Spring VON 2006 and IMS

IMS (Internet Multimedia Subsystem) was all the buzz last year at Spring VON 2005. It continues to garner the attention of service providers especially fixed-line and cable operators this year at Spring VON 2006. However, there is one key change - vendors and carriers are starting to talk about integrating web services as service applications delivered over the IMS services framework.

With numerous meetings with many business partners and VCs, there was not much time for viewing the exhibits at VON. From what little time I had on the show floor, I did notice a few key changes: 1) many of the low-cost PBX vendors typically packaging open-source Asterisk are gone and replaced with a much bigger Digium/Asterisk Pavilion, 2) enhanced VoIP user terminals such as ATAs are now products than can be shipped in volume rather than demonstration units, and 3) less exhibitors are giving away freebies like useless blinking ice-cubes :-(.

At VON, I also gave a talk relating to the role of IMS and FMC (Fixed-Mobile Convergence). The key points I made were: a) online communities matter in IMS, and b) users will demand choices and some control when it comes to fixed-mobile service access.

In IMS, the user profile, contact list, and presence are stored in the carrier's centralized HSS (Home Subscriber Server) so that the user can access services seamlessly from different networks. The issue is that users do not always want a single identity nor do they always want consistent presence - users typically have multiple identities or personas, and the presence or availability depends on the contact and on user context. The contact list can be easily imported from a number of sources such as Microsoft Outlook but a useful contact list integrated with presence requires a thriving community.

For fixed-mobile convergence, user do not always want seamless hand-off from one access network to another. For instance, if I return home, I do not always want to hand-off from cellular to my home Wi-Fi network just because it may provide better radio reception or offer cheaper phone calls. As a user I will want some level of service control, and I will continue to use and keep services from multiple network service providers.

I pushed the point that linking online communities onto mobile networks and across disassociated networks present a significant business opportunity for carriers and IMS networks. I also pointed out that users demand some service control such as dynamic call disposition when it comes to fixed-mobile convergence.