New IP networks ‘far more efficient’
Progress in this direction has been slow because of the existing investment in circuit-switched infrastructure, says Mike van den Bergh, chief operating officer at Gateway Communications.
“BT is one of the telcos that has invested in an IP-based next- generation network in order to remain competitive,” he says.
Many communications service providers as well as newer telecoms companies have already built next-generation IP networks, says Van den Bergh.
These networks use less bandwidth capacity, provide better call quality and have the ability to route calls intelligently at a reduced cost.
This is why international telecoms carriers are so competitive. The same thing will happen eventually in SA once costly routing over circuit-switched networks becomes a thing of the past.
He says SA’s second network operator will have the advantage of building a next-generation IP network infrastructure because it will have no investment in existing infrastructure.
Gateway Communications has built a next-generation IP based network that allows calls to be routed between telecommunications operators in Africa and to international locations in the most efficient way.
To use this facility, the operators link to media gateways that the company has set up in each country. “We are linking 60 mobile and fixed-line operators across 32 countries in Africa,” says Van den Bergh.
Previously, calls had to be switched to a central intelligent hub in Europe via satellite communication and switched back again to connect the caller in one country to someone in another country. The low volume of telecommunications traffic did not justify setting up a switch between each country.
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