Date: 02/07/2012

Infonetics: Inevitability of an all-IP mobile n/w is leading operators to IMS

Market research firm Infonetics Research has reported IMS networks continue to be deployed by fixed-line operators, mobile operators, and cable operators; 71% of Infonetics’ survey respondents have already deployed IMS and the rest are in the process of deploying IMS (a requirement for participating in the survey).

“For the first time ever, LTE is the top driver for IMS deployments in our annual IMS service provider survey,” notes Diane Myers, principal analyst for VoIP and IMS at Infonetics Research. “But while LTE may be the number-one driver, the reality is the majority of services running over IMS today are fixed-line VoIP. None of our survey respondents has yet deployed voice over LTE (VoLTE).”

Myers adds: “Ultimately, the longer-term inevitability of an all-IP mobile network is leading operators to IMS for other services first, even if VoLTE services are farther down the road.”

The IMS survey highlights shared by Infonetics:
Fixed-line VoIP service is the mainstay of IMS deployments, with 76% of respondents running residential voice over broadband, SIP trunking, or hosted business VoIP over IMS today, growing to 100% by 2014
Mobile services are growing in importance: by 2014, 71% of respondent operators plan to offer RCS/e, more than half plan to offer VoLTE, and more or less a third will offer VoIP over 3G and mobile messaging
Ericsson continues to be the leading IMS vendor in terms of equipment installed by respondent operators
Huawei is a real standout in this year’s survey, growing its installed base every year among survey respondents and topping the vendor leadership list for pricing, total cost of ownership, product roadmap, financial stability, and reliability

Infonetics' June 2012 37-page IMS survey is based on interviews with purchase-decision makers at 21 incumbent, mobile, competitive, and cable operators from around the world with IMS core equipment in their networks.