HTML-format email with your Teracom newsletter September 2006 - TCP/IP Training, Skypeout technology tutorial, $100 off Course 150 and more
Newsletter 
September 2006 
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In this issue:
bullet TCP/IP and VoIP training
bullet Tutorial: "Skypeout" net-to-phone technology model
bullet IP Call Center Course - $100 discount for Silicon Valley in December - Hurry! Coupon expires Friday Sep 22
bullet Seminar lineup for the 2006-07 school year
 
TCP/IP and VoIP Training
As part of our continuous quality improvement program, we keep a close eye on our customers' needs. One way of doing this tracking search terms people use to get to our site... and over the past year, the term "TCP/IP" has been steadily showing up higher and higher in the reports.
This isn't surprising, as the public telephone network is evolving to become an IP network, and the term "TCP/IP" has in the past been popular for referring to the IP family of protocols and standards. (Of course, once you take our training, you'll know that it is UDP/IP for voice and TCP/IP for data, but I digress.)
Accordingly, we have been beefing up and augmenting our IP course offerings, and now have four courses with training on IP to choose from:
Course 101, Telecom, Datacom and Networking for Non-Engineering Professionals, our core training, covers the basics of IP, TCP and IP networking, in an intensive three-day training course designed for non-engineering professionals covering virtually all aspects of telecommunications, datacom, IP and networking, from fundamentals and jargon to the latest technologies.
Course 110, IP, VoIP and MPLS for the Non-Engineering Professional, builds on telecom knowledge and general training to focus on IP and VoIP. This "next" course builds a solid understanding of IP networking, from fiber and VDSL through LANs and VLANs to IP subnets and routing to QoS and IP security, PLUS a solid base in VoIP, including standards and protocols, architecture choices, codecs, SIP, PBX replacement, carrier interconnect and everything between. 3 days.
Course 130, Understanding Voice over IP, is a two-day course focusing on VoIP - similar to Course 110 without the IP networking. You'll gain a vendor-independent understanding of VoIP technologies, components, architecture choices, jargon and buzzwords. Including a Readiness Assessment checklist, case studies, vendor survey and extensive VoIP Project Management template, this course is ideal for those analyzing, planning or managing VoIP in their organization.
Course 150, Understanding IP Contact Center Technology, is a two-day specialized course. You'll learn what Understanding IP Contact Center Technology is, what new features and services are available and how an IP contact center can save money and improve customer service. Plus, you'll learn the top ten technology-oriented actions that should be taken for success. With extensive surveys of solutions for small, medium, large, and widely dispersed businesses, numerous checklists and a detailed template to generate a Request For Proposal, this course is essential for anyone involved with contact centers.
 
Tutorial: "Skypeout" net-to-phone technology model
Skype is offering Internet-to-PSTN connectivity for telephone service - for free for a limited time.
In this tutorial, we examine the technology model for this service, and some of the underlying business issues.
 
  • Broadband Internet connection at one end
   - Customer manages, pays for DSL/Cable
   - Independent of VoIP service
  • POTS at other end
   - Connection to telephone network via LEC
  • VoIP Service Provider (VSP) in middle
   - Interconnect between Internet and PSTN
  • DS0 circuit-switched connection to PSTN
   - Current industry interconnect standard
   - Gateway converts VoIP - channelized DS0
  • VSP’s costs:
   - Gateways and housing
   - Per-DS0, per-minute to PSTN via IXC or LEC
   - Softswitch, media server
  • Requires headset, tech skills, broadband
 
