Transitioning Bilaterals to IP

Bilaterals provide an important means for wholesale carriers to ensure high call quality through a direct connection to the terminating party. Bilaterals also provide more flexibility in billing arrangements, such as a bill and keep for a predetermined amount of traffic.

As a group of major carriers with a focus on the nuts-and-bolts of the IP migration process, the i3 Forum has been dedicating discussions to ensuring that the benefits of bilateral connections are maintained in an IP environment. The discussions have involved technical standards and processes for migration, as well as business models for IP-based bilaterals.

Tata Communications has been participating in the discussions to share experience gained from setting up and maintaining VoIP bilaterals, and to support a timeframe that involves migrating the first bilaterals to pure IP within the year.

Tata Communications is also participating in other industry groups, such as the IPIA, that are engaged in projects that will influence the form that bilaterals take in an IP world.

About the author:

Michael Corso
Product Manager - VoIPLink TM -- Tata Communications
Michael Corso is the Product Manager Product Manager – VoIPLinkTM for Tata Communications. With over a decade of experience in the VoIP industry, Mr. Corso is responsible for overseeing the capabilities, features and strategy for VoIP based interconnects over the Tata Communications voice network. In this capacity he is driving the NGN network integration and facilitates the migration from TDM to VoIP. Mike is also active within industry forums and events and has been the chair of the operations workstream for the i3 Forum over the last two years.