The ipLCR

The ipLCR is an extension of the London Carrier Ring and provides a high volume gateway between TDM (SS7) and IP (SIP) traffic. It allows new members with new VoIP services to exchange traffic with current TDM members, as well as allowing current members to convert their TDM traffic to VoIP.

The ipLCR is best considered as a network with two "sides". On one side is the traditional SDH based LCR. On the other side is an Ethernet network. In between the two is the ipLCR gateway, comprising Soft Switches, Media Gateways and Session Border Controllers.

Access to the IP side is via dedicated Ethernet nodes. These are to be found in many of the same telehotels as the existing LCR SDH multiplexers.

As the ipLCR uses Ethernet as an access mechanism, ipLCR members can enjoy extended connectivity to the service everywhere in the country that Fibernet provides Ethernet coverage via its national Ethersphere service.

The ipLCR has several features.

• It allows SDH members to exchange traffic with IP members.
• It allows IP members exchange traffic with SDH members.
• It allows IP members to exchange traffic with other IP members.
• IP members may use either SIP (preferred) or H.323
• It can provide conversion between SIP and H.323

It does all of this in a secure, private network community specifically engineered to carry large volumes of high quality voice traffic. It offers an end-to-end quality that IP Transit and traditional peering mechanisms cannot match.

ipLCR Carrier Ring

How does it work?

Traffic is converted from SDH (TDM/SS7) to IP (SIP or H.323) or vice versa through Soft Switches, Media Gateways and Session Border Controllers. The Media Gateways respond to called or calling device preference for CODEC choice, and groom IP traffic into E1 trunk groups on the SDH side.

The Soft Switches provide the signalling, routing and call control functionality necessary to ensure appropriate handling of all traffic.

Session Border Controllers protect the infrastructure from attack and guarantee the Ethernet capacity required to carry traffic.

Fibernet provisions connectivity in 2 Mbps virtual paths on the IP side that are directly mapped on to dedicated E1 trunk groups on the SDH side. End-to-end virtual paths are the "units of trade" on the ipLCR and provide the dedicated connectivity required between the IP and SDH side to support traditional interconnect agreements. They are logically similar to a dedicated E1 on the LCR.

Connectivity on the IP side is provided via 10Mbit, 100Mbit or Gigabit Ethernet ports. Bandwidth is allocated to those ports in units of 2Mbit virtual paths. Bandwidth for the virtual paths is guaranteed by Fibernet.

Multiple E1's are simply mapped onto larger amounts of bandwidth on the IP side. So 10 E1's destined for the same IP operator, would, for example, be mapped to a 20Mbit virtual path.

The ipLCR provides a secure, low latency environment in which the quality of wholesale interconnects is guaranteed between member operators.

What are the advantages for existing members?

In short - the ipLCR offers new business opportunities:

Current "SDH-only" members with no IP capability: By extending your membership to include the ipLCR, you are able to interconnect with new IP members, and vice versa - without having to invest in your own Soft Switch, Session Border Controller and Media Gateway technologies, or undertake time-consuming and complex interconnect testing with every new interconnect partner: Fibernet does everything necessary when a member joins the community.

Current members who have already purchased their own Soft Switch and Media Gateway equipment can still benefit significantly by connecting to the ipLCR. Such members will already be using their own Media Gateways to provide connectivity to the LCR or to their TDM switches. These Media Gateways can be disconnected from the LCR and the connectivity and functionality they previously provided replicated by the ipLCR. This service option both lowers existing LCR charges AND frees the Media Gateway ports for other use. It may even free the Media Gateways altogether, resulting in very significant savings in collocation and operational support costs.

What are the advantages for new ipLCR members?

One single VoIP interconnect provides access to an established community of more than 100 operators who actively buy and sell in excess of 30 billion international voice minutes from each other every year.

Membership brings direct and facilitated (via Carrier Exchange Clubs and individual introductions) access to this community.

With price differentials between TDM and VoIP traffic normalising rapidly, it makes absolute sense for the interconnect business of the two disparate trading communities to harmonise, standardise and simplify both technically and commercially.

Membership on the ipLCR brings one further key benefit. Establishing interconnects in the VoIP world is often fraught with technical difficulty. The OPEX costs of these difficulties and the inherent time delay and impact on revenues are of great consequence and are well understood by those that face them. Use of the ipLCR minimises these difficulties, as once the initial interconnect has been established, connectivity to any other member, be they SDH or IP is virtually guaranteed, as all IP interconnects are mediated by the ipLCR's Soft Switches, Media Gateways and Session Border Controllers.

Why choose Fibernet's ipLCR?

1. Fibernet's ipLCR brings all the benefits of the LCR to the VoIP interconnect community. The same low costs, ease of use, scalability, reliability and responsiveness.
2. Each customer goes through the process of connecting to the ipLCR - establishing the various parameters for protocols, signaling, codec's and so on - only once. From then on, they have assured service to any other member carrier.
3. The ipLCR service is non-intrusive. Fibernet has no commercial interest in the minutes themselves - only the network capacity that carries them.
4. If you have not yet invested in VoIP technologies for interconnect, the ipLCR "VoIP enables" your business immediately and without any capital investment or service development cost. It dramatically reduces your time to market and extends your choice of interconnect partners.
5. ipLCR call quality is predictable. Calls are secure from hackers and interconnects are established far more cost effectively than over the internet using IP Transit.

	Fibernet Carrier Rings [ PDF 513 KB ]
	London Metro Network [ PDF 152 KB ]

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