Next Generation Communications Networks

IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS) –

the open industry standard supporting the
next generation of converged network services

Creating a new breed of service provider

This white paper:

• Describes how changing consumer demand is reshaping the
competitive environment
• Presents an overview of IMS and how service providers adopting the
standard can create a customer-focused, service rich environment
• Presents the steps a service provider can take to make the move to
an IMS-based next generation network
Contents

Introduction .......................................................................................3

Market Dynamics Pulling Service Providers into

the Next Generation Architecture .......................................................3
Changing Consumer Requirements ...........................................................4
Evolving Competitive Environment............................................................4
Commoditization.........................................................................................5
Technology Advances ..................................................................................6

The Changing Communications World ...............................................6

Brand Loyalty ..............................................................................................7

Open Standards: Key to Service Provider Success ................................7

IMS: Creating a Customer-Focused Environment ......................................8
Providing a Rich Service Environment .......................................................9

The Network Demands of Next-Generation

and Current Applications .................................................................10

Making the Move to IMS ..................................................................11

Wireline Service Providers.........................................................................11
Wireless Service Providers .........................................................................11
Cable Service Providers .............................................................................12
Making the Move ......................................................................................12

Next Generation Network – The Time is Now....................................14

References:.......................................................................................16

About the Author ............................................................................16

2
 Introduction
The next generation communications network is already taking shape,
driven by the demand for new, converged services from consumers and
business professionals alike. To take advantage of this opportunity, service
providers are adopting new business models and moving to open
standards in order to provide their customers with ubiquitous services
that can be accessed by any end-user device.

IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is emerging as the industry standard of

choice for the next generation network. IMS was initially developed by
the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) and 3GPP2 organizations,
primarily as an IP core network architecture for cellular/wireless
operators. Industry leaders are now turning to the standard to support
converged services from all types of services providers – wireless, wireline,
cable, and applications.

The IMS architecture allows service interoperability across network

operators, open interfaces between network elements, and equipment
interoperability between infrastructure vendors and applications. The
increasing acceptance of IMS, along with the largest demand for new
communications services in history, is creating a dynamic market
environment that is forcing service providers to take a hard look at their
current services and business models.

This white paper discusses the current market environment, including the
evolving competitive environment, the trend toward commoditization,
and rapid advances in technology. It provides a high-level exploration of
the IMS architecture, and looks at the impact of the standard on present
and future applications and the bearer network infrastructure. The paper
also examines some of the “first steps” and other considerations that
service providers should explore as they move towards the next
generation network.

Market Dynamics Pulling Service Providers

into the Next Generation Architecture
Business managers know they must balance controllable variables – such
as Product, Price, Place and Promotion – based on customer demands and
other factors, such as competition and technology. In the world of next
generation networks, many of these variables are changing
simultaneously, a unique situation that is having a major impact on the
way service providers manage their business.

Among the major factors fueling these changes are:

• Changing consumer requirements
• A rapidly evolving competitive environment
• Commoditization
• Technology advances

3
Changing Consumer Requirements

There is an increasing consumer demand for new, ubiquitous services that

can be accessed via any end-user device. The key consumers driving the
market include Generation Y, the population born after 19761, and
business professionals who have embraced technology at work, home,
and on the road.

The significant disposable income of Generation Y has attracted the

attention of today’s service providers. This market segment’s buying
behavior has been greatly influenced by the Internet, gaming, mobile
phones, and digital recorders, providing a perfect target for
communications services.2 This market segment can be further sub-
segmented to a teenage market consisting of 500 Million 13-19 year olds
in Europe, North and South America and the industrialized nations of
Asia and the Pacific Rim. Members of this demographic have experienced
intense exposure to television (e.g., MTV broadcasts in some 139
countries), movies, travel and, of course, the Internet.3 This segment of
the population, totally at home in our new electronic age, sees no reason
why an application residing on their PC should not be available on their
mobile device, as well.

The second group of consumers driving demand for new network services
includes business and other professionals who are exposed to technology
in every aspect of their lives. Currently they access their networks at
work, at home, and on the go using different log-ins, buddy lists, and
address books. This segment wants the convenience of combining these
networks in order to be able to seamlessly and efficiently access their
electronic information anytime, anywhere, using a variety of devices.

These two market segments are driving a heightened market demand for
communications services ubiquity. Service providers are meeting this
demand today through a variety of offerings, including repackaging,
service bundling, and new technology implementation. Most of these
solutions are either cumbersome requiring extensive back office processes
for operations and billing, or are being delivered in the form of vendor
based proprietary implementations.

