Vienna's IP device allows central management

A "thin client" device to be unveiled this week at Networld+Interop could give cable operators a telephony solution that they can manage from a central location.

The IP Shuttle from Kanata, Ontario-based Vienna Systems allows any analog telephone to be used as an Internet protocol (IP)-based phone, allowing cable operators to give customers a familiar entry point to their networks for voice and fax.

Phone signals are routed through the IP Shuttle over an Ethernet connection to a cable modem. The modem transmits the signals over the cable network to a Vienna gateway at the cable provider's premises, which completes the connection to the switched network.

The thin client approach allows the devices to be managed remotely from a central location, a capability previously lacking in cable-based telephony, said Hilary Smith, product manager for Vienna's client-side division.

The client/server structure lets cable companies expand the system as they gain new subscribers for voice services. The thin client model could poise cable operators as potential providers of managed memory services for network computer users.

At the heart of the unit-and at the heart of the IP Courier, a similar unit that acts as a PBX in business environments-is the Embedded ClientSide Module, a digital signal processor-based module with codecs for voice-over-IP applications. Vienna is reselling this component to third-party vendors for use in IP kiosks and other IP applications.

"The cable environment has been looking to increase the number of services it can push down the network," said Smith. "IP telephony is going to be one of the first, since it has the potential to be a revenue-generating feature immediately."

One analyst called Vienna's announcement "intriguing."

"If I were a cable operator, I'd jump on it as a value-added service," said Bob Goodwin, senior vice president for Killen & Associates.