The i3 Forum, a consortium of more than 37 telecommunication providers that serve more than 1.5 billion customers in over 100 countries, will release its official document titled “Voice over IPX,” which outlines the technical and commercial specifications for the Voice over IPX solution.

The document, available online, includes the implementation specifications for the Voice Over IPX, which deploys the GSMA (News - Alert) IPX architecture as a baseline and offers voice service within the framework of IP Packet Exchange (IPX).

The GSM Association (GSMA) designed the IPX as a multiservice, converged, global interconnection model with an aim to carry existing services as well as next generation services. The platform combines the benefits of Internet Protocol (IP) with enhanced quality of service security, cascading session-based billing and multilateral interconnection possibilities.

In the words of Philippe Millet, chairman of i3 Forum, the new document is a key contribution to the industry by the i3 Forum, as such widely agreed upon guidelines were not available until now. Millet continued that the document will enable carriers to implement voice services in an IPX environment, which is one of the many ways to move towards an all-IP world, a goal of the i3 Forum.

The comprehensive document is based upon the June 2010 version of the GSMA IPX requirements, and analyzes the business perspective on the Multilateral Hubbing connectivity mode. It also offers a set of specifications that help in achieving the basic requirements for various including IP routing, signaling, media, security, quality of service control and service routing. 

According to Millet, industry bodies such as the i3 Forum and GSMA have a pivotal role to play in accelerating the industry-wide transition to IP, and the i3 Forum is committed to achieving this vision through collaboration and will continue to meet with other industry organizations until an all-IP world is realized.

The Voice over IPX specifications by the i3 Forum serve as a bridge to the already existing specifications for Voice over Public IP and Voice over Private IP. Although the specifications defined by the i3 Forum are different from the current GSMA IPX requirements, they have been designed to fulfill the needs of mobile network operators. After carrying out a joint analysis and study between GSMA work groups and i3Forum carriers during the past 18 months, a number of minor revisions and clarifications to the GSMA IPX requirements, and a discussion is being continuously held to move the industry to IP.

In September, the i3 Forum, in collaboration with the SIP Forum (News - Alert), announced a new testing program for Fax-over-Internet-Protocol services, aimed at identifying and qualifying transmission impairments and interoperability challenges that have arisen in IP-based networks as the T.38 protocol has become more widely deployed across carrier and enterprise network topologies.