TA Bank, an up-coming niche bank targeting the mid-size corporate and institutional sector and high net worth individuals, has successfully completed a complex voice over data solution project - the first of its kind in South Africa.
The solution - developed by IT consultancy UC Solutions and implemented by Dimension Data Networking`s Cisco and technical experts - is based on Cisco`s cutting edge 3810 voice data router, the protocols being adjusted to work effectively with the Index PBX which uses a DPNSS (Digital Private Networking System) as standard.
Juggie Govender, TA Bank IT manager explains that the challenge in this solution was getting the DPNSS signaling to work across the Wide Area Network (WAN), consisting of Cisco MC 3810 multiservice access concentrators. "TA Bank insisted on using DPNSS for optimisation of transparency. Although it is an older type of signaling, it is more widely deployed by PABX vendors than the newer CCS (Common Channel Signaling) Qsig signaling system, based on the ISDN Q931 standard.
"As the Cisco MC3810 specifically supports the ISDN Qsig standard, there were some reservations as to whether this project would be successful or not. After many hours of research, the Dimension Data Networking team found the DPNSS signaling would be able to work across the MC3810s by passing information transparently across them. This means the information could be passed through the MC3810s without being processed."
TA Bank needed the solution to consolidate its operations. "We wanted to network TA Securities, our stock brokerage arm in Johannesburg, with offices in Hyde Park and Cape Town, as well as cater for the requirement of communication between the Johannesburg and Cape Town branches," says Govender.
TA Bank`s Executive Director, Gordon Cunliffe, believes the implementation of this unique solution will maximise efficiency of the company`s resources around the country by saving money on inter-branch calls and centralising services. "As TA Bank already had dedicated data links between Cape Town and Johannesburg, using these links by compressing voice over data means we could use voice over the existing bandwidth available on the dedicated link rather than the Public Service Telephone Network (PSTN).
This solution also enabled us to standardise and maintain a particular service level at all branches in a cost effective manner," he adds.
According to Govender, TA Bank has installed a tie-line between the Hyde Park and central Johannesburg buildings - with full voice speech available between the offices. "We have installed a 128k line to Cape Town, using 64k for voice and 64k for data. A PBX infrastructure between Johannesburg and Cape Town has also been fitted out - allowing one operator to handle calls for both branches.
"Another benefit is our IT department has been centralised, based in Johannesburg. From here, we control both the voice mail and monitoring systems. We can also easily share expertise levels across the branches."
TA Bank brought in independent consultants, UC Solutions, to choose a best-of-breed solution based on the company`s requirements. Consultant Jarun Assabi says the success of the solution has forged a strong relationship between UC Solutions and Dimension Data Networking. "We chose Dimension Data Networking as the implementation partner because of their strength in the Cisco arena and the cost-effectiveness of their proposal. The local and international expertise that generated this specific solution has undoubtedly validated our choice."
Says Kevin Isaacman, Technology Manager: Voice & Wide Area Networks at Dimension Data Networking: "Once we were aware of TA Bank`s specialised needs, we escalated the requirement to Cisco UK. Our team worked very closely with Cisco UK to develop the solution, which was tested in a lab at Plessey, telecommunications company within the Didata group.
"After hours of testing, with the help of Cisco`s UK technical assistance centre (TAC), we were able to pass voice and signaling with all the required features through the MC3810s with excellent speech quality, using the new CS-ACELP g729a compression algorithm. This compresses the voice channel down to 8k, providing good speech quality and considerable bandwidth savings," he adds.
"The success of this solution offers vast opportunity for Dimension Data, as the largest private voice networks in South Africa utilise DPNSS," says Warren Bruckman, account manager at Dimension Data Networking.
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