3Com Corporation and Siemens Public Communications Networks, Munich, have announced a joint development agreement that combines voice and data networking to produce the first ever multi-service central office switch. The companies have integrated 3Com`s Total Control multi-service platform with Siemens` EWSD (Elektronisches Wahlsystem Digital) Class 5 digital switching system to simplify remote access to the Internet and enable delivery of a whole new generation of custom-calling services, including Voice Over IP (VOIP). This joint development agreement between the two companies positions them at the forefront of network convergence, explains 3Com SA`s carrier and enterprise business unit manager, Buddie Ceronie. "The implementation of the Total Control Internet gateway in the EWSD system enables custom-calling services that can make using the Internet and telephone much easier," he says. "At the same time, telephone network operators can offer efficient Internet access through their existing networks, thereby reducing the investment in new infrastructure." Some of the potential new services are: * Improved access to Voice Over IP: This service offers the subscriber the option of completing a telephone call via the conventional telephone network, or optionally, to complete the call via an Internet Protocol (IP) network. The integrated IP telephony gateway provides customer-friendly access to this service. Dial-in access and metering charges are managed within the EWSD multi-service switch. * Internet call-waiting: While a subscriber is "surfing" the Internet, the Internet call-waiting service alerts the user to incoming calls in a screen window. Until now, the person being called had no way to recognise and accept incoming calls. The phone line would be continuously busy while the user engaged in an Internet session. The new service allows the recipient to decide whether to accept the call, or to continue the Internet session and perhaps call back later. * Call completion: This service is like the Internet call-waiting service, except that the Internet session need not be interrupted in order to accept the call. Using the Voice-Over-IP capability of the integrated EWSD multi-service switch, the recipient can talk from the PC, and thereby continue the Internet session uninterrupted while accepting inbound telephone calls. E-mail waiting indication: The e-mail waiting indication service signals the subscriber that an e-mail message has been received by using the same method used for network-based voice messaging. This information is received at the subscriber`s telephone, without the necessity of turning on the PC. The message-waiting information is signalled by means of the telephone display panel - a LED - or a special "stutter" dial tone just like voice mail. Subscriber-controlled input: Using Web-based technology, subscribers themselves can configure these custom-calling services for their telephone lines with the help of a user-friendly graphic interface on their PCs. They also can obtain a display of their current service charges online, which in turn can save telco providers an estimated 40 percent in customer provisioning costs. "The joint effort between Siemens and 3Com takes the industry to the next frontier of communications, and effectively marries the legacy circuit switched network with the burgeoning data communications network to deliver new services," says Ceronie. "The combination of Siemens EWSD switches and 3Com`s Total Control technology will provide telco service providers with the ability to deploy high-density, scalable, modular systems in their networks, unmatched by any competitive offerings in the market." In January, 3Com successfully launched VOIP capabilities, built in part on Microsoft Windows NT Server, in its Total Control multi-service platform, an advanced DSP-based system ranked by global industry research firms as the world`s leading remote access system in revenue market share. Changing the definition of remote access, 3Com`s Total Control multi-service platform is a next generation, fully modular, carrier-class access system based on 3Com`s HiPer DSP technology that can deliver value-added services such as voice, fax, video, virtual private networking and content - all in a single software-upgradable system. More than three-million Total Control ports have been deployed to date. "In addition, 300 providers, offering services to more than 150 million subscribers in 100 countries, use Siemens` EWSD system, making it the world`s leading digital switch and confirming Siemens` long tradition as the premier supplier of solutions for telecommunications infrastructure systems," says Ceronie. "The integration of Total Control technology into Siemens` Class 5 central office switch provides a strategic opportunity for carrier-class remote access, Voice-Over-IP gateway services and a host of other Internet supplementary services," says Hans-Eugen Binder, president of the Switching Networks Business Unit of Siemens Public Communications Networks Group. "Every installed Siemens EWSD switch can be readily upgraded into a multi-service switch, offering cost reductions for telcos delivering Internet access services." "This initiative further confirms the role of Windows NT as a standard platform for commercial network services in the emerging convergence of voice, video and data networks," says Cameron Myhrvold, vice president, Internet Customer Unit, Microsoft. "Microsoft is excited to see 3Com and Siemens using Windows NT Server to drive the next generation of services within the public network."
Share
Editorial contacts