our hosted VoIP interconnect offerings for enterprises and service providers. We simplify service provider deployments and transform the economics of launching new MobileVoIP convergence services."

BridgePort says its new program is based on open standards such as the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). This allows program members to offer go-to-market solutions that leverage existing low cost SIP-compatible terminals such as softphones, IP phones and analog telephone adapters, in combination with legacy cellular phones, as well as supporting the new emerging hybrid cellular/WiFi handsets.

BridgePort Networks
www.bridgeport-networks.com

Airespace, Inc.
www.airespace.com

IBM Corporation
www.ibm.com

VeriSign, Inc.
www.verisign.com