Peering

Peering - what is it?  Actually - There are several kinds, traditional IP Peering (ISP), PSTN By-Pass, and Peering Via Registry.  There is quite a bit of discussion around what Peering really means to Telecommunications. Essentially - it boils down to this definition..Peering - is the ability to send calls directly to the Carrier that owns the telephone number so it can be directed to the called party as an “on-Net” call. Voice Peering involves the knowing which Carrier serves a particular telephone number, so that other non-related Carrier routes can be avoided - thus saving “off-Net” costs. Carriers are said to “Peer” when they share information regarding which numbers they service - so that partner Carriers can send calls directly to them for delivery to the termination. For example, if I were to dial a number that belongs to Verizon, Carrier Peering would allow my Carrier to send the call directly to Verizon for delivery, thereby bypassing any non-related carriers in the call flow.  In VoIP, this Carrier relationship can yield benefits in terms of reduced costs and improved quality.Consider this,  in 2005, 33% to 42% of US Global revenue as paid out as termination fees to carriers other than the terminating carrier.  Why Peer? Peering saves costs associated with sending the call to a primary provider, and possibly a secondary provider which in turn routes the call to the end destination.  Instead, the call is sent directly to the provider that owns the number - thus saving transport costs.  VoIP Communication Protocols (SIP, H323) create technological advantages over TDM (SS7) that allow these new transport methods such as Peering to exist.  A key component to the enablement of Peering is the ability to do a query (number lookup) in order to make the determination of ownership for each number.  How to facilitate Peering:1. Company A provides it’s telephone number data and routing info to Company B.2. Company B loads this info into it’s ENUM database.3. Company B does the call lookup, and sends the call to Company A based on the received info. Easy? Yes and no.. The current discussions around Peering involve the  mechanisms, agreements, and guidelines used to govern the engagement of Peering among Carriers. There are quite a few key issues left to be decided regarding how Peering will be done in the future.More to come!Chris