The IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) is an open, standardized, operator-friendly, next-generation multimedia architecture for mobile and fixed IP services. This report discusses an array of perspectives on IMS and examines relevant services that the Internet provides to customers worldwide.

Service provider organizations have experienced the high costs and disruptions caused by customer churn, since users usually go with better service deals from competitive providers. This book cover various topics related to strategies and experiences on quad-play service design and delivery.

Discusses Internet protocol television (IPTV) and multimedia networks. This book points out the differences between this novel revolutionary technology and regular cable and satellite television services. It provides knowledge and design principles needed for the delivery of IPTV, along with examples from more than 25 technological companies.

Heterogeneous wireless networking, which is sometimes referred to as the fourth-generation (4G) wireless, is a new frontier in the future wireless communications technology and there has been a growing interest on this topic among researchers and engineers in both academia and industry. This book will include a set of research and survey articles featuring the recent advances in theory and applications of heterogeneous wireless networking technology for the next generation (e.g., fourth generation) wireless communications systems. With the rapid growth in the number of wireless applications, services and devices, using a single wireless technology such as a second generation (2G) and third generation (3G) wireless system would not be efficient to deliver high speed data rate and quality-of-service (QoS) support to mobile users in a seamless way. Fourth generation (4G) wireless systems are devised with the vision of heterogeneity in which a mobile user/device will be able to connect to multiple wireless networks (e.g., WLAN, cellular, WMAN) simultaneously. This book intends to provide a unified view on the state-of-the-art of protocols and architectures for heterogeneous wireless networking. The contributed articles will cover both the theoretical concepts and system-level implementation issues related to design, analysis, and optimization of architectures and protocols for heterogeneous wireless access networks.

The increasing diversity of Infonnation Communication Technologies and their equally diverse range of uses in personal, professional and official capacities raise challenging questions of identity in a variety of contexts. Each communication exchange contains an identifier which may, or may not, be intended by the parties involved. What constitutes an identity, how do new technologies affect identity, how do we manage identities in a globally networked infonnation society? th th From the 6 to the 10 August 2007, IFIP (International Federation for Infonnation Processing) working groups 9. 2 (Social Accountability), 9. 6/11. 7 (IT rd Misuse and the Law) and 11. 6 (Identity Management) hold their 3 Intemational Summer School on "The Future of Identity in the Infonnation Society" in cooperation with the EU Network of Excellence FIDIS at Karlstad University. The Summer School addressed the theme of Identity Management in relation to current and future technologies in a variety of contexts. The aim of the IFIP summer schools has been to introduce participants to the social implications of Infonnation Technology through the process of infonned discussion. Following the holistic approach advocated by the involved IFIP working groups, a diverse group of participants ranging from young doctoral students to leading researchers in the field were encouraged to engage in discussion, dialogue and debate in an infonnal and supportive setting. The interdisciplinary, and intemational, emphasis of the Summer School allowed for a broader understanding of the issues in the technical and social spheres.

Starting with the imminent roll-out of the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and fourth-Generation networking technology, Next Generation Networks (NGN) are gradually becoming reality, with charging and Quality-of-Service (QoS) issues as two of the key drivers for the evolution toward the convergent all-IP network of the future. Therefore, the 6th International Workshop on Internet Charging and QoS Technology (ICQT 2009) was devoted to discussing the most recent approaches, models, and mechanisms in this highly interesting and important research area. The present volume of the Lecture Notes in Computer Science series includes those papers presented at ICQT 2009—collocated this year with the IFIP Networking 2009 conference—taking place on May 15, 2009, in Aachen, Germany and hosted by the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH Aachen). For the commercial success of future QoS-enabled communication services, the emergence of viable business models, pricing schemes, and charging and accounting mechanisms is of paramount importance. Problems in this domain can only be addressed through a broad interdisciplinary approach linking together a variety of technical and economic perspectives, which are constantly driving a plethora of relevant research t- ics for application developers, business architects, network providers, service providers, and customers. Within the current trend toward a convergent NGN architecture, compe- tion modeling, pricing mechanisms, and the economics of inter-domain traffic are of specific importance and urgency. Thus, they determined—in the form of three technical sessions—the core of the ICQT 2009 program.

