HD Voice - the Overdue Revolution

Architecture and Background

Doug Mohney - HD Voice - The Overdue Revolution After kicking around on the back shelf for years, HD voice is finally gaining traction both in the broadband world and the cellular. And the French are leading the way! The audio standards for a POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) call have been frozen since about 1937.

Vulnerability Analysis

Since then, modern society has had FM radio, Dolby Sound, TV, HDTV, cell phones, satellite broadcast, the Internet, fiber optics, but no improvement to a stock voice phone call. Information will include more precisely defining WTF HD voice is, where it is taking place around the globe, the emerging War of the Codecs, mobile vs broadband, enterprise vs consumer, the goodness of HD voice over POTS, and whatever other questions come up from the audience. Tuned into the HD communications space as Editor-in-Chief of HD Voice News, Doug Mohney has clocked over 20 years in the ICT arena between working in real-world businesses and writing about them.

Exploitation and Demonstrations

He has contributed for a diverse group of publications over the past dozen years, covering telecommunications, wireless and spectrum issues, the Internet, and online video. Most recently, he served at Editor in Chief of the Telecom and Digital Media Group at an online publication and Editor-in-Chief at VON Magazine (the pulvermedia incarnation). Doug's hands-on/real-world experience includes stints at two high-tech start-up companies.

Remediation and Defensive Strategies

Joining DIGEX as employee number 10 in 1993, he had a ring-side seat to the trials and tribulations of a fast growing, VC-funded startup doing the boom growth years of the Internet. He can be reached at dmohney@hdvoicenews.com. For copies of the slides and additional materials please see the DEF CON 18 Archive here: