The next generation of communications will be social, contextual and collaborative. We are currently seeing a big rise of social networking web sites with user-generated content - MySpace, YouTube etc. where people exchange content and communicate. As a result of growing social networking, the integration of handset, UI, Services and Network is breaking down.
Services that are vertically tied to a device, or to a network, or to clients of a single operator, will find it more and more difficult to meet market demands. Today's customers are used to create buddylists and communicate with a worldwide audience regardless of any operator constraints.
Furthermore, Internet Players may launch Mobile telephony services competing with incumbent operators. They have portfolios of advanced collaboration and community applications. Internet portals have already hundreds of millions of users, so their potential mobile service offerings would have a network of buddies from day one.
However IMS has unique network based assets (such as authentication, identification, billing, etc.) that are still not shared and are still locked within IMS.

What are the main objectives of this Project?

The study will define and promote an IMS 2.0 Framework where Telcos are at the centre of a "circle of trust". Moreover, the study will show how each IMS 2.0 enabler is a connector to an ecosystem.

The objectives of this study are to:

• analyze current web 2.0 business models, technologies, and future trends

• study new business models where Telcos act for example as "service brokers" for social network services, starting from current Web 2.0 model, to how IMS 2.0 could fit with Web 2.0

• define related use cases that leverage IMS 2.0

• define IMS 2.0 related enablers that leverage the IMS potential to act as a business broker and service facilitator

• sketch out the global architecture of the IMS 2.0 framework

• provide recommendations towards standardisation bodies.