In a first for rural telephony,four national trade associationsrepresenting rural telephonecompanies and cooperativeshave come together tostrengthen the rural voiceand deliver a unified messageto Capitol Hill and the FCC.The Independent Telecommunications &

Telephone Alliance (ITTA), the National Telecom-munications Cooperative Association (NTCA), theOrganization for the Promotion and Advancementof Small Telecommunications Companies(OPASTCO) and the Western TelecommunicationsAlliance (WTA), represent the entire ruraltelephone industry and share similar advocacygoals for rural consumers and the companies thatserve them.

The goal of this precedent-setting coopera-tive effort is to ensure that Congress, the FCC,and telephone consumers everywhere understandthe role rural telephone companies play in ournation’s economy and the value of the rural broadbandnetwork in bringing new technologies, such asvoice over Internet protocol (VoIP) to ruralconsumers. This education and understandingis key to ensuring that rural telephony issues aregiven full consideration as Congress considerschanges to the Telecommunications Act of 1996and the FCC implements rules that affect ruraltelephony’s most important

No. 2, Summer 2005 www.coppercom.com

C O P P E R C O MC O N N E C T I O N S

3

The trend of municipalities offer-ing broadband networks to theirrespective constituencies is agrowing but controversial trend.Bernardin Arnason of NTCAinvestigates.

C O P P E R C O MC O N N E C T I O N S

4

While attending this year’s show,CopperCom provides some use-ful guidance on things to doaway from the exhibition floor.

5

Whether you’re managing thepressure of a putt or looking to closea deal, it’s your mental and emo-tional skills that usually determinehow successfully you perform. Thesecrets revealed.

6Exploring MGCP, MEGACO and H.248.

6

7

Triple PlayCompetition isHeating UpA survey among U.S. broadbandsubscribers indicates that desirefor triple play services from oneservice provider is likely toincrease competition between cableproviders and telecommunicationscompanies.

Providing the ability to make telephone calls over the Internet, VoIP can replace radiofrequency communications in remote environments that are not serviced by a conventional telephonesystem. VoIP can provide better quality voice than either analog radio or conventional phone. Asanother benefit, VoIP enables the integration of voice and data applications, thus eliminating theneed for separate frequency management and antenna systems.

Why SIP?

Following years of discussions, researchand development, we can grasptoday some of the significantbenefits of the Next GenerationNetwork. The CopperCom view.

(continued on page 2) >>

The above is fiction but the telephone technology described is not. You may well have a phonein your pocket with many of the features highlighted above.

These simulations did not take into account the effect of delays caused by light speed. For explorationof Mars, the 20-minute delay each way will be an obstacle for interaction between people on theMartian surface and people monitoring the mission on Earth. There will also be a habitat on theMartian surface, and reference mission concepts will use it as the primary point of mission controlbecause the habitat can communicate with the field party in real-time.

It is well known that the speed of light will not allow for astronauts on Europa or Mars to carryon voice calls to friends and family on Earth. However, VoIP technology can be used for proximitycommunications between parties on a remote planetary surface, and, on orbiters, thesetechnologies can be extended to interplanetary capability by voice mail technology and other nonreal-time but standard commercial offerings.

The astronaut and her robot assistantmake their way across the rocky field in the directionof the red mesa. The robot follows, positioningits antenna where it provides the best wirelessEthernet coverage back to the ship. It comes closeto her side to provide sample bags for the rubiesshe picks up as well as for the fossils. She looks up through her visor and says, “Telephone

exobio.” The phone is answered on the first ring.Several people are on the line, but one answers.“Peter here. How can I help, Marjory?”

“There is a rather large creature with very bigteeth coming off the mesa toward me. What doyou make of it?” With that she raises her armand like the archetype Shinjuko teenager, shootsa picture with her wrist cell phone. Several peoplesee the image on their phone sets and start toskim through a book. “I found it!” says Julia.

“Page 172.” They all know which book.Peter says, “Don’t worry, it is not a carnivore,

but it eats hydrocarbons sometimes . . . like clearplastic…LIKE YOUR HELMET . . . RUN!”

Voice over IP uses techniques developed for telephony, a naturalmethod for providing voice services for planetary explorers.

Municipal BroadbandNetworks ControversyIncreases

Check Out VegasDuring Telecom 2005

Mental Toughness InSport and Business

A History of GatewayControl Protocols

CopperComLaunchesCorporate Video

Exploration

IPTelephony For Interplanetary

Exploration

source: NASA Amers Research Center

NTCA Urges FCC to Reform Rules Governing Compensation for Use of NetworkArlington, Va., - Advocating reform of complex

rules that govern the way telecommunicationscarriers are compensated for the use

of their networks, the National Telecom-munications Cooperative Associ-

ation (NTCA) said the currentregime is detrimental torural telephone companies

t h a t a r e

subject to interconnection rules that permit intercon-necting carriers to avoid paying for use of ruraltelephone company networks. In a filing to theFederal Communications Commission (FCC),

NTCA recommended a tailored approach forrural incumbent local exchange carriers (ILEC)that would prevent arbitrage and simplify the system.While clear and consistent rules defining carrierpayment obligations will benefit everyone, theFCC should not “impose new transport obliga-

tions that deny rural telephone companies theability or the right to receive payment from othercarriers that utilize rural telephone company facili-ties for access, transport or termination services.”NTCA also argued against a shift of revenue require-ments resulting from cost caused by other carriers,to end users or universal service alone, assertingthat such a shift is inconsistent with the FCC’sgoal of ensuring consumers receive access toaffordable and reliable

Advocating reform of complex rules

RuralTelephonyHas aNew,UnifiedVoice

(continued on page 2) >>

8

In the Spotlight 8

INDUSTRY NEWSSPRING2005 2

2 C O P P E R C O M C O N N E C T I O N S

NTCA UrgesFCC to ReformRules Governing Compensationfor Use of Network

Rural Telephony Has aNew, Unified Voice

Over 45 Cop-perCom cus-tomers and part-ners attendedthe first UserGroup meeting heldin Deerfield

Beach, Florida in April. The overwhelm-ing consensus was that the meetingproved to be highly successful with

healthy interaction. At the meeting, elec-tions were held for two additional seatsfor the CopperCom User Group Board, whichcomprises of 7 member customers of thecompany and 2 internal members. Itwas determined that an electronic bul-letin board would be designed and imple-mented. For more information, please sendan email to customers@coppercom.com.

