October 2001

Welcome to the second annual TMC Labs Innovation Awards, honoring products that demonstrate raw innovation, unique features, and significant contributions toward improving communications technology. While innovation is frequently a question of firsts, often it is taking an existing idea and improving upon it or looking at it from a slightly different perspective. Challenging established standards, and then introducing different approaches to achieve distinctive results certainly helps to define innovation within this industry.

TMC Labs chooses only a few select products that we consider truly innovative. The TMC Labs engineers have extensive knowledge of the communications, Internet telephony, and call center industries. As such, in the first annual TMC Labs Innovation Awards, we selected winners based solely on our own knowledge of innovative products in these industries. This year, we decided to formalize the process and have an online application for companies to submit what they feel is an innovative product. We were overwhelmed with the response, receiving over 100 applications. Of these applications, only 12 winners were selected. We should point out that not all the winners submitted an application; some of the winners were selected by the TMC Labs engineers without an application.

We should mention that the TMC Labs Innovation Awards are published in three magazines: Communications Solutions, Internet Telephony, and Customer Inter@ction Solutions. Applicants may apply to all three magazines, but when selecting the winners we decided which magazine would be the best fit for the actual award write-up. It should be stated that the TMC Labs Innovation Award is the same exact prestigious award in all three magazines.

With these 12 awards, we attempted to cover a wide spectrum of the industry covering access equipment (integrated access devices, servers, and switches), application generation software, a VoIP phone, and testing gear. While some of the functionality of the products may overlap, the innovations we discovered within these products are unique. Once again, our hats are off to all of the developers, engineers, and corporate leadership for the products that have earned a TMC Labs Innovation Award.

TMC Labs' Innovation Awards Winners

Agere Systems
ORiNOCO AS-2000 Access Server
1-866-ORiNOCO

Ever since WWII, "black ops" and others have been able to easily pull information literally from the air. So just how secure is your wireless Virtual Private Network or Internet connection? If you subscribe to Def Con (crackers, inc.) and the Black Hat Briefings (network protectors against crackers) you may not think that Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP, the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance or WECA's Wireless Fidelity or Wi-Fi wireless security solution) or the newer Elliptical Curve Cryptography (ECC) written into WEP as an optimized version of the Wireless Transport Layer Security protocol, may be enough to protect your system from intruders. We can't just say, "The walls have ears," anymore. The air has ears as well.

Computer security experts have recently discovered weaknesses in the popular wireless standard Wi-Fi, or 802.11b, that are being treated with concern because it is a vulnerability that takes much less time to hack. The new attack allows a hacker to discover the "secret key" that is used to encrypt data before it goes out into the air. With Wi-Fi becoming more ubiquitous and being deployed in hotels, airports, kiosks, businesses, and other public places, wireless security will become more critical. Just imagine when you are making a wireless VoIP call that all a hacker needs is a wireless packet sniffer to listen in on your private conversations.

The group that promotes Wi-Fi has long argued that wireless network users supplement Wi-Fi's built-in security system with stronger encryption tools. So what can really be done about wireless security? Agere Systems has released a solution that utilizes wireless local area networks and provides a few added layers of secure encryption to keep prying ears from listening in on your private data.

The ORiNOCO AS-2000 Access Server is based on Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) and the IEEE 802.11b (up to 11 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz unlicensed radio band) as well as the IEEE 802.3 10/100Base-T, SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service), PAP (Password Authentication Protocol), CHAP (Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol using MD-5 or Message Digest 5 forward hashing algorithm) and PPP standards. The network management configurations can be DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), BOOTP, SNMP, TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol), ORiNOCO AS Manager (a Java app) or ORiNOCO AS PRO Manager for HP OpenView in either GUI (Graphics User Interface) or CLI (Command Line Interface) formats. The Operating Systems supported so far are Windows 95, 98, NT, and 2000 as well as the Mac OS. One unit can easily handle up to 50 clients at a time but the specs say each AS Radio card can handle 250, or possibly 500 per box.

