CompTIA ECTF Group

ECTF Work Areas: Call Control

The call control work area is concerned with the definition and revision of both call control protocols and APIs for both enterprise and public networks.

The ECTF call control work area corresponds to the branch of computer telephony, known as CTI which deals with the logical control of call processing. Specifically, it includes:

• Call Control
  Call control is the ability to observe and control telephone calls, switching features and status, ACDs and ACD agents, and to use switching resources that include tone generators and detectors. This is the most essential part of CTI as it is the aspect that deals with a computer observing and controlling telephone calls and the telephone system features that interact with calls. Observing means tracking all call processing activity that takes place, and being aware of any changes to feature settings. Controlling refers to issuing instructions for the telephone system to obey with respect to telephone calls, features, and associated telephony resources. Call control functionality supported through a CTI interface includes both the telephony functionality available to users of a telephone system through telephone sets, as well as functionality that applies only to computer observation and control.
• Telephone Control
  Telephone control is the ability to observe and control physical telephone devices as computer peripherals. This aspect of CTI involves the ability, of an appropriately enabled computer, to observe the activity of a telephone set (which buttons are being pressed, what the display says, whether the message indicator is flashing, etc.), and to control the telephone set (updating the display, simulating the press of buttons, turning on lamps, etc.).
• Media Binding
  Media binding involves binding telephone calls to other media services (covered by the media services work area) such as voice processing, fax processing, etc.

A primary goal of the call control work area is to facilitate the application of the existing call control model specification (ECTF C.001) in the development of new interfaces and the evolution of existing ones. This work area has also accepted responsibility for the ECTF's IP Telephony Roadmap.

Specifications Published
The following specifications have been published in the administrative services work area:

• C.001 (Call Control Model)
  This white paper describes a model for call control services for the CT environment. The model describes services and interfaces that fit within the CT Architecture Framework documented by the ECTF and which harmonize with CT media services as described by the ECTF S.100 agreement.
  
• C.100 (JTAPI)
  This Interoperability Agreement specifies certain packages of JTAPI 1.3 as the portable, object-oriented, call control API of choice that meets the ECTF's architectural and interoperability criteria. The ECTF is a JTAPI "partner" in the Sun Java TM development process, and ECTF member companies have been deeply involved with the creation of JTAPI 1.3.