Small cells are a boon for mobile network operators, as they easily and cheaply expand wireless network connectivity. However, they also can strain an operator’s evolved packet core (EPC).
“The EPC may be called upon to deliver a significant increase in scale, capacity, and performance beyond that which was required initially to support the macro-cellular network,” noted David Nowoswiat, Sr. Product and Solutions Marketing Manager, Alcatel-Lucent in a recent TechZine posting, Is your EPC ready for the small cells onslaught? He suggests that operators look at three areas when examining if their EPC is up for the challenge.
First, is the network architecture ready for numerous small cells. Two of the options involve the addition of a small cell gateway to aggregate control and/or user traffic from a group of small cells back to the EPC, while a third option brings direct connectivity from each small cell to the EPC.
Adding a small cell gateway reduces the scaling and capacity requirements of the EPC but increases the network and operations complexity, and connecting the EPC directly to each small cell significantly increases its scalability and performance requirements yet keeps the network flat. Each operator will need to assess what makes sense in their particular case.
Second, does the EPC support the scaling and performance of the additional small cells load.
“If it’s directly connected to the small cell network, the biggest impact is on the control plane and the mobility management entity (MME) -- with all of the additional signaling that’s required,” noted Nowoswiat. But the EPC also should support an integrated and operationally simple model.
Third, is the mobile operator to offload data to take some of the load off of the EPC. Local breakout options can be implemented in small cell networks to offload data traffic that brings little value to the mobile operator, thus saving the EPC from added load. In that case, though, the EPC must support the requirements necessary to redirect traffic to the appropriate gateway and packet data network.
Nowoswiat questions whether most EPCs are up to the challenge. Is a virtual EPC a better option and a way to handle the extra load from small cells? While the answer is “it depends,” to learn more about EPC and small cell network choices the whitepaper Evolved Packet Core for Small Cell Networks, which compares architecture options, is a great place to start.
Carriers’ mobile networks are extremely vulnerable to sudden changes in the signaling behavior of popular applications. In fact, Patrick McCabe, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Alcatel-Lucent, devolves into this subject in some detail in a recent blog, Google’s power to impact network signaling. In fact, while Google Cloud Messages provide an example in the blog, the companies recent Mobile Device Report goes into the topic regarding the impact of the top mobile apps on signaling in greater detail.
Google Cloud Messaging for Android, according to the search giant, is a service that allows data to be sent from the App Engine or other backends to users’ Android-powered devices. That could involve the transmission of a lightweight push notification telling an Android application that there is new data to be accessed from the server (like a movie uploaded by a friend) or a message containing up to 4kb of payload data (so apps like IM can consume the message directly).
Such apps and interactions, however, can have a notable and negative impact on both mobile networks and the endpoints connected to them, according to McCabe. And, in the case of Google Cloud Messaging for Android there is ample evidence it already has.
The study by Alcatel-Lucent indicated there was a dramatic increase in signaling traffic from Jan. 12 to Feb. 19 due to the Google Cloud Messaging application. That involved a Jan. 12 signaling increase from 17 percent to 20 percent. Then, on Feb. 4, such signaling went from 21 percent to a peak 23 percent. Signaling relative to this Google application returned to expected levels on Feb. 19, according to Alcatel-Lucent, which added that these variations were not due to any increases in active subscribers.
The reason why Alcatel-Lucent is highlighting this is to increase awareness of the challenges for the signaling network and the mobile network at large, as well as a drain on related user endpoints (in this case Android smartphones) that the explosion in applications is causing.
“Although a rise in signaling share from 17 percent to 23 percent on a single application may appear rather innocuous at first, it does have a significant impact on mobile networks,” writes McCabe, based on information derived from Alcatel-Lucent’s the Motive Wireless Network Guardian for mobile network analysis. “During this period of signaling increase, an average erosion of 6 percent in overall signaling capacity was experienced across the networks that were analyzed. This is a costly loss that can place a large strain on radio resources, and it can even cause outages in locations that were already operating close to capacity — or where there was a dominant proportion of Android users.”
Concentration of the impact of the increasingly app-centric use of the network tends to look almost exclusively at traffic in general. However, in order for all of those apps to work with a high quality of service (QoS) the signaling network needs to be able to understand accommodate the spikes the various types of apps can cause. It is why having network visibility into app impact on signaling is so important.
]]>There a few things more confounding to mobile service providers in hotly contested markets than missing out on opportunities to generate more revenues and profits from what have been lightly used services. This is particularly the case in the United States where unlike much of the world where prepaid services are the norm, it is estimated that roughly 19 percent of U.S. subscribers avail themselves of these services.
That said, and despite some cultural and addressable market challenges, U.S. mobile services providers can change the game in their favor as prepaid is already experiencing significant growth due to a variety of factors, and if done correctly is poised according to research firm Yankee Group is to grow over the next few years faster than the overall telecommunications.Source: Yankee Group North America Mobile Forecast, December 2012
As Barbara Sampson, Senior Market Manager, Policy & Charging (P&C) Marketing, Alcatel-Lucent highlighted in a recent TechZine posting, Make the most of prepaid mobile plan growth, based on extensive research by Alcatel-Lucent found that prepaid suffers from:
To help U.S. operators fulfill and hopefully exceed the forecasts, SurePay® is Alcatel-Lucent’s solution that ensures there is a prepaid charging system in place that is flexible, scalable, and exceeds service provider and their customers’ expectations.
This is part of a series of postings (see below) relating to what options SurePay provides that U.S. mobile service providers can employ to maximize the prepaid opportunities. However, as a introduction to the detail in those postings it is instructive to look at what SurePay is and does.
