Commander Communications Ltd, a telecommunications operator in Australia, has selected Ericsson's IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) solution to enable its core Ericsson network to access DSLAM connectivity and to allow the deployment of new network hosted multimedia services in its IP network.
With this contract, Ericsson becomes the first company to deliver an IMS solution for Australia, following on from successful deployments in other world markets. The Australian implementation extends to delivery of an IMS-compliant solution for both wireline operations and Internet Service Provider (ISPs) operations.
Lakshman Mawalagedera, Chief Operating Officer for Commander, says: "We are delighted to be taking to market a network architecture that has been enhanced by the adoption of the latest proven technology from Ericsson. It is designed to give us a competitive edge in delivering carrier-grade service to our customers within an IP framework.
"Not only will our existing costs to operate be reduced, but IMS will allow us to offer, over time, differentiated services to our valuable small to medium-sized customers, as well as to our larger enterprise customers. Services, such as hosted IP PBX, alongside traditional Class Five telephony-over-IP, will be early implementations. The total solution will allow us to continue to lower our operational costs, provide seamless managed multi-service products and services while increasing management flexibility."
Ericsson's IMS will also be the platform through which advanced multimedia services, such as video telephony, conference calling, document-sharing web pages (collaboration), presence management, instant messaging and e-mail integration will be delivered to the customer base.
Tony Malligeorgos, Director of Business Development for Ericsson Australia, says: "Commander is now positioned alongside world-leading operators such as Telefónica and BT, which have invested in Ericsson's IMS and softswitch solutions."
Commander's recently announced capital upgrade to its nationwide Australian network is based on Ericsson's IMS Multimedia Telephony solution - Ericsson's IMS-based solution for wireline operators and ISPs.
By integrating Ericsson's IMS solution into Commander's telephony Softswitch solution, Commander will have a single, homogeneous national network capable of supporting traditional voice services. It will also be able to offer information and communications-intensive individuals a range of new services, both mobile and converged, over a single IP core network.
It is anticipated Commander will offer IMS based services to its customers starting in the fourth quarter of 2005.
Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet communications through its continuous technology leadership. Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries, Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful communication companies in the world.
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About Ericsson IMS
Ericsson IMS can provide fixed, mobile and enterprise users with a range of new services such as push-to-talk, combinational services, IP telephony and IP Centrex. Additional IMS services are being developed continuously, making Ericsson IMS a future-proof and cost-effective choice for operators.
Ericsson IMS enables services over packet-based networks and is a cornerstone for an efficient IP-centric network environment. It complies with the 3GPP/3GPP2 IMS. Standards are critical for user adoption as they allow access to services that function seamlessly over networks provided by different suppliers. Ericsson is the leader in the IMS area with 28 agreements for commercial launch or trial throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa.
About Commander Communications Ltd
The Commander business has been tailoring communications technology to meet Australia's business needs nationally for over 20 years. Commander began with office telephone systems and through a series of strategic acquisitions and relationships with leading technology companies, has broadened its expertise to provide a complete communications solution spanning voice, data, internet, mobile and network products and services. In addition to a full range of products, Commander has one of the largest business-dedicated technical forces in Australia. More information is available at www.commander.com.
