Closed Captioning Provider Improves Dial-Out Capacity with a Perle Terminal Server

Closed Captioning providers face demanding challenges that include stringent laws and mandates, staff stationed remotely and the obligation of 24/7 coverage.

One of the largest providers of traditional news and television captioning, as well as real-time streaming media captioning services, came to Perle looking for a solution to increase efficiency of their dial out phone lines. In their existing system every PC had a modem which was connected to a POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) line. This meant that each employee at a PC could only dial out on one line at a time. Valuable phone lines were being wasted and the company knew they needed to have a system whereby each PC could access all lines concurrently. Another inconvenient issue was the multitude of cables running from each PC to the phone lines. With remote employees stationed throughout the country, a 24 hour operation and cutting edge technology providing captioning for emergencies, translations, and audio/video conferences they needed to maximize their dial-out capacity.

Solution

Perle's IOLAN STS 24 Terminal Server, a Multiplexer and a 24 modem rack were installed to take advantage of an underutilized T1 line. Perle’s TruePort COM port re-director software, along with a communication application installed on each workstation, could then allow users to open any number (up to 24) of COM ports concurrently to dial-out.

PCs and the Perle IOLAN STS24 Terminal Server are connected to the Ethernet network. Perle’s built-in TruePort software creates multiple virtual local COM ports per host PC. The Perle IOLAN "hunt group feature" allows the virtual COM ports to attach to the first available serial port. The serial ports of the IOLAN STS 24 Terminal Server are connected to the serial ports of the modems in the modem rack. Each modem is then connected to the POTS lines which are connected to the Multiplexer. The Multiplexer is also connected to the T1 and converts the T1 channels to analog POTS lines.

Results and Benefits

The company's remote employees can now access up to 24 modems simultaneously. With Perle’s TruePort, this configuration setup for a "hunt group" will have no restrictions on concurrent users. By sharing resources the company’s outbound calling is no longer restricted by the physical limitations of the modem equipment and they have gained much more efficient use of their hardware. The dedicated T1 line is much more cost effective than the POTS. At the same time productivity has increased and bothersome cables have been eliminated.