BSNL selects Tekelec for mobile number portability and SIP routing

BARCELONA, SPAIN: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), the world’s seventh largest telco, has selected Tekelec to provide mobile number portability and session initiation protocol (SIP) routing.

BSNL will implement Tekelec’s number portability solution for signaling system 7 (SS7) and SIP-based networks, supporting the operator’s multi-vendor network environment.

The deal extends Tekelec’s relationship with BSNL, which has more than 55 million mobile subscribers and 35 million fixed-line subscribers. The service provider will add SS7 number portability to the EAGLE 5 signaling platform, which BSNL had previously deployed for Tekelec’s signal transfer point (STP) advanced routing application.

BSNL also selected Tekelec’s SIP Signaling Router (SSR), an application residing on the EAGLE XG IP signaling platform, for number portability for next-generation network customers. The EAGLE XG extends the capabilities of the EAGLE 5, providing a natural evolution to manage and help solve the routing and interoperability issues that occur as networks transition to 3G and long term evolution (LTE).

In addition to the SSR, the EAGLE XG platform supports other applications including: Service Broker to blend intelligent network (IN) services with new next-generation applications; Home Location Register (HLR) Router; and Electronic Number Mapping (ENUM) Server.

BSNL selected Tekelec’s solutions through ITI Ltd, an Indian telecom manufacturer offering switching, transmission, access and mobile equipment.

Tekelec had 97 number portability customers – including eight in India – in 33 countries at the end of 2009. It has won eight out of the 10 number portability bids in India it has entered. The company also has the largest market share for real-time connection number portability solutions, according to the Number Portability Research Note published by Analysys Mason. Tekelec deployed the first integrated number portability solution in 1997 with Bell Atlantic (now Verizon).

Tekelec’s number portability solution supports number portability for voice, short message service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS) and pre-paid calls, and covers GSM, CDMA, fixed networks, and cable, as well as intra-carrier number retention.

The SSR provides a unified SIP signaling layer across BSNL’s disparate network technologies and equipment. This approach prepares BSNL’s network for future growth by establishing a next-generation network signaling and session control layer.

In addition to number portability, BSNL is now equipped to add new network technology and offer multimedia services as subscribers’ needs evolve.

“Tekelec has extensive experience with complex number portability deployments for both mobile and fixed-line networks,” said Mark Main, senior analyst at industry research and consultancy firm Analysys Mason. “SIP routing also provides operators with the ability to scale networks efficiently, a critically important issue in fast-growing markets like India, which add millions of new subscribers each month.”

Nine Tier 1 operators have ordered the EAGLE XG through fourth quarter 2009 and seven of the nine have purchased the SSR application. The EAGLE XG SSR offloads signaling and session routing functions from softswitches, reducing network complexity and enabling operators to expand and evolve their network while introducing new services.

Built to support both Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards, the SSR enables multimedia services over broadband access such as LTE and WiMAX.

“The SIP Signaling Router addresses service providers’ needs to cut costs while growing their networks, and also lays the foundation for future evolution,” said Ron de Lange, executive vice president at Tekelec. “BSNL is at the forefront of network innovation and customer service by solving multiple network needs with a cost-effective single product.”