TIME WARNER ROLLS VoIP IN MAINE

Cable World,  May 26, 2003  

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Byline: ANTHONY CRUPI

Time Warner Cable has launched Voice over IP (VoIP) service to its high-speed data customers in Portland, Me. Dubbed Digital Phone, the new offering marks the first time an MSO has launched softswitched VoIP in a commercial market.

According to a spokesman, TWC has signed on about 1,300 customers since the service went live in February, and will look to reach more subs with an aggressive advertising campaign. TWC serves upward of 100,000 basic cable subs in the Portland area; of those, approximately 30% are HSD customers.

The VoIP service relies on Cisco Systems' backbone, which is comprised of the BTS 10200 softswitch/call management server, the uBR7246VXR cable modem termination system (CMTS) and the MGX 8850 voice gateway.

"For MSOs who are trying to accelerate their time to market, being able to integrate with our network will be a key advantage," said Mark Bakies, Cisco's director of marketing for voice technology.

Cisco has engineered the Portland system to manage up to 200,000 users and 200 simultaneous call attempts per second, Bakies said. The vendor is also providing all the requirements for primary line service, e911 and CALEA support.

Portland will serve as a test case for TWC before it rolls out VoIP in Rochester, N.Y., and North Carolina.

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