Today is the first day of the Supercomm tradeshow in Chicago. Nortel CVAS is there (in booth 2120) and we've issued a number of press releases at the show. I'll be posting updates around our news and activity at the show today and tomorrow.

We announced hardware and software enhancements to our CS 2000 carrier IP softswitch. These enhancements include a new hardware platform, called the CS 2000a, which boosts service providers capacity in a smaller footprint, provides up to a 70 percent reduction in footprint and a 50 percent power savings compared to currently available platform options. It also lets service providers handle peak call periods more efficiently because it supports call capacity in excess of 5 million Busy Hour Call Attempts (BHCA). The software enhancements allow service providers to deliver a wide variety of new SIP business applications. See the press release here.

We introduced a new session-aware media gateway (called BCMG 1000) that helps service providers tackle challenges associated with expanding their VoIP networks. According to Jeremy Duke, an industry expert and top analyst at Synergy Research, As VoIP and multimedia solutions and applications have become more widely deployed, service providers need help addressing IP media impairments that have become more prevalent in their multi-access networks. This creates an emerging market for session aware media gateways like Nortel's BCMG 1000, which helps service providers to deliver communications across multiple IP networks and improve network quality, security and reliability. See complete press release here.

We announced new enhancements to our Carrier-Hosted Call Center solution that decrease business expenses because they eliminate the need for hiring or replacing high-priced IT expertise. According to Donna Fluss, President of DMG Consulting, the hosted contact center infrastructure market will grow by 30 percent, 35 percent, and 20 percent each year from 2009 to 2011 respectively, as cited in DMG's annual Hosted Contact Center Infrastructure Market Report, released in September, 2009. See press release here.

And, we issued an announcement about some of our consumer voice and multimedia solutions that help service providers compete with services offered by "over-the-top" Internet providers. These include a Web Portal that lets subscribers conveniently access features via the web from a secure portal offered by their carrier; Mobile Extension that utilizes Bluetooth and SIP capabilities to instruct the network to ring the subscriber's landline if their mobile device is in range; and an Entertainment Communications and Convergence application that lets subscribers make calls, view call logs, and send and receive Instant Messages from their TV using their remote control. See that press release here.