Four of the seven GPRS Roaming Exchange (GRX) carriers are using NexTone Communications’ IP Multimedia Exchange (IMX) platform to power their trials in the European and Asian interoperability tests, which were conducted by the GSM Association (GSMA).
NexTone’s IMX is designed to enable secure and seamless
interconnectivity between 3G mobile networks, wireline networks, and
networks based on the IMS service delivery framework. The NexTone IMX
can also interconnect multiple IMS networks and facilitate the
exchange of multimedia traffic between service providers. NexTone’s
IMX platform operates at the network edge to provide seamless
connectivity between IMS networks, and this flexibility enables
subscriber roaming between networks and gives users the mobility that
they require.
The NexTone IMX incorporates specialized session awareness to
adapt to the requirements of the IMS framework. Key session management
features include network-based policy and session routing, providing
end-to-end control of real-time sessions across networks; advanced SIP
features to support mobile gaming, chat, and other real-time
applications as subscribers roam between networks; transcoding of
wireline codecs on wireline networks to wireless codecs on IMS
networks; and IPv4 to IPv6 network address translation to provide
seamless connectivity between VoIP and IMS networks. The NexTone IMX
also provides secure connectivity to IMS networks using intelligent
identity mechanisms, including access control lists, SIP/TLS
certificates, and DNS checks, that authenticate subscribers and
protect against SIP security threats such as spam over internet
telephony (SPIT) and spam by instant messenger (SPIM).
The GRX trials, conducted over the last six months, brought together
mobile network operators, GRX carriers, and equipment suppliers to
ensure that the next generation of multimedia services, based on the
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS),
will work smoothly and have compatibility across networks once these
services are launched for customers. The tests are crucial for the
many operators around the world that are planning to use IMS to handle
multimedia services such as instant messaging,
push-to-talk-over-cellular, video-sharing, and multiplayer-games in
the future.
GRX carriers, like KPN and CITIC Telecom 1616, play an essential
role for mobile operators by transmitting data traffic between their
networks and by offering their customers global roaming facilities.
The session management intelligence of NexTone’s IMX enabled those
carriers to support IMS interworking and demonstrate hub-to-hub
connectivity, including inter-working between IMS IPv6 systems and IMS
IPv4 systems.
“The GSMA trials demonstrated how the advanced session management
intelligence of NexTone’s IMX enables GRX carrier customers to quickly
and seamlessly interconnect with one another. This flexible platform
provides an interconnect facility to manage the rapid growth of
traffic between wireline carriers and 3G mobile operators, while
enabling new business models for network and service expansion,” said
Dan Dearing, vice president of marketing at NexTone. “Now, wireline
carriers can transparently exchange minutes with mobile carriers,
deliver fixed-mobile convergence services, and extend the reach of
their networks by peering with mobile operators. The NexTone IMX can
also interconnect multiple IMS networks and facilitate the exchange of
multimedia traffic between service providers.”http://www.nextone.com
