[SIPForum-discussion] SIP Forum and i3 Forum Launch Groundbreaking International Test Program for Fax over Internet Protocol

[Marc Robins]

Dear SIP Forum Members:

Please see below the latest announcement regarding the work of the Forum's FoIP Task Group. Let me know if you have any questions!

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SIP Forum and i3 Forum Launch Groundbreaking International Test Programfor Fax over Internet Protocol

Leading industrygroups aim to improve global IP Fax transmission delivery with the firstwidespread FoIP testing program of its kind

NORTHANDOVER, MA, SEPTEMBER 8, 2010 – The SIP Forum (www.sipforum.org)  and the i3 Forum (www.i3forum.org)  announced a new testing program forFax-over-Internet-Protocol (FoIP) services, aimed at identifying and qualifyingtransmission impairments and interoperability challenges that have arisen inIP-based networks as the T.38 protocol has become more widely deployed acrosscarrier and enterprise network topologies. The first-of-its-kind testingprogram, which will take place from September through December 2010, will bringtogether a host of international communications carriers from North America,South America, Europe, Asia and Middle East toexamine global FoIP communications.  T.38is the international standard that supports the use of IP networks to transportreal-time faxes.

“As an organization ofinternational carriers, it is our primary interest to rely on reliable Fax-over-IPinterconnection. Fax is an important service for our members’ customers, and asa result, we are committed to solving the service reliability problemsexperienced while migrating international interconnect to IP. We are sure that,on the basis of the experience gained in this testing campaign with SIP ForumFoIP Task Group, we can improve the IP interconnection implementation time andsave time and money presently devoted to troubleshooting and bug fixing” saidPhilippe Millet, Chairman of the i3 Forum.

The testing program will logfax calls between carriers, creating a large database of detailed informationabout how IP fax calls are handled amongst the program participants. More than adozen carriers on four continents have signed up to participate in the test andthe SIP Forum and i3 Forum will be accepting new participants well into thefourth quarter of 2010.

“The scope of vendors andcarriers participation we have organized for this test is truly unprecedentedin the realm of the telecom industry. The time has come to ensure that IP fax and application suites thatutilize FoIP, such as unified communications, continue to be rolled out withthe highest reliability and assured performance,” said Mike Coffee, CEO ofCommetrex and Co-Chair of the SIP Forum’s FoIP Task Group. “IP faxcommunications has unique characteristics and special requirements compared toVoIP traffic, and this testing program will give us a deeper understanding ofwhat is happening within the underlying network infrastructure of eachparticipating carrier and especially the inter-carrier signaling of each IP faxcall.” 

The SIP Forum’s FoIP Task Groupand members of the i3 Forum will conduct a thorough analysis of the data fromthe tests in early 2011, and resulting recommendations regarding improvementsto the current T.38 specification will be made to the appropriate standardsbodies, including the ITU-T and International Engineering Task Group (IETF).

The testing is also the firstmajor initiative undertaken by the SIP Forum/i3 Forum Partnership launchedearlier this year.

“The unique cooperation betweenthe SIP Forum and the i3 Forum is what makes this testing program possible, asit brings together a diverse group of equipment vendors and leading, internationalcommunications carriers,” said Richard Shockey,Chairman of the Board of the SIP Forum. “We expect our combined resources toyield a considerable amount of actionable data that will provide us with theintelligence we need in order to improve the interoperability and reliabilityof fax communications over IP networks, especially tandem networks – somethingthat end-users around the world demand.”

For more information about thework of the SIP Forum’s FoIP Task Group, and to view or download copies ofpublished documentation related to the ongoing work on FoIP, visit www.sipforum.org/content/view/310/252/or http://www.i3forum.org/library.

 About the SIP Forum

 TheSIP Forum’s FoIP Task Group was first launched in late 2008 to address thetechnical and interoperability challenges involving the transmission of faxdocuments over a SIP-enabled network. The group outlined some of the issues inthe fall of 2009 in its FoIP ProblemStatement v.1.0, and more recently with the publication of the T.38 SIP-SDP Problem Statement.

 TheFoIP Task Group leadership includes Mike Coffee, CEO of Commetrex, and GonzaloSalgueiro of Cisco, who serve as Task Group Co-Chairs; Marc Robins, Presidentand Managing Director of the SIP Forum; Max Schroeder, Sr. VP. Faxcore, whoserves as the Task Group Whip; and document editors including Michael Chen, LSICorporation, and Kevin P. Fleming, Director of Software Technologies, Digium,Inc.

 TheSIP Forum is an IP communications industry association that engages in numerousactivities that promote and advance SIP-based technology, such as thedevelopment of industry recommendations, the SIPit interoperability and testingevents, special interoperability workshops, educational seminars, specialinterest groups, and general promotion of SIP in the industry.  One of the Forum's notable technicalactivities is the development of the SIPconnect Technical Recommendation – astandards-based recommendation that provides detailed guidelines for direct IPpeering and interoperability between IP PBXs and VoIP service providernetworks. The SIPconnect Compliant Certification Program is an associatedprogram through which eligible companies can gain SIPconnect validation and theright to license the use of the SIP Forum's 'SIPconnect Compliant'certification mark – the official brand of the leading standard for SIPTrunking products and services. Other important Forum initiatives include workin Fax-over-IP interoperability, User Agent Configuration, and theopportunities for SIP in Smart Grid deployments. For more information, pleasevisit: http://www.sipforum.org.

 Aboutthe i3 Forum

 Thei3 Forum started in mid 2009 the analysis and study of Fax-over-IP in the “TechnicalAspects” WS, chaired by Alessandro Forcina, of Telecom Italia Sparkle. The deliveryof the first FoIP document addressing technical specifications is planned bynext October, with Jerzy Soldrowsky, of Telecom Poland, as document editor and taskleader.

Thei3 Forum brings together the communications expertise of more than 37 telecommunications operatorsrepresenting a combined retail base in excess of one billion customers inover 80 countries. The goal of the i3 Forum is to develop collaborativerecommendations for an industry-wide transition of voice and related servicesto Internet Protocol (IP). The forum's unified effort to expedite globalIP-based voice implementation will enhance worldwide communication bysupporting widespread access to innovative and high quality IP-based servicesand applications. For more information, please visit: www.i3forum.org.

 For further information,please contact:

JohnGates

Elevate Communications

(617)861-3651

m:(617) 548-8972

john at elevatecom.com

MarcRobins 
President and Managing Director, SIP Forum 
Tel: 718-548-7245 
http://www.sipforum.org

marc.robins“at” sipforum.org

 

AlessandroForcina

ChairmanWS “Technical Aspects,” i3 Forum

Telecom Italia Sparkle

http://www.i3forum.org

alessandro.forcina“at” telecomitalia.it

 

For media contact of i3Forum:

IsabelleTurcotte

CommunicationsChair, i3 Forum

isabelle.turcotte at tatacommunications.com

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Best,

Marc

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Marc Robins 
President and Managing Director, SIP Forum 
http://www.sipforum.org

Tel: 718-548-7245 
Mobile: 203-829-6307 
SkypeMe! marcrobins

Chief Technology Evangelism Officer 
Robins Consulting Group (RCG) 
http://www.robinsconsult.com

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