Communicating from the Internet to someone who has POTS is sometimes called “net to phone”. The person on the left of the diagram has a broadband Internet connection, a PC with headset and a webphone software application. To be able to “dial out” from the Internet to someone on the PSTN, a gateway is required at some point to interconnect the Internet and PSTN. Packetized voice travels over the unreliable Internet to a gateway, which converts VoIP to regular telephony to eventually hand the phone call off to a Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) to be delivered over the LEC's access network to someone on the right side of the diagram who has a regular phone line.
Net2phone.com and dialpad.com were early in this market. At present, Skype (acquired by eBay) is offering free dial-out capability in North America for a limited time. The next five years will see the startup of thousands of this type of telephone service provider, who could be called VoIP Service Providers (VSPs).
VSPs use a combination of broadband Internet access, Voice over IP technologies plus connections to IXCs and/or LECs to terminate calls at the “far end”. In the example illustrated, the user arranges and pays for a broadband Internet access. The VSP provides a softswitch for terminal management and call management functions, a media server to support web-based voicemail, a gateway to convert between VoIP and traditional channelized or DS0 telephony, and connections to IXCs and/or LECs. The LECs connect the call through their access network to the “far end” telephone.
The service VSPs sell has two main differences from Plain Ordinary Telephone Service ( POTS):
1. Lower-cost calling, originating from a broadband Internet connection and terminating on any telephone on the traditional public-switched telephone network.
2. Value-added features such as web-based voicemail.
To complete or terminate a telephone call to a called party that has POTS, it is necessary to connect to the network equipment and access wires that are providing POTS at the “far end”. In the vast majority of cases, the company that owns that access network is the LEC. At present, the industry standard for connecting networks for this purpose is 64 kb/s DS0 channels and ISDN signaling. The connecting carrier, such as a competitive Inter-Exchange Carrier, pays the LEC per-minute, per-DS0 to terminate phone calls. Extensive, reliable, proven infrastructure and industry standard practices exist to support this business: standards for voice coding; standards for call signaling, setup and termination; agreements on what network addresses are reachable; standards for call quality and how it will be measured; standards defining when a call begins and ends; standard methods of rating and billing calls… to name a few.
As illustrated, a VSP could immediately open up shop by purchasing gateways that convert IP telephony to these standards, signing interconnection agreements with IXCs and/or LECs and connecting to the IXCs and LECs via DS0s like any other carrier. However, it forces the VSP to purchase and deploy gateways and pay for expensive DS0 interconnections and possibly switched access charges to terminate their customers' phone calls. They would prefer that the interconnection be IP, not DS0, and preferably free. This is discussed in the Interconnect chapter later in the course.
The sound quality achieved with this type of service is generally good and sometimes not so good. It can not be guaranteed, as the VoIP passes over the Internet between the user on the left and the user on the right and there are no quality guarantees on the Internet.
Source: Course 110, IP Telecommunications and Networking and Course 130 Understanding Voice over IP.
This discussion is also included in our DVD-video VoIP training courses. It will appear in the new release
DVD-12 Understanding VoIP 2: Components, Standards and Architectures, scheduled for release in December.
 
Understanding IP Contact Center Technology - Silicon Valley in December
We've added a new session of Course 150, Understanding IP Contact Center Technology in Santa Clara CA, Dec 14-15 2006
... and if you act quickly, you can benefit from a $100 discount.  
Enter Coupon #1042 when registering online, and a $100 discount will be applied.
Hurry! Your registration must be entered in our system by Friday, September 22.  
 
Seminar lineup for the 2006-07 school year
Course Number,
Title and Duration 		Description Comment
COURSE 101
TELECOM, DATACOM AND NETWORKING for Non-Engineering Professionals
(3 days) 		An intensive training course designed for
non-engineering professionals, covering virtually all aspects of telecommunications, datacom, IP and networking, from fundamentals and jargon to the latest technologies.		 Our most popular course. Provides a solid grounding in everything telecom, datacom and networking.
COURSE 110
IP, VoIP and MPLS for the Non-Engineering Professional
(3 days) 		An intensive course covering virtually all aspects of IP telecom and IP networking, designed for professionals involved with telecom who need to learn to “speak IP”. The "next" course. Focuses on IP and VoIP. Popular with telecom people who have to get up to speed on and really understand IP, and VoIP.
COURSE 130
UNDERSTANDING VOIP
(2 days) 		Geared for non-technical professionals needing to understand VoIP: jargon and buzzwords, concepts and components, protocols, technologies and architecture choices, why an organization would implement VoIP – and how to go about doing it. VoIP for managers and administrators.
More on VoIP and SIP applications and less on IP than Course 110.
Formerly Course 301.
COURSE 150
Understanding IP Contact Center Technology
(2 days) 		Get up to speed on IP in the call center with a complete, unbiased picture and a thorough understanding of the technologies, benefits, issues, migration and integration strategies, vendors and practical templates you can put to immediate use. Amazingly comprehensive. Essential for anyone upgrading a contact center to a VoIP system, or embarking on IM, chat or anything else IP in the contact center.

COURSE 120
UNDERSTANDING WIRELESS
(2 days)

Designed for those needing to get up to speed, fill in the gaps and put in place a solid understanding of today's wireless technologies: Wi-LAN, cellular, 3G, 1XEV-DO, wireless web. Wireless access technologies: 802.11 wireless LAN + cellular from analog to 1XEV-DO 3G and wireless web.
Formerly Course 201.
 
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Here are a few links that you may find useful:
Course 101: Our core telecommunications training seminar. Thousands have benefited!
Course 130: Our acclaimed Voice over IP VoIP training seminar course.
video/DVD courses
Telecom 101 textbook / reference handbook, based on Course 101. Updated, expanded and improved for 2004.
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Teracom Training Institute
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