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Technology Stocks : Voice-on-the-net (VON), VoIP, Internet (IP) Telephony -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1829)	11/4/1998 10:30:00 AM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	Respond to of 3178

Well written article from PC Week about VoIP over the LAN - Lucent, Nortel and Cisco all have these products. Just Managing All network traffic is headed over IP By Stan Gibson November 2, 1998 9:00 AM ET If there is one technology winner over the last 30 years, it has got to be--no, not Windows--TCP/IP. It's an IP world, and despite its shortcomings, the world will communicate over IP for some time to come. With success, however, come increased expectations. IP is now being asked to carry traffic it was never designed to carry. Right now, it is voice traffic. In the future, it will be video. Yes, IP has been enhanced and will be enhanced further in the future, but the original protocol, lest we forget, was created to link Defense Department mainframes of the 1970s. Another expectation being added is support for VPNs, which are rapidly being carved out of the IP-based Internet. The lower cost of Internet communications--and the increasing ability to carry any and all traffic--means that corporate networks will eventually be built this way. Even cloudy crystal balls show VPNs carrying all kinds of traffic in the very near future. The trends are clear, but the technology is not yet industrial-strength. The quality and reliability of voice over IP does not yet equal circuit-switched lines. And VPN connections can be iffy. For better reliability, you have to pay more, and that defeats one of the benefits of a VPN. For example, you may be able to get an SLA from an ISP, but the increased cost and the exceptions in the fine print might mean you do not get much of a guarantee of anything. Reliability suitable for essential enterprise applications may not be available at any price. IP-ho we go Still, the march of technology in this direction appears inexorable, and there are plenty of new products to prove it. For example, Lucent and Nortel just announced IP-based voice products. Lucent's IP Exchange Systems funnel voice, fax and data traffic over an IP network, performing many tasks of classical PBXes. Nortel is adding an IP trunk to its Meridian voice mail server to enable LAN connections. New companies such as US Web are stepping in to offer services to build and test converged IP networks. And even newer companies, such as Indus River Networks, are coming up with products to address management and reliability problems. Indus River is developing client and server software to provide the same performance over VPNs that we now get with conventional remote access server products. The convergence of all enterprise traffic over IP networks is going to happen. And it should not come as a surprise that we're moving to this new realm before we have management tools to guarantee response time or even uptime. After all, if we waited for a crash-free operating system, the PC revolution would never have happened. Indeed, to proceed with VPNs and IP-based enterprise networks carrying voice, video and data, the sensible thing is to do what we did when first implementing PCs, client/server applications and intranets. Start with applications that don't require rock-solid reliability and quality--but where it would be nice to offer the service at a lower cost. Then gain experience and build to the point where there is good-enough performance and reliability so that you can cut over your enterprise network. If you can do this before your company's competitors can, the strategic benefits could be profound. Do you have a plan to converge your voice and data traffic over IP? Let me know at stan_gibson@zd.com. See more Just Managing columns.

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1829)	11/11/1998 6:03:00 AM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Respond to of 3178

Pulsecom and IPAXS To Jointly Market Voice-Over-IP Solution for DSL; Combined Solution Will Enable Service Providers to Offer Voice Services Over Existing Data Networks November 11, 1998 HERNDON, Va--(BUSINESS WIRE)Pulsecom, an industry leader in the development of digital subscriber line (DSL) technologies, and IPAXS Corp., a carrier-class, IP telephony gateway manufacturer, Tuesday announced they have entered into a joint marketing agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will market a solution that combines Pulsecom's WavePacer DSL Solutions with IPAXS' OmniAXS VoiceHUB, OmniAXS family of gateway switches and OmniAXS Gatekeeper software. The resulting combination of the two companies' technologies will allow service providers to deliver voice over their existing data networks, offering this as an integrated DSL service to their end-user customers. Pulsecom and IPAXS are currently conducting interoperability and integration testing of their respective products to establish the combined voice-over-IP -- or VOIP -- solution. The VOIP capability was demonstrated successfully by the two companies in Pulsecom's booth at the Networld+Interop show in Atlanta several weeks ago. VOIP is a particularly attractive application for a service provider's business customers. These customers can achieve significant cost savings by enabling their telecommuters, remote offices and international offices to make voice calls over their data network. They can also benefit from moving their voice traffic off of the PSTN to further leverage their existing data infrastructure. Greg Howard, director of service provider programs at Infonetics Research in San Jose, Calif., confirmed that VOIP is an appealing addition to many service providers' portfolios. "Service providers are differentiating by leveraging their existing data networks to offer voice services and they are seeing increasing interest from their user community in voice-over-IP based applications," said Howard. "Pulsecom and IPAXS are on track in their plan to provide a solution that will allow these providers to deliver VOIP as part of their newer xDSL offerings." "By adding VOIP to their portfolio of service offerings, service providers can extend their market reach and increase their profits substantially," said Sassan Babaie, vice president of marketing for Pulsecom. "The combined Pulsecom/IPAXS VOIP solution will allow these providers to bring this new value-added service to market quickly and cost effectively." "Service providers are looking for a reliable, end-to-end solution for delivery of VOIP services to their customers," said Mohsen Behnam, president and chief executive officer of IPAXS. "The combination of our OmniAXS products and Pulsecom's WavePacer DSL Solutions, both of which have been proven in a number of trials and deployments, meet these customers' rigorous criteria." IPAXS (www.ipaxs.com) manufactures, markets and installs carrier-class, IP telephony gateways. The OmniAXS Gateway Switch and OmniAXS VoiceHUB offer carrier-class port densities that support all modes of call origination and termination and include an integrated telephone switch. Pulsecom (www.pulse.com) supplies communications access solutions to telephone companies, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and Network Access Providers (NAPs) worldwide. Pulsecom's extensive product line ranges from Digital Loop Carrier (DLC) to high-speed Internet and broadband access solutions. More than 8 million voice and data access lines are in operation using Pulsecom equipment. Pulsecom is a member of the ADSL Forum, ATM Forum, the ITU-T and the UAWG. Pulsecom is an ISO 9001-registered firm with headquarters in Herndon, and regional offices throughout the world.

