ACIF PUBLISHES DISCUSSION PAPER ABOUT QUALITY OF SERVICE ISSUES IN VOIP INTERCONNECTIVITY
The Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) today released a discussion paper about Quality of Service (QoS) issues in VoIP interconnectivity.
The discussion paper will be circulated throughout the communications industry in Australia and overseas with a 60-day period for submissions to be received.
Following ACIFs VoIP Forum at the end of last year, ACIF commissioned Market Clarity analysts Shara Evans and Richard Chirgwin to prepare a discussion paper to identify key QoS issues created when VoIP calls traversed multiple Internet domains.
QoS was identified at the Forum as one of the major concerns relating to VoIP interconnectivity, and is particularly complex because of the level of coordination required between VoIP providers.
QoS refers to the capability of a network provider to provide better service to selected network traffic (eg voice calls) and is often referred to as traffic engineering.
The discussion paper raises a range of QoS questions including:
What level of co-operation is required between providers to achieve inter-domain QoS
Whether a complete suite of industry technical standards exist to support inter-domain QoS
Alternatives to the creation of an inter-domain QoS fabric
Whether providers are willing to give preferential treatment to traffic (voice calls) sourced from other providers networks
What role ACIF can play in facilitating a standardisation of contract terms and conditions necessary to address VoIP QoS issues
The key to tackling QoS issues and ensuring best services for customers is to work with a forward-looking approach that ensures VoIP services are competitive, efficient, and reliable, said ACIF chief executive officer, Anne Hurley.
The discussion paper addresses a range of important issues and ACIF is keen to encourage a coordinated industry response so the uptake of VoIP services in Australia creates the maximum benefit for both the industry and consumers.
Australia appears to be the first country to address these issues from a whole-of-industry perspective. So we have an opportunity to set an example for the rest of the world.
Once feedback is received from the discussion paper, Dr Paul Brooks from Consultel has agreed to chair an ACIF group of industry experts to review the submissions and identify the steps needed to be taken by the industry to address VoIP QoS issues.
The public comment period closes on Friday 26 May 2006. The discussion paper is available from the ACIF website (www.acif.org.au).
About ACIF
ACIF is a member-funded organisation established in 1997 to lead industry involvement in defining the communications environment.
ACIF provides a neutral forum in which all participants and end-users in the Australian communications industry can work together to foster an efficient, competitive environment.
The discussion paper will be circulated throughout the communications industry in Australia and overseas with a 60-day period for submissions to be received.
Following ACIFs VoIP Forum at the end of last year, ACIF commissioned Market Clarity analysts Shara Evans and Richard Chirgwin to prepare a discussion paper to identify key QoS issues created when VoIP calls traversed multiple Internet domains.
QoS was identified at the Forum as one of the major concerns relating to VoIP interconnectivity, and is particularly complex because of the level of coordination required between VoIP providers.
QoS refers to the capability of a network provider to provide better service to selected network traffic (eg voice calls) and is often referred to as traffic engineering.
The discussion paper raises a range of QoS questions including:
What level of co-operation is required between providers to achieve inter-domain QoS
Whether a complete suite of industry technical standards exist to support inter-domain QoS
Alternatives to the creation of an inter-domain QoS fabric
Whether providers are willing to give preferential treatment to traffic (voice calls) sourced from other providers networks
What role ACIF can play in facilitating a standardisation of contract terms and conditions necessary to address VoIP QoS issues
The key to tackling QoS issues and ensuring best services for customers is to work with a forward-looking approach that ensures VoIP services are competitive, efficient, and reliable, said ACIF chief executive officer, Anne Hurley.
The discussion paper addresses a range of important issues and ACIF is keen to encourage a coordinated industry response so the uptake of VoIP services in Australia creates the maximum benefit for both the industry and consumers.
Australia appears to be the first country to address these issues from a whole-of-industry perspective. So we have an opportunity to set an example for the rest of the world.
Once feedback is received from the discussion paper, Dr Paul Brooks from Consultel has agreed to chair an ACIF group of industry experts to review the submissions and identify the steps needed to be taken by the industry to address VoIP QoS issues.
The public comment period closes on Friday 26 May 2006. The discussion paper is available from the ACIF website (www.acif.org.au).
About ACIF
ACIF is a member-funded organisation established in 1997 to lead industry involvement in defining the communications environment.
ACIF provides a neutral forum in which all participants and end-users in the Australian communications industry can work together to foster an efficient, competitive environment.
