This Recommendation defines a package that extends the applicability of [ITU-T H.248.1]@ Gateway control protocol. In particular@ this Recommendation defines the transport of ITU-T H.248.1 Gateway Control Protocol messages over the Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) [IETF RFC 2960]. Protocol messages may be transmitted over the Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP). In a transaction-oriented protocol like H.248.1@ there are still ways for transaction requests or responses to be lost@ e.g.@ caused by entity/component failure. As such@ it is recommended that entities using SCTP transport implement application level timers for each request. Commands should be sent to the default port number@ 2944 for text-encoded operation@ or 2945 for binary-encoded operation. Responses must be sent to the address and port from which the corresponding commands were sent@ except if the response is to a handoff or failover@ in which case the procedures of clause 11.5 of [ITU-T H.248.1] apply. SCTP payload protocol identifier shall be 7. To provide interworking between MTP3B and SCTP@ and to allow for flexible implementations of gateways and controllers in order to offer efficient use of SCTP associations@ the M3UA layer may be added on top of SCTP.