Sylantro to offer voice services for Wi-Fi, WiMax

BOSTON — Sylantro Systems Corp. announced a rash of collaboration agreements at the VON Conference Tuesday, putting soft-switch application server functionality into the heart of both Wi-Fi and WiMax networks.

Sylantro also disclosed its first hosting deal with Microsoft, where the Redmond, Wash., software giant will offer hosted versions of its Exchange, Live Communication Server, and SharePoint software, merging them with Sylantro's voice application feature server.

An undisclosed partner of Sylantro for its Wireless Virtual PBX is Nokia, who has worked to enhance the Synergo PBX product to its new 4.1 version introduced at VON. Ron Raffensperger, senior vice president of marketing at Sylantro, said the new version allows transparent integration of handsets into corporate PBX services. Synergy also can allow full call handoff between cellular and voice over Wi-Fi networks now, using only the software in the application server. Raffensperger said that as long as a handset supports SIP protocols for both cellular and Wi-Fi, it will not need to have dedicated client software for initiating handoffs.

Frank Salm, senior product marketing director at Sylantro, said that one of the biggest emerging opportunities for his company is Wi-Max. In Pakistan, Sylantro has worked with Motorola in offering an IMS layer on top of Wi-Max services. Sylantro chief executive Pete Bonee added that wireless IMS services represent a good opportunity to expand the company's previous wireline-oriented business.

In China Mobile's networks in China, for example, Sylantro is partnering with equipment manufacturers in five of eight bids.