ContestWinner

issues: the costrecovery mechanisms of universal serviceand intercarrier compensation.

Members of ITTA, NTCA, OPASTCO and WTAwill learn more about the four associations’messaging plans in the near future, howthey can help educate their employees andtheir consumers, and how they can activelyparticipate in important lobbying efforts.

Association members are urged to contacttheir associations for more details and tolearn how they can support this history-making campaign.

This advertisement, sponsored by the

four associations, appeared in the June 6Roll Call. Artwork for the ad was generouslycontributed by NTCA’s charitable founda-tion, the Foundation for Rural Service (FRS).

With an exhibit hall bursting with new technologies; conference partners including ATIS,Deloitte, ITERA, Legg Mason, TMNG and Wiley Rein and Fielding; plus social events designedfor networking . . . TELECOM '05 is where the conversations begin and where the ground-work is laid. Just as telecom has moved far beyond basic phone service, you find thatthe speakers and conferences at TELECOM '05 have moved beyond the confines of traditionaltelecom and the borders of the United States. For further information, visitwww.telecom05.com

Setting TheStandard At TheInaugural UserGroup Meeting

REGULATIONS

telecommunications services. It said theFCC must create a mechanism to allow rate-of-return regulated carriers to recover anyrevenue requirement displaced by new rules.NTCA maintained that the completeelimination of carrier-to-carrier compen-sation mechanisms would threaten the invest-ment of rural telephone companies in bothbroadband and in the basic infrastructureneeded to provide the advanced servicesthat the nation relies on for commerce, safetyand security.

“Consistent deference to the goal of universalservice suggests that reform take into consid-eration the different impact that “billand keep” or given rate levels will have onrural consumers and rural telephonecompanies,” the comments continued.NTCA pointed to data it had previously providedin the FCC proceeding, which show that a“bill and keep” regime would result in anaverage monthly increase of $22 for ruralconsumers served by rural ILECS and a similarmonthly decrease in monthly revenues perline for small companies with less than 100,000access lines.

The adverse impact of “bill and keep”goes beyond interstate revenues andincreases consumer costs, the organiza-tion added. “NTCA has shown that the impacton intrastate revenues is greater than itis on interstate revenues. For rural ILECsalone, the total annual impact of imposing“bill and keep” would be $1.139 billion at theintrastate level and $884 million at the interstatelevel.” NTCA said that while some plans commend-ably address the need to create a cost recovery

mechanism to replace revenues lost as aresult of rate restructure, no one plan submittedby other parties addresses all of NTCA’s concerns.NTCA urged the Commission to reject allbill-and-keep proposals and adopt aseparate set of interconnection rules forrural ILECs that contain, among other things,the following recommendations that willminimize the significant adverse economicimpact on rural consumers:

• Impose no new interconnection obliga-tions on rural ILECs.

• Recognize and confirm that rural ILECshave no interconnection obligationsbeyond their network boundaries.

• Require competitors that choose tointerconnect indirectly with rural ILEC networksthrough RBOC tandems or other formsof indirect interconnection to bear thecosts of transport beyond the ruralILEC’s service area. This includes any transportand third party transiting charges in eitherdirection.

• Require competitors that choose tointerconnect at distant POIs locatedwithin a rural ILEC’s network but beyondthe rural ILEC’s local calling area tobear the cost of transport beyond the ILEC’slocal calling area.

• Require that all unlabeled traffic that arrivesas access traffic on a rural ILEC networkbe billed to the carrier at the other endof the trunk group on which the trafficwas transported to the rural ILEC.

• Establish new equitable default termina-tion rates in cases where a rural ILEC does

not have an existing interconnection agreementwith the carrier responsible for thetraffic, but is able to identify the carrieroriginating the traffic.

• Require that all RBOC tandem transitingrates be cost based and tariffed toprevent abuse of market power.

• Create a non-portable rural carrier costmechanism, a residual access costrecovery mechanism (RACRM). TheRACRM would be based on embedded costand calculated by taking the rural ILEC’scurrent intercarrier compensation revenuerequirement (revenues recovered orrecoverable from existing interstate andintrastate access and reciprocal compen-sation) and subtracting out revenues collectedfrom a new unified rate, any subscriberline charges (SLC) increases, and local rateincreases. The RACRM would be recoveredfrom all providers of telecommunications,IP-enabled services and informationservices directly connected to thenetwork.

• Acknowledge that rural ILECs operate underrate-of-return regulation and structurecost recovery for these carriers accord-ingly.

• Establish a revenue neutral transition periodfor rural ILECs and their subscribers toensure that any new rules preserveuniversal service and encourage invest-ment in network infrastructure capableof delivering high quality broadband servicesin all areas of the nation.

PreviewingWhat’s NEXTPreviewingWhat’s NEXT

All communications serviceproviders — landline, wireless,cable, satellite and IP — must plan for the future while succeeding today. TELECOM '05 is the place to start.

(continued from page 1) >>

The winner of Palm Competition isLori Phipps from Marathon Commu-nications, in Washington State. Congratulations to Lori in winning a PalmOne Tungsten E personal organizer.

(continued from page 1) >>

author: Martha Silver, OPASTCO

source: NTCA

Municipal Broadband NetworksControversy Heating Up

TOP TITLE BAAR SPRING20053

3C O P P E R C O M C O N N E C T I O N S

INDUSTRY NEWS

Pannaway is a four-year-old company thatdelivers end-to-end, converged IP-basedvoice, video and data access solutions to telecomservice providers and emerging Triple Playservices providers worldwide. Today,Pannaway is unique in the voice world,providing the only “facilities-based,” SIPenabled transport solution for the deliveryof carrier-class VoIP services.

This valuable capability enables the deliveryof Primary Line VoIP and improves rate / reachfor the delivery of multi-media servicesover copper loops. The company has garnerednumerous industry accolades for its patent-pending VoIP technology including Internet

Telephony magazine’s Product-of-the-Year for2004, Communications Solutions magazine's,Product-of-the-year for 2004, Xchangemagazine's, “10 Hot Technologies” for 2004,Telecommunications magazine's, “10 CoolestCompanies” for 2005, and Gartner Group’s “CoolVendors for Network Infrastructure” for2005. Notable next-generation VoIP featuresfrom Pannaway include premise-based dialtone; support for SIP and MGCP; support fortraditional POTS features as well as advancedSIP-based calling features; and Primary LineVoIP™ for lifeline POTS with support for CALEAand E 911 calling.

