Intel Chips Away at Voice Over Packets Space

ATLANTA--Not surprisingly, Intel is using this week’s Supercomm in Atlanta to push a suite of technology to help equipment manufacturers build products that deliver voice-over-packets (VoP)-–or voice-over-IP (VoIP) capabilities. 

“We focus on multiservices platform silicon that goes from the edge of the network to the core of the network,” said Shri Dodani, general manager of the Edge Access Division within Intel’s Access and Switching Group. 

The technology consists of Intel silicon, software and “other building blocks, including media signal processing along with the software that’s necessary to run on the silicon to deliver system-on-a-chip solutions,” Dodani said. Intel intends the silicon consolidation to drive a VoP marketplace “which has been relatively small for voice-over-cable or voice-over DSL or next-generation soft or packet switches.” 

At Supercomm, Intel is taking the wraps off a media signal processor (MSP); an eight port T-1/E-1/J-1 line interface unit; and an eight port T-1/E-1/J-1 framer. Network equipment built on these components and software can process more than 2000 voice connections on a single VoP line card, the company says. 

“As always, higher density is cheaper; lower power is better and lower cost,” Dodani continued. To facilitate those goals Intel is giving equipment suppliers application-specific silicon packages (ASSPs) “where the guys can now have high-density signal processors targeted for applications to high-density network processors targeted for communications networks.” 

The MSP is priced at $467 and the eight-port short and long-haul line interface unit at $61.58 in quantities of 1000 units. The eight-port framer will be available for sampling later this year. 

“Equipment suppliers need to be able to deliver equipment which offers true multiservices so the customer does not have to buy five different boxes to do voice, fax, data, broadband services and so forth,” Dodani said. “Today that’s the nature of the beast, but as we go forward, that’s going to change.”
Jim Barthold is Senior Editor at Telephony. He can be reached at jim_barthold@intertec.com.