The AS-2000 has the option of taking power from the CAT-5 cable instead of from a "wall-wart" (power brick), and it can be handled by remote control, but the real innovation for security purposes is that the box uses 128-bit RC4 encryption as well as Diffie-Hellman automatic key exchange (other WEP-based systems usually require IS management intervention). In other words, the encryption setup and take-down is a one-time-use package between users (per user, per session), reducing the ability for sniffers or passive eavesdroppers to capture and reuse anything useful from the packet transactions. These keys are also not stored in Flash ROM (Read Only Memory) of the wireless card so a filched device still can't access the wireless network. While other ORiNOCO devices are designed for use within a VPN (point-to-point security), this one is intended for non-VPN environments. One-time passwords (RSA SecureID secure tokens) are also used to keep "man-in-the-middle" attacks at bay. Of the two subtypes of MAC layer authentication in the IEEE 802.11 standard, the Open System Authentication is used instead of Shared Key because Shared Key isn't Wi-Fi compliant. Doing so ties authentication to the hardware being used and not to the identity of the user.

Another option is "Closed System," such that unauthorized access isn't permitted until that device is properly configured. And any IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) compliant RADIUS server (any PC with Win2K will work) is also required for full operation, but the MAC (Media Access Control) address database on that particular server is administered by the assigned network security officer for all stations that are allowed access to that network, otherwise it is "no way, Jose".

When WEP-2 is released by the IEEE 802.11e Security subgroup, it will be deployed in firmware to existing ORiNOCO products. Software upgrades also are being made available for the two methods of authentication currently being used; certificates and shared secrets (IEEE 802.1x EAP [Extensible Authentication Protocol]-TLS discussed in RFC [Request For Comment] 2716).

We give Agere Systems this Innovation Award for putting a cross-platform product out there that addresses all those niggling issues that nag IS managers when it comes to finding a solid solution to wireless network security for the enterprise.

AltiGen Communications
Altiserve 4.0 and AltiCenter
888-Altigen

Recently TMC Labs editors have debated how to categorize Altigen's product. Running on a Windows NT platform and supporting analog phone extensions make it a staple of the PC-PBX community. However, housing an H.323 card enables remote and IP phone extensions. Of course, mingling with the IP crowd certainly alters its status as a purebred PC-PBX.

Regardless of our opinionated, subjective squabble, the facts speak for themselves. This communication server platform is drawn from a delicate mixture of cutting-edge features including remote IP extensions and desktop client interfaces. Merged with Microsoft's NT platform, Triton boards, and newly-released standalone IP call center functionality, one of the industry's most innovative blends just got better. AltiServ 4.0 is AltiGen's fourth-generation offering of the AltiServ Platform, which caters specifically to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and branch offices from 8 to 200 users.

The AltiServ platform hosts a PBX business telephone system that boasts multiple-level auto-attendants and built-in voice mail capabilities with a virtually unlimited number of permanent or guest users, and an advanced voice-prompted user interface. A POP3 e-mail server allows for e-mail mixed media messaging. A SMTP gateway is included with the Microsoft Exchange Client enabling it to work with the POP3 e-mail server. IP extensions and virtual extensions allow employees to work remotely without the installation of a remote H.323 gateway, while affording all the advanced functionality of a PBX extension. And with intuitiveness and simplicity at the forefront of design, AltiGen has integrated easy-to-use unified GUIs on all levels.

Add AltiGen's integrated Multimedia IP Call Center, AltiCenter, and you've got what AltiGen claims to be the first IP call center solution designed specifically for a small to mid-sized organization. AltiCenter furnishes multimedia capabilities for managing e-mail and Web contacts with provisioning to integrate with legacy PBX systems or an existing AltiGen system. Further, since AltiCenter is based on AltiServ 4.0, it's a fully functional stand-alone call center for SMBs without an existing phone system. AltiCenter features IP and/or analog calling, voice mail with voice response, ACD, local and remote IP agents, PBX vendor support, supports both IP standard analog or digital sets, has an integrated e-mail server, CDR and more.

AltiGen very effectively spells grassroots PC and IP-PBX. They've been designing innovative and effective communication solutions such as these for almost a decade. We recall the day when TMC Labs was still in its infancy that AltiGen shipped us their Triton boards and we built our very first PC-PBX from scratch. In fact, it seems to us that AltiGen has pioneered the current PC-PBX revolution. We at TMC Labs decreed, "AltiGether Now!" as AltiGen Communications was unanimously voted in.

