[asterisk-users] Verizon SIP "trunking" Field Trial

[Michael L. Young]

----- Original Message -----
> From: "Matthew J. Roth" <mroth at imminc.com>

> Your email documents the same experience we had years ago.  It was
> strange reading it and I was shocked that nothing has changed in that
> much time.  Asterisk will work with Verizon's IP trunking product,
> but
> they're trying to make you jump through some old hoops first.

Those were my thoughts.  They are making this a lot more complicated than it really needs to be.  I think the main thing they are worried about is having to support something they don't know anything about.  Well, they won't have to support it; we will.  Just as long as they are SIP compliant, there should be no issues.

> We were using Verizon IP trunks over an MPLS network in 2008.  At the
> time, they did not require IPSEC for signaling.  However, they did
> want us to install an SBC and actually provided us with an AudioCodes
> nCite 1000 at their cost.  It just acted as a proxy, so it didn't
> affect interoperability with Verizon's IP trunks and I wouldn't
> buy one only to satisfy them.

One of the engineers stated that they have received the direction to only use "standard" equipment.  So, they are afraid that our setup will not pass ICB since it doesn't fit into their "standard" way of doing things.

> We were quite happy with the service, so I'd encourage you to go
> ahead
> with the field trial without putting an SBC in place.  Remember that
> you will be paying them, so they should be working to fit your design
> and if they reject you for some arcane reason then you are better off
> with another provider anyway.
> 
> Don't hesitate to let them know that you know you're jumping through
> the same hoops that have been in place since 2008 and you'd
> appreciate
> it if they would streamline the process to save time and money.  Tell
> them that Asterisk should already be on their certified list of
> approved devices because they've been running field trials and
> production setups on it for years.

It is good to hear that you were happy with the service.  I have my reservations with all the hoops they are making us jump through and that gives me a bit of confidence that it will be worth it.

I did tell them that Asterisk is being used all over the place as well as in big call centers.  I know that I have seen others in the Asterisk community on Verizon.  Verizon seems to be hung up on this certification stuff and it is hard to explain to them that this is not a piece of hardware you buy and plugin.  We can build our own servers and put Asterisk on it, and they seem to cringe when they hear that.

Thanks for your input Matthew.  It is appreciated.

Michael