ATIS and the SIP Forum are partnering to specify an IP communications network-to-network interface (NNI) between North American service providers, saying the effort will lay the groundwork for "ubiquitous advanced real-time communications such as high-definition voice, point-to-point video calling, and multimedia text across wireless, wireline and cable providers."
An IP communications network-to-network interface (NNI) between North American service providers would help advance the ongoing transition from the legacy PSTN (public switched telephone network) infrastructure to a newer, more advanced SIP (session initiation protocol) and IP-based infrastructure.
"As standardized, IP-based interconnection becomes the norm, it brings with it opportunities to eliminate unnecessary costs and enable advanced services," said ATIS President and CEO Susan Miller. "The output of this Joint Task Force will provide a detailed protocol specification that all North American service providers can support and implement. It will be an important step toward making SIP/IMS interconnection 'plug-and-play'." For more, see this joint release.