As Internet protocol (IP) proliferates, a growing need for carrier and enterprise networks to share voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) traffic is anticipated. Carriers are expected to deal with the challenge of network address translation (NAT) and firewall traversal for VoIP, as well as address a host of security and quality of service (QoS) concerns that are peculiar to real-time multimedia IP traffic. Session border controllers (SBCs) solve most of these problems by tackling network security, QoS, service level agreement (SLA) assurances, as well as law enforcement compliance issues. By addressing these critical areas, SBCs enable carriers to safely connect with other networks - across various protocols - and evolve from being mere ‘islands of IP’.

This Frost & Sullivan research provides an overview of the world SBC market. It examines challenges as well as analyzes market opportunities for all key vendors and their various architectures for border control solutions. The study analyzes carrier-to-carrier peering as well as carrier-to-enterprise access and carrier-to-residential access applications. A global forecast is also presented for both revenue and number of sessions shipped by the vendors.

IP Peering Reduces Opex and Increases Revenue

Handling of voice traffic in a native IP environment is more cost-effective and has less delay than the currently employed methods, which typically involve IP-to-time division multiplexing (TDM) conversion. Media gateways facilitate this conversion but are costly resources and cause delays in the transmission of VoIP. SBCs are more economical than gateways and provide a clean demarcation point at the network edge for IP-to-IP traffic flow. They also enable revenue growth by supporting the provision of VoIP services to a broader market.

SBCs complete the operational set-up of next-generation networks, and carriers and enterprises that wish to deploy IP on a large scale are not likely to encounter many significant obstacles. Although the majority of voice traffic is still TDM based, network operators are aware that IP holds a lot of promise. "Not only are wireline carriers likely to need to peer with other wireline networks, but soon, they are expected to do the same with both wireless and cable operators," says the analyst of this research.

Carriers Need the Benefits of SBC to Enter New Markets

VoIP still lacks a ‘killer application’, but this is not stopping carriers from rolling out IP services or enterprises from implementing multimedia IP services. Among network carriers, competition is a key motivator, especially with the advent of start-up virtual operators. With IP, these new companies can make a rapid entry in the market where they can quickly take business away from the established participants. To counter this threat, carriers need to deploy SBCs and use the benefits to cater to new markets and establish a new base.

"SBC vendors have built their solutions around carriers’ needs to expand their market base and they offer a variety of approaches," notes the analyst. Some carriers demand a highly integrated solution, while others favor a decentralized or distributed architecture that brings best-of- breed vendors together.