A software upgrade for CommWorks Corp.’s Total Control 1000 Enhanced Data System could allow service providers to terminate voice, data and fax connections from any port in the box’s chassis, the company said.
CommWorks, the carrier equipment subsidiary of 3Com Corp., also plans to add V.92 modem support to Total Control 1000, a standard that’s intended to improve throughput of 56Kbps dial-up links. CommWorks announced the software upgrades at the ISPCon show last month.
The “universal port” software upgrade could allow service providers to make phone-to-phone connections over their IP data infrastructures, regardless of whether the parties are connected via broadband, Ethernet, ISDN or T-1, or dial-up lines. CommWorks says this can save costs for service providers by allowing them to provision converged services without having to install separate line cards for voice, data and fax ports.
Included in the universal port software upgrade is support for the session initiation protocol (SIP) and Signaling System 7 (SS7), a communications standard which controls the protocols for making phone calls over the public telephone network. According to the company, SS7 support will allow the Total Control 1000 to connect IP voice calls over the public phone network by integrating with the CommWorks 4007 SS7 Gateway.
Compatibility with SIP, an emerging IP telephony protocol, will allow IP voice calls to be handled by other SIP-enabled devices, such as SIP gateways and IP phones on a service provider’s network, or on other IP voice networks.
The support for the V.92 dial-up modem standard in the Total Control 10000 could allow service providers to better support customers who are using the new modem technology. The new dial-up modem standard improves on the 56Kbps V.90 standard by allowing phone calls to come in while users are on-line and providing faster data uploads and quicker dial-up connection time.
The V.92 software upgrade will be available in the third quarter. The universal port software is in field trials with service provider customers and will be available in the fourth quarter.