SIP Trunking is an IP-based voice solution which lets you make secure calls, usually from an IP phone or desk-based softphone to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network), and vice versa. This technology is beginning to replace traditional voice services such as ISDN, as it brings voice and data together over one network connection – a WAN (Wide Area Network), for example – rather than needing dedicated TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) circuits.
W H Y S I P T R U N K I N G ? Organisations are looking to iron out complexities and make things more simple. Consolidating technologies can help to control costs, and connect teams and offices seamlessly. And SIP Trunking lets you do this, by converging voice and data networks onto one platform. It involves migrating to IP telephony, so also prepares your communications infrastructure for future improvements and innovations, such as unified communications. If your organisation has already deployed, or is looking to deploy IPVPN, then SIP Trunking is the ideal way to manage growing numbers of communication channels.
C H O O S E S I P T R U N K I N G , A N D Y O U ’ R E I N G O O D C O M P A N Y Many organisations are already seeing the benefits of SIP Trunking.
Independent analysts IDC have seen significant growth in the SIP Trunking market over the last few years. They are predicting that SIP Trunking will continue to grow in the years to come:
S I P T R U N K I N G
B e t t e r c o m m u n i c a t i o n a t l o w e r c o s t
SIP Trunking lets you bring your voice and data together over a single
connection, helping to reduce your communications spend and
future-proof your network. And with Virgin Media Business, it also
brings you outstanding reliability and excellent call quality.
T H R E E G O O D R E A S O N S T O C H O O S E V I R G I N M E D I A B U S I N E S S SIP Trunking with us is different, in three ways:
* Net Promoter Score or NPS is a management tool that can be used to gauge the loyalty of a firm’s customer relationships. F A R - R E A C H I N G B U S I N E S S
B E N E F I T S
• Cost savings – consolidating your voice and data networks reduces your communications spend.
• A harder working data network – SIP Trunking lets you carry voice traffic over your Virgin Media Business IPVPN circuit. • Exceptional reliability – our new C20
platform is built on two highly available POPs, and load balanced for geographic resilience, so everyone benefits from its 99.99% reliability. And you can add further resilience options, such as access resilience across SIP Trunks.
• Outstanding call quality – while other SIP Trunking services operate across an internet connection or third party network, your service is delivered over our network and uses the G.711 A-law codec to ensure excellent call quality. So we can vouch for our service, from start to finish.
• Scalability – traditional ISDN voice circuits can’t cope with more than 30 concurrent calls. But, bandwidth permitting, a single SIP Trunk can accommodate literally hundreds (if not thousands) of calls at the same time.
• Simplicity – SIP Trunking only needs a single connection via an interoperability tested E-SBC (Enterprise Session Border Controller) to the Virgin Media Business network – to deliver a full enterprise grade voice service, across multiple sites.
• Future-proofing – if you’re considering unified communications or IP telephony, SIP Trunking is a fundamental component and helps prepare your network for these technologies - making them much easier to deploy.
We own our network – unlike many of our competitors we own our network, so we’re responsible for end to end quality control
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Customer experience – our continually improving *Net Promoter Score shows how our commitment to service is inspiring customer loyalty
G E T T I N G T E C H N I C A L
Our C20 platform provides a geographically resilient service. It’s made up of two load-balanced Genband soft switches (in two geographically diverse locations), and if either one of the soft switches or SBCs (Session Border Controllers) fail, then all traffic is automatically re-routed via the other switch. All our new SIP Trunking customers benefit from geographic resilience as standard. This means we can ensure core availability at 99.99% – but please note that the end-to-end service availability we guarantee depends on the availability of your access circuit(s).
• The platform components for C20 are made up of two identical, load-balanced soft switches, each fronted by a pair of SBCs. • This example shows the customer has
chosen access resilience, which means there are two separate access links between the PE routers in our network and the CE routers at the customer’s premises. This has created a total of eight SIP Trunk pathways across the IPVPN network (between each of the PE routers).
• If a customer opts for a single SIP Trunk, a total of four paths would cross the IPVPN network (between the customer’s CE router and our four PE routers).
