Colombian Telco UNE and KPN Join iBasis LSX “Sandbox” to Test LTE Signaling and Roaming Interoperability, Interworking, Accounting
BURLINGTON, Mass. – 05/23/2012 – iBasis, a KPN company, today announced the launch of its LTE Signaling Exchange (LSX), which will allow MNOs to connect to hundreds of other operators through a single interconnect and assure LTE Roaming interoperability across multiple vendors. Demand for the LSX is a result of the disruptive nature of LTE and the evolution from traditional SS7 (MAP) signaling to IP-based Diameter signaling. The iBasis LSX runs on iBasis IPX network, a multiservice, global IP network that delivers high quality voice and data services for mobile operators.
A number of mobile network operators, including UNE, a leading telco based in Colombia, and Dutch operator KPN have agreed to connect to iBasis LSX Sandbox, which provides a comprehensive trial environment in preparation for launching commercial LTE roaming services. The LSX Sandbox enables testing of a full range of technical operations, including basic roaming, policy control and charging, Diameter interoperability, signaling accounting and MAP-Diameter interworking.
We are committed to delivering the highest quality and performance to our customers, said Juan Ignacio Palacio, Vice President of International Markets for UNE. LTE enables us to provide a significant improvement in customer experience, and with iBasis LSX, well be able to keep that promise as our customers roam, domestically or internationally.
Roaming is very important to our subscribers and to our business, said Eric Kuisch, Senior EVP, NetCo at KPN. As we roll out LTE in The Netherlands, we must provide our customers a consistently high quality experience, whether they are around the block or half-way around the world. The iBasis LSX and the Sandbox give us the opportunity to ensure that were able to meet that standard.
LTE offers a tremendous leap in transmission speed and improvement in quality for real-time services. As a result, it is already one of the fastest growing new technologies in history with more than 160 LTE networks in operation today. Operators have identified LTE Roaming as a key challenge that needs to be resolved in order to recoup the enormous investments that are being made in the technology. However, LTE is also a disruptive technology, and standards are still evolving. Implementations of LTE roaming can vary widely from operator to operator, making the traditional model of bilateral roaming agreements between operators technically complicated and commercially unscalable.
The iBasis LSX reduces complexity and cost while ensuring high quality of service for roaming customers. The LSX allows MNOs to connect to hundreds of downstream operators through a single interconnect and normalizes messages to enable interoperability on behalf of each roaming partner. It also interworks with existing SS7 networks.
The LSX utilizes the iBasis IPX network, which covers more than 240 countries and territories worldwide and ensures high quality through direct routes and security through physical and logical separation from the public internet.
For operators looking to capitalize on the growing demand for global multimedia services, the iBasis LSX provides a converged interconnect, an ecosystem that is more efficient and commercially viable for interconnecting the growing number of LTE operators.
With more than 15 years of experience in global, real-time communications over IP, iBasis is uniquely positioned to be the LTE exchange provider, said Willem Offerhaus, iBasis CEO. The LSX leverages the full complement of iBasis capabilities voice, data, signaling, IPX, and more to enable our customers to deliver even greater innovations to their customers.
About UNE
UNE EPM Telecomunicaciones is a 100% state owned Colombian company that provides telecommunication & IT services in Colombia and in the emerging Latin-American immigrant markets of the United States, Canada and Spain, through Orbitel, its wholly owned subsidiary. UNE is a leading operator that offers triple play services in the Colombian market, and is currently deploying the mobile services being the first and only operator in Colombia that offers 4G LTE.
About KPN
KPN is the leading telecommunications and ICT service provider in the Netherlands, offering wireline and wireless telephony, internet and TV to consumers and end-to-end telecom and ICT services to business customers. In Germany and Belgium, KPN pursues a Challenger strategy in its wireless operations and holds number three market positions through E-Plus and BASE. KPN provides wholesale network services to third parties and operates an efficient IP-based infrastructure with global scale in international wholesale through iBasis.
At December 31st, 2011, KPN served over 44.5 million customers, of which 36.6 million were in wireless services, 4 million in wireline voice, 2.5 million in broadband Internet and 1.4 million in TV. With 18,687 FTEs in the Netherlands (31,084 FTEs for the whole group), KPN reported full-year revenues of EUR 13.1bn and an EBITDA of EUR 5.1bn in 2011. KPN was incorporated in 1989 and is listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.
About iBasis
A wholly-owned KPN company, iBasis is a leading wholesale carrier of international long distance telephone calls and a provider of retail prepaid calling services and data services for mobile operators. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of voice termination services and data services such as messaging, signaling and roaming, for many of the worlds largest fixed and mobile operators and VoBB service providers. iBasis customers include KPN and its mobile operators, E-Plus, and BASE, and more than 1,000 other providers, including Verizon, Vodafone, China Mobile, China Unicom, Skype, TDC, Telecom Italia, and Telefonica. The company can be reached at its worldwide headquarters in Burlington, Mass., USA at +1 781-505-7500 or on the Internet at www.ibasis.com.
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