"When everything becomes IP, you need an IP-controlled platform. Today, IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) is the platform that will provide control, security, quality, and the ease of use through standardized interfaces that we demand. In that sense, IMS is the right way forward for TDC in the IP domain."

This was the message heard by participants during one of Ericsson's mini seminars at CommunicAsia 2006, entitled "A richer communication experience - enabled by IMS."

TDC, the incumbent operator in Denmark, now faces a world of competition from cable companies, smaller mobile operators owned by Telenor, and power companies, not to mention mobile powerhouse TeliaSonera.

Hansen says: "We need IMS to bring new services to the market that will generate revenue in terms of new services - as well as to consolidate the different platforms that we have today in order to provide existing services such as VoIP, push-to-talk, and so on."

The decision to move towards IMS was also supported by industry trends. TDC has long been a voice provider but is now offering internet and data services to its subscribers. "We're going into a world where we're going to compete on many different services - multimedia services," Hansen says.

"To handle this we need to be able to get many services into our networks. And since there seems to be great support within the vendor and operator communities for IMS, we believe IMS will eventually be the environment and the platform where applications are developed," he adds.

The Danish operator wants to be prepared to launch new services rapidly, without knowing which will succeed. Hansen calls it offering the "killer cocktail," a blend of services that allows subscribers more choice while giving the operator more flexibility and a cost-effective way of launching new services.

Hansen says the earliest services offered on IMS will probably have to do with "presence, the ability to control your identity, and something (related to) simple payment and billing functionality." 

But the key is how it will all come together. "It's much about being able to couple these elements together in different ways," he says.

It will not happen overnight, however: Hanson predicts a gradual path to the IP world. "When we look at the network from a TDC perspective, we see that three different networks will exist side by side in the years to come: the mobile network, fixed network, and IP network. And gradually, as our customers migrate from fixed both towards mobile and into IP, we will gradually migrate to the IMS platform."

TDC has already taken another step along the IMS path: its VoIP solution, hosted by Ericsson on an IMS-ready platform. But in the long term, TDC has yet to announce which IMS vendor it will work with.

Hansen says it is essential to keep the end user in focus. "By 2020 we'll be living the theme 'always best connected.' The network will connect to you, instead of you connecting to the network. We'll have simplicity so that your identity and your 'wallet' will always be available." That future relies on IMS.