Enhanced Voice Services with SIP

Unified Network Architecture™
Convergent Networks’ Unified Network Architecture, along with partnering third-party application developers, allow service providers to leverage exciting new IP applications and service creation environments from multiple vendors to create innovative, revenue-generating, enhanced services.

The Unified Network Architecture, consists of the PacketMatrix™ Controller (PMC), the ICS2000 media gateway, the ICSG™ signaling gateway and the Aladdin™ management system.

The PMC holds routing and service intelligence for a network of ICS2000 media gateways, acting as a mediation point between IP applications and AIN applications, and a peering point to other next generation call management and application elements in the network. It also hosts additional enhanced Class 5 subscriber features such as Speed Calling, Call Acceptance and Call Block.

The ICS2000 media gateway delivers traditional CLASS features, such as call forwarding, call waiting and caller ID, in addition to other required features such as E911 and voice mail. The ICS2000 media gateway provides flexible voice call interworking between IP, ATM and TDM circuits for both trunking and access applications, and supports up to 24,192 protected calls per shelf.

The ICSG provides consolidated SS7 signaling support for a network of ICS2000 media gateways and PMCs, while Aladdin provides standards-based element management and billing mediation

SIP – The Standard for Service Delivery
As telephony moves towards a network infrastructure based on IP, SIP is rapidly emerging as the protocol of choice for service delivery.Yet, a next-generation SIP-based architecture must enable carriers to build and deploy services quickly and economically over whatever the underlying network happens to be. The Unified Network Architecture provides just that - a platform to deliver innovative, high-margin services that can be deployed over IP, as well as POTS, broadband, cable and ISDN networks.

Bringing IP to the PSTN
The Unified Network Architecture’s ability to support SIP offers service providers a means to tap into application-layer resources far more vast than the PSTN can or ever will offer.The solution brings the simplicity and ubiquity of IP to the PSTN by providing an open services architecture with distributed intelligence that enables service revenue beyond traditional voice services.It provides a complete solution for the delivery of enhanced business and residential communications services that are extensible and can be independently branded, including:

• SIP to GR-303 Interworking
• Hosted PBX/IP Centrex
• Unified/Instant Messaging
• Presence/Mobility
• Multi-Party Conferencing
• Distributed Call Center
• Cable Telephony

The Platform for Service Delivery
The solution’s unified and open architecture allows carriers to quickly “plug in” to the service layers to incorporate applications with third-party developers.Carriers can start by offering customers services such as Centrex, messaging, prepaid calling, or conferencing, and as end points become more intelligent, they can introduce a new class of service that integrates telephony with the web and e-mail.

At the center of the Unified Network Architecture’s platform for Enhanced Voice Services is the PacketMatrix Controller (PMC).The PMC offers the capabilities of the PSTN to IP-based networks at a fraction of the cost and enables new IP-based services through SIP to packet and legacy networks, while providing unparalleled network scale, performance and resiliency.

Seamless Integration of Packet and PSTN Networks
The PMC directs call processing through the most efficient path in a large, distributed network - routing calls from a packet network to the PSTN and from the PSTN to a packet network. Since the PMC acts as a service mediation point between SIP and AIN domains, it has the ability to link applications from IP to the PSTN and extend network resources to third-party application servers using SIP to enable applications such as IP Centrex, unified messaging and IP call center.

Unrivaled Scale, Performance and Availability
The PMC operates independent of call state and communicates with other network elements using standard protocols, such as SIP, reducing network complexity and eliminating potential network bottlenecks. The PMC architecture allows flexible deployment and eliminates the need for 1:N topologies. ICS2000 media gateways control load balancing between PMCs through a "round robin" or primary and backup mechanism.

Since a single PMC can support a large network of ICS2000s, call-processing capacity is increased linearly and economically with additional servers. The PMC can also be deployed in redundant clusters or distributed geographically for maximum network performance. Load balanced N+k deployment supports extreme scale, performance and availability on the PMC platform.

For a complete list of Alliance applications partners, Click Here.

For more information, call (978) 323-3300 or e-mail info@convergentnet.com.

Application Notes:

Packet Tandem Applications

Class 5 Services

Enhanced Voice Services with SIP

PRI and Business Voice Services