Company Profile Alcatel-Lucent ’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management 22 October 2012 Glen Ragoonanan and Anil Rao
Company Profile
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic
Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable
policy management
22 October 2012
Glen Ragoonanan and Anil Rao
.
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | i
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 Contents
Contents
1 Executive summary 2
2 Financials and basics 4 2.1 Financials 4
2.2 Features and product description 5
3 Customers and markets 12 3.1 Overview of customers and markets 12
3.2 Case study 14
4 Analysis 17 4.1 Strengths 17
4.2 Weaknesses 18
4.3 Threats 18
4.4 Opportunities 18
About the authors 20
About Analysys Mason 21
Research from Analysys Mason 22
Consulting from Analysys Mason 23
List of figures
Figure 1.1: ALU‟s policy management revenue, FY2009-2011 ...................................................................... 3
Figure 1.2: ALU‟s SDP revenues by sub-segment, 2011 ................................................................................ 3
Figure 2.1: ALU‟s company and policy management data .............................................................................. 4
Figure 2.2: Summary of key features of ALU‟s 5780 DSC ............................................................................. 6
Figure 2.3: High-level architecture of the 5780 DSC ....................................................................................... 8
Figure 2.4: Description of the 5780 DSC‟s modules ........................................................................................ 8
Figure 2.5: ALU‟s pre-integrated, enhanced PCC architecture ....................................................................... 9
Figure 2.6: Components of ALU‟s PCC solution .......................................................................................... 10
Figure 2.7: ALU‟s position in Analysys Mason‟s segmentation of the telecoms software market ............... 11
Figure 3.1: Significant customers of ALU‟s 5780 DSC ................................................................................ 12
Figure 3.2: ALU‟s policy management revenue by service segment, 2011 ................................................... 13
Figure 3.3: ALU‟s policy management revenue by product and services, 2011 ........................................... 13
Figure 3.4: ALU‟s policy management revenue by region, 2011 .................................................................. 13
Figure 3.5: ALU‟s M&A adjuncts to the policy management segment ......................................................... 14
Figure 3.6: 5780 DSC deployment at SaskTel ............................................................................................... 15
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 2
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 1: Executive summary
1 Executive summary
Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) is one of the largest network equipment manufacturers (NEMs), primarily operating in
the fixed (wireline) market, but with an increasing presence in the mobile market through its lightRadio
solution, coupled with growing investments in 4G/LTE mobile technology. This profile focuses on ALU‟s
policy management product, the 5780 Dynamic Services Controller (DSC), Release 5. It also looks at ALU‟s
holistic policy control and charging (PCC) architecture, as outlined by the 3GPP, in which the 5780 DSC is the
policy control rules function (PCRF) component. ALU is the seventh-largest vendor in the policy management
segment, with revenues of USD15 million in 2011 out of a total market of USD416 million.1
The main differentiating feature of the 5780 DSC is its Agile Rules Technology (A.R.T.) which is core to the
product. Most policy management solutions have several common use cases such as fair usage, bill shock and
specific site filtering (e.g. Facebook, MySpace and Twitter). However, changing these policies for new use
cases can be a complex and costly task, requiring hard-coding – and therefore resulting in vendor dependency.
In essence, the 5780 DSC‟s A.R.T. removes the inflexible, black-box paradigm for PCRF solutions by providing
a configurable, transparent view of all the policy management rules and their potential impacts on the network
and services. This transparency reduces the total cost of ownership of the 5780 DSC by reducing the
dependency on ALU to create or change policies. ALU‟s A.R.T. is backed by over 140 pending patents that
allow it to offer scale and performance combined with flexibility, ease-of-use and maintainability. Furthermore,
the transparency provided by A.R.T. can also help communications service providers (CSPs) to troubleshoot
unknown network and service problems such as intermittent issues by providing the ability to manipulate the
network with policies to simulate or remove traffic. This is unique for PCRF solutions, and potentially provides
CSPs with another system to reduce resolution times for network/service issues.
ALU‟s 5780 DSC is a convergent and modular policy management solution that can support fixed, mobile
(2.5G/3G/4G) and Wi-Fi networks, either singly or in combination. It was one of the first PCRF solutions to
have a Sy interface to online charging systems, together with a Wi-Fi control module that is compliant with the
3GPP‟s current Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF) standard. These modules allow
CSPs to have visibility of each subscriber as they move between fixed, mobile and Wi-Fi networks, and to
ensure the service quality is optimal (based on the customer‟s policy/tariff plan) and the customer experience is
consistent.
ALU has included a Diameter control point in the 5780 DSC for Diameter routing. Diameter is becoming the
de facto protocol for communication between policy control components, with the PCRF being the core of all
the Diameter messages. Finally, an advanced self-care and data plan service module (Smart Plan Builder) has
been added to the 5780 DSC. The Smart Plan Builder is part of a larger solution that allows CSPs to deliver
more personalised services in real time or on demand.
