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Avaya SIP Softphone Will Work With Intel's CentrinoBY JOHANNE TORRES
TMCnet VoIP Minute Watch Columnist
Attention mobile workers looking for better quality of voice over wireless networks: Avaya Inc. announced today that it teamed up with Intel to provide just that. A new partnership will allow Avaya to optimize its SIP-based, IP telephony softphone for laptop PCs with Intel's Centrino mobile technology. The companies also announced that they will collaborate to improve the integration, control and functionality of Bluetooth devices used in conjunction with the softphone client.
The collaboration, part of Intel's Digital Office initiative, was arranged in order to "enhance softphone performance and reliability when several computer programs are running at once," said a news announcement released by the companies this morning. Specifically, the Avaya Softphone will be optimized for the Intel Centrino mobile technology bundling packet prioritization, bandwidth reservation and call admission control. According to the news release, this will help enable the Avaya softphone to "provide consistent quality of service across both wired and wireless networks using industry standards such as 802.11e." This would allow mobile workers to, for example, link a laptop computer into remote wired and wireless networks and run various business applications simultaneously while using an Avaya softphone. "Intelligent communications depend on the ability to support high-quality seamless communications that are both integrated with and working alongside of business applications and are extended over any network," said Geoffrey Baird, vice president, Communications Appliances, Avaya. "With mobility as a key element of Avaya's Intelligent Communications strategy, our work with Intel will help ensure workers are well-equipped for competitive advantage in the real-time enterprise." The Avaya softphone, along with the Avaya Communication Manager, will enable mobile workers to send and receive calls and also access features and directories from computing devices simultaneously while in and out of the office just as they would when using a desktop phone. The Avaya SIP-based softphone incorporates presence and Instant Messaging (IM) features for mobile workers to see the availability of co-workers and immediately contact and receive a response from them.
"As the convergence of voice and data extends into wireless laptops, it's critical to enable high-quality and reliability for voice traffic when multiple programs are running simultaneously," said Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager, Intel Mobile Platforms Group. "Optimizing the Avaya SIP Softphone for the next generation of Intel Centrino mobile technology will help enable this vision of seamless collaboration in the Digital Office."
Today's announcement follows Avaya's recently obtained contract with the St. Lucie County Schools system of the state of Florida. The school system decided to tap Avaya and its IP Office voice and data server, for the district’s new telecom reorganization project. The task will not only provide the organization with lower-cost phone services, but it will also make room for network growth as the school delivers new services to parents, students, teachers and administrators.
The company also recently awarded SIP technology provider Ingate Systems the Avaya compliance certification for its Firewalls, SIParators and application modules for remote connectivity and VoIP survival. The Ingate Firewall and Ingate SIParator products were designed, the company explained, to "solve the Network Address Translation (NAT) traversal issues inherent in SIP communications." Since NAT hides private IP addresses from the public Internet, Ingate’s products enable seamless connectivity by matching SIP communications originating from outside a company with the appropriate internal IP address.
Avaya Inc. Intel Corporation
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Johanne Torres is contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more articles by Johanne Torres, please visit:
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