Evolving Competitive Environment

In yesterday’s communications world, there were companies who

provided POTS (plain old telephone service) as a staple of their business.
But over the last 20 years there has been an explosion of mobile
operators, cable operators, alternative service providers, and applications
providers, to name just a few.

At the turn of the century, the marketplace began to change as service

providers started encroaching on each other’s market domains. By the end
of this decade, a service provider will be defined as a company who takes
care of electronic communications needs over a next generation network –
the service provider will morph into a “communications provider.”

4
This creates a very competitive situation for today’s service providers –
they not only have to cope with their traditional competitors, but various
new entrants, as well.

This new, formidable competition includes companies that are emerging

from closely related communications segments, as well as competitors
who were able to overcome the barriers to entry of large investments in
network infrastructure and unforgiving regulatory requirements by
leveraging technological advances such as VoIP.

Recent industry entrants are moving beyond traditional business models

with new offers, advanced features, and radical pricing structures. Utilizing
peer-to-peer communications based on moving intelligence into the end user
device, competitors such as Skype offer free unlimited global in-network
voice calls. Vonage, another new market entrant that provides service to
customers who already have public Internet access, is creating price pressure
on voice services with a very low flat rate unlimited calling plan.

Having taken advantage of relatively low market entry barriers, these

alternative service providers are siphoning customers from the traditional
service providers. Owning the access no longer guarantees customer
ownership – service value and brand are the key differentiators of the
new communications provider model. Service providers need to meet the
challenge of creating outstanding service environments where service
offerings are continuously refreshed and improved. If they do not, market
dynamics could drive customers to the edges of the network, where edge
devices and application providers will reap the profits.

Commoditization

Due to heightened competition, the ability to match competitive service

offerings more rapidly, and constant price pressure, the rate of service
offering commoditization has increased dramatically in the
communications industry. The effect of price pressure and retention of
premium pricing has not only affected voice services – premium data
services have also experienced rapid price reductions.

A good example of today’s commoditization is the changes associated with

voice and image sharing.

For voice, it took well over a decade for mobile operators to experience
enough price pressure to offer customers free nights and weekends. As
the voice price wars escalated, operators were forced to bundle minutes
and family plans and, in just the last few years, free in-network calling.

The second example, image sharing, experienced price pressure over a

much shorter time period. In early 2004, picture sharing was a novelty to
most consumers – it was priced accordingly at roughly $1 per shared
image, allowing service providers with early offerings to reap the benefit
of skim pricing. However, as competitors matched their offerings and
picture sharing became commonly available, price erosion began. Today,
some vendors are offering a free trial period to all customers on their
network, others have dropped the price to 25 cents per image share and
finally some have offered a packaged deal of unlimited photo sharing and
texting for $5/month.

5
With a larger supply of application developers creating new and/or
improved services which can be offered by service providers and carried
over fatter pipes to the user endpoints, we will continue to see new
offerings created, then matched by competition leading to price erosion
and faster service commoditization. The only way to continue realizing
healthy profit margins is to be nimble – those providers that are first to
market will reap the benefits of premium pricing over the longest period
of time.

However, there is an alternative to creating broad service offerings. A

service provider can decide to not chase a wide variety of new service
offerings, but rather focus on a few considered as table stakes in the
market and become a conduit for Applications Service Providers (ASPs)
and Mobility Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) – in other words,
accepting the role of access and transport provider. Because this portion of
the industry is extremely price sensitive with little price flexibility, service
providers have to exercise diligent cost control in order to be profitable.

Technology Advances

Technology innovation has allowed vendors to add new features, reduce

costs and enter markets they could never have afforded to enter in the
past. The tremendous adoption by end users of the Internet and
broadband access worldwide has opened a large potential market for data
rich services, which utilize the larger bandwidth now available all the way
to the edges of the network. WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) and WiMAX
(Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) adoption will make
accessibility to broadband services available to an even greater number of
people and venues.

Later in this paper we will examine how the implementation of an IMS-

based architecture will allow multiple applications to be run
simultaneously during one session. The ability to deliver these multiple
broadband services concurrently, or even in a blended fashion, across
fixed and mobile infrastructures with broadband capabilities provides only
a glimpse at what the new Communications World will be able to provide.

