The operator has been building 4G services based on IMS for a decade but it needed to handle more connections to better support VoLTE
Orange Polska revealed it has just expanded and modernised its IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), the network platform used to provide multimedia services over its IP network. The operator’s call management platform was last upgraded around 2016 but the number of services it offers and subscribers it has has grown since then necessitating a better platform to provide the interaction between different types of communication, such as voice, video and text – all with a higher service availability and security.
Services that rely on this platform include voice calls in VoLTE and VoWiFi technology, video calls ViLTE , SMS in Wi-Fi Calling , and emergency calls. Orange set about the upgrade by adding an additional infrastructure node to the new IMS platform, essentially to boost capacity. Now it can simultaneously handle more connections, users and devices. Higher availability of services also translates into improved network security and resilience.
In a blog post, the operator said the last point was very important aspect also in the context of increasingly popular VoLTE voice calls. These use the IMS platform and the operator needs more network resources for them. In February, calls in this technology accounted for over 70% of all voice traffic in the Orange network. Some of this was driven by the 3G switch-off driving traffic onto VoLTE.
Virtual world
Network functions are fully virtualised on the new platform. An example given is setting up a voice connection between two people, authorising a user and allowing them to access the network, redirecting a call or setting call priority. Virtualisation allows for more flexible management of the platform and faster response to potential failures. Virtualisation included partial migration to the cloud
The launch of the new IMS platform and its modernisation was accompanied by the migration of services. Orange transferred a dozen or so of them – among them, Business IP Telephony and consumer VoIP telephony. IMS also allows Orange to provide a substitute service for landline telephony. The user can transfer a landline number to a SIM card and use it in a specified area. Prepaid has already been migrated but Orange is still working on making call waiting work in all configurations.
The operator pointed out that not all services have made the migration as yet. For example, ViLTE is excluded from the Ekstra eSIM service. Orange is working on implementing and adapting Ekstra eSIM to the ViLTE technology as the EVS codec is similar. However, while modernising the IMS platform is a step in this direction, it is not the only condition for implementation.
Today, the IMS platform is mainly associated with the LTE network, but its capabilities are greater. In the future, it will allow Orange to implement VoNR (Voice over New Radio) technology, i.e. voice calls made in the 5G network.
Network investments
Orange Polska invested over PLN 2 billion last year, focusing in particular on the development of 5G and the modernisation of its radio access network, as well as fibre investments as part of EU projects. After deducting revenues from the sale of real estate, the eCapex indicator amounted to PLN 1.8 billion.
At the end of December, Orange Światłowód (fire service) was already used by almost 1.6 million individual customers. In the last three months of the year, 72 thousand of them were added, including 26 thousand as a result of Orange’s purchase of local operators. Over the entire year, the number of fiber users increased by over 200,000. The operator is consistently expanding the reach of Orange Światłowód and currently 9 million households in the country can use it.
Convergent home service packages are already used by nearly 1.8 million customers , which is 85,000 more than a year earlier. The number of mobile subscription customers at the end of the year was nearly 9.2 million , and during the year it increased by over 250,000, and in the fourth quarter alone by 66,000.
