HOW IMS IS TRANSFORMING THE TELECOMS WORLD
W
ithin the global telecoms industry, IMS has become the most anticipated - and hyped - technology development since IP first emerged in the 1990s. Its proponents say that IMS is the future for the entire telecoms ecosystem - whether fixed and mobile, business and consumer, all operators will deploy IMS to a greater or lesser extent.
ABI Research forecasts that globally operators will generate $50 billion in service revenue from IMS-enabled applications in 2011, having spent $4 billion on new service delivery platforms. And, according to In-Stat, the 10 million subscribers to IMS-based services in 2007 will grow to 500 million by 2011.
So just what is this boy wonder?
IMS is a set of specifications for next generation networking (NGN) architecture for implementing IP-based telephony and multimedia services in both the fixed and mobile worlds. It is a complete architecture and framework for the seamless convergence of voice, video, data and mobile network technology over a unified IP-based infrastructure. It consists of session control, connection control, applications services framework and subscriber management. In essence, it’s everything you need to deliver and bill for multimedia services in an interconnected world. IMS impacts the entire telecoms market in four ways: it can provide a common platform to reduce the time to market for rolling out new services; it provides a QoS framework; it allows operators to charge multimedia sessions appropriately; and it allows users to roam onto other networks, but still have access to all of their own personalised services.
What does that mean in practice?
For the integrated operator, this means a core IP network providing 3G, DSL and WiFi access services;with applications that, while being optimised for each device, are access agnostic;
and a single billing relationship covering communications and content. It will let larger operators build a walled garden in their IP networks, controlling what comes in, what goes out and who will pay for it. But IMS is not limited to industry giants. Standardised equipment and seamless integration between networks will let smaller service providers, for example, join forces with a mobile virtual network operator, a Hollywood studio and a popular music store to create best-of-breed content and communications package.
What does it mean to customers?
For the customer, it means they can access the network with whatever device they want (mobile handset, PDA, TV set top box, laptop) using the most appropriate bearer (3G/HSPA, DSL, FTTH, WiFi, WiMax and so on). They can talk, videoconference, surf, download, watch or collaborate.They will only need one password and identity, paying for all content and communications through a single bill.
But what’s the rush?
While fixed and mobile operators want to grow their non-voice revenues,
internet players are queuing up to steal the voice cash cow: Google’s GoogleTalk, Yahoo!’s Internet telephony with PSTN breakout, Microsoft’s Live Messenger also features PSTN breakout, while EBay has taken the greatest leap with the multibillion-dollar acquisition of Skype. The internet community has eyes on on-demand video too. iTunes and Channel 4 sell films over the internet, and YouTube seems to know no barriers. Yet operators’ own IPTV plans are barely off the drawing board. IMS is the way that operators can neutralise the emerging threat from the internet community. They are stifled by vertical silos. Each product stovepipe replicates processes for charging, presence, group and list management, routing, and provisioning; new services have high start up costs and take a considerable time to deploy.
IMS will flatten the silos so there is just one provisioning system, one billing system and one network. With this open framework, new services can be plugged in as quickly as a threat emerges from the internet community.
