The IMS service platform: a solution for next-generation network operators to be more than bit pipes

As third-generation (mobile) networks (3G networks) become a commercial reality, strong movements are emerging in the direction of a common infrastructure based on the Internet protocol (IP). The users' mobile devices are like another IP host connected to the Internet. In such a scenario, the network operator infrastructure is degraded to bit pipes. To avoid this, the 3G partnership project (3GPP) and ETSI TISPAN have designed IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), a service platform that aims to place the network operator again in the central role of service provisioning. In this article we examine IMS from a mobile operator's perspective and analyse its possible adaptation to the next-generation networks