Patapsco Communications, the telecoms engineering specialist, has supplied telecoms carrier, I-Carrier, with 7 x Liberator-S multiplexer units for its new VoIP VPN network in Turkey.

Netherlands-based I-Carrier specialises in providing telecom networks, especially VoIP, in countries that have recently liberalised their telecommunications infrastructure.  This includes: Turkey, Russia, Bulgaria, Iran, Morocco and Pakistan.
 
I-Carrier is currently installing a network throughout Turkey and required a system to convert BRI circuits to PRI/E1. The Liberator units selected each provide one PRI and 16 x BRI ports.
 
Explained Roy Willemsen, Chief Technical Officer at I-Carrier, “When installing our new VoIP networks, we need to ensure that the PoPs (Points of Presence) have the right access speed.  This was a particular problem in Turkey as the local PTT does not provide E1 or PRI circuits.  Our VoIP gateway requires an E1 connection, so we needed a multiplexer to convert the available BRI channels into a useable circuit.”
 
I-Carrier initially did a web search to identify suitable products.  The only system available that met their needs in terms of quality, performance and price was the new Liberator-S unit from Patapsco.
 
“Initially, we ordered one unit for evaluation purposes,” continued Roy, “and after full testing we confirmed that it could fulfil all our requirements.  We then purchased a further 6 units for use in Turkey and other countries where necessary.
 
“The Liberator-S has been a total success.  It provides a totally reliable form of conversion between BRI and PRI and will enable us to implement our new VoIP network throughout Turkey.
 
“We have been so impressed with Patapsco’s service and products that we actually recommended them to another company that specialises in GSM converters.  If we need more units in future, we would certainly go directly to Patapsco,” he concluded.
 
Launched in April 2005, Liberator-S is a cost-effective ISDN multiplexer that offers the functionality of a converter, switch, emulator and drop and insert mux.  It is ideally suited to corporates wishing to migrate their telecoms networks to VoIP, or for setting up low cost mobile gateways.
 
Carriers can use Liberator-S to deliver multiple PRI, BRI and Fractional E1 to customer sites using a single low cost circuit, or for conversion between channels in countries where PRI or BRI are not generally available.
 

Intelligent modems ensure interoperability for existing installation base

Spain’s Administrator of Railway Infrastructure (known by its Spanish acronym ADIF) will deploy SHDSL modems from RAD Data Communications to ensure the interoperability that is required to connect remote sites and offices over existing copper infrastructure to its broadband network.

By deploying RAD’s ASMi-52 intelligent SHDSL modems, ADIF will be able to proceed with its network improvement plan that will allow it to be ready to rollout the types of new services that will be required in the future. Within one year ADIF will have connected approximately 150 links using the ASMi-52. “Interoperability with our existing installed base was one of our primary concerns,” explained Carlos Rincon, ADIF’s Telematics and Telephony Operations Manager. “The ASMi-52’s successful integration has proven that we made the right choice.”

ADIF’s telecommunications infrastructure is based on a nationwide fiber optics network that serves RENFE, Spain’s national railway, and its railway stations, control points, signaling, data, and telephony, while also providing dark fiber services for the country’s main telecom operators.

“The ASMi-52’s flexibility and cost-effectiveness were the keys to providing a very effective solution to allow ADIF to bring the benefits of its high speed fiber optic infrastructure to remote sites over copper,” noted Javier Alonso, Product Manager at Dominion Ingeniería, the RAD distributor that proposed the solution to ADIF.

Flexible and cost-effective access solution


The ASMi-52 modem uses SHDSL technology, complying with the ITU and ETSI standards, to extend the range of digital interfaces. It offers extended distances and variable data rates up to 2.3 Mbps over 2-wire and 4.6 Mbps over 4-wire. The modem uses TC PAM-16 line coding, equalization, adaptive filtering and echo cancellation to compensate for line impairments, bridge taps and mixed cabling. This provides high immunity to background noise and enables transmission of multiple SHDSL lines on the same physical cable.

“RAD offers a wide range of communication solutions for transportation networks in general and the railway industry in particular,” stated Jose Aronson, Regional Sales Manager for Iberia at RAD Data Communications. “Our diverse and innovative standards-based products provide connectivity for all the mission-critical applications and services required in today’s railway environment.”

