The Mission

COSMOTE aims to provide its customers with the highest level of customer service. In order to efficiently meet the increasing demand for remote collaboration in Greece, COSMOTE was faced with the imperative of a major overhaul to its video conferencing capabilities. In particular, COSMOTE was relying on embedded MCUs in its video endpoints for meetings. But the demand for video usage was increasing and the existing solution wasn’t sufficient to meet the demand. Another major concern was the large amount of time devoted by IT staff to administering and maintaining each endpoint. Finally, video conferencing was limited to meeting rooms because the existing solution offered no support for desktop and mobile clients. COSMOTE was in the market for a new and expanded video conferencing solution that met its current needs and would offer scalability and flexibility for future investments.

The Challenge

For COSMOTE, there were a host of issues to be addressed in selecting a new video conferencing solution:

• The process for scheduling meetings and reserving conference rooms had to be simplified.
• Centralized administration and monitoring of video network infrastructure was a requirement as a way to increase control and enhance security.
• The capability to produce usage reports for management and to diagnose network and quality issues was also critical.

Another challenge was incompatibility between existing video endpoints, which were a mix from different manufacturers – limited interoperability was a contributing factor to a lower quality video experience. And lastly, executives and staff on-the-go needed access to video calls regardless of their location.

The Solution

RADVISION’s SCOPIA Elite 5110 MCU Bundle solved the compatibility issues between different endpoints and significantly increased the number of participants able to join the company’s multi-point meetings. This capability offers increased productivity and reduces the need to reschedule meetings. SCOPIA’s multi-vendor support for managing endpoints is helping IT staff to be more productive and efficient.
RADVISION SCOPIA Desktop, supported by the SCOPIA 5000 Series MCU, has expanded COSMOTE’s video conferencing capabilities, enabling it to encompass a much larger user base. Now, instead of being limited to top-level managers and executives, employees across the organization can benefit from video conferencing. It also enables meeting participation from mobile and remote employees from nearly any location.

The SCOPIA iVIEW Management Suite provides COSMOTE with centralized management, monitoring and control as well as simplified and streamlined IT operations, while making conference scheduling and management much simpler and far less time-consuming. iVIEW’s reporting functionality gives management valuable insight into video usage and performance.
SCOPIA Gateway allows COSMOTE to maintain its investments in its legacy ISDN-based systems – making the solution particularly cost-effective while also ensuring alternative connectivity in case of IP network issues.

The Benefits

RADVISION’s centralized management and control functionality, along with its advanced scheduling and reporting capabilities, significantly simplified COSMOTE’s IT operations. The RADVISION solution has reduced the time spent in administrative tasks such as moderating meetings and increasing user satisfaction, leading to wider adoption of video as a critical business tool. Additionally, COSMOTE has expanded video to a much broader base of employees and enables those employees to use video from any location. All of this had resulted in improved productivity and faster ROI.

Looking Forward

COSMOTE plans are to scale up its RADVISION solution with additional infrastructure, to reach more locations and to increase capacity and redundancy. The company is also looking at incorporating video recording and streaming capabilities as well as implementing the new video network at its subsidiaries in Bulgaria, Romania and Albania.

Designed with SMBs in mind

The SCOPIA Elite MCU 5105 is an intelligent, entry-level MCU that supports high definition audio, video and content-sharing. Ideally suited for SMBs and smaller departments or distributed organizations within larger companies, the SCOPIA 5105 offers five ports for HD video calls and up to 20 ports for enhanced definition calls, with dynamic resource allocation built in. This affordable MCU enables smaller sized businesses to leverage the high-end capabilities of the market’s leading MCUs but at a fraction of the cost.
The highly affordable SCOPIA XT1000 SMB is a unique video conferencing solution particularly suited to the communication requirements of SMBs. Built on the RADVISION SCOPIA XT1000 HD room system, the SCOPIA XT1000 SMB combines HD video room system capabilities with embedded multi-party conferencing, SCOPIA Desktop conferencing, and firewall traversal into an all-in-one solution. Additionally, participants can now leverage RADVISION SCOPIA Mobile and join video conferences via an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Competitive solutions cost four to five times as much for the same features and functionality as the SCOPIA XT1000 SMB.

