Table Of Content

j. _ _BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS 3:55: 1..-, Q Q E J Q f E ENGINEERING Includedin this Issue fig Integratingthe Internet with the 91 »’ mI VoiceTelephoneNetwork ~mun“‘ Callscape 114W“ CTIfor the SmallBusiness th HMS _, A How ‘Smart’ Can WeGet?‑ Technology andBusiness Opportunities for Smart Cards A - ;' _ 1 & 0 } ...... aé-niFk\x.‘nm“-Pfi‘ Afl“ “03. BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS ENGINEERING Contents vor.15 l PAHT4 I JANUARY1997 Editorial:Welcometo OurNewReaders 289 BillMills Perspectives IntegratingtheInternetwiththeVoiceTelephoneNetwork 290 FredBriggs ComputerTelephony Integration Callscape 293 ComputerTelephonyIntegrationfortheSmallBusiness GrahamHillson,ChrisHardcastleandMarcAllinglon OperationalSupportSystems WorkManager 300 GerryGarwood AServiceSystemforBT’sMajorCustomers 309 PaulWhite Telecommunications in the213t Century Superhighway...Supergridlock? 315 ChrisGibbings,DaveNewson,IanHenning,JeremyBarnes,DavePrattandPeterCochrane AdvocatingaManagedOpticalPlatform 322 EwartLoweandIanHawker ProcessEngineering UsingSoftwareAgentsforBusinessProcessManagement 326 PaulO’Brien,MarkWiegand,BrianOdgers,ChristosVoudourisandDonaldJudge Makingit Happen ChristmasinBT’sNetworkManagementCentre 334 StephenMorganandGrahamBarratt HumanFactors Learningto ‘WorkSmarter’inaVirtualBusiness 340 RogerMarlinandPeterHornsby How‘Smart’CanWeGet? 346 TechnologyandBusinessOpportunitiesforSmartCardsintheAgeof Electronic Commerce MikeArnavutian Organisational Learning 356 Earlydaysinachangeprocess MickCope WorkplaceAssessmentforNationalVocationalQualifications 363 AlanMartin RegularFeatures pcochrane®btlabs 369 BookReviews 370,BTNews 372,IndustryNews 374, IBTEContacts insideBackCover BoardofEditors ChairmanBillMills,M.A.,C.ENG.,M,I.E.E. ManagingEditorPaulNichols,a.sc. SecretaryLesBrand,M.ENG.,M.B.A.,D.I.C. TreasurerDenisTaylor,F.C.M.A. AssistantEditorRichardKemp,B.SC.,C.ENG.,M.I.E.E.; RogerBlake,C.ENG.,M.I.MECH.E.; GavinCosta,C.ENG.,M.l.E.E.; MartinEvans,B.SC.,PH.D.; WarwickFlury; DavidGreenop,B.SC.,M.sc.; PeterHowell,B.SC.,C.ENG.,M.I.E.E.,M.C.l.B.S.E,M.lO.M.; MurrayTrantor,B.SC.,C.ENG.,F.I.E.E.,D.M.S.,M,|.MGT.; KeithWard,C.ENG.,F.l.E.E.,M.I.MGT.; DavidWhite,M.I.P.D.,M.B.I.M.,L.I.A.A. BritishTelecommunicationsEngineeringJournal,PostPoint6012,8‐10GreshamStreet,LondonECZV7AG ISSN0262-401X GUESTEDlTORlAL BillMills Welcome to Our New Readers This issueofthe Journal marks asignificant stagein the evolutionofthe new IBTE.LastNovember,thefirstConferenceofthenew,combinedIBTE tookthe keydecisiontodistributetheJournal,togetherwithitsassociatedStructured InformationProgramme(SIP),toallFullMembersasoneoftheuniversalrange ofbenefitsofmembership.Thisissueisthefirsttobedistributedin thisway.It is therefore withgreat pleasurethat I welcome morethan4500new IBTE Memberstothese publications andI trust that you will draw increasing benefit fromthem. Ouraimistoprovideyouwithinformationaboutdevelopmentsandtrends withinourdynamicandrapidlychangingindustryOurobjectiveistoincrease yourknowledgeandprofessionalismandequipyouwithasetoftransferable skillsandbackgroundexpertisetoenableyoutobesuccessfulwithintelecommu‑ nicationsanditsrelatedfields. In eachquarterlyeditionoftheJournalyouwillfindanumberofhigh-quality readablearticlescoveringawiderangeoftechnicalandbusinessissues,together withnewsandothertopicalitemsrelatingtoBTandthewidertelecommunica‑ tionsindustry.YouwillfindthatmuchoftheJournalcontentisdividedinto ‘themes’,wherebyaseriesofarticlesononeparticulartopicisspreadacross Our aim is to severaleditions.ThemescurrentlybeingplannedincludetheInternet,Multime‑ diaCommunications,OpticalDevelopments,BroadbandandExternalPlantand provideyou with