separate data switch or other equip- ment, in order to get rid of the Internet-bound traffic and handle that data more cheaply. A normal central office telephone switch is designed to handle voice telephone calls, each averaging three minutes. Pricing was set to accommodate this pattern. With increasing Internet popu- larity, the average telephone call (using the telephone line to dial up the Internet from the PC) is approaching one hour. This continues to create a dilemma for the local tele- phone companies whose pricing is still based on an out of date assumption. Internet offloading is an attempt to lower their cost for handling this type of traffic. - Compliments of Newton's Telecom Dictionary Signaling System 7 (SS7) This is a network separate from the one that is carrying all of the telephone traffic. That network is called SS7, Signaling Sys- tem 7. It acts as a traffic cop for PSTN network traffic, assigning highways and routing customer traffic. SS7 is what makes the long distance carriers able to set up coast-to-coast calls in less than one second. Putting The Pieces Together One approach is to allow network operators to purchase the different pieces of the network from the best provider of each piece rather than being required to purchase an entire solution from a single company. Some network operators prefer to pur- chase all equipment from a single provider in order to get the 152 -8 The Telecom Handbook CHAPTER 7 systems integration work and the interoperability assurance that comes with dealing with only one company. Others prefer to mix and match equipment providers SO that they cannot be held hos- tage by any particular company and SO that the failure of one company will not leave them without a solution. The telecommunications network operators are not the only organizations who are assembling these capabilities. Some of the larger management consulting organizations are not only acting as large system integrators, but may actually control and resell elements of the softswitch network. Some equi