Before the Dawn of IP Telephony - Part 11Derogatory words for a product name is unacceptable (1998)
These contents translated a serialization article carried by ITPro IP telephony ONLINE published by Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. Jump to the original (Japanese).
Shinji Usuba
General Manager
eSound Venture Unit
Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd
The author returns to the development of VoIP gateway. Development of a large-capacity model is given a go sign. But the team takes an unexpected stumble.
The VoIP gateway BS1200 was released in Japan and the U.S. in February 1998. Hence, there was debate that the product name should be passable internationally, and not limited to Japan. For the first VoIP gateway, I took the first letters from "Best Solution," which derives from my desire to provide the best solutions, and used BS in the product name according to OKI's in-house standards.
In the U.S., however, "BS" is also an abbreviation for bullsh*t. Apparently, it is a derogatory term and a word of abuse. It was a word that one would hesitate to use. There was a remark from the U.S. office that the abbreviation was unsuitable as a trademark and we were forced to come up with another name.
Photo 1 : BV2000, developed as the large-capacity version of VoIP gateway
I myself had special feelings for BS1100. Since BS1200 had won a number of rewards overseas, I didn't want the name to change. But using a name that was more passable internationally in terms of global implementation also held water.
Then, the trademark of "BV" was decided starting with the large-capacity gateway as the new model. The name comes from the fact that I feel our VoIP gateway has the "Best Voice." Though the name seems slightly far-fetched, I wanted to use a name that meant something to me since using "BS" was not an option I had. This is the story behind the change in the name of the VoIP gateway series from BS to BV. Later, the large-capacity VoIP gateway was named "BV2000" (photo 1). The name "BV," has been used as the name of the series ever since, with the latest model being BV1270.
Improving the voice quality
Right about the time I returned to the development of VoIP gateway, development of a succeeding model aiming at higher voice quality began centering on Manager Matsunuma who the development of BS1200 was assigned after I left the project. OKI's VoIP gateway was indeed rated among the highest in the field of Internet telephony. However, this was limited to the field of Internet telephony and improvements were needed to bring quality closer to fixed telephones.
Once BS1100 and BS1200 were released into the market and into the hands of users for operation under various environments, we were beginning to see what improvements were necessary for better voice quality from the assessments and feedback we received. As obvious as it may seem at the present, there was still room for improving the quality of voice packets.
We also needed VoIP to include an interface for connection with various devices and a good lineup so that the best product can be selected for the number of lines used to expand the market and make VoIP more popular. In other words, it was necessary to improve the quality of VoIP still in the developmental stage to a level equivalent to fixed telephones, and at the same time, expand areas of application.
Feeling safe with the high appraisal in the IP telephony field and concentrating efforts to cut cost and broaden the lineup would not be sufficient to expand the market. After all, the quality is still inferior to fixed telephones. But then, the market would remain closed when pursuing only voice quality and not increasing the product lineup since the various interfaces of switching equipment operating in the world will not be supported. A good balance of latest VoIP core technology development and lineup development was needed. We were required to simultaneously launch the vertical axis of improving voice quality and the horizontal axis of lineup. 1998 was the year we felt like running after two hares.
My main mission was to expand the product lineup of the horizontal axis. Out of necessity, I proceeded to work on this area while coordinating with the VoIP core technology development project on the vertical axis.
Photo 2: BV1250 released in 2000 with better voice quality
The voice quality of VoIP was improved by integrating voice signal processing and packet processing. For this, we recruited a new member who was developing cellular phones in the U.S. for signal processing in order to improve the voice quality technology. Main VoIP development members were assigned to improve voice quality. The first product incorporating this core technology was the "BS1250," which was released in January 2000 (photo 2). It was the result of a core technology changes completed through three years of efforts.
The first BV2000 decided, but...
When I returned to development in April 1998, I had no idea it would take so much time to develop the core technology. By November, I began to notice that it would take enormous amount of time for commercialization, even from where I was sitting in the adjacent group. If this continued, my lineup would come to a halt and my mission aborted. There would also be a huge blank in the roadmap of new product releases. My assignment was to ship products within the fiscal year of 1998 (ended March 1999), no matter what.
In December, immediately after our major commodity determination meeting, the first user of the large-capacity gateway was decided. The deadline was end of March 1999. Not an easy journey, I thought. But I had no idea the reckless deed I would further be getting myself into.
... To be continued
