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Q1 2009
Chairman's Message Fellow NGN and IMS Forum Colleagues, We are pleased to tell you that the NGN IMS Forum, the only industry association dedicated to interoperability and certification of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and Next Generation Networks (NGN) applications and services, will hold its NGN IMS Plugfest 7 June 1-5, 2009 at the InterOperability Lab (UNH IOL) in Durham, NH. The NGN IMS Forum Plugfests are the industry's only interoperability events covering NGN services over 3G, LTE, WiMAX, wireline and cable broadband. Plugfest 7 will focus on IMS, NGN, LTE and WiMAX utilizing Diameter for access control, security, charging, mobility and management, network operations (OSS/BSS) and integration with NGN applications and services. The event is the first to address Diameter interoperability beyond the IETF specifications in order to respond to the needs of protocol stack vendors and users, equipment vendors using Diameter. Diameter started as an Internet (IETF) protocol developed to strengthen security and augment functionality of RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial In User Service) and to deliver AAA (Authentication, Authorization and Accounting) functionality in Next Generation Networks. The protocol and functional interfaces for Diameter were further developed by the 3GPP, ETSI, Cable Labs and other standardization groups to provide full support to NGN services. With this Plugfest we continue to expand further into service delivery, control and management, including billing, protocols and standards according to NGN, LTE and IMS architecture and framework. Plugfest 7 is a continuation of the IMS Plugfest series that started two years ago. This newsletter provides you with an update on our Working Group activities and features a Q&A interview with Nicolas Appert, Chairman of Inexbee and summarizes research from some leading industry analysts on the state of the industry. Forum membership and Plugfest participation is open to all companies. For online registration and info contact the forum at: info@imsforum.org or visit www.NGNforum.org. We hope to see you at Plugfest 7! Regards, Michael Khalilian “Diameter” Plugfest 7 June 1-5, 2009 To Focus on Managed Services using Diameter Expands Plugfest Series to Multimedia Service Delivery, Charging, Security, Operational and Business Support, for 3G, LTE, fixed and cable service providers Plugfest 7 is focusing on the Diameter interfaces and addresses the needs of all IMS/NGN and LTE equipment and solution vendors, protocol vendors, test and measurement manufacturers. Covers interoperability for Diameter and interfaces for IMS, NGN and LTE services: · Online and offline charging and billing of voice and multimedia services · User profile management with complex identity schemes involving multiple public, private and service identities · Mobility and nomadic services · Presence and location based services · Support for QoS management especially in the area of Unified Communications (UC), IPTV,FMC and other multimedia applications The NGN/IMS Forum, the only industry association dedicated to interoperability and certification of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and Next Generation Networks (NGN) applications and services. Register for Plugfest 7 TODAY! Online at www.imsforum.org or Contact: info@imsforum.org NGN IMS Plugfest™ Every time the global telecom industry hits an air pocket, indeed, every time the economy hits a recession, the immediate challenges of grappling with the present drives out thought about where the industry and the economy will be in several years, when the trouble has passed. Ourselves having been through several of these episodes, and without diminishing in any way the present challenges, a bit of perspective is called for. As a historical matter, both the global telecom industry and the U.S. industry have resilient histories where it comes to revenue growth. Between 1980 and 2007, for example, the U.S. telecom industry grew revenue every year save the 12-month period between 2002 and 2003, when industry revenue fell, and then by just $31 million, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Likewise, Federal Communications Commission data shows that telecom industry revenue fell by $9.5 billion in 2002 (three percent) and then by another $1.2 billion in 2003 (about 0.4 percent). Worldwide Telecom Revenue Forecast by Services Category, 2003-2013 ($Millions) 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 CAGR Broadband - Wireline $209,741 $224,791 $241,653 $259,899 $275,658 $290,482 6.7% Narrowband - Wireline $452,601 $453,478 $454,034 $453,781 $457,264 $460,791 0.4% Broadband - Wireless $32,934 $59,108 $106,243 $191,701 $346,312 $524,041 73.9% Narrowband - Wireless $971,560 $1,055,643 $1,145,446 $1,230,018 $1,337,364 $1,441,181 8.2% Total $1,666,836 $1,793,200 $1,947,377 $2,135,398 $2,416,598 $2,716,494 10.3% But that’s not the whole story. If one adds service provider revenues earned from enhanced services, billing and collection, customer premises equipment and other non-telecommunications revenues, there was no drop in service provider revenues at any time between 1996 and 2006. Since that period includes the telecom bubble, we can reasonably conclude that there is no certainty that U.S. service provider revenues will “go negative” in the current recession, though some might argue it is a worse recession. That could happen, of course. To read the rest of this article along with charts and graphs, please Click here. http://www.ipbusinessmag.com/articles.php?issue_id=74&article_id=474
Femtocells Reality Check: Business Models, Strategies and Market Trends Although still in its infancy, the market for femtocells has evolved rapidly over the last two years, moving from a compelling concept but one without clear commercial viability to a reality which could fundamentally alter the mobile telecoms landscape, according to a January 2009 report by ARCchart. However, despite its prospects, the industry has been slow to embrace and deploy femtocells, and although Sprint in the US and Starhub in Singapore have dipped a toe in the water, most femtocell deployments are still at trial stage. Nonetheless, ARCchart anticipates the first large-scale femtocell deployments will arrive in Q2 2009, with the market ramping in 2010. With increasing user demand for mobile broadband data, operators will look to femtocells to improve indoor coverage whilst easing capacity requirements and backhaul costs in their marco-network. There are several reasons for the femtocell’s slow market birth, ranging from the technical to the commercial and strategic. Despite initial technical problems and the slow introduction of femtocell-related standards, it is true to say that most of these issues have been overcome. Through the efforts of the Femto Forum, the acceptance of the Iu-h interface by all the main femtocell vendors has ensured uniformity. Interference has been dealt with and handoff is largely solved. The remaining femtocell challenges are primarily commercial and strategic. Most femtocell vendors – Ubiquisys, RadioFrame, ip.access and Airvana – are medium-sized, VC backed businesses who are stepping into the new territory of large-scale consumer deployments. The large network equipment providers such as Nokia Siemens, Ericsson and Motorola have chosen not to enter the market directly, working instead with the femtocell vendors through OEM and reseller arrangements. Although this scenario is not that unusual in a new market it means that the specialist femtocell vendors lack the capital to exploit the mass market potential of femtocells and have a credibility gap to close in order to reach acceptance by Tier 1 operators. This gives rise to the classic catch-22: without the capital to subsidise a large-scale femtocell roll-out, vendors are unable to prove the viability of femtocells, but without this proof of concept many operators will wait on the sidelines. This brings into play another crucial strategic issue: there is little first mover advantage for mobile operators looking to deploy femtocells. With the unit cost of a femtocell currently at around $200 and with the considerable investment required to roll-out a service to consumers, femtocell deployment is a high cost, high risk endeavour. By being first to market the operator accrues none of the mass production cost advantages of the follower and takes all the risk with technical issues that will be ironed out at later stages. The femtocell vendors counter these challenges with the indisputable operational benefits of femtocells. Coverage in the home is improved, which is vital if data services on 3G/3.5G are to take off, and the backhaul is taken care of by the consumers own broadband connection thus taking pressure off the transmission network. Furthermore, femtocells allow operators to offer homezone type services with reduced tariffs within the home environment but without the need for special dual-mode handsets. Churn can be reduced and whole families could be tied into one network since they will all be using the same femtocell. Finally, so-called femto 2.0 services could help increase ARPU by offering media sharing and social networking features when the consumer is in the home-zone. I Femtocells Reality Check: Business Models, Strategies and Market Trends ARCchart anticipates the first large-scale femtocells deployments to arrive in Q2 2009 but with less than 500,000 units shipped during the year. Instead, 2010 will be the year when shipments start to flow as the business case becomes clearer. The following three years are expected to see rapid growth as the price of the femtocell unit drops and the need for better in-building coverage grows. This will be driven by a combination of market factors including the need to backhaul high bandwidth mobile data; the growing use of data cards; greater integration of the femtocell with CPE; and the threat from fixed-line operators entering the mobile domain through dual-mode Wi-Fi solutions. Finally, as LTE arrives in many advanced markets there will be increased need to ship LTE femtocells around the 2013 timeframe and some believe the first LTE deployments will be via femtocells. Q & A with Nicolas Appert, Chairman of Inexbee 1. Please provide us with some brief background on your company? Since its creation in 2000, Inexbee has focused on applying convergence concepts to real services that could bring value to the end user on a daily basis. We started by launching solutions in the area of data service convergence (mainly Mobile Email area) and then we moved to voice and video services, with first a revolutionary flash-based VoIP Softphone. Our latest product, Mercuro IMS Client, also comes from that strategic goal. During our studies on upcoming possibilities of IMS networks, we realized that very little effort was placed, by the large vendors, on providing a friendly, complete and compliant “IMS user end-point” (IMS UE). The IMS UE is considered the only way to bring the promises of IMS down to the end-user. With about 15 major operators using our technologies, mainly in EMEA, and technical partnerships with some of the main Telecom Manufacturers, Inexbee has a direct touch with the Market and keeps tight relations with its customer marketing teams in order to stay ahead of what kind of services will come next. 2. What IMS and NGN services and products does your company offer and what are some of the key differentiators for your company in this market? Mercuro IMS Client is what you call an “IMS UE.” More clearly it is a Communication Suite (or softphone) that connects the end-user to an IMS network and its services platforms. The Mercuro IMS Client is vendor agnostic, which is why more and more Operators are using it for testing their IMS Network implementation. Moreover, thanks to its nice and easy look and feel, Mercuro IMS Client is now undergoing “user friendly tests” in which beta testers are connected to the IMS Networks and experience real, live IMS Communication. In addition, due to our size and our strong focus on “end-point,” we have total control over the product development, from specification to delivery. It also enables Inexbee to provide quick responses to customers’ request. 