Prepaid market realities and the role of SurePay
What research has confirmed is that mobile subscribers want to build their own price plans based on their demographics and usage behavior. Subscribers want to control all elements within a “custom” package, such as fixed minute increments, SMS, and data volumes. They are also demanding control over what applications they subscribe to and how much they pay. Legacy charging infrastructures are limited. However, with SurePay, operators can create and deploy marketing, user, and operation interfaces that define and modify price plans and promotions. It effectively guides and supports operators as they create, provision, and update SurePay tariff data, including bundles, tariff plans, and discounts.
Additionally, SurePay lets operators:
With SurePay, mobile operators can simultaneously offer a variety of charging options for a wide range of content types. And, SurePay’s flexibility and scalability for prepaid payment support can also be effectively expanded to real-time postpaid customers.
SurePay allows unified management of prepaid and postpaid subscribers with one system that handles convergent rating and charging. This also includes hybrid systems, which are defined as a combination of both prepaid and postpaid services over a single device. For example, it can accommodate a single handset where business calls are on a postpaid plan and personal calls are on a prepaid plan.
By supporting multiple payment modes across a single converged charging and rating engine, there is no need for separate rate support infrastructures. This results in reduced operational, service delivery, integration, and maintenance costs. SurePay also configures new tariff plans only once for both prepaid and postpaid subscribers.
A big benefit here is that SurePay supports shared data plans for consumer and enterprise subscribers. This lets multiple devices share a pool of data allowances and stimulates mobile data usage, thereby expanding the operator’s target base beyond prepaid customers.
Source: Alcatel-Lucent
SurePay’s high reliability, flexibility, and scalability encourage innovation. Faster setup of new prepaid mobile business plans and models help meet changing customer requirements and new market trends/drivers. SurePay service bundles and packages can also help mobile operators control costs, ensure customer stickiness, and generate additional revenues.
An example of this is SurePay’s Tariff Admin Tool. This service bundle provides marketing and operations interfaces to define and modify price plans and promotions, as well as test and verify a tariff plan offline prior to market rollout. It also provides the user interface to easily define and modify price plans and promotions. And it guides and supports mobile operators in the quick creation and provisioning of SurePay tariff data, including bundles, tariff plans, and discounts.
Finally, as with all prepaid plans, the customer knows how much they are paying and how close they are to reaching their limits. For those trying to watch carefully the amount of discretionary income they can allocate to mobile services, which for most households have become the real-time platform of choice for interacting, this is a real differentiated value, particularly for parental controls in limiting the use of children.
In short, prepaid is not just become an option, but its attraction can be enhanced if service providers have a platform that gives the customer several options that fit their unique requirements. After all, one size does not fit all, and customer choice translates into customer satisfaction and loyalty.
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I just bought an Android tablet after living exclusively in the Apple iOS world for the past couple years. The cost of the cheaper Android tablet was great, and my geek side surely will enjoy the customization options in the days ahead. However, what I do not look forward to are potential security issues.
All of the reports in recent years have exposed the fact that the Android environment is more susceptible to being compromised than IoS, however, recently even that is becoming a matter of degree as cracks in the Apple armor have been exposed. The one as somebody who is in the tech industry and tries to be vigilant that should make us Android users be somewhat concerned is the Stagefright vulnerability which hopefully will not make it into the wild.
To be frank, Stagefright is pretty scary. Anyone with an Android mobile device who is vulnerable to the exploit should be thinking about it, and that’s roughly close to 1 billion devices at last count. What makes Stagefright so frightening is that it isn’t just a malware exploit that cause significant grief. In what might be considered a perverse flip side of ease-of-use, Stagefright is unfortunately about ease-of-infection. It loads itself onto an Android device with nothing more than an MMS message. A message with a carefully crafted media attachment can infect the Android device without any user intervention.
As noted in a recent Alcatel-Lucent blog post, Android Vulnerability Stagefright Highlights Need for Increased Focus on Security, by Kevin McNamee, Director, Motive Security Labs, Alcatel-Lucent, vulnerabilities like this are a ringing endorsement for network-based malware detection systems such as Alcatel-Lucent’s Motive Security Guardian. Putting aside the highlighting of Alcatel-Lucent’s unique offering in this space, McNamee does make a compelling argument as to why despite device-based anti-malware, the only way to effectively stop Stagefright and similar types of malware attacks is at the network level.
As McNamee explains, most malware communicates over the network, between the device and the hackers’ command and control servers. It is this communications that only a network provider can detect and respond to quickly. He also notes, the issues with Android make it that much more important for service providers—caught amid Google, the device manufacturers and the end consumer in terms of distribution of updates that will protect the devices—to leverage their positions as positive men in the middle.
They can identify malware flows across the network and alert users if a device has become infected. This is good for keeping users safe rapidly and also goof for the operator as traffic from malware-infected mobile devices can quickly become a network burden on several levels bringing service down to intolerable levels or even a halt.
The interesting thing about the attention that has been paid the Stagefright vulnerability is that it not only shined a light on a nasty security vulnerability that we all must be aware of, but also does illustrate an opportunity for the mobile service provider to become part of a holistic security solution for the mobile subscriber. After all, such network-based malware detection can be not just a revenue opportunity for operators, but one that subscribers are likely to willingly pay a premium for.
While most customers don’t think about mobile device security now, it would be easy enough to change that with a marketing campaign and a few particularly horrendous malware outbreaks such as Stagefright. Especially if the industry has an actionable response like a network-based security service subscribers could purchase.
