June 24, 2004: Melbourne’s CityLink® electronic toll road has deployed TDM over IP (TDMoIP®) technology from RAD Data Communications to deliver emergency voice services over an Ethernet-enabled ATM backbone.

RAD’s IPmux-1 TDMoIP gateway solutions replace IBM equipment that provided a private voice circuit over ATM. The compact IPmux-1, in contrast, converts E1 voice traffic from CityLink’s key system into IP packets for transport over the ATM Ethernet LAN (ELAN). IPmux units at the remote ends of the ELAN convert the packets back into TDM, creating clear channels for voice. “The IPmux units have provided trouble-free connectivity,” reports Andrew Gary Butler, CityLink’s Support Engineer. More...

A Simple Alternative to VoIP

TDMoIP is a transport technology that transparently and economically emulates TDM voice, video or data circuits across all packet-switched networks. A simple alternative to VoIP, TDMoIP protects investment in legacy telephony systems while providing a smooth, built-in migration path to IP, Ethernet and MPLS networks. “The main reason we selected the IPmux is that it will enable us to easily migrate from our current IBM ATM backbone to a Gigabit Ethernet backbone when we decide to do so,” Butler explains.

CityLink, a 22-kilometer-long urban motorway, is the first fully electronic tollway in Australia and is one of only three in the world. CityLink has no toll plazas and no traffic bottlenecks, since drivers never have to slow down to pay tolls. Instead, a sophisticated tracking system collects all tolls electronically as drivers pass underneath an overhead gantry. The result is fast, safe and stress-free travel. CityLink features several systems to ensure traveler safety, including closed-circuit TV cameras that constantly monitor tunnels, automatic incident and fire detection systems, emergency telephones, communications systems and fire-fighting equipment. “The successful completion of CityLink changed the face of the transport system in Melbourne and transformed toll road travel into an ‘open-road’ experience,” Butler adds.

“TDMoIP users like CityLink can benefit from the advantages of packet-switched networks while, at the same time, continue to use their existing TDM equipment, such as the telephone system,” said Udi Furman, General Manager, RAD Data Australia. “These companies can then migrate to an all-IP network when it is financially advantageous for them to do so, or when existing equipment has been written off.”

RAD’s IPmux solution was supplied to CityLink by Paclink, an authorized RAD distributor in Australia.