Softswitch is also called media gateway controller, call agent and gatekeeper.
Short for software switch, a softswitch is an API that is used to bridge a traditional PSTN and VoIP by linking PSTN to IP networks and managing traffic that contains a mixture of voice, fax, data and video. Softswitches are able to process the signaling for all types of packet protocols. Softswitch is a software-based switching platform, which is opposed to traditional hardware-based switching center technology. Softswitches also are based on open systems, another difference between them and traditional proprietary hardware switching systems.
