SiTel launches highly flexible VoIP telephone development kit

Complete development platform enables creation of cost-effective solutions for wide range of Enterprise VoIP telephone applications

‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, 22 April 2008 - SiTel Semiconductor today announced the launch of a highly flexible development kit for enterprise Voice over IP (VoIP) products targeting desktop phones, Analog Telephony Adapters (ATAs) and Voice over WiFi handsets. The kit is a complete solution comprising all essential hardware and software including DECT functionality. Providing a single, flexible platform for wired and wireless solutions, the kit allows manufacturers to quickly develop solutions for all market segments from low- to high-end while reducing their Bill of Materials by up to 30%.

The platform has a modular hardware architecture made up of a single motherboard plus a number of optional daughter boards. This allows the main board to be configured for any of the three target applications. It also allows manufacturers to develop applications supporting DECT and/or gigabit Ethernet connections.

On the software side, the kit uses the industry-standard and royalty-free uClinux operating system, which is complemented by a wide array of open-source applications including a SIP stack and user agent, TCP/IP networking protocols, FTP and automatic provisioning. Furthermore, the VoIP platform includes SiTel's own Natalie DECT protocol stack software. This incorporates all industry accepted cordless telephony protocols (DECT, DECT 6.0, 2.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz and CAT-iq).

"We are delivering solutions like the VoIP development kit to enable our customers to create products with distinctive features while at the same time helping minimize their Bill of Materials as rising volumes of VoIP telephone shipments increase price pressures," said Mark de Clercq, Product Marketing Manager at SiTel. "This development kit allows our customers to stay ahead of the pack by quickly and easily incorporating value-added features like DECT functionality - instantly turning desktop phones into hands-free DECT access points that can effectively provide businesses with a distributed wireless network architecture for free."

All in one development kit

At the heart of the motherboard is a SiTel SC1445x baseband IC. Thanks to a proven multi-core architecture, the baseband can run the various VoIP codecs and best-in-class acoustic echo cancelling while still having enough headroom for the TCP/IP networking stack and embedded SIP applications. It also features a 32 kHz analog codec for wideband audio, and a Class-D amplifier for hands free speaker phones. In addition, the motherboard incorporates hardware to support features such as Power-over-Ethernet (PoE), a power adaptor, a headset and a microphone. Daughter board options include Ethernet, LCD screen and keypad, Foreign eXchange Subscriber (FXS), Foreign eXchange Office (FXO), WiFi and DECT radio modules. The kit comes complete with a quick-start guide, schematics, Gerber files, and all IC technical documentation, as well as extensive programming and software-development guides, plus SIP User Agent ‘How-to' documentation. SiTel also offers its customers extensive design and production support. This includes test plans, performance reports, design recommendations and guidance on the DECT and WiFi certification.

About DECT in Enterprise solutions

Originally developed for Enterprise solutions, the DECT standard has become prevalent with consumer applications. With the introduction of VoIP technology and the recent release of standards such as DECT 6.0 in the US and CAT-iq, DECT is once again becoming a popular technology within Enterprise solutions offering improved voice quality and added mobility through cordless headsets and handsets.