3. How do the IMS Forum’s Plugfests benefit your company and its customers? Since the release of Mercuro IMS Client first beta version in early September, we entered into many one-to-one compliance tests with our partners and other IMS vendors. These tests helped us fine-tune our product, making sure it is 100% interoperable with the other IMS components. But before the release of the commercial version, Mercuro IMS Client Silver, at the end of January 2009, we wanted to have more reassurance and the Plugfest event provided the exact environment and timing for that. We gained new contacts with IMS vendors with whom we did not have a chance to test our IMS Client before. But moreover, it provided a live, real world environment of inter-connected IMS Networks to test Mercuro IMS Client. At this stage, most of our customers have their IMS Network set but they have not yet interconnected it with other IMS networks. The Plugfests enable us to test Mercuro IMS Client services such as roaming, charging, billing or registration management (barring, refreshment) in an interconnected environment. 4. How does a verification and certification process aid in the development of IMS interoperability/standards? It goes without saying that even well described and specified technical standards are subject to interpretation by the different technology vendors. When it comes to redefining and standardizing such a complex environment as a full Operator Network, it becomes almost impossible to ensure interoperability without live verification and third party certification. There is no other way but to move slowly and to confirm at every step that compliance with the standards is ubiquitous than by performing real tests and certification. 5. Who are some of your customers and what IMS services are they deploying? We have worked closely with many Operators (mainly Mobile Operators) in Europe. SFR in France was the first operator to invest on Mercuro IMS Client by requesting a customized version of the product to perform a live IMS test with their top management and a selected group of friendly users. Since then, Mercuro IMS Client has also been selected by other operators to test and validate their IMS networks in real conditions. Systems integrators also buy Mercuro IMS Client for their own need or to integrate it into a customer project where they are requested to provide an end-to-end solution including the IMS Client. With the upcoming release of Mercuro IMS Client for Windows Mobile we will also be working more closely with handset manufacturers in order to provide pre-installed IMS-ready mobile devices that include Mercuro IMS Client through OEM deals. 6. What are some areas of IMS where you have found challenges for operators? IMS comes with the concept of “user’s information sharing” which, as a cultural behavior, has never been very popular among the operators. This is to me the biggest challenge that the operators will have to face, moving into IMS. Of course, the technical challenge itself is huge and the transition phase of supporting both a legacy and a New Generation Network will be inevitable, complex and probably long. The complexity of this transition might jeopardize more than once the goodwill of moving towards pure standards – especially when it is sometimes easier, less expensive and quicker to develop a proprietary solution for competitive purposes. 7. What are some of the key factors for IMS success in the industry? I think that if IMS can effectively bring value to both the operators, by reducing their operational costs, and to their customers, by enabling new types of usages and services, then it has a strong potential for success. To be successful, IMS must simplify and synchronize device interfaces. As a customer myself, what I find appealing with IMS is the utmost mobility that it can offer me. I mean mobility in regards to the total freedom of choice in the device I’m using at a particular moment. Being able to access from anywhere – i.e., my PC or any computer, my Smartphone, soon my Interactive TV or my game console – the exact same services from my usual service providers that share my personal information with each other (so I don’t need to spend time and effort on synchronization purposes). This is for me the real aim of convergence and mobility enabled by IMS: saving time and headaches. To have your company considered for a profile in the Q & A section of this newsletter send an email to pr@imsforum.org. Our technical working groups were very busy since the beginning of the year with the launch and the activities in the new Diameter Working Group, with the planning and execution of the IMS/NGN Plugfest 6, the work on the “Next Generation Policy” white paper, and the planning for the 2009 technical events. To start, we would like to introduce our readers to a seminal white paper by Kushanava Laha, Chief Systems Engineer at Aricent. The paper, available on our website, discusses revenue policy monetization and OpEx optimization. Specifically, what implementations need to address the challenges of optimizing network resources under the influence of subscriber, service, network and administrative policies for delivering Next-Gen user experience across heterogeneous accesses and across multiple administrative domains? The paper covers how to: · Progress the use of Diameter in IMS and NGN networks, through technical and marketing activities of the IMS/NGN Forum, including press releases, conference presentations, and articles for the technical and general media · Develop Diameter interoperability test plans and execute tests during IMS/NGN Forum Plugfest events · Develop and publish white papers and best practices · Establish liaisons and contribute to the IETF, 3GPP, ETSI, Cable Labs and ATIS Diameter standardization efforts · Explore the use of Diameter in related areas, such as WiMAX and Long Term Evolution networks. The group is open to both NGN IMS Forum members and non-members. To subscribe please send an email to DChair@imsforum.org An Important Note: The Diameter WG is meeting now bi-weekly to develop the strategy and the test plans for Plugfest 7 which will be a Diameter Interface Testing event for all users of Diameter and other similar interfaces including, IMS/NGN, WiMAX, 3G and 4G/LTE. Registration is open (please see the add at the beginning of this newsletter for instructions) All interested parties are invited to join the group ASAP to help with the planning of this next test event.
The IMS/NGN Forum is seeking a Director for the IMS/NGN Group. The part-time position will offer the opportunity for becoming part of a global team of IMS and NGN professionals working with some of the most advanced service providers, system integrators, equipment manufacturers and end-users. The responsibilities include: · defining, developing and implementing technical plans for IMS/NGN interoperability testing for VoIP, IPTv, mobile multimedia for fixed, wireless and cable broadband · participate in IMS/NGN forum webinars and round tables at leading conferences · contribute to white papers and marketing activities Qualifications: · Knowledge of IMS and NGN for fixed and mobile networks · Demonstrated ability to work with service providers · Previous experience with leading global projects The IMS/NGN Forum is the organizer of IMS/NGN Plugfest(tm) events. In the last two years, the Forum has successfully completed six interoperability events. The candidate will take an active role in leading Plugfest 7 (Diameter interfaces) and Plugfest 8 (mesh IMS/NGN networks). The forum also sponsors the largest professional IMS Groups on LinkedIn. With over 3,000 participants, this exclusive group touches the entire IMS and NGN ecosystem. To apply please send us your resume to techchair@imsforum.org
The sixth IMS/NGN Plugfest took place exactly two years after the historical first IMS Plugfest. Plugfest 6 has marked a number of important milestones for the IMS/NGN Forum and for the industry at large, including the transition to what analysts call the “Real IMS,” a phase which demonstrated policy control, charging and the wide support of IP applications – two participants, NTT-AT and Inexbee, demonstrated their IMS User Equipment. The Plugfest included the testing of complex call flows involving multi-party and multi-CSCF in both single domain, inter and multi-domain configurations, including roaming scenarios. On the authorization/authentication side, the tests encompassed several user authentication methods and AS-HSS user profile manipulation. On-line and off-line billing scenarios demonstrated clearly that NGN services are getting ready for deployment. Tests included testing interoperability between two operators’ networks using IMS/NGN services end-to-end, a demonstration of pico-cell access, charging scenarios, VoIP and video-over-IP. Equipment vendors also showed compatibility across multi-vendor networks and User Equipment (UE), interoperability for Diameter and SIP interfaces, testing for Charging Interfaces, policy, Application Servers, element and network robustness testing. With labs connected across three continents, Plugfest 6 participants also demonstrated how IMS/NGN deployments work seamlessly cross-geography (US, Asia, Middle East, Europe). Our Plugfest participants took a brief break on Thursday, January 15, to present to a dozen members of the media and industry analysts the initial results of the interoperability testing and provide an overview on the state of the industry. Questions ranged from the technical aspects to the business case and the economic benefits of IMS/NGN architectures. Thanks to participating companies which included, Acison, HP, Inexbee, Marben-Products, Mu Dynamics, Radvision, Sonus Networks, Starent Networks and Tekelec.
