# What is SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol)?

> SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol, RFC 4960) is the transport-layer protocol that carries SIGTRAN signaling over IP. Unlike TCP it is message-oriented, multi-streamed (so one lost packet does not head-of-line-block the others), and multi-homed (an association spans multiple IP paths for instant failover) — the resilience properties a telecom control plane needs. M3UA and the other SIGTRAN adaptation layers ride on SCTP to move SS7 over IP. See /answers/sigtran-explained, /answers/what-is-m3ua, and /answers/what-is-sigtran.

- Canonical URL: https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-sctp
- Language: en
- Last reviewed: 2026-07-22
- Publisher: BroadNet (https://www.broadnet.me)

## Related

- [All answers](https://www.broadnet.me/answers)
- [Glossary](https://www.broadnet.me/answers)
- [SIGTRAN — SS7 over IP explained](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-sigtran)
- [How does SIGTRAN (SS7 over IP) work?](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/sigtran-explained)
- [What is M3UA?](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-m3ua)
- [SIGTRAN adaptation layers — M3UA, M2UA, SUA explained](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/sigtran-adaptation-layers)
- [SS7 Firewall](https://www.broadnet.me/operators/ss7-firewall)
- [SMSC gateway](https://www.broadnet.me/operators/smsc-gateway)