More on softswitch, this time from Business Communications Review. Enjoy, FAC
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Softswitch Market Remains Soft
From the December 2001 issue of Business Communications Review, pp. 12–14
by Eric Krapf, managing editor
In the wake of the Internet crash, the idea of an all-packet public network seems almost quaintly implausible. So what was Nortel doing announcing two big contract wins with major incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs)—for softswitches? Softswitches are the Holy Grail of packet voice, the Class 5 killer, the product whose acceptance—if and when it happens—will signal the end of the circuit-switched public telephone network.
Not surprisingly, a closer look shows that Nortel's deals with Qwest and the Sprint Local Telecommunications Division don't spell the end of LEC circuit-switched networks anytime soon. However, they do form a kind of progress report on softswitch technology and its role in the PSTN circa late 2001.
Boise Will Be Boise
Nortel's first announcement was that Qwest was trialing its softswitch solution in Boise, ID, and would eventually roll out packet-based networks to replace circuit switching throughout the 14 states that make up Qwest's local territory (the former US West region). No timetable was given for this migration.
In Boise, Qwest is using Nortel's media gateways and Succession Communication Server 2000 call control softswitches to make tandem connections, according to Dan Mangelsdorf, Nortel's VP of carrier VOIP marketing. He said the trial is significant because it brings softswitching into a new level of the network.
Continued at: bcr.com |
