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A Frost & Sullivan White Paper
Sponsored by NeuStar
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Going VoIP 3
NeuStar’s Role in the Life of an Architect 4
NeuStar’s Role in the Life of a Real Estate Broker 4
NeuStar’s Role in a Teenager’s Life 5
NeuStar’s Role in the Life of a College Student and Intern 6
NeuStar Services: Trusted to Bring Networks Together 7
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
NeuStar : Playing an Essential Role in Ever yday Communications
Today, more than ever before, we find ourselves surrounded by technologically -advanced convenience services. These services are so commonplace and ubiquitous that few, if any, of us ever stop to consider how they work – or what would happen if they stopped working. Consider electricity. We wake up each day, or come home from work at night, and one of the first things we do is turn on a light. We don’t concern ourselves with how the light works or who makes it work; we simply expect that it will work.
In the telecommunications and Internet arena, NeuStar is the company charged with figuratively “keeping the lights on.” Founded in 1996, the company is the neutral, trusted, third-party service provider that works diligently behind the scenes to enable seamless communications, even though much of what it does is “invisible” to the end user.
To illustrate just how pervasive and important NeuStar’s work actually is, this paper follows the day-to-day activities of the hypothetical “Sterling family” as its members work, play, and interact.
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The Sterling family is a typical, technically-advanced family. Parents Ted and Kim have two children, whose names are Eric and Jill. Ted is an architect; after several years at a firm, he has decided to start his own home-based firm. Kim is a busy mother and real estate broker. Eric is a college student and an intern for a telecommunications company, at which he is learning about fraud and regulatory issues. Jill is a teenager with a wide social circle; she uses her mobile phone constantly, and is almost always instant messaging or texting a friend. The Sterlings subscribe to television and the Internet via their cable provider. They have two phone lines: one through their telephone company, and one through their cable provider. Each family member has a mobile phone as well.
Without knowing who NeuStar is or what NeuStar does, the Sterlings nonetheless rely greatly upon NeuStar’s services. Through NeuStar, the Sterlings can communicate instantly, reliably, and safely, without ever knowing about the state-of-the-art infrastructures and services working quietly behind the scenes, making it all happen.
Going VoIP
After paying almost $100 per month on long distance bills for his traditional business line, Ted decided to “bundle” services from his local cable provider and save money on his monthly phone, Internet, and cable bills. Through the cable operator, Ted signed up for a VoIP phone line. Instead of using a traditional telephone line, Ted’s VoIP line uses the same broadband connection that he uses for cable modem and Internet connectivity. Through the
Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC), which NeuStar administers,
Ted’s new carrier was able to set up a new phone line and allow him to keep his existing
Key Points:
1. Local number portability enables you to retain your telephone number whenever you switch local telephone carriers. This holds true for wireline and wireless numbers – and NeuStar makes it possible. 2. When you make a
traditional or IP
telephone call within the United States, your carrier is able to route that call quickly and accurately because of NeuStar.
Now that Ted has his business line set up through his cable provider, he is able to call all of his contacts as he would normally, without incurring any long distance costs and with no concern as to how the call will be routed. When Ted makes a call, all the parties involved in routing the call can easily determine where to send it because of NeuStar’s directory
administration. NeuStar keeps the master directories current, which results in virtually
all calls – whether between traditional telephone lines, IP-to-IP, or any combination thereof – to be routed across telecommunications networks accurately and efficiently.
NeuStar’s Role in the Life of an Architect
Like many small business owners, Ted decides that he needs a website, and registers
www.SterlingDesign.bizas his domain name. The .BIZ domain is only available to businesses and organizations with commercial interests, and the suffix provides Ted with a unique differentiator online when compared to the clutter of the .COM and .NET domains. The .BIZ top-level domain (TLD) name registry is administered by NeuStar.
NeuStar also assists Internet users who want to visit Ted’s website. Whenever a person types a Web address (such as www.SterlingDesign.biz) into a browser and presses “Enter,” the Internet service provider (ISP) he or she uses must first translate that address into its corresponding numeric IP address, then route the request appropriately. These two all-important duties are performed using the Domain Name System (DNS) infrastructure.
Offering a comprehensive suite of managed DNS solutions, NeuStar Ultra Services provide an “Internet roadmap” that helps people access their favorite websites, check email, pay bills, instant-message friends, and do just about everything else online. Further, NeuStar Ultra Services can protect websites from unauthorized usage and malicious attacks, manage website access and traffic flow, and maintain the general security of the web site.