The Changing Communications World

Heightened customer demand, increased competition, and technological
advances have created a perfect incubator that has hatched today’s
advanced communications. Twenty years ago, it was common to
communicate using a wired telephone or send a letter using the post
office. Only ten years ago, mobile telephones were reserved for
emergencies and people were happy to have a networked personal
computer. Today Instant Messaging (IM) has replaced many voice
conversations, meetings are arranged through electronic calendars, and an
entire generation is using mobile phones as their primary voice medium.
For service providers, this new communications environment is rich with
opportunity – they have an unprecedented chance to create differentiated
services, delivered by new methods, to eager consumers who are willing
to pay a premium for innovative products and services.

6
Brand Loyalty

Because the cost of changing service providers is either nominal or non-

existent, retaining customers is becoming more difficult. As a result,
service providers are in a race to provide lifestyle services which will
increase brand recognition, reinforce the customer’s positive experience,
and ultimately create brand loyalty.

Brand is becoming a key differentiator in the new market environment.

The customer experience created by a service provider’s particular brand
will have its own identity and character, and will provide easy
personalization to satisfy customer preferences. This branded look and
feel, ease of use, and mix of services will induce customers to stay loyal to
a particular service provider.

Research shows that a five percent improvement in customer retention

can increase a company’s profits by 70 to 80 percent.4 This fact alone is
reason enough to begin adopting the new communications business
model and the network architecture that supports customized user
experiences.

Open Standards: Key to Service Provider Success

For successful service providers, winning will mean implementing a new
customer experience model – a model that provides a highly personalized
experience for the end user that is supported by the rapid introduction of
new services and access to those services from the device of their choice.
Further, the customer’s experience will be enhanced by being able to add
or change services via a Web portal.

The ability to create this type of positive customer experience is best

supported by a network based on open standards. Open standards
facilitate the development and implementation of new applications and
services by third parties. Many of the applications and services currently
being offered are developed by third parties and then repackaged and sold
by the service provider. Without open standards, these third party
applications will be unable to interact, leading to custom, proprietary
applications which are inherently more costly.

In addition, open standards facilitate interoperability between service

providers. This is critical – the customer does not want to have their
application or service experience interrupted, changed, or unavailable
simply because they have traveled outside their service provider’s
geographic domain.

7
 IMS: Creating a Customer-Focused Environment

IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is an open standard that provides a

structure for creating a customer-focused service rich environment.

Its many advantages include:

• A framework for any kind of access – wireless or fixed – and any kind of
media including voice, text, image, video or a combination supporting
multiple devices and endpoints
• Interfaces between applications, network layers and back-office systems
are open, non-proprietary
• Interoperability between Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and
legacy IN-based services
• A unified database, Home Subscriber Server (HSS), utilized for common
data share, single user profile and single sign-on
• Facilitates service provider interoperability while hiding the underlying
network
• Allows the subscriber accessing the network to enjoy the consistent brand
experience of their home network
• Separates the applications layer and the session control layer, allowing
multiple applications to be active simultaneously, as well as blending
applications

IMS builds on the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). It addresses some of

the limitations of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and the Internet
Engineering Task Force’s (IETF) Real Time Protocol (RTP), such as the
inability to run multiple applications to serve a single subscriber
simultaneously. IMS takes the next step in security providing “trusted”
interactions, and Call Detail Records (CDRs) for billing and
interoperability between wireless and wireline access networks.

IMS Improves Resource Use &

Allows Improved Customer Experience
Point Solution IMS
Architecture Architecture
IM VoIP VoD
USER DATA
Web Portal

APPLICATION

SESSION

ENDPOINTS

Voice Video
Presence

Figure 1 – Improved resources and customer experience with IMS

8
Providing a Rich Service Environment

The current proprietary blending of Presence into Push To Speak is a good

example of why IMS provides a better solution when compared to
existing point solution implementations.

Currently, a variety of vendors offer Push to Speak by bundling IM buddy

lists using Presence with the Push to Speak capability. Each vendor has
married these sub-applications in a proprietary manner. As a result, this
bundling does not allow one instance of Presence to be shared with other
applications. In fact, in today’s networks, only one application can operate
per session, which is why we see subtending applications within one
bundled application.

With IMS, the applications and call session control are separated. The
subscriber information is stored in a centralized fashion and the Serving
Call Session Control Function (S-CSCF) integrates the multiple
applications, allowing multiple applications to be active during one session.