In 2009, the NGN/IMS Forum’s active pace of speaking at industry events worldwide continued into the New Year: · February 2 - 4: Internet Telephony Conference & Expo, Miami, FL, · February 3, 1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. 4G Wireless Evolution Conference, Miami 4G and FMC: It Starts at the Edge, Michael Khalilian, Session Moderator · February 3, 8:30-9:15am 4G Wireless Evolution Conference, Orlando IMS: Making Room for the Evolution, Manuel Vexler, presenter · February 16 - 19: GSMA Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain · March 19th, 11am EST (US), 3pm UK: Webinar Series Today's market realizes the business value in using video enabled services such as video conferencing, media servers, video ring tones, video mail, and similar services in the office as well as on the road. These IMS services enable staff, suppliers, and customers to operate within a seamless, unified communications environment. The increased use and demand for video services creates the need for verifying Video Quality (VQ) through automated testing solutions. Video Quality validation is of great importance when beginning to plan video service applications for IMS and IPTV. Radvision experts will discuss how to avoid this pitfall through unique technology for network assessment of video quality. The webinar is scheduled for Thursday, March 19th, 11am EST (US), 3pm UK. http://www.radvision.com/products/testingtools/evident/evident_webinar.htm See the NGN/IMS Forum at the following events: · April 1-3: NCTA, Washington, DC · April 1-3: CTIA, Las Vegas · April 2, 2009, 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. CTIA, Las Vegas Track: The Blueprint of Convergence: “IMS – An Acronym for the Future ... ?” Location: Las Vegas Convention center, Room S 222 Description: Leading providers of the architectural layers and IMS based services will discuss the implementations, the interoperability issues, and the overall timeframe of uptake. If the timeframe is repeatedly discussed and extended does that mean there is a fundamental assumption in the IMS paradigm that is inherently flawed? If there is a problem, where does it reside: On the technology base? The overall market demand? Or cost/benefit expectations? This discussion will include how the charging plan can most accurately reflect the "value" as perceived by the customer. Moderator: Michael Khalilian, Chairman & President, IMS Forum & NGN Forum Panelists: Eric Boudriau, VP, Multimedia, Ericsson; Leonid Burakovsky, Director, Wireless/Convergence Segment Marketing, Juniper Networks; Michael Cooper, VP, Marketing and Strategy, Alcatel-Lucent; Gabriel Matsliach, VP & General Manager, Billing Group, Comverse · April 14-16, 2009: Billing & OSS World, Las Vegas · April 14, 2009, 10:45 AM-11:30 AM: Billing & OSS World, Las Vegas SPECIAL SESSION: IMS Forum Presents “OSS & Charging in IMS & NGN Networks”, Michael Khalilian, Session Moderator This panel will discuss results from charging interoperability testing for 'on-line' and 'off-line' billing services, drawing specific examples from recent NGN IMS Forum Plugfests. This session addresses technical and business aspects of multimedia, all-IP services. It will cover all types of interfaces used in IMS, NGN, LTE and WiMAX utilizing Diameter for control and management, network operations (OSS/BSS) and integration with NGN applications and services. The session will address the needs of service providers, protocol stack vendors and users, and equipment vendors delivering NGN functional elements such as Call Session Control, Home Subscriber Servers, Charging, Policy Management, and Security. Panelists: Nigel Upton, Director, HP BSS Portfolio, HP; Anantha Ramu, VP Engineering & Principal Architect, Acision; Tom Lybarger, Senior Director of Global Services Delivery, Aricent · Jun. 8 - 11: Supercomm 2009, Chicago, IL The NGN/IMS Forum will chair a session on the latest Plugfest Results and will hold a Board/Members Meeting at the show. The following highlights some recent press coverage of the NGN/IMS Forum: Where Is Convergence Starting and Ending? 11/11/08 VON Magazine Blog 12/1/2008 Fierce Telecom Forum Sets Record Straight: IMS Is Here to Stay 12/1/2008 Billing & OSS World IMS Forum Says Progress Not Stalled 12/1/2008 Wireless Week The service delivery platform conundrum 12/1/2008 Telephony IMS Pulls Its Grades Up In Latest Global Report Card 12/26/2008 Telecom Web IMS/NGN Forum Releases IMS Report Card 12/1/2008 Xchange Magazine IMS/NGN Forum Releases IMS Report Card 12/1/2008 VON Magazine NGN Forum Releases IMS Report Card 12/1/2008 Yahoo News IMS Interoperability: A Must-Have 12/17/08 VON Magazine Blog IMS/NGN Forum Announces Launch of the Industry’s First SDP Study Group 1/1/09 IMS Magazine 1/4/09 IMS Magazinee IMS & Next-Gen Networks: The Year in Review and What's Ahead 1/14/09 TMCNET Mu Dynamics Focusing on IPTV Deployment on Top of IMS 1/15/09 TMCNET 1/15/09 VON Magazine Blog IMS Forum Plugfest 6 Gets a Move On 1/16/09 Von Magazine 1/16/09 Internet Telephony 2/1/2009 Communications Technology 2/4/2009 Telecombizz.com Tekelec Enables Policy Control, Authentication and Charging in IMS Networks at Plugfest 6 2/25/2009 TMCNet NGN Plugfest 7 to Focus on Managed Services Using Diameter 2/26/2009 TMCNet NGN Plugfest 7 to Focus on Managed Services Using Diameter 2/26/2009 Smartbrief NGN IMS Forum announces Plugfest 7 in June 2/27/2009 Telecom Paper NGN Plugfest 7 to Focus on Managed Services Using Diameter 2/26/2009 MSNBC Summer Plugfest focuses on broader network access 3/2/2009 Telephony Online NGN Plugfest 7 Focuses on Real-World Security 2/26/2009 BillingWorld Plugfest will widen network-access testing 3/3/2009 Smartbrief Next NGN Plugfest to focus on managed services, Diameter 2/27/2009 FierceVoIP NGN Plugfest 7 Focuses on Real-World Security 2/26/2009 Xchange Magazine NGN Plugfest 7 to Focus on Managed Services Using Diameter 2/26/2009 Yahoo Finance NGN Plugfest 7 to Focus on Managed Services Using Diameter 2/26/2009 Yahoo Finance UK & Ireland NGN Plugfest 7 Focuses on Real-World Security 2/26/2009 VON Magazine AT&T, Verizon Looking at IMS in a Bad Economy 2/25/2009 Billing World December 1, 2008 February 3, 2009 February 25, 2009 Tekelec Enables Policy Control, Authentication and Charging in IMS Networks at Plugfest 6 February 26, 2009 The NGN/IMS Forum invites members to join its exclusive Speakers’ Bureau. Member companies have an excellent opportunity to market their companies and senior executives while representing the IMS Forum at future trade shows and conferences. Simply contact us with a copy of the proposed speaker’s bio and indicate any specific IMS-related speaking topics and expertise. Speaking topic abstracts of one or two paragraphs are especially helpful. The NGN/IMS Forum’s mission is to accelerate the interoperability of IMS applications and services, enabling enterprise and residential consumers to quickly benefit from the delivery of quadruple play voice, video, Internet and mobile services over broadband via cable, mobile and fixed networks. IMS applications and services comprise residential VoIP, entertainment including IPTV and gaming, IP Centrex / IP PBX and unified communications for business including fixed-mobile converged services, videoconferencing and web-collaboration. IMS networks include DSL, Cable, GSM, UMTS, Wi-Fi and WiMAX implementations. The NGN/IMS Forum Plugfests, typically held every 3 to 4 months, bring together dozens of industry-leading IMS vendors from around the world, all of whom build real, full-featured, IMS networks during the test event. If you are interested in joining the NGN/IMS Forum, Plugfests or in participating in any of the working groups or marketing programs, please contact the NGN/IMS Forum. All are invited to participate in the industry’s first open NGN/IMS Community where Forum members, those involved in various IMS working groups, the IMS Linkedin group, our industry and colleagues around the world can participate in active, mutually beneficial discussions. Take a moment to register now. Our members are shaping the future of the NGN and IMS. Joining the NGN/IMS Forum enables members to:
Press/Newsletter Contact: pr@imsforum.org
Q1 2009 • info@NGNForum.org • www.IMSForum.org • www.NGNForum.org
Michael Khalilian
NGN/IMS Forum
Chairman and President
Admin@NGNForum.org
NGN/IMS Forum
Chairman and President
Market Research Corner: What's in Store for 2009, by Gary Kim, IP Business Magazine
Femtocells Reality Check: Business Models, Strategies and Market Trends
NGN/IMS Forum Member Q & A
NGN Forum / IMS Forum Technical Working Groups Update
Professional Opportunity with the IMS/NGN Forum
IMS/NGN Plugfest 6 Completed Successfully
IMS/NGN Forum Plugfest 6 Open House and Media Day
NGN Forum / IMS Forum Calendar of Events
NGN/IMS Forum in the News
IMS/NGN Forum Announces Launch of the Industry’s First SDP Study Group
Recent NGN/IMS Forum Press Releases
Why Join the NGN/IMS Forum?
