OpenVoB Transitions Voice over Broadband Interoperability Efforts to DSL Forum and Multiservice Switching Forum; Technical Group Completes Objectives

Business Wire, Dec 10, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

RICHARDSON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 10, 2002

OpenVoB(TM), the industry consortium dedicated to accelerating the deployment of Voice-over-Broadband, announced today the transition of the group's technical efforts to the DSL Forum (www.dslforum.org) and the Multiservice Switching Forum (www.msforum.org).

From its inception, OpenVoB (www.openvob.org) was founded to complete interoperability objectives related to multi-vendor implementations of standards for voice over broadband. The group outlined its goals in a white paper two years ago, and has systematically achieved those objectives:

-- Established a membership consisting of more than 25 industry leading packet voice vendors (silicon, customer premises equipment (CPE), and gateway)

-- Published the OpenVoB D1 Implementation Guide and Testing Plan that the DSL Forum adopted as the "VoDSL Interoperability Testing Plan" (Technical Report (TR)-49)

-- Demonstrated the first "Any-to-Any" VoDSL interoperability among nine (9) vendors at DSLcon Spring 2001

-- Held five one-week Callfest(TM) interoperability events at the University of New Hampshire's InterOperability Laboratory to test implementation plans of existing standards

-- Published the OpenVoB Multiservice Broadband Network Implementation Guide and Testing Plan in support of VoIP interoperability, and submitted it to the Multiservice Switching Forum as the basis for CPE testing specifications

"OpenVoB has been successful in achieving technical objectives that have positively impacted the industry," said Ken Cavanaugh, Chairman of OpenVoB. "Its achievements have included the promotion, adoption and delivery of standards-based LES software across the leading silicon vendors CPE reference designs and true multivendor interoperability between gateways and various fiber and copper based CPE products. The organization has been remarkably successful in accomplishing the work we set out to do, which now allows us to fold our activities into the appropriate Forums. Both the DSL Forum and Multiservice Switching Forum are well known industry groups with the objective of supporting the growth of the sector through the standardization of emerging technology."

During the last two years, DSL Forum and OpenVoB have worked together closely to advance the work on VoDSL. DSL Forum established the VoDSL Interoperability Testing Plan published in May 2002 as Technical Report (TR)-49. Service Providers use DSL Forum TRs in RFPs, specifications and similar dialogue with the broadband DSL vendor community. With interest in VoDSL growing, TR-49 is expected to be used increasingly over the next few months.

"During DSL Forum's quarterly meeting in San Francisco, the achievements accomplished thanks largely to our joint work with OpenVoB will enable us to continue to progress the critical work on broadband DSL's related voice services," said Bill Rodey, president of DSL Forum. "DSL Forum's Service Provider Action Council (SPAC) will be reviewing how it can further improve the utility of its TRs to the service provider community to help expedite the deployment of new broadband services and systems. We welcome OpenVoB's contributions, and are looking forward to continuing their efforts to serve the vendor and service provider communities."

In addition to working with the DSL Forum, OpenVoB's latest interoperability work on VoIP and VoATM will be continued in the Multiservice Switching Forum (MSF).

"The MSF has defined an aggressive work plan for 2003, focused on advancing the objective of achieving full multi-vendor interoperability for next generation multi-service networks," says Roger Ward, President of the MSF. "OpenVoB's technical work on VoIP will provide valuable input into this program. With our next meeting scheduled for January 2003, we welcome the contribution that they can make to our ongoing technical program in support of open, Multi-service networks."