During the development phase of Pannaway's

Service Convergence Network architecture,the company quickly recognized that the majorityof their IOC customers would not implementVoIP if it meant foregoing the ability to deliverlifeline POTS support, making VoIP suitablefor secondary lines only. Working veryclosely with existing customers, the companyarchitected a solution to deliver the industry'sfirst VoIP offering that is fully lifeline POTS capable,and with support for advanced SIP-based callingfeatures like distinctive ring tones, TV callerID and time-of-day call forwarding. Ifelectrical power is lost, a relay trips at the customerpremise device (CPE), automatically reroutingthe phone line directly to an upstream

device which is line powered and supports SIP-based dial tone. The Pannaway networkcontinues to deliver phone service includingE 911 calling capability to the subscriber withoutinterruption. The caller doesn’t lose any of theadvanced calling features offered by VoIP and,unlike other industry solutions, the subscriberisn’t forced to use a different phone numberwhen in lifeline mode.

Pannaway's suite of next-generation

access products, which includeIP DLCs, IP DLSAMs, IP BDLCvariants and a comprehensivesuite of call provisioningand network manage-ment tools, enables telcosto deliver managedbroadband voice, video anddata services to homes andbusinesses at a fractionof their historical costs.Pannaway's SCN leverages

today's most advanced technologies includingSIP, ADSL2+, IP from the customer premise (CPE)to the Central Office (CO) and a powerful end-to-end management system for the provisioningand trouble shooting of residential calling featuresand ADSL2+.

Carrier Management Systems, Inc. (CMSI)has been developing network managementsoftware for telephone companies for morethan 17 years. CMSI is proud to be a strategicalliance partner with CopperCom by providingnetwork solutions targeted specifically for theIOC and CLEC telephone company. Uponsuccessful completion of current interoper-ability testing at the CopperCom labs, CMSI ispoised to start providing revenue assurancein the form of the NAMS Phantom Tracker softwarethat is tailored to the CopperCom CSX switch.CMSI is a leader in the development ofnetwork management, revenue maximizationand call collection systems. In 1982, Paul Bilberry,president of CMSI, started Action Telecom – oneof the first IXC’s in Texas. Realizing howvulnerable his network was to fraudulent activityby outside sources and billing inconsistencies,NAMS (Network Analysis Management System)was created in 1988 to protect his own

network from these anomalies. NAMS was eventu-ally positioned to increase efficiency forother telephone companies by automating normallytedious and laborious tasks such as data collec-tion and search, network design and engineeringand fraud prevention. Over the last three years,application develop-ment has been focusedon revenue assuranceto stop revenue leakageand ensure revenuemaximization. CMSI's solutionsare applicable to awide range of legacyequipment throughnext-generation networksincluding both wirelineand wireless providers. The NAMS system comprisesan entire suite of software products that assistin network management, capacity planning,and customer care and revenue assurance such

as the AMA/CDR Call Collector & Mediation, AMA/CDRSearch & Reporting, Traffic & Engineering, NetPlan, Operations and Network Alarming, FraudDetection & Alarming, Tande Transit Usage Statements& Reporting, and the Phantom Tracker ™ to identify“phantom traffic.” Phantom Traffic is probably

the hottest topicin the industry today.Phantom trafficis telephone trafficthat terminatesat local exchangecarrier switcheslacking informa-tion needed forbilling (i.e. doesnot have informa-

tion that identifies the originating carrier fromwhich it came.) It is estimated that up to 20percent of terminating traffic cannot bebilled for this reason. This is costing

IOC's and CLEC'sthroughout theindustry millions ofdollars in lostaccess revenue.CMSI's PhantomTracker™ softwareinc ludes EAS,IntraLATA Toll,Common Toll, andfeature group Phantom Usage reporting anddetects call laundering on many different typesof trunk groups. A major source of abuse withinthe network is EAS terminations. Oddlyenough, it appears the abuse is one-way andstems from the large ILEC's. PhantomTracker quickly and accurately identifies longdistance traffic that is terminating over thoseEAS trunks. Breaking calls down by LATA /MTA jurisdiction so that Common Toll and IntraLATAtoll groups can be monitored, Phantom Tracker™

is also a very valuable tool for companies involvedin establishing interconnection agreementsas it accurately identifies traffic volumes fromspecific companies in both the wireline andwireless markets.

The trend of municipalities offeringbroadband networks to their respec-tive constituencies is a growing butcontroversial trend. Several highprofile examples,including the citiesof Philadelphia and San Francisco,have raised the consciousness ofboth citizens and lawmakers/regula-tors. There are compelling argumentson both sides and implications for applica-tions like VoIP.

Municipals argue that they are advocatingfor both their own economic developmentand citizens’ well being by deploying andoperating broadband networks. "Being sureour children and families can compete inthe future is a local issue," says Dianah Neff,chief information officer for the City of Philadel-phia. In smaller communities, it is much more

an issue of basic broadband access.Literally hundreds if not thousands of smallcommunities across the U.S. are either underservedor not served at all with a robust broadbandinfrastructure. Typically the incumbent providerin these underserved communities are thelarger "Bell" companies whose primary attentionand investment is devoted to larger cities.These communities argue the same spiritembodied by the independenttelco industry for decades- if no one else will serveour community, wewill.

