Cisco pumps up voice-over-IP product family

SAN JOSE - Cisco last week broadened its voice-over-IP arsenal with enhanced products designed to entice users to meld their voice and data nets.

The new products include a conferencing phone, a midrange handset for low- to medium-traffic requirements, a gateway that lets legacy voice mail equipment connect to Cisco voice-over-IP gear, and software enhancements for a WAN voice gateway. Together, the products are intended to match or in some cases surpass comparable product features for circuit-switched analog and digital voice networks.

In the past year, the IP telephony market has grown to $60 million from $5 million, Synergy Research Group reports. Cisco's share of the market exceeded 60% in the third quarter, they say.

Synergy expects the voice-over-IP market to exceed $250 million this year. Cisco is ready to maintain and perhaps grow its share of that market with the new IP Conference Station 7935, IP phone 7940, DPA 7630 Voice Mail Gateway and the expanded interface support on the Cisco VG200 gateway.

The IP Conference Station 7935 is the culmination of collaboration between Cisco and Polycom, a developer of voice conferencing systems. The IP Conference Station 7935 is a full-duplex, hands-free conference station for desktops and in small to midsize conference rooms.

It attaches to a Cisco Catalyst 10/ 100M bit/sec Ethernet switch port with an RJ-45 connection and automatically configures to the network using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. The 7935 is intended to match the voice conferencing capabilities users are familiar with in their circuit-switched PBX nets.

The midrange phone is called the IP Phone 7940. It fits between Cisco's high-end IP phone 7960 and the low-end 7910, and is intended to provide features and functions comparable to digital phones.

The 7940 is designed for low- to medium-traffic users who require minimal directory numbers and telephone lines.

To support legacy voice mail systems as users migrate to voice over IP, Cisco unveiled the DPA 7630 Voice Mail Gateway. The 7630 lets Octel voice mail systems, which currently connect to an Avaya Definity PBX, also connect to a Cisco CallManager system without changing the voice mail system.

Lastly, Cisco says it will support H.323 applications on various interface cards that slot into the VG200, a voice-over-IP gateway that connects Cisco IP telephony environments to the public switched telephone network or PBXs. The enhanced cards will include ISDN Primary Rate Interface and Basic Rate Interface modules, and analog E&M voice modules.

The Cisco IP Conference Station 7935 will be available next spring for $1,195. The Cisco IP Phone 7940 will be available by year-end and cost $545. The Cisco DPA 7630 is available now for $6,995. The enhancements to the VG200 will be available as part of a Cisco IOS release scheduled for the first quarter of 2001.

Cisco: www.cisco.com