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The Internet is critical for SMBs. They use it for e-mail, to publish information online and
for e-commerce. But SMBs have been hesitant to adopt the Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) communications that the Internet enables.
This paper provides an overview of the drivers behind the SMB migration and explores the
technological and business advantages of using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking
to connect directly to service provider networks and leverage next-generation network
(NGN)/IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) transformations.
Table of contents
1 Executive summary: A new era for SMB communications
12 Appendix A
12 More about SIP
13 SIP registration
14 Abbreviations
Executive summary: A new era for SMB communications
Information and communications technologies (ICT) allow small and medium businesses (SMBs)
to improve and develop the services they offer their customers. In fact, the Internet Protocol (IP)
and the Internet have already changed the way SMBs work. They communicate via e-mail, publish
information online and use e-commerce solutions to better serve their customers. However, unlike
residential users and large enterprises, SMBs have yet to adopt IP technology for telephone services.
This situation is changing as service providers are now providing IP connections that support the
Internet, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and new services. As a result, it is expected that SMBs
will demand more comprehensive solutions that combine information technology (IT), the Internet
and telephone services and allow them to access new multimedia services.
In the near future, a single IP connection between the SMB and the service provider will be the
norm. This connection will support the VoIP, Internet and multimedia services made possible by
the next-generation network (NGN)/IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network transformation in
which service providers in every country are engaged.
In fact, forecasts based on data from Alcatel-Lucent and analysts indicate that by the year 2013,
only IP connections will be offered to SMBs (see Figure 4). At a technological level, it will change
the way IP-Private Branch Exchanges (IP- PBXs) interoperate with the public IP network. At a
higher level, it will change the way SMBs do business.
To simplify communications while controlling costs, SMBs should look to the Session Initiation
Protocol (SIP), the preferred protocol for VoIP services. SMBs can replace their Public Switched
Telephone Network (PSTN) trunk with a SIP trunk to benefit from low-tariff VoIP calls and inno-
vative new services. SIP trunking also brings the infrastructure to support further evolution toward
end-to-end solutions between customer premises equipment (CPE) and the network applications
enabled by NGN/IMS technologies. And it is a first step toward SIP and IP peering between the
SMB environment and the service provider network.
Alcatel-Lucent has developed a robust SIP trunking solution that is fully aligned with service providers’
NGN/IMS deployments. This solution will help service providers support SMBs that want to trans-
form their networks to take advantage of IP-only connections and SIP technology.
SMBs are companies with five to 200+ employees. Most have fewer than 60 employees and three
out of four have fewer than 20 employees. They typically report less than 50 million euros (approxi-
mately 77 million United States dollars) in annual revenue. SMBs tend to be larger in North America
than in Europe. They are often organized around the owner, with flexible operations and informal
job descriptions. Most of the skill sets within an SMB are related to the industry in which the SMB
operates. As a result, they often lack ICT skills and organization.
SMBs tend to be ill-equipped in terms of VoIP and IP telephony. In 2007, less than 15 percent of the
solutions deployed by SMBs used IP (see Figure 4).
The availability of IP connections for voice services (VoIP) will speed up the adoption of IP telephony,
allowing SMBs to reduce their communications costs and access the advanced services that will
increase employee productivity and improve customer service.
SMBs first started using IP through the Internet (Figure 1, arrow 1). In fewer than 10 years, the Internet
has been adopted by a large percentage of SMBs and is recognized as a cost-saving tool that helps them
strengthen customer relationships, increase mobility and collaboration and improve operational per-
formance. Consider these statistics, from BNP Paribas Lease Group, for SMBs in Western Europe:
• 96 percent are connected to the Internet
• 84 percent have a broadband connection
• 97 percent use e-mail
• 90 percent use the Internet to share information with partners and customers
• 40 to 80 percent (depending on the country) use the Internet to collaborate
• 70 percent have a web site that the most advanced of them consider a business tool.
This heavy use of the Internet, along with the development of residential VoIP solutions, have her-
alded the SMB migration toward a converged IP pipe that will support the Internet, VoIP and new,
converged services (Figure 1, arrow 2). At the same time, service providers are migrating their net-
works toward NGN/IMS. This will (Figure 1, arrow 3):
• Accelerate SMB adoption of IP telephony.
