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Hitachi Cable, Ltd. has confirmed the operational compatibility of its AquaVocal all-in-one IP-PBX *1 and two IP phones from Saxa, Inc. (headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Masanori Yoshioka; referred to as Saxa hereafter), IP NetPhone S and IP NetPhone SX*2.

In recent years, steadily falling prices and the growing functionality offered by data communications networks have led to the rapid expansion of IP telephony services. IP telephony permits voice communications using an Internet technology known as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). The benefits of introducing IP telephony services include lower communications costs and lower costs when reconfiguring networks for personnel changes and layout modifications. The problem is that most conventional IP-PBX products are intended for large sites with 500 to 1000 users or more. Depreciation costs and the cost of introducing IP telephony services at smaller scales have to date discouraged small- and medium-sized offices.

In developing AquaVocal, Hitachi Cable targeted small- and mid-sized offices and branch and sales offices of large enterprises, sites with 200 or fewer users. Available commercially since June 2004, AquaVocal is an all-in-one IP-PBX with various integrated functions providing office IP telephony services: basic IP-PBX functions, a range of gateway functions *3 , PPPoE functionality *4 , a survival function that enables sending and receiving between analog phones and the public network even during power outages, and more. AquaVocal will allow companies to upgrade office phones to IP phones while keeping new equipment spending in check.

Saxa's IP phones, IP NetPhone S and IP NetPhone SX, now verified to be compatible with AquaVocal, are IP phones equipped with the standard 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX LAN interfaces. IP NetPhone S and IP NetPhone SX have LCD screens capable of displaying Kanji characters and telephone directory data, as well as data from other sources. Like the business phones *5 commonly deployed in traditional small- and medium-sized offices, the phone units are equipped with lights to indicate line status: red for incoming calls, blue during calls, and blinking red to indicate that the line is on hold. These features allow even offices using conventional business phones to introduce IP telephony services without qualms. Equipment can be powered either through AC adapters or Power over LAN, enabling simplified wiring configurations when combined with PoE *6 switches and reducing wiring costs associated with layout modifications.

Hitach Cable sells AquaVocal primarily through its sales partners. We plan to continue improving the compatiblity of AquaVocal with IP phones and IP phone-related applications, with the goal of expanding our share of the IP-PBX market for small- and medium-sized buisiness sites.

*1	PBX: Private Branch Exchange. IP-PBX refers to a Private Branch Exchange for an IP telephony system.
*2	IP NetPhone SX is slated for release on February 20, 2006.
*3	Gateway: A protocol converter used to link communications service providers, IP telephony networks, public telephone networks, private telephone networks, and other networks. Different gateway units provide different functions. An IP carrier gateway is used to connect a private telephone network and the IP telephony networks belonging to communication service providers. A PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Networks) gateway is used to connect a private telephone network and communication service providers' analog public telephone networks.
*4	PPPoE: Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet. Refers to the PPP (Point to Point Protocol) protocol implemented over Ethernet. PPP is used for dialup networks connections.
*5	Business phone: A private telephone system consisting of a main unit and special phones. Most business phone systems provide functions such as internal calls and call transfers.
*6	PoE: Power over Ethernet. A technique for providing electric power through cables used for Ethernet connections. The PoE standard is IEEE802.3af. Hitachi Cable's ApresiaLight209-PoE is PoE-compatible.

Specification overview for major AquaVocal models

AquaVocal 2004FXSO AquaVocal 2112FXSO AquaVocal 3000 All-in-one four-line model (IP-PBX with PSTN Gateway model) All-in-one12-line model (IP-PBX with PSTN Gateway model) Dedicated IP-PBX model Port configuration 10/100BASE-TX 2 2 2 PSTN/FXS 4 12 - PSTN/FXO (Pass through at power failures) 4 (1) 12 (3) - Power supply specifications Input power source AC 100V (85 to 132V), 47 to 440Hz Switch Locking switch with error-proofing guide (housed in front panel) Environmental specifications Operating conditions Operating temperature 0 to 40 degrees Operating humidity 20 to 85 % RH (No condensation) Installation conditions Installation (mounting) Level installation Stacking Stackable when housed in panel/used on tabletop Storage conditions Storage temperature -20 to 60 degrees Storage humidity 20 to 85 % RH (No condensation) Acquired certification specifications Noise emission regulations VCCI-Class A Communication device certification JATE certification Functional specifications Network connection functions LAN connection specifications 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX (IEEE802.3-compliant) Channel number 2 (LAN0, LAN1) External connectors RJ-45 (RTP with shield) x 2 (double x 1) Serial I/F functions for maintenance I/F specifications RS-232 level, full-duplex,asynchronous serial I/F External connectors RJ-45 x 1

External appearance of AquaVocal 2112FXSO

External appearance of IP NetPhone SX