[March 18, 2002]

Tekelec Announces Softswitch-Based Mobile Switching Center Gateway Application

Tekelec announced the availability of the Mobile Switching Center (MSC) Gateway application for its VXi Media Gateway Controller (MGC). The softswitch-based application performs the home location register (HLR) look-ups, consolidates PSTN connectivity, and delivers major call-routing functions typically handled by the MSC switch in mobile networks. Tekelec�s application supports both GSM and IS-41 protocols for ANSI and ITU networks.

In today�s 2G network, a call entering a mobile network can require extensive routing before it can be completed. Each call has to be routed to the recipient�s home MSC or gateway MSC, which launches a query to an HLR to determine the MSC serving that subscriber�s current location. The call is then routed to the serving MSC, a trip that may traverse multiple switches. With Tekelec�s MSC Gateway application, the intelligence is added to a centrally located softswitch, which performs the HLR look-up before the call is routed into the mobile network and then routes the call directly to the serving MSC.

�By offloading the query and routing functions from the MSC switch, our softswitch-based application allows mobile carriers to utilize their network resources more efficiently,� said Paul Miller, vice president, Packet Telephony, Tekelec. �The MSC Gateway application frees up valuable switch capacity to handle more subscribers and services, streamlines network routing, and creates a foundation for 2.5 and 3G networks.�

The MSC Gateway application works hand-in-hand with Tekelec�s Wireless Tandem application in which a centralized VXi MGC controls an overlay of distributed media gateways (MGs), eliminating the need for point-to-point connections between MSCs. The media gateway performs the IP or ATM conversion under the control of the softswitch. The VXi MGC is the foundation for other packet applications, including international gateway, number portability offload, service bridging, and future 3G features such as MSC server and call session contol function (CSCF) server.

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