• Open the door to innovative, fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) solutions that are of high value
for SMBs. (According to information from Datamonitor, Current Analysis and Alcatel-Lucent,
an average of 25 percent of SMB employees have mobility requirements.)
• Accelerate the adoption of ICT, where Internet tools and voice are linked with IT applications
and new, multimedia features to provide SMBs with a global communications solution. This will
significantly change the profile of offerings made to SMBs, comparable to the way triple play offer-
ings changed the residential market.
VoIP IP telephony
adoption
Operators’ network
2 VoIP migration, 3 FMC
PSTN replacement
Wi-Fi
NGN, MCS OPEX
IP 2
IMS, ICT outsourcing
1
Internet ICT
The remainder of this document describes how NGN/IMS network transformation is changing the
way private IP-PBXs connect to the public network and enabling a transition from PSTN connection
substitutions with IP to end-to-end solutions that will help SMBs benefit from new and innovative
communications services.
Today, most SMBs still maintain separate physical connections for voice and for IP/Internet usage
and a communications environment (Figure 2). Their communications environment is typically
composed of:
• A voice system (key system, PBX, IP-PBX) connected to the PSTN.
• A CPE Internet solution that ranges from basic access that is similar to residential access
to full-featured solutions with security and applications, and some Internet-related hosted
services, such as e-mail, web sites and electronic commerce.
• IT infrastructure, computers, servers, applications.
However, service providers, as part of their NGN/IMS network evolution, will provide SMBs with a
single IP pipe that supports the Internet, VoIP and new, converged services and connects the SMB
to the rest of world (Figure 3).
Figure 2. SMBs typically have separate voice and Internet connections today
Local
network
IP/Internet
With IP, services that can be accessed from anywhere, at any time and on any device can be deployed
as soon as there is a connection to the network. This evolution will change the balance between
services that are delivered by CPE and services delivered by network applications. It will lead to more
integration between CPE and network solutions in terms of features and applications, as well as
administration and management.
The availability of the IP converged connections that will accelerate SMB adoption of IP telephony
is expected to dramatically evolve over the next two years (Figure 4).
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
60%
50%
40%
30%
38%
30%
20%
18%
10%
0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
However, the availability of converged connections for SMBs is expected to grow significantly during
the next two years. This will increase the yearly shipments of IP extensions to more than 60 percent
by 2010. Conversion of the installed base to IP is expected to be close to 100 percent by 2013.
Until recently, costs of all-IP solutions remained higher than those of hybrid solutions supporting
TDM and IP. The benefits of a single infrastructure are not as important to SMBs as they are to
larger enterprises. And finally, there were very few or no new services that would have significantly
driven SMBs to IP solutions. Until now, SMBs have primarily been using IP technologies in PBXs
to reduce communications costs between locations and for deploying solutions that integrate
remote workers.
The advent of VoIP in the residential market has changed the way SMBs view VoIP. Offerings such
as Skype™, VoIP bundled with Internet Service Provider (ISP) broadband access offerings in the
context of triple play and the myriad of small Application Service Providers (ASPs) that offer free
calls over the Internet, have all promoted the idea that VoIP has become a mature commodity that
dramatically reduces business communications costs.
As a result, residential solutions are also used for business purposes. Skype has targeted specific offer-
ings to enterprise users but, while these offerings can reduce communications costs, they lack the
professional telephony features that businesses require and usually get from PBXs.
However, now service providers have started offering IP connections that bring PBX voice traffic
to an IP network or the Internet.
Corporate Operator
private network
services IAD services
PBX TDM IP (SIP)
gateway
connection connection
IP, Internet, NGN
IP-phones
Also, with a gateway solution, end users do not benefit from the overall set of features that are in the
PBX and in the network. They have different sets of features depending whether they are using, for
example, a business phone connected to the PBX, an IP phone or mobile phone managed by the ser-
vice provider’s network. As a result, gateways are a short term solution for connecting SMBs to a VoIP
network and will gradually disappear with the availability of native IP/SIP connections on IP-PBXs.