My new Android tablet is nice so far—but it does have its downsides. Security is one of them, but it appears that with a little vigilance on my part, and that of my service provider if they are willing, that I can rest a bit easier with my decision to switch from iOS.
]]>But there are some options mobile carriers might want to consider to help keep their subscribers’ data plan bills more manageable, and keep their customers happier. One way to allow for that is by introducing sponsored data charging programs.
Sponsored data charging programs are an effective way mobile carriers can help their subscribers justify the cost of connectivity, while growing their own user bases and expanding their ecosystems to include more application providers and marketers. That’s the word from Barbara Sampson, senior marketing manager for policy and charging PLM marketing, and Thomas King, manager of the policy and charging portfolio, at Alcatel-Lucent. The two wrote a recent TechZine posting, Operators benefit from sponsored data charging, that details how mobile operators can prosper with these types of programs.
Such programs, Alcatel-Lucent calls them Smart Plans, enable mobile subscribers to enjoy connectivity without being charged for it on their monthly plan.
There are various models of sponsored data charging. The zero rating model, for example, has an application provider or other third-party pay for subscriber data consumed by the specific app or service. A second example would involve a marketer providing a subscriber with a data reward for making a mobile purchase or trying a new service.
However, introducing these kinds of new options involves a bit of work on the billing front. That’s why Alcatel-Lucent and Aquto have joined forces to address sponsored data charging. The partnership involves Aquto leveraging Alcatel-Lucent’s SurePay platform with its own monetization platform to enable mobile carriers to support sponsored data models.
Aquto offers both cloud-based sponsorships to enable data rewards and zero rating, and a service provider user-engagement application option, which provides a destination at which subscribers can discover apps and services and get advertiser offers for data rewards and/or zero rating.
A huge benefit here is that operators can build service plans that give customers visibility over all of the devices that us data plans which enable them keep track of usage and let them top off their accounts wherever they may be. Mobile service providers can thus not only obtain news revenues from sponsors but are positioned to provide customers a more compelling and understandable user experience.
]]>There tends to be a prejudice in the press for covering the latest and greatest technology and how it is being used in the developed world. The reality is that especially when it comes to wireless, the impact of having ubiquitous and affordable access to communications, not just for voice but for data (aka the Internet), is busy transforming the developed world in ways that may be even more profound.
In fact, in the developing world, connectivity is the lifeblood of economic progress improving not just commerce itself but also the delivery of healthcare and as a tool for rapidly improving the education of young and old alike. Data is where it is at, and 4G has become as important in the developing world as in the developed.
A great example of this is in the work Alcatel-Lucent has done with aggressive mobile services provider Smile in Tanzania and the Ivory Coast. One interesting factoid is that in Tanzania, for every 1 landline subscriber there are 166 mobile phone subscribers. In short, the age old problem of increasing tele-density in the developing world as the engine for progress is being conquered and with impressive speed that has opened the eyes of many to the vast potential of all of Africa and other parts of the developing world.
The short video embedded below tells the story.
“What we are doing is much more than just installing a mast or selling a cable. It has an impact on the people in this country. It gets a different kind of meaning, “notes Daniel Jaeger, Vice-President for Africa, Alcatel-Lucent.
Indeed, wireless access has demonstrable impact. A study of the World Bank claims that a 10 percent growth in the number of Internet users in sub-Saharan Africa will generate a GDP increase of more than 1.3 percent. This leads to an observation of what happens when the percentage of users grows a lot more than 10 percent which is what the aforementioned landline to mobile comparison highlights.
And, it is not just Africa where this phenomenon is occurring. In the not too distant future there are forecasts that upwards of 70 percent of the world’s population of 7 billion people will have wireless personal communications capabilities. In some countries the number of devices already exceeds the number of citizens.
What the Smile deployment also illustrates is that the point that giving the most modern infrastructure nationwide is good business. Enabling people to use their phones for broadband data interactions as Smile’s competitive inroads indicate opens up significant revenue opportunities including the fact that as people become more device-centric they increase their usage as economic development enables them to have more money to spend. Where they are spending it is on wireless services. The reasons are obvious, e.g., in a connected world the value of ubiquitous access is as important, and in many ways more important, than other utility services like electricity.
As outgoing Alcatel-Lucent CEO Michel Combes explains in discussing what’s next for Africa now that 4G LTE and Ultra-Broadband networks have enabled a positive political, economic and social change: “For me Africa is at the heart of tomorrow…Becoming digital is an important catalyst for change. The focus of development will continue to bring connectivity to users by working with local, regional and international partners to literally help ‘connect’ the African people."
]]>“We know that there’s a new market and new problem here to solve,” said Mike Schabel, senior vice-president of small cells for the wireless division at Alcatel-Lucent. “To handle the expected volume, we would need to significantly increase the number of cell towers used in the network. So we made [base stations] smaller.”
Small cells represent the future of the network for operators. They are cheap, easy to deploy, and can be adapted to deliver the right amount of coverage for an area of heavy use.
Each outdoor version of Alcatel-Lucent’s small cells can cover up to 600 meters and be integrated into bus shelters, sign holdings and other existing street furniture with minimal visual impact. Each small cell delivers up to 150 Mbps downlink per user, and supports roughly 200 simultaneous users.
Small cells interoperate with existing macro tower infrastructure, too, enabling mobile operators to mix the technology with their existing tower setup.
One challenge when it comes to small cells, however, is securing sites to install the necessary small cells.
