Citel introduces its latest firmware release for the Portico Telephone VoIP Adapter
Citel regularly adds new features to its award winning VoIP migration device, the Portico TVA, to help meet ongoing customer requests. With recent activity in Europe we have been working to increase the support for Alcatel handsets and that has resulted in support now for the Alcatel Reflex digital phones, models 4004 and 4020 to go along with the 4010 that was already supported. We have enhanced the Conference/Transfer key general call control on entry level phones. The feature was not previously available on very basic handsets only on more complex units. After discussions with a hospital where there were a large number of basic handsets this feature was added to simplify phone procedures between hospital wards. We have also added features to the System Setting menu within the devices web GUI to provide additional customization options for the administrator. We continue to enhance the capabilities of the Portico TVA to make the user experience when a customer retains their legacy handsets when migrating to VoIP as easy and simple as possible.
Is the Portico™ TVA™ reliable?
We were recently asked by a prospective customer looking at hosted VoIP services about the reliability of our Portico™ TVA™. They had been told that some ATAs were unreliable. I advised that an ATA is an analog telephony adapter, or analog telephone adapter, a device used to connect one or more standard analog telephones to a digital telephone system such as Voice over IP.
(see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_telephone_adapter).
Although there is a version of our Portico™ TVA™ that can be used with analog handsets our VoIP migration device, the Portico™ Telephone VoIP Adapter was primarily developed for use with digital and Centrex handsets, making it unique in the marketplace. The Portico™ TVA™ at 12 and 24 port density are built to last with machine room quality, including integral power supply, higher port density than most ATAs, and efficient cooling designed for close racking. They have shown great reliability in the marketplace with negligible in-service failures. One customer stated that having completed the migration process very smoothly their remaining concern was to see how the units behaved over time in a demanding real world environment. After the stormiest season they had had in years, causing damage in the area that they hadn't seen in more than 20 years they were pleased to advise that the Portico TVA units withstood the conditions and passed with flying colors.
Something to consider as you look at your alternatives when migrating to VoIP.
Exclusive Authorized Reseller Agreement in Ireland
Citel Technologies, Inc., is pleased to announce the signing of an exclusive Authorized Reseller Agreement with Diacom Computer Telephony of Dublin, Ireland for the sales and marketing of its VoIP migration device in the Republic of Ireland.
Diacom and Citel have worked together for several years and in fact completed the first installation of the Portico™ TVA™ in a large regional hospital in Ireland in late 2010 during that hospital’s migration to VoIP using Tadiran’s Coral Sea softswitch.
With the economic climate and the work undertaken by Diacom to grow the market for the Portico™ TVA™ it was decided to acknowledge that effort by making the agreement exclusive for the foreseeable future. Citel came to the realization that with a local partner in place to ensure both strong pre- and post-sales support for the Portico™ TVA™ it was in everyone’s best interest to adapt this arrangement so all Irish customers had a single point of contact for the product within that marketplace.
Citel Adds New Features to its Flagship Product the Portico TVA including the provision of Broadsoft BLF’s and French Language Phone Prompts
Andrew Davies, Engineering Manager, said these latest enhancements have required some significant developmental work but as with the French language capability, such work makes certain future enhancements, including the addition of further language capabilities that much easier to undertake. For more information on the new features available on this latest firmware release, please go to www.citel.com/Products/Resources/PIBs.asp.
Retain Your Investment in Digital and Centrex Handsets
Avaya recently released Avaya IP Office Release 7.0. This latest offering allows the use of Norstar / BCM phones on their premise based IP PBX offering. This is believed to be the first time a protocol specific TDM handset of one make has been able work with a premise based IP PBX of another make. Historically, a hybrid PBX was restricted to the manufacturer’s TDM phones, for example, a Avaya digital handset working with an Avaya IP PBX through the use of digital cards being added to the Hybrid PBX. Of course, with the industry changes and the acquisition of certain Nortel technology by Avaya over the past 12 months this change had been much anticipated. Having said that, this connectivity has to be done either by 8 port base cards in the main unit, or 16 or 30 port expansion units. The expansion units are then connected with a proprietary cable and interface, and tend to be co-located with the IP Office.
For that kind of connectivity for other protocols and most remote locations you require a device such as Citel’s Portico TVA (Telephone VoIP Adapter). This device allows traditional digital PBX (telephone handsets e.g. Nortel Meridian & BCM or Siemens Optiset/Optipoint, etc., to be connected to a VoIP network, using, for example, SIP (Session initiation protocol). By using Citel’s VoIP migration device, you preserve your investment in an installed base of telephone handsets and remove the need to install ethernet infrastructure. In a remote office scenario, the handsets are disconnected from the local PBX (which can then be removed), connected to the Portico TVA and then routed via the Internet to the IP PBX at the home office. As far as the switch is concerned the remote phones are SIP end points and act as extensions off of the host switch.
