editor’s note Growing Pains by Richard “Zippy” Grigonis Rich Tehrani, Group Publisher and Editor-In-Chief ([email protected]) IMS is unusual in that it was designed in a top-down manner — EDITORIAL a huge, architectonic, perfectly logical schematic diagram. Greg Galitzine, Group Editorial Director ([email protected]) Richard "Zippy" Grigonis, Executive Editor ([email protected]) Old circuit-switched networks such as the PSTN, evolved in a Erik Linask, Associate Editor ([email protected]) “bottom-up” manner, built mostly through trial-and-error on existing technology. In the 19th TMC LABS century, for example, the “pair” of wires connecting two telephones was actually just one wire (and Tom Keating, Executive Technology Editor/CTO/VP that wire was iron or steel instead of copper, as was the custom with the earlier telegraph ([email protected]) technology). The oldest telephone circuits could get away with one wire because they were “earth ART Alan Urkawich, Creative Director return” circuits, which consisted of a single transmission wire from the phone company to each Lisa A. Mellers, Graphic Designer phone, with a metal rod stuck into the ground each end — the electrical circuit was thus EXECUTIVE OFFICERS “completed” through the earth between the rods. This saved on wire, and the telegraph industry Nadji Tehrani, Chairman and CEO had used this design for decades. However, recall that telegraphy is really a robust “digital” medium Rich Tehrani, President and is more immune to electromagnetic noise than a subtle analog system such as the telephone. If Dave Rodriguez, VP of Publications, Conferences & Online Media Kevin J. Noonan, VP of Business Development the soil was too dry or too wet the circuit would lose the earthed ground. Moreover, phones could Michael Genaro, VP of Marketing pick up strange noises (“telluric” eddy currents in the ground, movement of the earth’s magnetic Editorial Offices: 203-852-6800 Customer Service: For all customer service field by the solar wind, etc.). On July 19, 1881 Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for using matters, call 203-852-6800. a second wire to achieve a stable ground by providing an insulated return path (back to the phone ADVERTISING SALES company) for the signal current, an arrangement now called a voice circuit. Over a 20-year Sales Office Phone: 203-852-6800 period the one-wire “grounded” system was replaced with the noise-eliminating, two-wire Anthony Graffeo, Sr. Advertising Director - Eastern U.S.; Canada; Israel ([email protected]), ext. 174 “metallic” system. Allan Brown, Account Director - West/Southwest/Midwest U.S.; Europe ([email protected]), ext. 167 Just as 19th century technicians attempted to build the fledgling telephone system with the base materials and components of the earlier telegraph system, so too did 20th century experts attempt Subscriptions to build early IP networks as extensions and adaptations to the older telephony network and Circulation Director, Shirley Russo, ext. 157 ([email protected]) IMS Magazine® is published bi-monthly by Technology Marketing Corp. Annual circuit switching legacy. A special signaling protocol such as BICC (Bearer Independent Call digital subscriptions; Free to qualifying U.S., Canada and foreign subscribers. Annual print subscriptions; Free to qualifying U.S. subscribers; $24 U.S. nonqualifying, $34 Control) was just a method for transporting SS7 information over a packet switched network. Canada, $48 foreign qualifying and nonqualifying. All orders are payable in advance Softswitching and gateway control protocols such as MGCP and Megaco/H.248 also simply U.S. dollars drawn against a U.S. bank. Connecticut residents add applicable sales tax. “decomposed” a circuit switch into various interacting though independent components. Editorial Advisory Board Michael Khalilian, IMS Forum Erik Lagerway, Independent Consultant IMS, however, is based totally on packet-switched IETF standards and Internet-friendly signaling Kenneth Osowski, Pactolus Communications Software and call control protocols such as SIP (Session Initiation Protocol). Routing, switching, Jonathan Rosenberg, Cisco Systems Henning Schulzrinne, Columbia University/SIPquest directories and general “intelligence” itself are distributed throughout the network instead of being Duane Sword, Empirix totally hierarchical and centralized. Richard M. Williams, Connect2Communications Reader Input Its a priori design philosophy and reliance on IETF standards leads us to the irony that IMS is a IMS Magazine® encourages readers to contact us with their questions, comments, and suggestions. Send e-mail (addresses above), or send ordinary mail. We reserve the mature concept with as yet immature or nonexistent applications and components. Since