Practices. ProfessorPeterCochranealsocontributesaregularcolumnintendedto in ormation about stimulateyouintothinkingabouttheawesomepossibilitiesofthefuture. TheSIPisIBTE’svaluablereferenceworkontelecommunications.It isa developments and partworkthathasbeenbuildingoverseveralyears.UnitsfortheSIPareissued withtheJournal.Its16chapterscovereverythingfromtheMarkettoNetworks, trends within our fromCustomerInteractiontoFutureTrends.Newreaderscanpurchaseback issuesoftheSIP,butit isalsoourintentiontoreissueearlierunits,astheyare dynamic and revised,withfutureeditionsoftheJournalsothatnewreaderscangradually builduptheirfullcollections. rapidly changing Anotherimportantdevelopmentisourplantoprovideinformationsupporting peopleundergoingtelecommunicationsNationalVocationalQualifications industry. (NVQs).Anumberofarticleshavealreadybeenpublishedprovidingbackground informationaboutthenatureandstructureofNVQsandweintendtocontinue andextendthistheme,aswellasprovidingtypicalsamplesofevidenceto assessors. Weareendeavouringtoprovidepublicationsthatareattractive,informative andofrealbenefittoMembers.WithMemberscomingfromsuchabroadrangeof disciplines,thisisachallengingtask,butachallengewearedeterminedtotackle withvigour;andwithyourhelp.TheBoardofEditorswouldthereforebevery keento hearfromanyonewhohassuggestionsfortopicsthattheyfeelshouldbe includedorindeedanysuggestionsforimprovement.Equally,theywouldbe interestedtohearfromanyreaderwishingtoofferanarticleforpublication. PleasewritetotheManagingEditor,PostPointG012,8‐10GreshamStreet, LondonECZV7AG,[email protected] theIBTEHelpLineon01713568008. BillMills chairman,IBTEBoardofEditors BritishTelecommunicationsEngineering,Vol.15,Jan.1997 289 PERSPECTIVES FredBriggs Integrating t h e Internet w i t h the Voice Telephone Network Continuingthe Journal’s A USHistory Lesson seriesof ‘Perspectives’ Imagineatechnologythattrans‑ formsthewayyouliveandwork articles,FredBriggs, rightbeforeyoureyes.Picturea ChiefEngineeringOfficer globalnetworkthatdeliverscontent fasterthanyou’veeverdreamed, of MCI,discusses the usingthemostadvancedtechnology availablein theworld.Atechnology emergenceof Internet thatcreatesavastarrayofnew marketsandproducts,andcangivea telephony andexamines businessanationalpresence, virtuallyovernight. the opportunities it No,I’mnottalkingabouttele‑ phonenetworks,oreventheInternet. brings. I’mactuallylookingbacktothe 18603,whenthefirstUSnetwork wasbeingconstructedmile-by-mile FredBriggsChiefEngineeringOfficer acrossthisyoungnationfromsteel ofMCI,ChiefTechnology Ofiicerof railsandwoodenties.Thenew Concert networkwastherailroad,andif you were‘on-line’in Chicago,Illinois, theInternet.TrafficonMCI’s yourbusinessexperiencedphenom‑ Internetfibre-opticbackbonenet‑ enalgrowth.Butif thetechnology workisgrowingatamonthlypaceof passedyouby,asin Ibmbstone, 15percent,asnearly350terabytes Arizona,yourbusinesswitheredand permonthofdataflowat speedsof died.ThisisaUShistorylessontobe 622Mbit/s. sure,butonewithglobalimplica‑ Oncedrivenbythetelephone, tions.It isalessonwecannotafford demandfornetworkcapacityisnow toforgetaswemoveintothenew determinedbytherapidproliferation millenniumandaswecontinuethe offaxmachinesandcomputer historicmergerofBTandMCI. modems,asmoreandmorecompa‑ niesfigureouthowtodobusinesson Growthof the Internet theInternetandontheirprivate intranets.Wecurrentlyprojectthat, In theUSandaroundtheworld,the justaftertheyear2000,theInternet telecommunicationsindustryis willrivalthetelephonynetworkin experiencingthesamephenomenal sizeandscope. forceofchangetodaythatour It wasjustadecadeagoin the predecessorsexperiencedin the UnitedStatesthatthebreak-upof 1800swiththeadventoftherail‑ theworld’slargestmonopoly road‐onlythestakesaremuch launchedarevolutionin thetelecom‑ higherandhavegrowntoglobal municationsindustry,bringing proportions.Insteadofshipping greaterchoicesandlowerpricesto cattleacrossthecountryin weeks consumers,whilesparkingwavesof downrailroadtracks,wearecarrying unprecedentedtechnologicalinnova‑ dataaroundtheworldin secondsvia tions. 