Have a request? We welcome your feedback on this newsletter.
obsolete q1 2009
Q1 2009 • info@NGNForum.org • www.IMSForum.org • www.NGNForum.org Chairman's MessageMichael KhalilianNGN/IMS ForumChairman and PresidentAdmin@NGNForum.org Fellow NGN and IMS Forum Colleagues, We are pleased to tell you that the NGN IMS Forum, the only industry association dedicated to interoperability and certification of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and Next Generation Networks (NGN) applications and services, will hold its NGN IMS Plugfest 7 June 1-5, 2009 at the InterOperability Lab (UNH IOL) in Durham, NH. The NGN IMS Forum Plugfests are the industry's only interoperability events covering NGN services over 3G, LTE, WiMAX, wireline and cable broadband. Plugfest 7 will focus on IMS, NGN, LTE and WiMAX utilizing Diameter for access control, security, charging, mobility and management, network operations (OSS/BSS) and integration with NGN applications and services. The event is the first to address Diameter interoperability beyond the IETF specifications in order to respond to the needs of protocol stack vendors and users, equipment vendors using Diameter. Diameter started as an Internet (IETF) protocol developed to strengthen security and augment functionality of RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial In User Service) and to deliver AAA (Authentication, Authorization and Accounting) functionality in Next Generation Networks. The protocol and functional interfaces for Diameter were further developed by the 3GPP, ETSI, Cable Labs and other standardization groups to provide full support to NGN services. With this Plugfest we continue to expand further into service delivery, control and management, including billing, protocols and standards according to NGN, LTE and IMS architecture and framework. Plugfest 7 is a continuation of the IMS Plugfest series that started two years ago. This newsletter provides you with an update on our Working Group activities and features a Q&A interview with Nicolas Appert, Chairman of Inexbee and summarizes research from some leading industry analysts on the state of the industry. Forum membership and Plugfest participation is open to all companies. For online registration and info contact the forum at: info@imsforum.org or visit www.NGNforum.org. We hope to see you at Plugfest 7! Regards,Michael KhalilianNGN/IMS ForumChairman and President “Diameter” Plugfest 7 June 1-5, 2009 To Focus on Managed Services using Diameter Expands Plugfest Series to Multimedia Service Delivery, Charging, Security, Operational and Business Support, for 3G, LTE, fixed and cable service providers Plugfest 7 is focusing on the Diameter interfaces and addresses the needs of all IMS/NGN and LTE equipment and solution vendors, protocol vendors, test and measurement manufacturers. Covers interoperability for Diameter and interfaces for IMS, NGN and LTE services: · Online and offline charging and billing of voice and multimedia services · User profile management with complex identity schemes involving multiple public, private and service identities · Mobility and nomadic services · Presence and location based services · Support for QoS management especially in the area of Unified Communications (UC), IPTV,FMC and other multimedia applications The NGN/IMS Forum, the only industry association dedicated to interoperability and certification of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and Next Generation Networks (NGN) applications and services. Register for Plugfest 7 TODAY! Online at www.imsforum.org or Contact: info@imsforum.org NGN IMS Plugfest™ Market Research Corner: What's in Store for 2009, by Gary Kim, IP Business Magazine Every time the global telecom industry hits an air pocket, indeed, every time the economy hits a recession, the immediate challenges of grappling with the present drives out thought about where the industry and the economy will be in several years, when the trouble has passed. Ourselves having been through several of these episodes, and without diminishing in any way the present challenges, a bit of perspective is called for. As a historical matter, both the global telecom industry and the U.S. industry have resilient histories where it comes to revenue growth. Between 1980 and 2007, for example, the U.S. telecom industry grew revenue every year save the 12-month period between 2002 and 2003, when industry revenue fell, and then by just $31 million, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Likewise, Federal Communications Commission data shows that telecom industry revenue fell by $9.5 billion in 2002 (three percent) and then by another $1.2 billion in 2003 (about 0.4 percent). Worldwide Telecom Revenue Forecast by Services Category, 2003-2013 ($Millions) 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 CAGR Broadband - Wireline $209,741 $224,791 $241,653 $259,899 $275,658 $290,482 6.7% Narrowband - Wireline $452,601 $453,478 $454,034 $453,781 $457,264 $460,791 0.4% Broadband - Wireless $32,934 $59,108 $106,243 $191,701 $346,312 $524,041 73.9% Narrowband - Wireless $971,560 $1,055,643 $1,145,446 $1,230,018 $1,337,364 $1,441,181 8.2% Total $1,666,836 $1,793,200 $1,947,377 $2,135,398 $2,416,598 $2,716,494 10.3% But that’s not the whole story. If one adds service provider revenues earned from enhanced services, billing and collection, customer premises equipment and other non-telecommunications revenues, there was no drop in service provider revenues at any time between 1996 and 2006. Since that period includes the telecom bubble, we can reasonably conclude that there is no certainty that U.S. service provider revenues will “go negative” in the current recession, though some might argue it is a worse recession. That could happen, of course. To read the rest of this article along with charts and graphs, please Click here. http://www.ipbusinessmag.com/articles.php?issue_id=74&article_id=474 Femtocells Reality Check: Business Models, Strategies and Market Trends Femtocells Reality Check: Business Models, Strategies and Market Trends Although still in its infancy, the market for femtocells has evolved rapidly over the last two years, moving from a compelling concept but one without clear commercial viability to a reality which could fundamentally alter the mobile telecoms landscape, according to a January 2009 report by ARCchart. However, despite its prospects, the industry has been slow to embrace and deploy femtocells, and although Sprint in the US and Starhub in Singapore have dipped a toe in the water, most femtocell deployments are still at trial stage. Nonetheless, ARCchart anticipates the first large-scale femtocell deployments will arrive in Q2 2009, with the market ramping in 2010. With increasing user demand for mobile broadband data, operators will look to femtocells to improve indoor coverage whilst easing capacity requirements and backhaul costs in their marco-network. There are several reasons for the femtocell’s slow market birth, ranging from the technical to the commercial and strategic. Despite initial technical problems and the slow introduction of femtocell-related standards, it is true to say that most of these issues have been overcome. Through the efforts of the Femto Forum, the acceptance of the Iu-h interface by all the main femtocell vendors has ensured uniformity. Interference has been dealt with and handoff is largely solved. The remaining femtocell challenges are primarily commercial and strategic. Most femtocell vendors – Ubiquisys, RadioFrame, ip.access and Airvana – are medium-sized, VC backed businesses who are stepping into the new territory of large-scale consumer deployments. The large network equipment providers such as Nokia Siemens, Ericsson and Motorola have chosen not to enter the market directly, working instead with the femtocell vendors through OEM and reseller arrangements. Although this scenario is not that unusual in a new market it means that the specialist femtocell vendors lack the capital to exploit the mass market potential of femtocells and have a credibility gap to close in order to reach acceptance by Tier 1 operators. This gives rise to the classic catch-22: without the capital to subsidise a large-scale femtocell roll-out, vendors are unable to prove the viability of femtocells, but without this proof of concept many operators will wait on the sidelines. This brings into play another crucial strategic issue: there is little first mover advantage for mobile operators looking to deploy femtocells. With the unit cost of a femtocell currently at around $200 and with the considerable investment required to roll-out a service to consumers, femtocell deployment is a high cost, high risk endeavour. By being first to market the operator accrues none of the mass production cost advantages of the follower and takes all the risk with technical issues that will be ironed out at later stages. The femtocell vendors counter these challenges with the indisputable operational benefits of femtocells. Coverage in the home is improved, which is vital if data services on 3G/3.5G are to take off, and the backhaul is taken care of by the consumers own broadband connection thus taking pressure off the transmission network. Furthermore, femtocells allow operators to offer homezone type services with reduced tariffs within the home environment but without the need for special dual-mode handsets. Churn can be reduced and whole families could be tied into one network since they will all be using the same femtocell. Finally, so-called femto 2.0 services could help increase ARPU by offering media sharing and social networking features when the consumer is in the home-zone. I Femtocells Reality Check: Business Models, Strategies and Market Trends ARCchart anticipates the first large-scale femtocells deployments to arrive in Q2 2009 but with less than 500,000 units shipped during the year. Instead, 2010 will be the year when shipments start to flow as the business case becomes clearer. The following three years are expected to see rapid growth as the price of the femtocell unit drops and the need for better in-building coverage grows. This will be driven by a combination of market factors including the need to backhaul high bandwidth mobile data; the growing use of data cards; greater integration of the femtocell with CPE; and the threat from fixed-line operators entering the mobile domain through dual-mode Wi-Fi solutions. Finally, as LTE arrives in many advanced markets there will be increased need to ship LTE femtocells around the 2013 timeframe and some believe the first LTE deployments will be via