This Standard specifies call transfer interworking between the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and “QSIG” within corporate telecommunication networks (CN), also known as enterprise networks.
“QSIG” is a signalling protocol that operates between Private Integrated services Network eXchanges (PINX) within a Private Integrated Services Network (PISN). A PISN provides circuit-switched basic services and supplementary services to its users. QSIG is specified in Ecma Standards, in particular [1] (call control in support of basic services), [2] (generic functional protocol for the support of supplementary services) and a number of Standards specifying individual supplementary services. Transfer services are specified in [3] , [6] and the QSIG signalling protocol in support of these services is specified in [4], [7] . In particular, this signalling protocol signals information about call transfer to the users who are involved.
NOTE – The name QSIG was derived from the fact that it is used for signalling at the Q reference point. The Q reference point is a point of demarcation between two PINXs.
SIP is an application layer protocol for establishing, terminating and modifying multimedia sessions. It is typically carried over IP. Telephone calls are considered as a type of multimedia session where just audio is exchanged. SIP is defined in [10].
As the support of telephony within corporate networks evolves from circuit-switched technology to Internet technology, the two technologies will co-exist in many networks for a period, perhaps several years. Therefore there is a need to be able to establish, modify, terminate and transfer sessions involving participants in the SIP network and participants in the QSIG network. Such calls are supported by gateways that perform interworking between SIP and QSIG.
This specification specifies SIP-QSIG signalling interworking for transfer services between a PISN employing QSIG and a corporate IP network employing SIP.