Existing serviceproviders and someconsumer groups areopposed to the idea oflocal governmentsgetting into the

broadband service business. Serviceproviders argue that governments have unfaircompetitive advantages like free rights ofway, and reduced or no "red tape" costs.Additionally, they argue that the freemarket, not government intervention,should solve broadband availabilityproblems.Consumer groups argue that these

networks are a waste of taxpayer moneyand governments should

do what they do best (orworst, depending on your

perspective) - govern. Thiscontroversy has caught the eye

of state and national regulators,Congress, and even the Supreme

Court. There has been aflurry of legislation on stateand national levels. Most

recently, Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona)has introduced legislationsupporting the right of local govern-ments to develop and runbroadband networks. This legisla-tion is in direct opposition to legisla-tion proposed by Rep. PeteSessions (R-Texas) that would restrictor forbid them from doing the same.Both the Florida and Nebraska legislatureshave passed bills restricting municipal broadbandnetworks, and Maine just recently passeda bill authorizing them to do so. We are literally"all over the map" on this issue. TheSupreme Court has even weighed in,saying the states have authority indetermining whether municipals canprovide broadband services. While the variouspoints of view for this argument differ intheir method, everyone agrees that

broadband availability for allis a desired outcome. This argumentcertainly has implications forbroadband applications likeVoIP. For the time being,broadband and VoIP areinextricably tied together. Anymovement, private or public

sector, to increase the availability and penetra-tion of broad band will certainly impact thegrowth of VoIP. In a perfect world,underserved municipals and existingbroadband providers should find a way towork together in partnership to achieve theseadmirable goals. They should leverage thestrengths of each other to ensure citizenscan take advantage of all the benefits broadbandhas to offer.

Revenue Assurance: Using the NAMS System for the Competitive Edge

PARTNER HIGHLIGHTS

Bernardin ArnasonVP, Business Development, NTCA

GUEST COLUMN

The Plain Old Telephone ServiceGets Smarter-Thanks to SIP

Example SIP-based Advanced IP Calling Features

author: Paul Bilberry, CMSI

author: Dale Allaire, Pannaway

author: Bernardin Arnason, NTCA

EDITORIAL FEATURESPRING2005 4

4 C O P P E R C O M C O N N E C T I O N S

Unique in all the world is the famousspa in the high dessert. Unique,in that it is a city of cultural pur-suit, educational aspiration, nat-ural phenomenon, man-made engi-neering marvels, recreationalareas and home to the world’s mostrespected gambling casinos, resorthotels and lavish, star-studded enter-tainment. During TELECOM ‘05 inOctober, why not check out a fewof the many attractions Las Vegashas to offer. Here’s a taste to wetyour appetite.

SPORTING TIPS

Check Out Las Vegas!

GolfingTips

Titanic: TheArtifactExhibitionMarch 25th - October 31st at Tropicana Hotel

EltonJohn in Concert October 16th - 23rd at Caesers Palace

Mystere by Cirque Du SoleilThroughout October at Treasure Island

Although the "ship of dreams" metits demise nearly a century ago,the spirit of the Titanic and itspassengers live on through "Titanic:The Artifact Exhibition." Since then,many items from the wreckage havebeen recovered and this 25,000-square-foot exhibit features over

400 items from the Titanic, including a massive piece of the ship itself.

One of the biggest pop superstars of our time,as a singer/songwriter, Elton soon revealedhe could craft Beatlesque pop and pound outrockers with equal aplomb. He could dip intosoul and disco, as well as classic popballadry and even progressive rock. His dynamiccharisma and flamboyant stage showsmake him one of the most popular recording

artists around. Now you have an opportunity to witness this star performer in person.

Looking for some stimulation? Cirquedu Soleil will satisfy with more than youcould ever imagine at Mystère! Adven-ture into an entirely different world wherefantasies are played out in vivid colorright before your very eyes. Come, bepart of the dream! Described by the pressas “one of the most innovative and excit-ing shows to be seen anywhere.” If you’re

looking for a show, this one’s a “must see.”

October 2005Oct 9-12CompTel/Ascent ConventionOrlando World Center Marriott, Orlando, FL

Oct 10-12WSTA Fall Conference & ExhibitsRegency Suites, Green Bay, WI

Oct 12-14NYSTA/PTA Fall ConferenceBinghamton Regency Hotel,Binghamton, NY

Oct 16-18MATSS 2005Hyatt Regency Hotel, Kansas City, MO

Oct 18-20KTA-TTA Fall Conference and SupplierShowcaseHotel Sheraton, Nashville, TN

Oct 26-27USTA Telecom 2005Venetian Hotal, Las Vegas, NV

UP AND COMING EVENTS

Weight of the Bowling Ball :Go with the heaviest weight that is com-fortable! Obviously, you want to be ableto comfortably launch the ball withouthurting or straining your back at all, sodo not buy one that is too heavy to lift.On the other hand, you will have morecontrol over a ball that is not too lightfor you.

The Correct Bowling Stride:If you are right handed, step with yourright foot first as you go down the lane.End with your left foot as you releasethe ball. This will assure proper balance.If this is taking time to get used to, walkit slowly and release the ball. Practiceat home with an imaginary ball. Even-tually, you will get it, and it will be worththe practice. Some people report a high-er score of 10 pins or more just by usinga proper stride.

Improving your Aim:As you are looking at the pins, before youstart your stride, take aim. On the first ball,when all ten pins are lined up. Many peoplelook at the arrows painted on the lane ratherthan looking at the pins. There is a set of arrowspainted on the lane beyond where yourelease the ball. Look at the closest set ofarrows and pick one. Tell yourself that youjust have to get the ball to the desired arrow.Some people choose the middle arrow;while others choose one to the left or right.It will depend on how straight your ball is andwhether it curves.

Bowling Tips

Replies to be submitted bySeptember 30 , 2005. Thewinner will be notified andhigh-lighted in the next issue.Please send your replies to:The Marketing DepartmentCopperCom3600 FAU BoulevardBoca Raton, FL 33431or Fax to: 561.322.4044

SpotTheDifferenceEnter Draw to Win Mini iPods

Will you be deploying next generation technology during the next 12 months?

What are the 3 biggest drivers affecting that decision?

Simply circle the six (6) differences between theimages below and you could be one of the luckywinners of a mini iPod.

Name…………………………………………..………….………………….…………………

Company: ……....……....……....……....……....……....……....………....….……………

Title: …....……....……....……....……....……....……....……………………………………

Contact Number: ……....……....……....……....……....……....……....…….………

2005 August August 10-12Martin Group - 4th Annual TechnologyConferenceMarriott City Center , Minneapolis, MN

August 24-25MTA Annual Meeting (Montana)KwaTaqNut Resort, Polson, MT

September 2005Sept 11-14TANE Annual ConventionBalsams Grand Hotel, Dixville Notch, NH

Sept 19-22VON Fall 2005Boston Convention Center, Boston, MA

Sept 21-23TAM (Michigan) 2005 Annual ConferenceRitz Carlton, Dearborn MI

1) ......................................................................................................................................................................................................

