Next Generation Communications Blog

June 2010

You are browsing the archive for June 2010.

How Network Providers Fit in the Mobile Advertising Value Chain

By Susan J. Campbell   Mobile advertising is exploding as a whole new way to reach consumers with more personalized content and allow network providers to establish a new, sustainable business model.

As this is a whole new world, it can be difficult for network providers to figure out where they fit in this value chain. Once they establish their place, however, the possibilities can be endless.

In the past, network providers could "sell" certain information about their subscriber base to interested parties. They could also align partnerships with advertising providers based on the cumulative activity of the subscriber base.



Best Practices for Creating an Effective Advertising Ecosystem

By Susan J. Campbell

Network providers are facing a whole new set of obstacles as consumers are demanding more from the network, but want to pay less for what they receive. Much of this demand includes rich content - much of it video - that strains the network infrastructure and presents new challenges for survival.

On the flip side, those network providers who can meet this growing demand will find much loyalty from their customers. They will also find that they can easily drive new revenue streams, generate demand for new services and even charge a premium when they achieve differentiation. The question for many of these network providers is how to achieve this level without working themselves out of the game in the process. The answer is in personalization that is privacy protected.



Selecting the Right Business Model to Enable the Delivery of New Applications and Services

By David Sims According to a recent Alcatel-Lucent-published study, supporting the business case for enablement of third-party applications is still "a significant challenge for network providers," one that requires "analysis, planning and understanding of implicit tradeoffs." For the majority of network providers, the difficulty in building a business case is the single largest obstacle to launching new "application developer friendly" initiatives, Alcatel-Lucent finds: "Many network providers are overwhelmed by the seemingly daunting task of developing an application and content provider program business case that simultaneously addresses strategic, financial and competitive imperatives." This challenge is further amplified by the rapid pace of change in the application and content ecosystem as well, company officials say. There is a way for network providers to overcome this challenge. Alcatel-Lucent has performed economic modeling with the goal of providing a solid understanding of the basic business case options, including key revenue and cost components, drivers and tradeoffs between models and scenarios. Naturally tailoring to each individual network provider's implementation and context is required. Analysis, based on multiple business models and NPs key decision components, leads to "a practical economic and technical situation for ACP collaboration implementation," Alcatel-Lucent officials say. The insights, which are spelled out in greater detail in the paper itself, are based on Alcatel-Lucent primary research using a broad representation of network providers worldwide. However, one significant challenge with building the business case for ACP collaboration is the myriad of potential approaches for engagement. Network providers are challenged with selecting an appropriate approach and building a business case that is aligned with their strategic goals and tailored to
their individual situation. To that end, Alcatel-Lucent has identified core business models, representing the major approaches employed by network providers for ACP collaboration. The top three business models are summarized briefly here: Operator Led. This is the model where a network provider takes full responsibility for the program and establishes direct, standardized relationships with many ACPs. Aggregator.

How IP Transformation and My IC Phone Benefits the Hospitality Market

By Susan J. Campbell   If you think about the hospitality market, the key focus is to create the most optimal experience for the customer. It doesn't matter if the experience has to do with a room, food, service, communications or scheduling an event, the customer must feel like they are the most important person ever to walk into the establishment.

Now that more and more companies - including those operating in the hospitality market - are moving to an "all-IP" environment, the opportunity to enhance the customer experience has expanded to connectivity. With the "My IC Phone" from Alcatel-Lucent, customers gain access to reliable, fast and convenient access to multimedia communications capabilities. 
  This new solution is designed to revolutionize the desk phone in order to create and deliver personalized mashups or industry-tailored applications. The business traveler can take advantage of an open platform and a new interface that utilizes multi-touch display, Bluetooth and USB support.


How Can Industrializing the Onboarding Process Enable Niche Applications?

By Susan J. Campbell

There is much value in a content provider's ability to build and launch new applications on their own network. As a result, network providers are working to ensure content providers, or ACPs, can achieve this goal. To do so, network providers are automating their developer and application onboarding processes to support demand for niche applications that in the past were not economical. 
  In taking this approach, network providers are creating new revenue opportunities through the expansion of their role in the Web value chain. By evolving their application and content provider collaboration programs and placing greater emphasis on bringing third-party applications to their customers, network providers enhance their own value.

To accomplish this, network providers must industrialize their developer onboarding and application approval processes.




Alcatel-Lucent Demonstrates Power of 100G with Softbank Telecom

By Susan J. Campbell

Network traffic has increased exponentially as consumers and businesses alike are demanding video streaming and on-demand solutions through their desktops, laptops, notebooks, tablets and smartphone devices. Alcatel-Lucent is developing solutions to help carriers meet this growing demand.

