Acme Packet Enhances Voice Over LTE Solution

Acme Packet has recently announced enhancements to its Net-Net Session Driver for voice over LTE (VoLTE). With these enhancements, mobile service providers can deliver reliable, seamless voice call handover to 2G and 3G networks even when subscribers are outside of LTE coverage areas, as well as addressing newly defined IP Multimedia Subsystem functions for VoLTE call continuity.

The new VoLTE and 4G multimedia communications solutions that Acme Packet is providing includes session border controllers and multiservice security gateways, as well as session border controllers at interconnect borders, session routing proxies, and policy exchange controllers for LTE networks.

"Acme's announcement is important for both mobile consumer and business customers, because availability of any LTE service will be spotty for some period of time to come (once deployed, 2-4 years, depending on local market conditions)," says Lisa Pierce of UCStrategies. "And as we've already seen in the U.S. with 3G service, it's entirely possible that service availability in certain cities will also be accompanied by congestion. Thus, it is imperative that customers seek out mobile service plans, devices and providers that are multi-modal (support 2G, WiFi, 3G and 4G/LTE). As explained in yesterday's UC Strategies blog, the handoff between LTE and other wireless technologies must be seamless, and occur on a timely basis (see http://blog.ucstrategies.com/index.php/2011/03/20/att-bids-for-t-mobile-us/ ). In that regard, Acme's announcement provides GSM operators with an advantage for mobile voice (2G-VoLTE) interworking, especially when considering the necessity of making the handoff un-noticeable to the calling and called parties (e.g., apart from the support of IP-only features on an end-end basis, the handoffs should be very rapid, and supported by a highly redundant, diverse and scalable backoffice infrastructure)."

For more information, visit www.acmepacket.com.