Softswitch for Voice over Cable network solution passes two qualification tests

The Surpass hiQ 8000 Softswitch, which is at the heart of the Siemens Surpass Voice over Cable network solution, has concluded two successful rounds of testing, achieving full qualification status in Certification Wave 19 of Euro-PacketCable and Certification Wave 37 of PacketCableT.

PacketCable is a specification developed by CableLabs to define a common platform to deliver advanced real-time communication services. Euro-PacketCable is the most important standard for Voice over IP (VoIP) over cable in Europe, developed by European cable operators and tComLabs and based on PacketCable.

To achieve the important PacketCable qualification 1.1, the hiQ 8000 Softswitch successfully completed an extensive series of interoperability tests as a Call Management Server (CMS) and Media Gateway Controller (MGC). The combined CMS and MGC functionalities act as a softswitch in the PacketCable architecture and perform many critical functions necessary for voice communications, including connection management, implementation of subscriber features, interworking with the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and call accounting.

Built on top of the industry's DOCSIS® 1.1 (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) cable modem infrastructure, PacketCable networks use IP technology as the basis for a multimedia architecture. A DOCSIS 1.1 network with PacketCable extensions enables cable operators to deliver data and voice traffic efficiently and economically using a single high-speed, QoS-enabled (quality-of-service) broadband architecture.

The European certification testing organization tComLabs evaluated Surpass hiQ 8000 during its Certification Wave 19. Euro-PacketCable standardizes the Voice over IP services and the interfaces to the PSTN. The softswitch was tested in conjunction with multimedia terminal adapters (MTA) and cable modem termination systems (CMTS) from a number of vendors.

Siemens Communications provides cable network operators with complete end-to-end solutions covering every aspect of cable networks from a single source: building or upgrading these networks as well as introducing services such as voice, fast internet access or video. The Voice over Cable solution from Siemens is already being used successfully by a number of cable network operators, including Cablevision, Shaw in North America and com hem, Casema and Essent in Europe.

T-Mobile Slovensko, a mobile operator in Slovakia, has selected Ericsson as sole supplier of its 3G/WCDMA network. Ericsson's latest technology will allow T-Mobile to offer their Slovakian customers new, advanced multimedia 3G services.

Ericsson will deliver 3G radio and core network, upgrading T-Mobile's existing GSM network to 3G/WCDMA. Commercial launch is planned for the first half of 2006.

Robert Chvátal, Chief Executive Officer, T-Mobile Slovensko, says: "Our long-standing cooperation and Ericsson's focus on quality, customer service and advanced technology had already played their role when we chose Ericsson to build our EDGE network in Slovakia in 2004. We are happy to have also selected Ericsson as the technology partner for our 3G/WCDMA network."

Marián Bezák, President, Ericsson Slovakia, says he is very proud that T-Mobile Slovensko and Ericsson are bringing new opportunities to the Slovak communications market. "Our high-quality solutions will allow T-Mobile to introduce new, advanced multimedia services, such as video calls, mobile TV, mobile broadband services and many others," Bezák says.

DataCash, a leading payment services provider in the UK, has partnered with Reporo's mobile shopping service to add mobile phone transactions to its portfolio of multi-channel payment services, alongside Internet, Call Centres, Unattended Payment Terminal (UPT) and Interactive TV.

The Reporo partnership represents the latest step in DataCash's strategy to integrate with best of breed technology partners to supply customers with the widest range of payment methods available.  It allows retailers to make their web based shopping sites available to customers via a wide range of mobile handsets, as part of an integrated multi-channel strategy.

Reporo is the first mobile shopping service which can be used by anyone with a GPRS phone across multiple operator networks, including O2, Orange, T-Mobile, Virgin and Vodafone.  It is already used by over 20 retailers including Blackwell's, Curry's, CD WOW!, Dixons, Firebox.com, Kitbag, PC World and 0800Flowers.

Gavin Breeze, Development Director of DataCash, comments: "Non store-based sales now represent a fifth of total retail sales and industry analysts predict that percentage will grow significantly.  The mobile handset offers a significant new channel to complement Internet sales and is a natural extension of our multi-channel portfolio.  We want our customers to benefit from the widest range of payment solutions currently available in the UK.  The Reporo mobile shopping service offers a fast, convenient and secure method to boost sales."

Richard Watney, Managing Director of Reporo, adds: "This partnership represents an exciting development for mobile shopping.  By the end of this year, there will be 45 million live mobile handsets in the UK, compared with 12 million broadband Internet users.  The Reporo shopping service allows mobile users to browse and purchase products, offering a clear opportunity for retailers to reach shoppers on the move."

