IPI Principles

Openness

The GSMA proposal for IPI describes a solution that is entirely open to any potential player in the delivery of IP services: fixed and mobile networks operators, carriers and ISPs. Inherent in this is the assumption that all players will enable services that interwork across all networks – producing a truly ubiquitous service.

All players have the freedom to choose how they deliver IP services – using the IPI commercial model or the existing internet model.

Quality

Delivering quality IP services is intrinsic to GSMA’s IPI proposal. For IP services that are based on this proposal, users can anticipate they will be reliably delivered in conformance with a clearly defined end-to-end Service Level Agreement (SLA) and with the capacity provision to maintain service levels.

The quality relationship will go further than technical service delivery issues. It will ensure a high quality commercial relationship with their service provider, which will provide billing transparency and security that can reduce spam and assist with content filtering.

Cascading Payments

For operators and carriers, the IPI proposal enables identification of the data service and enables added value and consequent revenue for each player in the chain. In parallel, commercial obligations are also passed on through the value chain – offering quality and security assurances for all those commercially involved and, ultimately, for the consumer.

Importantly, pricing will be ‘value based’ and will reflect the chosen service quality. And, thanks to a separate control channel within the IP network, service billing is easy and straightforward.

Efficient Connectivity

Routing of IP services has to be efficient to deliver end user quality and provide ubiquity of access. At the heart of the GSMA’s proposal is a gateway to a managed IP network – the IP eXchange (IPX) that provides ubiquitous, efficient and high quality of service connectivity.

Using the IPX results in a major simplification of commercial agreements – effectively requiring only one agreement and one connection, but providing access to many services and many operators so that no more than two interconnections should usually be required to route a service between any participating networks.

Using this philosophy, flexibility and scalability are also inherent in the final solution.