3GPP IMS:

Control Plane for Multimedia Sessions

and Fixed Mobile Convergence
J. Antonio Portilla-Figueras
Associate Professor
Signal Theory and Communication Department
University of Alcala.

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 Index

 Introduction: Telecommunication network evolution

 Next Generation Network (NGN) and IP Multimedia Subsystem
(IMS)
 Architecture and Technical Issues of the IMS
 IMS Services and Applications
 Market and Economic Issues
 Regulatory Requirements

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 Introduction (1):
Drivers of the evolution of telecommunication networks
 Demand for new services by users
 Videoconference
 VoIP
 Rich Media
 Streaming

 Technological advances
 Mobile Access (GSM, UMTS, WiFi)
 Fixed Access (xDSL, Cable, PLC)
 Trunk Networks (DWDM, SoftSwitching)

 Mixtures of both, typically market issues

 The more they offer the more you want

The evolution of the networks

is pushed by several factors.

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 Introduction (2):
Service Evolution

 In the past 20 years customer services have evolved in three

interrelated lines
 1)Operator Service Briefcase
 2)Service Bundling, Charging, Customer Aware Network Services.
 3)Traffic Migration
 Let give a short explanation about these three points:
 1) Operator Service Briefcase

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 Introduction (2a):
Service Evolution cont’d
 2) Service Bundling: the trend is that operators offer packages of unified services

 More than 50 % of the world users would say yes to bundling services
[Cambridge-2005]
Bundeling Service Acceptance

100% 7 9 8 4 4
11
90% 16

80% 31 23 32 9 39
40
70%
8 Strongly Disagree
60% 12 13 37 Disagree
50% 5 15
26 Neutral
40%
33 Agree
33 34
30% 29 Strongly Agree
20% 33 34
10% 17 13 13 12
0%
World N America L. America Europe Scandinavian E Europe &
Average Russia

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 Introduction (2b):
Service Evolution cont’d

 3) Traffic Migration, [Visser-2006]

 There is a clear trend in traffic migration from fixed
access to mobile (wireless)
 Intention of Access [Cambridge-2005]

Primary Phone Device for Year 2007

4%

Mobile Phone
Fixed Phone
30% Internet (VoIP) phone

66%

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 Introduction (3)
Telecommunicaton Network Evolution

 The old  The new

World world

 [Zuidweg-2005]

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 IMS and NGN (1)

 The NGN is:

 A Next Generation Network (NGN) is a packet-based network able to provide
services including Telecommunication Services and able to make use of
multiple broadband, QoS-enabled transport technologies and in which
service-related functions are independent from underlying transport-related
technologies. (Adapted from ITU-T [ITU_1-2004] )
 The IMS is
 IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is a standarized access independent IP
based architecture that interworks with existing voice and data networks for
both fixed and mobile users. (Adapted from 3GPP [3GPP_1-2006])
 The NGI is
 It is an initiative to empower the current Internet using IPv6 protocol to obtain
high speed networks fulfilling QoS and reliable communication services
(Adapted from the Internet2 Network [I2-2007])

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 IMS and NGN (2)

 Evolution towards a unified service delivery plattform

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 IMS and NGN (4)

 Why IMS?[Gilles-2006][Schmidt-2006]
 Continuity of the current business model for the deployment
of IP based services.
 Gets greater average revenue per user.
 Reduces the churning propensity.
 Network administration savings.
 A end-to-end open architecture.
 Core network independent from the access.
 Integrated mobility and nomadicy.

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 Architecture and Technical Issues of the IMS (1)

 IMS and layering architecture [Poiselkä-2004][3GPP_1-2006]

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 Architecture and Technical Issues of the IMS (2)

 The previous architecture has been designed considering a

layering approach defined by 3GPP.
 There is another architecture, defined by the ETSI TISPAN with
the NGN as the starting point .
 The transport and bearer services are separated from the IMS
signalling network and session management services
 This leads to a minimum interdependency between layers and
independency between access and core network.
 Same applications can run on UE using different types of
access.
 Next we are going to study the main elements of the 3GPP IMS
architecture

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 Architecture and Technical Issues of the IMS (3)

 The CSCF is at the heart of the network. It is subdivided into three

responsiblity areas
 Proxy (P-CSCF). This is the first contact point of the users within
the IMS. All SIP traffic to or from UE goes via the P-CSCF. It behaves
like a proxy validating the request, forwarding them to the destination
and forwarding the response.
 Interrogation (I-CSCF). Is the contact point within an operator’s
network for all connections destined to a subscriber of that network
operator.
 Serving (S-CSCF). It is the brain of the IMS and is in the home
network. Peforms session control and registration services for UE. It
maintain the session state and works with the service plattforms and
charging functions.

