NexTone, started in 1998, recently announced its partnership with Cognitronics to build application infrastructure for next generation networks. Cognitronics also joined NexTone's partnership program to ensure interoperability between the NexTone Application Switch and the Cognitronics CX Network Media Server.

Mr Sharma says he is in a sector poised to burgeon. Research company Gartner Group estimates the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) packet industry to grow to around $50 billion in the next five years. "Seventy per cent of that (the VoIP market) is going to be value-added services of the kind NexTone provides," said Mr Sharma.

The NexTone Application Switch is a platform that provides the policy-based call routing and signaling interworking needed to deploy applications in an on-net IP environment while also interoperating with softswitch and media gateway platforms for off-Net calls to and from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The Cognitronics CX Network Media Servers provide the full range of standard network announcements. The CX Network Media Server provides the sophistication needed to create customized announcements for greater user personalization and mobility, NexTone declares.

The Cognitronics Exchange (CX) Series is the next generation of high performance Network Media Servers designed to meet the full range of network voice announcement and media services delivery needs. CX Series products are designed to operate in both traditional circuit switched and packet networks. This enables carriers to continue to utilize their TDM switched networks while moving quickly and easily to advanced features offered by IP and ATM networks.

IANS