XConnect Names Richard Shockey, ENUM Pioneer and IP Communications Expert, To Advisory Board

Appointment Expands IP Communications Routing and Addressing Knowledge

LONDON – April 28, 2009 – Richard Shockey, a pioneer in ENUM (Electronic NUMbering) and expert in VoIP (Voice over IP), has joined the advisory board of XConnect, the leader in VoIP and Next Generation Network (NGN) interconnection services. 

Shockey is a founder and has been co-chair since 2002 of the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) ENUM Working Group. He also is co-chair of the recently-formed IETF working group DRINKS (Data for Reachability of Inter/Intra NetworK SIP), dealing with provisioning data for VoIP/NGN peering federations, and has participated in IETF working groups on other subjects including SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), the dominant IP-based communications signaling protocol.

In addition, Shockey has helped develop several commercial products based on ENUM, the protocol devised to enable routing of IP-based calls and services using telephone numbers.   

ENUM registries are at the heart of XConnect’s peering and federation infrastructure, routing voice and multimedia calls and advanced services between  communications service providers in a scalable and highly optimised manner. As an internationally recognized expert on routing, addressing and signaling, Shockey is poised to keep XConnect in the forefront of VoIP peering.

"Richard is the godfather of ENUM technology and services,” said Eli Katz, CEO and founder of XConnect. “He probably has the greatest understanding of this vital infrastructure component and its commercial applications of anyone in the industry. We welcome him to our advisory board, where he will strengthen our leadership in the carrier ENUM and federation-based interconnect sector."

Shockey said: “I’ve always admired the business focus, innovation and technical expertise that XConnect has brought to next generation networks. As XConnect recognizes, ENUM-based services are the future of global IP service interconnection. I hope I can help the XConnect team leap to the next level of success.”

From 2000 until early this year, Shockey was a director and distinguished member of the technical staff at NeuStar. Previously, as a consultant, he developed IP communications solutions for such companies as HP and Xerox. 

In addition to his IETF roles, Shockey is a member of the board of directors and technical working group co-chair of the SIP Forum, an organization of IP communications companies that promotes adoption of SIP-based products and services. He also chairs the SIP Forum’s SIPconnect task group, which produces specifications for interconnecting SIP-based IP PBXs with service providers.

A frequent speaker on ENUM, SIP, NGN and related topics, Shockey also has written numerous articles on NGN technologies.

Shockey was educated at Washington University in St. Louis. He and his wife live in suburban Washington, D.C.