Since its launch in March 2010, the 5780 DSC has continued to evolve with new features and updates; ALU
announced Release 5 in June 2012. The platform currently has 25 deployments worldwide, including 22
wireless and five wireline, with two of these latter being converged (fixed and mobile). Figure 1.1 shows
Analysys Mason‟s estimate of ALU‟s revenues from the sale of its 5780 DSC platform and closely associated
services to CSPs.
1 Source Analysys Mason (2012): Service delivery platforms: worldwide market share 2011.
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 3
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 1: Executive summary
Figure 1.1: ALU’s policy management revenue, FY2009-2011 [Source: Analysys Mason, 2012]
Figure 1.2 below shows that ALU generated an estimated USD427 million in service delivery platform (SDP)
revenues in 2011. This total is broken down into sub-segments based on Analysys Mason‟s segmentation of the
telecoms software market (detailed in Figure 2.7). Policy management accounted for an estimated 3% of ALU‟s
total SDP revenues in 2011, with Telecom application servers at 46%, Mobile content management and delivery
at 8% and Subscriber data management at 43%.
Figure 1.2: ALU’s SDP revenues by sub-segment, 2011 [Source: Analysys Mason, 2012]
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
2009 2010 2011
Reven
ue
(U
SD
, m
illio
n)
Telecom Application Servers
46%
Subscriber data management
43%
Mobile Content Management and
Delivery8%
Policy management
(PCRF)3%
Total revenue: USD 427 million
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 4
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 2: Financials and basics
2 Financials and basics
2.1 Financials
Figure 2.1 provides a summary of ALU‟s financial information with regards to the policy management sub-
segment as defined by Analysys Mason.
Figure 2.1: ALU’s company and policy management data [Source: Analysys Mason, 2012]
Year founded 2006, formed from the merger of Alcatel SA and Lucent Technologies Inc.
Headquarters Paris, France
Company URL www.alcatel-lucent.com
Stock symbol ALU
CEO Ben Verwaayen
Policy management
revenue in 2011
USD15 million (Analysys Mason estimate)
Employees 76 000 employees for all operations (as of December 2011)
Telecom software
product segment(s)
Network management systems, Revenue management, Service delivery platforms, and
Telecom software professional services (see Figure 2.7 below).
Geographical focus Global
Primary products 5780 Dynamic Service Controller (5780 DSC)
Key partners F5, Interdigital and Sandvine
ALU’s IOT vendors for 5780 DSC include: Allot, Cisco, Flash Networks, Huawei, NSN,
Openet, Samsung, Tellabs and ZTE.
Key 5780 DSC
customers
ALU has 49 policy management (PCRF) deployments as of June 2012, of which 50% are
the 5780 DSC and the remainder its wireline predecessor the 5750 SSC. The following are
key recent 5780 DSC customers (based on information in the public domain):
Antel (Uruguay), Etisalat (Sri-Lanka and UAE), Belgacom (Belgium) and SaskTel
(Canada). For more detail see Section 3 below.
In 2011, ALU generated an estimated USD427 million in the SDP segment, of which around USD15 million
derived from policy management products and services. This made the company the fourth-largest vendor of
SDP, with a global market share of 11%. ALU‟s policy management revenue had a 7% year-on-year growth
over 2011, and the company was the seventh-largest policy management vendor in 2011, with a global share
market of 4%.
Of ALU‟s total policy management revenue, around 70% (USD10.5 million) was attributed to product licences
and maintenance, and the remaining 30% (USD4.5 million) to product-related services. This exemplifies the
company‟s commitment to developing strong product solutions that require minimal additional or external
product-related services to install, configure and operationalise.
ALU has committed to invest in its SDP software portfolio and, as shown in Figure 1.2 above, it has market
share in all areas of that segment: telecom application servers, mobile content management and delivery, policy
management and subscriber data management. This commitment is shown in ALU‟s recent reorganisation,
which has created a single unified business group – Network and Platforms – that allows the company to focus
on its core SDP software portfolio. ALU‟s commitment to its Application Enablement portfolio further
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 5
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 2: Financials and basics
reinforces its commitment to its SDP software portfolio as communications service providers (CSPs) look
forward to the creation, delivery and management of new services.
2.2 Features and product description
Competition in both developed and emerging markets is driving CSPs to become more innovative in developing
services as well as managing them to a high quality of service (QoS). Particularly in developed, saturated
markets churn avoidance is of paramount importance to CSPs. As a result, CSPs are constantly looking for
innovative solutions to increase revenue and improve customer satisfaction (and therefore customer retention).
