News and New Products

VoIP adapter design boasts $6 cost

By Jeff Berman, News Editor -- EDN, 4/28/2005

Telecommunications and networking vendor Vocal Technologies has rolled out a line of VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) ATA (analog telephone adapter) designs, including a simple ATA with a $6 BOM (bill of materials) cost and a full-motion IP videophone with a $30 BOM.

The designs employ DSP resources and thereby eliminate the need for an additional RISC processor, according to the company. The 1x0 adapter design offers a single PSTN (public-switched telephone network) port and connects to a PC via USB. The 2x2+1 design supports two telephone lines, two Ethernet lines, and a PSTN "lifeline" port for automated voice service switching in the event of a power outage or network disconnection.

John Blume, Vocal's CEO, said these designs reduce common building blocks and components needed when developing ATAs. "Our approach to ATA is different from many others, because we are eliminating the RISC processor, which, in turn, drives down the bill of materials for designers," Blume said. When developing its designs, Vocal looked at alternatives using both DSP and RISC processors and found that a recent-generation DSP is suitable for running the entire application. "The idea here is to take away most of the 'mystery' for designers and suppliers, so that they have what they need," Blume said.

Vocal Technologies, www.vocal.com.