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During its user event in Las Vegas, Metaswitch started dropping the code name “Jupiter” as in “Jupiter technology” but company execs were coy about what the phrase represented, other than it was a product or set of products in a larger portfolio of IP communications software for service providers extending from the network core out to the edge designed to provide integrated call handing between mobile and wireline domains.   And maybe you can replace “call” with “communications” in a bigger picture/ecosystem.

As demonstrated, Jupiter allows an end-user to seamlessly transfer calls between any and all devices, ranging from vanilla IP desktop phones and simple mobile feature phones to smartphones, PC desktop clients and iPads. Calls were moved between Metaswitch's trusty CommPortal client, Android (News - Alert), and desktop IP phones in a live demo in the exhibit area, with a more elaborate video rolled out during the first day of morning keynotes showcased the ability to use a yet-to-be-released iPad client to swipe inbound calls to other devices.

Is this just fixed-mobile convergence writ large?

I'd say no, since there's more going on than blindly passing off voice calls from one device to another. Behind the curtain, there's a fundamental SIP architecture that is aware of both clients and capabilities. One of the likely coming-soon products is an ENUM-based/ENUM-like registry to map phone numbers and device capabilities to provide some awareness of what sort of communications can be moved between devices.

Further, Metaswitch – and I think this is the point that some are missing – is gearing up to do more than just passing around voice between devices. Voice may be the current anchor, but Metaswitch is promoting standards-based RSC/RCS-e compliant solutions to handle instant messaging and presence, video chat, and file exchange in real time. The company has put CommPortal, Colibria (News - Alert), and Thrutu all under its “4th Generation Communications” category and said it intends to expand investment into client-side software.

The evolution of Thrutu is instructive both for how it initially was started/positioned and for what it does now. Initially, Thrutu (News - Alert) started off as an experiment in smartphone client software.  Now it's part-and-parcel  of the 4G group along with CommPortal. Announced this week, the latest release of Thrutu for Android now enables users to use the client both within and independently outside of a voice call for the interactive exchange of information, be it to send photos or play games.  

When you take a step back, Metaswitch now is working to provide a full suite of IP communications software from the core all the way out to the edge with rich clients. In this context, adding the Perimeta SBC becomes a logical building block within the bigger picture.

It is also interesting to run a compare-and-contrast between Metaswitch's Colibria acquisition and its commitment to client development with BroadSoft's recent purchase of Movial (News - Alert) Applications. Helsinki-based Movial Applications builds user interfaces and multimedia sharing application across a wide range of devices and IP-based communications applications. So, BroadSoft (News - Alert) adds a company doing rich clients with RCS/RCS-e so it can now offer a tighter solution to service providers from core to edge.   Just like Metawitch.