Let's Join Hands to Converge

With the new year already a month old, it's time to build upon all the hard

work that we did last year and ensure that promising technologies of past are

not left weeping like an orphan in search of care. One such area where our eyes

are firmly glued is IP Communications.

Internet has firmly established itself as the saddle, riding on top of which

you see a whole host of communications. It started with data and gradually



extended to voice, as large enterprises merged their IT and telephony
infrastructure for reasons varying from ease of management, call quality and

cost control. That was not the end of the story as multimedia started creeping

in. All this opens up a plethora of options for the enterprise user.

For ubiquitous multimedia communications, in which voice, data and video are

deeply integrated, and information sharing is seamless, you need more than just

infrastructure. You need a world where innovation is embraced with open arms and

the powers that be develop a consensus on standards for others to follow. We all

hate a scenario where walking down the alley you find vendors boasting of

proprietary solutions that don't understand any language other than their own.

Such cacophony leaves the consumer utterly confused.

Adeesh Sharma Issue Editor for this month

Another important issue is the continuity of the medium for communications

end-to-end. Potential benefits such as enhanced audio quality and speed of

transmission can only be fully achieved if calls remain on IP-based networks

throughout their journey, rather than cris-crossing traditional gateways to the

PSTN. That is still a distant dream as we are yet to unify our communication

networks.

Three scenarios where IP can hold forte are: enterprises with an IP PBX to

connect its VoIP phones; as the 'last mile' substitute for traditional

trunks, taking phone calls over existing data connections; and within a WAN,

taking care of high-density traffic.

Let's take an example. A call from an enterprise having an IP PBX network,

is going through through two PSTN gateways before it eventually terminates on

the destination IP PBX network. The PSTN gateways would add to costs, delay, and

negate some of the key VoIP advantages. The only plausible solution to avoid

such a situation would be to establish an end-to-end IP interconnection, also

called direct IP peering. But this is only possible if you have universal

interoperability through common standards.

It's not that the picture is not rosy at all. We see the emergence of SIP

as the protocol that has made substantial gains in terms universal acceptance.

However, its simplicity has led to SIP being extended in various incompatible

ways. But without a consensus on basic features throughout the industry, don't

expect universal interoperability.

Standards organizations and forums, such as the IETF, IEEE, ITU and the like

need to take the lead to come closer and forge a relationship for the greater

common good. Universally accepted standards provide enterprises with more

flexibility to run their businesses, more affordable solutions, and higher ROI.

Once standards-based platforms and applications become more omnipresent, the

path towards integration of IP-based communications and thereby collaboration

amongst enterprises will become less tedious.

Once a converged, real time communication channel is established, it can be

used not just for audio or multimedia, but for sharing data and applications;

enabling distant workers to collaborate on a document, or distant players to

compete in the same game!

IP communications need to be encouraged into all product lines to ensure

ready availability of high quality, scalable components. For this, industry

leaders, standards bodies and our technology developers need to come together to

drive innovation and interoperability. This is precisely why in spite of all

this noise about the immense potential of IP as a carrier of communications

bogie, most of its benefits have not been completely realized.

We need common standards for rich interoperability that will bring these

benefits to fruition.