Cisco to release wireless IP telephone terminals in Japan

(2003.06.3)

Cisco Wireless IP Phone 7920

Mr. Hideo Oogane, manager of Marketing Advanced Technology Headquarters, was in charge of describing the 7920

In July, Cisco Systems will start selling wireless IP telephone terminals “Cisco Wireless IP Phone 7920” in Japan. The product is targeted for corporate use and is available at a listed price of 85,000 Yen for the phone, and 21,000 Yen for the license fee. It will be exhibited at “CiscoWave 2003” which will be held on June 5th and 6th in Tokyo.

The 7920 was already launched in the United States by Cisco Systems U.S., and was shown at “NetWorld+ Interop Las Vegas 2003” which was held in Las Vegas. In a wireless environment supporting IEEE 802.11b, the phone can be used to make outside and internal calls.

In terms of features, it is equivalent to the “7960G” IP phone terminal, and works in conjunction with the Cisco Aironet series wireless LAN access points, and the Cisco CallManager phone system. For these reasons, the 7920 cannot be used from public wireless LAN services for the time being, but there are plans to make such kind of phone calls possible in the future.

G.711a, G.711u, and G.729a are used as audio-compression coder-decoders, and Cisco’s original SCCP (Skinny Client Control Protocol) is used as call control protocol rather than SIP (Session Initiation Protocol). Cisco Wireless IP Phone 7920 includes standard features such as directory, caller display, redial, vibrate as well as features oriented for office use such as call transfer, and three-way calling. For the first release, English, French, and German will be supported, with Japanese planned to become available.

In terms of security, 40/128 bit WEP is supported as well as Cisco’s original authentication protocol “LEAP (Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol)”, and IEEE 802.1x. According to Cisco, “the best possible level of security is assured”. IEEE 802.1q VLAN functions and SNMP functions are also available.

The 7920’s size is 53.3 x 25.4 x 132.1mm (Width x Depth x Height), and its weight is 136g. It has a 128 x 80 pixel monochrome liquid crystal display. With a standard battery, continuous talk time is 3.5 hours, and standby time is 21 hours. With an extended battery, continuous talk time is 4.25 hours and standby time is 30 hours.

Listed price for the 7920 is 85,000 Yen, and the license fee of Call Manager is 21,000 Yen per phone. As for the accessories, a battery charger costs 14,000 Yen, a set including the 7920 set-up utility and a USB cable costs 50,000 Yen, and an extended battery is available at 14,000 Yen. The battery charger has an USBx1 port, making it possible to charge up from a USB port. The next model of 7920 will have a USB port on its body, and there are plans to support recharging from the USB port.

At the presentation venue, demonstrations were shown using the 7920 to make internal calls as well as to receive calls from a cellular phone. Cisco has introduced a wireless LAN environment and IP phones in all its offices, so the demonstration was in fact like a display of real life inside Cisco offices. The extension numbers assigned to the 7920 can be used in the same manner by all Cisco offices around the world including Japan, a characteristic of its portability.

The Cisco Wireless IP Phone 7920 will be marketed for business use by people working on the field away from their own desk, or for emergency situations at the workplace. The most significant difference with in-house PHS systems is that “features equivalent to IP phones found on a desk can be loaded onto the 7920”, and it was stressed that the 7920 can be used in conjunction with other IP applications.

The 7920 is set up on a battery charger. Top left is the ñíenuíþkey, top right is the directory and ñâackíþkeys	The 7920 held in hand.
Comparison with a PHS terminal ñËX-HV210î¼/span>	Depth comparison. It is almost the same as a PHS terminal folded down.
The first layer of the menu. It is displayed in tab style.	The second layer of the menu. The battery symbol is shown on the top left. The antenna symbol which is shown on the top right is different from what is used on Japanese cellular phones.
Wireless LAN set-up can be made directly from the phone as well as by using the utility function on a PC.	The back of the battery charger has a USB port.

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