 | July 1, 2000 |
Style points
EQUIPMENT: Modular gateway is more than a pretty face
As any frequent CommVerge reader knows, we believe that voice over data (VoX) will provide both huge opportunities for service and equipment providers and huge benefits for small businesses and consumers. Unfortunately, technical and logistic obstacles stand in the way of widespread VoX deployment.
However, startup Broadband Gateways has just revealed by far the most robust and elegant VoX customer-premise product we've seen. The Evolo Intelligent Premise Gateway not only provides cost-effective VoX, but also does so in a sleek modular package that lets users customize a gateway for their particular voice and data needs.
|
|
MODULAR ATTRACTION: The Evolo Intelligent Premise Gateway (left)—along with its add-on modules (such as the wireless antenna right)—provides a flexible and appealing voice and data platform for small businesses and homes. |
|
The challenge in providing VoX customer-premise equipment centers on tradeoffs among cost, function, and ease of use. Already, many broadband customers—whether they use cable, DSL, or wireless links—have router/firewall products that provide Internet access to multiple LAN-linked systems. Typically, the broadband modem itself stands as a separate product from the router. A VoX gateway, which connects to the LAN and offers RJ-11 jacks for standard POTS phones, answering machines, and fax machines, could very well count as a third separate unit.
The picture only gets more complicated if, say, the consumer has a wireless LAN access point, hubs or switches for the wired LAN, or perhaps a base station for cordless phones. You can easily end up with half a dozen different products, each the size of a large hardcover book.
Aesthetically, even if none of the products is particularly ugly (an unlikely event), they all look different. Moreover, each likely includes a dedicated power brick, and given the bulk of typical power bricks, you might need multiple power strips just to plug everything in.
Equipment providers could solve these problems by integrating the broadband modem, router, and VoX gateway. This lowers cost by eliminating common components, but it also eliminates flexibility. For example, a home user may want two POTS lines in the VoX gateway, while a SOHO customer may need four or six. An integrated product could even go so far as to incorporate a specific home-LAN technology—a wireless choice like HomeRF or IEEE 802.11b, or a wired alternative like HomePNA. Again, this integration might save the consumer money. But users who prefer a particular LAN technology won't appreciate the you-can-have-any-color-as-long-as-it's-black approach.
Evolo is the first product we've seen with the potential of integrating a choice of data, voice, and even video technologies in a sleek home gateway. The base unit includes a broadband modem and a VoX gateway that boasts the top-20 office telephony features, including voice mail and call handling. The base also includes two POTS ports and basic LAN connections.
The first version will include a DSL modem. However, thanks to the unit's modular design, the company plans to offer cable and other broadband flavors. Ideally, consumers would be allowed to choose their own connection method. But for now, Broadband Gateways says service providers will distribute the base unit configured for their services.
Beyond that, the consumer gets to make almost all other technology choices by choosing add-on modules, which come packaged as "slices" that bolt on to the side of the base unit. Each module adds to the unit's width, but still relies on a single power brick and maintains the Evolo's stylish look.
Planned modules, which will appear at computer and office superstores, include a slice that adds four or eight wired POTS lines, a wireless phone base station for as many as eight handsets, a network hub, a wireless LAN access point, and an entertainment slice capable of processing video streams.
The company claims the base unit will sell for $500 to $600 in volume. Consumers may pay much less if service providers subsidize the cost or rent the units out. The price is extremely reasonable compared with current cable and DSL modems and SOHO routers. The add-on modules will be priced in line with non-integrated competing products. For example, Broadband Gateways says the wireless phone option will carry a price comparable to Siemens' Gigaset product.
—Maury Wright
|
