LG Electronics uses Stratus ftServer systems to develop open-systems softswitch solution with Korea Telecom

Stratus Technologies announced today that Korea Telecom, a major global carrier and the dominant service provider in Korea, is developing Asia's largest softswitch implementation using the new Stratus ftServer T30 system, an Intel processor-based fault-tolerant server supporting the Linux operating system.

LG Electronics, a major telecommunications equipment provider, is developing the Linux-based softswitch/media gateway controller software on the ftServer system with Korea Telecom (KT).

A worldwide leader among major carriers in transitioning from traditional circuit-switched voice networks to packet-switched IP networks, KT is developing its IP network using a softswitch-based open-systems architecture consisting of various network elements.

KT and LG are developing the softswitch using the new fault-tolerant Stratus ftServer T30 system, a NEBSTM Level 3-compliant system that combines Intel Xeon processors and the fault-tolerant Linux operating system with Stratus' field-proven architecture. The first in the planned series of ftServer T Series models, the T30 server is designed with all the Continuous Processing features and performance required to meet the demands of traditional telecommunications solutions and next-generation IP networks.

LG is a long-time Stratus partner, having previously collaborated on several telecommunications projects for other customers. The companies have been working together on the KT softswitch project for nine months. "We chose this open architecture because the combination of Linux and Intel will provide KT with a truly open and robust platform with distinct price/performance advantages," said SK Beom, general manager and group leader of NGN Core Software Development for LG.

"Equally important selection criteria were application availability and platform reliability. LG has been a Stratus Continuum server series partner for a number of years, and our experience with the company and its products has been very positive. We feel confident that this is the best possible platform for KT."

To the extent major carriers have announced intentions to deploy softswitches, their target markets have generally been limited to corporate customers. Smaller carriers, who typically are new to the telecommunications marketplace and have no legacy network infrastructure, have invested in softswitch technology to quickly gain a market foothold by offering more subscriber services at lower costs than large service providers are able to. Deployments of this type allow established service providers to leap frog competition and quickly provide new services to customers.

"The ability to combine voice and data services on this open-systems platform will give carriers unprecedented flexibility and versatility to quickly develop and deploy new services," said Ali Kafel, Telecommunications Business Unit director at Stratus. "Softswitch technology like that being developed by LG can bring service providers a distinct competitive advantage to offer new services and attract new subscribers, which in turn can help increase revenue and maximize profits."