Alcatel-Lucent has partnered with the world’s largest outdoor advertising firm, JCDecaux, to help make this part of the equation easier. JCDecaux has more than a million assets at more than 3,700 cities and 63 countries, including billboards bus shelters and other outdoor spaces where small cells can be placed.
We’ve been working with companies like JCDecaux to ensure a smooth, simple delivery in new spaces for the wireless industry, by retrofitting into existing street scapes,” noted Schabel.
Amsterdam is one example of the partnership put into practice. Vodaphone used the Alcatel-Lucent solution to dramatically improve coverage in the city of 2.5 million people.
“With Alcatel-Lucent and JDCecaux, we have successfully deployed the small cell technology in Amsterdam, enhancing the network quality of our infrastructure,” said Kevin Salvadori, Vodafone group technology strategy and operations director.
Mobile broadband use will keep growing for years to come. Operators need to ensure that they have the infrastructure to support the growth in demand, and small cells are one way to meet that need.
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Large office buildings sometimes encounter a troubling problem in the form of poor cellular reception for employees. With atriums, business space in basements, internal walls and glass windows, more than one “modern architectural masterpiece” has discovered that workers lose cell coverage when they enter the building.
Of course, there are steps that can fix such problems even after a building is constructed. One of the best options is small cells technology for good in-building cellular coverage.
Small cells enable mobile operators to easily and cheaply add coverage where needed. A single enterprise-grade small cell (100 mW) can cover about 1000 square meters depending on the particular topology of the space, and several can be combined for complete coverage.
In building environments, though, it can sometimes take great expertise to identify exactly where and how many small cells to place for effective coverage. And obviously unnecessary small cells add unwanted capital expense.
When determining small cells setup, three keys should be taken into account.
First, collaborate with the IT department. When operators work with a corporation’s IT department, they can save time and hassle by leveraging the firm’s on-site knowledge, including location, existing power and backhaul facilities.
Second, Determine coverage requirements. Start with an on-site survey to glean a full understanding of the critical areas that require small cells coverage. These can include such places as executive offices, the company restaurant, and spots where workers often congregate. It helps then to estimate the number of users expected to use cellular in each area, and plan for growth.
Third, calculate placement requirements. Operators should optimally balance two aspects of small cell overlap. A good propagation estimate helps avoid overlapping cells, which can cause interference.
When these keys are taken into account, though, small cells technology makes a world of difference for buildings that challenge existing cellular access.
]]>Alcatel-Lucent recently compiled the result of actual data collected by its Motive® Wireless Network Guardian. The data, from over 30 million subscribers, is aggregated from live 3G customer networks across most regions of the world, and represents total daily data usage of over 1 petabyte.
Figure 1 shows that Android and iPhone devices make up more than 86% of the total connected devices in the global composite network that was analyzed – a testament to how pervasive smartphones have become. This is consistent with the findings from other industry reports. This may be a harbinger of things to come with respect to consumers’ voracious appetite for more and more features, capabilities and personalized experiences.
To accurately measure the overall impact on the network, it is important to consider just how much data is being used and overall signaling activity. Data usage drives the service provider’s bandwidth-related capital expenditures and the consumer’s data usage fees. Signaling activity measures the amount of network-to-device bi-directional exchanges needed to manage a radio connection to a mobile device. Signaling uses spectral, hardware, and processing resources in the service provider’s network and is a significant cause of battery depletion on a mobile device.
Figure 2 shows the percentage share of both data usage and signaling activity for each device category in the network.
Androids consume almost 50% of the total network data usage and, combined with the iPhone category, account for more than 80% of the total network data usage. When looking at signaling activity, Androids and iPhones also dominate with Androids representing an incredible 59.7% percentage share of signaling activity. Combined with the iPhone category, they account for almost 90% of the total signaling activity. It is also clear that Androids have a larger impact on the network than iPhones do as its share of signaling and data usage are 59.7% and 47.9%, respectively, when compared to 28% and 34%, respectively for iPhones. This difference represents a 31.7% higher share of signaling and a 13.9% higher share of data usage for the Android category over the iPhone category. This is due in large part to the fact that worldwide Androids are more popular than iPhones, but also because, individually and on average, Androids signal more than iPhones.
Despite only a 2% subscriber share, the Dongle/Datacard category shows a 9.4% share of data usage. This may be explained by understanding that these devices are typically attached to a PC or laptop which has a larger screen and is not as prone to mobility as are smartphones. As such, these devices may be consuming a proportionally larger amount of data usage than other categories by streaming video, downloading various videos, playing online video games, downloading/uploading high-res pictures, etc.
The Mobile Wi-Fi category shows a similar trend. With only 0.5% of the subscriber share, this category still manages to consume 4.1% share of data usage. This represents the largest data usage-to-subscriber share ratio across all device categories due to each Mobile Wi-Fi device having many mobile Wi-Fi devices aggregated behind it, collectively generating a large amount of data for a relatively small percentage of subscriber share.
The Machine to Machine (M2M) category represents non-personal devices that fall under commercial use for monitoring and control purposes. M2M devices signal much more actively when compared to their data usage. In this global composite network, M2M consumes 0.2% share of data usage while generating 1.4% share of signaling activity. Although tiny in terms of overall popularity, the M2M category represents the largest ratio between signaling and data usage, which means these devices are signaling a lot more than they are sending data. Some M2M applications, such as a home smartmeter, frequently establish mobile connections generating multiple signaling messages to establish network connectivity, yet have small amounts of data to send each time.
