Connecting Enterprise PBXs over the Public Internet

Telrad Connegy is an established and innovative provider of telecommunication systems, products and solutions to large and small businesses worldwide. The company’s offerings include traditional and advanced digital telephony that seamlessly integrate wireless, IP and legacy systems.

Telrad wanted to cost-effectively connect its Israel and U.S. offices over the public Internet, with support for legacy PBX features and services. It required a similar solution for its enterprise customers as well. “We needed a solution for seamless networking over IP. When we heard about RAD’s Vmux product line using TDMoIP (CV) technology to pass both standard and proprietary signaling protocols over IP, we immediately decided to try it out,” explains Gregory Montgomery, PBX Product Manager at Telrad Connegy. “Other gateways fell short of the Vmux-110,” says Montgomery, “because they did not do audio compression. The Vmux-110 not only provided audio compression but also provided seamless integration over IP.” A successful trial was conducted with the help of Dynetrix (www.dynetrix.com), a New York-based value-added reseller of RAD solutions. “The products worked as advertised and even provided excellent voice quality over the public Internet,” states Montgomery.

“One of the important Telrad features that is automatically supported when using RAD’s Vmux products is DSS appearances,” explains Montgomery. “I can tell when our colleagues in Israel are on the phone or when they are working late.” Telrad has provided some of its distributors with Vmux units, through which they can access Telrad’s system in New York over the public Internet. This improves communications without associated monthly expenses. Affirms Mr. Todd Wolf of TelLan, Telrad’s distributor in Portland, Maine, “With regular VoIP systems, it is possible, every once in a while, to tell that you are on an IP call, but when using TDMoIP (CV), it feels as though you are in the same office. The voice quality sounds exactly the same, which is very impressive.”

Telrad’s migration from VoIP to TDMoIP (CV) achieved the goal of supporting all advanced PBX features, improving voice quality and simplifying communications between branches and distributors. Vmux also uses less overhead and bandwidth than VoIP and is more tolerant of packet loss, latency and jitter. Therefore, the Vmux is ideal for applications where bandwidth is constrained (e.g., 802.11b wireless, cable, xDSL, power line communications (PLC) or even the public Internet).

“For Telrad customers, the RAD Vmux makes it easy to justify a VPN connection between branches with a quick ROI, especially since the same connection can be used for both voice and data without compromising PBX features. Transparent support for standard and proprietary signaling protocols, including ISDN PRI, Q.Sig, DPNSS and SS7, is also important for the enterprise because it protects its investment in legacy PBXs and provides an evolutionary and simple means of supporting all phone features without extensive upgrades. Business processes are not affected and there is no need to retrain users,” adds Mulli Diamant, VP Sales at Dynetrix.