290 BritishIblecommunicationsEngineering,Vol.15,Jan.1997 PERSPECTIVES Emergence of Internet communicateusingtheIP network website.Clickingavoicebuttonon Telephony withthesameeaseastheydotoday thesite,theycouldbedirectlylinked viathetelephonenetwork.Consum‑ toamortgagecounsellorwhocould 'Ibdayasecondrevolutionisathand, erswillbeabletosendandreceive assistwithfillingoutaloanapplica‑ astheInternetevolvesfroma informationusingcomputers, tion.Withanotherclick,arealestate curiosityintoavaluablebusiness traditionaltelephonesoracombina‑ agentcouldtakethosesamehome tool. tionofthetwo,viacable-data buyersonavirtualtourofavailable Aswebegintoconsiderhowbest modems,asymmetricdigitalsub‑ propertiesin theirpricerange. tolinktheInternetandtheswitched scriberloop(ADSL)andevenwire‑ Aneditorcouldsplicetapeforthe networkinwaysthatwillbringan lessservice.We’llsoonbeoffering eveningnewsin fullviewofa excitingarrayofhighlyadvanced consumersservicesthatusedtobe producerlocatedin anewsroom broadbandservicesdirectlyintothe seenonlyin sciencefictionmovies. thousandsofmilesaway.Atravelling homeandworkplace,Internet-based Therearemanytechnological executivecouldchecke-mailwhile telephonyhasemergedasoneofthe hurdlestoovercome,anduntilthe returningtelephonecallsfromher mostintriguingtechnologiesand qualityofInternettelephony hotelroom.Multicasting,video perhapsthelogicalnextstep. improvessignificantly,thevast conferencing,anddocumentsharing Internettelephony,ofcourse,involves majorityofbusinessesandconsumers allbecomeeasierthroughtheuseof thetransmissionofvoicetrafficover willcontinuetopickupthefamiliar Internet-enabledcommunication. theInternet(packetswitched telephonewhentheyneedtoringup Internet-basedapplicationswill network)asopposedtothetradi‑ someonedownthestreet‐oraround makeuseofthevoicenetworkby tionalswitchedtelephonenetwork. theworld.Thereareabout660mil‑ puttingitsservicesundersoftware Thegrowinginterestin thisapplica‑ lionconventionaltelephoneline control. tionissimplyasymptomofalarger terminationsworldwide,comparedto Andjustasthepersonalcomputer phenomenon:adesiretousethe about13millionInternethosts,and hasmovedfromthebusinessintothe home,consumerswillwantaccessto Internet telephony will create new thesehigh-speed,broadbandservices 24-hoursaday.High-speedtechnolo‑ value-added services that will drive gieslikeADSL,thatoncerequired fibre,willnowdelivercommunication new business and new markets capacityoverthetwistedcopperpair. Speedsin excessof50Mbit/shave Internetforafullsuiteofintegrated 54millionglobalInternetusers. beenachievedoverdistancesof servicesincludingvoicetelephony, Plainly,theInternethassome 1000feetontwistedcopperpair. ‘radio’broadcasting,networkvideo, distancetogobeforeit isaswidely Suchspeedswillbringinteractive interactivemulti-partycomputer deployedasthetelephonenetwork. servicesofallkindswithinthe games,andahostofothercomputer‑ Butmoreimportantly,webelieve economicreachofhomesandsmall mediatedapplications. thatthewidevarietyofbusiness offices,helpingto acceleratethe applicationsmadepossiblevia numberofpeoplewhotelecommute. ExcitingOpportunities Internettelephonywillcreatenew Thegoodnewsforproponentsof value-addedservicesthatwilldrive Internet-switchnettechnology isthat Internettelephonywillfueldemand newbusinessandnewmarkets.And bythebeginningofthenextcentury, forthecreationofcomplementary webelieveInternettelephonywill useoftheInternetwillbeascommon products,evolvingin amanner complementandaddvaluetoour asthetelephonesystem.Formost