The lower cost of operation and maintenance of all-IP networks is attractive to CSPs – but the wide range of
opportunities for service innovation from IP services on these networks is even more attractive. Today, CSPs are
focused on broadband value-added content services on fixed and mobile networks to increase their revenue.
Fixed and mobile traffic continues to grow dramatically worldwide, while the number of connections grows
more gradually.2 As a result, CSPs need to implement solutions that can deliver new services whilst reducing
capex and opex by sweating the assets of their existing network resources.
ALU‟s 5780 DSC provides a PCRF solution that can balance the delivery of new IP services with guaranteed
QoS, and maximise CSPs‟ IP network resources. The 5780 DSC is a convergent policy management solution
that can support fixed, mobile (2.5G/3G/4G) and Wi-Fi networks, either singly or in combination. It draws on
ALU‟s strong heritage as an NEM for fixed networks, and in particular the company‟s wireline solution, the
5750 Subscriber Services Controller (SSC), which has 24 deployments worldwide. As the telecoms industry
evolved and CSPs‟ demands changed, ALU built the 5780 DSC from the ground up. The platform was first
made available in June 2010, and has evolved over the last two years; it has three key differentiators (see Figure
2.2 below):
agile rules engine – the 5780 DSC features agile rules technology (A.R.T.) which allows CSPs to create
and modify policy management rules without relying on the vendor
convergent capability – the platform supports support both fixed and mobile networks
pre-integrated, interoperable PCC ecosystem – the 5780 DSC is part of a complete policy control and
charging (PCC) solution that encompasses both hardware and software. Moreover, the 5780 DSC is
interoperable with solutions from other vendors.
In addition the 5780 DCS features ANDSF capabilities and Diameter control. It now has 25 deployments
worldwide, including a number of Tier-1 CSPs.
2 Source Analysys Mason (2012): The number of mobile connections worldwide will grow from 4.77 billion in 2012 to 6.24
billion 2017, at a 5.5% CAGR. The average monthly volume of voice and data traffic per connection worldwide is forecast to grow from 154MB in 2012 to 659MB in 2017, at a 33.7% CAGR.
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 6
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 2: Financials and basics
Figure 2.2: Summary of key features of ALU’s 5780 DSC [Source: Analysys Mason, 2012]
Agile rules engine
The majority of policy management solutions commercially available today provide a number of policy control
templates for standard use cases such as fair usage, bill shock, RAN congestion and „freemium‟ to specific
content such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. However, the addition of policy rules for new use cases can be
complex, and typically requires professional configuration services from the policy vendor to commercialise
them. As CSPs continue to develop, deliver and control innovative IP services to increase their revenues, policy
management solutions will need to be more flexible and involve less vendor dependency, to reduce the cost of
implementing changes.
To meet this challenge, a core feature of the 5780 DSC is its agile rules technology, which provides a graphical
user interface (GUI) to allow CSPs to define, configure and reuse simple, complex and custom policy
management rules. The main differentiator of ALU‟s A.R.T. is its high level of configurability, which reduces
the need for hard coding to create policy management rules. In essence, A.R.T. moves away from the black-box
paradigm of PCRF by providing a more transparent solution. The following are the key features of A.R.T.:
Easy-to-use GUI with a number of drop-down menus and checkboxes for the creation, modification, and
copying of policy management rules.
High degree of configurability and flexibility – in addition to the reuse of existing rules and templates as
well as the GUI, A.R.T. also provides an interface for refining each parameter of a policy management rule
in granular detail, if needed. This can assist in troubleshooting, or help CSPs to innovate new services by
using policy management more effectively.
Scalability and performance that have been proven in deployments in Tier-1 as well as Tier-3CSPs.
A.R.T. filters non-policy triggering messages to reduce the load on the PCRF rules engines and optimise the
performance across all use cases, while also reducing the cost of increasing the scale of the network, thus
reducing the total cost of ownership of the 5780 DSC solution.
Maintenance costs are lower because of the reduced dependency on external service providers to
implement changes as well as in-service software upgrades that preserve the established policy management
rules.
Agile Rules
Engine
Convergent
platform
Pre-integrated,
interoperable
PCC eco-
system
Alcatel-Lucent
5780 DSC
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 7
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 2: Financials and basics
Convergent capability
Traditionally, separate policy control deployments were implemented for fixed and mobile networks. For
convergent (fixed, mobile and Wi-Fi) CSPs, this unfavourably increased their capex and opex. As the shift to
all-IP networks rapidly emerged, NEMs have rationalised their IP equipment portfolio. ALU‟s portfolio consists
primarily of its 7750 service router (7750 SR) product family which is used both in fixed and mobile IP
networks. Like other policy vendors, ALU has also rationalised its 5780 DSC to support fixed, mobile and
Wi-Fi networks. The product is available with three software modules – fixed (wireline), mobile (wireless) and
Wi-Fi, as shown in Figure 2.3, below. This modular design allows CSPs to buy one or more of these modules
based on the nature of their business (fixed-only, mobile-only, quad-play, etc.).
