Interconnect & peering

VoIP growth is undeniable. Many service providers are using IP networks to reduce the operational and capital costs of trunking PSTN traffic between their networks and data centers and the number of VoIP service subscribers is growing around the world. Yet, this growth resides in VoIP islands that, in most cases, require PSTN connections to go from one service provider network to the next. The next step in network evolution uses IP to interconnect these “islands” of VoIP to expand network reach and revenue potential while minimizing PSTN termination costs. IP interconnects enable service providers to realize several benefits, including:

• Lower costs through reduced capital and operational expenditures made possible by leveraging IP service infrastructure of other providers and eliminating PSTN termination or transit costs
• Extend service reach by securely and quickly increasing accessible geographies and subscribers
• Improve quality by eliminating unnecessary IP-to-TDM-to-IP translations and exploiting high fidelity IP codecs
• Enable new service opportunities that require end-to-end IP connectivity such as interactive video, gaming, multimedia collaboration and more

At IP network borders, a session border controller (SBC) is used to mediate the differences in various IP networks as well as provide security, quality and cost control at the ingress and egress of those networks. Our SBCs satisfy the critical security, service reach maximization, cost revenue management, and SLA assurance requirements in IP interconnect and peering deployments.

Service providers are directly connecting to one another using IP as opposed to costly TDM hand-offs for a variety of revenue-generating service offerings and cost-saving applications, including:

• PSTN termination or origination
• IP transit
• VoIP interconnect exchanges
• Neutral registry services
• Regulatory services—lawful intercept, emergency services
• Wholesale hosted services—residential, enterprise or mobile
• Wholesale specialized services—directory, calling card, contact centers

The traffic exchanged today is predominately VoIP, but in the future it will include IP video, gaming, multimedia/collaborative sessions and other services making use of IP signaling protocols.

Interconnecting to other service providers directly via IP introduces challenges and unique requirements for building a trusted and controllable border, including:

• Security—hide and protect network resources from attack
• Service reach maximization—exchange routing information and session traffic across heterogeneous networks with conflicting network characteristics to ensure reachability and interoperability
• SLA assurance—maintain service and network availability during abnormal busy periods
• Cost and revenue management—protect against theft of service, minimize session routing costs and capture session data for accounting and billing

Acme Packet’s Net-Net SBCs support all the functional elements required to enable secure, high-quality IP interconnects as defined by the following standards organizations:

Security

In IP networks, critical resources can be exposed to external parties elevating risks of denial-of-service (DoS) and other malicious attacks. To protect revenue-producing elements in the service core, such as softswitches, application servers and media gateways, our unique Net-SAFE security architecture helps service providers build trusted and secure interconnect borders.

Service reach maximization

All IP networks are not the same. Many use different signaling protocols, codecs or overlapping IP address spaces. To allow calls to cross from one VoIP network to another, our Net-Net SBCs mediate between heterogeneous networks and deliver maximum service reach allowing service providers to increase their addressable customer base and accelerate time to market.

SLA assurance

With growing VoIP call volumes, IP interconnection can lead to oversubscribed and burdened networks that impact customers. Our Net-Net SBCs provide call admission control, load balancing and QoS marking and reporting features that deliver assured service quality and network availability during abnormal busy periods or network events.

Cost and revenue management

VoIP and other IP interactive communication services are designed to make money for service providers; yet, inefficient network utilization, improper billing and fraud can ruin these revenue streams or detract from profitability. Acme Packet’s Net-Net SBCs deliver call routing, bandwidth policing and accounting features to help ensure the most profitable usage of a service provider’s network.