2) .....................................................................................................................................................................................................

3) .....................................................................................................................................................................................................

http://www.coppercom.com/newsletter

CONTEST

YES NO

All trainingstarts with anassessment ofthe client'sgoals, strengths,weaknesses andunderlying lim-itations. Self-doubt, insecu-

rity, fearing failure and disapproval fromothers are common roadblocks to success.If these are present to any significant degree,they need to be addressed for specific men-tal skills training to be maximally effective.The ability to stay calm under pressure andto handle adversity is the hallmark of peakperformers. Learning how to quiet the mind

and to be clear headed in difficult situa-tions. These are the people who you wantto be at bat with 2 outs in the 9th inningand the winning run at the plate. They areconfident, focused, determined and poised.

They have learned how to block outunwanted thoughts, distractions and fears.

Often times, what separates the good fromthe great are not so much physical skillsin sport or technical skills in business, but

underlying attitudes and beliefs and corevalues associated with excellence. Cham-pions love success but keep a healthy bal-ance for the things that are important inlife. They work hard but find time to

unwind, relax and enjoy family and friends.They hate losing, but they never fear it. Theyview difficult situations as challenges tobe overcome rather than to shy away from.They take reasonable risks and learn from

mistakes andfailures. Mentally tough individuals care whatothers think but aren't controlled by it. Theyare willing to make difficult decisions andstand up for what they believe. They don't

base their self worth solely on whatthey accomplish, or what othersthink about them. This allowsthem to be good team players. Theydon't need to be the star, they assistothers where and when they canso that the team succeeds. When

they goof up, they accept their fallibilityand the blame without making excuses orlooking for scapegoats.

Imagery is another key mental skill sharedby top athletes and business executives.

They literally have a "vision" or picture intheir mind as to how they want to performin specific situations. Goal setting is a veryimportant mental skill.

Mentally tough people are excellent onfocusing on "process" goals rather thanoutcome goals. In golf, the great Tiger Woodsafter winning another major tournamentwhen asked about what his goals were forthe future didn't reply in terms of money,ranking, future titles or records, rather heanswered, " I hope I can improve my playby 10% each year I continue to be on thetour."

In summary, mental skills can lead to peakperformers both on and off the field.

TOP TITLE BAAR SPRING20055

5C O P P E R C O M C O N N E C T I O N S

THE WORLD OUTSIDE

S

Remember the BasicsThere are five principles to remem-ber and the most important is tohit the ball into play. Afterwardsyou need to learn to place the balleither cross court or down the line.Your next goal should be to hit withdepth to pin your opponents backand on the defensive. Developingspin on your groundstrokes for control and to create angles fol-lows. The last element is power, but don't look to introduce powerbefore you have mastered direction, depthand spin.

How to Hit a Drive Volley:Usually played around the service line areaoff a falling ball. It should be struck in frontof the body around shoulder height; thelower you let it drop, the harder it is to play.It's quite easy to learn because it's just anabridged version of a ground stroke, butthe timing can be a little tricky at first. It's best to aim crosscourt to give yourself more margin for error.

Getting Ready for the Lob:Many club-level players find it dif-ficult to play against the lob becausethey position themselves too closeto the net. To counter this you shouldtake up a ready position roughly halfwaybetween the service line and the netand try to anticipate when your oppo-nent is most likely to lob. For exam-ple, they might not be able to hitan agressive backhand pass, leav-ing the lob as their only option. Soyou know if you approch to their back-hand, not to charge in too close.

Fly LineTips

In this section we'll be regularly featuring many of our customers’ outside sport-ing interests and will help to address many of the problems that they encounterin their pursuit of excellence. In this issue, we look at tips in bowling and tennis.

TennisTips

Whether you are a weekend warrior trying to manage thepressure of a putt for a birdie or a "corporate" athlete look-ing to close a sale or manage a difficult client, your mentaland emotional skills usually determine how successfully you perform. In this article, we consider a few of the key mental and emotional strategies that can be applied on the field and in the corporate setting.

The Influence of BRANDINGConsider some of the world's great brands; Coca Cola, General Electric, Ford andMicrosoft. All are powerful names that are recognized and aggressively managed aspotent business tools. Their corporate leadership understands that a powerful corpo-rate brand can weather crises more easily, slow market share erosion and rallyemployees. Powerful brands influence customer preference and strengthen the bot-tom line, yet for many companies, the brand remains an uncultivated business asset.

Mental Toughness: In Sport and Business

Goal setting is a very important mental skill.Mentally tough people are excellent on focusingon “process” goals rather than outcome goals.

Branding, very much a buzzword today, isoften confused with “corporate identity”or “corporate image.” They actually havedifferent meanings: Corporate Identityrefers to a company's name, logo, its visu-al expression or its “look.” Corporateimage is the public's perception of a com-pany, whether that perception is intendedor not. Corporate branding, by contrast, isa business process, one that is planned, strate-gically focused and integrated throughoutthe organization. Branding establishes the

direction, leadership, clarity of purpose, inspi-ration and energy for the company's mostimportant asset, its corporate brand.

Would a re-appraisal of your brand paydividends in the future? Managing yourcorporate brand isn't just a communicationissue, it is a leadership issue. Effectiveand strategic support of a corporate brandcan make it easier for your company todo business, provide critical market dif-ferentia tion and have a direct effect onfinancial performance.

Today, you must clearly communicate yourstory to a host of audiences, including cus-tomers, investors, prospective customers,suppliers and not forgetting, employees!A strong, relevant brand can help you con-nect with all your key audiences. A brandwith high recognition and a favorable rep-utation can have far-reaching business ben-efits, internally and externally.

What does your corporate brand say to your customers?What does it mean to your employees? Would you get thesame answer? Would it even be the one you expected? ?

�Branding is not about getting your targets to choose youover your competition. Branding is about getting your prospectsto see you as the only solution to their problem.

� If the branding is wrong, so is everything else.

� Advertising grabs their minds, branding grabs theirhearts. Build from your strengths. If you can't articulateit, neither can anyone else.

� The stronger your brand, the less susceptible you are topricing issues and competition.

� On the web, if you don't get them on the first page, youdon't get them at all.