This book commemorates Prof. Dr. René Wagenaar and illustrates the impact he had on research and discussions on research topics. It is divided into four parts, each part relating to a specific area of Prof. Wagenaar’s career and also more or less reflecting the work he did at the three universities that played a role in his career, i.e. Erasmus University of Rotterdam, the Free University of Amsterdam and Delft University of Technology. The first part of the book describes how Prof. Wagenaar started working on EDI and inter-organizational systems at Erasmus University. At the Free University, his research coincided with the Internet growth and hype, and he became focused on e-Commerce and the role of Virtual Merchant, as discussed in part two. In 2001, he assumed his position at Delft, and refocused his research on e-Government, and on infrastructure and service-related projects. At Delft, socio-technological designs have a prominent position in both education and research. His involvement in and impact on research and education starting from a socio-technical approach are discussed in contributions in part three. In part four, some contributions are bundled that address a number of issues in which Prof. Wagenaar was interested and left his marks on, like mobile technologies, business models, privacy issues and standardization.

Today it is almost impossible to remember what life was like with no computer, no mobile phone, and no Internet for accessing information, performing tra- actions or exchanging emails and data. New technology is bringing wave after wave of new bene?ts to daily life: organisations are doing business with each other via the Internet; people are ?lling in tax declarations online and booking their next vacation through the Internet. In general we are all progressively - ing (and dependent on) software and services running on computers, connecting mobile phones and other devices, and exchanging information on the Internet. People like to shop around and exercise choice. So do businesses and public administrations. Today they can buy a complete software package that best suits their needs, even though they may never use some of the tools it o?ers, or other desirable tools are not available. In the future they may no longer have to compromise on choice. Alternative approaches like “Software as a Service” and “Computing Resources as a Service” are emerging. Software is provided on-line as a service when and where it is needed, and the same for computing resources needed to run software. Such an approach allows individuals and organisations totapintoande?ectivelyharnesstheimmensewealthofinformation,knowledge and analytical resources when they need them, paying only for what they use. Customersareboundtobene?twhenthereisasu?cientlyrichchoiceofservices.

What is the future of mobile services? In order for mobile services to achieve the scale, scope, and agility required to keep them relevant and successful, a number of fundamental technical and business challenges need to be addressed. The Fabric of Mobile Services provides readers with a solid understanding of the subject, covering short-and long-term considerations and future trends that will shape thistechnological evolution. Beginning with an introduction that brings readers up to speed on the mobile services environment, the book covers: The business of mobile services Mobile user location as a service enabler Simplicity and user experience The always-on infrastructure challenge Underpinnings of mobile opportunism Design patterns for mobile services Advanced services of today and tomorrow Complemented with case studies and end-of-chapter summaries that help facilitate readers' comprehension, The Fabric of Mobile Services is essential reading for researchers, engineers, software engineers, students, and anyone working in the mobile services industry.

Taking an in-depth look at the mobile communications ecosystem, this book covers the two key components, i.e., Network and End-User Devices, in detail. Within the network, the sub components of radio access network, transmission network, core networks, services and OSS are discussed; component level discussion also features antenna diversity and interference cancellation techniques for smart wireless devices. The role of various standard development organizations and industry forums is highlighted throughout. The ecosystem is strengthened with the addition of the Technology Management (TM) component dealing mostly with the non-technical aspects of the underlying mobile communications industry. Various aspects of TM including technology development, innovation management, knowledge management and more are also presented. Focuses on OFDM-based radio technologies such as LTE & WiMAX as well as MBWA (Mobile Broadband Wireless Access) Provides a vital addition to the momentum of EVDO and its migration towards LTE Emphasis on radio, core, operation, architectural and performance aspects of two next generation technologies - EPS and WiMAX Includes discussion of backhaul technologies and alternatives as well as issues faced by operators switching to 3G and Next Generation Mobile Networks Cutting-edge research on emerging Gigabit Ethernet Microwave Radios and Carrier Ethernet transport technologies Next Generation Mobile Communications Ecosystem serves as a practical reference for telecom associated academia and industry to understanding mobile communications in a holistic manner, as well as assisting in preparing graduate students and fresh graduates for the marketplace by providing them with information not only on state-of-the-art technologies and standards but also on TM. By effectively focusing on the key domains of TM this book will further assist companies with improving their competitiveness in the long run. Importantly, it will provide students, engineers, researchers, technology managers and executives with extensive details on various emerging mobile wireless standards and technologies.