Telecomm Industry Vision for Fixed-Mobile Convergence Becomes a Reality with Reef Points' New Universal Convergence Gateway
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Broad Range of FMC Solutions Available on a Single Carrier-Class Platform Enables, Simplifies and Economizes Service Provider Infrastructure for VoIP and Multimedia Service Delivery
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Reef Point Systems (http://reefpoint.com/) today announced the telecommunications industry's broadest range of fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) solutions available on a single network gateway platform. Deployed on Reef Point's Universal Convergence Gateway (UCG) platform, also unveiled today, these solutions enable service providers to deliver personalized, Internet Protocol (IP) based services to subscribers across the wide range of mobile, fixed-line and wireless networks and devices.
The new UCG platform provides solutions for FMC network architectures defined by the 3GPP, 3GPP2, ETSI and CableLabs telecommunications industry standards bodies, including:
o IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)
o IMS over WiMAX
o Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA)
o Picocells and Femtocells
o Wireless LAN Access.
"By creating and deploying the technology specified by new industry standards like IMS and Integrated Wireless LAN services, service providers worldwide have already cast their vote in favor of Fixed Mobile Convergence as the next delivery mechanism for subscriber services," said Cam Cullen, Reef Point Vice President of Product Management. "But the jury is out regarding which FMC architectures will win. And because some service providers will employ multiple FMC standards and others will evolve among them, all are best served by a single platform that can support them all. Our broad range of solutions gives service providers the utmost freedom and flexibility to build compelling service packages for their customers."
The Universal Convergence Gateway is a control point situated between a service provider's core network (e.g., where application servers and other elements reside) and the subscriber access network that is used to access those services. Each Reef Point UCG-based solution provides the specific functions (e.g., network termination, privacy, infrastructure security) that each FMC industry standard requires plus the intelligence to determine the resources (e.g., bandwidth) required for certain services (e.g., video vs. voice or instant messaging) and to enforce specific policies (e.g., service authorization, or presence).
"Fixed mobile convergence is on the roadmap of all major carriers in developed countries. Planned introduction can be made using different techniques, or using a combination of them. For example, carriers can start deploying with technologies like UMA, that move to IMS voice call continuity (VCC) for better cost efficiency when traffic will ramp-up. These different steps in introducing fixed mobile convergence offerings can all be deployed using Reef Point's convergence gateway solution," said Jean-Charles Doineau, Service Infrastructure Practice Leader at Ovum, a leading international telecommunication consulting, research and analyst firm.
Available Reef Point Universal Convergence Gateway FMC solutions include:
o IMS Border Gateway (IBG) Solution for IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)
To deliver IMS services to users via WiFi access networks, Reef Point's
IBG solution provides comprehensive access control in distributed (IMS
BGF) and integrated (P-CSCF and BGF) configurations (both with
signaling plane and media plane separation for high-performance and
scalability), including:
o Flexible user authentication
o Secure signaling with IPsec or Transport Layer Security (TLS)
o SIP security and DDoS protection for signaling between the user
and IMS core, and between core elements
o Firewall, ALG and DDoS protection for the IP-based core
infrastructure
o Firewall, ALG and DDoS protection for the media traffic traversing
the core infrastructure
o Traffic bandwidth limiting to prevent theft of service and DoS
attacks on the core infrastructure
o QoS to ensure the proper prioritization of traffic in the network
core.
o IMS Border Gateway (IBG) for IMS WiMAX Solution
Carriers can use WiMAX to provide high-bandwidth IMS-based services to
wireless users indoors and outdoors, equivalent to TISPAN fixed-line
implementations. The UCG IBG provides:
o Secure/encryption mechanisms for WiMAX reference points and data
security (IPsec/SSL)
o IMS support (P-CSCF/BGF)
o Tunneling: IP-IP, GRE, MPLS, VLAN, IPsec
o Integration with 3GPP Integrated WLAN (PDG and PDIF).
o Security Gateway (SeGW) Solution for Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA)
The 3GPP (UMA) standard utilizes the new generation of dual-mode
(cellular-WiFi) phones for accessing FMC services. Reef Point's SeGW
solution is a key component of the industry standard-specified UMA
Network Controller (UNC) and provides:
o User authentication using SIM information from the handset
o IPsec tunneling and encryption between the handset and Security
Gateway
o Firewall and distributed denial of service attack (DDoS)
protection for the core infrastructure
o Traffic bandwidth limiting to prevent theft of service and DoS
attacks on the core infrastructure
o Quality of Service (QoS) to ensure the proper prioritization of
traffic in the network core.
o Security Gateway (SeGW) Solution for Picocells and Femtocells
The new generation of picocell and femtocell access points can be
deployed in homes and businesses to give the current generation of CDMA
and GSM mobile phones better service and do not require dual-mode
phones. UCG-based Picocell/Femtocell SeGW provides:
o User authentication using SIM or other information from the
picocell or femtocell
o IPsec tunneling and encryption between the CPE and Security
Gateway
o Firewall and DDoS protection for the core infrastructure
o Traffic bandwidth limiting to prevent theft of service and DoS
attacks on the core infrastructure
o QoS to ensure the proper prioritization of traffic in the network
core.
o PDG/PDIF Solution for Wireless LAN Access
3GPP Packet Data Gateway (PDG) and the 3GPP2 Packet Data Gateway
Interworking Function (PDIF) industry standards will enable PDA, laptop
and dual-mode mobile phone users to access broadband services over WiFi
and WiMAX networks. The UCG PDG/PDIF solution provides:
o User authentication using SIM or other information from the
handset/PC
o Address assignment and management for the remote connections
o IPsec tunneling and encryption between the user and Security
Gateway
o Firewall and DDoS protection for the core infrastructure
o Traffic bandwidth limiting to prevent theft of service and Denial
of Service Attacks on the core infrastructure
o QoS to ensure the proper prioritization of traffic in the network
core
o Charging/billing for the user connections and usage.
For more details about the new UCG, see the related press release issued today, "Reef Point Systems Unveils Universal Convergence Gateway For Fixed-Mobile Convergence Networks."
About Reef Point Systems
Reef Point Systems (http://reeefpoint.com/) is the maker of the Universal Convergence Gateway (UCG), the telecommunications industry's only available platform purpose-built with the functionality, performance and scalability to provide comprehensive access control (termination, security, policy management and quality of service) for the full range of fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) implementations and industry standard architectures. The UCG platform and its broad range of FMC solutions give service providers the utmost freedom, flexibility and affordability to build compelling, competitive services for their customers. These solutions maximize service reach, by delivering services over any access technology; ensures service availability by protecting all levels of the FMC infrastructure (subscriber device, access network, IP core and applications) and by enforcing quality of service; and protects revenue streams by defending against theft of service. Reef Point Systems is a privately held company is located in Burlington, Massachusetts.
Source: Reef Point Systems
CONTACT: David Hayward of Reef Point Systems, +1-781-359-5025, dhayward@reefpoint.com; or Lisa Allocca of Red Javelin Communications, Inc.
for Reef Point Systems, +1-978-470-2227, lisa@redjavelin.com
Web site: http://reefpoint.com/
