CENX unveils Carrier Ethernet voice exchange service
MARCH 1, 2010 By Stephen Hardy -- Carrier Ethernet exchange operator CENX has unveiled a new Carrier Ethernet neutral voice exchange service. Optimized for IP traffic, CENX’s voice exchange service is designed to replace both TDM direct connections and legacy voice tandems.
An offshoot of the Metro Ethernet Forum, CENX is a private company that aims to make carrier-to-carrier interconnection of Carrier Ethernet services comparatively easy and economical by establishing Carrier Ethernet Neutral Exchanges through which carriers can interconnect and buy and sell Carrier Ethernet capacity (see “CENX takes tips from MEF, opens Carrier Ethernet exchanges”).
According to Nan Chen, CENX co-founder and CEO, current tandem voice exchanges, whose pricing is based on a per-minute model, is out of step with the flat-rate calling plans favored by many carriers today, particularly those offering voice over IP.
CENX says it offers competitive carriers the benefits of the one-to-many efficiency of a tandem design combined with the effectiveness of a direct connection -- which enables capacity-based charges -- delivered on a Carrier Ethernet exchange platform that scales to match traffic volumes. With a 1- or 10-Gbps Ethernet connection and capacity-based billing, a competitive carrier can cost-efficiently reach all other competitive carriers and replace its lower speed, costly T1, DS3 and SONET/SDH connections, the company asserts.
“Every wireline and wireless service provider with voice traffic is looking for ways to improve the operational costs of voice over IP traffic exchange,” stated Michael Howard, co-founder and principal analyst at Infonetics Research. “CENX’s Carrier Ethernet exchange approach does just that, while also simplifying and easing the deployment of Carrier Ethernet in other parts of VoIP infrastructure and implementation of 3G/4G and LTE wireless networks.”
Chen says that the new voice exchange service integrates seamlessly with other CENX Carrier Ethernet exchange services and promotes the integration of voice and data services on the same network. In essence, voice can be handled as a separate Ethernet virtual circuit with a high service level agreement.
CENX is offering what Chen called "pretty dramatic" price incentives to lure carriers to the exchange. This includes what Chen said amounted to approximately 1 million free exchange minutes per day.
With data and now voice covered, video would appear to be the next play. Chen says that CENX can support video exchange via its current data exchange services. However, the company is examining whether a video-specific product might be necessary.