Tekelec, a leading developer of high-performance network applications for next-generation fixed, mobile and packet networks, today announced during the ITU Telecom World 2006 conference that it has deployed upgrades for the EAGLE 5 Integrated Signaling System (ISS), the industry's global market share leading signaling platform. The new enhancements give operators greater flexibility when migrating their signaling networks to more cost-effective Internet Protocol (IP) and IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) infrastructure and enable greater network capacity to handle increased signaling traffic as mobile operators continue the transition to 3G.
"VDC predicts strong growth in the APAC [Asia Pacific] markets, with a five percent CAGR [Compound Annual Growth Rate] for STP [signal transfer point] products in that region, because of increased cellular usage,"Â said Bob Johnson, senior datacom/telecom analyst, Venture Development Corp. "We believe that Tekelec's leadership in global market share of STP sales and a product platform that facilitates transition strategies to next-generation networks, such as the IMS model, puts the Network Signaling Group in a good position to grow its market share in these regions."
Sigtran, which enables signaling system 7 (SS7) signaling over IP networks, is considered the stepping stone to IMS. It enables operators to move their SS7 traffic over to IP first, and then use the same infrastructure to support session initiation protocol (SIP) signaling in an IMS environment. The upgraded EAGLE 5 ISS now can support all three major types of Sigtran - M2PA, M3UA and SUA - to enable operators' graceful transition to IP and, eventually, IMS.
The enhancements also include support for up to 2,000 provisioned links, up from 1,500 links. Operators now can scale their EAGLE 5 ISS to handle the increasing signaling traffic caused by migration to 3G. Additional upgrades include expanded global title translation (GTT) performance and new integrated data acquisition features that allow operators to collect key Sigtran signaling statistics for revenue and performance management applications.
The EAGLE 5 ISS enhancements build on the suite of integrated applications that provide the efficient delivery of intelligent routing, revenue management and value-added services such as:
- Global number portability solutions for global system for mobile communications (GSM), code division multiple access (CDMA), fixed and intra-carrier number retention
- G-Flex® virtual home location register (HLR) manager for maximizing operator HLR utilization and flexibility.
- Equipment identity register (EIR), which helps to deter mobile handset theft by preventing stolen handsets from being registered on the network.
"As operators seek a cost-effective and realistic transition strategy moving towards a single, converged IMS architecture, there is increased recognition that signaling will play a crucial role in their IMS strategies,"Â said Ronald De Lange, president and general manager of the Tekelec Network Signaling Group. "Tekelec EAGLE 5 ISS is the world's most widely deployed signaling platform, proven with more than 200 operators around the globe. With the new enhancements, we are continuing the trend of being first to deploy new signaling-related functionality, just as we were with SS7 over IP and our integrated number-portability solution. We look forward to adding greater functionality in the future as more operators transition to IP and eventually IMS."Â
Tekelec will be delivering several industry presentations during ITU Telecom World 2006 at the Asia World-Expo/Hall 2, Booth #2006, including one titled, "Network Evolution: Understanding and Overcoming Operator Challenges."Â
By Tekelec