NeuStar’s Role in the Life of a Real Estate Broker
Kim has worked for several real estate firms over the past seven years. An essential part of her success is to stay “reachable” at all times.
Because she is constantly on-the-go, Kim’s office number and mobile number are one and the same. She has had to change mobile carriers a number of times as she has moved from company to company – but wireless number portability, made possible by NeuStar, ensures that Kim is never out of touch with her clients.
Kim also uses a unique advertising mechanism to attract potential homebuyers: U.S.
Common Short Codes (CSCs), for which NeuStar administers the authoritative
registry. Househunters who may be interested in one of Kim’s properties can send a short text message to the five- or six-digit CSC listed on her “For Sale” sign or in her advertisement. In return, they receive a detailed text message that includes all the pertinent details about, and photographs of, a given home, as well as Kim’s contact information. In this way, Kim opens up an entirely new avenue of dialogue with current and future clients.
Frost & Sullivan
Key Points:
1. When creating an Internet presence for yourself or your business, consider the popular .US and .BIZ top-level domains – for which NeuStar is the official registry administrator.
Key Points:
1. As stated above, wireless number portability enables you to keep your existing mobile numbers when changing local providers – and NeuStar makes it possible. 2. U.S. Common Short
Codes are short five- and six-digit numbers with which mobile phone users can send and receive text and multimedia messages. NeuStar operates the U.S. Common Short Code Registry on behalf of the CTIA - The Wireless Association®. 3. NeuStar’s Wireless Do-Not-Call service helps companies that
telemarket become better equipped to comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA).
4. NeuStar’s Managed DNS solutions enable the efficient and secure management of Internet traffic.
Kim’s website is also a popular online destination among local homebuyers and sellers. Her visitors use the site for many reasons: to search for homes, to advertise homes for sale, to learn about the area, and more. As such, Kim insists on reliable, accurate, fast, and secure routing of her company’s website traffic, which NeuStar provides “behind the scenes.” Her customers, meanwhile, enjoy faster download speeds, always-on availability, active links to and from the site, and up-to-the-minute information.
NeuStar’s Role in a Teenager’s Life
Jill is an outgoing teenager who constantly exchanges instant messages (IMs) with her friends on her mobile phone. Using the mobile IM features that NeuStar’s Next
Generation Messaging (NGM) services make possible, Jill uses presence – the ability to
instantly see who is available to chat, no matter what IM service each person on her “buddy list” uses – to make the most of her time. Jill and her friends can turn their mobile IM availability status on or off, and can even customize their status (e.g., “doing homework,” “online,” “at a party,” etc.) to notify others of their current situation. NeuStar enables Jill to keep connected, exchange information instantly and communicate in real time.
When Jill was younger, Ted and Kim wanted to introduce her to the Internet in a safe, educational way, and did so via the kids.us domain. NeuStar is the administrator of
kids.us; in 2004, NeuStar appointed Kidsnet, Inc., a security company that offers Internet parental control products, and the official content management partner for kids.us.In addition to developing, implementing, and operating kids.us, NeuStar also creates corresponding policies to ensure that all content on the space is both “suitable for minors” and not “harmful to minors.”
Key Points:
1. NeuStar provides presence-enabled mobile instant messaging (IM) to mobile phone companies worldwide.
2. NeuStar administers the kids.us Internet domain as a regulated, safe, “youth-friendly” online environment for children, parents and educators alike.
3. Access Control from NeuStar gives parents the ability to set unique policies for each mobile phone in their service plan and to define which content is allowed for each phone user. 4. Common Short Codes
(CSCs), mentioned in the previous section, have a limitless number of possible uses – including enabling consumers to interact with their favorite brands and organizations.
Today, Ted and Kim are also concerned about the content available on Jill’s mobile phone. Using NeuStar’s Access Control service, they are able to set rules and policies that clearly define what content Jill is allowed (and not allowed) to access. As an added precaution, Access Control also allows mobile carriers to filter content – so Jill will continue to only receive age-appropriate items even if her parents have not yet set up controls.
Finally, Jill – who enjoys watching reality gameshows on television – often votes for contestants by sending text messages via her mobile phone to CSCs that appear on-screen. She also uses CSCs to enter contests and take advantage of
promotions at her favorite fast-food restaurants and clothing stores.