Deltathree.com
V2Phone
212-500-4850

As more people in the SOHO market need connections faster than what they get from 56 K modems, they are also looking for ways to optimize their bandwidth for inexpensive alternatives to the PSTN. Deltathree's V2Phone does this and more by offering quality VoIP calls with a comprehensive telephony package over their high-speed network. Upon signing up at iConnectHere.com, which is powered by Deltathree, installing the Enhancer software, and connecting the hardware to a computer, an account is activated, and the V2Phone device is ready to use.

Deltathree delivers additional phone lines and "local presence" numbers -- a virtual telephone number technology that provides remote numbers in 14 locations that ring your phone. What does this mean? Well, suppose you have a branch office in Los Angeles and another one in New York. Then, suppose you are telecommuting in Florida with a broadband connection. You can give out one phone number for people who reside in California, and a different one for people who live near New York. Regardless of which phone number they dial, the Deltathree network will route the call across the Internet to wherever your V2Phone currently resides -- in this case, Florida. Of course, if you don't care about saving the caller money by dialing a local number, you can always give out just one phone number, and Deltathree will still route the call.

V2Phone gives the user functionality such as flexible calling plans, caller-ID, speed dial, voice mail, and an address book. But the most intriguing aspects of the V2Phone device are the addition of a virtual second telephone line, one lifetime phone number, and real-time online access to billing information. Through only one channel, users can make a call over the Internet and still have a second line available for incoming calls. Deltathree claims that they were the first company out with this virtual second telephone line, and we have reason to believe them, making their solution a better candidate for our award than their competitors. With the lifetime phone number, the virtual line can be set up from any location, and any wired or cordless phone could be used. The V2Phone account can also function as a calling card for toll-free access from fourteen locations around the world. When accessing the billing information, users are provided with a real-time call log to track all of their outgoing calls. In addition, users can manage their accounts online at any time. Because of several inventive capabilities, Deltathree's V2Phone is worthy of our Innovation Award.

Envox (US) Ltd.
Envox 4.0
508-898-2600

Just a few short years ago, application generators were best known for their ability to create IVR and CTI applications. A lot has changed since then. Today, newer versions of app-gens feature advanced features, such as Web integration, softswitches, CRM, VoIP, SS7, and more. Indeed, the newest generation of app-gens are development tools that can design very complex communication applications encompassing a variety of communication mediums.

Envox's Envox 4.0 is one such app-gen featuring a plethora of standards supported to create various communication platforms. Utilizing Envox 4.0, a developer can create softswitches, intelligent network applications, unified messaging, PC-PBXs, IVR systems, multimedia contact center applications, Web automation, and pre-paid gateways.

Envox 4.0 features an easy, flow charting environment with graphical building blocks that give you easy access to a vast range of technologies without having to learn the underlying application development interfaces (APIs). This easy-to-use graphical environment helps enable rapid deployment of converged, scaleable, and interoperable communications solutions.

We should point out that the Envox 4.0 development software will be featured with Intel's Converged Communications Platform (CCP). Those unfamiliar with the CCP should know that it is an open standards-based, application-ready platform which supports a variety of telephony and business applications, peripherals, and services all on a single, converged platform, allowing SMBs to rapidly and cost-effectively deploy third-party communications solutions without fear of being tied to a single vendor.

Envox 4.0 is a single solution for developing applications utilizing any combination of voice, Web, IP, e-mail, and datacom technologies. Its GUI programming environment includes blocks for complete call control, e-mail management, reading and creating Web pages, and access to databases. Envox is compliant with all of the major telephony standards including SS7, Analog, T1, E1, ATM, Euro-ISDN (BRI /PRI), QSIG, DPNSS, and R2. Envox also supports emerging standards such as XML, WAP, SS7, POP, ISAPI, and many others.

We were impressed with Envox's extensive number of third party integrations directly into its programming environment. For instance, Envox supports several speech rec and TTS products, including SpeechWorks, Nuance, Lernout & Hauspie, VCS VPro, and more. In addition, if something can be more easily coded in C, C++, VB, or Delphi, Envox supports hooks into these programming languages. Even more impressive is that several companies have developed portions or even an entire product utilizing the Envox development platform. For instance, Microlog has developed a full-service contact center product that utilizes the integrated Envox platform to for their uniQue multimedia customer contact management and routing software product. Centerpost utilizes Envox for its XML-based hosted electronic messaging solution. We could cite several other examples, but the point is that there are real world communications solutions built utilizing the Envox platform.