As the complexity of radio access networks increases, with macrocells (2G/3G/4G/CDMA), microcells
(femtocells) and Wi-Fi offloading to hotspots, policy management in order to achieve increased QoS needs to
encompass all of these different technologies. Most mobile users use Wi-Fi offloading, and when they transfer
onto Wi-Fi networks CSPs lose visibility of the service quality these users are experiencing and their
consumption patterns. The 5780 DSC has a Wi-Fi control module based on the 3GPP‟s current Access Network
Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF) standard. This module gives CSPs the ability to provide a customer
experience with guaranteed QoS as services are handed over between mobile networks and Wi-Fi hotspots.
Pre-integrated, interoperable PCC ecosystem
Unlike specialist policy vendors, ALU can provide a complete, pre-integrated 3GPP PCC architecture with the
5780 DSC at the core of the solution (for more detail, see Figure 2.5 and Figure 2.6 below). Of all vendors, only
NEMs can provide a complete 3GPP PCC solution because they are the only vendors with both hardware
(PCEF) and software (PCRF, SPR, OCS) products and capabilities.
A single-vendor, pre-integrated PCC solution allows CSPs to reduce their deployment time and risk at a lower
cost because of the significant reduction in integration costs. In spite of the higher confidence offered by such an
integrated solution, some CSPs continue to prefer multi-vendor solutions because of concerns about vendor
lock-in. ALU, as an experienced telecoms vendor, has addressed this concern by carrying out approved
interoperability testing of its 5780 DSC with other third-party vendors at forums such as the Multi-Service
Forum (MSF). Two announced interoperability successes are with Sandvine‟s PCEF solution and with
Interdigital‟s Smart Access Manager Client for smartphones on policy-managed mobile and Wi-Fi networks.
Interoperability testing has also been performed with systems from the following Tier-1 vendors: Allot, Cisco,
Flash Networks, Huawei, NSN, Openet, Samsung, Tellabs and ZTE.
Section 3.2 provides a case study where ALU‟s 5780 DSC was deployed and integrated with other third-party
products to form a complete PCC architecture for the CSP.
Architecture of the 5780 DSC
Figure 2.3 illustrates the high-level architecture of the 5780 DSC, Release 5. It consists of five interoperable
(pre-integrated) software modules – the wireline control module (a fixed policy management solution), wireless
control module (a mobile PCRF), Wi-Fi control module (an ANDSF), Smart Plan Builder (a self-care and data
plan service module) and the Diameter control point (a Diameter routing agent). In addition to these modules,
ALU differentiates its 5780 DSC PCRF by providing a common policy and charging platform built upon its core
A.R.T. technology.
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 8
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 2: Financials and basics
Figure 2.3: High-level architecture of the 5780 DSC [Source: ALU, 2012]
Figure 2.4 below provides a more detailed description of the each of the 5780 DSC‟s modules.
Figure 2.4: Description of the 5780 DSC’s modules [Source: ALU and Analysys Mason, 2012]
Module Description
Wireless control module
The wireless control module is the PCRF for mobile networks. It comprises a software
module for administration and application of network policy rules, and drives the main
decision-making process of authorisation of network resources for service data flows
(SDFs), gating of packets from specific SDFs and QoS control for SDFs. It enables flow-
based charging on a per-SDF basis. For its policy decision making, it uses a set of service
policy rules combined with information about the network (device type, access type,
location, intelligence), subscribers (service tier, prepaid, credit balance, entitlements),
system (state, time of day) and application (service description, traffic parameters) obtained
from its various interfaces.
Wireline control module
The wireline control module is a fixed policy management solution that enables residential
broadband users to securely access network applications, services and content with
assured QoS. It achieves this by performing three key functions: (a) network access control
– performing subscriber device authentication, IP address management and subscriber
location information; (b) dynamic service control – managing rules via the agile rules engine
to automate and administer the dynamic allocation of network resources to deliver a
personalised service to the customer; and (c) service admission control –
accepting/denying application requests based on different types of rules, such as revenue
priority, time of day and bandwidth availability.
Wi-Fi control module
Based on 3GPP’s present definition of the ANDSF standard, the Wi-Fi control module uses
the S14 interface to exchange information with a client running on the user’s mobile device.
This module decides whether to hand off to a Wi-Fi access node by using location
information from the mobile client, matching it with a list of available Wi-Fi access options
based on the customer’s physical location, and applying certain selection rules that
determine if the user is allowed access, or if this is restricted.
