The Problem
Different types of technologies and infrastructure for communications have been designed with a specific purpose, as a solution to specific needs. Within the scope of voice-communication technologies, we find radio technologies (VHF, UHF, analog, digital, P25, and Tetra), conventional analog telephone systems (FXS, FXO) and Internet Protocol-based voice communication known as Voice over IP (VoIP).
These unique systems consist of different technologies and all work very well on their own. However, these disparate systems, combined with the lack of need to directly connect one another, has caused a 'natural' isolation of users.
Key Challenges:
- Customer has multiple disparate voice communication systems that need to communicate with each other.
- Legacy analogue telephone systems are required to communicate with newer Voice over IP systems.
- Multiple sites use different radio manufacturers or frequencies but users need to communicate with each other.
- Telephone users require the ability to communicate with radio users.
The Solution
Bridging the gap between different and isolated technologies is essential. The integration of Asterisk PBX with Vocality products; specifically, Radio over IP, that is designed to provide radio interconnectivity via Radio over IP (RoIP) protocol and BASICS Voice that is designed to provide conventional analog voice circuits (FXS / FXO) via Voice over IP (VoIP) protocol.
Developing this new infrastructure is feasible with standards-based interoperability. In order to fulfill market demands, our solution observes these design principles:
- Use of versatile and portable equipment that is able to provide interoperability between existing isolated platforms.
- Scalable and flexible deployment allowing gradual expansion based on application needs.
- Based on open-source operating systems. This provides reliable operation, platform independence and adoption of new capabilities inherent in the operating system that results in the rapid development of new features.
- Cost-effective, lending itself to reuse of equipment
The Results
The integration of Asterisk and Vocality voice devices allows customers to create a single unified voice communications network with the following benefits:
- Maximize investment in legacy analogue telephone technologies with integration to new VoIP technologies.
- Enable radio users of different manufactures and frequencies to communicate.
- Provide connectivity between telephone and radio users.
- Reduce bandwidth requirements and improve audio quality with voice optimization technologies.
