Charter Communications selected Nortel Networks’ cable VoIP solution for its Midwest and Great Lakes operating divisions. The selection includes Succession Communication Server (CS) 2000-Compact softswitches.
Charter also intends to deploy Nortel Networks’ Multimedia Communication Server (MCS) 5200 in a 2004 market trial, giving both residential and business customers access to multimedia services independent of location. The new Charter VoIP architecture will include the capability to communicate between a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) server and a PacketCable qualified Call Management Server (CMS), effectively bringing the rich world of SIP-based features to a PacketCable environment.
Charter will use Nortel Networks professional services to support the planning and deployment of the VoIP solution.
The companies noted that Charter has been using Nortel’s softswitch in a commercially available cable VoIP service in North America since September 2002 with virtually no downtime on the softswitch since launch. http://www.nortelnetworks.com
- In February 2003, Charter Communications placed new orders for ARRIS’ Cadant C4 Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS), Touchstone Telephony Modems and G2 IMS Management Platform. Charter launched VoIP in its Wausau, Wisconsin network a year ago using ARRIS equipment and currently serves 3,000 customers with primary line PacketCable Telephony over IP. The new shipments of ARRIS VoIP equipment are scheduled to be deployed in two additional markets. The deployments are expected to result in the addition of tens of thousands of carrier-grade VoIP lines during 2004.