The advantage for the service provider is that they can rapidly deploy a solution that works with
any PBX and allows SMBs to benefit from VoIP tariffs without touching their PBXs. It can drive
service providers toward promoting hosted solutions, such as IP Centrex, that would replace the
PBX, leveraging the installed Integrated Access Device (IAD) and gateways. But, considering the
very low market share that IP Centrex has attracted in the SMB space over the past years, such
a strategy would likely have limited success.
With SIP trunking, the IP-PBX is connected directly to a service provider VoIP network, eliminating
the need for a gateway. It provides a native IP/SIP connection that can exploit all the capabilities of
the SIP protocol (Figure 6).
Using SIP trunking to connect IP-PBXs directly to NGN/IMS networks creates a consistent envi-
ronment between the enterprise IP-PBX and the network. It replaces the TDM trunk with a SIP
connection that delivers voice services and will smoothly evolve to a multiservice connection that
supports new, IP-based services such as presence, intelligent call routing and fixed-mobile conver-
gence in the network and in the enterprise.
For SMBs, the immediate benefit of moving to a SIP trunking solution is a reduction in commu-
nications expenses. Connection fees are lower than those of ISDN and communications are billed
according to VoIP tariffs. Looking ahead, SIP trunking solutions pave the way for further evolutions
to SIP peering and IP peering.
Corporate Operator
private network
services services
IP-PBX IP (SIP) IP (SIP)
connection connection
IP, Internet, NGN
Access
router
The SIP protocol is, by definition, open and flexible. This is good for both future evolution and de-
livery of innovative new services. As far as SIP trunking is concerned, the openness and flexibility of
SIP has led to the proliferation of different implementations in both service provider networks and in
IP-PBXs. And the standard does not yet include commonly agreed definitions that recommend which
options to select and implement. This has slowed the deployment of SIP trunking as specific interop-
erability tests have to be performed between every IP-PBX and every service provider.
Service providers, IP-PBX suppliers and standards bodies are working closely together to bring SIP
trunking to maturity and enable general availability of SIP connections with the same level of in-
teroperability the PSTN delivers today. It will likely take another one or two years before SIP trunk-
ing reaches that level of maturity. Assumptions from market analysis (see Figure 4) indicate that by
2010, SIP trunking will be generally available as a substitute for PSTN connections. This would be
the starting point of a massive adoption of IP telephony by SMBs.
IP peering uses the SIP protocol, along with other (IP) protocols, to support some of these interac-
tions, depending on the type of applications that are involved (unified messaging or management,
for example). It supports end-to-end solutions between the enterprise and the network, providing
users with seamlessly-integrated, CPE-based enterprise services and NGN/IMS network services.
As previously described, the first level of interaction between the enterprise CPE solution and the
NGN/IMS network is SIP trunking. The IP-PBX works with the session control function in the
network (the Call Session Control Function (CSCF) in IMS, for example) to handle voice calls
with associated network services such as DDI, CLI, routing and rerouting (Figure 7). The protocol
supporting this interaction is SIP.
Other
applications
Other
applications
Enterprise voice
applications
IP-PBX and
1 Router IP connection SBC
applications
1
Session
control
Management
Management
SIP trunking mainly handles voice calls. It does not leverage voice applications in the enterprise
and in the network to deliver advanced voice features to end users. To deliver more features in the
context of an end-to-end solution, it is necessary to establish complementary interaction between
the IP-PBX and its associated voice applications and the network enterprise voice applications, such
as hosted telephony and FMC. This interworking between applications is SIP-based and the interac-
tions are used to deliver a global FMC service for both on-premises and on-network requirements
(Figure 8).