similartocellularandpaging. existingvoiceanddataproducts. people,usingthemultimediaapplica‑ Butthat’sjustthebeginning.As Internettelephonycouldbeused, tionsviatheIntemetandthe thelinescontinuetoblurbetween forexample,in acompany’scustomer switchednetworkwillbeanexten‑ computersandtelephones,broadcast servicecentre.Acustomerservice sionofatechnologythatis alreadya andtelephony,longdistanceand representativewouldbeabletotalk familiarpartoftheirdailylives. localcalling,theintegratedswitched tothecustomerwhilebotharealso andInternetprotocol(IP)networks interactingwiththeircomputers‑ Issues willplayakeyrole,bringingus withouttheneedforseparate closertoatimewhencommunication telephoneandcomputeraccesslines. Clearly,manyissuesmustbe becomesseamlessacrossallmedia, Thetechnologywouldbesimilarly resolvedbeforethesetwopowerful revolutionisingthewaywedo usefulin otherbusinesssettings.A networkscanbetrulylinked. business.Weenvisagethedaywhen prospectivehomebuyermight Currenttechnology doesn’tbring consumersandbusinesseswill researchmortgageratesonalender’s userstheclear,crisp,readilyavail‑ BritishTeleconmiunicationsEngineering,Vol.15,Jan. 1997 291 PERSPECTIVES ablecommunicationtheyenjoyvia accessservice,providingconnections Biography theswitchedtelephonenetwork.The in nearly60countries. Internetcapacitytocarryreal-time ThroughConcertInternetPlus FredBriggsistheChiefEngineering servicesin quantitywilldependon (CIP),announcedin June 1996,MCI OfficerofMCICommunicationsCorp. someseriousupgradesin itsimple‑ andBTarecreatingthefirstglobally Theengineeringdivisionencom‑ mentation(requiringnewfeaturesin managedIPnetwork,providing passessuchkeyareasasnetwork routers)andin itstotalcapacity.In businesseswithconsistentperform‑ systemsengineering,globalnetwork mostcases,Internet‘phonecalls’ ancestandards,enablingcompanies services,strategicaccountsengineer‑ mustbearrangedin advanceand toutilisetheInternetasavirtual ing,networksystemsdevelopment, stillmusttakeplaceviapersonal privateglobalnetworkfor applica‑ intelligentservicesplatform,wireless computersequippedwithspecialised tionssuchasgroupware,messaging engineering,networkarchitecture software.Interoperabilitystandards andelectroniccommerce.CIPoffers andotheradvancedtechnology.When amongvendorsandserviceproviders high-speeddedicatedaccessupto theBT/MCImergeriscomplete,he willplayakeyrolein thesuccessof 45Mbit/stotheConcertbackbone willbecometheChiefTechnology thismediumandarestilltobe fromlocationsaroundtheworld,and Officerofthenewcompany,Concert developed.Commondatabasesthat willincreasetheoverallinternational Communications.Hebeganhis canoperateusingeitherauniform capacityoftoday’sInternetby30per careeratMCIin 1983withthe resourcelocator(URL)or atradi‑ cent.ThroughCIP,MCIandBTwill InternationalNetworkPlanning tionaltelephonenumberwouldbea continuetobuildtheworld’smost organisation,andin 1984directed keyelementtoatrulyintegrated technologicallyadvancedcommunica‑ theoperationsdepartmentofWest‑ network. tionnetworkandtakeadvantageof ernUnionInternational.Later,he Thereareotherissuesthatmustbe thefunctionalcomminglingof wasnamedVice-PresidentofData faced.Howwellwillthecurrentfibre‑ conventionalvoiceservicesand ServicesforMCIInternational, optic-basedInternetbackbones,such Internet-basedapplications. responsibleforinternationalmessag‑ astheonesoperatedbyMCIandBT, ingandprivate-lineservices.Most handlethenewsurgeoftraffic?It is Conclusion recently,heservedasVice-President clearthatastrafficgrowsonthe ofDataServicesEngineering,and Internet,backboneproviderswillhave Asin thepast,thewinnersin the thenseniorVicePresidentofNet‑ toboostcapacitywhileutilisingnew newtelecommunicationserawillbe workServicesEngineering.Before technologiestoachievereal‐time thosewhograspthenewopportuni‑ joiningMCI,heheldoperations