To summarize, the Envox software enables rapid development of enterprise communications solutions including softswitches, ACDs, CTI screen pops, IVR systems, speech enabled solutions, interactive Web applications, call center, and CRM solutions. It can also be used to deploy messaging, voice portal, IP and hosted service solutions. TMC Labs was quite impressed with Envox's plethora of standards supported, ease of use graphical interface, extensive number of companies using the product, and its ability to integrate with third-party applications and third-party programming languages (e.g., C, C++, VB). For providing such a comprehensive solution, granting this TMC Labs Innovation Award was indeed a no-brainer.

Luminous Networks
PacketWave Switches
877-564-5888

The bandwidth hogs have taken over the Internet and we suffer from the great World Wide Wait because of oversubscribed lines and empty promises of backbone "trust-me's" where more access capability costs continue to spiral upwards. But it doesn't have to be that way. If we happen to be anywhere near a metro fiber splice we could have nearly unlimited access (where have we heard that before?) for both legacy systems as well as Gigabit Ethernet speeds at costs that don't mimic the multiple T1 cost structure.

Luminous Networks has a one-box solution with their M-Series IP-optimized platform access switch that does a combination of Internet IP traffic, interactive and broadband video and toll-quality Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) voice services they have named the "PacketWave." They have accomplished this feat by utilizing a protocol called Resilient Packet Ring (RPR) developed by the IEEE 802.17 working group committee for point-to-point, ring, and mesh-based fiber networks. That implementation is known as Resilient Packet Transport or RPT. We can now bid adieu to both SONET and frame relay technologies and begin reducing costs associated with bandwidth management and provisioning by dropping management layers associated with both ATM and SONET. Those reduced costs (as much as 70 percent less) now mean that ATM, SONET and Dense Wave Division Multiplexing technologies are now "last year."

The product scales from 10 Gbps to 80 with recovery rates below 50 milliseconds (span protection and restoration, full hardware redundancy and hot fail-over) in case of a break or outage by using redundant ring technologies that can handle up to 254 nodes per ring (SONET does 16). Provisioning (flexible wavelength add-drop so that "circuit provision" is not needed) can be done in 64 kbps increments for all ports including 10, 100, and 1,000 Mbps ports. Full support has been provided for Layers 2 (Label Switching Router) and 3 (MPLS Label Edge Router) for the OSI model while using enhanced DiffServ and Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) services. It does this while supporting legacy functionality such as T1, E1, T3, E3, DS-3, and Class 5 switches with M13 mux capability. Digital cross-connects, OC3, OC12 and voice connectivity to legacy PBX environments are also supported.

We unabashedly give this Innovation Award to Luminous Networks for literally going the extra mile in being out in front and doing what previously had been considered impossible to do -- use Ethernet (data) technologies to replace ATM and SONET technologies in support of both voice and video applications by using a hitherto unknown protocol, RPR, and eliminating layer management overhead and complexity for the fiber infrastructure... and doing it for less.

Mediatrix Telecom
IP Communication Server and APA III-4FXS
800-820-8749

In the past year, SIP has been gaining more and more acceptance for communicating over IP, so Mediatrix's decision to focus on SIP may have been wise. It was this decision that lead to the production of their IP Communication Server. However, they have not forgotten the other protocols that still hold muster, namely H.323 and MGCP, which are incorporated in addition to SIP in their latest product, the APA III-4FXS, creating an atmosphere for interoperability among most vendors. Many companies just support one of these protocols or only have products in the works to support additional protocols. What makes the APA III-4FXS different is that it is out on the market now, supporting all three protocols.

The IP Communication Server is a software network management system for their APA devices and Siemens HiNet IP phones from one central location. It is split into five components: SIP Server, User Manager, Gateway Manager, Unit Manager, and System Manager. The SIP Server is responsible for registrations and the translation of telephone numbers into IP addresses. The User Manager stores the system user's information and password. The Gateway Manager finds the APA gateway nearest to the call destination to reduce PSTN charges. The Unit Manager keeps track of the configuration options, detects new devices, and allows for remote configurations. The System Manager combines all the components so that they can communicate together. By integrating with other Mediatrix products, Class 5 services such as call waiting, call forwarding, group hunting, and speed dialing can be performed.

