KRISTINE FAULKNER
Kristine Faulkner is VP of product development and management for Cox Business Services. For five years, Faulkner has spearheaded the development and deployment of commercial products such as Cox Business Internet and Cox Optical Internet.
Is Cox’s move toward SIP-based delivery techniques still ongoing?
Yes, it is. The market – at all levels – will evolve to more simplicity and efficiency in their LANs and delivery of enhanced voice services. Some seek to gain more efficiency, some seek cost savings, and others want to take advantage of more robust capabilities with IP telephony platforms. Cox intends to be there, as it is a natural evolution from our current business class voice portfolio. SIP will also enable us to leverage our HFC DOCSIS network to an even greater extent for business class voice services. We will look to combine SIP with QoS enablement on our network to deliver T-1s/PRIs/IP trunking services.
Is SIP trunking still an attractive option for premises-based telephony systems?
IP trunking is anticipated to be over a $2.8 billion dollar market by 2011. And as legacy PBXs and key systems hit their "end of life" state, the majority of shipments today consist of IP replacements (IP PBXs and IP key sets). Costs are coming down, and IP systems are easier to manage, so the customer benefits. Businesses will look for direct IP handoffs to avoid the cost of IP/TDM gateways. Also with IP trunking, customers can further benefit from the flexibility of "burstable" voice trunking and other advanced network features to run their business more efficiently.
Does your decision to use Broadsoft play into that strategy?
Yes. Our decision to use Broadsoft is indicative of our customer-oriented focus and a desire on our part to drive forward advanced voice services and other wireline and wireless applications.
As we focus on end-user feature control, ease of management, personalization, mobility and business continuity, Broadsoft becomes a key component of the ecosystem we need to deliver. Through Broadsoft’s interoperability focus in the industry, their superior partner outreach, and open standards approach, they’ve done a good job of establishing themselves as a "best of breed" applications server provider.
How do you assess Ethernet’s transition into a carrier-class transport technology?
The Ethernet movement toward carrier class has moved along quite nicely, thanks to the work of the Metro Ethernet Forum and the development of common specifications. All in all, it’s the customer who truly wins here as MEF has helped to drive standards in delivery and performance. Vendors have stepped up to the plate in making their gear MEF-compliant and delivering the enhanced capabilities to attain "carrier class" delivery – especially with their solutions on the fiber infrastructure.
Work is still to be done in delivering on cable’s HFC network needs. HFC is ripe for frame relay and legacy transport migration. Cox along with others in the MSO industry have a strong intent to leverage their HFC networks for the delivery of enhanced Ethernet services. The good news is that the supplier community is aware and embracing cable’s intentions to move into this space. We just need it done faster.
Any plans to move voice over Ethernet, as Cablevision’s Optimum Lightpath unit has done?
Yes, Ethernet is becoming a de facto standard for all types of services. With the specs evolving on the Class of Service front over Ethernet, we’ll offer CoS that is "voice grade" capable.
On the video front, should the cable industry make a stronger case for on-demand technology in the hospitality industry?
The hospitality industry is an important one, and the industry continues to focus on cost-effective solutions for "in-room" delivery on all fronts, such as on-demand and HD. Travelers continue to expect the same experience they receive at home. Suppliers must continue to work to evolve solutions and drive costs down as we optimize delivery while leveraging the pre-existing investments in our residential on-demand and HD platforms.
