New versatile service engine to support key IMS market requirements for wireless, wireline and cable operators
Nortel has today announced aggressive plans to evolve its wireless and wireline platforms to the Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (ATCA).
As part of its strategy to provide open, carrier grade solutions, Nortel is bringing to market a second generation, carrier grade ATCA-based platform—the Versatile Service Engine (VSE)—to support the unique market requirements of wireless, wireline and cable operators.
Nortel’s Call Session Control Function (CSCF), which is in multiple global customer trials, will be the first IMS product delivered on the VSE platform, with planned commercial availability in the second quarter of 2006. Nortel intends to introduce additional IMS and core products such as the IMS Home Subscriber Server (HSS), wireline/wireless call servers (MSC) and Home Location Registers (HLR) on the VSE in 2006 and 2007, enabling significant operational savings for service providers as these ATCA-based platforms are deployed within one common environment.
The VSE delivers an extensive set of carrier class features that give service providers a 50 percent increase in shelf density, significant circuit pack commonality between platforms and “flight recorder” capabilities that enable system restoration without data loss. For Nortel customers around the world, Nortel’s ATCA-based design leadership being delivered on the VSE will help reduce the footprint of network core components, increase network capacity, improve reliability and flexibility, as well as provide greater choice and interoperability of product components.
Standardizing Nortel’s core IMS components on the ATCA-based VSE ensures solutions are delivered with robust commercially available components. The value of ATCA-based IMS architecture will become even more compelling as wireline and wireless core networks begin to converge.The new Nortel IMS release is not only designed to bring operators the openness of ATCA standardization but also give service providers access to empowered services such as converged mobility that enable subscribers to transparently move across cellular and WiFi domains with voice and multimedia services.
Nortel has been working to define and develop modular communications platforms built upon ATCA, carrier grade software and other industry standards. As part of this initiative, Nortel is working closely with Motorola’s Embedded Communications Computing division and Intel to incorporate modular communications server building blocks into its ATCA system architectures to enable faster time to market and superior network performance for Nortel’s customers worldwide.
Nortel is delivering one of the most open IMS implementations in the market. Nortel’s open, standards-based IMS solution is being trialed globally by operators across wireless, wireline and cable markets to enable rapid development and delivery of differentiated IMS SIP-enabled services. Nortel is a leader in delivering SIP applications and is working with its IMS ecosystem partners to deliver one of the industry’s most advanced and flexible IMS solutions.