Technical platform of the future successfully tested

(3GSM World Congress, Barcelona) TeliaSonera has successfully completed tests on the IMS platforms (IP Multimedia Subsystems) of several suppliers in order to make TeliaSonera´s mobile and fixed networks a common resource for all IP-based services. IMS will be the platform for all converged services and the test is yet another of TeliaSonera’s numerous initiatives in taking the lead in the migration from fixed to mobile and internetbased services.

IMS is an open, standardized system for combining mobile and broadband services. In the future IMS will be the platform that makes it possible to use the same services in both the mobile and fixed network. For example, IMS will be used for making calls, sending messages, instant messaging, and for watching videos and viewing pictures, among other applications, functioning seamlessly over mobile, fixed and WLAN networks. “Testing leading edge technologies is part of our role as the leader in the migration from fixed to mobile and internetbased services. The IMS system will enable customers to access and use their services irrespective if it is over the fixed or the mobile network, i e allowing our customers to be always best connected,” says Håkan Dahlström, Group Vice President of Networks & Technology, TeliaSonera AB. With IMS, service accesses are separate from network accesses and customers can therefore have the same services in all their terminals with the same control and presentation. For example, users can have the same address book on their fixed phone, mobile and broadband terminal, where they can see which terminals a person is currently using, whether the person is out for the moment or busy. Facts about TeliaSonera´s IMS trials The IMS tests were conducted in cooperation with Ericsson, Nokia and Siemens. TeliaSonera will now continue its IMS implementation by selecting the supplier of TeliaSonera’s future network platform. The next step is to issue a tender invitation to the different suppliers. The tendering process is expected to take place during the Spring. TeliaSonera have also been conducting interoperability trials in Europe on IMS and SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) with GSM Association and other leading operators and equipment makers in order to ensure that IP based services, such as for example video sharing, will function smoothly across networks and national boundaries from the start.