Hipcom is one of the very first companies to join the new platform. IP Exchange is crucial to the growth of the IP voice market as it overcomes many of the technical, contractual and investment obstacles that have until now, hindered growth. Hipcom is now able to offer this new service to all of its resellers wishing to connect to number ranges beyond their own network, but without the need for complex interoperability agreements. Hipcom is fully committed to the IP Exchange platform as a key development in enabling the growth of VoIP services.
IP Exchange is BT Wholesale’s answer to the increasing need for interoperability between the different communications technologies that are currently in use. It allows any provider of VoIP services to offer their customers the ability to make calls to PSTN, international and mobile numbers that originate as IP calls. And also to other IP networks. It therefore provides the essential gateway between a communications providers own soft switch and the other traditional and IP networks.
IP Exchange also supports the delivery of 999 calls and allows VoIP providers in the UK to meet their obligations under the recent Ofcom ruling.
“We are delighted that Hipcom have joined our new Platform” says Fabienne Dischamps, BT Wholesale’s General Manager for Voice Interconnect. “The future of telecommunications will be based on IP. Next Generation Networks will be all-IP. That is the clear trend, but interoperability remains a significant and important requirement. We created IP Exchange to let Voice over IP communications providers provide their customers with access to and from the PSTN.
Calls are handed over to BT using IP. This eliminates the need to invest in expensive IP to PSTN conversion gateways. IP Exchange will enable our customers’ end users to place voice calls and video calls through their broadband service connection to fixed lines and to mobile and other IP networks. IP Exchange is a real one-stop shop in the run-up to full next generation networking."
James Brind, Hipcom CTO commented that “Hipcom shares BT’s vision of the 21CN. Hipcom’s next generation Hosted IP telephony platform, launched in 2005, is an IP/SIP network with no TDM. This allows us to simply overlay our Hosted Voice Services onto BT’s IP Exchange giving resellers direct access in two forms – Hipcom managed termination, or via Hipcom’s Hosted Exchange (HEX). HEX allows a reseller to maintain direct carrier relationships for all of their Hosted IP Telephony traffic. This appeals to those resellers who terminate large quantities of minutes and wish to retain control of the relationship with the carrier.”