Mitel Semiconductor, a division of Mitel Corporation  introduced a new  acoustic echo cancellation solution designed for a wide range of applications from business and mobile phones to PCs and intercom terminals.

The new MT9315 is a complete speakerphone solution that provides clear and definable advantages over acoustic echo cancellers (AEC) products using standard digital signal processors, according to Jeff Robillard, Mitel's product line manager for Mitel Semiconductor voice products. "It is easy to use, requires less board space and power than DSPs, and is priced very competitively," he said. "Mitel's long experience in echo cancellation technology has allowed us to develop TRUEPLEX technology, an efficient, reliable full duplex solution that outperforms larger and more expensive alternatives."

For example, the new MT9315 provides 112ms acoustic echo cancellation and 16ms line echo cancellation, so it is ideal for existing plain old telephone (POTS) service. It can handle up to 0dB acoustic Echo Return Loss (ERL) and supplies reliable echo cancellation from the beginning of a phone call, so there is no 'white noise training' mechanism required.

The MT9315 provides a quick reconvergence time, meaning it tracks changing echo environments very rapidly, enhancing performance. Long residual echo tails are removed with no noise gating or contrasting, which is a problem in designs that rely on DSPs.

This is a really nice move away from the complex DSP-based echo cancellers that we have seen for the last couple of years, mostly from the larger manufacturers. This solution is very specific for speakerphones and both the acoustic cancellation of 112 ms and the line echo cancellation of 16 ms should be more than enough for just about any environment, the 112 ms representing 0ver 60 ft of echo path, and 16 ms of line echo being something that I would be replacing hybrids for!

I also like the fact that whatever the conditions, the call will never fall back into half-duplex mode, a really frustrating event on conference calls where one or more speakerphones cuts you off in mid-sentence. The device's ability to react to changing circumstances also means that  a speakerphone might be used in conditions that would not normally be considered optimal for full-duplex operation, such as mobile conditions. The negative marketing aspect in using a dedicated IC for echo cancellation is that the other automated goodies that a DSP-solution can provide at no extra cost will not be available without other solutions. Overall, however, I think most users would prefer the quality rather than the gimmicks.