Internetservice.TheInternet’s tiesit creates,toremakethemselves managementandengineering demandforbandwidthisgrowingfar andtheirbusinesses,totakeadvan‑ positionswithAT&TandMobil fasterthantheswitchedtelephone tageofnewwaystoaugmentolder ChemicalCompanyrespectively.He network.MCIhasbeguntaking servicesandtodiscovernewservices servedin theUSNavyasanengi‑ necessarysteps,recentlyupgrading notachievablein thepast,through neeringofficeronboardnuclear itsInternetoptical-fibrebackboneto thecombiningofthetraditionalwith submarines,qualifyingasChief 00-12,or622Mbit/s,aswemake modernmethods. NuclearEngineer.Heholdsa readyforthenextwaveofInternet Thechoicesthatvendors,IT BachelorofSciencedegreein Electri‑ applications.Increasesto00-48 managers,andbusinessesmake,as calEngineeeringfromOregonState (24Gbit/s)andbeyondwillbe weenteranewmillennium,willbe University. requiredoverthenextfewyears. crucialto theirsuccess.Theymust Therearealsomanyregulatory carefullyconsiderif theirdecisions uncertainties.WillInternettele‑ willresultin askyscrapingmonu‑ phonyandtherestoftheInternet menttothefutureoratombstone enjoyfreedomfromgovernmental commemoratingthepast. interference,orwilltheentrepre‑ neurialspiritoftheInternetulti‑ matelybestifledbyrestrictive regulatorymeasures,asadvocatedby someofourcompetitorsin theUS andabroad? MCIand BT MCIisalreadytheleadingUScarrier ofcommercialinternationalInternet 292 BritishTelecommunicationsEngineering,Vol.15,Jan.1997 COMPUTERTELEPHONYINTEGRATION GrahamHillson, ChrisHardcastleandMarcAllington Callscape Computer Telephony Integration for the Small Business BTSCallscapeproduct Introduction integratesa basicrange TheJuly1995issueofBritish lblecommunicationsEngineering PSTNLINE of telephonyfeatures with CONNECTION introducedthethemeofcomputer CALLSCAPE HARDWARE anIBMcompatiblePC. telephonyintegration(CTI)1.The articlediscussedthekeytypesof ASSOCIATEO This articleexamines the CTI,includingdesk-topintegration, TELEPHONE PBX-basedintegrationandnetwork‑ POWER supprv features oftheproduct basedintegration.Desk-topintegra‑ tionisthetermusedwhena Figure1‐Callscapeconnection andthephilosophy computerapplicationislinkedviaa arrangement physicalinterfaceatthedesktoptoa behinditsdesign.It singletelephoneand/orexchange timed-breakrecallsignalstotheline. line.Thistypeofintegrationisalso Thesoftware,suppliedonseveral describes the hardware knownasfirst-partyCTI,asthe floppydisks,consistsoftheapplication andsoftwaresystems, applicationhasthesameviewofthe itselfandseveralothercomponents networkasthetelephoneit replaces. neededtosupportCallscape’sfeatures andcloses bylookingat ThisarticledescribesBT’s anddifferentversionsofWmdows. Callscape‐anexampleofdesktop TheminimumPCspecification futuredevelopments. integrationrealisedusingtheexternal requiredtorunCallscapeisa4868X telephoneinterfaceapproachdis‑ 25MHzprocessorwith8Mbyte cussedintheoriginalarticle. random-accessmemory(RAM), runningWindows3.1orabove.The ProductOverview applicationrequires8Mbyteofhard diskspace.Figure1showsthe Callscape’sdesignintegratesabasic generalconnectionarrangements. rangeoftelephonyfeatureswithan IBMcompatiblePCmeetinga Features definedperformancespecification. Thekeyfeatureoftheproductis General supportoftheCallerDisplayservice; Callscaperunsin thebackground thisenablesthePCtodisplay modewhileproductivitysoftwaresuch informationaboutthecallerbefore aswordprocessorsandspreadsheets thecallis answered. runin theforeground.Theapplication Theproductconsistsoftwomain maybesettoopenautomatically elements:thehardwareandthe whenthehandsetoftheassociated software.Thehardwareinterfacesthe telephoneisliftedorwhenanincom‑ PCtothetelephonelineandprovidesa ingcallarrives.AswithanyWindows socketfortheconnectionofany