The new SCOPIA XT5000 is RADVISION’s flagship product in the SCOPIA series of state-of-the-art video conferencing systems. The SCOPIA XT5000 is the only system available to incorporate dual 1080p/60fps live video and content, HD audio, H.264 High Profile, Scalable Video Coding Technology (SVC), and multi-party calling, making it the most advanced video conferencing system available today in its class. It is an all-in-one video conferencing solution that offers a highly intuitive user interface and a sleek and elegant design.

Exceptional Experience

The SCOPIA XT5000 sets the standard for an exceptional conferencing experience. Unique simultaneous HD 1080p/60fps for live video and content and CD-quality, 20 kHz audio deliver an outstanding experience. H.264 High Profile provides ultimate bandwidth efficiency and H.264 Scalable Video Coding (SVC) offers high network error resiliency. The XT5000 delivers unequalled performance in real-world network conditions.

Unparalleled Power

The SCOPIA XT5000 harnesses unparalleled power for the most demanding conferencing applications. Two full 1080p/60fps video channels, H.264 High Profile and SVC, an embedded 9-way multi-party MCU*, iPad Multi-Touch control – all combine to make the XT5000 the most powerful conferencing system ever created in its class.

Intuitive and Easy-to-Use

XT5000 operation is designed for the end user instead of IT and engineering departments. It leverages design principles of RADVISION’s award-winning iPad and iPhone applications and enables instant, intuitive and effective control – no training required. For an even better experience, the XT5000 is enabled for Multi-Touch control via the Apple iPad.

Sleek and Elegant Design

The XT5000’s refinement and polish go beyond the user experience to the sleek and elegant hardware design of the system. The XT5000 is a natural fit for today’s businesses, not only for its ease of use, but also its modern design that complements your conference room. Finally a powerful business system you can put on display and not hide in the closet.

All-in-one Solution

The XT5000 is also offered as a unique all-in-one video conferencing solution combining the XT5000’s room system capabilities with embedded 9-way multi-party conferencing*, SCOPIA Desktop conferencing, and firewall traversal into an all-in-one solution. Additionally, participants can utilize SCOPIA Mobile and join video conferences via the latest mobile devices.

* Available with future software upgrade

You can read more about this product at Radvision’s Website.

SCOPIA Mobile users will be able to fully participate in enterprise video and telepresence conferences leveraging the latest mobile devices such as the Apple iPad® 2 and iPhone® 4 along with the Android-based Motorola Xoom™, Samsung Galaxy Tab™ and HTC ThunderBolt™ extending enterprise video conferencing and telepresence to nearly anywhere someone goes with their mobile device.

SCOPIA Mobile V3 Highlights:

• Apple iOS and Android Support – Extending the range of mobile devices supported, SCOPIA Mobile will be available on both iOS and Android operating systems.
• Simultaneous Viewing of Video and Data Collaboration – View both interactive video and data collaboration from the meeting at the same time, and fully engage in the meeting as if you were attending locally on a video conferencing room system.
• HD Video Conferencing – Participate in standards-based video conferences with two-way video capabilities including receiving video in HD. When connected to RADVISION’s SCOPIA Elite MCU, telepresence systems from Cisco/Tandberg, Logitech/LifeSize and Polycom are seen in a special video layout where multiple telepresence video streams are combined into a single panoramic image.
• Mobile Broadband and Wi-Fi Capable – Video conferencing is available when connected through either mobile broadband or Wi-Fi networks, allowing communication from almost anywhere and making it a highly effective tool for business travelers. When 4G networking is available, SCOPIA Mobile will utilize the additional bandwidth providing even higher quality video communications.
• One Click to Join – Easily join video conferences directly from clicking an email link or through the calendar on your mobile device enabled by RADVISION’s advanced enterprise integration.

SCOPIA Mobile V3 also includes the following features from previous releases:

• Data Collaboration with Review – View presentations, spreadsheets, documents and images shared in a video conference with H.239 interoperable data collaboration. Participants can also review previously shared materials.
• Easily Invite Other Participants to a Meeting – Access a company directory to invite any attendee. Also invite guest phones or video conferencing systems by their number or address.
• Moderate Meetings – Mute noisy participants, stop the camera of a remote attendee or simply disconnect unwanted participants. Change the video layout and even rearrange the participants in the layout through the simple Multi-Touch™ enabled interface.
• Control Meetings – Start or pause recording, start or stop streaming, lock a conference and terminate individual participants or the entire meeting.
• Conference Administration – View participant statistics such as audio and video codecs in use, resolution, network speed and loss to assist in basic troubleshooting.

