Excel Switching unleashes softswitch

Excel Switching Corporation announced that it is adding a series of wireless enhancements to its Converged Services Platform, including support for Intelligent Network wireless protocol.

Among the new developments is support for ANSI-41, a messaging protocol used in largely by U.S. carriers to communicate between various network elements, and Wireless Intelligent Network, a protocol used by roaming users in ANSI-41 based mobile networks.

Additionally, the company is hoping to encourage application developers to use the new protocol support to create services that cross 2G, 3G and Wi-Fi networks. Among the new services, Excel is pushing are prepaid calling, mobile Centrex, personal access/follow me, SMS, color ring back tone, presence management, operator services and intelligent call screening.

“We are focused on being protocol and network independent,” said JC Murphy, president of Excel Switching.

For the Hyannis, Mass.-based company, the move is further evidence that wireless is among the most promising markets for softswitching. The CSP always has been deployed in wireless networks.

“Qualcomm was a big customer of ours and built a mini MSC out of it. They saw a slower roll to 3G networks, vis a vis the type of applications that people were building on 2.5 G systems,” said Murphy. “Motorola did a similar program but more in their satellite program.”