Returning to the Push to Speak example, this would mean that we are
able to unbundle the Presence application from the Push to Speak
application, and allow a separate application (e.g., IM) to share it. In the
long run, there is no duplication across multiple applications to replicate
functionality, in this example - Presence. The applications implementation
is more streamlined and allows the service provider increased flexibility in
determining how its service offerings will blend multiple applications –
control is placed in the service provider’s hands.

The IMS standard allows the service provider to blend services and create
a service rich environment where customers can personalize their service
experience, without dictating how service enablement and the customer
interface will be managed. How the service provider takes advantage of
this opportunity to create a unique service environment will lead to a
competitive advantage – customers will be attracted to the personal
preference flexibility and access to a variety of new services in categories
such as entertainment, personal productivity and content delivery.

With an IMS architecture in place, service providers can offer new

applications to their customers more quickly and across multiple access
venues. The end customer will have single sign-on and access to a myriad
of applications through user-friendly interfaces. Users will access their
home network, which is rich in personalized services, from any place in
the world over a standard IP connection.

Behind-the-scenes application providers can create their offerings based

on an open standard, thereby allowing the free market to drive new and
creative applications. Service providers, armed with a comprehensive
understanding of their customers’ demands and value requirements, will
be able to develop and offer unique service offerings in order to
outmaneuver their competition.

9
In addition, the teaming of service providers with application providers –
such as Yahoo, America Online, MSN, and content owners like Virgin and
Disney – are only the beginning of relationships that will be forged in this
dynamic new environment. The IMS standard and resultant network
implementations will create an environment that supports and
encourages an expansion of teaming by both content and application
developers to create a unique services environment specific to a service
provider’s brand.

The Network Demands of Next-Generation

and Current Applications
Investments in IMS enable service providers to offer traditional
applications, such as voice services, while adding appealing enhanced
features, such as unified messaging, multi-media messaging, and multi-
party conferencing, at a lower cost. The next generation network based
on the IMS standard will enable innovation and rapid realization of many
new service offerings, including content delivery, interactive gaming, and
entertainment. Blending multiple applications, such as presence, location
and video, is simplified and can easily be repackaged into new service
offerings based on changing customer demands, creating an enhanced
customer experience.

These new and exciting services, and the blending of these services, will
drive revenue streams and keep service providers competitive. However,
these services will place a variety of new requirements on the network,
such as more aggressive bandwidth and latency demands. As more
applications are created – either real-time, such as voice, or near real-
time, such as streaming video – the demands on the bearer network will
increasingly require progressive Quality of Service (QoS) management
and network design.

Understanding the IMS-based architecture, the solution implemented by

an individual service provider, and the demands of the service
applications currently offered and those planned in the future, will be
critical in evaluating the underlying network’s capability to provide a high
level of service quality. The new service planning and related network
planning must take into account network latency, jitter, network element
and call setup delay, and transcoding, to name just a few. Real time or
near real-time services packet mis-order and loss will impact customer
experience and may affect customer loyalty.

Service providers must not only plan for how they will offer new
applications on the next generation network, but they also need a strategy
relative to current service offerings – including how long to remain
operating in a hybrid network environment. For a while they can
compete by offering the same suite of services delivered by multiple
overlay networks bundled behind the scenes through complicated billing
arrangements and labor-intensive provisioning. However, it is only a
matter of time before that model is no longer viable as the service
provider’s competitors implement more streamlined, cost-effective
vehicles for providing customer-friendly blended service offerings using
an IMS-based architecture.

10
Making the Move to IMS
Convergence of voice, data, and content services along with the melding
of service provider types affects more than just the network
infrastructure. It also impacts corporate strategy, marketing, business
operations, network operations and service development. It will inevitably
change the way business is conducted. Each segment of the market and
each service provider will migrate to the next generation network from a
different starting point.

Wireline Service Providers

Wireline service providers have a web of customized overlay networks,

creating a complex interconnected environment. For this reason, they will
find it challenging to migrate gracefully to an all IP-based network.

They must take into account a myriad of interrelated technologies and

operational aspects of their business as they evolve from a Time Division
Multiplexer (TDM)-based network with separate, non-integrated, often
redundant components to an open standards IP-based network such as
IMS. From a business perspective, they must consider what new services
they will offer their customers and when the timing will be right to
migrate each of the current services to the next generation platform.