For example, bring in the APA III-4FXS device and we can add four FXS ports that are capable of voice and fax support. This device also has a port available for PSTN system failure bypass functionality. It is the fact that the APA III-4FXS device can integrate with the IP Communication Server for SIP and interoperate with an H.323 gatekeeper or a Call Agent for MGCP that makes this communications device extra special.

Oresis Communications
ISIS-700 Omniservice Switch
503-533-0717

Oresis is pioneering the concept of "Interservice Interworking" with the introduction of the first true integrated services switching solution for public networks. Oresis Communications is a company dedicated to the vision of "simplifying global internetworking" with the introduction of their integrated services switching solution for public networks called the ISIS-700 Omniservice Switch. Oresis develops, designs, manufactures, markets, and sells high-performance telecommunications switching equipment.

The ISIS-700 Integrated OmniService Switch is a multi-service switching system supplying an integrated tandem softswitch that is manufactured for carriers and service providers, offering integrated switched packet voice, data, and Internet services in a single system. It delivers fully integrated operability between TDM, ATM, and IP networks, and additionally offers interworking between SS7, ATM, ISDN, and IP signaling protocols. This allows the switching of many existing and now-emerging services, Oresis has listed the following data and voice services interpreted by the ISIS-700: cell relay, multi-link IMA, frame relay, PPP, and IP. The range of voice services includes circuit emulation, switched Primary Rate ISDN (PRI), switched voice over ATM (VoATM), and packet VoIP. Oresis also says that the OmniService Switch "supports signaling mediation or conversion between these services for interoperability between the voice network, ATM, and Internet."

This, for example, allows one OmniService Switch to deliver switched voice services over a packet network and data services on a common packet network. More importantly, service providers can use existing technologies and infrastructure by migrating both circuit and packet-switched networks to ATM or IP backbones.

Additionally, the Omniservice Switch utilizes an Oresis patent-pending technique engineered to function within the standard Adaptation Layer Type 1 (AAL1) to optimize voice trunking over ATM in a packet-voice network. With the ability to measure the traffic load and latency between itself and other switches, only the most efficient network and resource utilization occurs.

To paraphrase co-founder and current CTO of Oresis Communications George Shenoda, the source of true convergence is found only at the core of the network. This is the model, thinking, and positioning behind the ISIS-700 and "simplifying global internetworking." Oreisis and the ISIS-700 Omniservice switch are regarded with accolades here for providing both and industry-leading vision and another step closer to global convergence.

RADCOM
Omni-Q
800-RADCOM-4

There are many testing products out on the market. We honored three (Agilent's VQT, Empirix's Hammer.323 Call Generator, and Shunra's Cloud software) in our first Innovation Awards, in the July 2000 issue of Internet Telephony. This year, we must honor RADCOM's Omni-Q system. We honor it for Communications Solutions because it is more than just an IP testing product, it is a complete communications centralized management solution. Targeting service providers, Omni-Q enables them to deliver packet telephony services to their customers' needs and optimize their network resources.

Using a mix of proactive and non-intrusive network-wide measurement probes, Omni-Q offers service providers the ability to comprehensively manage the quality of their packet telephony services. Supporting circuit and packet interfaces, the Omni-Q system can deploy a combination of IP probes (iProbes), circuit probes (cProbes) and passive probes (vProbes) to measure voice quality on the entire network. Using standards-based algorithms, the cProbes and iProbes generate end-to-end circuit calls and edge-to-edge packet calls respectively. The vProbes monitor live traffic going through VoIP lines and conduct a set of call quality measurements. In general, all of these probes work together to include measurements of PAMS scores, call-set-up time, jitter, and packet loss of these generated calls. They are administered through a Java-based console and controlled by the QManager, which has network analysis, call scheduling, configurable alarm thresholds, and reporting capabilities stored in an Oracle database.

Since many organizations use a hybrid of a packet telephony and a circuit-switched network, it is important to measure voice quality from both perspectives effectively. Omni-Q does this while both monitoring and managing the calls on the network. The fact that the system is also the first to measure both H.323 and SIP calls impressed us enough to give RADCOM's Omni-Q system a TMC Labs Innovation Award.

