IMS Services Challenges and Solutions H ave you seen the iPhone? Well, if you have seen it, you should know
by now that IP Multimedia Subsystem (News - Alert) or IMS is the network technology frame work that will bring applications delivery to devices such as the iPhone. Apple’s Steve Jobs (News - Alert) made an eloquent case on how consumers’ devices combine phone service with internet access, entertainment, and business applications in one slick device.

The IMS Forum (News - Alert) ’s mission is to make sure that application and services residing in the network can be deployed, so your mobile devices work in your home, office, and while you are on the go. Consumers don’t have to worry about GSM or WiFi (News - Alert) +VoIP, they don’t want to know about how bit streams arrive to their Phone, how the Internet works, or how VoIP is packetized. . . they just want the cool phone which doubles as a digital music player and triples as a PDA!

The nascent IMS industry is facing many challenges resulting from the complexity of networks which, historically, were not developed to carry high speed, real time IP applications and services. Services and networks were inseparable in what the industry calls the smoke stack model. Each new service required a new network. To keep pace with accelerated consumer demand for new services, there is a need to reuse the same IP network over and over again. That is how IMS came about.While IMS standards are still separating the wireless, cable and wireline networks, the IMS applications and services are quickly converging under market pressure.Hence the need to make sure that services residing in the IMS network can be deployed over all types of IMS transport.

In mid January, the IMS Forum™ will launch the first of a series of IMS interoperability events focusing on services and applications. IMS Plugfests target interoperability of services delivered over ANY type of broadband network, that is <

GSM,WiFi,WiMax, Cable, DSL and optical. The IMSF Plugfest, which will be hosted at the University of New Hampshire InterOperatbility Lab, allows testing how a multi-vendor IMS network consisting of multiple IP cores and Applications Servers delivering services for consumer and enterprise customers. For more information on IMS Plugfest™, visit www.IMSForum.org.

                              Apple's (News - Alert) iPhone

The IMS Forum will apply the knowledge gained in the first IMS Plugfest to the development of a comprehensive test plan which will be used to certify applications and services over an IP network.

In parallel with the IMS Plugfest, the IMS Forum Technical Working Group is developing a comprehensive compliance and certification program using input from service providers.

Michael Khalilian is the President and Chairman of the IMS Forum and CTO, Pervasip Corp.

For membership information, or to participate in IMS Forum working groups, plugfest and membership info please visit www.IMSForum.org or contact Michael Khalilian [email protected].