How IMS fits into Telecom Business

The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is an architectural structure for delivering IP multimedia services to the businesses around the world. It was originally coined by the 3GPP or 3rd Generation Partnership Project for developing networks that could surpass GSM. This latest multimedia subsystem will help telecom companies grip the future IMS networks in order to deliver services to the Small and Midsize Businesses. IMS eases the amalgamation of video, voice, IM/Presence, video & voice conferencing over different devices thus providing smooth communication experience while substantially reducing operating costs.

From a service provider outlook, IMS allows for new revenue streams because multimedia services can be rendered over the present IP infrastructure. With this structure in place, providers can offer what we call session-based services. With IMS enabled, any IP device can establish a session with the control servers and then make connections with other IP devices to send voice, video & data sessions between the two end clients. This breaks the regular obstacles affecting end devices. The ability to separate the underlying infrastructure from the services provided is a major benefit of IMS.

IMS is selected by the industry as the lasting technology for IP based communication core networks to ascertain scalability, global interoperability, interworking with both legacy networks & web based services, also evolution to 5G Core. For operators to hold on to the voice and messaging business and stay pertinent to their customers they have the opportunity to deliver new & innovative, cost saving and interoperable communication services.

IMS enables operators to monetize various voice and data intersecting services and synchronize with the operator’s next generation transformation plan. The services act as spur to expand the data usage of end-users. These services not only fill the gap between service provider and social media & internet but also take advantage of capacity and thus enable operator to add new revenue stream. These services will also help operator to enhance their brand visibility with added advantage of social media and internet application packed with their core services. Operators can charge it on per application basis or just carrier and charge for data usage.

The IMS architecture can furnish the following major benefits:

1. Easier to Create and Position New Applications and Services
2. Enhanced apps are uncomplicated to develop due to open APIs and common network services.
3. Third-party developers offer their own apps and use common network services, sharing profits with minimal risk.
4. New services involving consistent sessions of multimedia (voice, video, & data) during the same call are now feasible.
5. Target New Subscribers and Retain Current Subscribers
6. Improved voice quality for business apps, such as conferencing, is possible with wideband coders.
7. Wireless apps (like SMS, and so on) can be proposed to wire line or broadband subscribers.
8. Service providers can more feasibly offer bundled services.
9. Decrease in Operating and Capital Costs
10. Cost-effective application of services is possible across multiple areas, such as Push-To-Talk, Location-Based Services (LBS), mobile video services, and so on.
11. Common facilities, management, and billing systems are aided for all networks.
12. Significantly decreased transport costs result when shifting from time-switched to packet-switched channels.
13. Service providers can take edge of competitive offerings from multiple Network Equipment Providers (NEP) for most network elements.
14. IMS results in decrease in expenses for delivering licensed content to subscribers of various types of devices, encodings, or networks.

IMS is the state of art technology for the telecom industry and is analogous to a toolbox with a rich variety of tools for your application to tap easily in to the world. In other words, IMS uses internet technologies to provide vast services and mobile technology to provide ubiquity. IMS allows user to experience all the services no matter where they are as long as they are connected to internet.

Ankit Talwar

Batch - 2016-18
Symbiosis Institute Of Telecom Management