MCI advances its global IP play with Ericsson implementation

In what will be a long transition to IP for many carriers globally, MCI took a step this week toward its goal of providing an end-to-end IP network with the implementation of Ericsson’s Engine softswitch platform.

MCI said it would deploy Ericsson’s Engine solution to migrate its international gateway traffic to carrier-class voice over IP. This carrier-class, standards-based VoIP infrastructure will enable the company to transport voice traffic worldwide on its IP backbone, expand its network functionality and offer next-generation services on a global basis.

It is a softswitch deployment but the overall VoIP strategy is a bigger story," said Ihab Tarazi, vice president of international engineering for MCI.

The deployment also will provide scalable IP access for customers and partners to MCI’s global voice network and deliver enhanced VoIP features in the future. It is an extension of MCI’s domestic VoIP migration plans. MCI expects to begin transitioning traffic by mid 2005.

"Carriers are all at different stages of VoIP implementation. Some will be [converted] by next year; some will take 10 years," Tarazi said. "So the network will be hybrid for years to come and this is a big piece of our ability to provide end-to-end IP [transport.]

MCI’s Engine platform deployment includes the Ericsson Telephony Server (TeS) which serves as the voice gateway controller and signaling gateway, and the Ericsson Media Gateway (MGW) as the VoIP media path converters. The platform will allow MCI to transfer the function of fixed international switch voice circuits to the dynamic efficiencies of the MCI IP global network. The Media Gateways (MGW) will convert voice streams from the legacy TDM network to packets for transport across the IP backbone.

Likewise, gateways also will convert VoIP packets back to TDM voice streams for transport across the public switched telephone network. By providing MCI with the capability to interconnect existing VoIP networks with SIP and H.323, the Engine platform will also provide MCI the flexibility to connect with global carriers to exchange VoIP traffic regardless of protocol preference.

Tarazi said this is the first phase of a multi-phased deployment. MCI has Ericsson’s Engine family of products deployed in its network today. However, this is the first from a pure IP perspective.