[December 03, 2003] TELECOM GIANTS TO HOST GLOBAL MSF INTEROPERABILITY 2004 DEMONSTRATION TELECOM GIANTS TO HOST GLOBAL MSF INTEROPERABILITY 2004 DEMONSTRATION BT, KT, NTT, Qwest to Provide Test Facilities for Simultaneous Global Demonstration Fremont, Calif., December 4, 2003 – The Multiservice Switching Forum (MSF) announced today that four of the world’s largest telecommunications carriers will host the Forum’s Global MSF Interoperability 2004 (GMI 2004) demonstration. BT, KT, NTT and Qwest will each provide test and demonstration facilities for GMI 2004, which will be conducted simultaneously in Asia, Europe and North America in September 2004. The primary objective of GMI 2004 is to demonstrate a deployable and operationally ready IP telephony network with Services, Applications, Network Management, Enhanced Quality of Service (QoS) and security features. “With four of the world’s top carriers as hosts, GMI 2004 will be one of the most important events ever for the telecom industry,” said Roger Ward, MSF president. “The participation of these companies will guarantee world-class test facilities and focus attention on the demand from carriers for interoperable solutions like the MSF’s Release 2 Architecture and its associated Implementation Agreements.” The demonstration phase of GMI 2004 will be carried out simultaneously in some of the world’s most sophisticated telecommunications research facilities. In the UK, BT will host the European demonstration site at its’ BT Exact Advanced Research and Technology Centre, Adastral Park, in Martlesham, Ipswich. In Korea, KT will offer up its’ KT Technology Lab in Daejeon. Japan’s NTT will host the demonstration at the Musashino Research and Development Center in Tokyo. Qwest will host the North American test site at its’ Qwest Communications Labs in Dublin, Ohio. “BT is proud to serve as a host for GMI 2004,” said Tim Wright, CTO, BT Wholesale. “This event will benefit the industry at-large through cooperation on technical issues that confront carriers and vendors alike.” “This event will be an opportunity for the global telecom community to genuinely work together on making the Next Generation Network truly interoperable on a worldwide basis,” said Park TaeIl, president of KT Technology Laboratory at KT. “No other telecom demonstration operates on such a broad scale,” said Kazuyoshi Tateishi, vice president, NTT. “NTT welcomes the chance to collaborate with companies from around the world on technical matters that can benefit us all.” “GMI 2004 is an opportunity for innovative companies to show the industry that success in the future will be dependent on interoperable solutions,” said Ken Rambo, director of voice technology at Qwest. “Qwest believes in that concept and is excited to host and participate in such an important demonstration.” About Multiservice Switching System Technology Multiservice Switching Systems of the future will be based on a distributed, open architecture which incorporates a variety of switching methods - frame, cell or packet-based - designed to support voice, video, private line and data such as ATM, Frame Relay and Internet Protocol (IP) services. Such technology may use a broad range of access technologies, including traditional Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Digital Subscriber Line (xDSL), wireless data, and cable modems. MSF Implementation Agreements (IAs) define the requirements of the interfaces between key functional and physical components found in practical deployments of such systems. About the MSF The Multiservice Switching Forum (MSF) is a global association of service providers and system suppliers committed to developing and promoting open-architecture, multiservice switching systems. Founded in 1998, the MSF is an open-membership organization comprised of the world’s leading telecommunications companies. The MSF’s activities include developing implementation agreements, promoting worldwide compatibility and interoperability, and encouraging input to appropriate national and international standards bodies. For more information about the MSF and its members, visit the MSF web site at http://www.msforum.org. ### [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]