Further, they must consider how they will expand their offerings and
networks to allow multiple types of access such as cellular handsets, WiFi,
and set-top boxes. The ability to provide the customer with a combined
and seamless wireline and wireless experience providing access to a
variety of content will be the hallmark of the communications provider.
Wireline service providers must consider how they will obtain and
integrate wireless capabilities as well as determine the best way to
incorporate content into their service offerings.

Wireless Service Providers

Wireless service providers, driven by ARPU (average revenue per user)

requirements and the greatest customer pull for new applications in
history, are deploying (Code Division Multiple Access) CDMA-2000
(Evolution Data Only) EV-DO and (Universal Mobile Telephone System)
UMTS networks to support a broader base of data services, such as faster
Internet access and multi-media messaging applications. They are also
beginning to implement WiFi networks and seamless roaming capabilities.
The adoption of 3G networks and WiFi address network advancements in
the access portion of the network only.

Wireless service providers must also plan for service blending, content
delivery and network-related convergence. To provide a competitive
service environment rich with blended lifestyle services, wireless service
providers must begin to implement Call Session Control, HSS and an IP-
core based on IMS standards. Wireless service providers must recognize, a
single access technology will not satisfy all of the needs of the
“communications” customers. Very high bandwidth services available
today only via a wired connection are highly valued and will be
demanded from the converged communications provider. Services such as
HDTV, high speed Internet access, and real-time video are examples of

11
services in demand today which will not be available through a pure
wireless connection in the mass market for a decade or more. Wireless
service providers must determine how to penetrate the communications
services consumed in the home both from a content and delivery
perspective.

Cable Service Providers

In order to compete in the new world of convergence, cable service

providers will want to offer their customers a variety of multi-media
services. They have expanded beyond their strong video applications
point of market entry into voice and data offerings. Some began by
implementing overlay networks for these new services.

As networks converge, this segment, in order to effectively compete, must

also examine the need to move to an open standard IP-based architecture.

Cable service providers have similar hurdles to jump as their peers move
from the Wireline service provider market. Both market segments must
evolve their service offerings to provide a seamless wired and wireless
experience. The cable service providers must also overcome the narrowly
defined market position perceived by a portion of their target market.

Often, even those who purchase data and telephone services, think of
cable service providers as a broadcast or content provider, and not
necessarily as a provider of communications. It will be important to shift
the mindset of these consumers in order to compete effectively.

In the United States the harbingers of change have already begun to

arrive. Mergers such as SBC/AT&T, SPRINT/Nextel and Verizon/MCI are
just the start of market consolidation among service providers. In the long
run, we will see a consolidation among a broader array of service
providers. They are all competing for the same customer and offering a
similar suite of services, although their paths to convergence will differ
based on their current networks and service offerings. The move to this
converged network is rife with challenges, unforeseen pitfalls, and an
astounding network complexity when considered in total – a mix of
hardware, software, disparate technologies, legacy systems, operating
systems, billing systems, etc. But the move toward convergence is
essential to decrease risk of market share loss.

Making the Move

So, when does it make sense to migrate current customers and services to
the next generation network? In evaluating this question, many
interrelated variables must be weighed. Service providers must thoroughly
understand their current business and the business they want to be in
when the new decade arrives. They must weigh current service offerings,
current customer migration, new service offerings, and new customer
implementation against the cost associated with all of the network
enhancements, both from a financial and competitive perspective.

12
 There are a myriad of initial steps that each type of service provider can
take in preparation for the move to a full IMS-based network. The very
first step is the same for everyone – make a sound business decision
regarding when, where, and how your company will move to IMS.
Fundamentally this requires some understanding of IMS, its capabilities,
limitations, architectures, and benefits.

In terms of implementation, a key, common first step is pre-conditioning

the network. Pre-conditioning allows for a smoother transition to IP, as
well as creating a healthy access network to support the IMS architecture.

Preconditioning may include:

• TDM switch consolidation
• Office consolidation
• Optical network upgrades to next generation equipment
• Operating system and database clean-up

Access implementation may include:

• CDMA-2000 EVDO
• UMTS / HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access)
• ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line) / VDSL (Very high data rate
Digital Subscriber Line)

Even simple areas such as common naming standards and terminology

standards need to be thought about as switching, data, and interoffice
facility capabilities are combined. All of this must be accomplished with a
clear concept of the targeted end-state architecture, or re-work and
additional overlays may be necessary.

