An Automatic Digital Conference Bridge
DQ Phiet · 1981
A project to develop a system to allow subscribers to set up their own multiperson conferences over the switched telephone network without any intervention of an operator, is being undertaken within the Telecom Australia Research Laboratories. This paper describes the design and performances of a prototype processor controlled automatic digital conference bridge which allows any subscriber with a dual tone multifrequency phone to set up his own conference. The bridge has a capacity of up to 16 lines. It can handle more than one conference simultaneously. Microprocessors are used to perform a conference algorithm on digitized telephone voice signals. However, due to the speed limit of the microprocessors used, any one conference can have a maximum of 10 conferees. The laboratory prototype bridge performs satisfactorily and a field prototype is now in development. Satisfactory performance must be verified before integration of the bridge into the switched telephone network can be further considered.