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The technology involved in VoIP telephony seems easy enough – you plug your phone into an adapter or simply download an app for a mobile device. If you’re in a corporate environment, your IT administrator takes care of it for you. If you are the IT administrator, you want to know exactly how this technology works.

This is where voice peering comes into play. This is the process by which two private networks can connect and exchange traffic, allowing them to make the exchange without paying a third party to carry traffic. This is an alternative to transit, which is the typical method by which an end user or network operator will connect to the Internet.

While one is not necessarily superior to the other, there are specific reasons as to why one company may opt to leverage voice peering. It may be cheaper to hand off traffic rather than pay someone to do it and it may provide greater control over the flow of traffic. It may also allow a company to better serve the local population. Those involved in voice peering also find that they can enable faster connections between the two networks involved.

Even with all of these benefits, there are still times a company may not want to get involved in voice peering. It does require work, as active participation is necessary in voice peering. An agreement must be negotiated and set up for each network in the peer. At that point, the networks have to be connected. If a problem occurs, the parties involved must work together to resolve the problem.

There are times when the economics involved make it so that the peering doesn’t deliver the desired benefit. To peer, there are several things that must be in place. First, you have to have a connection to an exchange point. Second, there must be someone managing the peer. Third, there must be enough traffic to make the peer beneficial.

Joining the Voice Peering Fabric (VPF) may be the best option for those companies wanting to grow and expand peering opportunities, but unsure of how to manage the process. It’s a great entry point into peering without making a significant investment right off the bat. It also allows participants to share information and enable data access at specific points.

There are a number of considerations before launching a voice peering initiative for any operator or firm. The VPF (News - Alert) is a great place to start as it allows for the mediation of a number of challenges when trying to enter the world of peering alone.