There is a largely misunderstood shift in telecom today: VoIP Peering through ENUM Registries. Peering is the concept of interconnecting networks, allowing IP and subsequently, VoIP traffic to be carried between service providers and companies without the need of the “middle man,” or in this case, an additional long distance service provider. By using session border controllers placed between the service providers, or IP PBXs between enterprises and then querying the call via an ENUM database, one can provide a “translation service” between the callers. The speaker will provide insight on both the network and business process implications of the Voice Peering and ENUM.

This session will feature the industry’s leading experts in a round table discussion of where exactly we stand in regards to Service Provider IP Telephony. Attendees will come away with a true sense of what’s happening in the industry, with perspectives from the leading service providers exploring next-generation solutions, including the latest developments, a glimpse into the future, and some real-life implementation tales that you won’t want to miss. Attendees are encouraged to bring their questions, and we’ll bring the industry leaders who are best positioned to provide the answers.

This session will serve as an overview and an introduction to VoIP Peering. The presenter will review the state of VoIP Peering today. He will give history, analogies, and examples of what is happening in the industry to support the claim that voice peering exists and is having a significant impact on the economics of communications. He will stress that cost savings and not “technology-for-technology’s-sake” is driving VoIP implementation.

This panel discussion will take a close hard look at what VoIP Peering is and where it is headed. The conversation will center on the future of VoIP peering, and will take into account a number of other discussion topics including: • VoIP versus VoPI; • Connecting private networks at Layer 2; • Connecting public networks at Layer 5; • Centralized and distributed ENUM registries; • Equipment deployed and services utilized as of Q1, 2005; and more.

VoIP services are finally leaving initial trial stages, and reaching production maturity on many fronts. This session takes the next step in the VoIP Peering Summit and looks at the VoIP interface between carrier networks, and the developments needed to displace PSTN hand-off with native VoIP peering. It will review border control architectures and industry initiatives to develop scalable models for VoIP interconnection, and compare this to other interconnection practices such as Internet peering.

For the most part, interconnect among VoIP networks is accomplished through PSTN interconnect. There is as yet no clear model for how VoIP networks will interconnect directly in the future. However there are competing business models and technologies, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. The objective of the presentation is to understand the market drivers which determine how networks interconnect and then use this information in a simple framework to understand how the interconnect models compare and which if any models become widely adopted.