IMS has right to edit letters for clarity and brevity. All submissions will be considered eligible for publication unless otherwise specified by a theoretically perfect, top-down design, not a whole lot “at the bottom” that’s physically real is the author. equally perfect and will work perfectly with it! Real network element stuff needs to be tweaked Identification Statement and tested for interoperability at various “bake-off ” interoperability events. Moreover, every vendor IMS Magazine® is published bimonthly by Technology Marketing Corporation, 1 Technology Plaza, Norwalk, CT 06854 U.S.A. Annual digital subscriptions; Free to tends to sneak in a “special sauce” extension of some sort, so thorough interoperability testing qualifying U.S., Canada and foreig n subscribers. Annual print subscriptions: Free to among various vendors’ wares has the potential to succumb to combinatorial explosions of test- qualifying U.S. subscribers; $24 U.S. nonqualifying, $34 Canada, $48 foreign qualifying and nonqualifying. revise-test cycles — though nothing that serious has happened yet. Postmaster: Send address changes to: IMS Magazine®, Technology Marketing Corporation, 1 Technology Plaza, Norwalk, CT 06854 Some vendors appear more “prepared” for IMS than others. Sonus Networks (news - alert) IMS Magazine® is a registered trademark of Technology Marketing Corporation. Copyright © 2006 Technology Marketing Corporation. All rights reserved. (http://www.sonusnet.com) for example, claims that their switching equipment has always worked Reproduction in whole or part without permission of the publisher is prohibited. in accordance with IMS principles, so they’ll simply have to “divide the functionality currently Reprints and list rentals supported by one Sonus product into two separate products to better adapt to the IMS For authorized reprints of articles appearing in IMS Magazine®, please contact Reprint Management Services at 1-800-290-5460 • [email protected] • www.reprintbuyer.com. architecture”, and then merely do some software upgrades. Sonus customers will be able to upgrade For list rentals, please contact Lisa Horder at [email protected] or call 914-765-0700, ext. 107. to full IMS compliance by updating the software while it’s still running, processing data and calls. Endorsed by: Moving to an all-IMS network will doubtless be a more thrilling experience for some vendors and network operators than others. We’ll see what happens. A Technology Marketing Publication, Richard Grigonis is Executive Editor of TMC’s IP Communications Group. One Technology Plaza, Norwalk, CT 06854 U.S.A. Phone: (203) 852-6800 Fax: (203) 853-2845, (203) 838-4070 Subscribe FREE online at http://www.imsmag.com IMS Magazine™ April 2007 1 Go to Table of Contents | Go to Ad Index contents editor's note ......................................................1 Growing Pains By Richard “Zippy” Grigonis publisher's outlook ..........................................4 DSP Resource Board Vendors Expand Focus feature articles By Rich Tehrani Cut to the Chase: Making Money from IMS ............................................18 industry news ..................................................6 By David McNierney and Gregory Welch columns ............................................................10 Application Servers and SIP Signaling in IMS Environments ........22 Eye on IMS ..............................................10 By Frank Salm What Can We All Learn from MVNOs? By Grant F. Lenahan To d ay ’s A l p h a b e t S o u p : IMS, BSS and OSS ............................24 IMS Reality Check ..................................12 By Richard “Zippy” Grigonis Platform for Consumer and Enterprise Services: IMS and Fixed-Mobile Convergence IMS is Ready for Prime-Time – By David Hayward but Only with New OSS Service Management Infrastructures ..............30 Analyst’s Corner ......................................14 By Brian Cappellani and Preston Gilmer 3GSM IMS Steeplechase By Ronald Gruia Converged Views ......................................16 Integrating New IMS Business Models to Combine Best of Two Worlds By Arun Bhikshesvaran From the Desk of Michael Khalilian ......32 IMS Interoperability, a Priority for 2007 2 IMS Magazine™ April 2007 Subscribe FREE online at http://www.imsmag.com Go to Table of Contents | Go to Ad Index publisher’s outlook DSP Resource Board Vendors Expand Focus by Rich Tehrani I would have to say the largest trend I have seen lately is that of development program and ecosystem growth. Ten years ago there were few choices for developers if they wanted to write applications for the communications space. Some board vendors, TSAPI, TAPI and application generators were the basic options. There are now virtually infinite choices for developers.