application,Callscapecanalsobe standardtelephone.Thehardwarehas openedatanytimebyclickingitsicon. arangeofdetectioncircuitstoenable theapplicationtoknowwhatis Directoryandquickdial lists happeningontheline,andcansend Callscapefeaturesalargedirectory, dual-tonemultifi'equency(DTMF)and whichholdsnameandnumber BritishTelecommunicationsEngineering,Vol.15,Jan.1997 293 COMPUTERTELEPHONYINTEGRATION Figure2‐Callscapecasedesign informationaboutthecustomer’s contacts.In addition,userscancreate multiplequickdialliststogrouptheir contactslogicallyunderuser-defined headings.Callscapeincludespre‑ programmedquickdiallistsforthe mostcommonlyusedBTnationaland internationalservicenumbers. Caller Display ThekeybenefitofCallscapeisthe wayinwhichit handlesincoming calls.Callscapedetectsanincoming answered.Thisinformationallows businessesandhome-officemarkets. callbythearrivalofaCallerDisplay userstomanagetheircallsandto Easeofinstallationandusewere message;thisin turncauses returnthoseleftunanswered. consideredtobetwokeyrequire‑ Callscapetoscreenpopdetailsabout mentsthatwouldenabletheproduct thecaller.If theCallerDisplay Outgoing calls tosuccessfullyaddressthechosen messagecontainsthenumberofthe CallscapesupportsDTMFsignalling markets.Althoughtheserequire‑ caller,thenumberandgeographical andtimed-breakrecallonly.This mentsaresimplecommon-sense locationaredisplayed.At thesame provides100%compatibilitywiththe statements,theygreatlyinfluenced time,Callscapesearchesthroughits publicswitchedtelephonenetwork thedirectiontakenbythedesign. directorylookingforamatching (PSTN),aswellaswithmostPBXs Asdiscussedin theoriginalarticle entryandif oneisfoundalsodisplays thatsupporttwo-wireequipment. intheJuly1995issueofBritish thedetailsofthecaller’snameand Callsmaybedirectlydialledfromthe llalecommunicationsEngineeringl, company.Ifinformationaboutthe associatedtelephone,fromthePC thehardwarecouldhavebeen callerhasbeenstoredfromprevious keyboardorfromthedialkeysshown implementedin severalways.These telephonecallsusingtheCallscape ontheapplication,althoughit is includeaPC-hostedtelephonycard, notesfacility,thenthisinformationis expectedthatmostuserswillusethe dataconnectionfromatelephoneand availableinstantly,evenbeforethe sophisticateddirectoryandquickdial atelephoneinterfaceunit.Anyone useranswersthecall,bypressingthe featurestodialfrommemory. whohasinstalledasoundcardin a Notesbutton. PCwillknowthattheinstallationof Importingdata aPC-hostedtelephonycardislikely SelectServicesand Callscapecanimportdatafrom tocauseseveredifficultyformany Featureline externaldatabasesintoitsdirectory, customers.Therefore,althoughthis Callscapesupportsmostcurrent andcanalsosaveitsdirectoryin methodwouldhaveofferedmany SelectServices,suchasdivertand formatssuitableforusebyother advantages,it wasrejected.It was remindercall,whichhavecommon databases.Callscapealsosupports decidedtoimplementthehardware exchangeenablingcodes.Aset-up OpenDatabaseConnectivity(ODBC), usingtheexternal-interfaceapproach screenoptionallowstheuserto whichallowsit tousedatafrom ratherthanatelephone-based customiseCallscapetoshowonlythe remotedatabases. approach,asthisenabledcustomers servicestowhichthecustomer tousethetelephonesthatgavethem subscribes.WhereCallscapeis Powering thefeaturestheyrequiredand, connectedtoFeatureline,thebuttons TbenableCallscapetocontinuetolog importantly,keptthecostdown.The normallyusedforSelectServicescan callswhenthePCisswitchedoff,the hardwarecasingwasdesignedto bereconfiguredfordirectaccessto hardwaremoduleisseparately reflectmodernBTtelephonedesign, Featurelinefacilities. poweredbyaplug-toptransformer. andhasseveraldesignfeatures,such Detailsoflineactivityarestoredin asthewavyloudspeakergrill,readily Calls log thehardware’smemoryandauto‑ associatedwithBTproducts.The