Other
applications
Other
applications
Enterprise voice
applications
2
IP-PBX and
2 Router IP connection SBC
applications
Session
control
Management
Management
Communications and collaboration features used by enterprises go largely beyond voice. IP peering
between enterprise CPE solutions and service provider NGN/IMS networks should include interac-
tions between non-voice applications in the enterprise and in the service provider network (service
provider or Internet). This includes, for example, messaging features, multimedia services and Web
2.0 collaboration capabilities. These interactions require different protocols for different targeted
applications. SIP is used, along with web services. User Agent Computer Supported Telecommuni-
cations Applications (uaCSTA) can be employed to leverage existing applications that interact with
IP-PBXs. And, application-specific protocols can also be used when necessary (Figure 9).
Other
applications
Other
applications
3
Enterprise voice
applications
3
IP-PBX and
applications Router IP connection SBC
Session
control
Management
Management
Different protocols are used. Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is the solution of
choice for reporting events and alarms that are used for service supervision. Web services based on
XML are used for accessing, or performing specific actions on the data associated with the services.
Other protocols can be also be used depending on specific environments (Figure 10).
Other
applications
Other
applications
Enterprise voice
applications
IP-PBX and
applications Router IP connection SBC
Session
4
4 control
Management
Management
Service provider network transformation toward NGN/IMS has started. SIP trunking is the first step
for integrating IP-PBXs in that move. The advent of NGN/IMS networks will reshape the border be-
tween CPE solutions and network-based solutions. End-to-end solutions, with interworking between
CPE and network solutions, are likely to answer to enterprises needs, providing choice and flexibility,
and ensuring a smooth migration that takes existing investments into account. SIP trunking allows
SMBs to benefit from VoIP tariffs for their voice calls. It is also the basis for further integration of
their equipment and applications with NGN/IMS services
Alcatel-Lucent has developed a technical questionnaire that allows for rapid assessment of whether
a service provider’s SIP implementation will interoperate with Alcatel-Lucent Office Communica-
tion Solutions.
In fact, analyst reports state that, by 2013, service providers will offer only IP connections to SMBs,
making them the norm, rather than the exception (see Figure 4). SIP is the preferred protocol for VoIP
services. By replacing PSTN trunks with SIP trunks connected directly to the service provider’s
network, SMBs can benefit from low-tariff VoIP calls and innovative new services.
SIP trunking is also a first step toward SIP/IP peering between the SMB environment and the service
provider network. With SIP/IP peering, SMBs will benefit from end-to-end solutions that offer seam-
less integration between applications and services in the enterprise and applications and services in
the NGN/IMS network.
Anticipating the SMB transformation to a single IP connection and the resulting need for SIP trunk-
ing, Alcatel-Lucent offers a robust SIP trunking solution that has undergone extensive interoperability
testing and is fully aligned with service providers’ NGN/IMS deployments.
SIP usage for VoIP has grown dramatically in recent years and is now the dominant protocol for
residential VoIP services (with the exception of Skype, which uses a proprietary solution).
H.323 has been the preferred protocol for connecting IP-PBXs to NGN since VoIP services were
offered to enterprises. But because SIP has been endorsed within the IMS architecture and is at the
core of NGN evolution, it will be the dominant protocol in the future. Following SIP deployments
in the residential market, SIP connectivity offerings for enterprises grew in the past year.
SIP is a lightweight protocol designed for simplicity and openness. It has only six methods —
commands indicating the action to be performed on the identified resource — and is transport-
independent so it can use a variety of transport mechanisms, including Transmission Control
Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP) and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM).
SIP can be used in any application where session initiation is required. Once the session is established,
it can be used to exchange information between the endpoints involved in the session. The content
of what is exchanged and the behavior of the applications have to be defined for each specific usage.
SIP does not define features. As a result, there are a large number of SIP-related Requests for Comment
(RFCs) that define behavior for different applications.
The essence of SIP is a peer-to-peer approach. It is different from more traditional client-server archi-
tectures that implement a centralized, controlled approach. Network-provided services, such as hosted
VoIP and IP-PBX services are usually based on client-server architectures. SIP standard extensions
have been developed by organizations such as 3GPP and 3GPP2 in order to take this into account.
SIP has been defined as a simple, flexible and open protocol that is appropriate for many types of
applications that require sessions to be established between endpoints (terminals and applications,
for example). But its high flexibility has also led to difficulties because those implementing SIP can
select from several different options when developing features. Until now, this has made interopera-
bility more complicated. To address this issue, ongoing work to refine SIP standards will recommend
preferred options according to the type of usage.