The growth rate of mobile data is staggering and continues to increase at an incredible rate as mobile devices have evolved from being tools for personal communication into being high performing, multi-media platforms. Live-streaming high-definition (HD) video, surfing the web, engaging in social media, on-line gaming and secure banking are just a few of the types of applications used daily on an ever-growing number of connected devices worldwide.
Given that the total number of active wireless connected devices is expected to grow from 13 billion in 2013 to more than 40.9 billion in 2020, it’s critical that mobile service providers, as well as mobile device manufacturers, understand the impact on the mobile network. Which devices consume the most signaling resources? Which use the most data? Answers to questions such as these are essential if service providers are to plan and grow their network efficiently, and for device manufacturers to enhance their designs.
This blog touched on the overall network impact that mobile devices have in the network. In upcoming blogs, I’ll take a closer look at the role device behavior plays in the network. Questions such as how much average daily data usage and signaling activity is associated to each device independent of popularity? What is the most signaling efficient device in the market? How does LTE change the network impact and behavior of devices in the network? Are there regional variations to these findings? What are the top signaling applications behind Androids and iPhones?
Join us for a live webinar on June 17 where our experts will discuss the research results in detail.
Author
Patrick McCabe holds a senior marketing management role in Alcatel-Lucent and is currently responsible for promoting products and solutions for Network Intelligence and Analytics. Patrick has held a number of support, sales, and marketing roles during his 20 years in the telecommunications industry. He was educated at St Francis Xavier University and Technical University of Nova Scotia (DalTech), and holds Bachelor and Masters degrees in Engineering.
The Internet of Things is based on the concept of sharing large amounts of data – even if it’s a little bit at a time – in real time. The collection and analysis of such data can allow for better business intelligence, higher levels of safety and security, lower cost and more proactive maintenance, and potentially improved health and welfare.
But more connectivity and more data sharing also can mean more potential for security problems.
As a recent piece on The Washington Post suggested: “Concerned about people hacking into your email? Just wait until they hack into your bathroom mirror and release your naked selfies to the Internet. In an interview last year with Harvard Business Review, security expert Bruce Schneier suggested that the Internet of Things would be harder to secure than the web, mostly because ‘these are devices that are made cheaply with very low margins, and the companies that make them don’t have the expertise to secure them.’”
Verizon’s “2015 Data Breach Investigations Report” released in April 15 notes that 5 billion IoT devices are expected to be in service by the end of the decade and predicts increased privacy-related issues related to wearables and medical devices. It also says that M2M device breaches might become the source of breaches into the larger network and lead to the development of tools like Shodan, designed to take advantages of weaknesses in the IoT. The report goes on to suggest that organizations with IoT implementations do threat modeling and attack exercises to determine potential attackers and their goals, and then figure out where sensitive data lives and how to secure it.
“IoT security has multiple enemies: human error, poorly designed or tested software, paparazzi, individual stalkers, hackers, governments – the list goes on,” Scott Nelson, CTO of IoT consultancy Logic PD, recently told TMCnet. “Security is important, in many applications critical, but it is also fleeting.”
The answer to IoT security, Nelson said, “is a combination of appropriate technology, contextual awareness, and good business judgment.”
Alcatel-Lucent, a veteran of the communications arena, is among the companies that help organizations implement and secure their IoT and M2M implementations.
“You need to keep sensitive data safe at all times,” Thierry Sens, Marketing Director Transportation Segment, Alcatel-Lucent noted in a recent blog, The Internet of (hacked) Things. “And you need to keep satisfying consumers with compelling applications.”
That, Alcatel-Lucent says, calls for solutions that:
IoT through its explosion of network-connected devices is what those with malicious intent would consider a target-rich hacking opportunity for creating havoc. However, as Alcatel-Lucent explains a holistic approach to IoT deployments can and will greatly mitigate the risks.
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New Service Provider Revenue Monetization Model
Just as LTE has evolved to be the predominant technology for mobile broadband providers -- generating an average data volume per user of 168% higher than 3G data – so must the traditional charging model change. One charging model growing in popularity is Sponsored Data Charging.
Sponsored Data Charging enables mobile subscribers to view, stream, and benefit from sponsored content and use applications over the mobile service provider’s network without that data usage coming out of their monthly plan. The data charges that a subscriber would pay for the sponsored content are paid instead by the third-party provider owning the content. Even more importantly, a subscriber can test out certain sponsored applications and features for a short time to determine whether to subscribe, without impacting monthly data-plan limits.
Not only is Sponsored Data Charging built for massive broadband usage from all kinds of connected devices, it also can support emerging technologies such as VoLTE and NFV. Key target industries include advertising, retail, media, entertainment, healthcare, and financial services.
How Does Sponsored Data Charging Work?
Sponsored Data Charging requires flexible charging and rating models. One example is zero rating, where an application provider or third party pays for subscriber data consumed by the specific application or service, as well as data rewards, where the users are rewarded with additional buckets of data to extend their data plans.
For example, a mobile app developer could pay the mobile service provider a negotiated rate so the subscriber can use the app without worrying about data usage and overages. Zero rating data supported by advertising is a variation of this type of data plan. Another example is where a marketer provides a customer with a data reward as a bonus for making a mobile purchase, trying out their service, or for lead generation. Depending on the use cases with third parties, the real-time charging system needs to ensure accurate charges to the sponsor rather than to subscriber accounts.
Sponsored Data Monetization Partner Ecosystem
Sponsored data programs are proving to be an effective method of both monetizing mobile data consumption and attracting new subscribers on a global basis. To take advantage of this growing opportunity, Alcatel-Lucent is collaborating with Aquto. The collaboration takes advantage of Aquto’s deep understanding of the digital marketing ecosystem and combines with Alcatel-Lucent’s policy and charging expertise and experience.
