Recommended Inclusions in VoLTE IR.92/94 and the IMS standards to achieve GSM-like ubiquity

The industry has seen and tracked how the VoLTE standards have been evolving over time.

GSMA IR.92 – IMS Profile for Voice and SMS, has undergone several revisions. On the same lines IR.94 has been published for video calling.

However, if we compare mobile telephony available today – with the IMS and VoLTE standards – some key gaps remain in the IR.92 guidelines, which in my opinion should be included in the GSMA standards to maintain backwards compatibility for VoLTE deployments.

All open market VoLTE device networks, and IMS vendors follow IR.92 and IR.94 as the golden standard for their implementation, and hence this alignment is important.

Some of the key features, which are “candidates” for inclusion are mentioned below. Some of these have 3GPP references, while others exist in some form or the other in exiting 2G/3G networks which are live today.

In the absence of “golden” guidelines for these issues, getting a GSM-equivalent ubiquitous and mature standards based implementation for VoLTE becomes a challenge –

1. Support for USSD over IMS should be endorsed by IR.92

The USSD standards for IMS have finally been frozen and are available in 3GPP TS 24.390 since Release-11, which happened in Q3 2012.

In some countries, USSD is a central medium to enable Value added Services – which actually contribute to whatever is left in Voice and SMS revenues for the operator.

USSD is also a good medium to integrate customer self care applications directly with back-end content based application servers – for example, we may want the customer to preview and choose a ring back tone through an android application.

On Android OS, it is trivial to dial out a USSD request from an application by using the following lines of code:

String hashString = Uri.encode(“#”);
String shortCode = “*” + hashString + “131” +hashString;
startActivityForResult(new Intent(“android.intent.action.CALL”, Uri.parse(“tel:” + ussd)), 1);

Similarly, incoming USSD responses can be intercepted easily.

However, in order to enable this functionality on a large scale on VoLTE handsets – IR.92 has to endorse the 3GPP specification and provide clear guidelines for implementation at the device side as well as at the network side.

2. Over the Air Function (OTAF) – messages tunneled via SMS and USSD.

OTAF is required for remote provisioning of SIM card information. The secure packet structure of communicating these configurations is defined by 3GPP in TS 31.115.

IR.92 should endorse this specification and include the related call flows in the VoLTE implementation guidelines specification.

The OTAF function has an important role to play in the OSS activation processes, when the customer inserts the SIM card in the handset.

Most OTAF servers connect to the IMS network (IPSMGW) as an ESME function over SMPP. Alternatively, they connect to a USSD gateway if the USSD termination option has to be exercised.

3. Complete SMS over IMS call flows (Ref: 3GPP, IR.92 and GSMA Implementation Guidelines)

The GSMA implementation guidelines as well as the 3GPP specifications do not provide end to end and complete call flows for SMS over IMS, covering all the scenarios.

Only  part call flows are explained where there is no clarity on whether the call flow is depicting IMS to IMS SMS termination or whether one of the SMS legs is from the legacy network (circuit switched).

Moreover, important call flows pertaining to international breakout of SMS messages, SMS initiation/termination when the customer is roaming in UTRAN and GERAN networks are missing.

Clarity on the interconnection of the IPSMGW with ESMEs over SMPP are not mentioned in TS 24.341, and are side-stepped in both IR.92 and the GSMA VoLTE implementation guidelines. As a result, all ESME related services which ride on SMPP are missing in the context of VoLTE.

These details should be clarified and detailed out in subsequent releases of the standards hopefully with clear call flows.

In the interim, vendors are forced to fall back to extrapolating existing 2G architectural details for SMS provided by earlier releases in 3GPP.

4. Support for STAR Code based dialing and detailed guidelines

Star code dialing has been available since GSM. Star codes can be used for activation and de-activation of supplementary services.

The MMTEL standards described in TS 24.173 and its downstream standards for IMS and VoLTE do not standardize or provide any guidelines on the usage of star codes.

This is very important from the perspective of  VoLTE devices vendors as well.

The device vendor has to decide which call flow to invoke based on the user input from the screen (whether to send an INVITE with the star code, or whether to send a standard XCAP request to an Aggregation Proxy server via HTTP)

Star code dialing can also be used for vertical services such as televoting and for other purposes.