For this solution to work, the Wi-Fi control module needs to communicate with a mobile
client. As an example, the 5780 DSC and Interdigital’s Smart Access Manager mobile client
application are fully integrated and tested to provide this solution.
Flexible Rules Provisioning Environment
Common Policy & Charging platform with Agile Rules Technology (A.R.T.)
Alcatel-Lucent 5780 Dynamic Services Controller
Wireless
Control
Module
(PCRF)
Wireline
Control
Module
Wi-Fi Control
Module
(ANDSF)
Smart
Plan
Builder
Diameter
Control Point
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 9
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 2: Financials and basics
Smart Plan Builder
This module enables CSPs to deliver self-care and personalized contextual offerings that
allow subscribers to simplify their data experience while also being able to purchase new
products/services based on their unique preferences and requirements.
The integration of the Smart Plan Builder not only with the 5780 DSC, but also with the
online charging system (ALU’s 8610 ICC or 8620 SurePay), allows CSPs to deliver better
personalized services in real time and on demand.
Smart Plan Builder will also be integrated with ALU’s Motive customer experience analytics
solution to provide customer insight allowing CSPs to, for example, offer relevant products
and promotions based on the subscriber’s profile, in near real time.
Smart Plan Builder is an additional module of the 5780 DSC, but can be deployed
separately as a standalone component and integrated with a third-party PCRF.
Diameter control point
This module provides Diameter routing capabilities, and as a stand-alone implementation
can be a Diameter routing agent for CSPs. This is RFC 3588 compliant and manages
Diameter-based control traffic.
ALU‟s pre-integrated PCC architecture, shown in Figure 2.5 below, consists of the following key components:
the 5780 DSC at the core, the subscriber data management system (SDM 8650), the IP session controller (ISC
5450), the wireless network guardian (WNG 9900), an online charging system (8610 ICC or 8620 SurePay), the
offline charging system (8615 IeCCF), and a multitude of service routers from ALU‟s 7750 SR product family
for policy enforcement in the: mobile core (packet gateway/GGSN), Internet aggregation point of the broadband
remote access server/broadband network gateway (BRAS/BNG), and Wi-Fi aggregators in the WLAN gateway.
Deep packet inspection (application assurance) for application-level packet inspection is available for all access
types: fixed (BRAS/BNG), mobile (PGW/GGSN) and Wi-Fi (WLAN gateway).
In order to simplify integration with other systems, all of the 5780 DSC‟s external interfaces are based on
industry-standard interfaces (and in fact these are used even when the 5780 DSC interfaces with other ALU
products). As shown in Figure 2.5 below, the 5780 DSC uses industry standards for its interfaces with systems
for policy control and charging (Gx, Gy, Gz, Sy and Rx); authentication (Sh, LDAP, RADUIS/CoA); roaming
(S9 Diameter-based interface); and data exchange (XML).
Figure 2.5: ALU’s pre-integrated, enhanced PCC architecture [Source: ALU and Analysys Mason, 2012]
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 10
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 2: Financials and basics
Figure 2.6 describes each of these components and how they are pre-integrated into the 5780 DSC.
Figure 2.6: Components of ALU’s PCC solution [Source: Analysys Mason, 2012]
ALU PCC components Description
5780 DSC This is the core of ALU’s PCC architecture and is detailed in Figure 2.3 above.
WLAN Gateway – 7750 SR
The WLAN Gateway’s main role is to aggregate Wi-Fi traffic from the WLAN
access points and to apply QoS and traffic shaping to and from these access
points. It also creates context and states for each subscriber instance being
served from the WLAN GW, and coordinates with the provider’s back-end
subscriber, policy and billing infrastructure for usage control and authentication
based on a per-subscriber context.
9900 WNG (Wireless Network
Guardian)
The 9900 WNG provides multi-dimensional intelligence for multi-vendor mobile
broadband networks. Unlike traditional probe-based systems focused purely on
the radio access network, or payload-centric deep packet inspection (DPI)
systems, 9900 WNG uses advanced analytics to provide CSPs with a real-time,
end-to-end view of how users, their devices and applications interact and impact
all parts of the delivery chain, and vice-versa. This intelligence can be used in
many different ways by the CSP to improve the quality of customer experience as
well as network and application efficiency. The WNG offering is a combination of
hardware, software and forensic services.
As part of the intelligent traffic management solution, the 9990 WNG provides
traffic congestion information to the 5780 DSC even at the cell level, which
enables more intelligent policy decisions to improve subscribers’ quality of
experience and to ensure efficient network operation. This information
complements data that is available in the 7750 SR application assurance offering.
