Intel recently completed a trial of standards-based real-time multimedia collaboration tools running on laptop computers over an Internet Protocol (IP) network. Key goals for the trial included validation of usage models and user benefits while utilizing the multimedia collaboration tools in a production work environment. Trial participants were equipped with a multimedia "softphone" application, a headset, and a Webcam that enabled them to establish high-quality small-group (multiparty) voice and video calls. Call setup was performed with the standard Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and open-source products. These components provided a cost-effective, easy-to-setup and use collaboration environment, where all communications and collaboration were integrated into one device, the PC. This capability provided increased productivity because all information that people needed to do their jobs was literally at their finger tips.

The trial included an evaluation of high-quality voice calls using wideband codecs. These codecs encode twice the frequency range as that provided in the public telephone system, thus conveying most of the frequencies made by the human voice which enables them to deliver more lifelike speech and increased intelligibility. Because wideband algorithms are computationally intense, they most often appear in PC voice products. Thus the use of the PC for voice calls can deliver better quality conversations than we normally hear with telephones and cell phones.

The trial also tested PC client-based voice and video conferencing provided by the softphone application. Client bridging provides an easy way to conduct meetings on demand without requiring scheduling of conferencing bridges. The trial showed that laptops based on Intel^® Centrino^® mobile technology deliver the performance to conduct small group meetings of up to the limits of the "softphone" application (5 video or 7 audio-only participants).

In the trial, users found value in the integration of their communications environment into the PC, and in fact were looking for integration beyond the experience we provided. However, we also learned that both the tools and the infrastructure will need to be further optimized before users would be willing to fully replace their time-tested desk phone with a PC-based collaboration solution.

In this paper we describe the architecture, deployment, and key learnings for the trial. We also portray the business value of wideband audio and peer-to-peer conferencing.