Implementing multiple identities in IMS/VoLTE networks using implicit registration

摘要

A new way to use an existing IMS feature - implicit registration - is discussed and demonstrated as a simple and practical mechanism to fully support multiple public identities (e.g., telephone numbers) on an IMS/VoLTE connected endpoint. Combining implicit registration with IMS functionality allowing multiple devices to share the same identity enables telephony services (voice/video/messaging/etc.) to support a many-to-many mapping between identities and endpoints. This breaks the traditional 1:1 mapping of identity to endpoint (phone number to device), and provides parity with conventional (IP connected) applications that support a many-to-many relationship between identities and endpoints or clients. Two new services that provide multiple telephone numbers simultaneously on native VoLTE smartphones and on other VoLTE clients (IMS desk-phones, voice activated telephony appliances, PC and OTT clients, etc.) have been prototyped and demonstrated on a commercial IMS mobile network: a Bring Your Own Device business communication service, and a consumer service that converges 5G residential endpoints with 4G mobile endpoints.