Using the Alcatel-Lucent SurePay® platform, Aquto enables mobile service providers to rapidly roll out data sponsorship programs including data rewards and zero-rating of mobile apps/content. As shown in the diagram below, the service integrates with the existing IT infrastructure and with minimal investment, enables the service provider to monetize almost immediately by leveraging a global network of sponsors, which includes app publishers/developers, advertisers, and marketers.
Diagram: Sponsored Data Monetization Platform [Source: Aquto]
Aquto offers two programs for mobile service providers: Cloud-based sponsorships and the service provider user-engagement application.
Cloud-based sponsorships: To enable zero rating of mobile content, or offer data rewards to users, app publishers/developers, advertisers and marketers can leverage easy to integrate capabilities to keep users connected with their content and services.
Service Provider user-engagement application: In an increasingly competitive market, service providers have to devise new ways to keep users engaged. It is a destination to discover apps and services, offers from advertisers through which users can experience the benefits of zero rating and data rewards. The app draws users in and provides operators with the opportunity to engage users in a positive setting.
This sponsored data concept is not just about free Internet. It is quickly presenting itself as a vast opportunity for service providers to tap into a growing mobile ecosystem that is made up of app marketers and advertisers. Users are now spending more time with their mobile devices than in front of the TV or desktop. The timing is right for service providers to engage.
The combined expertise of Aquto and Alcatel-Lucent – including experience working with mobile operators -- has let leading mobile service providers rapidly roll out this new service that allows new revenue and monetization streams.
Why LTE – and why now?
Public safety communications are at a turning point. The most urgent events – planned and unplanned – require more than mission-critical voice to improve first responders’ efficiency. Real-time imagery, video, geo-localization, and high-speed access to private cloud-based information and applications are becoming essential to fulfill first responders’ missions.
Existing private mobile radio (PMR) systems have limited capabilities to deliver this, because they were designed to primarily support narrowband mission-critical voice.
For LTE, it’s a different story. LTE can complement existing PMR networks to dramatically enhance operational effectiveness and coordination within a secure infrastructure shared by cooperating agencies.
LTE operational benefits include:
However, adding LTE mobile broadband capabilities to existing PMR networks in a non-disruptive and cost-effective way can be complex, with many factors to consider. Fortunately, proven roadmaps exist for a smooth migration that leverages existing infrastructure and investments and adapts to local constraints.
5 proven business models to transition to LTE
When evolving to mobile broadband, public safety agencies have a choice among many business models to get broadband PMR services. In all models, public safety organizations are responsible for purchasing the applications and the terminals that will operate over the 4G radio access network.
The models include:
1. Mobile network operator (MNO) – Using existing commercial LTE network for public safety forces
In this model, the public safety agency contracts data subscriptions with an MNO to provide mobile broadband services.
Public safety users and consumers share the same spectrum and network. The public safety entity pays a consistent, predictable periodic fee for network access, usually a function of some known factors, such as the number of end users, devices, or usage.
2. Government mobile virtual network operator (G-MVNO) – Operating or getting service from a G-MVNO
The mobile virtual network operator approach has become prevalent in the commercial sector, where operators resell bulk-purchased wireless services to consumers while providing their own usage plans, billing, and customer support.
In this model, the MVNO approach can be extended to public safety users. A G-MVNO provides added-value services (e.g., security, selection of best access) to the public safety users. These users get access to secure broadband data services when the G-MVNO leverages the 4G access network from the MNO.
G-MVNO services can be operated by the public safety entity itself or by a public or private organization. Furthermore, when dedicated spectrum becomes available for public safety, the core network elements deployed for the G-MVNO can also be used for the core network of the dedicated radio access (see model 5).
3. Public-private partnership (PPP) – Deploying dedicated network services through a PPP project
The public-private partnership business model features a dedicated and standalone LTE network which is deployed, operated, and maintained by an MNO and/or any other independent operator. The network is typically owned by a telecom operator, which provides the service to the public safety agencies while usually assuming the financial, technical, and operational risk of the service offer.
The infrastructure can be complemented by rapidly deployable LTE systems to enable the extra capacity or coverage required to cope with major planned or unplanned events and major disaster when fixed infrastructure has been destroyed.
4. Private – Building a dedicated network
In this model, the public safety agency finances, procures, builds, and manages its own network, setting technical requirements for capacity, security, reliability, redundancy, and robustness. The agency is responsible for all network elements and software, and employs in-house personnel to build, manage, operate, and maintain the network.
The extent of upfront costs depends on the scale of deployment (local, regional, or national), whether the network is shared among several entities and/or whether the deployment is scheduled gradually over years or within a shorter time period.
5. Hybrid – Combining a G-MVNO with a private network
Where spectrum is scarce, some agencies may opt for custom communications network dedicated to mission-critical services, while conducting less critical back-office operations through commercial operators using the G-MVNO model.
This approach can be easy to implement, since LTE is both a technology for commercial carriers and the new-generation platform for PMR.
LTE network deployment considerations
To choose amongst these different possibilities, public safety agencies embarking on an LTE deployment project must consider the following requirements and criteria:
Based on these main criteria, Figure 1 below summarizes the merits of each model using a simplified color code (green = very good, yellow = good, orange = fair, red = poor).
