Taqua Moves Some Softswitches

RICHARDSON, Texas -- Taqua, Inc., a leading provider of next-generation voice switching systems and technologies, today announced Kaleva Telephone has purchased four iX7000 next-generation Class 5 packet softswitches to replace its legacy Siemens DCO network, while Pennsylvania Telephone has purchased an iX7000 and Taqua's Courier voice mail system to cap and replace a Nortel DMS-10.

Kaleva, Michigan-based Kaleva Telephone Company has been serving subscribers located in the Kaleva, Brethren, Wellston and Dublin areas of Manistee County for over fifty years. One of the four iX7000s purchased is being used as the host switch in the Kaleva exchange, while the Brethren, Wellston, and Dublin exchanges will each have an iX7000 operating as a remote switch.

"We looked at upgrading our Siemens network, but in the end it would have required wholesale changes that just didn't make sense for us economically" said Jon Cribbs, first vice president of Kaleva Telephone." "Using Taqua's iX7000 next-generation Class 5 packet softswitches has allowed us to economically achieve local number portability (LNP) and CALEA compliance, and at the same time use GR303 with our DSLAMs, which will provide higher bandwidths for our DSL subscriber base. Another important aspect is the user-friendly nature of the iX7000. The GUI-based provisioning system is simply easier to use than anything we have encountered."

Oval, Pennsylvania-based Pennsylvania Telephone Company was founded in 1909 and has served the primarily residential communities surrounding Oval, located between Jersey Shore and Williamsport. Pennsylvania Telephone Company has been using a Nortel DMS-10, but choose Taqua's iX7000 and Courier voice mail system to cap and eventually replace the DMS-10 in an effort to reduce operating costs, provide enhanced services, and meet LNP and CALEA compliance.

"We chose the iX7000 because it is a full-featured next-generation Class 5 with low operational costs and a compact footprint," said Mary Davis, general manager of Pennsylvania Telephone Company. "We have already moved all of the voice mail customers, along with the Long Distance and Extended Area Service traffic over to the iX7000. We evaluated a variety of voice mail systems and choose Taqua's Courier voice mail because it contained all the features our subscribers wanted, with a slick, easy to use interface."

Taqua Inc.