Plan B: CLECs turn to MetaSwitch

Anticipating the recent FCC ruling on unbundled network elements that gives competitive carriers about a year to find alternative switching solutions, PCS1 and Utility Telephone have signed with MetaSwitch to provide voice-over-IP softswitch capabilities.

North Hollywood, Calif.-based PCS1, which has 75,000 lines and provides local and long-distance service to small businesses, has been transitioning to MetaSwitch for about six months. The company now offers both VoIP and TDM-based service.

Utility Telephone currently has a MetaSwitch call agent and media/signaling gateway deployed in Stockton, Calif., and will install an additional three MetaSwitch media gateways for further geographic coverage.

The CLEC had three requirements for its Class 5 softswitch: that it offer the reliability and features customers expected, including support for Centrex and PBX lines; that it support packet voice interfaces to integrate seamlessly with UT’s data network; and that it support a solid business case. Jason Mills, president of Utility Telephone, said in a statement that MetaSwitch met all three requirements.

The MetaSwitch product line includes carrier-class softswitching solutions for both incumbent and competitive carriers. Options range from a compact single-chassis softswitch to an open standards-based distributed architecture with centralized call agent servers controlling multiple media and signaling gateways.

The products scales from a few hundred subscribers to over 500,000 and includes a full set of Class 4 and Class 5 features as well as enhanced IP services on a fault-tolerant hardware platform that can be co-located.