If you want to promote your VoIP offering but your customers want to retain their investment in their digital or Centrex phone, check out the Portico TVA. You will save your customer a lot of money and be able to move them to the benefits of IP telephony and the possibilities of Unified Communications that much quicker.
Choose the RIght MCK Device
Recently we have had several customers order Avaya specific EDAC and Extenders to use with their Nortel PBX’s. Some customers have misunderstood the nature of Avaya’s recent purchase of certain Nortel assets. The MCK product line operates based on the underlying PBX. The fact that Avaya now owns certain of that technology does not change the fact that the underlying technology is Nortel and that the MCK, Nortel specific, products such as the EDAC, the E-1000U series of analog EXTenders and the E-4000 series of Internet based EXTenders rely on that underlying technology. If you do not go with our universal protocols then ensure you buy the Nortel specific devices to use with the pre-existing” Nortel PBXs. If you are not sure what to use, contact Citel directly for more information at sales@citel.com.
Citel Announces Portico Telephone VoIP Adapter (TVA) 5.00.0 Availability
Citel is pleased to announce the immediate availability of the Portico TVA Version 5.00.0 firmware, enabling businesses to deploy the award-winning Portico Telephone VoIP Adapter (TVA) with the latest features and updates.
Version 5.00.0 for the Portico Telephone VoIP Adapter (TVA) enhances resiliency with redundant SIP soft-switches, using SIP Forum’s SIPconnect standard, while enhancing support for P-Phone Centrex phones with add-on units. Additionally, it provides heightened support of toggle speed-dials and works to simplify the SIP configuration process with an optional ‘Realm’ field.
Full details on the new firmware can be found at www.citel.com/Products/Resources/PIBs.asp.
Moving to VoIP while keeping your existing handsets – it can be done
IP telephony is a well-established technology. Companies can see clear cost savings, they are convinced that IP telephony can fit into their growth strategy, and the business case for the migration to VoIP is sound.
But many businesses are not yet migrating to VoIP – why not?
A common objection to moving to VoIP is the value of a company’s existing infrastructure. Whether it deployed a new PBX eight months ago or eight years ago, there is still value in much of the existing infrastructure. Most enterprises are unwilling to simply throw away handsets and wiring in a migration to VoIP.
New IP handsets are just the beginning of the cost and complexity that enterprises face when migrating to a hosted or premise-based IP PBX. New cabling, new local area network (LAN) infrastructure, retraining, and business disruption can double or triple the per-station costs of a VoIP installation beyond the handset cost. In fact, according to a Gartner Research report, an estimated $20.6 billion will be wasted on IP screen phones over five years.
Finally, user adoption can be a major barrier and source of complexity. Businesses need to factor in the time and cost of training their staff to cope with new handsets, and the inefficiencies when the staff inevitably forgets how to use the VoIP equipment. We’re all familiar with new gadgets where only the most basic functions are used because the other features are seen as too complex – IP telephones are no exception.
So, how can companies get all the benefits of VoIP, but keep their costs under control? How can they avoid the expense and disruption of a "rip and replace" migration?
One solution is the Citel Portico™ Telephone VoIP Adapter (TVA™). This enables businesses to move to VoIP, while still...
Read more at Fresh Business Thinking
”VOIP Migration: The KISS Principle in action.” Ian Gomm keynote speech, April 13, 2011 at ITPX/NCUG conference, Las Vegas.
Ian Gomm, Citel VP, Sales & Marketing will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming ITPX/NCUG Conference, at the Flamingo Las Vegas April 11 – 14th, 2011.
In addition, Citel will have a booth at the accompanying Exhibition demonstrating its VoIP migration technology and how companies can migrate to VoIP without the need to “rip and replace” avoiding the need to re-wire and then replace every phone whilst still being about to replace the existing PBX. Citel will be demonstrating how it can assist show attendees to leverage their existing telecommunications infrastructure to take advantage of new VoIP offerings, both premise based and hosted.
Ian will be opening at the first afternoon Plenary Session on April 13th.
Entitled ”VOIP MIGRATION: THE KISS PRINCIPLE IN ACTION,” Ian will introduce a case study and discuss how a Government run hospital in Europe was able to simplify the VoIP migration process and lower the cost of ownership of an IP soft switch.
He will detail many of the roadblocks thrown up when looking at VoIP migration and how to counter them by reducing the time, complexity and costs involved in the VoIP migration process. More at www.citel.com/News_Events
MCK DAC to EDAC Conversions Part 2
Are you considering transitioning from the old Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) units to the newer Expandable Digital to Analog Converter (EDAC) to facilitate the conversion of digital stations to analog for recording purposes? Here are a few things we would like you to keep in mind.
EDAC is sensitive to distance. The tap point should be about half way between the PBX and the phone, and no more than 10-30 feet from the PBX.
The analog output should be as short as possible, so that interference is not caused by the cable.
Static issues can be caused be either cable length, or bad punchdowns. Sometimes cross connects can get loose. If this happens, the cross connects should be re-punched.
For more information contact sales@citel.com.