Softbank Telecom Corp. recognized the value offered in Alcatel-Lucent's 100G solutions. With help from Alcatel-Lucent, Softbank will deploy its next-generation optical networking solution with the ability to scale up to 100 gigabits per second. 
  Alcatel-Lucent is making its 100G-capable 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) featuring next-generation coherent technology available for Softbank. The carrier's network backbone will require fewer regeneration sites and enjoy a reduced operational cost and power consumption.

This Next-Generation Coherent technology from Alcatel-Lucent is designed to deliver unprecedented resilience to optical transmission impairments across the network.






Using Managed Services to Improve Competitiveness

By Susan J. Campbell

In a world where consumers continue to demand more from their network providers, those who are able to deliver on these demands will find they can thrive. Merely wanting to achieve this level is not nearly enough to make it happen, however, and key strategies must be in place to drive the Quality of Service (QoS) to deliver the optimal Quality of Experience (QoE).

For many a network operator, QoS and QoE are accomplished by implementing a managed services platform to maximize carried traffic with minimum network infrastructure. It may seem like a contradiction in terms, but if you sit back and take the entire situation into consideration - network operators want to effectively compete, but they don't want to add to their infrastructure.

This is where managed services can deliver what is needed. A company like Alcatel-Lucent provides the tools for constant monitoring, advanced problem detection, extensive diagnostic capability and vendor-independent traffic controls, capacity planning and service-level management.





Smart Buildings: The Time is Right

By Susan J. Campbell

Now that the lingo is in place, it no longer seems weird to apply adjectives such as "smart" and "intuitive" to inanimate objects. The previous generation would have likely laughed at the thought of calling a building "smart" but in this day of green initiatives and eco-sustainability, smart buildings are no longer the innovation of the future, but the desired design of today.

If you take a closer look at our treatment of the environment today, communications technology accounts for roughly 2 percent of global carbon emissions. This figure is expected to double by 2020 - especially if we continue on this current path as the demand for broadband services will also continue to grow.

It is essential to curb these emissions and reduce environmental impact through innovative solutions.





Digital Advertising Creates New Revenue Opportunities for Network Providers

By Susan J. Campbell
  As the game is constantly changing for network providers, one of the biggest challenges they face is to keep customers happy while also driving strong streams of revenue. Consumers are demanding new and better content on multiple devices and network providers are under constant pressure to deliver on quality.

The good news is there are ways to capitalized on this opportunity of new consumer demands. Consumers today want personalized, location-based information. In order to get that information and content, they must be able to provide information back to the network provider and subsequent partners.


Multimedia Integration Services Have New Micro-architecture of the MSFT Media Room IPTV Offer

By Susan J. Campbell

New service offerings will be the lifeblood of service provider business as consumers continue to demand better and richer content on a variety of screens. Those service providers who cannot deliver will find customer churn increasing. To avoid this problem, Alcatel-Lucent has developed a set of solutions.

These Multimedia Integration Services have been developed to help service providers to introduce a wide array of new service offerings, while also helping them to deepen their connections with subscribers by making it easier to access content wherever they are, and on any screen they prefer.

With Alcatel-Lucent's multimedia strategy, service providers can enjoy seamless connections between the various multimedia deliver systems available. A comprehensive strategy will focus on the delivery of a wide array of services to any location and will support these solutions.





Alcatel-Lucent to Host 100G Press Conference

By Erin Monda

Alcatel-Lucent, a leader in the fixed, mobile, and converged broadband networking industry, will host a live Web conference on June 9 to announce its latest advances in optical transport technology. The company intends to help service providers overcome capacity challenges presented by bandwidth intense services and applications.

A company spokesperson provided me with this insight into the announcement:  "We believe that the data tsunami is really the issue of the decade. The solution we plan to present next week will help our customers overcome their bandwidth challenges today and pave the way to offer new solutions in the future."
  Alcatel-Lucent considers higher-speed Ethernet to be critical in managing traffic demands. And it remains a pack leader when it comes to 100 Gigabit Ethernet capabilities. Last year, it was the first company in the industry to provide a serving router for the edge, where service providers need it most.




Reduce OPEX While Improving QoS with Self Organizing Networks

By Susan J. Campbell

Operational expenditures (OPEX) are a necessary evil in the larger organization. When it comes to managing the network however, network operator decision makers can improve the quality of service delivered to the customer base - a key focus in a market dedicated to developing customer loyalty - while also reducing OPEX when the network is able to organize itself to achieve maximum efficiency.

Alcatel-Lucent's self-organizing network (SON) technology is specifically designed by Bell Labs to reduce network planning, deployment and optimization costs as it automates the configuration and optimization of the femtocell. The result is higher throughout and faster, more reliable data connections that ensure the experience is optimized for all involved.

With this higher throughout and more reliable data connections, the femtocells can increase the uptake of 3G services, thereby generating additional revenues from services the network operator already offers.





Featured Events