Cisco SPA100 Series Administration Manual

Getting Started

Feature Overview

Cisco SPA100 Series Administration Guide
Thank you for choosing the Cisco SPA100 Series Phone Adapters. This chapter
provides more information about the features of the product and the web-based
configuration utility.
Cisco SPA100 Series Analog Telephone Adapters (ATAs) provide your standard
analog phones with access to Internet phone services through two standard
telephone RJ-11 phone ports. The ATA connects to the Internet through a
broadband (DSL or cable) modem or router. The ATA can be used with an on-site
call-control system or an Internet-based call-control system.
The ATA is an intelligent low-density Voice over IP (VoIP) gateway that enables
carrier-class residential and business IP Telephony services delivered over
broadband or high-speed Internet connections. An ATA maintains the state of each
call it terminates and reacts appropriately to user input events (such as on/off hook
or hook flash). The ATAs use the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) open standard so
there is little or no involvement by a "middle-man" server or media gateway
controller. SIP allows inter-operation with all ITSPs that support SIP.
The system supports four simultaneous calls, including "active" calls and "on-hold"
calls. A phone can handle one on-hold call and one active call simultaneously.

Understanding Voice Service Operations

The ATA allows calls to be made by using SIP-based Voice-over-IP (VoIP) services
and traditional telephone Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) services.
Calls can be placed and received by using an analog phone or fax machine.
The ATA maintains the state of each call and makes the proper reaction to user
input events (such as on/off hook or hook flash). Because the ATA uses the Session
Initiation Protocol (SIP), it is compatible with most Internet Telephony Service
Provider (ITSP) offerings.
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