� Advertising is not branding. Branding is branding.Advertising raises awareness of the brand you create.

� Just because you've heard about it doesn't mean it's wellbranded. Branding and awareness is not the same thing.

� The smaller your budget is, the stronger your brandmust be.

Thoughts on BRANDING to ponder

Author Dr. Robert HellerPsychologist and PerformanceEnhancement Specialist

Based in Boca Raton,Florida, he is the authorof numerous articles inthe sports and businessworld, including “Manag-ing Your Stress” and“Mental Toughness.”

author: Jeremy Phillips

NEXT GENERATION MADE SIMPLESPRING2005 6

6 C O P P E R C O M C O N N E C T I O N S

A History of GatewayControl Protocols

Existing protocols targeted to specificmedia (SS7, X.25, etc.), lacked the flexibil-ity to adapt and satisfy the needs of theother media or meet the anticipatedneeds of future multimedia services.Today, the benefits of NGN are expectedto materialize as the capabilities of the newSession Initiation Protocol (SIP) are fullyexploited.

SIP is a peer-to-peer signaling proto-col defined for setting up, managing andterminating any type of call across IP-basedpacket networks. SIP defines two basic enti-ties, User Agents and Proxy Servers. Theformer consists of software implement-ed in customerequipment such asIP phones, confer-ence or messagingsystems, PCs, etc., andare responsible forinitiating and terminatinga session. For exam-ple, a user agent maybe john.taylor@cop-percom.com or15613224000. ProxyServers are respon-sible for routing SIPmessages from theoriginating useragent to the desti-nation user agent andthus, set up the session. Proxy Servers mayalso perform a variety of additional func-tions such as, upgrade user agent address-es, modify addresses of user agents whensetting up a call, or even maintain controland participate in the call. Terms such asRedirect Server, Registrar and Back-to-backUser Agent refer to proxies with some ofthose specific capabilities.

To bridge the IP and the TDM networks,SIP requires the use of a “gateway,” a devicewhich is able to translate SIP signaling intoTDM signaling such as the SS7 signalingFurthermore, SIP provides significant flex-ibility to make available to IP phone sub-scribers the variety of features and serv-

ices available to TDM subscribers. Indeed,numerous SIP related standards, which addresssome of these specific services needs, havebeen adopted by the IETF. For example, calltransfer, third party call control, confer-ence calls, overlap signaling, can be imple-mented using SIP as the session protocol.SIP is also very useful in interfacingtelephony and web pages, hence allowingnew sources of revenues for serviceproviders.

The simplicity of SIP makes it extreme-ly attractive. The diagram below shows howSIP establishes a session between two IPphone subscribers. SIP is a request-

response protocol that extends the Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), the lan-guage of the World Wide Web pages.

SIP “rides” on top of the IP transport lay-ers, and therefore UDP, TCP or SCTP are usedfor the transport of SIP messages. And SIPleaves it to other protocols to address areassuch as QoS, security, etc., associated withthe session.

Ultimately, by bridging classic telepho-ny services and the Internet, SIP is the bestsession protocol capable of both mergingall dedicated networks and opening the doorto a new set of multimedia services and capa-bilities now possible with the NGN.

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Where did MGCP come from?As early as 1998, attendees of the SS7 session at the 42nd Internet

Engineering Task Force (IETF) meeting held in Chicago, realizedthat a signaling and control protocol was needed in order to easilyintegrate emerging voice over IP network equipment with the PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN). There were nearly 200 peopleat that working group meeting from companies ranging from chipcompanies to carriers, to vendors, to ISPs. They were beginningto converge on an “agreed standard.” One which would ultimatelybecame known as Request for Comment (RFC) 2705 – MGCP (MediaGateway Control Protocol). Key contributors included Ike Elliotfrom Level-3, who had been working on this issue. He suggestedInternet Protocol Device Control (IPDC), which was a suite of protocolshandling functions like backhaul, connection control, media control,and device management. Others from Bellcore suggested variantsor modifications like SimpleGateway Control Protocol(SGCP). Additionalstandards groups suchas the European Telecom-munications StandardsInstitute (ETSI) and the International Telecommunications Union(ITU) brought other proposals into discussion. MGCP became thefusion of the IPDC and SGCP concepts.The following proposal emerged: a) Have a working group specifically focusing on device controlsignaling (i.e., IPDC, SGCP, and resource control)b) All groups should work from a common document on architec-ture & requirements, including performance requirements and qualityof service.

Where did H.248 and MEGACOcome from?As the IETF continued the development of MGCP, a competing protocol,

MDCP, offered by the ITU solved some of the MGCP shortcomings.MDCP was getting more acceptance by the ITU, than the IETF protocol.With the push by the ITU for more changes, the IETF began workingon a compromise protocol called MEGACO that resulted in a firstdraft in March ’99. From this draft the ITU developed the standardH.248. Eventually a consensus was reached between the ITU andIETF with the H.248 and MEGACO (RFC 3015) becoming a single protocolknown under both names Further, a new MGCP revision (RFC 3435)later arrived replacing the original RFC 2705.

What are the differencesbetween them?

With the brief history provided above, it should be evident thatthe protocols would be very similar. The protocols have matchingor complimentary commands; both use (Session Description Protocol)

SDP for negotiating media sessions;both support real-time deliveryof digit maps between MGC andMG; and both protocols maybe extended to support

additional signaling needs (example: Line and CAS signaling packages). Differences between the protocols exist but are not limited to

MG startup handling, MGC Failure handling, MG Switchoverhandling, methods of extensibility, security and most significantlyconnection management.

The conclusionThe conclusion is that work on key underpinnings for Voice overIP have been going on since the mid to late 1990’s and the fruitsof that work are now beginning to emerge. Softswitch vendors arecomfortable that signaling protocols like MGCP and H.248 havebeen accepted and are being built into access gateways and trunkinggateways. Access vendors are working with softswitch vendorsto ensure that interoperability is complete since some access vendorschose MGCP and some chose H.248.

NEXT GENERATION PROTOCOLS

NGN was lacking a flexible communications protocolfor establishing a session or, using TDM terminolo-gy, setting up a call, between subscribers, independentof the media associated with the call.

