HP unveils telecom triple-play software

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) Wednesday announced a new software product and a multimedia service designed to help telecommunications providers move to the all-digital networks needed to offer voice, data and multimedia services on the Internet.

The two new products will help carriers provide the so-called "triple-play" of services: voice, video and data, HP said. Pricing wasn't immediately available.

HP announced a software-based media server, the HP OpenCall Media Platform Media Resource Function (MRF), designed to support advanced multimedia and interactive services in Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) networks, the company said in a press release. IMS is an emerging next-generation networking architecture designed for VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) and multimedia services.

HP, based in Palo Alto, California, also announced a new service called Mobile MusicSharing. HP has partnered with Movial and Ubiquity Software to provide the service, which will allow mobile users to join a conference call, listen to their favorite music and talk about it at the same time, in a secure system with digital copyright protections built in, HP said.

The HP OpenCall Media Platform, already deployed, has now been expanded to incorporate the MRF capability in IMS networks. Current and planned capabilities include audio and voice services, video mail, video conferencing, and music sharing, HP said.

The HP OpenCall Media Platform MRF can support the real-time, simultaneous blending of voice, data and multimedia services on IMS networks, HP said. For example, wireless users can create an audio or video conference and share photos and messages.