Voice typically relies on an on-site Private Branch Exchange (PBX) connected via TDM (T1/E1) facilities to the PSTN or via a hosted voice (Centrex) solution. Data, on the other hand, is often delivered over separate access facilities, as are video and other enterprise communications services.

Enter the Multiservice Business Gateway. MSBGs combine voice, enterprise data, Internet access, firewall capabilities, security services, VPN operation and management, in addition to a variety of hosted services. They also provide access to the Wide Area Network (WAN) with multiple uplink choices and include an array of Ethernet LAN ports including PoE (Power over Ethernet) ports for VoIP terminals, surveillance cameras, remote wireless access points, and other powered Ethernet devices. MSBGs also provide support for analog telephony systems to ensure compliance with emergency voice communications requirements, FAX machine capability, etc.

MSBG Evolution
The MSBG market is expected to grow at an impressive 30% per year until at least 2011, with attendant revenue climbing from a nominal $1 billion today to as much as $2.5 billion by 2011. At their most functionally fundamental level, MSBGs support legacy voice services, but the obvious future for the network is VoIP and an all-IP local, metro and wide-area network for transporting it and other service types. Signaling will be based less and less on SS7 and more and more on SIP, and connectivity will be accomplished via DSL, cable, Metro Ethernet or TDM (T1, E1), thus guaranteeing the device’s relevance in all enterprise markets