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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 (2071)	12/3/1998 9:06:00 AM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Respond to of 3178

8x8 Introduces Multi-Line Audio Processor for Broadband IP Telephony Related Items December 2, 1998 -- 8x8, Inc. -- a leading supplier of multimedia communication technology and systems -- today introduced its Audacity Internet Telephony Processor (Audacity ITP). The Audacity ITP combines IP telephony protocol support with audio compression/decompression (codec) capability for up to eight simultaneous IP phone calls onto a single integrated circuit. The Audacity ITP supports both the Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) and H.323, which are the industry standard protocols for IP telephony. The chip targets both phone terminals and gateways operating over broadband networks such as corporate LANs, residential cable modem networks and xDSL networks. Two versions of the chip are available, one with a graphics engine for screen phones and a lower cost version for audio-only telephones and gateway products. "8x8 has established itself as a leader in multimedia communication technology and systems,'' said Paul Voois, 8x8's chairman and CEO, "and in doing so we've built a core expertise in audio chips and software. The introduction of the Audacity ITP represents the application of that expertise to IP telephony, which is an emerging technology that will revolutionize the telecommunications industry as it moves into the twenty-first century. We plan to participate in that revolution with the Audacity ITP, which is the most flexible and powerful IP telephony solution available.'' The Audacity ITP is part of the recently announced BCM93300-IP Broadband Multimedia Services reference design from Broadcom Corporation. The BCM93300-IP is the first reference design for the cable industry that integrates a cable modem and IP telephony functions into a single system. Broadcom and 8x8 are demonstrating this reference design at the Western Cable Show, which opens today at the Anaheim Convention Center. The Audacity ITP's ability to support multiple simultaneous telephone lines makes it ideal for packet gateway applications. Packet gateways connect multiple standard touch-tone phones to broadband IP networks using protocols such as CableLabs' PacketCable Interface Specification for two-way communication via cable modems. The Audacity ITP supports packet gateways running over both cable and xDSL modems. The Audacity ITP enables a rich set of IP telephony features and services for both terminal and gateway applications. The processor uses dynamic bandwidth management technology to adapt to network congestion during a call to preserve network integrity while maintaining the highest possible quality of service. The processor's embedded graphics engine enables screen phone OEMs to include HTML browsers and graphic user interfaces in their products. MGCP and H.323 support offers exciting services for consumers and new sources of revenue for cable operators and telephone service providers, including unified messaging, enhanced caller ID and on-line directory services. The Audacity ITP is fully programmable, allowing telephone service providers to remotely upgrade customers' telephones with revenue-generating features and services. The Audacity Internet Telephony Processor uses the dual-programmable architecture that 8x8 pioneered for the video communication market. The processor combines a high-performance reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor with a single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) digital signal processing (DSP) engine. In a typical IP telephony application, the RISC microprocessor executes the network communication protocols as well as call management functions and user interface applications such as an HTML browser. The DSP engine performs the complex mathematical computations required to process audio data, such as compression and decompression, DTMF tone detection and generation, and full-duplex echo cancellation. The integration of the RISC and DSP engines onto a single Audacity chip eliminates the need for the external microcontroller that is typically required when using conventional DSP solutions for IP telephony. Both the RISC and DSP engines are fully programmable, allowing the Audacity ITP to support multiple IP telephony protocols like MGCP and H.323, as well as multiple audio codecs. The Audacity ITP currently supports the industry standard codecs G.711, G.722, G.723 and G.728, and support for G.726 and G.729 is planned for the future. The Audacity ITP can simultaneously run up to eight G.711 or G.722 codecs, four G.723 codecs, or two G.728 codecs. In addition, the Audacity ITP can perform full-duplex acoustic echo cancellation, DTMF detection and generation, and fax emulation, ensuring that no external digital signal processing (except that needed for the network interface) is required. Both versions of the Audacity Internet Telephony Processor are available in either a 208-pin plastic quad flat package (PQFP) or a 225-pad ball grid array (BGA). The chip is manufactured in a 0.35 micron, 3.3 volt CMOS process and it dissipates 0.8 Watts. Price and Availability Samples of the Audacity Internet Telephony Processor are available immediately. Audacity ITP is priced at $40 for the version with graphics and $35 for the version without graphics, both in 10,000-unit volumes. About 8x8 A leading manufacturer of multimedia communication systems, semiconductors and software, 8x8, Inc. is committed to providing both businesses and consumers with a more complete way of communicating. From high-performance digital telephony processors to affordable videophones, 8x8's products offer a full range of video communications and telephony solutions. The company is headquartered at 2445 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara, California 95054. For more information, call toll free 888-VIEW-8X8, or in London for European sales, 8x8, Ltd., Harleyford Estate, Marlow, Bucks, SL7 2DX England, 011-44-1628-402800, fax 011-44-1628-402829.

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (2071)	12/9/1998 8:22:00 AM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Respond to of 3178

ericsson takes aim at wireless enterprise December 9, 1998 PC Week: Ericsson Inc. has launched an enterprise strategy intended to jump-start user interest in wireless office phone systems and IP-based PBXes. Ericsson, the U.S. division of Swedish wireless giant L.M. Ericsson Telefon AB, is aiming to deepen the penetration of wireless office phones from 2 percent today to more than 30 percent in several years. The company plans to make wireless more attractive to corporations by beefing up the IP capabilities of its MD110 PBX and by reinventing itself as a major U.S. provider of value-added services and wireless office systems, said Haijo Pietersma, executive vice president of Ericsson's new Enterprise Solutions unit, in Richardson, Texas. To do this, Ericsson will have to reverse both the historical dominance over the U.S. enterprise equipment market by established vendors, such as Nortel Networks, Lucent Technologies Inc. and Siemens Corp., and user reluctance to implement expensive wireless PBXes. Ericsson must not only prove the viability of wireless technology but also must win over U.S. customers who have, in most cases, already chosen their PBX providers. "Ericsson has been doing great overseas, but they've never really taken hold in the United States," said John Holman, telecom manager at Aurora Health Care, in Milwaukee, which uses Nortel Networks PBX equipment. For Aurora, which operates 19 hospitals and 60 clinics, it wouldn't make sense to switch PBX vendors midcourse--and the cost of installing on-premises wireless phone systems would be almost double the expense of its wired systems, Holman said. A tough sell "Ericsson still has a lot to prove in the United States," where it has neither effective distribution and sales channels nor customer support structures, said Hilary Mine, an analyst at Probe Research Inc., in Cedar Knoll, N.J. Ericsson has only a very small percentage of the U.S. PBX market, although it has done better in the wireless PBX space. That market represents about 5 percent of the total PBX lines shipped, Mine said. By Ericsson's own estimation, it has less than 3 percent of the U.S. PBX market, although it controls nearly 30 percent of the wireless PBX segment, a spokesman said. Ericsson Enterprise Solutions is at (800) 444-3742 or www.ericsson.com. [Copyright 1998, Ziff Wire]