Verizon Pushes Network Limits

The RED HERRING reports that Verizon Wireless "announced a technology advancement project Thursday that involves five of its largest equipment supplier. The project involves pushing the limits of a standard called the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), which describes an efficient means of providing multimedia services such as voice, video, data, and mobile on a common IP network."

Verizon Wireless "has been working with Cisco Systems (CSCO), Lucent Technologies (LU), Motorola (MOT), Nortel Networks NT), and Qualcomm (QCOM) for about a year on the enhancement to IMS, appropriately called A-IMS for Advances to IMS."

Roger Entner at Ovum said, “Verizon Wireless is not the first Tier 1 mobile operator in the U.S. market to embrace IMS architecture. However, Verizon Wireless’ approach clearly has more of a carrier’s view on how the industry should implement the IMS architecture.”

According to the article, "One of the key aspects of A-IMS is its focus on Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), a standard that is critical to the integration of various media across IP and traditional networks. SIP is a key protocol in the management of VoIP, so one of the major areas being addressed by A-IMS is the integration of VoIP into the mobile communications sphere."