Reduce Real Estate Costs
A Ribbon customer that is migrating AXEs, DMSs & CS2000s calculated that their average call control footprint, per central office, excluding gateways, will decrease from about 550 sq feet to 25 sq feet (about 52 sq meters to 2.4 sq meters). Assuming $10 per sq foot, that equates to $5,250 per month or $63,000 annually in space savings per central office. It's easy to see how migrating dozens or hundreds of locations (plus gateways) can add millions to the bottom line.
Learn How VTR Chile Migrated 700,000 Subscribers
VTR Network Transformation - from Nortel to Ribbon
When Losing Power is a Good Thing
Besides labor, power is typically one of a service provider’s largest variable costs. As an example, AT&T publicly reported that it consumed over 13.1 Billion kWh of power in the USA in 2020, equating to more than 1.3 billion dollars in spending (assuming a rate of $.10 per kWh).
Ribbon’s Virtual C20 uses a fraction of the power of a legacy TDM or purpose built softswitch – offering the potential for millions of dollars in power savings. Not only do these savings go directly to the bottom line, they also support providers’ green initiatives and help them providers meet stringent new local energy regulations such as Local Law 97.
Additionally, many newer servers offer the option of AC power supplies. This may eliminate the requirement/expense of supporting both AC and DC back-up power in datacenters.
Manage the Last Mile
Support multiple generations of legacy copper or migrate to fiber
While many providers have considered CLASS 5 migrations in the past, often the cost of upgrading or replacing last mile infrastructure made the business case unworkable. The Virtual C20 changes all that, it can support a vast array of last mile options including:
- GR 303
- H.248
- IP
- NCS
- V5.2
- MGCP
Part of a Complete Ribbon Solution
Enabling Central Office and network-wide transformation requires more than just call control. That why Ribbon has a complete portfolio of media gateways (trunk and access), signaling gateway, SBC, centralized policy & routing, application server, and identity assurance solutions
People You Can Count On
Ribbon has Professional Services Teams to Assure a Successful Migration
Ribbon’s Professional Services organization has hundreds of experienced voice specialists and partners; our staff averages over 15 years of experience. It’s no surprise that individuals of this caliber have extensive technical depth, network breadth, multi-vendor expertise, and have developed specialized tools to accelerate migrations.
Ribbon has completed more than 1,000 switch collapses (with thousands and thousands of remotes) and migrated over 40 million ports, on dozens of different platforms.
The Ribbon Difference
The Ribbon Difference
Ribbon is Ready
The telecom vendor landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. Longstanding solution providers were acquired or merged and no longer focus on the service provider market. Others have exited the market in one manner or another.
Unlike our former competitors, Ribbon is investing in your future, including the effort to virtualize the C20. Ribbon is investing in Telco Cloud, including process automation and cloud-native services that deliver new deployment choices and additional cost savings. Ribbon is ready for today and what comes next.
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Resources
Datasheet
Virtual C20Solution Brief
Fixed Network Transformation Ribbon Analytics for Fixed Network Transformation Ribbon Call Trust®Case Study
TelstraClear Modernizes Networks with Ribbon's UC and IP Interconnect Solutions Telus Communications Migrates from TDM services to VoIP Services VTR Chile Selects Ribbon for Network Transformation SolutionsPress Release
Verizon Network TransformationFrequently Asked C20 Questions
What is the Ribbon C20?
Ribbon C20 Call Session Controller is a carrier‑grade Class 4/5 softswitch that replaces legacy TDM switches and consolidates central office call control onto a virtualized IP core while preserving existing last‑mile access and regulatory continuity. The Virtual C20 uniquely supports legacy access and gateway control protocols (GR‑303, V5.2, MGCP, H.248) alongside SIP and IMS interworking, allowing service providers to modernize networks without forcing a last‑mile rip‑and‑replace.
Is Ribbon C20 the same as an IMS CSCF?
No. Ribbon C20 is a Class 4/5 softswitch (call agent) used for core call control and switch replacement. IMS CSCFs are signaling components within a 3GPP IMS architecture. C20 can interwork with IMS environments but is not itself a CSCF.
How is a call session controller different from a session border controller (SBC)?
A call session controller like C20 manages call state, routing, and switching in the core network. An SBC secures and normalizes signaling and media at network borders. Service providers typically deploy C20 and SBCs together.
Can C20 modernize a central office without replacing copper access?
Yes. C20 supports GR‑303, V5.2, MGCP, and H.248, allowing legacy copper remotes and access nodes to remain in service while call control is consolidated into a virtualized IP core.