femtocells. NGN/IMS Forum Member Q & A Q & A with Nicolas Appert, Chairman of Inexbee 1. Please provide us with some brief background on your company? Since its creation in 2000, Inexbee has focused on applying convergence concepts to real services that could bring value to the end user on a daily basis. We started by launching solutions in the area of data service convergence (mainly Mobile Email area) and then we moved to voice and video services, with first a revolutionary flash-based VoIP Softphone. Our latest product, Mercuro IMS Client, also comes from that strategic goal. During our studies on upcoming possibilities of IMS networks, we realized that very little effort was placed, by the large vendors, on providing a friendly, complete and compliant “IMS user end-point” (IMS UE). The IMS UE is considered the only way to bring the promises of IMS down to the end-user. With about 15 major operators using our technologies, mainly in EMEA, and technical partnerships with some of the main Telecom Manufacturers, Inexbee has a direct touch with the Market and keeps tight relations with its customer marketing teams in order to stay ahead of what kind of services will come next. 2. What IMS and NGN services and products does your company offer and what are some of the key differentiators for your company in this market? Mercuro IMS Client is what you call an “IMS UE.” More clearly it is a Communication Suite (or softphone) that connects the end-user to an IMS network and its services platforms. The Mercuro IMS Client is vendor agnostic, which is why more and more Operators are using it for testing their IMS Network implementation. Moreover, thanks to its nice and easy look and feel, Mercuro IMS Client is now undergoing “user friendly tests” in which beta testers are connected to the IMS Networks and experience real, live IMS Communication. In addition, due to our size and our strong focus on “end-point,” we have total control over the product development, from specification to delivery. It also enables Inexbee to provide quick responses to customers’ request. 3. How do the IMS Forum’s Plugfests benefit your company and its customers? Since the release of Mercuro IMS Client first beta version in early September, we entered into many one-to-one compliance tests with our partners and other IMS vendors. These tests helped us fine-tune our product, making sure it is 100% interoperable with the other IMS components. But before the release of the commercial version, Mercuro IMS Client Silver, at the end of January 2009, we wanted to have more reassurance and the Plugfest event provided the exact environment and timing for that. We gained new contacts with IMS vendors with whom we did not have a chance to test our IMS Client before. But moreover, it provided a live, real world environment of inter-connected IMS Networks to test Mercuro IMS Client. At this stage, most of our customers have their IMS Network set but they have not yet interconnected it with other IMS networks. The Plugfests enable us to test Mercuro IMS Client services such as roaming, charging, billing or registration management (barring, refreshment) in an interconnected environment. 4. How does a verification and certification process aid in the development of IMS interoperability/standards? It goes without saying that even well described and specified technical standards are subject to interpretation by the different technology vendors. When it comes to redefining and standardizing such a complex environment as a full Operator Network, it becomes almost impossible to ensure interoperability without live verification and third party certification. There is no other way but to move slowly and to confirm at every step that compliance with the standards is ubiquitous than by performing real tests and certification. 5. Who are some of your customers and what IMS services are they deploying? We have worked closely with many Operators (mainly Mobile Operators) in Europe. SFR in France was the first operator to invest on Mercuro IMS Client by requesting a customized version of the product to perform a live IMS test with their top management and a selected group of friendly users. Since then, Mercuro IMS Client has also been selected by other operators to test and validate their IMS networks in real conditions. Systems integrators also buy Mercuro IMS Client for their own need or to integrate it into a customer project where they are requested to provide an end-to-end solution including the IMS Client. With the upcoming release of Mercuro IMS Client for Windows Mobile we will also be working more closely with handset manufacturers in order to provide pre-installed IMS-ready mobile devices that include Mercuro IMS Client through OEM deals. 6. What are some areas of IMS where you have found challenges for operators? IMS comes with the concept of “user’s information sharing” which, as a cultural behavior, has never been very popular among the operators. This is to me the biggest challenge that the operators will have to face, moving into IMS. Of course, the technical challenge itself is huge and the transition phase of supporting both a legacy and a New Generation Network will be inevitable, complex and probably long. The complexity of this transition might jeopardize more than once the goodwill of moving towards pure standards – especially when it is sometimes easier, less expensive and quicker to develop a proprietary solution for competitive purposes. 7. What are some of the key factors for IMS success in the industry? I think that if IMS can effectively bring value to both the operators, by reducing their operational costs, and to their customers, by enabling new types of usages and services, then it has a strong potential for success. To be successful, IMS must simplify and synchronize device interfaces. As a customer myself, what I find appealing with IMS is the utmost mobility that it can offer me. I mean mobility in regards to the total freedom of choice in the device I’m using at a particular moment. Being able to access from anywhere – i.e., my PC or any computer, my Smartphone, soon my Interactive TV or my game console – the exact same services from my usual service providers that share my personal information with each other (so I don’t need to spend time and effort on synchronization purposes). This is for me the real aim of convergence and mobility enabled by IMS: saving time and headaches. To have your company considered for a profile in the Q & A section of this newsletter send an email to pr@imsforum.org. NGN Forum / IMS Forum Technical Working Groups Update Our technical working groups were very busy since the beginning of the year with the launch and the activities in the new Diameter Working Group, with the planning and execution of the IMS/NGN Plugfest 6, the work on the “Next Generation Policy” white paper, and the planning for the 2009 technical events. To start, we would like to introduce our readers to a seminal white paper by Kushanava Laha, Chief Systems Engineer at Aricent. The paper, available on our website, discusses revenue policy monetization and OpEx optimization. Specifically, what implementations need to address the challenges of optimizing network resources under the influence of subscriber, service, network and administrative policies for delivering Next-Gen user experience across heterogeneous accesses and across multiple administrative domains? The paper covers how to: · Progress the use of Diameter in IMS and NGN networks, through technical and marketing activities of the IMS/NGN Forum, including press releases, conference presentations, and articles for the technical and general media · Develop Diameter interoperability test plans and execute tests during IMS/NGN Forum Plugfest events · Develop and publish white papers and best practices · Establish liaisons and contribute to the IETF, 3GPP, ETSI, Cable Labs and ATIS Diameter standardization efforts · Explore the use of Diameter in related areas, such as WiMAX and Long Term Evolution networks. The group is open to both NGN IMS Forum members and non-members. To subscribe please send an email to DChair@imsforum.org An Important Note: The Diameter WG is meeting now bi-weekly to develop the strategy and the test plans for Plugfest 7 which will be a Diameter Interface Testing event for all users of Diameter and other similar interfaces including, IMS/NGN, WiMAX, 3G and 4G/LTE. Registration is open (please see the add at the beginning of this newsletter for instructions)All interested parties are invited to join the group ASAP to help with the planning of this next test event. Professional Opportunity with the IMS/NGN Forum The IMS/NGN Forum is seeking a Director for the IMS/NGN Group. The part-time position will offer the opportunity for becoming part of a global team of IMS and NGN professionals working with some of the most advanced service providers, system integrators, equipment manufacturers and end-users. The responsibilities include: · defining, developing and implementing technical plans for IMS/NGN interoperability testing for VoIP, IPTv, mobile multimedia for fixed, wireless and cable broadband · participate in IMS/NGN forum webinars and round tables at leading conferences · contribute to white papers and marketing activities Qualifications: · Knowledge of IMS and NGN for fixed and mobile networks · Demonstrated ability to work with service providers · Previous experience with leading global projects The IMS/NGN Forum is the organizer of IMS/NGN Plugfest(tm) events. In the last two years, the Forum has successfully completed six interoperability events. The candidate will take an active role in leading Plugfest 7 (Diameter interfaces) and Plugfest 8 (mesh IMS/NGN networks). The forum also sponsors the largest professional IMS Groups on LinkedIn. With over 3,000 participants, this exclusive group touches the entire IMS and NGN ecosystem. To apply please send us your resume to techchair@imsforum.org IMS/NGN Plugfest 6 Completed Successfully The sixth IMS/NGN Plugfest took place exactly two years after the historical first IMS Plugfest. Plugfest 6 has marked a number of important milestones for the IMS/NGN Forum and for the industry at large, including the transition to what analysts call the “Real IMS,” a phase which demonstrated policy control, charging and the wide support of IP applications – two participants, NTT-AT and Inexbee, demonstrated their IMS User Equipment. The Plugfest included the testing of complex call flows involving multi-party and multi-CSCF in both single domain, inter and multi-domain configurations, including roaming scenarios. On