Northern Telecom Ltd has become the ninth member of the IPNS forum, established to promote standardisation for European PABX interworking, and the first company of North American origin to do so. The other members are Alcatel NV, L M Ericsson Telefon AB, GEC Plessey Telecommunications Ltd, Matra Communication SA, Philips Electronics NV, SAT SA, Siemens AG and Telenorma AG. A draft European Telecommunications Standards Institute standard was published early last year for public comment, based on specifications being promoted by the IPNS forum, and the Standards Institute committee will meet early this year to discuss comments made. Once this meeting has taken place, a basic call service standard is expected before the end of the first quarter, according to Noel Magee, president of the IPNS Forum. This will be followed on by additions to the standard, covering other services offered by PABXs, which will be produced throughout this year.
