Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking services from IP telephony service providers have been on the market since 2005, but deployments have been limited for a couple of reasons. First, it seems many network managers I talk with do not fully grasp what a SIP trunk is, exactly, and how they work. Second, for those who do understand the concept, only now do I feel that the business case, which can be very compelling, is finally being understood. Organizations looking to deploy Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) should take a serious look at SIP trunks as part of their deployment plans.
Let me start by explaining what a SIP trunk is. In traditional telephony, the phone company delivers telephony services over a wire, or a “trunk,” that connects the corporate private branch exchange (PBX) to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). This physical trunk carries the phone calls from the corporation to the PSTN providing the corporation with phone service. A SIP trunk allows companies to replace physical cables with telephone service over a data network — whether it’s through a dedicated line, a shared connection with a data service or even by using the Internet for connectivity.
A SIP trunk can deliver much more value to a company than a traditional PSTN trunk. First, there’s no real limit to the number of voice sessions that can be carried over a SIP trunk (other than bandwidth), whereas a traditional PSTN trunk is limited to the number of channels available. Also, SIP can deliver many of the unified communications (UC) functions that companies are looking at today. Chat services, presence, conferencing capabilities, the ability to share applications, etc., can all be delivered over a SIP trunk, allowing companies to look at purchasing UC as a service rather than investing in premise-based hardware and software.
SIP trunks also allow organizations to extend VoIP past the physical LAN, where most of the deployments are today. This removes the need for organizations to purchase costly gateways, bridges or other equipment that help connect the corporate VoIP environment to the PSTN. That connectivity is done within the IP telephony service provider’s network, which means the enterprise does not have to incur the cost.
To deploy a SIP trunk you really need only three things: An IP PBX with a SIP-ready trunk, a device that sits at the edge of the enterprise that can talk SIP and a service provider that offers a SIP-trunking service (not all do today). The device is similar to the gateway needed for PSTN connectivity, but it’s typically much cheaper on a per-user basis than a gateway and it can be a gateway to many more services, other than just voice, providing a much faster return on investment than with a traditional trunk.
Overall, a SIP trunk is a simple, cost-effective method of increasing the value of the investment you’ve made in VoIP. There are many other benefits as well, such as increased user productivity, convergence of multiple lines, better bandwidth utilization and, if deployed correctly, more uptime than traditional telephony .
I urge anyone who has deployed VoIP or has a rollout under way to take a serious look at using SIP trunks to maximize the benefits of your investment. For more information on Windstream/NuVox’s SIP options, call Jonathan Kirby 615-620-5223
Telecom service providers are not known for pioneering innovations that might represent the future but which also cannibalize existing services they already offer. Digital subscriber line is one example. Executives worried that DSL would cannibalize high-margin T1 services.
That might be true in some cases, but eventually executives saw that it was a huge consumer product. Only a bit later was it clear how foundational such services would prove in the emerging service provider market.
Incumbent service providers have had the same issue with Session Initiation Protocol (News – Alert) trunking, which more directly displaces business T1 lines. But there always comes a time, in the early lifecycle of any popular product, when it is more dangerous to avoid cannibalization than to embrace cannibalization to capture a significant share of market for the emerging product.
And that seems to be the case for SIP trunking services.
Windstream (News – Alert), for example, has launched “Dynamic Office – SIP.” In offering an IP solution that provides customers direct access to Windstream’s private IP network for data and voice communications, Windstream will risk cannibalizing some existing “primary rate interface” business.
Windstream’s move validates SIP trunking. But as always is the case, the incumbent’s entry into the market can change sales dynamics quite dramatically.
You probably do not remember Northpoint Communications or Rhythms NetConnections. Both were among the three U.S. companies pioneering DSL services in the U.S. market. Northpoint went bankrupt and its assets were acquired by AT&T. Rhythms went bankrupt and its assets were bought by WorldCom, which later merged with MCI, which ultimately was purchased by Verizon (News – Alert).
You might know of Covad Communications, the only remaining provider of the three original independent DSL providers who pioneered the market. Covad (News – Alert) itself declared bankruptcy in 2001 but remains in business as an independent company.
The point is that independent companies pioneered the service early on, but it was incumbents who had the most to gain and now represent most DSL lines in service in the U.S. market.
That same pattern was true of the mobile business as well, which was pioneered by indpendent companies but now is lead by incumbents.