the authorization/authentication side, the tests encompassed several user authentication methods and AS-HSS user profile manipulation. On-line and off-line billing scenarios demonstrated clearly that NGN services are getting ready for deployment. Tests included testing interoperability between two operators’ networks using IMS/NGN services end-to-end, a demonstration of pico-cell access, charging scenarios, VoIP and video-over-IP. Equipment vendors also showed compatibility across multi-vendor networks and User Equipment (UE), interoperability for Diameter and SIP interfaces, testing for Charging Interfaces, policy, Application Servers, element and network robustness testing. With labs connected across three continents, Plugfest 6 participants also demonstrated how IMS/NGN deployments work seamlessly cross-geography (US, Asia, Middle East, Europe). IMS/NGN Forum Plugfest 6 Open House and Media Day Our Plugfest participants took a brief break on Thursday, January 15, to present to a dozen members of the media and industry analysts the initial results of the interoperability testing and provide an overview on the state of the industry. Questions ranged from the technical aspects to the business case and the economic benefits of IMS/NGN architectures. Thanks to participating companies which included, Acison, HP, Inexbee, Marben-Products, Mu Dynamics, Radvision, Sonus Networks, Starent Networks and Tekelec. NGN Forum / IMS Forum Calendar of Events In 2009, the NGN/IMS Forum’s active pace of speaking at industry events worldwide continued into the New Year: · February 2 - 4: Internet Telephony Conference & Expo, Miami, FL, · February 3, 1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. 4G Wireless Evolution Conference, Miami 4G and FMC: It Starts at the Edge, Michael Khalilian, Session Moderator · February 3, 8:30-9:15am 4G Wireless Evolution Conference, Orlando IMS: Making Room for the Evolution, Manuel Vexler, presenter · February 16 - 19: GSMA Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain · The webinar is scheduled for Thursday, March 19th, 11am EST (US), 3pm UK: Webinar Series Today's market realizes the business value in using video enabled services such as video conferencing, media servers, video ring tones, video mail, and similar services in the office as well as on the road. These IMS services enable staff, suppliers, and customers to operate within a seamless, unified communications environment. The increased use and demand for video services creates the need for verifying Video Quality (VQ) through automated testing solutions. Video Quality validation is of great importance when beginning to plan video service applications for IMS and IPTV. Radvision experts will discuss how to avoid this pitfall through unique technology for network assessment of video quality. The webinar is scheduled for Thursday, March 19th, 11am EST (US), 3pm UK. http://www.radvision.com/products/testingtools/evident/evident_webinar.htm See the NGN/IMS Forum at the following events: · April 1-3: NCTA, Washington, DC · April 1-3: CTIA, Las Vegas · April 2, 2009, 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. CTIA, Las Vegas Track: The Blueprint of Convergence: “IMS – An Acronym for the Future ... ?” Location: Las Vegas Convention center, Room S 222 Description: Leading providers of the architectural layers and IMS based services will discuss the implementations, the interoperability issues, and the overall timeframe of uptake. If the timeframe is repeatedly discussed and extended does that mean there is a fundamental assumption in the IMS paradigm that is inherently flawed? If there is a problem, where does it reside: On the technology base? The overall market demand? Or cost/benefit expectations? This discussion will include how the charging plan can most accurately reflect the "value" as perceived by the customer. Moderator: Michael Khalilian, Chairman & President, IMS Forum & NGN Forum Panelists: Eric Boudriau, VP, Multimedia, Ericsson; Leonid Burakovsky, Director, Wireless/Convergence Segment Marketing, Juniper Networks; Michael Cooper, VP, Marketing and Strategy, Alcatel-Lucent; Gabriel Matsliach, VP & General Manager, Billing Group, Comverse · April 14-16, 2009: Billing & OSS World, Las Vegas · April 14, 2009, 10:45 AM-11:30 AM: Billing & OSS World, Las Vegas SPECIAL SESSION: IMS Forum Presents “OSS & Charging in IMS & NGN Networks”, Michael Khalilian, Session Moderator This panel will discuss results from charging interoperability testing for 'on-line' and 'off-line' billing services, drawing specific examples from recent NGN IMS Forum Plugfests. This session addresses technical and business aspects of multimedia, all-IP services. It will cover all types of interfaces used in IMS, NGN, LTE and WiMAX utilizing Diameter for control and management, network operations (OSS/BSS) and integration with NGN applications and services. The session will address the needs of service providers, protocol stack vendors and users, and equipment vendors delivering NGN functional elements such as Call Session Control, Home Subscriber Servers, Charging, Policy Management, and Security. Panelists: Nigel Upton, Director, HP BSS Portfolio, HP; Anantha Ramu, VP Engineering & Principal Architect, Acision; Tom Lybarger, Senior Director of Global Services Delivery, Aricent · Jun. 8 - 11: Supercomm 2009, Chicago, IL The NGN/IMS Forum will chair a session on the latest Plugfest Results and will hold a Board/Members Meeting at the show. NGN/IMS Forum in the News The following highlights some recent press coverage of the NGN/IMS Forum: Where Is Convergence Starting and Ending? 11/11/08 VON Magazine Blog IMS report card #2 Out 12/1/2008 Fierce Telecom Forum Sets Record Straight: IMS Is Here to Stay 12/1/2008 Billing & OSS World IMS Forum Says Progress Not Stalled 12/1/2008 Wireless Week The service delivery platform conundrum 12/1/2008 Telephony IMS Pulls Its Grades Up In Latest Global Report Card 12/26/2008 Telecom Web IMS/NGN Forum Releases IMS Report Card 12/1/2008 Xchange Magazine IMS/NGN Forum Releases IMS Report Card 12/1/2008 VON Magazine NGN Forum Releases IMS Report Card 12/1/2008 Yahoo News IMS Interoperability: A Must-Have 12/17/08 VON Magazine Blog IMS/NGN Forum Announces Launch of the Industry’s First SDP Study Group 1/1/09 IMS MagazineIMS/NGN Forum Announces Launch of the Industry’s First SDP Study Group 1/4/09 IMS Magazinee IMS & Next-Gen Networks: The Year in Review and What's Ahead 1/14/09 TMCNET Mu Dynamics Focusing on IPTV Deployment on Top of IMS 1/15/09 TMCNET No Net Neutraity Without NGN 1/15/09 VON Magazine Blog IMS Forum Plugfest 6 Gets a Move On 1/16/09 Von Magazine 2010, the Year of IMS? 1/16/09 Internet Telephony IMS Status Report 2/1/2009 Communications Technology The NGN IMS Forum Announces Plugfest 6 Results — the Largest Heterogeneous IMS Network Ever Tested Spanning Four Continents 2/4/2009 Telecombizz.com Tekelec Enables Policy Control, Authentication and Charging in IMS Networks at Plugfest 6 2/25/2009 TMCNet NGN Plugfest 7 to Focus on Managed Services Using Diameter 2/26/2009 TMCNet NGN Plugfest 7 to Focus on Managed Services Using Diameter 2/26/2009 Smartbrief NGN IMS Forum announces Plugfest 7 in June 2/27/2009 Telecom Paper NGN Plugfest 7 to Focus on Managed Services Using Diameter 2/26/2009 MSNBC Summer Plugfest focuses on broader network access 3/2/2009 Telephony Online NGN Plugfest 7 Focuses on Real-World Security 2/26/2009 BillingWorld Plugfest will widen network-access testing 3/3/2009 Smartbrief Next NGN Plugfest to focus on managed services, Diameter 2/27/2009 FierceVoIP NGN Plugfest 7 Focuses on Real-World Security 2/26/2009 Xchange Magazine NGN Plugfest 7 to Focus on Managed Services Using Diameter 2/26/2009 Yahoo Finance NGN Plugfest 7 to Focus on Managed Services Using Diameter 2/26/2009 Yahoo Finance UK & Ireland NGN Plugfest 7 Focuses on Real-World Security 2/26/2009 VON Magazine AT&T, Verizon Looking at IMS in a Bad Economy 2/25/2009 Billing World Recent NGN/IMS Forum Press Releases December 1, 2008 NGN Forum Releases IMS Report Card #2 February 3, 2009 The NGN/IMS Forum Announces Plugfest 6 Results - The Largest Heterogeneous IMS Network Ever Tested Spanning Four Continents February 25, 2009 Tekelec Enables Policy Control, Authentication and Charging in IMS Networks at Plugfest 6 February 26, 2009 NGN Plugfest 7 to Focus on Managed Services using Diameter
Showcase Your Expertise and Leadership: Call for Speakers The NGN/IMS Forum invites members to join its exclusive Speakers’ Bureau. Member companies have an excellent opportunity to market their companies and senior executives while representing the IMS Forum at future trade shows and conferences. Simply contact us with a copy of the proposed speaker’s bio and indicate any specific IMS-related speaking topics and expertise. Speaking topic abstracts of one or two paragraphs are especially helpful. Why Join the NGN/IMS Forum? The NGN/IMS Forum’s mission is to accelerate the interoperability of IMS applications and services, enabling enterprise and residential consumers to quickly benefit from the delivery of quadruple play voice, video, Internet and mobile services over broadband via cable, mobile and fixed networks. IMS applications and services comprise residential VoIP, entertainment including IPTV and gaming, IP Centrex / IP PBX and unified communications for business including fixed-mobile converged services, videoconferencing and web-collaboration. IMS networks include DSL, Cable, GSM, UMTS, Wi-Fi and WiMAX implementations. The NGN/IMS Forum Plugfests, typically held every 3 to 4 months, bring together dozens of industry-leading IMS vendors from around the world, all of whom build real, full-featured, IMS networks during the test event. If you are interested in joining the NGN/IMS Forum, Plugfests or in participating in any of the working groups or marketing programs, please contact the NGN/IMS Forum. All are invited to participate in the industry’s first open NGN/IMS Community where Forum members, those involved in various IMS working groups, the IMS Linkedin group, our industry and colleagues around the world can participate in active, mutually beneficial discussions. Take a moment to register now. Our members are shaping the future of the NGN and IMS. Joining the NGN/IMS Forum enables members to:
- Verify and certify interoperability, reduce costs and accelerate time to market
- Participate in technical working groups focusing on service creation and applications for NGN/IMS architecture, framework and deployment issues
- Gain additional visibility through the NGN/IMS Forum's Speakers Bureau, public relations and marketing programs
