Performance Technologies (www.pt.com) today announced the addition of a link concentration feature to its SEGway signaling system 7-over-IP product line.
The initial version SEGway, announced in February, focused simply on mapping SS7 over IP. But customers then began asking for link concentration capabilities, says Bob Mason, the company’s director of marketing. The new SEGway product does the SS7 over IP mapping plus concentrates multiple SS7 links to reduce number of links needed to reach a service control point (STP) or home location register (HLR) on the network.
Mason explains the number of SS7 connections is “growing by leaps and bounds.” It’s growing about 17 percent annually because of SS7’s widespread use for such applications as wireless roaming; enhanced voice services like calling name and calling number; and in Europe for short messaging service (SMS), an email-like feature on some pagers, he says.
If carriers can concentrate multiple SS7 links between the switch and another element in the network, they stand to realize significant savings, he says, noting that SS7 links cost about $1 a mile in the U.S. and up to $15 a mile abroad.
The new SEGway product will be generally available in late August or early September. The company would not disclose pricing, but Mason says carriers should be able to recapture their investment on the product due to SS7 link savings within a year.
