THUS launched the service in response to increased demand for SIP interconnect services from VoIP carriers who required easier access to traditional telephony networks. THUS has therefore taken steps to become an early adopter of SIP interconnect services, being one of the first operators in the UK to provide the service directly to carriers. The new service will provide carriers with lower infrastructure costs, enable wider deployment of new VoIP services and provide greater bandwidth for VoIP call traffic.
With the new wave of VoIP carriers in the industry, the THUS SIP interconnect will enable them to more easily send IP calls over to traditional fixed-line telephony networks, therefore extending network reach. With this service, IP call traffic travels through a carrier's own softswitch across the SIP interconnect to the THUS softswitch which provides the gateway function to the traditional PSTN network where the calls are terminated. Both PSTN terminated and originated calls can be passed through the THUS SIP interconnect service.
Nigel Stevens, product director at THUS plc, explained: "With the increasing number of VoIP carriers in the market, THUS recognised the need for a wide-reaching and reliable SIP service. As VoIP overtakes traditional telephony networks, SS7 interconnect services are becoming less favourable to carriers and we saw an opportunity to capitalise on this trend. THUS is well placed to provide this service because it has an extensive interconnect network across the UK to support carriers.
"THUS has built a solid business cost effectively terminating UK telephone calls for a number of customers, extending that service to VoIP traffic is a natural extension of our services."
To date, carriers interconnecting using SIP have been relatively rare. However, THUS expects the market to grow rapidly as carriers seek to interconnect using protocols over IP rather than traditional interconnect protocols using SS7.
The new THUS SIP services will provide carriers with greater bandwidth for call traffic through access circuit bandwidths of up to 1Gbit. Traditional telephony Interconnect switching has 2Mbps of circuit bandwidth, which only allows for up to 30 calls per circuit at any one time. In addition, the THUS SIP Interconnect service will be underpinned by a service level agreement which will state the required performance of the supporting data network and the SIP interconnect. Monitoring and reporting SIP Interconnect performance will also be provided as well as an option for resilient connectivity.