BOSTON--Global Crossing announced this week that VoIP provider SunRocket will use its new VoIP peering solution, becoming the first announced customer of the service launched last week. The company also announced new VoIP professional services, which start with network assessment and can included a managed service.

Global Crossing’s VoIP peering will enable SunRocket to provide an end-to-end IP connection for its voice service, said Patrick Reilly, senior product development manager. By avoiding conversion of traffic to traverse the PSTN, the VoIP provider avoids paying access charges and, perhaps more importantly, can offer advanced VoIP features and end-to-end service guarantees.

“SunRocket is trying to provide service, not run a network,” Reilly said. “They had a challenge--their voice peering fabric was in the carrier hotels, and they aren’t. We are in all the carrier hotels, and we were able to provide those connections to them. By going to an end-to-end IP service, they have a more predictable cost structure and greater control.”

Global Crossing and Sun Rocket are trying to promote an industry-wide approach to peering that includes an open-standards model.

“We’re still early-on in peering,” Reilly said. “We are both strong believers in promoting the concept of peering to help move it along.”

Peering in the VoIP world involves delivering voice traffic across the IP backbone and avoiding the PSTN.

Communities of interest, such as independent telcos or municipal networks, are natural partners in peering and potential customers for Global Crossing’s service, said Anthony Christie, chief marketing officer.

“In the past, we were talking about compressing those calls, but now we see nothing wrong with creating differentiated services, with a wideband codec, that provides richer media experience, so that the voice quality is better,” Christie said.

The professional services offering starts with network-readiness assessment that includes a customer’s LAN, uplinks, engineering of PSTN backup links and vendor selection, he said. Right now, the company has announced interoperability with Avaya gear, but will be naming other vendors in the future.