SIP trunking standardization activities are performed by the International Telecommunication Union
(ITU) and European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) -Telecommunications and
Internet Converged Services and Protocols for Advanced Networks (TISPAN) organizations as
well by the SIP Forum and the SIPconnect group.
All these efforts will lead to a stabilization of SIP usage in the different contexts in which it is involved
(devices, service providers’ network connection, SIP trunking, etc.). This is a necessary condition
for general availability of IP/SIP connections that will allow SMBs to enter the NGN/IMS arena
and fully benefit from IP telephony.
SIP registration
SIP registration is mandatory for accessing services delivered from the network by service providers.
It allows service providers to locate the user and the device on which he/she can be contacted and
grant access to services according to subscription. It does this by associating a SIP Contact Address
with the user’s SIP address of record.
The SIP Address of Record is the address people use to contact a user (joe@mycompany.com, for
example). It is the unique identifier associated with a person.
The SIP Contact Address is a SIP Unified Resource Identifier (URI) (sip:x@y:port, for example:
sip:77760@212.123.1.213:5060) that defines the location and the device at which the user can cur-
rently be reached. A user can have several SIP Contact Addresses, each of which can be modified
according to user needs (mobility, for example).
A parallel can be made with the one number and nomadic mode services provided by PBXs. The
SIP Address of Record is similar to the one number associated with a user because it is unique and
it typically does not change. The SIP Contact Address is similar to the telephone number of the
physical device used in nomadic mode because it changes according to user situation and preferences.
Individual registration
Individual registration is the default procedure in SIP. In this case, a SIP registration is performed
for every user. Each user has his/her own identification with associated authentication, preferences,
profile, access to services, etc. declared in the service provider network.
This procedure makes sense when all applications are hosted on the network as is the case for cellular
and IP Centrex today. But it is a radical change in the way enterprises, when equipped with a PBX,
manage fixed telephone lines allocated to the employees. Authentication, profiles, preferences and
access to services are handled by the PBX. A global enterprise profile defines authentication, prefer-
ences and access to services, as subscribed by the enterprise. User access control to services, such as
authentication profiles and preferences, is performed by the PBX.
Most service providers offer an enterprise registration (IP-PBX) for SIP trunking. A SIP trunk is physi-
cally associated with a PBX (as is a PSTN trunk). In that context, the SIP Address of Record is the
installation number allocated by the service provider to the enterprise location. The SIP Contact
Address is the SIP URI of the IP-PBX serving the enterprise location. The service provider associates
the DDI numbers of the employees (seen then as individual users for network call routing services)
with the SIP Address of Record in its internal database.
In practice, IP-PBX SIP registration associates the SIP URI (sip:OmniPCXOffice@ 212.123.1.213:5060,
for example) to the installation number (+33 3 9067 7700, for example). DDI numbers (+33 3 9067 7701
to 7799, for example) are managed internally by the service provider and are associated with the
installation number.
Abbreviations
3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project MCS Managed Communication Services
ADSL asymmetric digital subscriber line NGN next-generation network
ASP Application Service Provider PBX Private Branch Exchange
ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode PRI Primary Rate Interface
CLI calling-line identity RFC Request for Comment
CPE customer premises equipment SDP Session Description Protocol
DDI direct dial in SDSL symmetric digital subscriber line
DSL digital subscriber line SMB small and medium business
ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol
FMC fixed-mobile convergence TCP Transmission Control Protocol
IAD Integrated Access Device TDM Time Division Multiplexing
ICT information and communications technology TISPAN Telecommunications and Internet Converged Services
and Protocols for Advanced Networks
IETF Internet Engineering Task Force
uaCSTA User Agent Computer Supported Telecommunications
IMS IP Multimedia Subsystem
Application
IP Internet Protocol
UDP User Datagram Protocol
ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network
URI Unified Resource Identifier
ISP Internet service provider
VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol
IT Information technology
ITU International Telecommunication Union