ASCENT: net.com Showcases Compact Media Gateway, Interworking Enhancements

net.com (Booth 603) recently unveiled SHOUT900, a compact media gateway that promises to make voice-over-IP (VoIP) deployments more profitable by virtue of industry-leading functionality, comprehensive feature integration, multiparty interoperability and attractive cost-of-entry.

The newest addition to net.com’s SHOUTIP telephony family essentially equips service providers to mine opportunities in rapidly developing markets with a range of high-profit applications. These include the wholesale of VoIP minutes, prepaid and postpaid calling card services and IVR-based services.

For enterprise customers, SHOUT900 allows users to bypass long-distance toll costs by introducing VoIP alongside existing PBX systems while avoiding the firewall limitations of competing options.

The SHOUT900 combines a media gateway, media server and signaling termination point in a single, compact chassis, eliminating the administrative overhead of managing multiple devices. The product, which delivers one to eight T1/E1 connections, supports SS7, H.323 and SIP protocols. It sells for less than $300 per port including SS7 connectivity; the starting list price is $14,000.

In addition, net.com is advertising the latest enhancements to it SHOUTIP media gateway solutions. The gateway’s BESTflow feature was designed to maximize bandwidth utilization, speed, SIP/SS7/H.323 interworking and use of VoIP with corporate firewalls.

"Voice over IP is maturing from a simple, low-cost transport medium to delivering premium voice services and our technology breakthroughs make implementing the more challenging applications both easier and more profitable," says Stephen Gleave, vice president of marketing at net.com. "The latest enhancements to BESTflow make VoIP more suitable for enterprises by overcoming issues with firewalls, as well as more profitable for carriers by improving throughput and bridging the gap between early networks and softswitch architectures delivering enhanced services."