A system for providing telecommunication service between users, includes a first network, a second network, a gateway. The first network is capable of communicating media in at least one encoding format. The second network is capable of communicating media in at least one format. In operation, the gateway receives a call setup message from the first network, the call setup message signaling for a media channel for transporting media between a first device and a second device. The gateway identifies a first encoding format for the media communicated with the first network. The gateway also determines a second encoding format for the media in the media channel communicated with the second network. If the first encoding format and the second encoding format are different, the gateway modifies transcoding information in the call setup message, the transcoding information indicating a number of transcoding points on the media channel.