911-Inc. Helps Students Learn Next-Generation Telecom at the Illinois Institute of Technology
Students at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Wheaton campus are studying the latest technologies in commercial phone systems thanks to a collaboration between Colorado-based 911-Inc. and IIT. The company donated a Mediant 1000 Gateway and SIP phones to the University’s nationally known VoIP lab, and sponsored an internship program at the university. This effort was highlighted by a conference held at IIT’s Wheaton campus. Chuck Hunnicutt, a Bell Labs pioneer in Digital Switching systems, presented at IIT’s VOIP symposium on behalf of 911-Inc.
According to Sudhir Bijanki, Director of Research and Development for 911-Inc., the partnership got started at an IEEE meeting, where he met IIT’s Professor Carol Davis. “When she mentioned that some very talented students were looking for work, we were interested right away,” explained Bijanki. He approached 911-Inc.’s CEO, Allen Amis, about funding an internship program, and Amis decided to donate the phone equipment as well. Amis said the choice was simple, because “Supporting higher education is an important investment in the future of public safety.”
One of the first breakthroughs came when students used the new equipment to successfully demonstrate video over SIP technology. Already the technology of choice for voice calls, SIP is a highly scalable protocol that makes it much easier to send all types of multimedia over a standard IP network. 911-Inc. is using SIP to implement the NENA i3 specification in their products. The company plans to continue working with IIT, including presenting at their next VOIP conference.