Packet Gateway or GPRS
Gateway Support Node –
7750 SR
This is a PCEF in the PCC architecture specific to the mobile core where traffic is
aggregated. As with products from other NEMs, this module is resident on either
the GPRS Gateway Support Node (GGSN) for 3G, or the evolved Packet Gateway
(PGW) for 4G/LTE. The component is based on the 7750 SR and supports SDF
detection, policy enforcement and flow-based charging. This PCEF is the first
point of contact between the network and the 5780 DSC.
Broadband Network Gateway
or Broadband Remote Access
Server – 7750 SR
This is a policy enforcement point specific to fixed networks, where Internet traffic
is aggregated. ALU’s BNG is its IP service edge router for managing aggregated
residential broadband services including VoIP, video and high-speed Internet. This
component is also based on the 7750 SR, and performs PCEF functions as
instructed by the 5780 DSC.
Subscriber Profile Repository –
8650 SDM
The 8650 SDM is the subscriber profile repository of the PCC architecture. It is a
converged subscriber database that consolidates multiple databases including
HLR/AuC, mobile number portability, equipment identity register, and home
subscriber server, into a single virtual data store with centralised administration,
management and reporting. This component provides the 5780 DSC with
subscriber data to ensure policies and charging are applied accurately based on
the subscriber’s tariff. The 5780 DSC holds a cached version of some subscriber
data from the 8650 SDM, to ensure policies are executed in real time.
Application Function –
5450 ISC
The 5450 ISC is the application function of the PCC architecture and uses the Rx
interface for Diameter-based control messages. The 5450 ISC provides the service
control plane for IMS services that are policy controlled. This component is part of
ALU’s end-to-end IMS solution, and manages SIP-based sessions for voice, video and
data communications over any SIP-based wireline or wireless device. It integrates a
number of functions such as the call session control function, IP border control and
access gateway control function for control of TDM endpoints through H-248 access
gateways. It provides all aspects of call session control function (CSCF) functionality
including P-CSCF, I-CSCF, S-CSCF and E-CSCF.
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© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 2: Financials and basics
Online Charging System –
8610 ICC or 8620 SurePay
The 8610 ICC (Instant Convergent Charging) system and the 8620 SurePay
online charging system provide the critical real-time rating and charging function
for voice, SMS, data, prepaid or post-paid in any given combination in the PCC
architecture. They also support the development of innovative tariff plans, e.g.
shared mobile data plans. ALU was one of the first vendors to pre-integrate the
5780 DSC with its OCS using the Sy interface.
ALU’s OCS can also integrate with third-party billing and CRM systems.
Offline Charging System –
8615 IeCCF
The 8615 IeCCF (Instant enhanced Charging Collection Function) offline charging
system provides a single collection point for offline events and charging
information from various network elements. It correlates events and transfers them
to a convergent billing system using a single interface to simplify integration.
Visiting PCRF (5780 DSC)
When policy-controlled subscribers are roaming, in order to ensure their home
policies and agreed tariffs are applied, the home PCRF and the V-PCRF (the
visiting PCRF for a roaming policy-controlled subscriber) will need to exchange
data in near real time. This is increasingly necessary as policy becomes important
to all CSPs, and there is increasing regulation regarding roaming and bill shock
(especially in Europe).
ALU’s position in Analysys Mason’s segmentation of the telecoms software markets
Analysys Mason identifies a number of functional categories within the telecoms software market, and groups
them into sub-segments. On an annual basis, we publish the market share and five-year forecast for each of
these sub-segments (as well as consolidated market share and forecast information). Figure 2.7 illustrates these
categories and sub-segments, and shows the areas addressed by ALU‟s telecoms software portfolio. The
company reduced its presence in the Customer Care segment with its sale of Genesys to Permira for
USD1.5 billion in February 2012. However, it still has products such as its recent periphery customer care
solutions Motive Customer Experience Management (CXM) and Smart Plan Builder.
Figure 2.7: ALU’s position in Analysys Mason’s segmentation of the telecoms software market [Source: Analysys
Mason, 2012]
Professional services
Business
consulting
Design
consulting
Product-related
services
Systems
integration
Custom
development
Outsourced
operations
Hosted managed
services
Revenue
management
Partner and
interconnect
Business optimisation
Mediation
Service delivery
platforms
Content management
Telecoms application
servers
Policy management
Subscriber data
management
Customer care
Customer interaction
Customer relationship
management
Subscriber
management
Service fulfilment
Order management
Inventory
management
Activation
Engineering tools
Service assurance
Service management
Fault and event
management
Performance
monitoring
Workforce
automation
Probe systems
Network management systems
Mobile Residential broadband Business data services PSTN
Device management
Billing
Prepaid
Postpaid
Convergent
Key: Segments and sub-segment covered in this report
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 12
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 3: Customers and markets
3 Customers and markets
3.1 Overview of customers and markets
As of June 2012, ALU has 49 deployments of its PCRF platforms, of which 50% are the 5780 DSC and the
remainder its wireline predecessor, the 5750 SSC. Figure 3.1 presents a few key customers that have recently
deployed the 5780 DSC (based on publicly available data). Section 3.2 provides a detailed customer case study
of SaskTel.