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Once all the talking was over, it was generally agreed that the separation of the “hardware/line card” portion of a central officeswitch (i.e., the "media gateway") from the Call Agent/Feature was required. The Media Gateway provides an end-to-end path for digitizedvoice, as well as interfaces to the PSTN and IP networks. The Call Agent supports call routing, security, billing, signaling and all theother customer and operational functions. This architecture also requires the use of a protocol for the two formerly combined functions(in legacy switches) but now separate (in softswitches) to communicate. Likewise, it was established that Access Equipment in thenetwork (like Broadband Loop Carriers) would need a protocol to allow that equipment to be told what to do by the feature server inthe central office.

That’s how the definition of a “Media Gateway Control Protocol” began. Simply put, the protocol allows the control of a gatewayby a Call Agent Function. Control can mean something as simple as, “In order to complete a call – connect Port A to Port B.”

MGCP, MEGACO / H.248 are examples of Media Gateway Control Protocols and we will examine how they are related and where theycame from.

Author: Steve Shusta, CopperCom

FEATURED QUESTION

Simply put, the protocol allows thecontrol of a gateway by a Call Agent Function.

WhySIP?SIP?

TOPICAL FEATURES SPRING20057

7C O P P E R C O M C O N N E C T I O N S

The U.S.-based survey(1) was conductedby independent market research firm InsightExpress, on behalf of SupportSoft Inc., aprovider of Real-Time Service Management(RTSM TM) software. Cable broadband andDSL subscribers were interviewed aboutthe customer service they receive fromtheir current service provider, and theirdesire for combined voice, video and high-speed data services from a single provider.

82% of broadband users surveyedexpressed interest in receiving triple playservices from one provider. Of thoseinterested in receiving all three servicesfrom one provider, the reason most oftencited was that it would be "more conven-

ient overall ”followed by” one bill to payfor all three services," indicating thatconvenience is a key factor in switching providersto receive combined voice, video andhigh-speed data services.

When asked aboutwhether they feltcustomer servicewould change ifthey received tripleplay services fromone provider, 37%thought it would“improve” or “improvesignificantly,” while17.5% thought it

would get worse. Yet, despite expectationsfor improved customer service with tripleplay delivery from a single service provider,both cable and DSL high-speed datacustomers expect problems when installing

VoIP or IPTV. A full6 8 % o f c a b l ebroadband customersanticipate somesort of issue wheninstalling VoIP, while60% of DSL subscribersexpect to encounterproblems duringIPTV installation.

Further, more than

two-thirds of broadband users are unsureor wrong about how VoIP and IPTV serviceswill be installed. These results suggest thatservice providers should consider customerservice as a competitive advantage to attractand retain new customers by ensuring problem-free installation and ongoing, reliableservice.

“The survey findings indicate that thereis an opportunity for both DSL and cable providersto gain competitive advantage by meetingor exceeding customer expectations fortriple play service and convenience, startingat the point of installation,” said ChrisGrejtak, senior vice president of products andmarketing for SupportSoft. “More than justa competitive advantage, customer serviceis a critical requirement in combined IP-basedvoice, video and high-speed data delivery.” -SOURCE: June 2005 CRM Today

Triple Play Heats-UpCompetition BetweenU.S. Cable Providers and Telcos

CopperCom’sView

A 2005 survey among U.S. broadband sub-scribers indicates that desire for triple playservices from one service provider is likelyto increase competition between cableproviders and telecommunications companies.

Triple play is an important offeringfor many service providers for a primaryreason: Bundling, bundling voice, dataand video into a packaged serviceoffering leads to service stickinessand helps the local service providerbrand themselves as the communi-cations hub of their community.CopperCom has worked with manycarriers on delivering services likecaller ID to the TV, a popularoffering, by leveraging the flexibilityof the CopperCom CSX next-gen switch.

The deployment of equipment will bea part of Connect Rural Iowa, a multi-year,multimillion-dollar initiative announced lastyear by Iowa Telecom.

The agreement also represents amove into the Tier-1 carrier space byCopperCom. Deployment begins immedi-ately.

The CopperCom CSX next-genswitch will enable Iowa Telecom to providerevenue-generating, next-generation servicesto its business and residential customers.Key to Iowa Telecom’s decision to chooseCopperCom’s CSX is the softswitch’s abilityto be deployed in a highly redundant packet-based host remote configuration. Iowa Telecom,the largest local telephone companyserving rural Iowa, offers local and long-distance telephone service, Internet andbroadband access. The carrier servesover 265,000 access lines in 440 communi-ties with 294 telephone exchanges across

the state.Iowa Telecom purchased its network from

GTE five years ago, and immediatelybegan to implement plans to improve the

quality and reliability of telephone serviceas well as provide extensive high-speedInternet services throughout its servicearea. Replacing legacy switches is an element

of the ongoing evolution of Iowa Telecom’snetwork.

“CopperCom is a valued partner in ourplans to prepare the IowaTelecom network for the future,”said Dennis Kilburg, vicepresident of engineering at IowaTelecom. “We evaluated many vendors, and

CopperCom best met our needs.CopperCom’s product reputation, product

performance and commitment toservice and partnership spokefor themselves.”Kilburg added that Iowa Telecomespecially appreciated CopperCom’s

rigorous interoperability testing,which ensures that two or more communi-

cation systems within Iowa Telecom’s networkwill operate effectively when connectedtogether.

“Iowa Telecom is one of the larger andmore visionary IOCs in the nation,” said Michael

J. Myers, president and CEO of CopperCom.“We believe our track record of replacingnearly all legacy switch types, combined

with the field perform-ance of our switch and ourstrong financial standingas part of a $2.5 billion company,

gave Iowa Telecom great confidence.CopperCom looks forward to working in partner-ship with Iowa Telecom to achieve its visionof providing more advanced voice and dataservices to the citizens of Iowa.”"CopperCom’s ongoing success in servingthe IOC market is highlighted by this majorwin," said Kevin Mitchell, directing analyst,Infonetics Research. “Iowa Telecom isone of the largest independent carriers andits selection of the CopperCom CSX clearlyindicates that its field performance,scalability and legacy feature sets are secondto none.”

CopperCom Selected by Iowa Telecomfor Next-Generation SwitchingCopperCom has announced a large, multi-year, general purchase agreement with Iowa Telecom (NYSE: IWA). CopperComConverged Switching eXchange (CSX®) next-generation switches will replace some of Iowa Telecom’s legacy switches.