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 Architecture and Technical Issues of the IMS (4)

 The Policy Decision Function (PDF) is responsible for making policy

decisions based on session and media related information obtained from the
P-CSCF. It acts as a policy decision point for the Service Base Local Policy.

[Sheppard-2006]

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 Architecture and Technical Issues of the IMS (5)

 The Home Subscriber Server (HSS) is the main data storage for all
service related data of the IMS. It includes user identities, registration
information, access parameters, and service triggering information.

 Multimedia Resource Function Controller (MRFC) is needed to

support bearer related-services, (conference announcing)
 Multimedia Resource Function Processor (MRFP) provides
user-plane resources requested and instructed by the MRFC.

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 Architecture and Technical Issues of the IMS (5)

 The Application Server (AS) is not a pure IMS entity but

provides the value added multimedia services in the IMS. The
main functions are
 The possibility to process an incoming SIP request.
 The capability to originate SIP request
 The capability to send accounting information
 Media Gateway Control Function (MGCF), is a gateway that
enables communication between IMS and CS users.
 IP Multimedia Subsystem-Media Gateway Function (IMS-
MGW). Provides the user-plane link between CS network and
IMS.
 Signalling Gateway (SGW) is used to interconnect different
signalling networks, as SCTP-IP to SS7.

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 Architecture and Technical Issues of the IMS (6)

 Protocols used in the IMS.

 Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). For establishing, modification and termination of
multimedia sessions between two terminals. It is the key of the IMS system.
 Session Description Protocol (SDP): An application layer protocol for describing
multimedia sessions. Text base, describes the type address, ports..and indicates
them to the calling parties.
 Diameter is an authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) protocol
which provides AAA services to a large range of access technologies.
 Real Time Transport Protocol (RTP) is a protocol defined for providing e2e
delivery of real-time data. It also contains services for this type of data (payload
type, monitoring). It does not provide QoS but QoS monitoring using Real Time
Control Protocol (RTCP)
 Common Open Policy Service (COPS). It supports policy control of the Quality of
Service (QoS) signalling protocols like Resource Reservation Protocol.

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 IMS Services and Applications (1)

 3GPP does not provide standardised services but service

capabilities and high level requirements [Zarri-2003].
 The following requirements have to be fulfilled for IP multimedia
applications [3GPP-2005].
 Negotiable QoS for IP multimedia sesions
 During the establishment.
 During the session
 For individual media components.
 Negotiation of QoS between operators in roaming.
 Support of variety of media types.
 Within each IP multimedia session one or more IP multimedia applications
shall be supported

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 IMS Services and Applications (2)
 The end user services can be categorized into two main types
[GSMA-2004].
Type (as perceived by the
Description Typical Services
users)
Voice
These services involves 2 or more
Videophone
users
Rich Media.
User to User Services Network provides and “add value”
providing services managing. It can Advance Messaging.
arise problems due to the influence
Push to Talk
of 3rd parties
Gaming.

Involves one or more users who Advance messaing

Services between Users and a communicate with a central server Gaming (User vs
Server Network may only provide an bit Machine)
pipe if 3rd party servers are used Push services.

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 IMS Market and Economic Issues (1)
 The Service Providers [Hart-2005]

Provider Description Services Example

Traditional Wireline PSTN with mixed TDM Residential and business BT, Telefonica, France
and VoIP networks telephony, DSL . Telecom, Magyar Telekom

Mobile Carriers 2-2.5G, 3G 4G? Service Cellular telephony, SMS, Orange, Vodafone, Eplus
providers MMS, gaming, Pannon GSM

MVNO’s Brand focused vendors Pre-paid, streaming, SMS, BT, Walt Disney Group,
which lease cellular sports news, video Virgin
carrier’s networks.
NGSP Internet based VoIP Broadband Vonage, AT&T, Euphonex
providers without their communications, VoIP
own access network
Cable Cable operators with Broadcast TV channels, ONO, Telewest, Cable &
growing telephony and cable modem service, Wireless, UPC Hungary
VoIP products Internet Telephony
Content and Media films, advertisers, TV programs, music, Time Warner, BBC,
Application provider multimedia content movies Vivendi, Sony, NBC.
providers

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 IMS Market and Economic Issues (2)

 The path towards IMS

IMS Name SIP IMS / CSCFs Data on IMS Date

Maturity Elements APPs HSS Clients

0 Not IMS None None None None None 2000-2005

0.5 Pre-IMS Few Maybe Maybe None None 2005-2007

1 Some IMS Some Some Some Some Maybe 2006-2009

2 Real IMS Most Many Most Most Some 2009-2012

3 Ideal IMS All All All All All 2012->

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 IMS Market and Economic Issues (3)
 IMS critics [Moriana-2006]
 The technology is not ready yet.
 There are serious doubts about the interoperability.
 It is going to be very difficult to make it all work.
 There is no real customer demand for ‘combinatorial’ services.
 The ‘new’ services are not really new.