Figure 1: Merits of the 5 business models
Accelerating the adoption of broadband public safety communications
Given the very specific constraints of public safety communications in term of services, high availability during crisis, security, and coverage, each public safety network operator should aim to deploy its own dedicated LTE network.
Nevertheless, budgetary, in-house expertise, or spectrum availability constraints also make alternative models such as G-MVNO sensible intermediary steps to speed the adoption of broadband services for public safety forces.
Last but not least, regardless of the model chosen, the public safety agencies should also have a plan for doctrine change management, since broadband public safety services will offer new ways of conducting operations.
Related Material
To contact the authors or request additional information, please send an email to techzine.editor@alcatel-lucent.com.
]]>Over the past several years, I’ve met with many mobile network operators (MNOs) and discussed their plans for virtualizing the evolved packet core (EPC). It’s clear from the more recent conversations that MNOs are now convinced that the vEPC is both financially and technically viable for their networks. But is the vEPC ready for the MNO’s LTE consumer network? In this article, I’ll discuss why I now think that’s possible.
vEPC scaling and performance
Early in 2014, the vEPC proofs of concept and field trials of the Virtualized Mobility Management Entity (vMME) and Virtualized Serving Gateway (vSGW)/Virtualized Packed Data Gateway (vPGW) were limited in both scale and performance. But as the year progressed, advancements in the EPC Virtualized Network Function (VNF) design and architecture used Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) tools and capabilities that greatly improved their capacity and performance.
For control plane subscriber scaling, it is now possible to support up to millions of simultaneous attached users and hundreds of thousands of eNodeBs and small cells on a single vMME instance. This is comparable with today’s existing MMEs built on standard telecom hardware platforms.
In the data plane, the user capacity has increased significantly with the use of packet acceleration techniques. For example, Single Root – Input/Output Virtualization (SR-IOV) bypasses the hypervisor and enables Virtual Machines (VMs) to attach to the VNF (the vSGW/vPGW ) and share a single physical Network Interface Card (NIC) that functions as multiple virtualized NICsThis greatly improves speed and increases capacity by reducing processing overhead. These improvements, together with other software enhancements, such as the Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK), have the vSGW/vPGW approaching the capacity and performance of dedicated hardware platforms.
Converged NMS/VNF Manager: the key to seamless vEPC network operations
A lot of progress has been made with enhancements to the ETSI Management and Orchestration (MANO) architecture. However, rather than having separate element management system (EMS) and VNF Manager (VNFM) functions, there’s been a move to converge these functions since both are integral to managing the VNFs. (The EMS described by MANO includes both network and element management (NMS/EMS) functions). By unifying the VNF Manager and NMS functions, an MNO can seamlessly manage and orchestrate the vEPC. This makes it easy for an MNO to perform VNF lifecycle management functions from the same NMS that is used on a day-to-day basis for network operations. When EMS and VNFM are converged:
The traditional NMS Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance and Security (FCAPS) management function is now applicable to both the EPC VNFs and the physical network functions (PNF). This enables a common and consistent approach. This also provides the topology and logical connectivity of the individual VNFs/PNFs and more advanced performance and SLA reporting. A single manager simplifies overall coordination and adaptation for configuration and event reporting between the Virtualized Infrastructure Manager (VIM) and the NMS.
Troubleshooting is simplified because traditional NMS faults/events are correlated with VNF related events/faults. The VNFM provides lifecycle management and automates the self-healing of VNFs. It uses recipes to describe the vEPC VNF, its VNF components (underlying VM instances) and their interdependencies. Each VNF component has its own recipe, which includes a description of how to monitor, self-heal, and scale it. With coordinated fault management and automated self-healing, the MNO’s Operations team will have the visibility and intelligence to understand whether alarms are caused by normal maintenance activities or are indeed an emerging issue that they need to react to quickly. In addition, new advanced NMS approaches to network assurance visualization will speed problem assessment for both VNF and PNFs. These developments will also provide the VNF and network event data to support reporting and analysis.
When the VNFM and the NMS are combined into a single management functional instance, the management and orchestration of the vEPC VNF and integration of the vEPC into the existing OSS/BSS infrastructure is greatly simplified. This is because the VNFM/ NMS has complete knowledge and visibility of VNFs within the physical and virtual EPC network.
Is the vEPC ready for commercial deployment?
Based on the progress made in both the scalability and performance of the vEPC VNFs and the advances made in management and orchestration of the vEPC, 2015 will be the year for vEPC deployments to commence at some Tier 1 mobile operators. The momentum and confidence of mobile operators in NFV will make it a reality.
Alcatel-Lucent at Mobile World Congress
Alcatel-Lucent will have a large presence at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. I will take part in a panel discussion on “Unifying Network IT and Telco IT” on Thursday, March 5th from 11.30 - 13.00.
We will also be demonstrating our vEPC at our booth. There you will be able to see the dynamic scaling of our Virtualized Mobile Gateway and the operational elegance of our NMS/VNFM system. I look forward to seeing you there and discussing how our vEPC solution can meet your NFV evolution plans.
Related Material
Benefits of VoWiFi for MNO subscribers
Benefits of VoWiFi for MNOs
Challenges of adding Wi-Fi to LTE networks
There are two main challenges:
Fortunately, these challenges are addressed with the new mobile network architecture that combines Wi‑Fi/cellular access with new Evolved Packet Core (EPC) functions. The architecture is described in 3GPP Technical Specification 23.402 (Architecture Enhancements for non-3GPP Services).
