What’s the biggest fear among communications service providers seeking to upgrade their networks with IMS and other next generation capabilities?

 

Two words: Service disruptions.

In this day and age it’s a huge risk to undertake a major network upgrade because you never know whether it’ll lead to service outages or other problems. And with subscribers being so bent on customer service, it’s a risk that a lot of network operators are simply too fearful take: Just one service outage can lead to massive, even catastrophic, churn. So for now, many of them wait, silently suffering with their inferior legacy networks, sapped of their ability to deliver new capabilities and services.

To help allay these fears, VoIP switching technologies company Cedar Point Communications (News - Alert) has introduced a new replacement program for service providers using either TDM or VoIP switches that are nearing obsolescence. The goal of the program is to ease concerns about service disruptions by simplifying the migration process from existing architecture. Specifically, Cedar Point is bundling its SAFARI C3 (News - Alert) platform with professional services including network analysis, design and planning for different migration scenarios. This will help protect service providers from disruptions as they migrate to an IP-based, next generation infrastructure.

"This program provides service providers with a turnkey solution, anchored by a proven carrier-class voice switching platform in SAFARI C3," said JC Murphy, president and CEO of Cedar Point, in a release. "We have included a complete suite of analysis and design services to accommodate multiple migration scenarios and simplify, what could be, a potentially disruptive situation."

"Cedar Point has demonstrated its ability to provide a cost-effective and technically superior platform for VoIP switch migrations,” adds Wayne Davis, a member of the Cedar Point Communications Technical Advisory Board who is responsible for the architecture, design and management of the SAFARI C3 in a service provider network. “They bring considerable operational experience to bear on network migration issues.”

 

SAFARI C3 supports up to 250,000 lines in less than a cubic meter of space, incorporating all of the components that make up the voice switching infrastructure. It is being deployed for residential and business services by a diverse customer base that includes cable operators, CLECs, Class 5 operators, Class 4 tandem operators, wireless operators and universities.

 

Cedar Point Communications made news on TMCnet in February when it announced that it was partnering with Datatronics (News - Alert), a telecommunications value-added reseller in Spain, to distribute Cedar Point's VoIP and multimedia switching solutions in Spain and Mexico.

Specifically, Datatronics will provide value-added services including local customer support, applications engineering, technical consulting and training. In addition, the Datatronics sales and market development teams will collaborate with the Cedar Point team to promote and sell its solutions.