Sun Microsystems
Sun Ray
800-555-9786

Sun Microsystems has developed a truly innovative product called Sun Ray, a thin-client terminal device supporting video conferencing and collaboration, as well as VoIP utilizing the H.323 standard and even includes a rudimentary gatekeeper. Applications actually run on a Sun server with the keyboard, mouse, and video signals transmitted over IP to each individual Sun Ray. In fact, except for the video-out display, the Sun Ray is simply an input device, taking keyboard and mouse actions and transmitting them across the network to the Solaris server. The Solaris server then takes care of transmitting back the screen pixels to each Sun Ray, including mouse movements, characters typed, as well as any transmitting audio back to the Sun Ray. The Solaris server is optimized to only transmit the "screen delta" or just the "changes" in the screen pixels to the Sun Ray, saving on bandwidth utilization.

The product line consists of three models: The Sun Ray 1 (standalone unit with no integrated monitor), Sun Ray 100 (integrated 17" standard monitor), and the Sun Ray 150 (integrated 15" flat-screen display). The Sun Rays all have a 10/100BaseT network port, embedded audio speakers, an embedded smart card reader as well as USB ports to support a keyboard, mouse and other peripherals.

The product is well suited to companies looking to deploy UNIX applications, without the complexity of deploying UNIX-based desktop PCs. When combined with a separate Microsoft Terminal Server with Citrix MetaFrame, along with Sun Ray's support of the Citrix ICA software client, the Sun Ray can actually run Windows applications.

What intrigued us most was its support for VoIP on a thin-client terminal. The SunForum 3.2 application (also known as Watney), supports several standards including H.323, T.120 (conference manager), T.126 (whiteboard), T.128 (shared applications), and more. Watney/ SunForum 3.2 supports audio, video, and data conferencing. Another feature that intrigued us was the "hot desk" session mobility (have your current desktop session follow you where ever you go.) Essentially, it allows a user to unplug the smart card, walk to another desk, plug it in, and continue with all the applications right where she left off. This is perfect for organizations with multiple shifts or anywhere where PCs are shared, such as in call centers, schools, and libraries. With such a unique feature-set, the innovations in the Sun Ray product are quite apparent. TMC Labs didn't have to think very hard in selecting Sun Microsystems' Sun Ray as one of our winners.

VoiceGenie Technologies
SpeechGenie VoiceXML Gateway
416-736-0905

Quick, what is the one telephony application that comedians make the most fun of when discussing phone technology? Does interactive voice recognition (IVR) come to mind? Isn't that a technology whose heart you'd just love to sink a silver stake into? Instead of committing telephony-cide, you can leapfrog the issue by using VoiceXML Portal Services technology.

Out of a handful of telephony server VoiceXML gateways, VoiceGenie's product stands out by using a VoiceXML interpreter that is 100 percent tag and attribute-compliant with VoiceXML 1.0 and includes compliance with H.323 and SIP. Once the World Wide Web Consortium ratifies VoiceXML 2.0 in the fall of 2001, we should see full compliance with that also. It does this by using a UNIX-based, fully open, non-proprietary, vendor-agnostic, best-of-breed architecture. So far, it has been found to work well with both Nuance's and SpeechWorks's speech recognition engines and Speechify and AT&T Watson's text-to-speech engines, along with Dialogic cards. The choice for customers is to use this product either the ASP-based back-end integration model (GenieHosting) or as a stand-alone gateway for the enterprise. And programmers can use VoiceGenie's VoiceXML validator online, instead of having to call in to review their VoiceXML scripts.

SpeechWorks thought this VoiceXML Gateway was so good, they partnered with VoiceGenie to create the voice Web computing platform, SpeechGenie. This product combines the VoiceXML Gateway (a "stateless" machine) with automatic speech recognition, text-to-speech, and call channel resources so it can retrieve and process either static or dynamic VoiceXML pages from any Web server. It can also be configured as a content platform that also does data mirroring, load balancing, and the other server operations. It has the capability to accept and place calls without human intervention (integrating OpenSpeech DialogModules from SpeechWorks). This includes voice mail and e-mail-by-phone among a host of other applications. If you wish, you may also obtain a personal 800-number that allows follow-me service calls until you can be located.

