FW: Equinix and Neustar to Develop SIP Peering Exchange for VoIP and Other Advanced Services

[Daniel Golding <dgolding@burtongroup.com>]

Title: FW: Equinix and Neustar to Develop SIP Peering Exchange for VoIP and Other Advanced Services

FYI – are these announcements a sign of a pickup in VOIP peering interest?

------ Forwarded Message
From: Myron Lee <myron@kfcomm.com>
Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 08:59:25 -0700
To: <equinix@kfcomm.com>
Subject: Equinix and Neustar to Develop SIP Peering Exchange for VoIP and Other Advanced Services 

Equinix Contact:                                                                        NeuStar Contact:
David Fonkalsrud                                                                       Sue Cushing
K/F Communications, Inc.                                                          NeuStar, Inc.
(415) 255-6506                                                                           (571) 434-5150
dave@kfcomm.com                                                                    sue.cushing@NeuStar.biz
 
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
 
EQUINIX AND NEUSTAR ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT TO DEVELOP MULTI-SERVICE SIP PEERING EXCHANGE FOR VoIP AND OTHER ADVANCED SERVICES
 
First in a New Generation of Services Enabling VoIP Calling and Enhancements to Instant Messaging, Video Delivery and Other IP Services 
 
 
 
Foster City, CA – October 24, 2005 – Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), the leading provider of network-neutral data centers and Internet exchange services, and NeuStar (NYSE: NSR), a provider of essential clearinghouse services to the global communications industry and Internet network operators around the world, today announced an agreement to jointly develop the first in a new generation of services to enhance the interconnection of networks providing advanced services under Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).  Trials for the new service are currently underway, and are open to interested participants, with a planned product introduction in the first half of 2006.
 
With the growing importance of IP based applications, network service providers and content providers are seeking new solutions that enable them to provide these performance-sensitive services to their customers in a cost-effective manner.  The immediate benefits of the service aim to improve performance and lower costs of end-to-end Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls.  However, of far more significance, this service will lay the foundation for rapid adoption of converged IP-enabled applications in voice, video, gaming, mobility and content streaming.
 
With more than 200 network service providers and the largest content providers operating within Equinix’s Internet Business Exchange™ (IBX®) centers and Equinix’s leadership in network and content data exchange, or “peering,” the company is well positioned to leverage NeuStar’s leadership with ENUM telephony and SIP standards development to build upon proven technologies to provide this solution. The new service will leverage many elements of NeuStar’s SIP IX platform currently under trial.
  
SIP is the proposed standard for a number of advanced applications including voice, video, multimedia, instant messaging (IMS), multiplayer online games and virtual reality, with VoIP and IMS being the most immediate focus.  Given the immaturity of standards and architectures for the interconnection of networks for end-to-end SIP services, such as VoIP, most services originating or terminating as SIP are constrained to their home network island, or, in the case of VoIP, still end up being routed through Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) gateways and legacy phone switches.  This creates an additional process and adds unnecessary expense, reduces performance, and ultimately constrains the delivery of new services that can only be delivered on an entirely IP-enabled session.
 
The planned service will be comprised of three primary elements:  an ENUM and SIP-redirect capable directory allowing providers to control which other providers can route traffic to them; a security model preventing attacks from the open Internet, and; interoperability to enable carriers with different vendors or architectures to work with each other. ENUM is a supporting standard for VoIP and other services that leverages Domain Name System (DNS) functionality to determine the IP address of the phone number being called and supports end-to-end IP calls without the PSTN handoff. SIP Redirect provides a similar function for carriers that do not yet support ENUM.
 
In an effort to accelerate the adoption of the service on a global basis, Equinix is supporting NeuStar’s development of similar SIP peering exchange services with other exchange providers in markets outside of those covered by the Equinix-NeuStar agreement.
 
“As the adoption of SIP services, such as VoIP, increases and more sessions are originating and terminating on SIP networks, there is a strong and increasing demand for a high-performance platform for the exchange of these sessions between service providers,” said Peter Van Camp, CEO of Equinix.  “We are pleased to be working with NeuStar on this important initiative which will provide the vital infrastructure to open the door to a whole new era of converged IP-enabled applications in voice, video, gaming, mobility and content streaming.”
 
“The success of a SIP peering exchange relies on the ability to provide these services on an established IP platform that has been a proven solution for customers who need inter-carrier connectivity,” said NeuStar Chief Technology Officer, Mark Foster.  “Our relationship with Equinix is an important step in providing solutions for our customers that will set the foundation for the exponential growth of emerging SIP services.”
 
“Equinix and NeuStar are committed to continuing to work through the appropriate standards bodies to ensure collaborative development of SIP peering and other architectures with carriers and enterprises,” said Lane Patterson, director of research and development for Equinix.  “The planned SIP peering exchange service will be flexible to support both of the main architectural approaches to VoIP and SIP services:  the walled garden approach where security and quality of service are maximized by keeping end-to-end sessions within private provider networks, and the open Internet approach where calls can traverse any ISP or network.”
 
About NeuStar, Inc.
NeuStar (NYSE: NSR) is a provider of essential clearinghouse services to the global communications industry and Internet network operators around the world. Visit NeuStar online at www.NeuStar.biz. 
 
 
About Equinix 
Equinix is the leading global provider of network-neutral data centers and Internet exchange services for enterprises, content companies, systems integrators and network services providers. Through the company’s Internet Business Exchange™ (IBX®) centers in 11 markets in the U.S. and Asia, customers can directly interconnect with every major global network and ISP for their critical peering, transit and traffic exchange requirements. These interconnection points facilitate the highest performance and growth of the Internet by serving as neutral and open marketplaces for Internet infrastructure services, allowing customers to expand their businesses while reducing costs. 
 
# # #
 
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from expectations discussed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, the challenges of acquiring and operating IBX centers and developing, deploying and delivering Equinix services; a failure to receive significant revenue from customers in recently-acquired data centers; competition from existing and new competitors; the ability to generate sufficient cash flow or otherwise obtain funds to repay outstanding indebtedness; the loss or decline in business from our key customers and other risks described from time to time in Equinix’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see Equinix's recent quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available upon request from Equinix. Equinix does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.
 
 
Equinix and IBX are registered trademarks of Equinix, Inc. Internet Business Exchange is a trademark of Equinix, Inc.
 
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Myron Lee
K/F Communications, Inc.
81 Langton St., Suite 10
San Francisco, CA 94103
415/255-6509 (voice)
415/503-0744 (fax)
myron@kfcomm.com
 


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