BTs 21st Century Network Progressing
Posted: 17th Nov, 2004 By: MarkJ
BT reports that development of its '21st Century Network' is on schedule, with trials to divert the first calls off PSTN and onto a dedicated IP link having started. The operators fibre lines and third 21CN network node are due to begin testing tomorrow:
A new IP link between the major network nodes at Cambridge and Woolwich in South East London, along with softswitches (advanced software-based switching platforms) installed at these locations, enables telephone calls to bypass a major traffic route in BTs PSTN. This represents a key step towards the creation of BTs next generation network, as announced in June.
Over the coming weeks BT plans to begin adding call traffic from 38 digital local exchange units onto the 21CN nodes. These exchanges in Cambridgeshire, Essex, Lincolnshire, Suffolk and Hertfordshire serve more than 1.5million lines between them. Once complete next month, the volume of calls being handled by the trial platform will represent around 1 per cent of BTs current PSTN trunk network call traffic - equivalent to about 10,000 simultaneous calls at the busiest time of the day.
Commissioning of the third 21CN network node, at Faraday exchange in London is due to begin tomorrow. Faraday will be a key site when the trial is extended to handle end to end customer calls over the IP network in January.
BT Wholesale chief executive Paul Reynolds said: This is a historic occasion the PSTN has served us well for over a hundred years. Now, for the first time, we have public voice on a single IP network where voice calls are transmitted in data packets.
Our 21CN ambitions have fundamental and far-reaching implications for BT, for the telecommunications industry and, I believe, for the UK economy and society too. With 21CN, BT is leading the world and transforming our industry - it's radical and truly unprecedented in scope and scale.
We set a challenging timescale to put the building blocks in place for the trials which underpin 21CN and we have delivered these first steps. The technology works. Now we can move forward. We propose to extend participation in the voice trial to others in the industry and will be consulting operators in the coming weeks about the best way to do this.
BTs 21CN programme is designed to remove duplication across the existing multiple, service specific networks to create a single converged multi-service IP based network.
A new IP link between the major network nodes at Cambridge and Woolwich in South East London, along with softswitches (advanced software-based switching platforms) installed at these locations, enables telephone calls to bypass a major traffic route in BTs PSTN. This represents a key step towards the creation of BTs next generation network, as announced in June.
Over the coming weeks BT plans to begin adding call traffic from 38 digital local exchange units onto the 21CN nodes. These exchanges in Cambridgeshire, Essex, Lincolnshire, Suffolk and Hertfordshire serve more than 1.5million lines between them. Once complete next month, the volume of calls being handled by the trial platform will represent around 1 per cent of BTs current PSTN trunk network call traffic - equivalent to about 10,000 simultaneous calls at the busiest time of the day.
Commissioning of the third 21CN network node, at Faraday exchange in London is due to begin tomorrow. Faraday will be a key site when the trial is extended to handle end to end customer calls over the IP network in January.
BT Wholesale chief executive Paul Reynolds said: This is a historic occasion the PSTN has served us well for over a hundred years. Now, for the first time, we have public voice on a single IP network where voice calls are transmitted in data packets.
Our 21CN ambitions have fundamental and far-reaching implications for BT, for the telecommunications industry and, I believe, for the UK economy and society too. With 21CN, BT is leading the world and transforming our industry - it's radical and truly unprecedented in scope and scale.
We set a challenging timescale to put the building blocks in place for the trials which underpin 21CN and we have delivered these first steps. The technology works. Now we can move forward. We propose to extend participation in the voice trial to others in the industry and will be consulting operators in the coming weeks about the best way to do this.
BTs 21CN programme is designed to remove duplication across the existing multiple, service specific networks to create a single converged multi-service IP based network.
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