Ericsson is the only wireline equipment maker that - today - can deliver an IMS-based solution for wireline networks. This fact, together with the successful public airing of the company's advanced IMS portfolio leads Current Analysis to believe that North American wireline carriers in particular will be taking a closer look at Ericsson's offering.
Ericsson can boast a true end-to-end solution, say the analysts. SonyEricsson is one of the major players in the handset business, which provides Ericsson with a knowledge base of handsets and consumer-orientated applications that many competitors in the wireline segment do not possess.
"IMS actually enables many of the cost-savings and performance-enhancing objectives service providers have been seeking for the past few years," Current Analysis reports.
"Ericsson has demonstrated it understands that the real opportunity in the IMS infrastructure market is not in the delivery of the piece parts of the infrastructure but in the consistent delivery of new applications and professional services."
But Current Analysis says the traditional perception of Ericsson needs to be addressed in the North American market. Many service providers think of the company mainly as a wireless equipment supplier, even though Ericsson has already deployed, or is testing, IMS-based solutions with 25 service providers - both wireless and wireline.
Despite this, the fact that Ericsson has shown it knows where revenues can be made in IMS - service creation, new applications, professional services and steady support - convinces Current Analysis that Ericsson not only is right on track, but is also ahead of its competitors.
Ericsson's IMS product portfolio consists of a Call Session Control Function (CSCF), a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), a Media Resource Function (MRF) and application servers - representing the basic building blocks for any IMS architecture.
Source: Current Analysis report "Ericsson Goes Public with IMS Strategy to Unite Wireline and Wireless Worlds".
