IMS Going Strong, Says Acme Packet

Session border controller specialist Acme Packet has announced that Germany's Telefonica O2 Germany and Telnor Sweden have both deployed Acme Packet gear to support IMS services.

Both carriers will use the vendor’s Net-Net 4000 series session border controllers. O2 will support IMS-based residential VoIP, while Telnor will use it for hosted business unified communications.

“There’s not a single Tier 1 that doesn’t have an IMS migration plan,” said Seamus Hourihan, vice president of marketing and product management for Acme Packet, in an interview. “IMS is happening in a broad way.”

The challenges, he notes, are in mapping the network elements to the architecture and then testing for interoperability across the system. Transitioning from legacy gear is also a modular, rather than a forklift, enterprise.

“Legacy architecture is expensive to maintain and operate and makes it more difficult to roll new services that make money,” he told xchange. “But at the same time, going to IP is a capex-intensive activity. So it’s a delicate balance that’s required, between reducing costs with IP and increasing costs to build a new infrastructure.”

He said that many Tier 1s are strategizing as to where to put their efforts. “About two-thirds of our clients are deploying IP and IMS to support residential services first,” he said. “And the reason that is, is that they’re under siege from the wireless providers. So IMS particularly is a holy grail to offer new services, like interactive video and blended services, that go way beyond voice. They’re interested in e-commerce, too – imagine watching the Patriots on TV and being allowed to participate in interactive betting via the TV at the same time.”

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