RADVISION’s new SCOPIA Mobile V3 is being demonstrated on the latest mobile devices at its annual Asia Pacific Partner Forum in Macau from April 11th to the 13th. The Partner Forum is an exclusive gathering where RADVISION partners learn and experience RADVISION’s innovative SCOPIA video conferencing solutions, meet industry experts and discuss strategies on growing their business.

The current version of SCOPIA Mobile for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch® allowing users to participate in video conferences with standards-based audio and H.239 data collaboration is a free application available today through the Apple App Store. SCOPIA Mobile V3 is planned for Second Half 2011 availability.

The nine-to-five office is disappearing.

The earth itself has become a vast workplace, as flexible, mobile workers communicate more and more device-to-device and less and less face-to-face. In the urgent need to stay connected, the voice has become the critical tool of business communication. Research proves that tone of voice is far more critical to communication than the actual message in voice-only calls.

Fact: In face-to-face discussions, 7% of a conversation’s importance is attributed to the message, 38% is tone of voice with body language at 55%¹. In voice-only calls, 13% is attributed to the message and 87%² accounts for the tone of voice.

So it is absolutely imperative that the spoken voice be delivered with consistency, quality and clarity, wherever that human voice travels.

Unified Communications unifies workers. Clear, consistent audio makes it happen.

Emerging technologies empower, but they can also confuse. Workers in the new mobile landscape struggle to manage communications with cell phones, landlines, VoIP calls and different voicemail boxes, email, IM, text messages and social networking applications.

Unified Communications is the answer. Unified Communications is the bridge between all these proliferating communication systems—helping manage communications with one interface.

But there is an audio downside. The emergence of PCs and cell phones over landlines has come at the expense of audio quality.

So just as voice is the cornerstone of business, the headset and other audio endpoints have emerged as the cornerstone of Unified Communications. The headset is the device that ensures clear, consistent voice presence across all communication channels.

As Gartner analyst Steve Blood stated in a September 2009 note, Improve the performance of your Softphones for Unified Communications: “The use of a headset is the first and most important step in improving the performance of softphones (phone applications).”

This is why 100% of the Fortune 100 rely on Plantronics headsets*.

And as the new world of UC evolves, so must the technology people rely on to stay connected. That’s why Plantronics designs ingenious headsets, speakerphones and a variety of audio endpoints powered by the world’s most advanced acoustic technology, designed to optimize the audio experience. Plantronics technology delivers perfect sound everywhere sound must travel: from offices to homes, from PCs to cell phones.

When the world itself becomes an office, with workers traveling, driving, telecommuting and sharing open office spaces, noise becomes a serious occupational hazard, and comforts a necessity. Plantronics ergonomic innovations in comfort, and industry-leading noise canceling technology, provide solutions for this new workplace without walls.

Plantronics noise-canceling microphones help eliminate the intrusive background noise.

On outdoor calls, microphones with WindSmart® technology reduce disruptive wind sounds. And Plantronics AudioIQ2 technology automatically adapts listening levels so that users are heard clearly.

To ensure that conversations remain uninterrupted, Plantronics SoundGuard® instantly reduces loud noises to a more comfortable level, the perfect barrier to acoustic shock from fax tones, feedback or other sudden loud noises.

Finally, Plantronics headsets are designed for wideband enabled voice networks and IP desk phones, delivering a broader audio frequency range than older narrowband systems can carry. This boosts the high frequency signals often lost by ordinary headsets. The result? Dramatically richer and more natural sound, with enhanced intelligibility and reduced listener fatigue.

Plantronics engineers are as obsessed with ergonomics as they are with acoustic quality, because if the headset isn’t comfortable, UC won’t be comfortable.

Fact: According to a University of Surrey study, the right headset design can improve productivity by 23%.

Plantronics engineers have perfected the weight balance between the headset battery and boom. This balance allows Plantronics headsets to remain comfortable the entire day.

The widest range of audio solutions for the widest range of users.

Savi®

The wireless Savi Series bridges the gap between traditional telephony and PC communications, with a system that does it all from a single wireless DECT™ headset.

Voyager

Plantronics Voyager® PRO UC is the perfect solution for mobile UC workers. It is designed for PC and mobile phone management and offers on-the-go professionals the most advanced noisecanceling Bluetooth® headset available.

