(InternetWeek)-An IP videoconferencing platform to be released later this spring by Ezenia Inc.?could form the foundation of a new managed service from BellSouth Corp.?Ezenia's Encounter 3000 videoconferencing system is a browser- configurable platform capable of supporting as many as 16 simultaneous sessions and up to 128 video users per session, said Arthur Souza, Ezenia's vice president of marketing.?Those capacities are dramatically higher than supported by the current 1.2 version of Encounter.?BellSouth is evaluating Encounter 3000 as part of a long-range analysis of how it intends to deliver additional IP services, said John Goldman, a communications manager for the telephone company.?"We want to see how this platform could fit into our future network," said Goldman.?BellSouth's current videoconference services portfolio doesn't use IP as a foundation.?"That's one reason why we are considering this--to see how we might deploy additional IP-based services." Encounter 3000 has four components: an NT-powered server that supports group multimedia conferencing for both H.323 clients and telephone participants; a gateway that enables legacy videoconferencing systems to mesh with IP conferencing; a gatekeeper; and a Web-based interface allowing users to schedule and manage conferences.
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