Packet Communications: Moving Beyond Class 4

BY SHAILIN SEGHAL AND MICHAEL KHALILIAN

Introduced in the late 1990s, carrier-class packet voice infrastructure solutions today deliver the robust qualities and features that service providers require and have come to expect.  In a relatively short period of time, many major carriers and service providers have successfully transitioned their voice networks from a circuit-switched architecture to the packet-based softswitch model, and many more will in the years to come. 

Since arriving on the telecommunications scene just a few years ago, packet voice solutions are in operation in many large-scale commercial deployments with service providers around the globe.  The majority of deployments to date have been for Class 4, or trunking, applications.  Initial carrier implementations of packet voice networking have lived up to their promise, delivering capital and operational expenditure savings of greater than 50 percent, as well as reducing central office space requirements by approximately 80 percent.  Additionally, packet voice networks have proven to deliver the same levels of reliability and availability as traditional circuit-switched networks.  Earlier this year, Global Crossing reported that it had more than doubled the amount of traffic carried on its Sonus-based VoIP network between January 2003 and March 2004, and at the same time, recorded 99.999 percent uptime for 2003 and year-to-date 2004.

As the migration to packet voice architecture continues, carriers are increasingly focused on implementing IP-based access technologies at the edges of their networks.  Traditional telephone companies, multiple service operators (cable MSOs) and independently operated carriers are beginning to deploy VoIP (define - news - alert - tutorial) to offer advanced, revenue-generating voice services directly to subscribers. 

One of the most exciting developments in the Class 5, or access, markets is the advent of voice over broadband (VoBB).  VoBB is often defined as voice services offered over broadband Internet connections. While this is true, the implications of VoBB for residential subscribers, enterprises and carriers extend far beyond just putting telephony services over data lines. The integration of telephony and the Internet is enabling the future of communications and blurring the differences between voice and data services.

Broadband Revolution

In the late 1990s, as the telecom market was in the midst of deregulation, the popularity of high-speed/broadband data access was skyrocketing. With options including digital subscriber line (DSL), cable modems and fiber, more consumers and enterprises around the world began using broadband connections for their data networks.

Service providers and cable operators or MSOs began rapidly expanding their data networks worldwide, offering large data pipes even for residential subscribers. This proliferation of broadband gave service providers another way to access the so-called “last mile” to deliver local voice services in addition to data services.  Industry analysts are predicting an explosion in VoBB adoption, with penetration rates increasing from less than 4 percent entering 2004 to more than 40 percent in 2008.

While the VoBB market has been enabled by the popularity and availability of high-speed data access, cable and DSL providers are not the only carriers that can capitalize on the VoBB market.  Local telephone service providers are also competing in the VoBB market using DSL, which supports high-speed Internet over existing copper lines.  Even though these carriers already offer traditional voice and high-speed data separately, they need VoBB to compete with the advanced features and Web integration capabilities to prevent subscriber churn.

The latest excitement in the industry, however, has largely centered on alternative VoBB carriers who are neither MSOs nor local telephone companies but still offer voice services over cable and DSL networks. Typically, subscribers purchase Internet access for a flat rate that allows unlimited data transfers. Given that VoBB is based on IP, these voice calls are simply a form of data service running on the network, essentially the same as e-mail or file transfer. This has given way to a new alternative VoBB carrier that can effectively compete with MSOs and local phone companies without the huge expense of building out an access network. These carriers can simply install their own switching infrastructure to provide subscribers next-generation services.

Offering A New Level Of Service

So what does VoBB mean to the end user? There are two basic market segments for VoBB service: consumer VoIP (C-VoIP) and business VoIP (B-VoIP). Typically, consumers are served over DSL and cable data networks, whereas large enterprises are more likely to have a fiber connection, broadband wireless network, or dedicated T1 lines.  Small businesses and home offices could use either of these offerings, depending on size, usage, availability, and other factors.

For businesses and consumers, VoBB not only delivers traditional telephony services, but goes beyond legacy circuit-switched offerings to enable the true convergence of voice and the Internet. With a Web interface to personal services, telephony reaches a new level of flexibility.  New features enabled through VoBB include:

 

• Text-to-speech capabilities that allow users to send talking e-mails and voice mails to other accounts.

• Web enabled find-me/follow-me services.

• Web-based call logs to track all incoming and outgoing calls.

• Click-to-dial integrating users’ desktops and telephones.

• Voicemail that can alert users of new messages by e-mail, play them on the PC and forward messages to others by e-mail.

• Web portals that allow enterprises to easily assign functionality on an individual, business group or company-wide basis.

With VoBB, these capabilities can be offered with basic service at a considerably lower cost, with offerings that include flat-rate pricing and bundled packages.

The integration of voice and data networks is a critical step to our progress, enabling future applications that can exploit both advanced telephony and enormous Web resources.  VoBB is succeeding in this effort, and is the first of many revolutionary changes sweeping the telecom landscape as we move ever closer to true network convergence. 

Shailin Sehgal is Director, Product Management at Sonus Networks, Inc., a Member Company of the International Packet Communications Consortium.

Michael Khalilian is Chairman and President of the IPCC, an industry consortium of carriers and solutions providers advancing packet-based communication technologies.

The IPCC can be reached online at www.packetcomm.org