Bell Canada spin-off spreads its wings

NewStep Networks, which was recently spun out of Bell Canada, this week is launching what it’s calling a Calling Service Node, designed to give carriers the ability to integrate and deliver telephony services with enterprise applications over TDM and IP networks. Not surprisingly, the Toronto-based company also announced that Bell Canada is its first customer.

Key to the CSN is the ability to decouple service control and management from voice transport within both TDM and IP network elements. The node connects to legacy and next-gen signaling systems via SS7 or SIP, creating a service control layer between IP-based applications and the underlying signaling systems within both service provider and enterprise networks. This service control layer then interconnects carrier IP telephony services with enterprise IT applications, creating a ‘unified usage’ pathway through which end users can access applications like voicemail, e-mail, IM and conferencing.

"We’ve ‘SIP-ified’ the public network and we’re agnostic whether the bearer path is going over TDM or IP," said Neil Baimel, chief executive officer of NewStep Networks. "Our argument is that it can be any of the above and the application shouldn’t care."

Hoping to seed the market, the vendor also is providing customers a peek at Office Anywhere service suite, which lets carriers extend enterprise calling services to mobile and remote users. Using some basic elements from presence management, the suite can provide applications such as instant conferencing and network access regardless of the users’ location or device.

"We can get you wherever you are and on any device that you’re on," Baimel said.

And while Bell Canada is the first publicly announced customer, Baimel said, the vendor is in trials with another major carrier.