NATICK, Mass.-Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystems architecture is creating opportunities for several players, according to new research from Venture Development Corp.
Several vendors are vying to increase their control of the supply side of the telecom core infrastructure market, and IMS allows many of them to repackage their existing products as IMS upgrades and convergence products, said VDC. For nontraditional telecom vendors, IMS creates an entry point into the market, said the firm.
“IMS provides a common vision of the universal next-generation network,” said VDC’s Telecom Practice director Chad Hart. “Although, this vision has been broadly accepted in nearly all telecom communities, IMS is still a work in progress and many important details have yet to be resolved.
“A variety of leading vendors are using this ambiguity as an opportunity to push the market in their direction. The dynamic that emerges over the next 12 to 18 months will likely have a long-term impact on the role, if any, each of these stakeholders will ultimately play in the market. This will be a battle on all fronts.”
The report examines the primary IMS suppliers, integrators and user groups and identifies issues and objectives for each group’s IMS investment. The research will be updated quarterly.
For example, on the demand side, VDC said third-generation and ready-for-3G service providers are looking to IMS to increase average revenue per user and lower operating expenses from rapid and inexpensive application development and service deployment. Mobile virtual network operators hope to use the architecture to better customize their services and separate themselves from their host operators, said the company.
