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iBasis Completes Successful GSMA Trial Of IPX Interconnect Service And
Standards
Extensive Test a Significant Step in Ensuring Commercial Transactions and
Delivery of Robust IP Applications between Mobile and Fixed Telecom Carriers
BURLINGTON, Massachusetts and COPENHAGEN, Denmark - February 11,
2008 - iBasis (NASDAQ: IBAS), a KPN affiliate, today announced it has completed an
extensive trial of the IP eXchange (IPX). Overseen by the GSM Association (GSMA), the IPX
is being developed as a private global Internet protocol (IP) backbone open to any
telecommunications company adopting necessary technical and commercial standards. Once
established, the IPX will provide fixed and mobile service providers a technical and
commercial platform to exchange IP-based traffic -- including person-to-person voice,
content and emerging consumer and business applications -- securely and with guaranteed
quality of service (QoS) levels.
It is widely believed that the IPX and effective standards will result
in the migration to IP of a large volume of voice traffic from mobile networks and the
proliferation of innovative IP-based services generating substantial growth in the global
communications market.
The iBasis-lead trial tested much-needed interconnect service standards
of the IPX for critical commercial functions including secure billing across multiple
networks and platforms.
During the trial, an iBasis solution for managing IP traffic was
successfully demonstrated, illustrating the IPX's ability to facilitate commercial
transactions and deliver secure, reliable and high-quality IP services across a network
linking mobile and fixed telecom operators in Europe and Asia. The year-long trial was
completed on January 18, 2008 and incorporated more cases than any IPX testing initiative
to date. The trial was performed in close cooperation with Alcatel-Lucent, which provided
expertise on system integration and IMS technology in a multi-party environment. NextPoint
provided SBC equipment and expertise.
"We strongly believe the IPX model will have a very significant impact
on the industry," said President and CEO of iBasis, Ofer Gneezy. "With the rapid rise of
IP communications, it is particularly crucial that all carriers and service providers
involved have an effective interconnection for handling advanced mobile data services and
the growing volume of mobile and fixed VoIP traffic."
The iBasis trial encompassed intercontinental calling, interoperability
between two distinct IMS platforms and IPX platforms from different vendors, as well as
fixed-to-mobile testing. Utilizing a fixed retail operator in Europe and a mobile operator
in Asia, tests covered such areas as verification of the IPX transport layer to ensure it
is suitable to carry voice traffic in the SIP-I profile C interconnectivity protocol;
measurement of QoS; the correct transport of CLI and DTMF; testing over different
geographical distances and under varied scenarios; call forwarding, specific charging test
cases and more. Call detail records and traces of all parties compared showed no
inconsistencies. Results required levels better or equal-to latency thresholds specified
in IR34 for conversational class traffic.
iBasis' IPX trial addressed key principals identified by the GSMA as
vital for a successful and sustainable IP Interworking solution. Areas of particular
importance include:
- Openness -- All potential "players" in the delivery of IP services have the option
to become involved;
- Quality -- The IPX is focused on end-to-end quality, requiring a participating party
to voluntarily agree to be responsible for the performance of the next organization in
the transit chain. This includes committing to specified Service Level Agreements
(SLAs);
- Security -- The commercial and technical design of the IPX has been developed and
tested to offer protection on many fronts, including commercial agreements, attack
prevention (the IPX is not addressable from the Internet), individual traffic
segregation to prevent localized security breaches and keeping core networks probe-free,
and
- Cascading Payments -- Commercial agreements set on principles described in a
mutually understood and agreed upon business model. Similar to the traditional voice
model, this will encourage healthy competition, while assuring QoS and SLAs.
A second phase of the iBasis IPX trail will begin during the second
quarter of 2008.
About iBasis
Founded in 1996, iBasis (NASDAQ: IBAS) is a leading wholesale carrier
of international long distance telephone calls and a provider of retail prepaid calling
services and enhanced services for mobile operators. iBasis customers include KPN, KPN
Mobile, E-Plus, BASE, and many other large telecommunications carriers such as AT&T,
Verizon, Vodafone, China Mobile, China Unicom, IDT, Qwest, Skype, Telecom Italia,
Telefonica, and Yahoo. In October 2007, iBasis acquired KPN Global Carrier Services to
create one of the three largest carriers of international voice traffic in the world, and
KPN became a majority stockholder of iBasis. On a pro forma basis, the combined company
carried approximately 24 billion minutes of international voice traffic in 2007. 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.
About the GSMA
The GSM Association (GSMA) is the global trade association representing
more than 700 GSM mobile phone operators across 218 countries and territories of the
world. In addition, more than 200 manufacturers and suppliers support the Association's
initiatives as key partners. The primary goals of the GSMA are to ensure mobile phones and
wireless services work globally and are easily accessible, enhancing their value to
individual customers and national economies, while creating new business opportunities for
operators and their suppliers. The Association's members serve more than 2.5 billion
customers - 82% of the world's mobile phone users.
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