CopperCom CSX deployment in the State of Iowa

Upper Peninsula Telephone Company, Inc. (UPTC) have been able to seam-lessly migrate its host-remote networks to next-generation IP communi-cations by deploying a Converged Switching eXchange (CSX®) next-gen-eration switch. Upper Peninsula Telephone serves more than 7,200 customers

in both the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. With plans to replace up to 17legacy switches, the initial installation calls for deployment of the CopperCom CSXinto seven locations in a host-remote configuration. The host-remote configurationwill allow Upper Peninsula Telephone to offer its customers a full set of residentialCLASS, Business Services and IP Services.

Ringgold Telephone Company (RTC), a nearly 100-year old local exchangecarrier in Northwest Georgia, has deployed CopperCom's ConvergedSwitching eXchange (CSX®) next-generation switch. The CopperComsoftswitch enables RTC to provide revenue-generating next-generation voice,

data and video services to its 14,000 subscribers. RTC, established in 1912, has con-sistently improved and deployed the latest and most affordable technology in its net-work, and its dedication to customer service is well-known throughout its service area.

British Telecom (BT) Conferencing Inc. has selected the CopperComCSX® next-generation switch to add sophisticated Class 4 call routing andtrunking, as well as advanced calling features to its high-volume confer-

encing services. BT Conferencing, the U.S.-based subsidiary of BT Retail, BT's consumerand business-facing organization, is one of the industry’s most progressive and fastestgrowing providers of audio, Web and video conferencing services.

According to Telephony Online,SUPERCOMM 2005 was the “trade showwhere convergence finally moved beyondbuzzword status.” Here’s a quick overviewof some key trends:• Video: Applications of video stole the show,

as nearly every exhibitor showed some

type of video capability.• Triple-Play Deployments: Examples of

residential services deployments were alsorampant, indicating that residentialTriple-Play services are catching on.

• IP Multimedia Sub-Systems (IMS): Ifthere was any buzzword this year, it was

IMS, referring to the service infrastruc-ture based on the Session Initiation Protocol(SIP). IMS defines a generic architec-ture that will offer VoIP and other multimediaservices within both wireline andwireless applications.

INSIDE COPPERCOMSPRING2005 8

8 C O P P E R C O M C O N N E C T I O N S

Significant NewBusiness Wins

SUMMER 2005

EDITORIAL STAFF

Chuck Harris, CopperComCarol Heller, CopperCom

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Dale Allaire, Bernardin Arnason, Paul Bilberry, Stephen Cannon,

Dr. Robert Heller, Jeremy Phillips,Steve Shusta, Martha Silver

PRODUCED BY

Freelance Marketing International

GRAPHIC DESIGN BY

Steve Majeski forMazMetz, Inc.

CONTACT ADDRESS

Marketing Dept.CopperCom, Inc.3600 FAU Blvd

Boca Raton, FL 33431

MAIN PHONE

(561) 322-4000

WEB ADDRESS

www.coppercom.com

EMAIL ADDRESS

cheller@coppercom.com

If you would like to make contact with CopperCom to discuss your next-generation switching needs,please contact the sales department at 561.322.4000 or info@coppercom.com

C O P P E R C O M

C O N N E C T I O N S

Name: Mark Coleman Position: Project ManagerIN THE SPOTLIGHT

CopperCom has produced a video that provides a compre-hensive outline of the company, its products and marketperception. For further information, please emailinfo@coppercom.com.

Job Role at CopperCom? Manage thedeployment of CSX Certification andCommissioning services.

Why I joined CopperCom? I was a trial andfield support manager for ProximCorporation. CopperCom gave me theopportunity to get back into the fast mov-ing and familiar world of telecom.

What three things would you like to takeonto a desert island?My PC, cell phone, and the latest PIN num-ber for the next conference call.

Favorite films?Man with Two Brains because of SteveMartin and a very clever plot.

Worst Film?Joe and the Volcano. Should have beenfunny, but ended up rather silly. Tom Hankscertainly improved following that film.

Favorite food?I truly enjoy cooking and fancy myself achef of sorts. Favorite food, anything Imake, mostly Mediterranean, and beefdishes.

Favorite drink?Beer

Favorite vacation destination?Anyplace with my wife and family.

Favorite pastimes?Watching my sons playing the sport ofthe moment, my daughter dancing.Fishing, golfing, Dad stuff, with theexception of mowing the yard.

Who would you most like to invite todinner?Steve Martin. He has talent going wayback - he even wrote for the “SmothersBrothers Show.”

CopperComLaunchesCorporateVideo

At Supercomm 2005, CopperCom announced 3 signifi-cant deals with major telecommunication companies; UpperPeninsula Telephone Company, Ringgold TelephoneCompany and British Telecom Conferencing.

IP Multimedia Dominates SuperComm 2005

IP Multimedia Dominates SuperComm 2005

With a record number of attendees, SUPERCOMM 2005 wasan impressive venue for the discussion of trends, issues, productsand the communications industry.

Co p p e r Co mannounced thatManuel Vexlerhas joined the com-

pany as chief technology officer. Well knownfor his expertise in Voice over Internet Pro-tocol (VoIP) and converged packet servic-es, Vexler brings more than 25 years of expe-rience in networking and telecommunica-

tions to his role as the company’s top tech-nology strategist. In his new role, Vexler willwork with the CopperCom team to furtherthe technology vision for CopperCom’snext-generation softswitch products in sup-port of service providers.

Vexler joins CopperCom from the IPCC (pre-viously known as the International SoftswitchConsortium), the industry’s technology

forum working to advance Voice over Inter-net Protocol (VoIP) over broadband cable,wireless, and wireline. As vice president ofmarketing at IPCC, Vexler led marketing andstrategy development, as well as advised ontechnology and architectural issues. For thelast three years, Vexler also chaired the SIPForum Service Providers Working Group.

IPCC Executive and SIP Forum Service Providers WorkingGroup Chair Manuel Vexler brings years of expertise inSIP, VoIP and converged IP services to CopperCom

Manuel VexlerCoppercom’s incoming CTO

CopperCom NamesSoftSwitch and VoIPVisionary As CTO

PlasmaTVWinnerMikeMillerNorth Dakota Telephone Company