Continuing our series on the progress of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), today we'll highlight perspectives and progress from Verizon featuring excerpts from an interview we had recently with Bill Goodman, Verizon's director for Multimedia Services Architecture. Like other large carriers, Verizon has been working on converged network architectures and, according to Goodman "before we called it IMS, we had spent 10 years working on integrated environments. As the industry developed an IMS framework, we've been happy to see it move forward as a standard." In 2005, Verizon brought in multiple vendor platforms as a proof of concept to refine the company's requirements for IMS and 2007 has been largely a year to validate those requirements and to progress with implementation planning.

While Verizon doesn’t currently offer any commercial services on an IMS platform, it does offer SIP-based VoIP services including its wholesale, business, and consumer VoIP services. (SIP provides session control for IMS.) Verizon plans on using a SIP/IMS-based architecture to offer a VoIP service over its FiOS network; FiOS is Verizon’s fiber to the premise (FTTP) offering that brings wireline voice, video, and data with connection speeds available at up to 200Mbps for each FiOS-connected home or business.

On the wireless side, Goodman says that as Verizon completes its EVDO RevA upgrades, the wireless network will be able to support the quality of service needed to offer VoIP in a wireless environment that will be managed by SIP and eventually evolve to an IMS architecture.

Goodman notes that “Verizon has no set [timescale for IMS-based services], but [the company] has worked with pre-IMS in the last several years and [IMS is] on the cusp of being viable in 2008.” He continues: “We are also active in bringing together the marketing and business aspects [to create] the synergies or Verizon’s telecom, wireless, and business [divisions.]”

Working to move IMS forward, Goodman says Verizon is making progress with both the vendors and standards bodies and the company is working to reduce the complexity and improve security for network operators. Verizon has also developed an application network interface (like an API for the network) to enable applications that can be created by internal and external developers and, Goodman says the company “is looking to have the ANI next spring (2008) as a test experience to make sure IMS has the right hooks to do that.” Verizon has also created an interoperability forum for invited vendors to help fill in the gaps needed to develop specifications and standards.

Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. Larry Hettick is a principal analyst at Current Analysis.