XO Joins Voice Peering Fabric

XO Communications, Inc. has announced that it has interconnected with Stealth Communications' Voice Peering Fabric (VPF), the world's largest peering network that allows members to exchange voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) traffic without relying on traditional telephone networks. The VPF is a distributed Ethernet network that functions as an exchange or meet-point for VoIP traffic by allowing enterprises and service providers to establish peer-to-peer connections in a secure, quality-of-service environment.

By joining the VPF, XO will be able to take advantage of the fast growing VPF ENUM Registry and exchange VoIP traffic directly with other VPF members. In addition, for VPF members that need to deliver VoIP calls to the PSTN, XO will be able to offer VoIP Origination and Termination services nationwide through the VPF. By handing off VoIP traffic directly to XO, VPF members' traffic will be routed across the XO IP network at the highest priority and terminated to the PSTN at destinations across the United States.

The potential ramifications are huge. Imagine millions of customers who will be able to interconnect and communicate without ever having to touch the PSTN. If ever there was a death-knell for the “old way of doing business” this is it.

Hunter Newby, chief strategist at telx, writes in his November column in Internet Telephony magazine that with Microsoft (which recently acquired Teleo) Google, Yahoo!, et al potentially peering over Layer 2 Ethernet, we have reached a point in the evolution of the industry from which we shall never return.

Hunter is also playing an integral part in the upcoming VoIP Peering Summit at Internet Telephony Conference & EXPO, which is just 18 days away! The event will be held in Los Angeles at the LA Convention Center. He will be moderating several sessions and in fact helped us create these sessions. The last VoIP Peering Summit (in Miami, February 2005) was a tremendous success with standing room only crowds. I fully expect more of the same as the Summit makes its West-coast debut.

Registration is now open at the Internet Telephony Conference & EXPO Web site.