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1829)	11/11/1998 6:07:00 AM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Respond to of 3178

The pulver.com Minutes Exchange Opens for Business November 11, 1998 MELVILLE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE) Jeff Pulver, founder of Min-X.com, "The Minutes Exchange" pulver.com stated that "Our first virtual trading desk, The IP Telephony Minutes Desk, is now open for business. We have received strong market support from leading Internet Telephony Service Providers ("ITSPs") and are looking forward to providing our trading screens to help facilitate the direct inter-ITSP brokering of wholesale IP Telephony minutes". Pulver continued: "Members of the Minutes Exchange are currently using IP Voice equipment from the following vendors: ACT Networks (NASDAQ: ANET) Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), Clarent, Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERICY), Inter-Tel (NASDAQ: INTL), Lucent (NYSE:LU), Nuera, NeTrue, OzTel, and Vocaltec (NASDAQ: VOCLF). Our second trading desk, 'The Switched PSTN Minutes Desk', is currently accepting price portfolios from the existing PSTN Reseller community and will be open for trading in early December 1998. Companies that are interested in joining The Minutes Exchange are encouraged to visit the website at: pulver.com. About pulver.com: Since 1995, pulver.com has engaged in activities to help develop the Internet Telephony Industry. pulver.com is the producer of the Voice on the Net (" VON") Conferences ( pulver.com attended by the industry it represents. In addition, it moderates the IP Telephony MoU ( pulver.com. Established in 1994, pulver.com is based in Melville, New York, USA. CONTACT: Alisa Wright \| pulver.com, Inc. \| Tel: +1.516.753.2640 \| Fax: +1.516.293.3996 \| alisa@pulver.com \| or \| Jeff Pulver \| pulver.com, Inc. \| Tel: +1.516.753.2640 \| Fax: +1.516.293.3996 \| jeff@pulver.com [Copyright 1998, Business Wire]

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1829)	11/11/1998 6:11:00 AM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3178

SecurFone America Agrees to Sell Selected Prepaid Wireless Assets to TeleData World Services for Cash and Notes of $2 Million and Convertible Preferred Stock November 11, 1998 SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE) Company to Focus on Core Businesses: Internet Telephony and Global Wireless System Engineering SecurFone America Inc. (OTC/BB: "SFAI") Tuesday announced signing a Letter of Intent with TeleData World Services Inc. (OTC/BB:"TWOS") in which TeleData will acquire the rights to SecurFone's Network Services and handset solution prepaid wireless products. Building on the planned acquisition of SCIES Inc., announced last June, SecurFone will focus on its other core businesses namely Internet telephony products and services and engineering large-scale global wireless systems. Total value of the transaction was not disclosed. "The confluence of wireless and IP technologies are part of the natural evolution of the information marketplace," said Paul B. Silverman, recently appointed CEO of SecurFone America. "Capitalizing on SCIES telephony expertise and our wireless services capabilities, we intend to grab hold of the leadership position in the high-potential Internet telephony sector." By the year 2005, total global voice traffic over IP networks is projected at about 750 billion minutes, up from 450 billion minutes today. Internet telephony is expected to handle 25 percent of this traffic, up from about one percent today. SecurFone's other core competency, provisioning large scale global wireless systems, responds to the growing need for wireless system engineering, support and implementation of global turnkey telecommunication systems. "SecurFone's growth strategy will be driven by both sales and acquisitions," said Silverman. The proposed transaction includes notes and cash of $2.0 million and convertible preferred stock. Total value of the transaction was not disclosed. "The acquisition of SecurFone assets is viewed by TeleData as a significant opportunity to complement and expand our current prepaid wireless offering," said Tony Cullen, President and Chief Operating Officer for TeleData World Services Inc. "We believe the integration of the SecurFone prepaid wireless assets into our existing operations will enable us to achieve our goals for national service deployment on an accelerated basis."

