The IP multimedia domain: service architecture for the delivery of voice, data, and next generation multimedia applications

The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is defined by the 3(rd) Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) as a new core network domain. IMS provides a service control platform that allows creation of new Multimedia and multi-session applications utilizing wireless and wireline transport capabilities. In this paper we will cover the concepts and standards defining IMS and review the network architecture from a mobile perspective. We will see how IMS interacts with the Packet Switched Domain (e.g. Wireless LAN, GPRS, and UNITS networks), the Internet, and application services. Then we will examine the key IMS capabilities and show how they call be combined to create new mobile IP services. Finally, we present a software architecture, which is enabled by IMS and allows development of unique applications (with multimedia/multi-session functionality, single/multi-user, service to user). The software architecture is illustrated by ail example of a prototype application.