Veraz targets legacy PBXs with SIP gateway

Veraz Networks today released a SIP gateway that service providers can deploy to enterprise wiring closets as part of a solution extending SIP signaling and voice-over-IP (VoIP) services to legacy PBXs.

The product, the I-GATE 4000 EDGE SIP Gateway, is built on Veraz’s media gateway technology. In addition to working with legacy PBXs, it can also work “in the other direction” and be used in conjunction with a service provider ‘s TDM PSTN switches to add SIP capabilities to legacy telco networks.

That said, the bigger opportunity for Veraz and its service provider customers is to use the low-profile, relatively low-cost box to bring SIP capabilities into the enterprise without forcing wholesale PBX change-outs, a welcome cost savings in a down economy, said Gus Elmer, Veraz’s director of corporate marketing.

“The interesting thing with the timing of this announcement – and we won’t claim we necessarily foresaw the current economic situation – is that, for enterprises with legacy TDM PBXs that aren’t ready yet to invest in IP PBXs, this product can help them take advantage of lower-cost interconnect to the public network,” Elmer said. “The timing of it is very good.”

Specifically, the I-Gate 4000 EDGE SIP GW enables enterprises to interconnect their existing PBXs to remote offices, teleworkers, and local and long-distance PSTN services over IP, lowering their overall voice calling costs. It can work with a single PBX or be part of a network, such as in an industrial park or campus location that includes multiple customer PBXs.

SIP gateways are not exactly a new product, but Veraz believes its traditional carrier focus helps it bring new capabilities to its gateway, including “six-nines” reliability thanks to independently redundant power, TDM interface and IP interface modules and high call density due to the platform’s call compression capabilities, Elmer said.

Veraz is already in service today with the SIP gateway with one unnamed tier-one service provider, Elmer said. “The customer doesn’t have a lot of softswitches in its network but [the Veraz gateway] will allow them to interwork with third-party softswitches and gateways,” Elmer said.

The I Gate 4000 EDGE SIP GW is available directly today from Veraz and through select partners.