Computerworld - Among other announcements at Interop, Siemens Communications tomorrow will announce tools for adding Wi-Fi capabilities to data networks or voice-over-IP systems. The new HiPath Wireless system is based on technology developed by Chantry Networks Inc., a Waltham, Mass.-based company that Siemens acquired in January.
Connor Brosnahan, network manager at South Nassau Communities Hospital Inc. in Oceanside, N.Y., bought a Chantry system consisting of two controllers and 120 wireless access points a year ago. The hospital offers Wi-Fi services to visitors on a separate channel from the one used by its employees, who do a variety of jobs on wireless-enabled tablet PCs and will eventually be given voice-over-Wi-Fi capabilities, Brosnahan said.
South Nassau plans to transition to HiPath Wireless in the next two weeks, Brosnahan said, adding that he's hopeful -- but cautious -- that things will work out well. "I'm a little iffy on working with Siemens, since I work with a lot of medical devices from Siemens and some of my dealings have been very happy and others are very annoying," he said.
Siemens is also unveiling a $495 Wi-Fi phone that's based on the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and includes a color display. Craig Mathias, an analyst at Farpoint Group in Ashland, Mass., said the Wi-Fi offerings give Siemens a "much more complete product line."
Avaya is announcing Converged Communications Server 3.0, which provides application programming interfaces for linking its IP telephony software with SIP-based products for real-time collaboration. The company is also rolling out Communication Manager 3.0, an upgrade of its flagship IP telephony technology.
Nortel plans to introduce Business Communications Manager 50, a converged voice and data system that provides unified messaging, IP networking, Internet access, IP telephony and other features for branch offices.
Lloyd Shockley, founder of On Hold Marketing in Richmond, Va., has beta-tested BCM 50 for the past 90 days, using the system to record voice messages for companies that want to market products and services to customers who get put on hold during phone calls. That feature and others have been "a godsend," Shockley said.
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