Company Profile | January 22, 2001

Teltone Corporation

Source: Teltone Corporation
At Teltone's core is a remarkable depth of telecom network expertise acquired from over 30 years in the telecommunications marketplace. Today we are focused on developing high-value software solutions that capitalize on emerging trends in business and society, such as the virtual workplace, the proliferation of the Internet, and the convergence of voice and data networks. In September 2000 Teltone was consolidated into two separate business segments.

Remote Voice Segment

Solutions for Call Centers and Other Corporate Enterprises

Companies are realizing the benefits of locating their knowledge workers and telephone-intensive employees at remote locations. Incentives for this trend include:

  • Reducing the cost of office space
  • Peak-hour loading
  • Recruiting and retaining employees and hard to reach labor pools
  • Compliance with environmental laws

    In the past, medium and large enterprises have been challenged by the problem of providing their remote workers with quality remote access to their voice communications systems. Teltone's OfficeLink 2000 remote voice solution addresses this problem by extending the features and functionality of the enterprise phone system to the remote worker.

    As the face of technology and corporate culture evolves, the growth rate of telecommuting employees is projected to be strong. Teltone's OfficeLink 2000 leverages the power of the Internet to enable users within this segment to access the enterprise voice infrastructure and applications from any location.

    For example, Coherent Inc., the world's leading supplier of laser–based solutions for medical, scientific and commercial applications, started its telecommuting program in mid–1998 to strengthen the company's commitment to providing "Complete Customer Care" within its Laser Group division. OfficeLink 2000 allows Coherent's service engineers across the United States to be a part of and function seamlessly within the company's toll-free service call center. Customers now receive support for their Coherent Laser from the most qualified engineer in the nearest geographical location, and the remote engineer is still integrated with Coherent's global voice & data network. "Real-life" field experience is now brought to the call center and if a customer requires on-site support, the same engineer who received the call can be dispatched within 24 hours.

    Gary Gilkison, Coherent's Global Networks & Communications Supervisor, was tasked with choosing the best technology for their application. "After trying other technologies, we decided to deploy our remote workers on the OfficeLink 2000 system," he explained. "While other products did provide the functionality we needed, they were very difficult to maintain, were more expensive and didn't offer the scalability of OfficeLink 2000."

    According to Datamonitor, the number of virtual call centers in the U.S. – including agents working from home and in remote offices – is growing at 34 percent annually.

    Telecom Equipment Segment

    Test Solutions for Manufacturers of Voice and Data Networking Solutions

    As a long-standing developer of telecom solutions, Teltone found a need for a variety of telecom simulation equipment to test their engineering designs. This need grew into a substantial product line of telecom test equipment. Used by virtually every leading manufacturer of products that connect to the public network, Teltone is now the industry standard for reliable, affordable, feature–rich telecom simulation equipment. Known as "phone company in a box", Teltone simulators allow equipment test and demonstration without a live phone company connection. The advantages of this type of equipment are numerous. Production facilities can test high volumes of equipment without the recurring costs of live phone lines. Engineering departments can test equipment designed for overseas phone company protocols without the expense of sending people on extended travel. Marketing and sales people can demonstrate equipment at tradeshows and customer sites where live lines may not be available. Teltone simulators incorporate the latest telephone network features, often before they are made available to the public. This helps equipment manufacturers stay competitive by developing products that can make use of new public network features as soon they appear. Teltone is aggressively pursuing next-generation test and demonstration tools to capitalize on emerging telecommunications technologies.

    Line Sharing Solutions for Utility and Industrial Markets

    Teltone's remote connectivity solutions include industrial-grade line sharing products which enable multiple devices at remote locations to share a single telephone line for voice and data transmission. User benefits include reduced monthly line charges and installation costs, improved data security, faster connect times, and quick investment return. Remote applications include utility substation and industrial meter reading, elevator equipment monitoring and self-service coin counting machine data collection.