Cisco IP Telephony & IP TV

Customer Initiative: Reduce monthly recurring network costs of maintaining and supporting multiple networks to provide applications to branch offices. In particular, eliminate the need for multi-drop circuits at each branch used to facilitate company-wide Shout Down network that disseminates news via overhead speakers to each branch office.

Solution: ANP in-partnership with Cisco Systems created a new Hoot ‘n’ Holler solution that leverage existing network investments as well as new IP-enabled technologies. In particular, the new solution eliminated the need for separate circuits installed at each branch and would now broadcast via the wide-area-network. ANP installed a converged network utilizing a product solution set from Cisco’s AVVID architecture to broadcast voice, video, and data over a single connection to each branch office. Utilizing AVVID technologies, not only was ANP able to reduce the customer’s overall networking costs, but added new functionality to further expand network resources. Through the use of Cisco IPTv serves a new distance learning initiative has been established as well as a foundation to further disseminate IP Telephony across the network. Overall, the new solution has converged applications, reduced overall operating expenses, and widely expanded network capabilities.

About Cisco’s Hoot ‘n’ Holler Solution: Cisco Multicast Hoot 'n' Holler over IP, powered with Cisco's VoIP technology, transports hoot 'n' holler traffic over Cisco equipment. Hoot 'n' Holler networks, are specialized audio conference networks most heavily used in the brokerage industry but also employed in utility, media, mass transit and other industries. Hoot 'n' Holler networks are used by brokerage firms to advise brokers on market movements. Brokerage firms can spend millions of dollars in monthly leased line charges to pay for dedicated circuit-switched hoot 'n' holler long distance connections.

The Cisco Hoot 'n' Holler over IP solution leverages a multiservice network architecture to enable customers to eliminate these expensive charges while protecting investments in existing hoot & holler equipment such as turrets, bridges and four wire phones.

The Hoot 'n' Holler over IP features are implemented in Cisco IOS and are supported over voice-enabled Cisco 2600, 3600 and 3700 modular multiservice platforms and available around the world.

Cisco's standards-based Hoot 'n' Holler over IP conserves bandwidth, scales to hundreds of remote offices, and offers flexible interfaces for end-terminals (including turrets, hoot phones, POTs analog phones, PSTN dial-in, and IPTV). Cisco's multicast technology provides scalability to hundreds of remote users as well as further bandwidth savings through the use of IP header compression and codecs.

Eliminates the need for dedicated circuit-switched leased lines for Hoot 'n' Holler service Conserves bandwidth using IP multicasting Uses standards-based network management Facilitates rapid moves, adds, changes and new locations Enables users to call in remotely via the PSTN to hoot 'n' holler conferences Supports T1, E1, Analog 4-wire, and POTs connections Builds on a multiservice network architecture.