Cabletron has released details of a portfolio of "voice-ready" products on the heels of research findings by US-based consultants, Killen & Associates, that, by 2002, 35% of all domestic telephone calls will be made over IP networks.
The company says the products are designed to provide a reliable and secure infrastructure for both voice and data communications transmission.
Martin May, Cabletron Systems SA country manager, says customers will be provided with the ability to support high-quality voice calls over existing data communications equipment, giving them the potential to reduce network ownership costs significantly and to save as much as 70% on long-distance phone bills.
"The growth potential in the in the IP telephony market in a deregulated South African market is enormous," he says. "The popularity of packet voice technology will truly accelerate if it provides high-quality voice calls, significant cost reductions and, ultimately, can be achieved easily without replacing existing data communications equipment.
"This will be true for both enterprise customers looking to reduce long-distance phone tariffs, and for service providers who, in turn, are looking to offer cheaper telephony services and expand their offerings."
The Cabletron portfolio of offerings focuses on a combination of its Layer 4 SmartSwitch Router, SmartSwitches and SmartVoice Gateway to transport voice and data traffic from users` desktops to remote sites and branch offices.
Traffic prioritisation, QoS, bandwidth monitoring, accounting, policy and voice management are deliverable end-to-end.
"This is an industry first that may revolutionise packet voice adoption," says May.
Earlier this year Cabletron announced its extension of Layer 3 and 4 technologies to the SmartSwitch product family. This move provided customers with router-like application control within a Layer 2 switch, spanning from data centre to wiring cabinet environments.
"Cabletron`s voice-ready networking capabilities place us in a position to provide high-quality voice and video over IP networks. With wire-speed routing, QoS and prioritisation, leading gateway functionality and comprehensive management, we can deliver today on the promise of converged IP networks," adds May.
Current Cabletron customers who have chosen to deploy the company`s communications infrastructure for future convergence applications include National Magazines in the UK, Banco de Mexico, and Daewoo Telecoms in Korea.
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