The telecom-industry media focus on the cloud and mobile is understandable since readers can easily identify with both. But if you dig down just a little, the movement of SIP from the enterprise to the carrier is a very big deal. And three organizations are making it possible: The IETF gave us the SIP recommendations going back to the late 90s. Then, several equipment vendors that were developing SIP-based products formed the SIP Forum (News - Alert) to promote SIP interoperability. And, in 2008, several telecom operators formed the i3 Forum to help the industry make the historic transition from TDM to an all-IP global network. According to Philippe Millet, Chairman of the i3 Forum, "We are laying the foundations and looking at the very basic elements of our businesses. This is important now because we are reaching an IP tipping point."
Until very recently, what was missing was the integration of these different perspectives. So, one year ago last month the SIP Forum took an important step to leverage the then-ongoing cooperation of the SIP and i3 Forums by producing the first annual "SIP Network Operators Conference," or SIPNOC. The second SIPNOC will be held June 25-27 at the Hyatt Dulles, which is close to Dulles Airport just outside Washington, DC.
SIPNOC is a conference for service providers and carriers to "focus on how to make SIP work in the network and to address the key operational issues facing SIP in today's telecom world." There are no exhibits; rather the conference brings together the technical leadership responsible for this epochal change, including keynote speaker Henning Shulzrinne, one of the inventors of SIP and currently the CTO of the US Federal Communications Commission.
There will be sessions on network security, interop testing, IPV6, VoIP deployment lessons, network resiliency, bridging ISUP and SIP, SIP trunking, IP interconnect, and the SIP-i3 Forum FoIP testing. The latter session features Commetrex' (News - Alert) CEO, Mike Coffee, who is the Co-Chair of the SIP Forum FoIP Task Group. Mike will also be a panelist on FoIP interoperability along with experts from Sonus and Voxbone (News - Alert).
If you'd like to learn more about SIPNOC, go to www.sipnoc.org or give Mike Coffee a call at 1-770-407-6021.
Edited by Juliana Kenny