Blackwire®

The portable Blackwire Series offers the full range of audio USB corded headsets that provide exceptional voice clarity and comfort on PC audio anywhere that work happens.

Calisto®

For those transitioning from traditional to PC telephony, the Calisto Series includes USB phones and speakerphones that help users easily manage their PC calls. Calisto phones combine ease of use with exceptional audio quality.

Easy Accessibility

The network administrator can easily add users and create recording keys so that authors can auto-publish content independently. With its one button record, ‘choose your view’ functionality, and no-wait streaming, the LifeSize Video Center delivers unmatched flexibility and performance. The intuitive UI also ensures that users can quickly share and view critical knowledge. Get a glimpse of it at http://videocenter.lifesize.com.

Superior Performance

LifeSize Video Center is capable of supporting an unrivaled number of concurrent recordings, on demand streams, and simultaneous live streams, all in 720p30 HD video. Performance numbers will also increase significantly for DVD-quality recordings.

The First and Only Single Appliance HD Solution

LifeSize Video Center supports streaming and recording, all in one device. Tight integration with LifeSize® 220™ series endpoints, LifeSize® Passport™, and LGExecutive, powered by LifeSize®, ensures a no-hassle deployment and seamless user experience.

You can read more about this product at the LifeSize Website.

An announcement via snom PA1 is effected simply by initiating a call from a snom telephone with its handset, headset, or via handsfree mode. An efficient 4 Watt amplifier provides sufficient coverage for the entire room or floor space.

Minimize costs by using existing infrastructure!

Several snom PA1 units can be connected to each other via the built-in switch and can be connected with any available loudspeaker on the market, thus enabling customers a great cost-saving contribution with already installed components. The individual network cables can be up to 100 meters long. The snom PA1 can be optionally installed on walls or ceilings.

The snom PA1 can be power-fed either via conventional power supply unit connection or through Power-over- Ethernet (PoE). The specific addressing of individual snom PA1 control systems can be centrally configured via the device’s web interface.

Aside of the leading SIP protocol, the snom PA1 can also be addressed via Multicast, thus enabling one transmitter to simultaneously address many receivers. As with all other snom terminals, updates and configuration changes for the snom PA1 can be centrally effected over the server.

For maintenance purposes, the snom PA1 has two 3.5 mm jacks for headset connection. Four freely programmable output pins can be utilized for controlling the snom PA1 via its web interface.

You can read more about this product at Snom’s Website.

Dual Full HD 1080p 30fps

Every SCOPIA XT1000 delivers full HD (1080p 30fps) video streams as standard so you don’t have to compromise with lower quality video. The included high end PTZ camera supports 10x optical zoom and wide angle capability so you can see every detail as well as an entire group in the conference room. An additional 1080p camera can be used to send a separate 1080p video stream for complete visual coverage.

Full Band Audio with Beam Forming Microphone Technology

The SCOPIA XT1000 3-way microphone pod uses beam forming technology to put the focus on the speaker while isolating background noise. Two microphone pods can also be cascaded to cover larger rooms. 48 kHz (full band) audio encoding is used to ensure high clarity audio transmission with no loss of quality.

High Resolution PC Data Sharing

Remote participants can view your shared data as if they are in the same room with you in all its native detail. The SCOPIA XT1000 supports PC data sharing at 1080p 30fps so you can share presentations and even video clips with zero loss of quality. The quality of the data channel does not degrade even when the main video channel is operating at full HD 1080p 30fps.

Embedded HD Multi-party Conferencing

RADVISION’s multipoint expertise is embedded in the SCOPIA XT1000. High Definition, Continuous Presence meetings with up to 9 participants are now more affordable than ever utilizing the SCOPIA XT1000 built-in MCU.

You can read more about this product at Radvision’s Website.

Target Applications

• SIP Trunking
• IP Centrex and hosted services
• IP-PBX for SMB/SOHO
• Remote connection to IP-PBX in distributed Enterprise branches
• Unified Communications mobility and Value Added Services for SMB/SOHO

You can read more about this product at the AudioCodes Website.

