Service Provider Environment

Service Provider Environment

Service provider environments, an example of which is illustrated in Figure 1-27, add another level of complexity to the voice environment. To be competitive, service providers must provide their business customers with more efficient, less expensive alternatives to the PSTN for voice and data services.

Figure 1-27. Service Provider Environment

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Requirements in the service provider arena include:

• Carrier class performance Voice gateways must provide service that minimizes latency and controls jitter. This level of performance allows customers to maintain voice quality as they migrate from circuit-switched voice to IP-based services.

• Scalability Design must accommodate rapid growth to enable service providers to grow with their customer base. An important aspect of scalability is the automation, configuration, and administration of IP networks and gateways for seamless expansion.

• Comprehensive call records supporting flexible service pricing This is the ability to extract IP session and transaction information from multiple network devices and from all layers of the network, in real time, to produce detailed billing records.

• Signaling System 7 (SS7) interconnect capabilities Tariffs favor interconnection using SS7 signaling because Inter-Machine Trunks (IMTs) are less expensive than ISDN-based facilities. This financial benefit equates to lower monthly expenses, reduced cost of goods that are sold, and higher margins for service providers.