Offering new products and technologies is increasingly becoming a key success factor for carriers to grow their business. A few years ago, it was usual to see data carriers working exclusively with data services. Today, a carrier who only provides data services is fated to disappear.
So, these data carriers are already seeking to provide voice services and, to this end they also have to interconnect with a carrier who already provides this service.
The interconnection of the carriers and the services that reach the end customer are executed through specific protocols that carry over and bring back all the pieces of information that make up communications: voice, signaling, and data.
SIP is the protocol created for using voice over the Internet, called VoIP (Voice over IP). In turn, to transport the signaling information required for voice calls, the SS7 protocol suite is used, as well as SIGTRAN, which is based on SS7 and uses the data network for carrying the information over.
Signaling point and signaling switching point
Media gateways are responsible for connecting to the telephony carriers (STFC) and delivering the service to the end customers, acting as a signaling point between them. In this scenario, a final customer can be a house with an IP phone, a condominium of houses with IP electronic intercoms, or companies that rely on a local PBX system and its array of services.
Khomp KMG MS is an example of a media gateway that works as a signaling point.
In another scenario, a data carrier who provides voice services in more than one location simultaneously needs a device that is capable of acting as a signaling switching point, and not just as a signaling point. Thus, the signal from the interconnected carriers (STFC) is able to “reach” the end customer, even when this end customer is being serviced by different media gateways. This type of solution is part of the Kmedia line of products offered by Khomp.
To illustrate the difference between a signaling point and a signaling switching point, please take a look at the scenario depicted below, in which the data carrier starts to offer voice services and serves more than one city simultaneously.
One Kmedia makes the primary interconnection acting as a signaling switching point. It connects STFC carriers with one or more KMG MS devices, which in turn deliver voice to end customers. Therefore, in this scenario, the KMG MS devices are acting just as a signaling point to interconnect the audio.
