Acme Packet has been selected by Iowa Network Services, Inc. as its session border control provider to support its hosted VoIP services. INS, which is owned by 127 rural Iowa Independent Telephone Companies, offers wholesale services to multiple local exchange carriers in the state of Iowa. Deployed to support both access and interconnect applications, Acme Packet’s Net-Net session border controllers enable high-quality hosted IP Centrex business applications and IP PBX trunking along with the ability to securely connect to the broadband networks of INS’ participating LECs.

Acme Packet’s Net-Net SBCs provide key functionality for INS, which aims to provide its rural customers the same high levels of service afforded to their urban and suburban counterparts. The SBCs manage the traffic between multiple IP networks while providing a highly scalable architecture and flexible configuration, allowing the SBCs to grow in capacity and support new applications as INS expands. Acme Packet’s SBCs afford INS with high levels of security, featuring access control lists, topology hiding and signaling rate limiting to prevent denial of service (DoS) attacks. By employing the Net-Net SBC’s flexible call admission control policies, INS is able to ensure network availability and call quality for its customers. To maximize service reach, Acme Packet SBCs provide adaptive NAT traversal—allowing INS to deliver VoIP services to customers behind firewalls—and have proven interoperability with other VoIP equipment.

“Acme Packet Net-Net SBCs, with their carrier-class qualities and extensive interoperability with E911 service providers and VoIP equipment vendors, help round out the highly sophisticated VoIP services that we provide to Iowans in rural and metropolitan markets,” said Robert Agnew, voice product manager from INS. “The Net-Net family allows us to take advantage of SIP-enabled equipment that provides integral security, interworking and load balancing features, maximizing our network capabilities, while at the same time delivering cutting-edge services to rural areas.”

“By leveraging our security, service assurance and service reach features, INS has created a robust interactive IP communications suite, creating a compelling offering for Iowa businesses,” said Seamus Hourihan, Acme Packet’s vice president of marketing and product management. “With our Net-Net SBCs, INS is able to bring next-generation communication services to Iowa that customers want, helping INS to establish themselves and its LEC partners as service-centric technology leaders.”