Want to become a CLEC? YATE provides Open Source solution for PSTN interconnection using SS7
| By Alok Saboo on June 17th, 2011 |
Stripped to its bare essentials, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) refers to converting analog voice signals into digital information and then transmitting the same over the Internet. Since VoIP uses public resources (the Internet) rather than relying on a telecom provider’s resources, it can significantly reduce or even completely eliminate the cost of a traditional phone-conversation.
Despite the technological advancements and these obvious benefits, it seems unlikely that VoIP will completely replace the telephone wires that are widely and commonly used. Regulatory, infrastructural, and bandwidth constraints prevent the mass adoption and shift to VoIP. Traditional telephone networks remain a dominant force and the interconnection between the two kinds of networks (the traditional PSTN and the VoIP) is one of the primary components of any VoIP service.
To interface with traditional telecom networks, VoIP networks have to manage different sets of protocols. One protocol that has emerged as the standard in this interconnection is SS7, Signaling System No. 7. It is a set of telephony protocols that are widely used to set up public switched telephone network telephone calls across the world. Most carriers respect it and function according to it. One of the protocol’s most important features is the amount of information that a call must hold, including the numbers dialed by the caller, the caller’s number, and other call-related information. Since telephony is a regulated for security purposes, carriers are legally responsible to maintain and furnish the information for the calls they complete. While traditional phone systems and carriers are equipped to handle these requirements, it may not be an easy task for VoIP service providers.
Thus, a fully compliant and guaranteed interconnection with traditional telephony networks is the priciest bit of the whole VoIP solution. Existing open-source solutions are out there, but for a very limited number of lines and definitely not certified – a couple of these are Asterisk and Freeswitch. Due to the limitations of the existing open-source solutions, large carriers have been able to keep small carriers out of the market.
However, a solution is on hand, and a real good one!! YATE, an open source solution, provides the solution and is completely compliant with the existing standards. Any carrier can now adopt the YATE solution and provide interconnection with PSTN at negligible costs.
Case Study – Deutsche Telekom certification
When Sipgate was faced with the issue of interconnecting with Deutsche Telekom, they were looking for solutions that could offer the same reliable services to an increased number of lines, in multiple locations, with redundancy, within the planned budget.
After evaluating several options, Sipgate chose to work with Yate to implement the core infrastructure of its soft-switch. However, since the Deutsche Telekom’s network was involved, the system made by Null Team using Yate and Audio Codes gateways had to be certified by Deutsche Telekom labs for the interconnection using SS7.
In order to get this certification, Yate had to pass the entire verification and certification procedures defined by the ITU standards for the SS7 interconnect with DT. The system had to undergo several crisis scenarios that put the system to the test and check its capabilities.
The system passed all the tests with flying colors and is now being used to interconnect with DT.
If YATE can work for Deutsche Telekom, it can definitely work for your network!!
Final Thoughts
Usually, things related to SS7 were in the field of proprietary companies selling black boxes, but this is the first time when an open source solution has been approved and interconnected with a large network.
The open-source solution based on Yate offers great flexibility for the small and middle carriers, in the way that they can control end-to-end the personalized VoIP services. Not to mention the cost savings introduced. It will be cheap for small carriers to connect to large carriers and that may very well change the telecom market.
[Image credit Telecomspace]
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