 IMS threats
 Traditional vendors may take all the IMS equipment ‘cake’.
 IMS is an architecture, not a service. It does not provide direct revenues.
 Subscriber will expect all services to be free, as they are in Internet.
 Again interoperability.
 Unproven business case
 Migration cost.

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 IMS regulatory requirements (1).

 Consumer requirements
 Emergency calls.
 Consumer protection and privacy.

 Fraud Detection.

 Operations requirement. •[Rutkowski-2005]

 Roaming and service provider coordination

 Default service and routing options.

 Competition requirements
 Number portability

 Service interoperability

 Unbundling.

 Interconnection

 Billing

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 IMS regulatory requirements (2):IMS Billing

 There are two main billing options

 Recurrent billing (Off Line Billing). The user receives a bill “every month”.
The Charging Collector Function (CCF) recovers information of all IMS
elements and constructs the Charging Data Record which generates the
invoice.
 Transaction Based Billing (On Line Billing). The serving CSCF
communicates with a Session Charging Function (SCF), which controls
the available user credit and control the IMS elements.
 Several problems could arise here
 Termination of sessions of another network users.
 Information interchange between the Charging system of different
networks
 Flat rate.

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 References

 [Cambridge-2005] A.T. Kearney Cambridge Study, Mobinet 2005.

 [Visser-2006]. J. Visser, “Mobility and Fixed Mobile Convergence”, GSC-
11, November 2006
 [Zuidweg] J. Zuidweg, “IMS for Fixed and Mobile Convergence”,
 [Tf-2005] J. Relaño et all, “Plataformas Multimodales en Redes de
Nueva Generación”, Comunicaciones Telefonica I+D, March 2005.
 [ITU_1-2004] ITU, Definition of Next Generation Network
http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/studygroups/com13/ngn2004/working_definition.
html

 [3GPP_1-2006], 3GPP TS 23.228 version 7.6.0 Release 7.

 [I2-2007] Internet 2 Home Page, www.internet2.edu
 [Gilles-2006] G. Bertrand, “The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) – An
Overview”,
http://www.rennes.enst-bretagne.fr/~gbertran/files/IMS_an_overview.pdf

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 References

 [Schmidt-2006] D. Schmidt, D. Kamarga, “ Economic Drivers for IMS-

based Converged Services”, Siemens Networks LLC white paper.
 [Sheppard-2006] S. Sheppard, “IMS Crash Course”, McGraw Hill, 2006
 [Moro-2005 ] D. Moro, A. Jular, S. Fernández, “Estudio de la
interconexión entre redes fijas y móviles en el plano de control mediante
los estándares IMS de 3GPP y NGN de TISPAN”, Journal
Comunicaciones de Telefonica I+D, nº 37, pp 111-118, 2005.
 [Zarri-2003]M. Zarri, “Future service capabilities offered by the 3GPP
system”;4th International Conference on 3G Mobile Communication
Technologies, 2003.
 [3GPP-2005]Service Requirements for the Internet Protocol (IP)
multimedia core network subsystem (IMS). 3GPP TS 22 228 V7.5.0 (009
-2006).
 [GSMA-2004] “IMS Services & Applications”, GSM Association Official
Document: SE.35, December 2004.

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 References

 [Hart-2005] C. Hart, “ IP Multimedia Substymes (IMS) for wireline

and wireless applications” Venture Development Corporation, White
paper.
 [Moriana-2006] Operator Guidebook to IMS and Next Generation
Network and Services, www.morianagroup.com, 2006
 [Rutkowski-2005] A. Rutkowski, “The NGN Global Regulatory
Ecosystem”, Open Workshop Indentifying policy and regulatory
issues in Next Generation Networks, Brussels, June 2005
 [Arnbak-2000] J. Arnbak, “Regulation for Next Generation
Technologies and Markets, Telecommunications Policy, nº 24, 2000.

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