Over the last couple of years, mobile carriers have begun to seriously grapple with over-the-top (OTT) services such as Skype (News - Alert), Whatsapp and Google Voice, as such services have cannibalized the revenue streams that come from separate voice and data plans. As they look for a credible response to OTT, however, they must now also contend with each other.
With the move to 4G networks, voice is quickly moving toward being just another data stream on mobile data networks instead of a separate, dedicated layer on the network. This move to 4G makes OTT services even more compelling, because they basically become inexpensive (often free), high-performing versions of the same calling that users get from their carriers.
For carriers, Voice-over-LTE (News - Alert) (VoLTE) is the answer. Native IP calling and integration with rich communication services (RCS) proposes to substantially improve upon what OTT providers currently bring to the table.
Unsurprisingly then, Sprint (News - Alert) is moving aggressively to roll out its VoLTE offering. It has announced recently that it is working with network vendor BroadSoft to roll out a next-generation IP Multimedia Subsystem (News - Alert) (IMS) to support its VoLTE plans.
The BroadWorks platform, which is IR.92 and IR.94 compliant, is designed to easily integrate with 2G, 3G and LTE IMS-based networks. The platform looks to allow Sprint to transition from its legacy networks to all IP-based communications using VoLTE.
“We were seeking a single voice and video application server platform to support our IMS network transformation in order to provide the communication services both our consumer and enterprise customers are demanding today," noted Iyad Tarazi, vice president of network development at Sprint, in a statement.
One challenge Sprint will face is having enough LTE coverage to support a VoLTE service. The company is looking to cover roughly 250 million POPs with its 1900 MHz LTE network by mid-year, according to the company, and it is expected that Sprint will roll out VoLTE after LTE is spread fully throughout its existing CDMA network.
The focus on IMS could partially be in response to other carriers that also are moving in that direction, making it a strategic move against not only OTT services but also competing carriers doing the same.
Indeed, Verizon is widely expected to move into VoLTE some time during the first half of this year, and AT&T Labs (News - Alert) has confirmed that it too is in the latter stages of VoLTE testing.
Although AT&T has not laid out a firm timeline for its VoLTE offerings, it is not hard to see that Sprint needs to ramp up its offerings fast if it is to stay relevant.
Edited by Blaise McNamee