- Showcase member companies at major telecom, cable, and wireless events in North America, Asia, and Europe
- Receive current market and technology information through newsletters, reports, white papers and conferences
- Gain access to an informed professional network of industry consultants and accredited experts
Have a request? We welcome your feedback on this newsletter. Press/Newsletter Contact: pr@imsforum.org
December 2008
Chairman's Message Dear NGN Forum colleagues, Welcome to our first NGN Forum newsletter edition. With the increased competition in voice, entertainment and enterprise markets there is an urgent need for fixed, mobile and cable MSO service providers to partner with application development companies, digital content providers, enterprise and smart phone manufacturers, and financial institutions. As you know the IMS Forum and the NGN Forum recently announced their partnership to form the NGN Forum™. By combining IMS, SIP, Unified Communications (UC) and Service Delivery Platforms (SDP), our organization unites developers, service providers, integrators and solutions providers to further NGN and IMS deployment. The NGN Forum is a pioneer in developing profitable business models for converged services targeting consumer and enterprise markets. Our new organization enables our members to fully address the emergence of a single market comprised of information technology (IT), telecommunications, and media sectors that formerly operated in separate markets. The NGN Forum membership includes over 2000 executives, technical and marketing professionals across equipment vendors, solution providers, integrators, service providers, and governmental agencies. In addition, the NGN/IMS Forum also has created the industry’s first joint Venture Capital (VC) study group consisting of its members and over 20 venture capitalists, private equity groups and financial institutions. The NGN/IMS Forum will continue to help our members to: Our sixth NGN/IMS PlugfestTM will be held January 12-16, 2009 at the InterOperability Lab (UNH IOL) in Durham, NH. The IMS Plugfests are the industry's only interoperability events covering NGN services over wireless, wireline and cable broadband. Plugfest 6 will focus on NGN Consumer and Enterprise Service Interoperability. It will test Ready to use IPTV, Diameter, IMS SIP, Security, UC Services and IP B/OSS. Plugfest 6 will continue to address the robustness, reliability and certification of key IMS SIP and Diameter interfaces as well as the following local and visited network services including: NGN/IMS Forum Plugfests provide a hands-on environment to ensure that network operators have reliable, available and secure deployments of IMS architecture and NGN services free of costly downtime. Since 2006 The IMS Forum has pioneered events that allow vendors to gather and rapidly push forward IMS and NGN initiatives that benefit the telecom industry. The NGN/IMS Forum has received some high profile coverage in the media recently in Billing & OSS World, Fierce VoIP, Light Reading, Telephony and TMC, among other publications on the announcement of our Plugfest 6 and the recent merger. For more details on press coverage is provided “In the News”. We have already begun to plan some exciting activities for 2009 including the following: In the coming year we plan to hold three Plugfests for NGN and IMS and to establish a Service Providers Advisory Board, and add additional test labs in the USA and overseas. For online registration and info contact the forum at: info@NGNforum.org or visit www.NGNforum.org. NGN/IMS Forum membership and Plugfest participation is open to all companies. We look forward to your continued and increased participation in all of the above activities. According to a recent research report from Infonetics Research, worldwide revenue from service delivery platform (SDP) software and integration services will grow at a 23% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the 5 years from 2007 to 2011. The report confirms that while many SDP vendors are struggling to define and position their SDP products, demand for them by mobile and fixed line service providers is escalating rapidly. SDPs develop, provision, and deploy new subscriber services across wireline and wireless networks by combining discrete services into compound services, reducing the time it takes operators to integrate new services from 2 or 3 months to about 2 weeks. “Service delivery platforms are fundamental to telcos’ futures. Without an upgrade to their service creation and provisioning process, telcos will quickly lose revenue to over-the-top Internet content providers like Google and Yahoo, making their enormous transport and access network upgrades obsolete. The demand for SDPs and outsourced integration efforts by major operators worldwide cannot be overstated,” said Jeff Heynen, directing analyst at Infonetics Research. Other report highlights include the following findings: Infonetics’ SDP report provides worldwide and regional market size and revenue forecasts from 2007 to 2011 for SDP software, SDP integration services, and the combined SDP software and integration services market, split by fixed-line vs. mobile. Regions include North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific, and CALA. The report includes analysis of the SDP market, including an overview of SDP solutions, regional market drivers, and pertinent data from service provider research. Q & A with Vish Emani Vice President, Marben Products Please provide us with some background on your company? Established in 1999, NE Technologies provides OSS and BSS software to communications service providers. The company also has a full portfolio of products in network management, ordering gateways and LNP. With the acquisition of Marben Products, NE Technologies enriched its product portfolio with a new set of products targeted at NGN and IMS networks. The Marben Products portfolio comprises products for signalling and routing of Next Generation Networks (High Bandwidth optical networks and carrier Ethernet). Marben Products provides portable, standards compliant software solutions to such telecom players as Alcatel-Lucent, Nortel, Cisco, HP, Oracle. What IMS and NGN services and products does your company offer? MARBEN™Diameter is the line of Marben Products developed for the IMS Market. It is aimed at Equipment vendors, software publishers and system integrators and provides them with the Authentication and Accounting building block they require to insert any component into the IMS architecture. How can the NGN/IMS Forum’s Plugfest benefit MARBEN and your customers? The NGN/IMS Forum and its Plugfests are places of exchange and promotion of IMS. The Forum does a lot to promote the IMS technology and its benefits to all its members. It gives its members industry exposure and opportunities to advertise their technology and the solutions. The NGN/IMS Forum gathers complementing and competing players and unites them to put forward the IMS technology. The primary goal of the NGN/IMS Forum Plugfests is to ensure that products are compliant to the standards and can interoperate. This helps us demonstrate the maturity of our products and the ease with which they can be integrated into customers’ networks. The continuously renewing and expanding scope of the Plugfest ensures that our products meet the current and future market requirements. How does a verification and certification process aid the development of IMS interoperability/standards? Standards are abstract pieces of work. They try to describe more precisely and formally how the IMS architecture is built and how its components shall behave and work together without giving strict implementation directives. Standard editors face the challenge of being rigorous and precise while not interfering with the implementation and being flexible enough to ensure standards will still be applicable to usage kinds not foreseen at their time of writing. This leaves some space for differences in interpretation and makes it easier to internetwork the various implementations. The NGN/IMS Forum’s Plugfests are more than simply an interoperability test because the interoperability verification is done by the standards implementers themselves and not by an authority. They are live, heterogeneous test beds for the standards themselves. Plugfest participants share their views of the standards and best practices and can identify shortcomings, areas which need clarification, areas that are not covered, and areas that should be covered. What has your membership in the NGN/IMS Forum accomplished for your company? Our goal is to provide our customers with products that are compliant with the standards we implement. The NGN/IMS Forum’s Plugfests are of great help in this respect and their label gives our customers an established proof of this compliance. Participation in the NGN/IMS Forum Plugfests has also brought us different views of the IMS technologies and standards than the ones we have with our customers. Because the NGN/IMS Forum gathers actors covering the whole scope of IMS, it allowed us to share experience on common implementation and operational issues, and extend our knowledge to IMS areas that are complementary to our current product scope. It is a very enriching experience. Who are some of MARBEN’s customers and what IMS services are they deploying? Marben Products sells its IMS products OEM for integration in third party software. MARBEN™ Diameter can take place in any IMS node and we are not fully aware of all of the services and applications they are involved in. We see the most demand for billing/mediation and Service Delivery Platform services. What are some areas of IMS where you have found challenges for operators? What are some of the key factors for IMS success in the industry? IMS opens the telcom world to technologies used in the IT industry. This will bring down costs and enlarge the reservoir of developers for equipment and services. It will increase competition and bring the possibility of richer services to telco customers. Sooner or later new ideas for services will emerge and drive the adoption of IMS. All IP core networks and the convergence of voice, data, wireless and fixed line services are also very important. Both these evolutions will lead to and require the delivery of services over an IP network independently of the access network. This is precisely what IMS is for. To have your company considered for a profile in the Q & A section of this newsletter please contact the newsletter editor at pr@imsforum.org.
