Why Media Gateways Anymore?

Jim Machi : Industry Insight
Jim Machi

Why Media Gateways Anymore?

media gateways jim machi blog 110717.png
This past summer, I wrote a few blogs relating to older technologies such as PSTN, SS7, Fax, etc.  At Dialogic, part of what we do is live in the world of bridging these older technologies to today.  The older technologies live on longer than any of us might imagine, and we have customers who still buy these technologies for various reasons – all revolving around the networks still being used, no matter how much we hear about LTE. And thus, there is business for them and thus, us to be had.

I wanted to write about this since I think most people are focused on what is new and cool, whether they may or may not make any money.  I get it, my focus is on new and cool things, too.  I just don’t want to do that all the time.  I also feel these older technologies get ignored, even though they are still around, are still contributing, and are still interesting in some way because they still have to move forward.  They are not totally stuck in cement.  And they will continue to be around longer than any of us think. 

For sure, I see the world and our business changing and most of the new design wins we obtain are around IP, virtualization, or cloud.  No doubt about that.  While the vast majority of network interconnect nodes today are SBCs because IP to IP networks need to be connnected and protected, that doesn’t mean the VoIP gateway is going away any time soon. Because, as I wrote above, the older networks are still there. And still there.  And yet… still there…believe it or not.  So the bridging between these older networks and the IP networks still needs to occur.

Enter the gateway for that.  Not revoluationary anymore.  But even if you have a gateway today, the gateway you have may not cut it.  As HD codecs via VoLTE and WebRTC enter the scene, you may find your existing gateway doesn’t support them.  So you either will need a new one or do an upgrade.   And as the need for all that VoIP gateway density drops, you may want consolidate down to a smaller more up to date unit(s) so you can drop those maintenance charges and gain the additional required functionality. Again, a new one may be in the cards. 

As such, modern media gateways still have a role.   Sure less of a role than 10 to 15 years ago, but there is still a role.

Dialogic recently published a white paper on The Evolving Role of Media Gateways in Next-Generation Networks. To find out more on how media gateways adapted with the times, please read the white paper.



Related Articles to 'Why Media Gateways Anymore?'
jim blog 061917.png

Featured Events