Chapter I 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
1.1 The Softswitch Approach 
1.2 The Softswitch Market 

Chapter II 
MARKET BACKGROUND 
2.1 What is a Softswitch 
2.2 Softswitching Advantages and Disadvantages 
2.2.1 The Question of Reliability 
2.3 What are the Drawbacks 
2.4 Applications of the Softswitch 
2.5 Rollout Strategy for Established Carriers 
2.5.1 Phase 1: Internet Offload 
2.5.2 Phase 2: Tandem (Class 4) Switch Replacement 
2.5.3 Phase 3: End Office (Class 5) Switch Replacement 
2.5.4 General Rollout Issues 

Chapter III 
MARKETPLACE DRIVERS AND CUSTOMERS 
3.1 Economic Motivations 
3.1.1 Better Use of Capacity 
3.1.2 Improved Margins 
3.1.2.1 Operational Cost Reductions 
3.1.2.2 Revenue Enhancement 
3.1.3 Reducing Proprietary Platform Reliance 
3.1.4 Real Estate Savings 
3.1.5 Lower Entry Barriers 
3.1.6 Drawbacks to Adoption 
3.1.6.1 Evolving Standards, Protocols are Many 
3.1.6.2 Reliability and QoS are Critical 
3.2 Analysis of Opportunity Costs 
3.2.1 A Simple Softswitch Model 
3.2.1.1 Scenario 1: Aggressive Penetration 
3.2.1.2 Scenario 2: Reduced Penetration 
3.3 The Customers 
3.3.1 Greenfield Next Generation Service Providers 
3.3.2 CLECs and ISPs 
3.3.3 IXCs and LECs 
3.3.4 Smaller Independent Carriers 
3.3.5 Wireless Operators 
3.3.6 International Arbitrage Service Providers 
3.3.7 Enterprises 

Chapter IV 
SOFTSWITCH TECHNOLOGY 
4.1 Softswitch Architecture 
4.1.1 Softswitch/Media Gateway Controllers 
4.1.2 Media and Signaling Gateways 
4.1.3 Media Servers 
4.1.4 Application Servers/Feature Servers 
4.2 Standardization and Softswitches 
4.2.1 Protocols and Architectures 
4.2.2 The IP Suite of Protocols 
4.2.3 Media Protocols 
4.2.4 Signaling Protocols 
4.2.5 Gateway Protocols 
4.3 MGCP/Megaco Overview 
4.4 H.323 
4.4.1 Overview and Architecture 
4.4.2 Protocols 
4.4.3 Call Procedure 
4.4.4 Network Element Protocol Support 
4.5 SIP 
4.5.1 Overview and Architecture 
4.5.2 Protocols 
4.5.3 Call Procedure 
4.5.4 Network Element Protocol Support 
4.6 Which Standards Will Prevail? 
4.6.1 MGCP and Megaco 
4.6.2 SIP 

Chapter V 
VENDORS 
5.1 Open Standards Report Card 
5.1.1 Call Control Vendor Report Card 
5.1.2 Programmability and Call Processing Features 
5.2 OSS Report Card 
5.2.1 Network Management 
5.2.2 Billing Support 
5.3 Migration Strategy Report Card 
5.3.1 POTS Interconnection Requirements 
5.3.2 Routing and Screening 
5.3.3 Value-Added Feature Sets 
5.3.4 Access Method Support 

Chapter VI 
MARKET TRENDS AND FORECASTS 
6.1 Introduction 
6.2 Methodology 
6.3 Softswitch Market Revenue Forecast 
6.3.1 Softswitch Units Sold 
6.3.2 Softswitch System Prices 
6.3.3 Softswitch Revenue Growth 
6.4 The Mix of Service Providers
6.5 The Application Mix 
6.6 The Technology Mix 
6.7 Market Players and Trends
6.7.1 TDM Spending Caps 
6.8 Market Forecast Summary

Appendix 
Glossary 
The International Softswitch Consortium 

Table of Figures

Chapter I 
I-1 Softswitch Architecture
I-2 Softswitch Revenue Growth, 2000 and 2007 ($Millions) 

Chapter II 
II-1 Softswitch Architecture 
II-2 Use of Softswitch for Internet Offload 

Chapter III 
III-1 US Telecom Wireline Market Growth by Segment, 2000 and 2006 
III-2 Circuit vs. Packet Switching of Internet Traffic 
III-3 Voice/Data Traffic Growth (Gbits) vs. Revenues, 1998-2003 
III-4 Scenario 1: Two-Year Return on Investment by Month 
III-5 Scenario 2: Two-Year Return on Investment by Month 

Chapter IV 
IV-1 Softswitch Architecture 
IV-2 Protocols for Real-Time Communications 
IV-3 MGCP Architecture 
IV-4 Typical H.323 Network Architecture 
IV-5 Example of an H.323 Call Flow 
IV-6 Basic Components of a SIP Network 
IV-7 Example of a SIP Call Flow in Proxy Mode 
IV-8 SIP Network Interconnection with the PSTN 

Chapter VI 
VI-1 Average Price Per Softswitch, 2000-2007 ($Thousands) 
VI-2 Softswitch Revenues and Estimated Growth , 2000-2007 ($Millions) 
VI-3 Softswitch Customer Type, 2000-2007 (Percent of Revenues) 

Appendix 
A-1 Architecture Working Group 

Table of Tables 

Chapter II 
II-1 Softswitch Advantages/Disadvantages 

Chapter III 
III-1 Softswitch Economic Benefits 
III-2 Increasing Demands on the PSTN 
III-3 Strategies to Increase Network Service Margins 
III-4 Drawbacks of Pursuing Converged Networks 
III-5 Capital Costs 
III-6 Scenario 1: Service, Penetration & Fees 
III-7 Scenario 1: Group Services 
III-8 Scenario 1: Variable Costs 
III-9 Scenario 1: First Year Cash Flows 
III-10 Scenario 2: Service, Penetration & Fees 
III-11 Scenario 2: Group Services 
III-12 Scenario 2: Variable Costs 
III-13 Scenario 2: First Year Cash Flows 
III-14 Vendor Report Card: International and Other Interfaces 

Chapter IV 
IV-1 Principal Softswitch/MGC Protocols 
IV-2 Master/Slave and Peer: A Comparison for Gateway Solutions 

Chapter V 
V-1 Vendor Support: AIN and Other APIs 
V-2 Vendor Support: Call and Device Control Protocols 
V-3 Vendor Support: Basic Call Processing Programmability 
V-4 Softswitches with High Levels of Programmability 
V-5 Vendor Support: OA&M System Features 
V-6 Vendor Support: NMS/OSS Protocol Status 
V-7 Vendor Support: Billing Functions 
V-8 Vendor Support: POTS Interconnection Requirements, Carrier Focused 
V-9 Vendor Support: POTS Interconnection Requirements, Customer Focused 
V-10 Vendor Support: Regulated Features 
V-11 Vendor Support: Routing and Screening 
V-12 Vendor Support: Value-Added Features 
V-13 Vendor Support: Value-Added Access

Chapter VI 
VI-1 Softswitch Application Implementation, 2000-2004 
VI-2 Annual and Cumulative Installations of Softswitches, 2000-2007 
VI-3 Softswitch System Installations by Carrier Type and Application, 2000-2007  VI-4 Annual Installations of Softswitches by Application, 2000-2007 
VI-5 Softswitch Revenues and Estimated Growth, 2000-2007 
VI-6 Softswitch Forecast Summary, 2000-2007 

Appendix 
A-1 ISC Organization 
A-2 Working Group Functions 

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