The technical community of the NGN/IMS Forum has been very busy. The integration of the IMS and NGN Forums has greatly expanded our coverage in the areas of interoperability testing, best practices and white papers. We recently launched the Diameter Working Group lead by Bruno Deslandes from MARBEN Products. The group set to work right away to issue a draft test plan for Sh interface protocol compliance. The 6th Plugfest event will take place on Jan 12-16, 2009. The team is meeting bi-weekly to discuss and develop the plan for this hallmark interoperability event. Our goals for Plugfest 6 include: Our members are hard at work on yet another project - defining the charter of the Service Delivery Platform (SDP) for consumer and business multimedia applications. Stay tuned…there is more to come. And last, but by far not least, we will soon announce our latest whitepaper, titled “Next Generation Policy System.” The paper, authored by Kushanava Laha, Aricent’s Chief Systems Engineer, presents how successful NGPS implementations can optimize network resources to deliver Next-Gen user experience across heterogeneous networks. To take part in any of these actives, please contact Manuel Vexler, NGN/IMS Forum Technical Chair, at techchair@imsforum.org The NGN/IMS Forum recently updated its IMS Report Card in conjunction with the UNH-IOL. This document uses data gathered during the Plugfests to update the industry on the readiness of IMS and to clear up industry misinformation and confusion. The IMS Report Card seeks to dispel confusion and misinformation regarding IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and Next Generation Networks and Services to present a testament to the readiness of the technology. The purpose of the IMS Report Card is to provide factual information based on results from their 5 IMS Forum Plugfests conducted to date to clarify the state of IMS as a technology and framework. Each point in the Report Card’s matrix states a myth or misconception about IMS and provides data from the results of the NGN/IMS Forum Plugfests 1-5 to refute the myth. The myths fall into the following categories: Business Case, Complexity, IMS Core, Standards, Interoperability, Key Features SIP Integration, Standards, Applications, Deployment and Legacy Network. The Report Card also identifies areas that still need work, for example, IMS-based service uptime is critical to network operator revenue. It concludes that IMS is a demonstrably real technology with real vendors delivering real products and services today. To view a full copy of the report card click here. NGN/IMS Forum executives spoke at the following conferences on the progress of NGN/IMS Forum and Plugfest Test activities and results in 2008: The NGN/IMS Forum’s active pace of speaking at and participating in upcoming industry events worldwide continues. See the NGN/IMS Forum at the following events: The NGN/IMS Forum invites members to join its exclusive Speakers’ Bureau. Member companies have an excellent opportunity to gain visibility for their companies and senior executives while representing the NGN/IMS Forum at future trade shows and conferences. Simply contact us with a copy of the proposed speaker’s bio and indicate any specific IMS-related speaking topics and expertise. Speaking topic abstracts of one or two paragraphs are especially helpful. 9/18/08 TMC 10/13/2008 Redmond Channel Partner Online IMS/NGN Forum 'Plugfest' Eyes UC 10/1/2008 IMS Magazine IMS NGN Forum Announcing their NGN M-play Plugfest 6 and Document Releases 10/14/2008 Telephony Online IMS, NGN forums merge, reflecting IMS travails 10/14/2008 Billing & OSS World IMS/NGN Forum Adds OSS as Plugfest Priority 10/14/2008 xchange Magazine Plugging In to OSS at the NGN/IMS Forum 10/14/2008 TMCNet NGN Forum Joins the IMS Forum® to Drive New Converged Telecommunications Services 10/14/2008 Lightreading 10/14/2008 The VOIP Mag SPOTLIGHT: NGN joins IMS Forum 10/15/2008 FierceTelecom New IMS/NGN Forum reflects reality of technology movement 10/15/2008 Telecom Paper NGN Forum, IMS Forum agree merger 10/15/2008 Campus Technology IMS/NGN Forum 'Plugfest' Eyes UC 10/17/2008 RCR Wireless IMS, NGN forums team for ‘any to any’ communications 10/23/2008 Internet Telephony NGN/IMS Forum to Hold Plugfest Six, Featuring VoIP, UC, IPTV on WiFi, WiMAX, Cable Networks 10/24/2008 TMCNET 10/27/2008 Telephony Online Plugfests plug along, intercarrier focus up next 10/27/2008 Wireless and Mobile News IMS Plugfests Set for January 12-16 2009 10/27/2008 Mobile News IMS Plugfests Set for January 12-16 2009 11/6/2008 ReThink Wireless Two ‘any over any’ IP forums merge Recent NGN/IMS Forum press releases: 10/14/08 NGN Forum™ Joins the IMS Forum® to Drive New Converged Telecommunications Services 10/22/08 Plugfest 6 to Focus on NGN Consumer and Enterprise Service Interoperability Attention members! We would like to inform the community about your company news. Simply send links to IMS-related news and announcements that appear on your Web site and we’ll place the links in this newsletter. Contact pr@pmsforum.org for more information. The NGN/IMS Forum’s mission is to accelerate the interoperability of IMS applications and services, enabling enterprise and residential consumers to quickly benefit from the delivery of quadruple play voice, video, Internet and mobile services over broadband via cable, mobile and fixed networks. IMS applications and services comprise residential VoIP, entertainment including IPTV and gaming, IP Centrex / IP PBX and unified communications for business including fixed-mobile converged services, videoconferencing and web-collaboration. IMS networks include DSL, Cable, GSM, UMTS, Wi-Fi and WiMAX implementations. The NGN/IMS Forum Plugfests, typically held every 3 to 4 months, bring together dozens of industry-leading IMS vendors from around the world, all of whom build real, full-featured, IMS networks during the test event. If you are interested in joining the NGN/IMS Forum, Plugfests or in participating in any of the working groups or marketing programs, please contact the NGN/IMS Forum. All are invited to participate in the industry’s first open NGN/IMS Community where Forum members, those involved in various IMS working groups, the IMS Linkedin group, our industry and colleagues around the world can participate in active, mutually beneficial discussions. Take a moment to register now. Our members are shaping the future of the NGN and IMS. Joining the NGN/IMS Forum enables members to:
Press/Newsletter Contact: pr@imsforum.org
December 2008 • info@NGNForum.org • www.IMSForum.org • www.NGNForum.org
Michael Khalilian
NGN/IMS Forum
Chairman and President
Admin@NGNForum.org
Market Research Corner: Service Delivery Platforms "Fundamental to Telcos' Futures"
NGN/IMS Forum Member Q & A
Technical Working Activities
Marketing Working Group
NGN/IMS Forum Calendar of Events
NGN/IMS Forum in the News
Why Join the NGN/IMS Forum?
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