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IMS: a winner for operators
Are consumers ready? That's the billion-dollar question. A growing number of operators are already placing their bets on what may be the next big thing in telecom: a standardized and common platform for voice, data and multimedia services.
July 26, 2006
They hope to capture a much-needed new revenue stream as consumers talk, take part in video conferencing, trade data files, and send and receive messages seamlessly and simultaneously on their phone or home computer. More applications mean end users are spending more money.
Telefónica was the first operator in the world to launch IMS services. It was Ericsson's first IMS contract. Later this year, Vodafone will become the first mobile services operator to make the leap. The British company selected Ericsson earlier this year to implement IMS. The solution will be rolled out in Japan later this year along with an IMS-enabled mobile phone.
IMS will also help operators boost margins when existing revenue streams grow, says Per Jarnehammar, Ericsson's IMS sales development manager.
Extra revenue
A recent study conducted by Ericsson showed that customers who, for example, used their phone to send music files while at the same time talking with the people receiving those files, ended up spending more time on the phone.
"And that means extra revenue for operators," Jarnehammar says. "The voice segment grows. Also, data revenues increase as video and file sharing generates more data traffic in networks."
The time is right for IMS. Single IMS services - such as push-to-talk, which allows subscribers to use their mobile phones as two-way radios - will, if combined with other interactive services such as instant gaming and music sharing, add something completely new to the user experience. Many operators are now moving in this direction, looking at new ways to add attractive IMS-based services to their portfolios.
IMS will save operators money in the long run. An initial investment in IMS is usually relatively costly. But once the investment has been made, operators can save money by offering a bundle of services on one platform.
And IMS means customers will be less likely to switch operators. "This is about bundling services in such a way that consumers find it more attractive to buy the complete bundle from one operator, rather than buy separate services from different operators or service providers," Jarnehammar says.
"With IMS they can integrate TV, voice, video calls, messaging and so on across all types of communication devices. That makes the service more sticky."