NeuStar’s Role in the Life of a College Student and Intern
Kim and Ted’s son, Eric, is a college student who interns for a VoIP provider. The company for which Eric interns is a start-up, and is overwhelmed by all the legal requirements placed on it with regard to cooperating with law enforcement officials. The Communications Assistance Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) requires telecommunications carriers to assist law enforcement in executing electronic surveillance. Since starting his internship, Eric has been tasked with learning more about CALEA compliance; he has attended seminars and has begun to document for his employer what he has learned.
In a post-9/11 world, there is an increased number of reasons – and requests – for electronic surveillance. If a carrier does have to implement a wiretap, it must be done according to a set of documented procedures, which can be challenged in court. A service provider may be found legally liable if they do not balance the need to limit access to records and calls for privacy with conforming to requirements of subpoenas and search warrants. For a small VoIP provider like Eric’s employer, keeping abreast of CALEA filings is an onerous task. Fortunately, NeuStar’s Fiduciary Services minimize risk and costs by providing these services – and NeuStar now works as the liaison to the government agencies on behalf of the VoIP provider, relieving them it of the necessity for additional support staff and equipment.
Frost & Sullivan
Key Points:
1. NeuStar’s Fiduciary Services enable providers to meet federal
regulations such as those included in the
Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). Through NeuStar, the providers can outsource all of the onerous tasks related to compliance.
2. NeuStar helps the carriers to detect and prevent fraud.
3. NeuStar helps consumers to stay connected. Through its Interconnect services, NeuStar is allowing users to communicate and detect presence across networks and carriers.
Eric also has learned that harassing calls and fraud are common problems. He has discovered that approximately 10 to 20 percent of the people using his company’s VoIP services never expect to pay for service, and some go so far as to obtain service through stolen identities. NeuStar offers the means by which to monitor unusual activity on an account, and makes recommendations on eliminating such activity. NeuStar’s Risk
Management Service also pre-screens potential customers for bad debt and past
fraudulent activities before they sign on for service. In addition, NeuStar provides preliminary data reports to stop fraud losses before they impact net revenue. The company
also offers Local Number Portability Enhanced Analytical Platform (LEAP), which enables law enforcement agencies to determine the carrier to which a phone number belongs, thus assisting in the identification of criminals attempting to switch telephone companies repeatedly to avoid discovery.
When Eric is not working at his internship, he spends time with friends and goes to class. He is often online using mobile IM, messaging, and playing games with his friends on his mobile phone. Eric and his friends arrange their nights out using IM, and they often exchange photos and keep tabs on each others’ whereabouts using mobile IM. In all of these cases, NeuStar’s Next Generation Messaging (NGM) services enable mobile IM services and interoperability between mobile carriers so instant messages can be
exchanged and presence information coordinated – seamlessly.
NeuStar Services: Trusted to Bring Networks Together
In this paper, we have discussed several ways in which NeuStar acts “behind the scenes” in everyday communication.
• Ted transferred his phone number from a traditional provider to a VoIP-based service from his cable operator through the Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC) that NeuStar administers.
• Ted chose www.SterlingDesign.biz as his company’s website address. When someone directs an Internet browser to www.SterlingDesign.biz, NeuStar’s managed Domain Name Service (DNS) will translate the name into the corresponding numeric IP address, and will route it properly.
• Kim attracts potential buyers to her listed homes by publicizing U.S. Common Short Codes (CSCs) on her signs and advertisements. NeuStar operates and manages the U.S. Common Short Codes Registry.
• Kim’s website is a valuable tool for her customers – and NeuStar Ultra Services ensures that her website traffic will be routed quickly and correctly.
• Jill, by using NeuStar’s Next Generation Messaging services, is able to see in an instant when her friends are available to chat, what moods they are in, and what their current “statuses” isare. She also uses mobile IM to exchange messages and share photos.
• With NeuStar’s Access Control, Ted and Kim have the ability to set unique policies for each mobile phone in their service plan, thus defining what types of content are allowed for each user. • NeuStar works as the liaison to law enforcement
agencies and government entities on behalf of its customers.
• NeuStar enables instant messages to be seamlessly exchanged between mobile phones and PCs so Eric and his friends can communicate regardless of their network operator, IM service, or device.
As these examples and many others prove, where there is a need for networks to interoperate, NeuStar is there.
About NeuStar, Inc .
NeuStar is a provider of clearinghouse and director y services to the global communications and Internet industr y. Visit NeuStar online at www.NeuStar.biz.
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