How Does Voice Over IP Reduce Costs?
Download the complete white paper now.
Recently, Sprint became the first telephone company in North America to fully convert a Class 5 central office to a packet network infrastructure. This is an important milestone not only for Sprint and Nortel, but for the industry as well. Sprint is making a revolutionary move to transition its network from circuit-switched to a packet-switched architecture.
In the fall of 2001, Sprint and Nortel announced an agreement to undertake the first phase of the total transformation of Sprint Local Telecommunications Division's network to a packet-based voice infrastructure. Laying the groundwork for this venture was truly a Sprint/Nortel team effort. The signing of the supply and services agreement enabled Sprint to set into action plans for its Local Telecommunications Division to packetize its entire network. The planned migration of Sprint's eight million lines onto a packet infrastructure will improve the capability of Sprint's network to introduce and operate future products and services, and facilitates the progression to a seamless Sprint network. The Local Voice over IP Solution allows Sprint to more cost-effectively offer its customers high-quality residential and business communications and provide a platform on which to create additional products and services.
It was never a question for Sprint as to whether they would migrate to packet; it was only a question of when they would begin this important network evolution, at what pace the conversion would proceed, and what vendor they would entrust with this strategic undertaking.
"The proposal we put together for Sprint proved to them that, with just a moderate increase in near-term spending, they are positioned to drive substantially reduced capital and operating costs while laying a future-ready foundation for a great variety of revenue-generating services—some available today and others yet to be envisioned," said Randy Dodd, vice president for Nortel.