PDF of this tutorialThe cost to connect and manage the physical facilities between carriers could be significant. For example, if there were 20 carriers in a region, each carrier would need to provide 19 connections (i.e., N -1 connections for N carriers). The cost and complexity of managing these connections would vary based on several factors including, but not limited to, the following:
- Distance to point of interconnection
- Number of networks to be connected
- Bandwidth requirements
- Connection type (dedicated local-area network [LAN] versus a managed virtual private network [VPN])
- Connection reliability (redundancy)
Beyond the physical connections, wireless carriers face other important interconnection-related considerations. Keeping pace with changes to inter-carrier communications specifications is vital for interoperability and improved message exchanges. In addition, it is necessary to administer and maintain the network addresses of trading partners, which can change over time. Management of these addresses is an additional cost beyond those associated with operating the network.
Significant cost savings and reduced complexity can be achieved by providing a nationwide interconnection network that facilitates the routing of ICP messages between wireless carriers. A third-party ICP clearinghouse would minimize the number of connection facilities that a service provider would require and would manage and maintain the addresses of all associated trading partners, thereby reducing service-provider operational costs. Additional services provided by the clearinghouse, such as message validation and reporting, could also be attractive to service providers.
The ICP clearinghouse requires that wireless providers to either connect to or utilize an existing connection to one of the major data networks. Fortunately, many, if not all, of the major wireless providers are already connected to one of the major data networks.
