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Fixed and Mobile ConvergencePrivate Mobile eXchangePutting your business in control of mobiles calls from the officeWithin many organisations, staff prefer the convenience of a mobile phone over a fixed line telephone handset and continue to make calls from their mobile even when in the office. This practice has led to escalating corporate phone bills. Private Mobile eXchange (PMX) enables mobile phones to become part of a corporate voice network while in the vicinity of the workplace, similar to the standard telephone handsets on the desk. Mobile phones can now be used to make calls from the workplace for the same cost as calling from an internal telephone extension. Staff can call colleagues at the premises, or on–net over the corporate network, without incurring any call costs and mobile calls from the office to external destinations are charged at the company's normal landline tariff. PMX integrates with any 2G mobile phone and any PBX type. Allows mobile phones to operate as PBX extensions while user is on–site. Improves corporate phone management and control
Vendor independence protects investment in infrastructure as PMX integrates with legacy (TDM) and IP-PBXs using industry standard gateways. This means that telephony hardware changes, for example, as a result of mergers and acquisitions or to meet new requirements, can be readily accommodated Maintains staff contactability to provide a high level of customer service Supports business continuity – the private mobile network continues to operate when the macro network (public mobile network) is not available PMX is built on industry standards and utilises standard Intel architecture, protecting investment with ability to accommodate future developments on standard hardware PMX allows users of the private mobile network to send at receive SMS messages within the network
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ImplementationPMX creates a self contained, privately owned and managed mobile network based on standard GSM protocols. This enabling technology allows an organisation to manage staff mobile phones on the corporate telecoms infrastructure. The solution comprises both hardware and software components. The hardware requirements include:
The PMX software consists of three software components: a Mobile Switching Centre (MSC), translation and routing database and a Short Message Service Centre (SMSC). In order for PMX to connect conventional mobile phones to most legacy PBX equipment, a hardware gateway is required to convert between protocols. PMX is able to use industry standard gateway that convert from SIP to protocols such as DPNSS and Q–Sig. Moving between networksA business user on a Private Mobile Network wants to be able to move seamlessly between the private and public GSM networks, without having to make any changes to his mobile phone. This is what the latest development from Comtact® provides. The SIMThe use of SIM cards that support dual IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) numbers is at the heart of the Fixed & Mobile Convergence solution. An IMSI is used within the SIM in all mobile phones to uniquely identify the mobile subscriber on a specific mobile network. When a dual IMSI SIM card is used, the phone has access to two alternative GSM networks. Each IMSI is given a different priority by the SIM card. To ensure that the private network is used whever possible, to provide call cost savings, the Private Mobile Network is set as the primary network and the subscriber's selected macro network as the secondary. Turn on the phoneWhen a mobile using a Fixed & Mobile Convergence SIM card is turned on it will select the primary IMSI, in this case the Private Mobile Network. If this is in range, the phone will go through a registration and authentication process. When this is completed successfully, the user of that phone can make and receive calls. If the Private Mobile Network is not found, then the phone will use the secondary IMSI and its list of preferred networks to find a suitable macro network. The phone then performs a similar registration and authentication process. Moving between network coverage areasA phone that is registered to a Private Mobile Network will stay registered until it leaves the coverage area. At this point the SIM changes over to the secondary IMSI and, as described above, the phone moves to the macro network to make and receive calls. This change of networks is seamless and operates in exactly the same way as moving between service providers when automatic network selection is activated on a mobile phone. When a user connected to the macro network comes into the coverage area of a Private Mobile Network a similar process is initiated. The phone will periodically check to see if a Private Mobile Network is in range. If one is found, the phone selects the primary IMSI and the phone moves to the Private Mobile Network. OperationThe PMX BTS units are connected to the enterprise IP network and utilise Power over Ethernet. Each BTS creates a cell in much the same way as on a macro mobile network. Each PMX implementation is made up of one or more cells depending on the number of users, coverage area and call volumes required. A single BTS supports seven concurrent calls and BTS can be clustered to support up to 31 concurrent calls. The BTS uses the internet protocol (IP) to communicate with the BSC, enabling the placement of BTS at any location on the LAN or WAN. A single BSC manages the functionality of several BTS. This includes their operating frequency, power output, IP addressing and other network characteristics. The BSC and MSC communicate using the (GSM) A–Interface over IP. The mobile switching centre has two main roles, control of registration and call control. The MSC component of PMX controls the access to the private mobile network and restricts this to known users, provides standard PBX features such as intelligent call routing and short code dialling. The route out of the PMX to non GSM destinations uses SIP for messaging and the GSM full rate codec for audio. The SMSC allows mobile phones registered to the Private Mobile Network to send and receive SMS text messages. Text messages are routed to phones on the network or are stored until they register to the network. Hardware RequirementsComtact® will provide the PMX installation as a full turnkey service form site survey and solution specification for both hardware and software, to installation and commissioning of the system. The PMX software runs on industry standard hardware on a dedicated server. Minimum Server Hardware Requirements
Connection Options for connecting the PMX to the corporate network
Protocols SupportedDesigned to meet the demands of fixed/mobile convergence and the need for richer wireless office services PMX brings the mobile into the existing TDM or IP based PBX giving the user access to the same feature rich business applications already in use. The PMX is designed to allow installation without having to modify the companies existing network or change mobile handsets. Industry standard protocols are supported to guarantee maximum flexibility.
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