3GSM Wrap-Up: IMS and FWC
Two topics that came up a lot on the Riviera were IP Multimedia Subsystem and its cousin, Fixed-Mobile Convergence. IMS is a new layer that will be inserted into networks as they migrate to 3G which blurs the lines between a voice call and a data call. Essentially, IMS makes them all look the same, as IP-based traffic across a data network. With IMS, the silos that have separated PTT, voice, MMS, email, etc. will merge together, as an IP-based session can start with a PTT call, and morph into sending a picture or live video, and then morph into voice. With IMS, it doesn't matter what kind of content a conversation contains, since it's all just IP based data packets. The reason FMC is a cousin, is because with IMS, the lines between mobile, and fixed broadband also blur, as do the lines between a handset and a PC. Phones using IMS could just as easily do PTT or send video to a PC as they could to another phone. At the show, O2 discussed that IMS was now a current top priority, while Ericsson announced IMS deployments at TeliaSonera, TIM, and 23 other carriers. FWC: the IMS developments lead directly into the FWC progress, since when data networks all become all-IP, it matters little whether data originates or terminates on a DSL PC, a mobile phone, a car-based system, or anything else. All that matters is that both end devices have client applications that speak the same language, like SIP, .mp3, etc. With FWC, for example, a user's phone calls could follow them between mobile and fixed phones, and they could access their data services whether at home or mobile.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
