IP telephony has never been more popular. After years of expanding the technology, enterprises are seeing greater cost benefits and increased productivity. The advantages of getting into IP telephony have become blatantly obvious, eliciting a wave of popularity.

SIP trunking is one way companies are able enhance their services. There is a trend emerging as companies switch from their traditional PBXs and into SIP trunking, greatly reducing the cost of operation and maintenance. The growth of the SIP trunking market has skyrocketed by nearly 800 percent in the last five years.

Jumping successfully into the SIP trunking market is not advised without proper planning. The best VoIP networks, for example, are comprised of many components. The structure of these components, from SIP application servers to session border controllers to enterprise session border controller to IP PBX (News - Alert) to the end user, must be planned out carefully and every piece of infrastructure perfectly matched for proper integration.

IP telephony differs from TDM-based networks. SIP trunking includes calls being placed into IP packets. Those packets are then processed in an IP network, which controls its delivery. Sometimes, the number of packets might exceed the ability of the network to process them.

This manifests itself in what the end user perceives as poor audio quality, including choppy conversation. To make sure this doesn’t happen, providers have to know the ins and outs of the QoS in their SIP trunking network.

Many providers will rely on more than one Internet connection to make sure the data and VoIP traffic flows freely and without congestion or delay.

Interoperability is also an issue that users will face, especially when the providers set up their SIP trunking differently than the next provider’s IP PBX. Support will always be an issue that providers should be ready to offer from one core application server to end user.

Luckily, there are many monitoring choices to help track and log all the processes along the line, including each and every call that comes through.

A valuable asset in any service is offering redundancies that keep the flow of service uninterrupted in case of natural disaster or power failure. Business continuity in SIP trunking includes routing critical calls from a disabled IP PBX to one that is working. In order for this to happen successfully, the location has to be equipped with the required infrastructure. In many cases, the infrastructure must have what is known as “burstable” SIP trunk groups.

Metaswitch makes an array of solutions for carriers of all sizes. Steve Gleave, vice president of Marketing for Metaswitch, recently told TMC (News - Alert), “I think we have a reputation for doing three things really well. Switch migration, taking old switches into the world of IP and next generation networks. Innovative consumer and business communications services typically built on those switches. And, most recently, border session controllers.” 



Gleave recently joined Rich Tehrani (News - Alert) in the TMC newsroom in San Jose for the Roadshow. To catch their entire conversation and what Metaswitch is doing in the SIP space, check out the video in full above.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO click here.

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