Figure 3.1: Significant customers of ALU’s 5780 DSC [Source: Analysys Mason, 2012]
Customer Deployment type
Antel (Uruguay)
Deployed 5780 DSC to offer personalised services to its customers as part of the first
commercial LTE launch in Latin America. This is a convergent deployment that supports
Antel’s 3G and fixed networks
Belgacom (Belgium)
First 5780 DSC deployment in a multi-vendor PCC environment. The 5780 DSC enables
Belgacom to send real-time notifications about national and international data usage to
subscribers, as per the EU regulations on roaming charges. Customers receive
warnings when they reach a EUR50 limit, with approval needed for additional spending.
C Spire (Mississippi,
USA)
Deployed as part of a 4G/LTE core which is expected to be launched in September
2012. The 5780 DSC will optimise C Spire’s LTE spectrum and provide QoS for its
mobile broadband customers on the new LTE network, which will provide speeds ten
times faster than its present mobile network.
Etisalat (UAE)
Deployed as part of the core in the first commercial LTE roll-out in the Middle East. The
5780 DSC is supporting Etisalat’s group strategy to migrate its subscribers to more
personalised services across all its operations globally, to increase revenue.
Etisalat (Sri Lanka)
Deployed as part of the 3G packet core roll-out, with future-proofing for evolution to 4G.
The 5780 DSC is supporting Etisalat’s group strategy to migrate its subscribers to more
personalised services.
SaskTel (Canada) First wireline win leading to a fully convergent multi-access (fixed and mobile)
deployment of the 5780 DSC, to implement fair usage and bill shock prevention use
cases. See Section 3.2 below for this case study.
About 50% (USD7.5 million) of ALU‟s policy management revenues in 2011 were attributed to the mobile
segment. This is an indication of ALU‟s increasing momentum in the mobile segment – it was traditionally
stronger in the residential broadband (fixed) domain. Figure 3.2 illustrates the estimated breakdown of the
company‟s policy management revenue by service segment, while Figure 3.3 shows the breakdown of revenue
between products and services; around 70% (USD10.5 million) was attributed to product licences and
maintenance, and the remaining 30% (USD4.5 million) to product-related services. This exemplifies ALU‟s
commitment to developing strong product solutions that requires minimal additional or external product-related
services to install, configure and operationalise.
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 13
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 3: Customers and markets
Figure 3.2: ALU’s policy management revenue by
service segment, 2011 [Source: Analysys Mason,
2012]
Figure 3.3: ALU’s policy management revenue by
product and services, 2011 [Source: Analysys
Mason, 2012]
As shown in Figure 3.4, ALU‟s policy management revenue in 2011 was derived almost exclusively from North
America (NA) and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The vendor has long-established relationships with
major CSPs in both regions, where it has been involved in numerous IP-related deployments. However,
increased LTE roll-out and uptake of smartphones and tablets has increased policy management demand in
North America. The Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Caribbean and Latin America (CALA) regions only accounted
for 20% of revenues in 2011. In the emerging regions of EMEA, APAC and CALA, smaller CSPs tend to use
lower-cost solutions from other specialist policy vendors rather than ALU. Huawei is particularly a threat,
providing low-cost products as well as a complete PCC solution for CSPs in these regions. ALU has
successfully seized the opportunities in North America, where Huawei is very weak, and can increase its
standing in APAC by leveraging its Shanghai Bell business unit.
Figure 3.4: ALU’s policy
management revenue
by region, 2011
[Source: Analysys
Mason, 2012]
ALU has not made any acquisitions specific to policy management. This has been due to its strong policy
management heritage, stemming from the fixed 5750 SSC and continuing with the convergent 5780 DSC.
However ALU‟s acquisitions of Motive and Velocix (see Figure 3.5 below) enhance its policy management
portfolio with analytics and content delivery network solutions.
Mobile50%
Residential broadband
50%
Total revenue: USD 15 million
Products70%
Services30%
Total revenue: USD 15 million
NA50%
CALA10%
EMEA30%
APAC10%
Total revenue: USD 15 million
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 14
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 3: Customers and markets
Figure 3.5: ALU’s M&A adjuncts to the policy management segment [Source: Analysys Mason, 2012]
Date Acquisition/Investment Transaction value (USD million)
07 October 2008 Motive 68
23 July 2009 Velocix 25 (estimated)
3.2 Case study
SaskTel
SaskTel (Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corporation) is a leading provider of fixed, mobile, TV
and internet communications services in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. With revenues of
USD1.1 billion and approximately 4000 employees, SaskTel has a customer base of 1.4 million, made up of
594 000 mobile, 514 000 fixed, 234 000 internet, and 93 000 TV customers. Its customer base is predominantly
postpaid, with approximately 20% of the mobile subscriber being prepaid.