The Reporo shopping service can be integrated to a retailers' existing online operation within just a few days.  Orders are linked directly with the retailer and processed through DataCash's online payment system.  Credit card details are input once, during the initial registration process, and payments are authorised by a personal four-digit PIN which is known only to the user.

Meteor, one of Ireland's leading mobile phone operators, has implemented and gone live with RoamBroker, a comprehensive roaming management solution from CAPE Technologies, which allows Meteor to easily manage and support international roaming agreements and roaming revenues.

Meteor covers over 90% of the population in Ireland and has roaming agreements with over 200 partners, enabling Meteor customers to use their phones in over 100 countries worldwide. With three main IOTs (inter operator tariffs), Meteor must support a significant number of phone calls every day. RoamBroker offers a single point of management for creating and modifying roaming partner agreements.

As the number of individual roaming agreements between mobile networks and their operators continues to grow, with over 20,000 currently in place, CAPE's RoamBroker empowers mobile network operators to take control of their own roaming business in an increasingly complex environment.

"We wanted a solution that would enable us to offer an improved roaming service to our customers and maximise all opportunities from our inter-operator agreements," explained Tony Stewart-Lord, IT director, Meteor. "RoamBroker supports advanced billing for roaming services which means our customers can feel assured about the charges they receive. Additionally, because of features unique to RoamBroker, we will be able to offer a higher level of service to roaming subscribers who choose Meteor."

With RoamBroker, Meteor is able to take control of its roaming business, allowing the company to carry out activities usually reserved for Clearing Houses.  This lowers third party costs and allows Meteor to provide a more responsive and reliable roaming package to customers. RoamBroker handles the complexities of exchanging billing data with other networks and eliminates the need for regular billing system upgrades through ongoing support of the TAP3 standard and its evolution.

"We are particularly pleased with RoamBroker's comprehensive reporting capabilities," continued Tony Stewart-Lord. "With RoamBroker, we can easily access detailed traffic, financial and summary reports on roaming related activity.  This is useful as a business tool, because we can identify trends and plan accordingly and in turn give customers the top level of service they require."

Mobile operators in emerging markets in Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa have a higher capex spend as a proportion of total revenues than their counterparts in Western Europe and the USA, according to new research by Informa Telecoms & Media.

Emerging market players MobiNil, VimpelCom, Bharti Televentures of India and Indonesia's Telkomsel had capex to revenue ratios of 35-65% in Q2 2005,  according to World Cellular Operator Benchmarks, a quarterly report from Informa Telecoms & Media. This compared with 22% for Verizon Wireless of the USA, and 10% for South Korea's KTF  during the same period.

"Operators in fast growth markets such as Russia and India are obliged to invest heavily in increasing capacity and coverage in order to sustain subscriber and revenue growth going forward" said John Everington, Senior Research Analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media. "This is less of an issue for operators in more developed markets, where subscriber growth has slowed."

MobiNil and VimpelCom also scored highly in terms of EBITDA margins in comparison with mobile operators in the USA and Europe such as Sprint and KPN. VimpelCom reported an EBITDA margin of 51.4% in Q2 2005, compared with 30.5% across KPN's mobile operations in the same period.

Exactly four years after Japan's NTT DoCoMo became the first operator to commercially launch W-CDMA in October 2001, a further significant milestone in the development of W-CDMA was reached when the World's 100th commercial W-CDMA network entered service in October 2005.

The century of live networks was reached when Hungarian operator Pannon officially launched commercial services over its W-CDMA network in October 2005. After taking two and a half years to reach 50 live networks during the second quarter of 2004, the number of W-CDMA networks in service has accelerated considerably and it has taken less than 18 months to double that figure.

According to Devine Kofiloto, Informa Telecoms & Media's Principle Analyst "the pace of W-CDMA network roll-out might appear sluggish, but interestingly enough, it bears striking parallels to early GSM network deployment"  He said "It also took 4 years for the 100th commercial GSM network to enter service, after Vodafone UK's first launch of GSM in Q4 1991"

Western Europe leads the way with a total of 50 W-CDMA networks in service this month, closely followed by Asia Pacific where there are a total of 37 functioning networks. South America is the only region to have not publicly announced plans to launch WCDMA services.