Internet Telephony: Cisco Systems, HP Develop New, Integrated Voice And Data Telecom Platforms - Product Development

EDGE, On & About AT&T, Nov 2, 1998

Cisco Systems, the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, and Hewlett-Packard Company, a worldwide leader in IT infrastructure for telecommunications, Tuesday announced OpenCall Multiservice Controllers, a family of jointly developed service platforms aimed at speeding service providers' ability to offer value-added voice and data services seamlessly over the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and the data-packet network, such as the Internet.

HP and Cisco have combined HP OpenCall, an industry-leading, open Intelligent Network (IN) platform, with Cisco IOS software to create the new OpenCall Multiservice Controllers. The family of platforms will enable rapid creation and deployment of advanced voice, video and data services from enterprise to public Voice over Packet Network (VoPN) with the capability to fully integrate with conventional PSTN. The family of platforms will enable multiservice applications to span the PSTN and VoPN, providing such functions as 800-number access and VPN that previously were available only from conventional PSTN and private branch exchanges (PBX). "Vendors that provide a carrier-grade platform that will allow a service to be developed once and deployed across several networks will help service providers lower costs while giving them a real competitive edge," said John Coons, principal analyst, Internet Infrastructure, Telecommunications, Dataquest. Since these services will behave identically across both PSTN and VoPN, service providers will be able to offer easy-to-use services to the broadest market at reduced development and operational costs. The HP and Cisco approach is differentiated through an open service-creation environment, including programs for third-party application developers, independent software vendors (ISVs) and systems integrators (SIs) to rapidly create the new value-added services and deploy them in multivendor communication networks. "Enterprise customers are demanding increasingly complex and reliable services, driving us to invest in more open, flexible and robust technology," said Jukka T. Leinonen, chief executive officer, Sonera Solutions, a business operation of Sonera Ltd. (formerly Telecom Finland Ltd.). "We are confident that the HP and Cisco relationship will provide service providers with the architecture and solutions for a more scalable, reliable and highly available infrastructure, enabling service providers to offer innovative IP services to their customers. Sonera supports HP's and Cisco's efforts to drive the new market of personalized IP services and looks forward to future endeavors with them." Availability Initially, the OpenCall Multiservice Controllers, expected to be available in the first calendar quarter of 1999, will be based on HP's market-leading UNIX system HP-UX(1) operating environment and will provide value-added VoPN services to Cisco's network elements, such as Cisco SC2200 and products running Cisco IOS software. Future releases of OpenCall Multiservice Controllers will be available on multiple platforms. In the second half of 1999, support for end-to-end voice calls between the PSTN and IP networks will be added. This allows PSTN and IP infrastructures to merge, so that a user on a traditional wireline or wireless phone can seamlessly and transparently connect with user on an IP phone. It also permits services to behave identically, independent of the network on which the user resides. For example, a single VPN service could easily be developed to behave identically on (POTS) plain old telephone systems, wireless and IP phones. Cisco will incorporate the OpenCall Multiservice Controllers into its VoPN infrastructure. The service platforms will also be available from HP as a part of the HP OpenCall platform product family. For more information, see http://www.cisco.com/go/hptelecom or http://www.hp.com/telecom. HP, a worldwide leader in IT infrastructure for telecommunications, delivers UNIX system and Windows NT world-class technology, products and services that help service providers and ISPs be successful as the Internet and telephony worlds converge. Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com. (1) HP-UX Release 10.20 and later and HP-UX Release 11.00 and later (in both 32- and 64-bit configurations) on all HP 9000 computers are Open Group UNIX 95 branded products.