Alliance pursues HD interoperability

Cloud Communications Alliance's goal is to 'drive development and adoption of the first nationwide high-definition enterprise voice and data network in the IP cloud'

VoIP, unified messaging, products and services

One of the roadblocks to high definition voice is the lack of interoperability: for HD voice to work, both called and calling parties must be on a compatible system. Eight companies joined have joined forces to address this issue, forming the Cloud Communications Alliance (CCA). The consortium's goal is to "drive development and adoption of the first nationwide high-definition enterprise voice and data network in the IP 'cloud'."

The founding companies include Alteva, Broadcore, Callis Communications, Consolidated Technologies, IPFone, SimpleSignal, Stage 2 Networks and Telesphere. Together, they represent more than $100 million in combined annual revenue and serve more than 110,000 business customers in the United States. All eight CCA founding companies use a software platform provided by BroadSoft

Commenting on the alliance, CCA member and Alteva CEO Bill Bumbernick said, "The Cloud Communications Alliance is not just about voice-over-IP, hosted PBX or unified communications. We're introducing an entirely new way to build, deploy and scale enterprise communications systems that provide HD voice services along with a platform of advanced apps and features that allow businesses to work in ways they never imagined."

Plans for collaboration points between members include:

* Nationwide peering with interconnected switches and gateways across the country to drive network efficiencies and provide optimal HD voice quality.

* Convergent end devices including desktop phones, PCs and mobile devices.

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One of the roadblocks to high definition voice is the lack of interoperability: for HD voice to work, both called and calling parties must be on a compatible system. Eight companies joined have joined forces to address this issue, forming the Cloud Communications Alliance (CCA). The consortium's goal is to "drive development and adoption of the first nationwide high-definition enterprise voice and data network in the IP 'cloud'."

The founding companies include Alteva, Broadcore, Callis Communications, Consolidated Technologies, IPFone, SimpleSignal, Stage 2 Networks and Telesphere. Together, they represent more than $100 million in combined annual revenue and serve more than 110,000 business customers in the United States. All eight CCA founding companies use a software platform provided by BroadSoft

Commenting on the alliance, CCA member and Alteva CEO Bill Bumbernick said, "The Cloud Communications Alliance is not just about voice-over-IP, hosted PBX or unified communications. We're introducing an entirely new way to build, deploy and scale enterprise communications systems that provide HD voice services along with a platform of advanced apps and features that allow businesses to work in ways they never imagined."

Plans for collaboration points between members include:

* Nationwide peering with interconnected switches and gateways across the country to drive network efficiencies and provide optimal HD voice quality.

* Convergent end devices including desktop phones, PCs and mobile devices.

* A common support infrastructure designed to maximize customer support.

* Joint product development, including the evaluation of new technologies.

* Disaster-recovery support and shared best practices across all Alliance members.

For more information about the Cloud Communications Alliance, visit www.cloudcommunicationsalliance.com.

Read more about voip & convergence in Network World's VoIP & Convergence section.

Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. Larry Hettick is a principal analyst at Current Analysis.