Readiness assessments and related implementation efforts are also

excellent preliminary steps to prepare the network for the more extensive
IMS-based implementation. Analyzing weak points in the current IP-
based network, or making predictive analyses of the affect of multi-media
applications, are activities that will assure higher quality of service.
Identifying possible bottlenecks or weak points in the IP core allows the
service provider to implement and offer new, more network-intensive
services with the confidence of attaining a specific level of quality. This is
important for ensuring both residential customer satisfaction and meeting
the requirements of enterprise services with related SLAs (Service Level
Agreements).

Service providers who have not already implemented MPLS (Multi-

Protocol Label Switching) backbones or QoS policies and devices are
already behind the curve – these elements are essential to support the
bearer traffic resulting from the explosion of new applications.

In addition to these consultation, pre-conditioning, and readiness

activities, service providers will take steps to transition their services onto
an IMS-based network based on their individual circumstances.

13
Some examples of phased-in service capabilities at the macro level are
illustrated in Figure 2. The order and timing of each capability depends on
the service provider’s individual network and business conditions.

Possible IMS Macro Steps

Taking the First Step

Wireline Service Provider Example

Voice Low-cost VoIP Single Sign-on IP Television Services Access network
Data Overlay Core Anywhere Access Multi-Media Blending migration to all-IP
Voice Messaging Residential & IMS Native Messaging
Enterprises Services/Bundling

Current Future
Communications
Service Provider
Wireless Service Provider Example
Voice Data Single Sign-on Seamless IMS Native Multi-Media Access network
SMS Services Anywhere Roaming Services Messaging migration to all-IP
Voice Access
Messaging

Current Future

Figure 2 – Possible IMS Macro Steps

The transition to IMS will most likely occur in discrete steps that focus on
capturing additional revenue or decreasing cost. In the best case scenario,
each step helps to substantially fund the next step in the progression to an
all IMS-based architecture.

Next Generation Network – The Time is Now

In the past, the service provider would improve a portion of a network
resulting in cost savings or improved service offerings that were passed on
to residential or enterprise customers. In today’s market-oriented world,
customer demands for richer services are creating the impetus for
network improvements and changes. This fact, coupled with rapid
improvements in technology has created a drive toward an open
standards-based architecture such as IMS.

The next generation network spans access, session control and

applications layers with the benefits of single sign-on and authentication.
Faced with this level of complexity, as well as increasing customer
demand for new and innovative applications, service providers are
confronted with an enormous problem that must be broken into logical
cost-effective pieces leading to a satisfactory end game.

14
 There is no doubt that we are moving toward a converged network that
will create a new market segment. At the very least, this new market
segment will encompass and replace today’s segmented wireless, wireline
and cable market – and perhaps include additional segments such as
entertainment and satellite. A new, more inclusive category of provider
will emerge – communications providers that will deliver services and
applications across all access types.

Those who succeed in making the transition will get there through good
business strategy, new technology implementation, solid application and
network planning, and efficient network migration.

As data, voice and video are carried over an IP-based network core with
customers accessing their services from both fixed and mobile venues,
complexities in subscriber information, application management and
network infrastructure must all be managed in a coherent fashion. Service
providers must invest in a timely manner to mitigate the chances of lower
competitiveness and higher churn. Working with solution providers that
are experienced network integrators and have a strong ecosystem with
the ability to create customer-based best-in-class solutions, will increase
the service provider’s chances of success.

Another important first step toward success is locating and teaming with
“convergence thought leaders” who can help with:
• Business strategy and service planning
• Network and applications selection
• Evolution and migration planning
• Hybrid network management
• Cost effective and efficient implementation processes
• Network management and maintenance

Given the present trends, the communications industry in each global

region is moving toward an oligopoly, with a variety of niche players
supporting a small number of larger players. Service providers need to
take action now in order to emerge, at the end of this journey, as one of
the leaders in this new competitive arena created by the emergence of
next generation communications networks.

15
 References:
1
Eric N. Berkowitz, Roger A. Kerin, Steven W. Hartley and William Rudelius.
Marketing, Seventh Edition (McGraw Hill, 2003), pp. 77-78.
2
Ibid.
3
Ibid, p. 181.
4
Ibid, p. 125.

About the Author

Ann Marie Vega
Lucent Technologies – Lucent Worldwide Services

Ann Marie Vega has worked in the communications industry for 20 years
with specific experience in product management, market management,
strategy, and global practice management. Her educational background
includes an Honors degree in Marketing from the University of
Massachusetts, as well as an M.B.A. from Babson College. Ann Marie is
also an adjunct professor in the Marketing Department at the University
of New Hampshire.

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