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To hasten the telephone industrys migration to IP infrastructure, IBM today is heralding a new line of IMS-based offerings.
The Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystems products and services aim to speed the migration from legacy telephone facilities to converged infrastructure by using open standards to integrate components from the two environments, according to officials at the Armonk, N.Y., company.
Specific offerings, which the company has not elaborated on, will include hardware and software that help service providers create an IMS-compliant delivery platform. The technology will operate on IBMs eServer BladeCenter T and CarrierGrade Linux platforms.
The IMS technology will be sold in components to reduce the cost of integration and to allow a service provider to upgrade its network in a way that is custom-tailored to its own environment. The technology leverages the current framework to ensure continuity
The IMS projects are being tested in Telecommunications Solutions Labs that IBM disclosed today. The labs—in Beijing; La Gaude, France; Hursley, England; Beaverton, Colo.; Austin, Texas; and Montpellier, Vt.—are being unveiled to help service providers make use of all of IBMs offerings, from research and software to consulting services, the company said.
Legacy telephone operators are gradually embracing IMS architecture. Last month, San Antonio-based SBC Communications Inc. announced it will use IMS-related offerings from Lucent Technologies Inc. to integrate wireless and wire-line services, which Lucent plans to introduce late next year or in early 2007.
Editors Note: This story was updated with more information from the author.