The project was lead by contractor MOREAS S.A., a joint venture company of AKTOR Concessions S.A. and INTRACOM Holdings S.A. – two of the top construction industry conglomerates in Greece. MOREAS was responsible for the construction and expansion of already existing highways to a total of 205 kilometers and will subsequently manage operations and undertake maintenance of the highways. The project was co-financed by the European Union, the Greek government as well as private capital. Oversight of the venture is provided by the Hellenic Ministry of Infrastructure, Transportation and Networks.

MOREAS employed two AudioCodes value added resellers, SafeNet and Microbase, who are members of LOGITEL’s distribution channel in Greece, to jointly develop and deploy and all-IP Emergency Response & Communication System interconnected with and centrally managed by the highway Traffic & Operations Control Center.

Microbase is the creator of CommServer, a software IP Communications Platform based on Asterisk, the world’s leading open source telephony project. On top of Asterisk, Microbase has developed a suite of CTI applications using Microsoft’s .NET Framework to control the telephony engine via the Asterisk Manager Interface (AMI) thus opening up a rich set of features and limitless customization possibilities.

SafeNet has developed a fully customized line of Emergency Response Terminals (ERTs) built around a ruggedized metal enclosure adhering to IP66 environmental specifications. Functions single push-button automatic call initiation, call forward on busy or unavailable, automatic fall-back to secondary line as well speakerphones capable of compensating for the volume level of background noise present on the highways were key design characteristics. Due to the nature of the application the type of telephony interfaces chosen were analog FXS and FXO in order to reduce material and installation costs and the ability to reach long distances over standard telephone copper cable.

SafeNet and Microbase chose AudioCodes’ Gateways to interconnect the ERTs to the main Call Server as well as with other telecom equipment used by the Traffic & Operations Control Center and, of course, the PSTN. Microbase customized their CommServer software so it could be installed on AudioCodes’ OSN Server module, a single-board computer that fits inside the Mediant 1000 Media Gateway, thus creating a compact field-deployable appliance. The integrated solution including the AudioCodes gateway and Microbase software has been named CommGate.

Mediant 1000 was selected as the preferred platform for main service and control points along the highway such as toll stations, rest areas, utility vehicle stations, etc. The Mediant 1000’s modularity, able to accommodate all types of digital (E1/BRI) and analog (FXS/FXO) telephony interfaces, as well as its robust hardware platform, rock-solid stability and reliability made it a perfect match for this type of demanding, mission-critical application.

Mediant 600s and MediaPacks were subsequently deployed in remote areas such as equipment racks and cable distribution cabinets along the stretch of the highway, thus connecting ERTs at long distances (2-3 km) away from the various accessible service points via analog telephone cable and then from the media gateways via LAN/IP to the Call Server application running on Mediant 1000 appliances.

Antonis Psaras, Managing Director and Chief Engineer of Microbase, stated: “The Emergency Response Terminals are a key part of the infrastructure with serious implications on passenger safety and the smooth operation of this high-traffic highway. With AudioCodes’ media gateways we are able to guarantee that, in case of emergency, calls will reach the Traffic & Operations Control Center and/or the proper authorities (Fire/Police Department, and Medical/Road Assistance) no matter what. Our software is making use of many advanced features of the gateways to assure this, such as complex internal dial-plans, routing tables, fall-back configuration scenarios, and Stand Alone Survivability to mention just a few. Only AudioCodes’ gateways provided us with the flexibility and the advanced functionality required to meet the challenges of this demanding application.”

Nikos Stamatiadis, General Manager of SafeNet adds: “The robustness and flexible deployment options of AudioCodes’ products allowed our hardware design team and our installation crews to meet the challenging environmental conditions of this application with an exemplary level of ease and simplicity, keeping deployment, service and maintenance costs low considering the intricate functionality and features required. One of the key benefits of an IP-based solution lies if the fact that we can manage, monitor and if needed reconfigure the call rules of the ERTs remotely since they are merely “passive” analog telephone terminals. Call logic is handled between the call server software and the gateways which are located in easily accessible service points off the highway itself, thus increasing the safety of the maintenance crews all while eliminating any traffic disruptions when performing scheduled or unscheduled on-site service tasks.

The solution described has been in operation for a few months already and the end-user, MOREAS S.A., who is the entity responsible for the operation and maintenance of the newly constructed highway, has already saved significantly on maintenance costs from the operation of the ERTs realized by fewer on-site checks and better visibility of the real-time status via remote monitoring and configuration capabilities in contrast to similar legacy systems. It is expected that break-even ROI will be reached before the first year of operation has passed.