PDF of this tutorialAlthough originally considered as an optional H.323 network component by the ITU, the gatekeeper has become an essential tool, helping organizations maintain their comparative advantage in a fiercely competitive market. With the enterprise market primarily concerned with workforce productivity and return on investment, the gatekeeper has become a key player in upgrading corporate intranet structures to support IP–centric and real-time multimedia communication capabilities. By incorporating the gatekeeper, companies are benefiting from enhanced productivity and increased revenues as a result of efficient and effective collaboration amongst employees, clients, and supply-chain vendors. Furthermore, organizations now benefit from cost savings for IP–telephony toll-bypass applications and simplified network management.
For service providers, the gatekeeper generates new revenue streams by bridging the existing public switched telephone network (PSTN) with IP networks, therefore responding to the urgent need for interoperability across global telecommunications networks. To satisfy public demand for high-quality, low-cost transport next-generation networks, service providers must have carrier-class gatekeepers to transport calls effectively in order to enhance revenues.
