Press Release


October 8, 2002
 

NTT Communications Clearinghouse Launches
Multi-Protocol/Multi-Vendor VoIP Services
TOKYO, JAPAN –– On October 10, 2002, NTT Worldwide Telecommunications Corporation (NTT-WT), a wholly owned subsidiary of NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com) will launch a multi-protocol/multi-vendor compatible VoIP service1 for interconnection among carriers/Internet Telephony Service Providers (ITSPs) that use different types of protocols and VoIP equipment.

The global VoIP market2 has been growing rapidly and it is expected that IP telephony3 will become the next generation network (NGN). However, difficulties in interconnection among different VoIP protocols and vendor equipment have been a major obstacle in the service development of VoIP.

NTT Communications Clearinghouse (NTT-CH), provided by NTT-WT, will offer a new VoIP clearinghouse service eliminating this barrier and will also provide interconnection with a number of carriers/ITSPs.

The remarkable feature of the new VoIP clearinghouse service is the new platform, which contains protocol conversion servers to support a variety of VoIP protocols, such as H.3234 and session initiation protocol (SIP5), used in VoIP gateway equipment.

Another important characteristic is that the open settlement protocol (OSP6), which has been written by TIPHON7 project, is incorporated for authentication and accurate settlements among carriers/ITSPs. The protocol conversion servers also ensure compatibility for carriers/ITSPs using VoIP gateway equipment not directly compatible with OSP.

The platform also supports "ClearConference," an IP Telephony conference service which NTT-CH started in January 2002. It will additionally support other enhanced VoIP services for enterprise customers.

NTT Communications Clearinghouse service was first launched in January 2000 and now connects carriers/ITSPs worldwide. With the new platform, NTT-CH will continue to promote IP telephony business. In the future, NTT-WT and NTT Com will integrate Clearinghouse services with Arcstar Global IP-VPN (MPLS8 Type) services for high-quality, low-cost voice services.


Notes

1. Multi-protocol/multi-vendor compatible VoIP service
This offers compatibility between equipment for different call-control protocols, such as H.323 and SIP. The service aims to realize connection with media gateway control protocol (MGCP) and media gateway control (MEGACO) in the coming future.

2. VoIP market
The market in 2001 was worth 9,634 million minutes of traffic, an 81.5% increase from the previous year (source: TeleGeography, Inc., 2002).

3. IP telephony
General term for voice and facsimile services using IP (Internet protocol). VoIP refers to technology used to transmit voice via packets. Voice is made into packets using a VoIP gateway. The service is also named Internet telephony, net telephone or computer telephony, depending on terminals and transmission networks.

4. H.323
The ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) standard for sending voice, data and video via IP-based networks, including the Internet.

5. SIP
Text-based application-layer control protocol for setting up call-control of telephones over the IP network. It has been standardized as RFC2543 at the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

6. OSP
Inter-carrier protocol to manage user authentication and settlement in VoIP systems. In order to realize VoIP service between multiple carriers, it is necessary to transmit authentication and settlement information. Study is progressing under ETSI TIPHON.

7. TIPHON (Telecommunications and Internet Protocol Harmonization Over Network)
Technical project under the ETSI to study specifications to transmit voice over IP networks.

8. MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching)
Technology that sets protocols and other standards for high-speed label switching in large networks; enables construction of IP-VPNs that use labels, not IP addresses, to determine destinations.


Attachment1: About Clearinghouse Service
Attachment2: NTT Communications Clearinghouse Platform