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ABSTRACT
The IP multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is a network
functional architecture that is seen as a promising
solution for facilitating multimedia service creation and
deployment, as well as supporting interoperability and
network convergence. IMS allows network operators to
play a central role in traffic distribution, therefore
being more than bit pipes. The move towards all IP
architecture for service delivery appears to be a string
trend. In this context, customers seem to desire an
access to personalized interactive, multimedia services,
on any device and anywhere. This trend introduces
new requirements for network infrastructures. The IMS
is seen as a promising solution for fulfilling these
expectations.
IPTV is defined as multimedia services such as
television/video/audio/text/graphics/data delivered over
IP based networks managed to provide the required
level of quality of service and experience, security,
interactivity and reliability.
The two major technology initiatives of telecom
service providers-deploying IP multimedia subsystem
architecture for fixed/mobile convergence and offering
video services using IPTV-seem to be on a collision
course. At some magical future date IPTV will become
just another IP application in a converged multimedia
infrastructure where services are on-demand,
provisioning and billing are automated, and all network
functions are carved into reusable pieces for easy
packaging.
This paper aims at providing an overview of the IMS
and IPTV together and describing the implementation
details as well as technical issues. In this changing
landscape, the winners will be those companies that
understand consumers' needs, focuses on usability, and
increasing the ARPU by providing voice, video and
data services in a unified package.
1. INTRODUCTION
IPTV is an important element of a multiservice triple
or quadruple play strategy for carriers globally. One of
the problems they face is that these simple bundling
strategies rely on discounting as the main benefit
provided to subscribers. This strategy places a negative
on the profitability of these services and like any other
pricing strategy, is relatively easy to match by
2. CHALLENGES
Service Assurance of next-generation IP services or
ensuring reliability, availability and security of services
such as Voice over IP (VoIP), Internet Protocol-based
TV (IPTV) and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is
one of the most critical issues facing service providers
and their vendors. To compete and succeed, all next
generation IP services must deliver an extremely high
quality of experience.
Now a day there is much competition for broadband
access services between service providers, so they are
thinking about the deploying the IPTV services as part
of bundled service offering - means providing the
voice, data and video services in an unified package
with good quality of service and also in a single bill typically offered at low price than the price of
equivalent services offered separately. This evolution
can help the service providers to retain their customers,
and increase the profitability (increase in ARPU Average Revenue per user).
To implement this evolution service provider should
deploying a common services control architecture that
can support a wide variety of services, and enable the
blending of capabilities into an unified services
packages which offer the end user an unique, seamless
multimedia experience.
Functional Entities
4.1 IPTV Media Control Function (IMCF)
The IMCF is a functional entity that provides the UE
with functions required to control media flows. It
manages the MDFs under its control and handles their
media flow control.
5. Technical Issues
IPTV services bring specific technical issues that have
not yet been fully tackled by IMS standards.
6. Implementation Details
The application server (AS) with service discovery and
selection (SD&S) functions is used to provide service
information for IMS users. It has associations to a
number of media service control servers (MSCF) via
the ISC interface so that it can collect information
about media content available from media delivery
servers achievable through these MSCF servers. This
interface is also used to connect the AS to the IMS core
so that it understands SIP based signalling from IMS
users. The AS supports also Sh interface to the Home
Subscriber Server (HSS) to retrieve user profiles with
all user subscriptions and preferences. Using the
information retrieved from associated media control
servers and applying IPTV user profiles from the HSS
a list of available multimedia services may be created
for a particular IMS user considering its preferences
and subscriptions. Thereby the personalisation, policybased service discovery and value added multimedia
services might be integrated and deployed using this
BUSINESS IMPACTS
IMS based IPTV architecture will provide the
converged services to the customers. Converged
services implies interaction of existing services in a
seamless manner to create new value added services,
like On-Screen Caller ID, getting Caller ID on your TV
and the ability to handle it (send it to voice mail, etc).
These value added services will attract and retain new
customers as well as increase the ARPU.
REFERENCES
[1] ETSI TS 182 027
Telecommunications and Internet converged Services
and Protocols for Advanced Networking (TISPAN);
IPTV Architecture; IPTV functions supported by the
IMS subsystem, ETSI Technical Specification, 2007