We have given VoiceGenie Technologies this Innovation Award for the SpeechGenie VoiceXML Gateway because of its unique, open, standards-based, voice-Web approach with VoiceXML, allowing any phone access by streamlining voice user integration and automatic speech recognition technologies as a way to provide better customer service and reduce costs.

Voyant Technologies
Pronto
888-447-1087

Voyant Technologies has helped advance voice conferencing from operator-assisted or reservation-based to reservationless and instant. Voyant offers scalable voice applications including conferencing capabilities and other e-communication services for CASPs, Internet portals, ASPs, service providers, and next-gen carriers

Voyant's instant IP conferencing application Pronto enables on-demand, instant multipoint-collaboration using the SIP to route calls to a DSP-based conferencing media server. Utilizing SIP, a point-to-point call can be instantly transferred into a multipoint, multi-party conference call without interruption. This enables end users to easily launch a voice conference without a prior subscription or reservation, making it subscriber-less.

By utilizing a SIP-based solution, this offers more efficient call routing, transfer and management versus the traditional PSTN. Voyant's IP-based solution is innovative for taking conferencing from a stand-alone application to an always available resource within the network. In addition, this product was specifically designed to leverage existing network resources such as application servers, proxies, speech recognition systems, presence servers, and of course, softswitches.

Pronto features an open API which developers can use to enable Internet control of conferences, as well as create differentiated voice and data enhanced services. And because this product is SIP-compliant, it interoperates with other SIP compliant end-points, allowing service providers a way to easily deploy VoIP conferencing. Since TMC Labs believes interoperability with open standards is a "must," we were pleased to hear that Voyant has successfully interoperated with such well-known names as Pingtel, Broadsoft, Sonus, CommWorks, Longboard, dynamicsoft, and more.

Finally, with Microsoft's inclusion of a software-based SIP client (Windows Messenger) in future versions of Windows, it won't be long before everyone will experience some sort of IP multi-point conferencing first hand. In fact, we were told by Voyant that they have done some trials with an instant messaging client and utilized "buddy lists" to detect when everyone is "available" and to automatically join them into the conference. Whether your first IP-based conference call is with a hardware-based solution, such as a SIP phone from Pingtel, or a software-based solution, such as Windows Messenger or even Mediatrix's SIP software client, Voyant's Pronto product is truly innovative and we expect this product to make some waves in the communications space.

Vpacket Communications
6100 Series Voice/Data Router
408-571-7900

The Vpacket 6100 Series router is a unique integrated access device (IAD) supporting all-IP infrastructures. The router works in conjunction with network management systems (NMS), third-party softswitches, and media gateways to provide merged voice/data services and IP Centrex features utilizing an IP service delivery architecture, for small to medium enterprises.

The 6100 Series delivers IP Centrex services, a melding of traditional and IP communication services, which tends to be important to SMEs and service providers alike. Important because these services lower operating costs through the delivery of advanced IP services to customers, such as VoIP, and unified messaging, presence-based services and support for Palm OS devices, as well as advanced circuit-switched features such as call conferencing, one-number follow-me service and auto attendants.

Vpacket's offering prioritizes quality of service (QoS) employing DSP-based applications designed to gauge and monitor voice quality. Additionally, Vpacket's own NMS can be segregated into multiple control planes allowing separate management for any partnered providers at different application layers.

The 6100 Series supports most standard industry WAN and LAN interfaces including SDSL, T1 and 10/100 Ethernet, in addition to standard telephone and PBX connections using an analog of digital T1 interface. It additionally supports both 12 and 24 voice ports and CODEC support for low and high-bandwidth applications.

In spirit of extending their QoS offering, Vpacket also employs an "emergency/backup/lifeline support" as they call it, which is included in every 6100 series unit. This piece of mind POTS port provides an additional avenue for communication. In the event of a power failure a standard phone connection allows outbound dial services, thanks to the local telco's disparate power supply.

Its interoperability and QoS traits alone make this intelligent router innovative. However, it's certainly no coincidence that these features are product staples. Because the company as well, has grown from a vein of innovation, employing a progressive and forward-thinking business model. Vpacket's multiple partnerships with key, industry-leading companies have not only helped build an open, comprehensive voice/data router, but dually, have put them in a position to be part of many end-to-end system solutions. Vpacket Communications, Inc. and their 6100 Voice/Data Router -- innovative by choice.

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