IBM tries to break into mobile operators' back rooms

Mobile network operators, particularly those coming from a telephony background, have enormously complicated infrastructure that has grown organically with new systems strapped on to supply new services. The last big challenge was updating the billing systems to get some revenue out of all those services, but now operators want to shift to IP-based networks to enable more-flexible (and cheaper) infrastructure that will play nicely with VoIP networks and enable a whole range of new services.

The next generation of telephony

Not that IBM is alone in finding ways to help mobile operators usher in the next generation of telephony. BT has been in this market since its inception and recently announced wholesale integration with VoIP on a pre-paid basis, for the network operator whose credit rating isn't what it should be.