NeuStar, Inc., a leading provider of essential communications services to the global communications and Internet industry, announced it has entered into relationships with Hong Kong Internet Exchange and Japan Internet Exchange Co. Ltd., to offer SIP-IX, the first comprehensive suite of services designed to enable direct network-to-network peering between trading partners for voice, video and content services using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-based technologies such as IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and that initial SIP-IX components are currently in trial.



NeuStar also announced that it has completed deployment of SIP-IX infrastructure in facilities operated by its previously announced partners, Equinix and TELEHOUSE. In addition, as part of ongoing trials and broader vendor interoperability testing efforts, NeuStar successfully tested the provisioning interfaces for its SIP-IX service with Ceon, Incognito, NetNumber, and Nominum. The SIP-IX provisioning interface is a standards- based mechanism which enables numbering and IP routing information to be uploaded into the SIP-IX registry infrastructure, where it is synchronized with the SIP-IX global query infrastructure, or downloaded to the network operator's own service infrastructure to facilitate SIP interoperability and call routing.

The new IXP relationships -- in combination with the progress made with existing partners and interface testing -- dramatically enhance NeuStar's existing SIP-IX platform, both by extending the scope of the global IP network infrastructure and by engaging with service providers who will ultimately utilize SIP-IX as part of their service delivery. Today, the five IXPs related to the NeuStar SIP-IX service collectively interconnect more than 800 global IP networks, representing the significant majority of the IP network traffic for all of Asia, North America and Europe.

IXPs offer neutral public and private IP network layer peering services, (where virtually all IP networks directly or indirectly interconnect), enabling the global IP network infrastructure. SIP-IX will build on the existing IP network-level peering foundation provided by global IXP partners, providing a higher layer of services essential to enable network operators to exchange SIP traffic for advanced services. With SIP-IX, network operators offering SIP-based applications -- including VoIP, IMS, Multimedia Instant Messaging, video calls and content, and Push-to-Talk over Cellular -- will be able to utilize existing IP network peering facilities to originate, terminate and share calls or sessions for mobile, fixed and broadband communications.

AMS-IX, Equinix, HKIX, JPIX, and TELEHOUSE will each integrate SIP-IX with their IP peering infrastructures, creating a service delivery platform at the IXP locations that enable network operators to peer SIP-based traffic, in addition to existing peering and collocation services that the providers will continue to offer using current infrastructure and technologies.

"In the global context, HKIX, being a neutral exchange, collaborates with our counterparts on standards while our members compete locally and internationally on quality of service. On the verge of full-scale launch of IP telephony in Hong Kong, our partnership is certainly timely and could facilitate our members in deploying not only voice, but also innovative multi- media services like messaging and video over the global IP-based networks," said Philip Leung, Managing Director of HKIX.

Tetsuo Okimatsu, President and CEO of JPIX added, "JPIX is the first commercially-based IX provider in Japan. We operate the largest peering fabric in Japan and provide complete neutrality as a fundamental core of our business. JPIX has the largest number of customers and connected ports of all IXPs in Japan. Collaborating with NeuStar on the SIP-IX initiative, JPIX has opportunities to research and offer more valuable exchange services to its customers, and all of JPIX's connected customers will benefit."

In announcing this new alliance, NeuStar Chief Technology Officer Mark Foster stated that, "The addition of HKIX and JPIX further enhances the community of neutral infrastructure providers who together with NeuStar will deliver SIP-IX. NeuStar has unmatched expertise in key technologies such as SIP and ENUM, essential to enabling SIP peering, which makes us a natural partner with IXPs to provide a total solution to the global marketplace. Our customers have asked us to build on what already works, and together, we are deploying the next evolution in global IP network services."