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S E R V I C E E L E M E N T S A T A G L A N C EOpting for a SIP Trunking service means that you’ll be getting:
Reliable, cost-effective voice and data services
An efficient evolution from the traditional TDM-based calls and line products
Multiple levels of resilience, with geographic resilience as standard
Voice delivered over an IPVPN network, so there is no need for separate voice circuits
Support for common telephony features and full interoperability with IP telephony systems
Audio passes through a G.711 codec to ensure you get the same great voice quality as you’d get with traditional voice services
Security managed via SIP Digest authentication, which will need to be supported by your PBX
S U P P O R T E D C P E ( C U S T O M E R P R E M I S E S E Q U I P M E N T )
• Our SIP Trunking connects to your CPE via an SBC. It’s up to us to test the interoperability of key SBCs with our SIP Trunking platform. Currently our range of certified SBCs include Cisco CUBE, Sonus, Audiocodes, Mitel, Avaya, Ingate and Unify. • We’re adding to the approved SBC portfolio
all the time, so to make sure that you have current information, your account manager can provide the latest list and details of any planned interoperability testing.
S E R V I C E A C C E S S
• Your SIP end-point (such as an E-SBC or gateway to the C20 soft switch) is connected to our nationwide fibre-optic network using a secure Layer 3 connection. • Choose either managed or unmanaged
IPVPN, but if you already have a circuit with us, we can layer SIP Trunking on top of your existing IPVPN, for ‘Shared Access’. Or you can have ‘Dedicated Access’ through a purpose built IPVPN.
C O D E C I S K E Y
• A codec is a device that encodes and decodes a signal, so that information can be transmitted more quickly.
• We use the G.711 A-law codec (PCMA) with payload sizes of between 10 and 20 milliseconds, providing the highest quality voice experience.
• With this codec, we recommend you allow 100Kbit/s of bandwidth for each concurrent call or SIP channel, to factor in IP overheads.
T E L E P H O N Y F E A T U R E S : SIP Trunking supports the key
telephony features you’d expect to see in a business-grade voice solution: • DDI – Direct Dialling Inwards • CLI – Calling Line Identity • CLIP – Calling Line Identity
Presentation
• CLIR – Calling Line Identity Restriction
• Presentation Numbers (types 2-5)
T E C H N I C A L A R C H I T E C T U R E O F T H E S I P P L A T F O R M C20 Poplar Brentford
IPVPN
PE PE PE CE CE PE PE Firewall Firewall Firewall SBC SBC SBCPSTN
PSTN
PVG PVG PBX SBC PBXA total of eightpaths for architecture, geographic and access resilience K E Y
To find out how we can help you embrace new technologies, just give us a call on 0800 953 0068.
Or visit www.virginmediabusiness.co.uk
R E S I L I E N C E F O R R E L I A B I L I T Y
A choice of multiple layered resilience options, means you’re assured of end-to-end reliability:
As a product combining voice and data, SIP Trunking is underpinned by both our DAVS (Direct Access Voice Service) and IPVPN SLAs, with availability levels as follows: • 99.85% when provided over a single IPVPN
access circuit and single SIP Trunk • 99.99% when provided over two IPVPN
access circuits with two access-resilient SIP Trunks.
Geographic resilience – the standard service for all customers. Two identical load-balanced soft switches are located about 15 miles apart (Poplar and Brentford), and ensures core platform availability of 99.99%.
DDI resilience – the standard service for customers with full 1,000 (F-block) or 10,000 (E-block) number ranges. We host the number blocks directly on the C20 platform rather than at the local exchange, which provides additional resilience.
TDS-SIP-DD0414/RB We’ve worked hard to ensure that the information in this document is correct and fairly stated. We can’t, however, accept liability for any error or omission. Our products and services are under continuous development, so the information published here may not be up to date. It’s important that you check the current position with your local Virgin Media Business office. This document is not part of a contract or licence unless expressly agreed in writing. Virgin Media Business, Media House, Bartley Wood Business Park, Hook, Hampshire, RG27 9UP.