Thecallslogkeepsarecordofall maticallydownloadedtotheapplica‑ casecolourisintendedtoharmonise incomingandoutgoingcallsmade tionthenexttimeit isopened. withthecoloursusedonmost fromeitherCallscapeortheassoci‑ businessPCs.Asocketwasincluded atedtelephone.In additiontothe DesignPhilosophy in thecaseforconnectingtheassoci‑ nameandnumberdetails,each atedtelephone,anddirectlycon‑ recordin theloggivesthetime,date Fromtheoutset,Callscapewas nectedcableswereusedforthePC anddurationofthecall,andforan designedtobeavolumeproduct andlinecordconnections.Figure2 incomingcallwhetherthecallwas addressingtheneedsofsmall showsCallscape’scasedesign. 294 BritishTklecommunicationsEngineering,Vol.15,Jan.1997 COMPUTERTELEPHONYINTEGRATION Figure3‐MainCallscapewindow CaHscape application flindow Help ‑ Callscape AlthoughCallscapeprovidesa rangeofsophisticatedfeatures,and - [NE-rn‘aat-Izl‘nrlg[acid-iii:Icnind] amm controlofcomplexSelectServices,it wasimperativethatthefeatures wereaccessedin alogicalandeasily understoodway,thatencouragedthe Q E D . @‑ usertoexploretheproductWithout recoursetocomplexuserdocumenta‑ C ® ® tion.Additionally,althoughthe productoperateswithinastandard mi 1“ | Windowsenvironment,it hadtobe ( E O E ) givenalookandfeelthatcould readilybeassociatedwiththeBT brand.Thewayin whichthese requirementsweremetarediscussed in thefollowingsection. UserInteractionDesign It wouldhavebeenrelativelyeasyto shapesusestwobitmaps,onefor subscribetothisservice.Aset-up designCallscape’suserinterface theUPpositionandoneforthe screenshownoninitialinstallation,or usingstandardWindowscontrolsand DOWNposition.Thetextonthe fromthemenuatothertimes,allows colours.However,thiswouldhave buttonswascarefullyeditedto thecustomertotellCallscapetowhich resultedin adesignthatlookedlike ensuremaximumclarity. serviceshe/shesubscribes.Callscape anyotherWindowsinterface,and automaticallyarrangesthepositionsof wouldnotbereadilyassociatedwith 0 Thegraphicsuse256coloursfroma thefeaturebuttonsandstatusbased theBTbrand.’IbhelpBTrealiseits non-standardpaletteratherthan onthisinformation. requirements,acompanywas the16coloursusedbystandard Figure4showsthedialoguebox appointedtoinvestigatethedesign Wmdowsapplications.Thisenabled thatappearswhentheReminderCall options,andtomodelthechosen thehigh-qualitybackground keyispressed.Thisenablesthe optionsothatBTcouldconfirm graphic,depictingatelephone,tobe customertoset,checkandcancel customeracceptabilitybeforethereal designed.Sixteen-colourbitmaps remindersusingthe12houror24 designworkcommenced. areprovidedforPCsthatdonot hourclock,withoutneedingto Initially,threedesignoptionswere support256colours. rememberanyoftheSelectServices considered,andeachofthesewas codes.Whenthecustomerpressesone modelledonastoryboardtoseehow 0 Separatebackgroundpicturesare ofthekeys,Callscapeautomatically theywouldappearonaPC.The usedforthemainfunctionkeysto seizesthelineanddialstheenabling optionchosenusedthemetaphorofa indicatethefunctionalityofthekey. codeforthefeature;theusercan telephoneforthedesign,asit wasfelt confirmthattheservicehasre‑ thatit wouldenableuserstoquickly Figure3alsoillustratesanimpor‑ spondedcorrectlybylisteningtothe feelcomfortablewiththeproduct.The tantconceptusedin thedesign‑ exchangevoicepromptsthrough developmentofthisconceptwas contextsensitivity.Thefeaturekeys Callscape’scall-progressmonitor.The continuedusingMicrosofiVisual andotherfunctionsof Basic,andvariousoptionswere Callscapeareshownonly Figure4‐Dialogueboxforsettingremindercall experimentedandtesteduntilthe if thefeaturecontrolledby finaldesignwasagreed. thatkeyisavailable. ReminderCall Figure3showsthemainWindow Figure3alsoshowsthe ofCallscape,andshowsseveralofthe 3-WayCallkeygreyedout. Singlecall keyfeaturesofthedesignthathelp Thistellsthecustomer theproductreflecttheBTbrand: that,althoughCallscape 0 am.0 pm.