SOFTSWITCH DISSECTED
SOFT OR HARD? Hardware switches can cost tens of millions and occupy a city block in real estate. Softswitches are a fraction of the cost and the size of a refrigerator. Bypassing big iron can also make for a more efficient development environment, potentially offering more revenue-generating features than a Class 5 switch. If you want to learn how it's done and what you'll risk, read on.
A key enabling technology for delivering telecom services over the Internet inexpensively, softswitches empower new service providers to compete successfully with incumbents. If we equate "cheaper, smaller, and more convenient to use" with disruptive technology, then softswitch qualifies. But what are the drawbacks, where's the hype, and whose claims can you believe? Now this comprehensive reference to softswitch applications, protocols and platforms gives you an inside look at the software. Frank Ohrtman investigates the technology, the marketplace, and the players, so you can:
* Anticipate how softswitches will affect your systems, services, and vendors
* Learn how to get hardware-level quality, scalability, and signaling from a softswitch
* Evaluate softswitch advantages as Class 4 and Class 5 replacements
* Assess billing capabilities
* Make decisions on signaling protocols
* Compare implementation approaches
* Handle regulatory issues
"The telecommunications industry is now going through a part of a cycle that economist Josef Schumpeter would call 'creative destruction;' legacy infrastructure and business model have gone into decline and must be replaced. This book helps to identify some of the successes and technology challenges..." -- Michael H. Khalilian, telecom executive and analyst (from the Foreword)
About the Author
Frank Ohrtman has many years experience in sales of VoIP and softswitch platforms. His career in VoIP began with selling VoIP gateway switches for Netrix Corporation to long distance bypass carriers. He went on to promote softswitch solutions for Lucent Technologies (Qwest Account Manager) and Vsys (Western Region Sales Manager). The genesis of this book lies in answering customer objections to VoIP and, tangentially, softswitch technologies.
Mr. Ohrtman learned to perform in-depth research and write succinct analyses during his years as a Navy Intelligence Officer (1981-1991). He is a veteran of U.S. Navy actions in Lebanon (awarded Navy Expeditionary Medal), Grenada, Libya (awarded Joint Service Commendation Medal) and the Gulf War (awarded National Defense Service Medal). Mr. Ohrtman holds a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications from Colorado University College of Engineering (master's thesis: "Softswitch As Class 4 Replacement--A Disruptive Technology") and a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from Boston University.