This gap needs to be addressed in 3GPP and then ideally endorsed by IR.92. Alternatively, IR.92 can publish guidelines based on the SIP-AS models provided in TS 23.218 and allow device vendors to use star code dialing in VoLTE handsets as a configurable option controlled by OMA-DM.

5. Introducing (IN-like) and Interconnecting with (Existing IN) Toll free services for VoLTE/IMS

The 3GPP IMS architecture defines the IM-SSF (IP Multimedia Service Switching Function), as an entity which interconnects existing 2G/3G IN services with the IMS core network. TS 23.218 defines the IM-SSF formally in the standards.

Some of these services include – Televoting, 1800 toll free calling services, calling card services (for subsidized international calling for example), premium rate services (ITU-T E.155) and others.

For operators with existing 2G and 3G circuit switched core networks, it is possible to use the IM-SSF for bringing these IN services to the IMS architecture and then finally deliver them to VoLTE customers.

However, if there is a greenfield deployment of VoLTE, or a complete migration to LTE is required with no dependency on the IN platform, then this functionality of the IN architecture has to be standardized as part of IMS, and endorsed by IR.92.

3GPP may either directly standardize these applications – like they did for CRS and CAT (Customized alerting tones – also known as CRBT in India) – or 3GPP may work with OMA to define these service enablers formally and then endorse these standards.

In the absence of either of these, IR.92 can directly endorse TS 23.218 IM-SSF architecture for incumbent deployments, and the existing ITU-T recommendations for the benefit of greenfield operators, so that vendors can align to a least common denominator.

At the moment, this service agility is missing from the standards and the SIP Application server models have been defined and the rest is left to vendor innovation (please read this as vendor lock-in).

6. SMS Gateway and peering functionality (think of ESMEs)

Standards define E(SMEs) and their interconnection with SMSCs as part of the SMPP v3.4 and v5 specifications for GSM and UMTS.

However, as we move forward to IMS and VoLTE, the IPSMGW standards do not define any such entity, nor endorse the existing standards of SMPP.

Due to this gap, most of the SMS VAS services, SMS hubbing and SMS gateway services remain un-addressed. Vendors and operators have no choice but to fallback to legacy architectural choices or to support SMPP in the IPSGMW network element.

In markets such as India, SMS VAS services are a major cash cow despite OTTs, and these SMS messages are charged at a premium rate.

The SMPP interface should be included and the ESME functionality should be formally defined in TS 24.341 so that vendor implementations and VoLTE deployments are aligned.

7. Inclusion of MSRP and HTTP(S) for multimedia messaging in VoLTE IR.92/IR.94

It is a well known fact that MSRP and HTTP(S) based file transfer is addressed by GSMA in the RCSe specifications. However, it is required that these are also inlcluded in the scope of VoLTE.

Current MMS messages (even though MMS is dead), rides upon HTTP for file transfer.

With the advent of high speed LTE networks and VoLTE, HTTP and MSRP based file transfer can fuel many applications such as multimedia advertising applications, native support for multimedia messaging in VoLTE handsets (outside RCSe) – to give an integrated multimedia chat and SMS experience on a high speed data network.

Moreover, MSRP can also help in purchasing content from operator-owned content stores or streaming unicast content on-demand.

It is quite surprising that the MMS architecture has been left behind in the IMS standards and IR.92, as it can deliver a lot of value in the current context through innovative content based services.

8. Golden IMS configurations for VoLTE devices

At many occasions, there are configurations required in the VoLTE device which are in addition to the bare minimum list of parameters defined by 3GPP in the IMS Management Object specification.

Some typical examples include the following:

a. RTP keepalive timer values

b. RTCP policies

c. Impact of radio conditions on IMS registration

d. Guidelines for camping priorities between GERAN, UTRAN and E-UTRAN

e. Endorsement of SIP timers given in TS 24.229

f. UE registration re-try behavior endorsement as given in Section-5 of TS 24.229

g. UE star code dialing behavior and resolving conflict of triggering XCAP requests vis-a-vis SIP INVITE requests for dialed star codes by the user

The absence of these details cause implementation and interoperability complexities.

Hence, it is desirable if IR.92 provides an annexure detailing out UE guidelines and golden configuration options which can be followed across VoLTE UE implementations.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, there needs to be a mechanism to include practical implementation pain-points and ensure backwards compatibility in the current IR.92 standards.

All the points listed above are widely deployed in current GERAN and UTRAN implementations with the circuit switched core network.