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1829)	11/11/1998 6:12:00 AM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Respond to of 3178

Eicon Technology Teams With .comfax and Net2Phone to Provide Internet Faxing and Internet Voice Capabilities November 11, 1998 MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE) Eicon Technology (TSE:EIC)(ME:EIC), a global leader in remote access solutions, today announced partner agreements with .comfax ("dot-com-fax"), and Net2Phone. Under the terms of the agreements, Eicon will integrate .comfax's Internet fax software and Net2Phone's Internet telephony software into its DIVA line of ISDN remote access products. Eicon customers will now be able to communicate from their desktops over .comfax's and Net2Phone's global network of Internet fax servers and Internet voice gateways, bypassing traditional long-distance telecommunications networks. Using these services, users will eliminate the need for fax servers, fax service bureaus and dedicated phone lines, significantly reducing the costs associated with long distance telephone calls. Eicon will include the Internet-based fax and voice software with its DIVA and DIVA PRO ISDN interface cards, which are distributed through its extensive distribution network of value added resellers (VARs) and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers. Eicon's DIVA family of ISDN products offers the industry's broadest range of ISDN solutions, providing remote users with fast, reliable connections to the Internet and corporate LANs, as well as the ability to send or receive faxes and connect to analogue devices. "By partnering with .comfax and Net2Phone, Eicon is providing its customers with high-quality, low-cost fax and voice alternatives via the Internet," said Ken Gingrich, Eicon's Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales and Marketing Operations. "These value-added benefits complement Eicon's strategy to provide the most comprehensive communications tools available to our customers." "The combination of advanced remote access devices from Eicon with our Internet-based communications service is a powerful new step in office communications technology," said Ben Feder, CEO and president of .comfax. "The partnership with Eicon enables us to provide their customers around the world with state of the art, cost-effective Internet faxing capabilities. " About Eicon Technology Corporation Eicon Technology Corporation is a worldwide provider of remote access products for personal computers. The company develops, markets and supports hardware and software products for connecting PC-based servers and desktop and notebook PCs to corporate networks, host computers and the Internet. The products are sold in more than 70 countries through an extensive distribution network and original equipment manufacturers. Eicon Technology shares are traded on The Toronto Stock Exchange and the Montreal Exchange under the symbol EIC. Information about Eicon and its products are available at eicon.com.

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1829)	11/11/1998 6:35:00 AM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 3178