One might expect a gradual unfolding of SIP trunking services along lines following the historic pattern. Today most companies likely buy their SIP trunking services from independent providers of one sort or another. Over time, that likely will change as incumbents decide the service is too important to ignore.
Communications really is a business of scale, and history suggests that even when incumbents do not move first to commercialize a technology, especially when it has mixed financial implications, they eventually move aggressively and most often wind up dominating the market.
Windstream’s move into SIP trunking likely is a signal that the SIP trunking market is about to see a major shift of market share. The major incumbents already have moved to offer SIP trunking, though they might not be “pushing” the service as aggressively as they someday will.
Gary Kim (News – Alert) is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Gary’s articles, please visit his columnist page.
GREENVILLE, S.C., July 29 /PRNewswire/ — NuVox, a leading communications provider across the Southeast and Midwest, announced today that its VoxIP SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) Trunking product is now compatible with NEC’s UNIVERGE SV8100 and UX5000 IP communications servers. NEC passed NuVox’s strict certification program to ensure that customers will be able to quickly and easily combine NEC hardware and NuVox’s SIP Service. This allows customers to test and certify the interoperability between VoxIP SIP and NEC’s UNIVERGE IP communication systems.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090714/CL46112LOGO) VoxIP SIP is the latest in communications technology. It efficiently utilizes bandwidth to deliver voice and data services along with enhanced, business class features. VoxIP SIP supports IP communications from the user’s IPPBX (and handset) to the NuVox cloud, providing the foundation for multimedia communications. When complemented with VoxNET Gold, NuVox’s MPLS solution, SIP also allows customers to streamline communications.
“VoxIP SIP utilizes cutting edge IP technology that will change the way businesses communicate in the future,” said Sid Earley, Vice President of Marketing for NuVox. “Together with NEC, NuVox will continue to deliver the most comprehensive communications solutions to our customers.” “In today’s economy, the business case for VoxIP SIP Trunking from NuVox has never been clearer,” said Jay Krauser, General Manager, Core Solutions and Engineering, NEC. “By combining the potential cost savings of VoxIP with the productivity benefits of our unified communications applications and UNIVERGE SMB platforms, NEC and NuVox should be on every mid-sized company’s list for consideration.” NEC’s award-winning UNIVERGE SV8100 Communications Server is the ideal IP telephony solution for SMBs that wish to compete and grow their businesses over time. The UNIVERGE
UX5000 is a comprehensive integrated solution for smaller businesses designed to meet the unique challenges of both business telephony applications and VoIP.
In addition to NEC certification, VoxIP SIP is compatible with a variety of premise-based IPPBX systems including Cisco, Avaya, Ingate, and Digium with more hardware certifications coming later this year.
VoxIP SIP Trunking with NEC’s communication servers is now available to business customers in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee. About NuVox
NuVox delivers customized managed communications services, information technology, data, security, and voice solutions designed specifically for business customers. NuVox serves approximately 90,000 customers in the Southeast and Midwest, and provides select services throughout the United States. NuVox delivers services via its industry-leading MPLS-based wide area private IP network. NuVox has been certified by Cisco and is a member of the Cisco Powered Program for VoxNET, the company’s MPLS wide-area networking solution. In addition to retail solutions, NuVox also provides services to government and wholesale customers. For more information, visit www.nuvox.com.
More information about NuVox can be found at:
Convergence: Offers your business a combination of voice, Internet, and networking services.
Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation: Channels on the T1 alternate “on demand” between voice and Internet.
Voice Prioritization: Calls coming into and going out of your business always receive priority.
Quality of Service. NuVox leverages its state-of-the-art, fully-redundant IP network and on-premise integrated access devices to ensure the highest quality of service.
Cisco Powered Network (CPN Certified): The NuVox IP network is built using flexible and reliable Cisco-Powered Technology.
Centralized Access: SIP Trunking allows for main and branch offices to share hardware and access at the main site when partnered with VoxNet Gold MPLS WAN solution. Local call and 911 routing can be supported in areas within Nuvox footprint.
Cost Efficient: Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation, Silence Suppression and the SIP Trunk Compression feature work together to provide the most efficient use of customer’s bandwidth. Free Calling Between locations saves customers’ money on Long Distance.
Robust Features: Features such as Compression (G.711, G.729, G.726 and G.723) which allows for improved utilization of bandwidth and T.38 which provide enhanced faxing capability are available and optional.
Hello, I am an Account Executive for Nuvox. I post news and information here for readers to enjoy. Please post comments on the articles. If you have any questions, please contact me at 615-620-5223.
