Earlier this month I travelled to Kranj, Slovenia, along with many of the world’s top telecom engineers, for several days of RCS VoLTE interoperability testing. The RCS VoLTE Interoperability Test (IOT) Event was truly a global affair with testing being done simultaneously in China and Slovenia.
The mobile landscape in all regions is changing rapidly—data growth is outpacing revenues and doubling every 12 months, and operators are beginning to deploy their LTE networks to meet this demand. This event brought together vendors and operators, working together to validate key network interfaces to ensure multi-vendor deployment strategies for Rich Communications Suite (RCS), Voice over LTE (VoLTE), LTE, Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS) technology.
For this event we supplied our MRF (software media server) for integration testing in a full-featured multi-vendor LTE/IMS environment; the Software Media Server functioned as an IMS Media Resource Function (MRF) in the network, delivering the Real Time Protocol (RTP) media processing requirements for a long list of VoLTE and RCS interoperability use cases. We also provided a prototype IMS video application server and video User Element to demonstrate these use cases. Just as importantly, we brought our technical expertise to the table, and over the course of the three weeks worked with our peers to build this multi-vendor, end-to-end LTE network that could be deployed in the real world.
Once in Slovenia, we got our MRF up and running and worked with our partner Genband to determine which RCS call flows would be tested on their equipment. There are a number of RCS use cases that our MRF solution supports right now including conversational video such as two-way video calling with video ringback message or video conferencing supporting a number of participants. The test calls worked, and it was great to see our MRF functioning correctly when accessed by the complete LTE network at the event.
So what did we come away with?
- Open industry standards work. This is no surprise. We’ve long known this at Radisys as demonstrated by our commitment to building one of the largest portfolios of standards-based embedded wireless infrastructure solutions in the industry. Operators will leverage products from multiple vendors when building their networks, and our MRF met the test.
- VoLTE and RCS services are critical for mobile operators growing their revenue stream from their LTE infrastructure investments. Thus interoperability among all network elements in an IMS multi-vendor ecosystem is very important to ensure the best media experience for a mobile operator’s VoLTE and RCS subscribers. Our MRF was able to deliver the services that operators must provide to grow revenue.
- There are still challenges ahead. This event allowed us to gain first-hand experience in supporting VoLTE and RCS services in a multi-vendor IMS ecosystem. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure that we are providing an integrated MRF solution that meets our customers’ needs. Based on the testing results, we are well positioned to meet these challenges.
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