Interview with Dr. Ayal Itzkovitz, CEO, Convergin

Has IMS deployment gained any significance so far?

Ans: IMS architecture is extremely important and it is certainly happening. We saw it in 2005 and I think we see it now in 2006 as well. We enable IMS in the operators’ network so we have a first hand experience here. IMS is pushing its way in from all the angles. It is coming from wireless, wireline as well as cable MSOs.

Please tell us a bit about what your Service Capability Interaction Management (SCIM) product.

Ans: SCIM in IMS architecture is the layer in service control allowing the connectivity between the various application servers and the switching layer below that. It is being used for the migration to IMS as well. In a hybrid network you have legacy services and legacy switches that you want to evolve towards IMS. You can also have nextgen switches and nextgen service platforms that you want to evolve towards IMS. A SCIM layer is what will allow various technologies to interact with each other. It allows for service provision not only from the existing legacy platforms but also from the nextgen platform. So operators can actually leapfrog any investment that they would need to have in their legacy platforms and they can start to evolve the network in the service layer to nextgen services that will apply not only to nextgen client but also to existing one.

On the other hand, by using the SCIM , operators can actually start to deploy new clients and new technology like dual mode handsets, SIP clients and other type of IP devices. These devices will not live only in the IP world. They  will actually get connected to the existing services already in the network and these devices and elements will actually get integrated in the network in a transparent way.

So we see SCIM as the layer in which operators can actually start to experiment and evolve the network towards nextgen platforms while maintaining their ROI and experience with the nextgen clients. That is basically a very high level explanation of SCIM layer that we are providing.

Our SCIM can also handle voice call continuity and handovers between the various networks such as between WiFi and Cellular networks.

Who are your competitors in this space?

Ans: Before I will go into competition, I would say our SCIM is actually intended to be a product that is part of an IMS deployment of a network. Our SCIM with a softswitch has lot of merits in becoming a gateway MSC and actually a full switching convergence solution. Our SCIM with application server becomes a full service solution for the entire subscriber base. If you look at it this way, then our competition would be other vendors that would decide to extend their existing capabilities towards convergence. That is either softswitches that will extend towards convergence or application servers that will extend towards convergence. That might be the competition. These vendors are our partners but can also be a competition for us. The top vendors have GSM, CDMA or IMS portfolio. With our SCIM they can mediate between those technologies. We connect to the existing network and will allow them to have a migration path towards IMS. So I would say may be the competition comes from the companies that do MSC servers.

You had a major partnership with Tekelec recently. Can you tell us a bit about that relationship?

Ans: This partnership is all around FMC and IMS. We announced a partnership with Tekelec in September. Tekelec is incorporating our wireless convergence server (WCS), which is our SCIM solution, for migration to IMS. Tekelec supplies softswitches or application servers while the supply of signalling solution is actually now incorporating SCIM  for FMC and for IMS.

For the switching part Tekelec has its T 9000 switching environment and distributed switching system. Tekelec also has T 6000 which is an application server and together with SCIM this all becomes an end to end solution for fixed mobile convergence. Tekelec is one of the top 5 vendors in media gateways for wirless market and with our solution offering a full gateway MSC will allow them to expand towards the IMS in a way that it also allows SIP services to run on the network including their own T 6000, which is VoIP application server.

Our partnership with Tekelec has been very successful. We have announced a joint customer which is MiRS in Israel. We are engaged together in some more customer wins that will be announced later. In addition we are involved in trials at tier 1 operators for this solution.

Tekelec had a relationship with Spatial Wireless which was acquired by Alcatel. Do you think there is some kind of an overlap here between you and (formerly) Spatial Wireless?

Ans: There is no overlap in the solutions for the existing wireless market. Spatial Wireless in conjunction with Tekelec are providing full MSC and competing with MSC vendors. We on the other hand with Tekelec actually do not have the capability of being a serving MSC like Spatial Wireless has in the legacy network. What we provide Tekelec a gateway MSC and FMC solution that will enable not only serving legacy clients and legacy networks but also nextgen networks. This is something that we are doing together with Tekelec and there is no overlap with Spatial. Tekelec is actually a supplier to Spatial for media gateways to major carriers in the US and outside the US. Our solution comes into play with Tekelec for providing full FMC solution to the customer.

Any examples where your product is helping wireless carriers bring in additional services such as VoBB, or existing wireline VoBB providers offering wireless services in addition through your product?

Ans: We have a customer called Unefon in Mexico. They are using VoBB to access customers that they do not ‘own’. Unefon is a CDMA operator with more than 2 million subscribers. They were looking to reach homes of their customers and also markets such as Mexican expatriates living in US. VoBB was the way to penetrate such markets.

Unefon is a wireless operator with 100% prepaid customer base. They have an IN solution for prepaid in the network. All the subscribers or traffic is actually managed by these prepaid systems. VoBB was not possible for Unefon unless it would connect to their IN services in network. We helped them connect VoBB to their back-end VPN and prepaid system. Without a proper interaction manager, and without the ability to mediate between legacy services and new clients, they would not have been able to launch this service commercially.

Other examples would be cable operators that are offering MVNO services. The integration to mobility is something that we also provide. For example if you want to have a single number between a fixed wireline (VoBB) and the cellular or an integrated device when you are roaming outside,  you need the connectivity to the HLR and to the various services in the network. Again a wireless convergence server at the core of network or SCIM like solutions of ours is essential there.

How much time do you think service providers will take in evolving fully towards IMS?

Ans: Full IMS is actually still in trials. However, doing FMC is a driver for IMS. And I do believe that FMC is happening today. We announced some commercial installations and we have lot of others coming up. I would say networks will evolve towards IMS but it will take time. I think it will probably take 10 years time for networks evolving fully towards IMS.