Telica is now offering Wireless Number Portability (WNP) and Wireline Local Number Portability (LNP) support on its Plexus 9000 platform. Specifically, the Plexus 9000 supports WNP for standards-based ANSI-41 and GSM mobile networks, extending from 2/2.5G through to 3G evolution phases. In a wireless carrier’s network, the Plexus 9000 acts as intermediary between its MSCs and other wireless carrier networks, performing the necessary queries, routing, and signaling manipulation to ensure that calls are sent to the ported subscriber’s network. Telica said its Plexus 9000 platform enables wireless carriers to be fully compliant with the FCC WNP ruling while avoiding costly changes to their legacy MSCs.
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- Telica’s Plexus 9000 is a carrier-grade switch that includes elements of a softswitch-based solution, including a media gateway, media gateway controller and signaling gateway, to provide Class 4/5 switching for the PSTN as well as ATM and IP networks.
In March 2003, Telica expanded its Plexus 9000 Class 4/5 switching platform to include packet-based wireless capabilities, including Gateway Mobile Switching Center (GMSC), Soft MSC Media Gateway and an All-IP Wireless Solution. The announcement adds support for applications that can be applied in wireless network architectures; 2G, 2.5G or 3G, including GSM, GPRS, EDGE, CDMA, TDMA, CDMA2000, and UMTS. Telica said the flat topology of wireless networks is proving difficult to scale because of the large number of highly-meshed trunks required between Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs).
As a Gateway MSC, Telica’s Plexus 9000 can be deployed like a Class 4 switch in a wireline network, using TDM, IP, or ATM-based trunking to support Tandem switching and long distance services. Specific to wireless networks, the Plexus 9000 Gateway MSC, which supports IS-41 and GSM MAP services, accepts calls from the PSTN and routes directly to the intended mobile subscriber’s Serving MSC, bypassing the Home MSC entirely. The routing efficiency frees up tens of thousands of legacy MSC ports and reduces PSTN interconnect facilities and associated leased line costs through consolidation. The Plexus 9000 could also operate as a wireless media gateway.
In June 2003, The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld FCC rules allowing for number portability for mobile telephone subscribers. The ruling, which rejected the arguments of Verizon Wireless and the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, would allow consumers to keep the mobile number when switching providers.
