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> Broadband Gear Report's VoIP Alert for April 17, 2006

Up Front

IMS Boils Hot at National Show

IMS wasn't an abbreviation you heard bandied about much in cable engineering circles even as little as a year ago. Now you can barely have a conversation without it popping up. Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem officially sealed its ultra-buzz status at this year's National Show, which took place this month in Atlanta. The exhibit hall and seminars hustled and flowed with talk of developing IMS-based products that could expand the IP-based service capacities of the HFC net.

Cable's gusto for VoIP is leading the industry toward adopting IMS because, for one, it offers a ways to support wireless options to IP telephony services. Beyond that is the big fact that IMS also supports data and video options.

Expanding HFC's IP Prowess

Right before the NCTA's National Show, CableLabs issued a series of specs as part of PacketCable that would enable ops to deliver IP-based services to subs' TV sets, PCs and fixed-line and mobile phones. Several of the vendors participating in the PacketCable project already are developing products based on the specs, and some of those were demoed in the CableNET booth at the National Show.

"This is a huge step for our industry in its quest to extend the IP service delivery capabilities of our network," Comcast SVP of Strategic Planning Mark Coblitz says.

Cozying Up to IMS and SIP

The specs define, in detail, the communication interface requirements necessary for equipment manufacturers to develop interoperable products. This release covers areas such as existing standards-based SIP, security, QoS, network address translation (NAT) and firewall traversal, and device provisioning.

The specifications were developed in alignment with the IMS architecture developed by the 3GPP — 3rd Generation Partnership Project . Using widely accepted standards-based protocols, such as the IETF's SIP, these specs will offer operators a flexible way to deploy network capabilities as required by their specific service offerings, while maintaining interoperability across a variety of devices from multiple suppliers.

"Aligning our architecture with developing standards such as SIP and IMS provides greater scale economics for all parties," Ed Miller, VP of advanced network systems at CableLabs, says. "This will simplify development for equipment manufacturers and greatly accelerate the availability of interoperable products and services."

Looking forward to the commercial availability of the new generations of PacketCable products, John Coppola, director, DOCSIS technology and engineering at Cox says, "The specs will provide the basis for open, multi-vendor solutions that will enable the industry to utilize the best of what the vendors have to offer in a flexible way."

Gear Watch

National Show: VoIP Gear on the Floor

Here are some of the VoIP-related announcements released at the 2006 NCTA National Show in Atlanta this month.

• ARRIS said it entered into agreements with UTStarcom that include a joint development plan that would result in a solution that will allow subs with a Wi-Fi-enabled dual-mode handset to seamlessly roam between their cellular and Wi-Fi connections. ARRIS' FMC solution enables MSOs to add mobility features to their service portfolio and leverage their existing VoIP infrastructure using industry standard protocols. UTStarcom's Continuity FMC solution is designed to increase network efficiency and coverage through either wireline or wireless networks. It also can enable end users to access a richer set of services and features than were available in the past.
  
  ARRIS will license FMC software from UTStarcom. Both parties will jointly create improvements and new and enhanced features for emerging FMC solutions. A supply agreement calls for UTStarcom to provide ARRIS with the hardware and software for sale to the global cable MSO community.
• Carrier Access Corp. and Narad Networks highlighted their combined VoIP solutions at the show, which provides MSOs with a solution set to meet the needs of businesses requiring eight or more simultaneous voice circuits and data services.
  
  The Narad Broadband Access Network (NBAN) Ethernet-over-Coax infrastructure solution supports carrier class QoS requirements needed to reliably transport voice, with the ability to scale to serve hundreds of business customers requiring T1 type capacity. The Carrier Access Adit line of IP access solutions combine carrier-grade design, performance and security features.
• Cedar Point Communications showed off advanced SIP-based telephony features and provide a first look at its IMS strategy at the National Show. The company demonstrated the ability of its SAFARI C³ media switching system to support apps that can be delivered today with both PacketCable NCS and SIP, simultaneously on the same platform. In addition, it showed how SAFARI C³, as IMS core elements, supports the industry's anticipated migration to IMS architecture for converged networks.
• Cisco offered a fixed mobile convergence (FMC) demo showing seamless call handover between a GSM and a Wi-Fi network using a dual-mode smart phone. The Cisco FMC feature enables broadband customers to use their own dual-mode cell phones to make VoIP phone calls over Wi-Fi when at home or at a Wi-Fi hotspot or over a cellular network when out of Wi-Fi network.
• GENBAND and CCI — Cable Constructors Inc. — announced they entered into a distribution agreement. CCI will resell GENBAND's product and solutions portfolio and provide system integration services including full turnkey supply, project management and deployment, network integration services and full field support. The GENBAND portfolio includes the G6 universal media gateway, C2 signaling controller and S4 applications server. The IMS-based solutions allow cable ops to deploy advanced consumer and small business VoIP services in a Class 5 derived or softswitched architecture based on PacketCable requirements.
• JacobsRimell displayed its customer-centric IP service fulfillment solutions including: IMS-based service delivery infrastructure; customer self care; and JR's n-Play multiservice fulfillment and management platform for TV, voice, and high-speed data. JacobsRimell's APS provides ops with a single platform for automated service fulfillment and management for multiple IP-based services.
• Motorola showcased its "MOTO Me" experience, which the company says takes subs far beyond traditional quadruple-play offerings, "creating truly immersive experiences such as digital entertainment available from any nearby screen, VoIP and cellular calling unified on one device, or personalized content delivered on-demand to a user's location."
  
  Among the solutions featured were a residential seamless mobility gateway (RSG), which enables subs to use the same mobile device and the same phone number as they roam in and out of their homes. When paired with a dual-mode handset, the gateways can seamlessly transfer voice calls between a home wireless network and a cellular network, minimizing call interruptions.
  
  Also highlighted were Moto voice-enabled cable modems that the company says eliminate the cost and clutter of stand-alone routers, hubs and wireless access points. The SBV5220 powers up to two phone lines in the home and includes an integrated Lithium-ion battery backup. The SBV5400 integrates VoIP and 5.8 GHz cordless phone technologies into one device, and the SVG2500 can create a wireless home network and support two phone lines.
• NewStep Networks demonstrated seamless voice call continuity between cellular and Wi-Fi networks, and between mobile and fixed phones at the show. The company also demonstrate its ability to pick up incoming mobile calls on a number of devices, including hard, soft, IP and TDM phones, and to move ongoing calls from any device to another, all while keeping the conversation going.
• Pace Micro Technology highlighted its Boston DV315 EMTA. The PacketCable-certified product is comprised of a highly integrated component design that "provides low power consumption, long battery life for lifeline service during power outages, and support for a wide variety of voice codecs for maximum operator flexibility."
• Sprint announced that it now serves more than one million VoIP subs for the cable industry, a fourfold growth in the past year. Additionally, Sprint said it recently signed VoIP agreements with several new cable companies, including WEHCO Video, NPG Cable and Shrewsbury Electric and Cable Operations (SELCO).
  
  

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