VoIP threatens to outsmart backend
Published: 29 Dec 2003 14:20 GMT
Morche said that Level 3 has been able to reduce the amount of time it takes to test network interoperability from months to a couple of weeks. "We'd like to get this down to a couple of days," he said. "But the technology and the industry are still maturing."
Other looming issues for voice hand-offs include nettlesome billing arrangements. Internet carriers that share lots of traffic currently use "peering" agreements that essentially agree to waive transport charges on the assumption that their costs are generally equivalent. Whether those agreements will be extended to voice traffic remains unclear, however, as carriers begin to see traditional phone tolls take a hit as VoIP volume takes up a bigger percentage of calls.
The so-called "handoff" problem includes those from the traditional telephone world, which are partnering with cable providers to ensure that their digital phone calls can reach the public switched telephone network, still used by nearly every US house and business.
For now, most broadband providers peddling VoIP service have settled on a time tested telephone circuit switches to ensure the handoff of voice calls isn't fumbled, rather than new class of networking equipment that manages the same safe passage for about 20 percent less cost.
Time Warner Cable is one example. It hired Sprint Communcations and MCI to ensure VoIP calls can reach what's known as the public switched telephone network. Mark Chall, Sprint director of service deployment, said for now, Sprint will use traditional phone equipment to ensure the passage of Time Warner Cable calls onto its own network and vice versa.
"Sprint's plan is to move to a more elegant handoff," he added, "probably in the next year."
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