OT> By 2001, cable modems will emerge as the dominant Internet-access technology," Lippis said. "I'm less bullish with ADSL because of my prior experience with ISDN it's adsl vs. cable modems November 11, 1998 ELECTRONIC BUYERS NEWS Silicon Valley- Chip makers and OEMs are raising the stakes in the battle to bring higher-speed Internet access to homes and offices, as they ready products based on competing technologies. At the Embedded Systems Conference in San Jose last week, Cisco Systems Inc. and Hitachi Semiconductor (America) Inc. moved to bring a new class of voice-enabled cable-modem products to the masses. The two companies have co-developed a reference design board for resale to OEMs. The design is based on Hitachi's RISC chip. Cisco, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sony Corp., and others will use this technology to develop and ship cable modems with voice-over-IP functionality in early 1999. At the Comdex show in Las Vegas next week, other companies will push the competing broadband technology, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL). PC-Tel, Texas Instruments, and Virata will show new DSL chips, while Taiwan's modem giants will give OEMs a sneak preview of their first DSL products. The real winner? Neither, for now. "The traditional analog modem will still be around for a long time, maybe two or three more years," said Shannon Pleasant, an analyst at In-Stat Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz. Because of the costs and technical problems associated with today's telecommunications infrastructure, cable modems and DSL technologies won't begin to make noticeable inroads until 2000, according to analyst Nicholas Lippis of Strategic Networks Inc., a market research firm based in Rockland, Mass. "By 2001, cable modems will emerge as the dominant Internet-access technology," Lippis said. "I'm less bullish with ADSL because of my prior experience with ISDN." Total analog-modem shipments will reach 72 million to 75 million units by 2000, he said. The cable-modem market is expected to increase from 500,000 units shipped this year to about 1.6 million by 2000; at that time, ADSL modem shipments are projected to hit 600,000 units, Lippis added. Cisco agreed, to some extent. "The cable modem has moved into the lead as a result of the standardization of the technology, but ADSL is not standing still," said Steven Sneddon, director of global alliances at Cisco, San Jose. "Frankly, we don't care if the world moves toward DSL or cable. " That's because Cisco fields products in both the cable-modem and DSL camps. The cable-modem design backed by Cisco and Hitachi is based on Hitachi's SH3-DSP, a chip that combines a RISC microprocessor and a DSP. Built around Hitachi's 133-MHz SH3 microprocessor, the board could serve as a reference platform for both cable and DSL modems. The cable modem isn't the only game in town, however. "I believe that cable modems have more subscribers [than DSL], but both technologies will coexist in the long term," said James Collinge, marketing manager at Texas Instruments, Dallas. At Comdex, TI will roll out three DSL chip products, marking its entry into the very-high-bit-rate (VDSL) market; VDSL technology enables Internet access at up to 25 Mbits/s. In addition, TI will show its next-generation ADSL/G.Lite chipset for modems and central offices, dubbed the TNETD3000. Also at Comdex, Milpitas, Calif.-based PC-Tel will show the world's first software-modem IC for use in DSL modems. And Virata's software-manufacturing subsidiary, Raleigh, N.C.-based RSA Communications Inc., will announce plans to license its G.Lite software technology to OEMs. Finally, Taiwan's modem makers, which in total are the world's largest manufacturers of these products, will roll out a slew of systems at Comdex. "Interoperability is still an issue in the DSL market," warned Kevin Ko, depu-ty manager of sales at Taipei-based Askey Com- puter Corp., one of the world's largest modem makers, which will show an ADSL product at Comdex. " Because this is still an issue, I do not believe that the DSL market will mature before the year 2000." Copyright c 1998 CMP Media Inc.

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1829)	11/11/1998 6:46:00 AM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3178

CTI News>Vodavi Introduces New infinite Digital TalkPath Voice Mail System; Digitally Integrated Voice Processing with Exceptional Performance and Price November 11, 1998 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE) Vodavi Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:VTEK) Tuesday announced the introduction of infinite Digital TalkPath(TM), a new digitally integrated voice processing system that offers exclusive features, high performance, scalability and ease of installation, at an affordable price. Engineered to seamlessly integrate with the infinite DVX(Plus) Key Telephone Systems, this scalable system is available in two to eight port configurations, which can easily be upgraded in two-port increments. Its digitally integrated design allows for advanced call processing information not available through analog integrations, allowing it to offer exclusive features such as caller ID, time synchronization and smart transfers. Digital TalkPath also offers other standard features such as menu routing, dial by name, park and page, automated attendant, pager notification, fax detection, message notification and delivery options, back-up power, year 2000 compliance, call queuing, and multiple mail box greetings found only in more expensive PC based products. "Digitally integrated voice mail provides huge benefits to our infinite Dealers and customers," said Elizabeth Perrine, vice president of marketing for Vodavi Technology Inc. "Installation is easier through auto set-up to the infinite system. "Users save money because they don't have to buy additional hardware and they benefit from exclusive features which can only be found on digitally integrated systems, such as Caller ID." Digital TalkPath installs on digital telephone ports of the infinite DVX(Plus) eliminating the need for single-line telephone boards and associated hardware, which represents a large cost savings. System installation is effortless with the use of a Windows based graphical interface that can be accessed on a standard desktop or notebook PC. System administration can also be performed from a telephone set and items such as mailboxes, message waiting, transfer set-ups, time of day greetings, menus, class of service, extensions, other features can be automatically implemented. Vodavi Technology Inc. is headquartered in Scottsdale. The company designs, develops, markets and supports a broad range of telecommunications systems, computer telephony products. Vodavi products include: telecommunications systems, commercial grade telephones, and voice-processing products including voice mail, fax mail, Internet messaging, and IVR (interactive voice response) for a wide variety of commercial applications. CONTACT: Vodavi Communications Systems Inc., Scottsdale \| Jacqueline Hamilton, 602/443-6440 \| 602/998-2469 (fax) \| jhamilton@vodavi.com \| www.vodavi.com [Copyright 1998, Business Wire]