(ii24hr hasthisparticularfeatln'e, 0 Thebuttonshapesreflectthose it isunavailableatthis usedin BT’stelephoneranges, timebecauseeither ratherthanthenormalrectangu‑ Callscapeisnotinthe larshapesusedin Windows correctphaseofcallset-up, applications.Eachofthebutton orthecustomerdoesnot BritishTelecommunicationsEngineering,Vol.15,Jan.1997 295 COMPUTERTELEPHONYINTEGRATION ReminderCalldialogueboxistypical reducecost,themicrocontrolleris Asshownin Figure6,Callscape ofthewayinwhichCallscapecontrols mask-programmedduringthemanu‑ providesacurrentwettingpulsejust SelectServices,andeachoftheother facturingprocesswiththecodeneeded aftertheTASisreceived.The servicescontrolledisthrougha torunthehardware. purposeofthispulseistoclearany similaruser-friendlydialogue. high-resistancepathsin theconnec‑ CallscapeprovidesafullHelp Universalasynchronous tion,toimprovethereliabilityof menuandbubblehelpinthefamiliar receivertransmitter (UART) messagedetection. Windowsstyle.Aninteractive AstandardUARTintegratedcircuit tutorialwalksusersthroughtheuse (IC)interfacesthehardwaretothe Detectionof associated ofthemainfeaturesandset‐up RS232portofthePC.Thisconverts telephone off-hook condition facilities.Thistutorialcanalsobeset thevoltagesusedWithinthehard‑ and signalling information torunautomaticallyforusein a waretothevoltagesrequiredbythe Thetelephoneoff-hookdetection retailenvironment. RS232standardandprovidesserial‑ circuitdetectsthechangeinvoltage to-parallelconversion. at Callscape’sterminalswhenthe HardwareDesign associatedtelephoneistakenoff‑ Detectionof CallerDisplay hook.Thedetectionofthiseventcan Thehardwareisrelativelystraight‑ messages beusedtoopentheapplicationfrom forwardandmakesuseofoff-the‑ Thelinereversaldetector,tonealert itsminimisedmode.Certainfea‑ shelfintegratedcircuitswhere signal(TAS)detectorandV.23 turesanddelaysbuiltintothe possible.Thehardwaremeetsboth detectorarerequiredforthedetection circuitandcontrollingsoftware thestatutoryUK approvalrequire‑ ofaCallerDisplaymessage.Figure6 preventfalsetriggering.Astandard mentsandanyenhancedinternal showsthesequenceofsignalsinvolved DTMFreceivercircuitdetectsthe standardswhereconsideredappro‑ inthedeliveryofaCallerDisplay outwardsignallingfromtheassoci‑ priate.Somekeyperformanceareas message.AlltheCallerDisplay atedtelephone,sothattheinforma‑ areoutsideofthescopeofthe detectioncircuitsarerealisedusinga tioncanbeechoedonCallscape’s statutmyapprovalrequirements standardintegratedcircuitfrom feedbackscreenandenteredintothe however,andthesearedesigned Mitel. calllog. againstBT’sowninternalstandards. Examplesofthesearetheoff-hook Figure5‐ Callscapehardware detectionoftheassociatedtelephone, andthesurgeprotectioncircuitsbuilt TELEPHONEOFF-HOOK intothehardware.Figure5showsa DETECTOR blockdiagramofthehardware. DTMF/TOR Exchangelineinterface DETECTOR Thelineinterfacecircuitensures thattheunitpresentsthecorrectDC v.23DETECTOR conditionstoseizethelineproperly, andthecorrectACconditionsto matchthecircuittothelineand TASDETECTOR exchangeimpedances.Theline interfacecircuitalsoincludeshigh‑ UNEREVERSAI. voltagesurgeprotection,which DETECTOR protectsCallscapefromvoltage surgesthatcoulddamageitscircuits. T0 TO PSTNLINE MIGROCONTROLLER PCRSZSZ SOCKET SOCKET Microcontroller Astande8bitmicrocontrollerisused tocontrolthesignallingoutputofthe DTMFIRECALL MEMORY hardware,andtomanagethevarious SENDER detectioncircuitsthatreceiveinforma‑ tionfromtheline.Themicrocontroller alsomanagesthecommunicationtothe SWITCHING R8232portofthePC.Onekilobyteof FOR TELEPHONE SOCKETFOR RAMstoresinformationaboutline I ASSOClATED TELEPHONE activitywhenthePCisturnedoff. Tb 296 BritishTblecommunicationsEngineering,Vol.15,Jan.1997