Melding IMS and BREW

By Sue Marek Wireless operators are beginning to deploy IP multimedia subsystem, or IMS, which will allow them to integrate and support many different applications over their network. But what does this new integrated technology mean for those purveyors of the BREW platform? According to Vicki Mealer, director of technology marketing at Qualcomm’s QIS Division, BREW supports the IMS framework and there are many ways that BREW carriers and developers can exploit the additional capabilities that IMS will provide to BREW applications. Getting started The next version of BREW will expose the capabilities of the IMS stack to application developers. Currently Qualcomm’s QCT Division is adding IMS capability to the chip set. That enables handset makers to take advantage of IMS capabilities and meet operator requirements for IMS. “The applications we hear about the most often are video share and push to view,” Mealer says. But once the next version of BREW is released, integrating with IMS will become even easier. Mealer says once that happens, the IMS capability will be incorporated into the BREW layer and the application programming interfaces (APIs) will be exposed to developers. However, that scenario is causing some industry debate. “Will operators want all IMS capabilities exposed to developers?” Mealer asks. “Right now no one has a problem with it.” But Mealer says there is some concern that operators may need a different security model so there aren’t any ongoing issues. Opportunities The integration of BREW with IMS does present some opportunities for both operators and BREW developers. Mealer says that by enabling BREW across the wireline and wireless network, operators can use the same infrastructure they use for their wireless business. In addition, once operators move their wireless applications and capabilities to a common IP layer, a BREW developer could build an application that could extend across both networks (and potentially reach more customers) or extend their current BREW application across networks so that customers could, for example, share files on a PC or on a phone. “Potentially you could have a music sharing service between the two—if you work out the licensing issues,” Mealer says. However, she warns that the company is still working on IMS and its potential for BREW. In the meantime, she says, most of the IMS applications that they are hearing about are coming from the European handset makers. Get an overview of IP-based Multimedia Subsystems (IMS) support in BREW®. IMS enables highly integrated services including video sharing, Push Over Cellular (PoC) and network gaming. BREW support of IMS framework in the client enables development and deployment of compelling applications and services. This session will cover IMS framework, IMS client platform, BREW IMS APIs, and demonstrate potential applications and services.