EPC architecture for LTE with Wi-Fi access
In the standards, Wi-Fi is considered a type of non-3GPP wireless access, which the MNO can view as either a trusted network or an untrusted network. To support these two network access types, two core network functions are needed:
For simplicity, we focus in this blog on the ePDG, but both methods perform similar functions for their respective access networks:
Although VoWiFi is the primary focus here, the method is transparent to the services (including Internet, enterprise VPNs and IMS). Indeed, this is the beauty of the solution. Implementation is relatively lightweight: an ePDG is added to the network and a slight update is made to the device’s client. In return, the solution works for any Wi-Fi AP (because no integration is required) and for any service (such as IMS, enterprise VPN and content delivery networks). The TWAG is similar, except it doesn’t require an update to the device, but does require integration with the Wi-Fi AP.
VoWiFi - part of the new IP communications customer experience
When the Wi-Fi/cellular access is used with a virtualized IMS that comes equipped with native APIs, MNOs can deliver new services to their consumers and enterprises. These include:
Witness seamless VoWi-Fi / VoLTE services at MWC
The new conversation experience is becoming a commercial reality: visit our booth (Hall #3, booth 3K10) at Mobile World Congress 2015 for a live demonstration of VoWiFi and VoLTE. You will see it in action on an Apple® iPhone 6, and implemented on an Android by D2 Technologies and InterDigital Technologies, over our vEPC/ePDG and vIMS network.
In doing preparations for what many have called “the circus” aka the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC)—which is arguably now the most important industry trade event as the world goes mobile and which takes place in Barcelona March 2-5—the excitement is already palpable. From all of the new cool devices of all shapes and sizes to interesting advances on things like antenna technology, Network Functions Virtualization, carrier aggregation, etc., the eye candy alone is almost overwhelming in terms of imagining the possibilities. However, MWC always is tantalizing because not only does it answer what we will see in terms of capabilities in the near-term, but also because of the questions it raises about the longer term.
In this regard I was struck by a recent blog by Michael Peeters, CTO, Alcatel-Lucent Wireless, entitled I think appropriately, The Circus is in Town. Peeters’ main point is summed up nicely where he says in characterizing his view on what’s the next big thing that will be the buzz of the show that, “...one thing is certain: its story will be about removing place and time constraints we took for granted.”
While I agree with where we are and where we are going to a certain extent in terms of removing place and time constraints, I happen to believe that the next big thing will be around what it has been and should be, i.e., utility. After all, as we move into always on/all ways connected broadband-enabled world, if all of the things Peeters points to about the Internet of Things (IoT), drones, wearables, more immersive customer experiences and the like are not both easy-to-use, trustworthy and useful, their monetization potential will not be maximized. And, let’s face it, the bottom line is the bottom line which is all about utility. This means utility as pervasively accessible and hopefully affordable and safe, as well as the perceived value we are willing to pay for personally and professionally that enables service providers to continue to accelerate the speed at which the future comes at us.
Talk of the town
If you think about MWC are more of a town meeting of all the stakeholders, along with being a good thing in the context of being a circus, which it is, Peeters’ observations about what will be discussed in terms of the short-term are spot on. In fact, his list of things that will be highlighted and discussed is worth review if you are lucky enough to go to Barcelona or not. They include his forecasts concerning what the show buzz will be about:
Applicability: LTE in new markets such as Public Safety. The ongoing deployment of VoLTE and potential further improvements. What needs to be added or changed to the existing technology?
Capacity: carrier aggregation in licensed bands, be it FDD or TDD, but also the combination of, and the tension between licensed and unlicensed spectrum and technologies. Do you go for LTE-U or Wifi-LTE aggregation?
Performance: specific deployment scenarios such as small cells for indoor and especially enterprise needs. Virtualization of the RAN. How and when do they make sense?
And, because the industry loves to discuss what comes next, despite 4G now finally being rolled out around the world, although “mature” might be a stretch given how far we have to go, 5G will be top of mind and interactions. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great thing. Who doesn’t like talking about the future? However, with things like VoLTE, Voice-over-Wi-Fi, Hotspot 2.0, IoT and M2M, really all in their nascent stages, my hope is that the industry is not getting ahead of itself. Indeed, the use cases that will emerge as to what is valuable as the mobile world moves toward being all IP and broadband are in most instances yet to be written.
This is a great thing as well. It is a so because it will be us figuring out the utility of new high-performance wireless networks and how to extract value from them and all of the new devices, business models (mobile payments for example) and competitive options that will determine what will be successful along with the who, what, when, why and how.
So as Peeters implies, by all means enjoy the show. Be entertained and enthralled. Like the circus, MWC is dazzling and if for no other reason can and should be appreciated for that alone. Indeed, take him up on the invitation to stop by the Alcatel-Lucent booth (Hall 3 – Booth 3K10) to learn more about the realities and possibilities.
In many ways we stand on the bottom of the on-ramp of the possibilities of the combination of pervasive computing and ubiquitous communications. The coming ability of networks to deliver more immersive experiences and better insights into how we can be more productive at work and enjoy more of the things that delight us in our personal lives makes this a unique time and a great time to be part of the buzz.
However, it is important to not lose sight amidst the technology of not just what it does but what it can and should deliver. In my mind the deliverables are utility and trust. It is my hope that at a high level these are the two things that are buzzing at MWC as they are what the industry should and can deliver as to what comes next.
Peeters has it right about the inexorable march of the industry toward providing us with the broadband infrastructure and agility the future is mandating in terms of breaking down the barriers of time and place, however, what this means in terms of deliverables creates fascinating open questions and opportunities and that is why the show is so engaging on so many levels. This may not a “new story,” but it certainly is an all important one.
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