Subscribe and receive the latest news from the industry.
Join 62,000+ members. Yes it's completely free.
Research report examines the central role for IP Multimedia Subsystems in next-generation converged networks
November 19, 2004
3 Min Read
NEW YORK -– Service providers across the telecom industry are adopting variations on the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) for 3G networks as they seek an unprecedented level of control over SIP-based applications running on converged networks, finds a new report from the subscription research service Unstrung Insider (www.unstrung.com/insider).
The report – IMS: The Heart of Wireless & Wireline Convergence – provides an overview of the components and concepts that make up the IMS architecture and assesses the features of IMS that make it attractive to operators. The second half of the report evaluates vendor positioning and strategies for introducing IMS across multiple types of customer.
"The idea of a standardized session control architecture for SIP-based services is becoming central to both wireless and wireline networks," says Unstrung Insider analyst Gabriel Brown, the report's author. "The market for core IMS elements, such as the Control Session Control Function and Home Subscriber Server, could easily be worth several hundreds of millions of dollars over the next few years."
According to the report, IMS is also a major strategic play that will "touch" many parts of an operator's next-generation service delivery infrastructure, providing additional revenue opportunities for IMS vendors with well-developed partnership programs.
Among the report's key findings:
Motorola and Nokia look to hold an advantage in the mobile operator market due to their robust handset sales.
Siemens, Ericsson, Lucent, and NEC have relatively well-developed IMS strategies; however, both Nortel and Alcatel are yet to announce commercial IMS products.
The ability to integrate apps "end to end" between clients and applications, across the IMS core, is hugely important to vendors' ability to maximize revenues from SIP and IMS.
Operators want open IMS systems and applications, but for now they prefer reliable, easy-to-use, single-vendor solutions over more complex multi-vendor efforts.
A good proportion of IMS deals will flow to incumbent mobile packet core vendors, especially in the early days of IMS.
Vendor partnerships at the services layer, combined with the ability to integrate third-party applications, will grow in importance over time.
Toll-quality VOIP based on a SIP/IMS control layer is a huge challenge and will emerge more slowly than lightweight data applications such as messaging, presence, and video sharing.
Vendors analyzed in this report: Alcatel SA (NYSE: ALA; Paris: CGEP:PA); Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERICY); Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LU); Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT); NEC Corp. (Nasdaq: NIPNY; Tokyo: 6701); Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK); Nortel Networks Ltd. (NYSE/Toronto: NT); and Siemens AG (NYSE: SI; Frankfurt: SIE).
IMS: The Heart of Wireless & Wireline Convergence is available as part of an annual subscription (12 monthly issues) to Unstrung Insider, priced at $1,350. Individual reports are available for $900. To subscribe, please visit: www.unstrung.com/insider.
For additional information, to request a free executive summary of the report, or for details on multi-user licensing options, please contact:
Jeff Claudino
Sales Manager
Insider Research Services
619-229-9940
[email protected]
For review copies, members of the media may contact:
Gabriel Brown
Chief Analyst
Insider Research Services
44-20-7701-9330
[email protected]
You May Also Like
Latest News
Popular whitepapers in 5G
May 21 - May 23, 2024
May 21 - May 23, 2024
Join us for an immersive experience where the future of North American telecom industry unfolds in 2024.
LEARN MORE
