good for IVOC?
Wednesday June 2, 7:01 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Lucent to Trial Technology That Brings Wireline Voice Quality to Wireless Local Area
Networks
University of Maryland and Penobscot Bay Medical Center Will Test Applications
MURRAY HILL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 2, 1999-- Lucent Technologies
(NYSE:LU - news) today announced it will conduct market trials of voice over IP
(VoIP) technology that enables wireless local area networks to carry voice calls with an
unprecedented quality of service for unlicensed wireless IP networks. The innovative
technology developed by Bell Labs will allow businesses to deploy converged voice and
data applications on wireless IP networks without sacrificing voice quality.
The University of Maryland, College Park, and Penobscot Bay Medical Center in
Maine, will be the first to test converged applications based on the technology. They will
use Lucent's WaveLAN® wireless local area network, IP ExchangeComm(tm)system,
and a palm-sized wireless IP voice and data prototype that can deliver simultaneous
voice and data calls over wireless IP networks. Lucent will demonstrate the technology
at SuperComm '99 from June 7 to 10 in Atlanta (booth number 8039, Hall H).
The Bell Labs technology enables voice to travel over Lucent's WaveLAN wireless
local area network -- or any compatible IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN -- without the loss,
delay or poor voice quality that can plague voice calls as they move over local area
networks.
Bell Labs solved this problem with an algorithm that determines gaps between the
transmission of data packets and gives the voice packets - or any real-time packet --
the priority to move within those gaps without adversely affecting data performance.
This technique is a significant improvement over other technologies for improving the
quality of voice over IP, which simply give priority to voice packets over data packets -
approaches which can have a negative impact on data traffic.
''This technology eliminates noticeable delays in voice over IP calls and provides voice
quality that rivals the traditional, circuit-based phone network,'' said A.S. Krishnakumar,
head of Networked Multimedia Research at Bell Labs.
''Bell Labs has removed an obstacle that has slowed the delivery of both high-quality
voice over IP and converged voice and data applications in the wireless world,'' said
Barry Weinbaum, director, Lucent Enterprise Wireless Networks. ''Lucent already
offers businesses the most comprehensive portfolio of voice over IP and enterprise
wireless solutions in the industry. As we apply this technology, we will be able to
provide customers with an even wider range of choices for implementing voice over IP
capabilities in their enterprise networks.''
In July, the Office of Information Technology at the University of Maryland will begin a
six-month trial of an application that will help the library's information technology (IT)
staff speed the repair of computer problems. Using the palm-sized devices, the staff can
write a repair ticket or report on the spot, and e-mail it immediately to dispatch a
technician, if necessary. Staff members also can use the device to make and receive
calls and messages no matter where they are on the campus.
''As Maryland's flagship public research university and one of the largest universities on
the East coast, the University of Maryland wants to be in the forefront of exploring
innovative, new technologies that can help us better serve our faculty and students, and
to showcase those technologies for the state of Maryland and the region,'' said Don
Riley, CIO, University of Maryland. ''Being able to access both voice and data while on
the move with a small portable device is a real advantage for our staff, speeding repairs,
improving responsiveness and quality of service. The voice quality is as good as a wired
telephone, which makes it a very attractive application overall.''
Penobscot Bay Medical Center will begin testing several applications within its 109-bed
community hospital. ''We're excited about the opportunity that this technology presents
to do our jobs more efficiently,'' said Tim DeHart, telecommunications administrator for
the medical center. Physicians will use the prototype device to input patient information
into the hospital's dictation system, which is accessed by medical staff to update
records. The emergency room staff will use the technology to handle bedside
registration, and employees handling patient discharge will use the technology to input
reports and access the patient discharge database. In addition, the clinical engineering
staff will use the device to remotely access equipment service history database when
conducting maintenance and repair.
Lucent will use the information resulting from the customer trials and its existing expertise
in wireless voice and data networks to develop an 802.11 standards-based wireless
infrastructure for businesses that can support voice, data and converged applications
accessible by any standards-based wireless phone, PC or personal digital assistant. The
company plans to deliver wireless IP solutions for enterprises that will let users make
and receive voice calls; create, read and send voice and e-mail messages; input and
receive data; or access any Web site.
Weinbaum expects that converged wireless applications will be used by businesses and
institutions -- such as retailers, hospitals, manufacturers and schools -- whose
employees are constantly on the move within buildings or on campuses. ''These
industries already have recognized the benefits of Lucent's market-leading DEFINITY®
Wireless Business System and TransTalk® Digital Wireless System for wireless voice
communications, and WaveLAN wireless LAN for data communications,'' Weinbaum
said. ''The successful marriage of voice and data over wireless IP will open the door to
'go-anywhere' applications that could significantly increase productivity, improve
customer service and simplify communications.''
In addition, Lucent said that the VoIP technology, while currently being demonstrated in
unlicensed spectrum by means of its WaveLAN local network system, could be a
precursor to seamless public and private voice and data communications over
packet-based, next-generation mobile networks now being developed under the
emerging IMT-2000 specification of the International Telecommunications Union.
Lucent's demonstration at SuperComm '99 will showcase the superior capabilities of the
Bell Labs' technology by sending and receiving voice calls over its WaveLAN wireless
local area network using Lucent's IP ExchangeComm system and an industry-standard
personal digital assistant. IP Exchange Systems, announced last October, is Lucent's
family of next-generation IP telephony servers that converge voice, data and fax over
local and wide area networks, and the Internet.
In addition, Lucent will discuss the technology and its enterprise wireless strategy at the
Multimedia Telecommunications Association's Convergence Solutions Business Summit
education track, ''The Mobility-enabled Enterprise: Powering the Engines of
Productivity and Profits,'' on June 8, which runs concurrently with SuperComm '99.
Today's announcement is another component of Lucent's end-to-end convergence
strategy, aimed at integrating voice, data and messaging across multivendor networks. In
May Lucent announced www.messenger, a web-based tool that lets voice messaging
users to access their voice, fax and e-mail messages through the Web. The company
also introduced a package of software and hardware called Real World VoIP
Networks(sm) that gives Lucent's comprehensive portfolio of voice, IP application and
data networking products the most reliable and flexible voice over IP capabilities in the
industry.
Lucent Technologies, based in Murray Hill, N.J., U.S.A., designs, builds and delivers a
wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data
networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronics components. Bell
Labs is the research and development arm for the company. For more information
about Lucent Technologies, visit our Web site at www.lucent.com.
------
Previous
|
