Packet Speech Systems Technology

The long-range objectives of the Packet Speech Systems Technology Program are to develop and demonstrate techniques for efficient digital speech communications on networks suitable for both voice and data, and to investigate and develop techniques for integrated voice and data communication in packetized networks, including wideband common-user satellite links. Specific areas of concern are the concentration of statistically fluctuating volumes of voice traffic, the adaptation of communication strategies to varying conditions of network links and traffic volume, and the interconnection of wideband satellite networks to terrestrial systems. Previous efforts in this area have led to new vocoder structures for improved narrowband voice performance and multiple-rate transmission, and to demonstrations of conversational speech and conferencing on the ARPANET and the Atlantic Packet Satellite Network. The current program has two major thrusts i.e., the development and refinement of practical low-cost, robust, narrowband, and variable-rate speech algorithms and voice terminal structures and the establishment of an experimental wideband satellite network to serve as a unique facility for the realistic investigation of voicedata networking strategies.