Alcatel-Lucent today said it shipped more than 125 million Voice over IP subscriber licenses around the world addressing the needs of converged voice, video, data and new applications needs of telecom operators.
Voice over LTE (VoLTE) subscriber licenses comprised the bulk of Alcatel-Lucent’s shipments, with more than 88 million licenses issued. With the deployment of VoLTE, operators will also be able to reduce operational costs by moving to an all IP network, free up precious spectrum to meet increasing demand for mobile broadband, and combine HD voice, video conferencing and data with the lightning speed of 4G LTE networks.
Alcatel-Lucent will be demonstrating its VoLTE solutions at the Mobile World Congress 2014, Barcelona, Spain.
Jeremy Green, Ovum analyst – Industry, Communication, and Broadband, recently, said: “In terms of network operator strategy, we expect to see lots of emphasis on service development aimed at propping up the telcos’ top lines.
Telecom operators will be seeking to demonstrate that the Internet of Things (IoT) opportunity – including smart cities, connected cars, and connected consumer electronics devices – has significant upside potential for them, and that they still have a role as ringmaster and integrator for this type of service. Similarly, there will be talk about how VoLTE, at last being rolled out, will give them the ability to compete with over-the-top (OTT) communications services.
Andrew McDonald, president, IP Platforms, Alcatel-Lucent, said: “Alcatel-Lucent provides an end-to-end VoLTE solution that includes IMS, Evolved Packet Core and RAN. This is important because VoLTE resets the bar for today’s new mobile voice by leveraging tight integration across the device and network. NAR operators will lead the deployment of VoLTE, but it is essential to mobile innovation around the globe.”
“We expect that cumulative revenue generated from newer Session Border Controller (SBC), Voice Application Servers (VAS) and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) Core systems will far exceed that from more mature Softswitch, Media Gateway and Mobile Switching Center (MSC) systems over the next five years,” said Chris DePuy, vice president at Dell’Oro Group.
Dell’Oro Group said as these new systems are deployed at service providers, we expect these operators will be faced with the decision whether to use vendor-supplied hardware or to use off-the-shelf server systems and vendor supplied Network Function Virtualization (NFV) software systems. This architectural transition to NFV presents near-term risks for both operators and vendors, but may provide for more efficient network operations over time.
Over 100 global service providers use Alcatel-Lucent’s IMS solution, which is the communications core for next generation IP networks, including 4G LTE and VoLTE. Alcatel-Lucent has more than 40 4G LTE customers, including a number in the process of deploying VoLTE.
picture source: davenport-campbell.com.au