In the long run as more and more VoLTE devices come in the open market, and IMS deployments expand – these inclusions will help move towards attaining a GSM-like ubiquity for VoLTE.

Please feel free to add to this list or suggest more details/feedback.

IMS and LTE Policy Control for devices of different form-factors.

Background:

With the advent of LTE and IMS, Voice and Video over LTE (VoLTE) is fast becoming a reality. Customers are turning to video services rapidly and data consumption is increasing exponentially. 

Moreover, with multi-screen devices such as smart phones, tablets etc being churned out in millions – customers now own atleast 2 smart devices today. Customers also expect their applications to provide them with a uniform customer experience irrespective of the  device form factor. This holds true for all applications, and it will also be a natural expectation from IMS and VoLTE applications.

Policy Control to the Rescue:

In contrast to OTT (Over the Top) internet traffic and OTT video applications, IMS video applications have a slight edge of policy control and enforcement.

As the form factor of the device increases (from a smart phone to a tablet for example), its data consumption requirements also increase due to the bigger screen size. Moreover, if the customer chooses to play HD content, the throughput requirements would further increase accordingly.

Hence, in order to preserve the customer experience of video applications on multiple screens, it is also important that a sufficient data pipe is provided to the application in order for it to perform uniformly. In addition to the data pipe, video playback latency and jitter control also need to be controlled over the air.

This becomes increasingly important, if we wish to deliver Live TV services and VoD services over IMS.

To mitigate this situation for IMS video applications, we can effectively use the IMS and LTE policy control framework.

Solution Architecture:

The solution uses one of the most ‘ancient’ SIP headers defined by RFC 3261 in conjunction with the DIAMETER Rx interface.

The User-Agent header is defined in Section 20.41 of RFC 3261, and this header is used to provide ‘information’ on the user agent originating the SIP request. This header can be used by IMS User Equipment to provide details on the form factor of the device where the IMS client is executing. Moreover, it should also be possible to provide device pixel details (if available from the OS).

For example, on Android Operating System, the following Java code provides the screen display metrics which can be sent to the the IMS core by using the User-Agent SIP header:

DisplayMetrics dMetrics = new DisplayMetrics();
getWindowManager().getDefaultDisplay().getMetrics(dMetrics);
String str = “Display Metrics Are : ”
+ dMetrics.widthPixels
+ ” x ”
+ dMetrics.heightPixels;

System.out.println(str);

The P-CSCF in the IMS core network can extract the User-Agent header and use the device form factor details on the Rx interface. Based on the device form factor and resolution, the PCRF can enforce appropriate QCIs, UL Bandwidth and DL bandwidth for the specific device in question.

In addition, the P-CSCF also sends the codec information as received in the SDP (Session Description Protocol) to the PCRF. This information coupled with the device form factor and resolution can enable the PCRF to calculate a very accurate measure of the UL and DL bandwidth to enforce. Moreover, this information can also help the LTE network to provide bandwidth boost to premium customers or premium video content.

Discovering the Policy Enabled Architecture:

Policy control is a distinctive edge that the VoLTE architecture provides over traditional OTT video content. The ability of the LTE and the IMS network to accurately calibrate session QoS characteristics is a true differentiator as opposed to best effort video. By leveraging age old SIP headers in conjunction with the PCRF can lead to truely differentiated customer experience.

OTT video provides provide a lot of jitter control, echo cancellation and buffering techniques to enhance customer experience, especially compensating for poor RF conditions or congestion scenarios.

However, none of those techniques can match the realtime QoS enabled architecture of VoLTE, which can guarantee high throughput even in low converage areas of LTE.

This is because LTE radio coverage is not a decisive factor for calculating throughput for customers. Throughput depends on the number of empty resource blocks available in a given eNode-B cell. For a three sector LTE base station, there are 100 resource blocks per sector. This gives a total of 300 resource blocks per base station available for customers.

Throughput is a factor of the number of free resource blocks available for a given subscriber in the LTE cell at that time. Even if the coverage is poor (cell edge conditions), it is possible to provide high throughput to the customer through the policy control architecture.

Operators need to realize the power of the IMS and LTE architecture to truly exploit it and create differentiation in their services.

There are a lot of other hidden nuggets in the combined IMS and LTE network architecture, which I will leave for another discussion and for some other day. Hopefully, engineers from around the world will discover these hidden nuggets and construct innovative policy enabled services for consumers.