Level 3 porting voice traffic directly over IP

Level 3 today announced it has begun offering carriers direct IP links into its backbone for voice traffic, allowing wholesale customers to create end-to-end voice over IP connections over their networks.

The service targeted at both next-generation carriers and carriers upgrading their legacy system is designed to eliminate the TDM switch and its high interconnection costs from their networks. Those carriers can simply hook directly into an IP port in one of Level 3’s 18 facilities in the U.S. and Europe.

"The service is attracting both next-gen carriers in the U.S. and international carriers farther along with their IP networks than domestic carriers," said Dennis Kyle, Level 3 vice president of voice transport services. "We look at it as both a great way to expand not only our range of services but also our addressable market."

Level 3 also announced its first customer for the new VoIP product, T-Systems, a Frankfurt-based company that will use the direct IP interfaces to carry traffic out of Europe and Asia into the U.S. Though Level 3 didn’t reveal any of the financial details of the deal, Kyle said the agreement provides for multiple DS-3s worth of traffic.

Other domestic next generation carriers and international carriers are now running interoperability trials over the network and Level 3 hopes to announce additional customers soon, Kyle said. While many of these customers use Level 3 data services, all of their voice traffic will be new capacity on the network, so Level 3 will not be cannibalizing its TDM revenue for IP revenue, Kyle said.