Old Meets New

We hit an interesting problem on an installation this week – Modem support for Voice over IP. It seems that this is very much a hit and miss process, we did some research with some colleagues in the industry and we had a lot of interesting feedback.

It seems that T.38 support for Fax over IP is now becoming widely supported so it is relatively easy to support analogue Fax machines or modems over an IP network, however using Modem traffic is much more of a challenge. It seems that most manufacturers suggest a ’best efforts’ method of setting up their products with CODEC settings and jitter buffers in a way that is optimal for a modem. Most suggest the CODEC is set for G.711 and you switch off echo cancellation and alter the jitter buffer settings (disable dynamic setting), however it is hit and miss and even when it works the modem throughput will be low. 

There is some light at the end of the tunnel and that is a standard just for Modem Traffic on Voice over IP – The ITU approved ITU V.150.1 (also know as V.MOIP) in January 2003. This standard defines how to relay modem data accross IP networks. This standard is not implemented yet in most VOIP equipment and every item on a network has to support it for the feature to work. Lets wait and see what happens. 

21CN – What’s that all about ???

21st Century Network (21CN) is the name used by BT to describe their Next Generation Network (NGN) that should combine voice, data and video onto one network. It is also slated that it will save BT £1bn per year and has attracted a lot of criticism from within the industry.

It is said to cost around £10bn to implement and is predominently based on a range of vendor equipment: Fujitsu, Huawei, Alcatel, Cisco, Siemens, Lucent, Ciena and Ericsson.

Essentially we should see BT being able to deliver new services that will enable VoIP calls to be made over their network rather than having to push calls onto the internet.

There is a useful website here you can visit to find out when you will be connected to this network – according to it our office will be connected Jul-Sept 2010 so we will not be holding our breaths

Visit the BT website at http://www.btplc.com/21cn/ or for different overview on the network go to zdnet

WiFi Makes You Look Older !

Well we have seen it all now !

Clarins Cosmetiques of Paris has declared war on noteboks and cellphones and WiFi, claiming that the electromagnetic radiation thus produced is anathema to the needs of radiant, healthy skin. We just assumed that the passage of time was ageing us but no – it is modern technology at least according to Clarins.

Unveiling the mist at TFWA in Cannes last week, a spokesman for the company said electro magnetic radiation was a real cause of skin ageing. “Our work with the French National Centre of Research means we can prove bad effects on the skin ageing process with exposed to electro magnetic radiation from phones and lap tops,” she said. “The mist protects the skin by forming a screen on the face.”

So for all you over worked IT people this is the product you have been waiting for !