* Verizon successfully completed its part of a four-nation, two week interoperability test of IP Multimedia Subsystem network equipment
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Verizon said it successfully completed its part of a four-nation, two week interoperability test of IP Multimedia Subsystem network equipment, which was orchestrated by the industry association MultiService Forum.
The two weeks of testing – called Global MSF Interoperability (GMI) 2006 – involved 500 test engineers and support staff at five locations. The GMI 2006 tests adhered to MSF Release 3 Implementation Agreements, which combine elements of IMS specifications from the Third Generation Partnership Project, 3GPP2 and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute’s TISPAN project.
The tests evaluated eight interoperability scenarios of 197 IMS network devices manufactured by 26 companies. Verizon officials said the tests were helpful in maturing IMS and winnowing it down to a set of implementable standards, but it did not conclude the specification’s evolution.
“It was important for moving (IMS) from a theoretical framework to implementation,” says Naseem Khan, principal member of technical staff in Verizon’s Technology organization and member of the MSF board. But Khan added that some IMS interfaces need further enhancement.
“It’s still not a complete picture,” he said.
Neither is the company’s Ethernet footprint, but it’s getting closer.
Verizon Business announced the expansion of its Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL) International service from the United States to six countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region. The six countries are Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.
Next year, Verizon Business plans further expansion of EVPL International into New Zealand, the Philippines and Malaysia, as well as into Canada, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico and Hawaii. The carrier also plans further expansion in Europe and will introduce two or three class of service offerings for EVPL International.
Verizon Business plans to turn up a multipoint Virtual Private LAN Service with three or four classes of service nationally in the first quarter of 2007, and internationally in early 2008. The carrier is also mulling global availability of its Ethernet Private Line service which is already offered within Europe.
