Polycom touts service provider adoption

Polycom is touting the fact six videoconferencing service provider customers are in the process of rolling out version 5.0 of the company’s MCU hardware and software. Released in March, this latest version allows for each user to choose their own screen layout while in a multipoint call and features support for the H.264 video compression protocol, which cuts in half the amount of bandwidth needed to deliver the same quality video as previous standards. For the service provider, the improved MCU allows them to carry and manage voice and video traffic in one box and application, rather than separate systems. Polycom has the lofty goal of having its service provider customers completely migrate all traffic to Polycom equipment while getting rid of legacy audio-only gear. Like I said, a lofty goal that will take a while.