Business challenge
SaskTel made the business decision to continue having unlimited soft cap data plans, as a market differentiator;
as a result, it needed to reduce its costs by managing the IP traffic on its fixed and mobile networks. The
solution had to provide business benefits for at least three years, or at most five years.
The 5780 DSC solution
To address this business challenge, SaskTel decided to deploy a convergent policy management solution for
both fixed and mobile networks to reduce the overall complexity of its deployment and operations, as well as to
reduce costs. SaskTel‟s fixed business recommended the 5780 DSC because of its familiarity with ALU as a
network equipment vendor (the mobile network was not predominantly based on ALU systems). As a result, a
critical requirement of the 5780 DSC in being selected was its interoperability with both ALU and third-party
products. Another winning factor was ALU‟s proven support for its products, which would be critical to
deploying the 5780 DSC in this complex, multi-vendor environment with no disruption to existing services.
SaskTel chose an implementation of the 5780 DSC with both fixed and mobile modules, including an embedded
subscriber profile repository to ensure policies are enforced with low latency. The solution is pre-integrated to
work with other ALU products in the fixed network (including the BNG and AAA server), and has also been
interoperability tested with third-party components in the mobile network such as the HLR, GGSN (including
the DPI function) and charging components. The 5780 DSC went live in March 2012, with the architecture
shown in Figure 3.6.
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 15
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 3: Customers and markets
Figure 3.6: 5780 DSC deployment at SaskTel [Source: SaskTel, ALU, Analysys Mason, 2012]
The 5780 DSC addressed more business challenges in SaskTel‟s mobile business than in its fixed business. In
the first five months after launch, SaskTel – with the support of ALU – implemented the following use cases to
address its mobile business challenges:
Traffic management with fair usage and other custom policies: To maximise its network assets, SaskTel
throttles heavy mobile users to a limit of 256kbit/s if they exceed 10GB of data usage in one bill cycle. This
allows SaskTel to continue providing its unlimited soft cap data plan satisfactorily to its customers in the
Saskatchewan region, and avoid any immediate need for an increase in infrastructure capex.
Elimination of national roaming tariffs: To extend the unlimited soft cap data plans to its customers
while they are nationally roaming throughout Canada, SaskTel recently implemented the above fair usage
policy even when the customer is on another Canadian mobile operator‟s network. This increases the
profitability of SaskTel by controlling the interconnect data usage for these unlimited soft cap data plans,
without passing on the overage and national roaming data charges to Sasktel‟s customers. This solution
provides SaskTel‟s customers with a simple, single tariff across Canada, as well as giving SaskTel control
over its national roaming costs.
Bill-shock prevention for international roaming: For international roaming customers in the USA and
overseas, SaskTel has integrated the 5780 DSC with its SMS Centre to inform them when they reach a
certain threshold on their data usage, to avoid bill shock. In addition, the policy throttles the speed of
customers to 256kbit/s after the first 200MB of usage. This policy was initially applied to national roaming
for seven months, but was removed in September 2012. SaskTel now offers „travel packs‟ that allow
customers to exceed these international data roaming restrictions at better rates.
Benefits achieved
ALU‟s 5780 DSC has given SaskTel the ability to maximise its network capacity while continuing to provide
unlimited soft cap data plans to its subscribers. The ability to optimise the existing network resources fairly to
all users resulted in the following financial benefits:
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 16
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 3: Customers and markets
cost savings from a 15% reduction in core network data usage
cost savings from better international and national roaming settlement bills, because of SaskTel‟s policies to
control roaming customers‟ data usage and reduce bill shock
SaskTel estimates there was a payback period of seven months for the true cost of the deployment, which
includes hardware, software, ALU resources and internal SaskTel resources. ALU‟s “excellent” support was
cited as a key factor in realising these benefits. In addition to the financial benefits, SaskTel expects the
5780 DSC will further reduce its total cost of ownership by helping it to increase revenues by delivering new
differentiated and personalised services to its customers. Finally, using the 5780 DSC‟s agile rules technology,
SaskTel has the flexibility to create and roll out new policy use cases and services, to monetise its network
investments at its own pace.
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 17
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 4: Analysis
4 Analysis
ALU is a Tier-1 NEM that has a significant position in the IP equipment market with its 7750 SR product
family, which underpins its High Leverage Network (HLN) conceptual architecture. The high growth of IP
services on fixed and mobile networks is increasing the demand for advanced policy management solutions. The
company‟s 5780 DSC is a PCRF solution that provides a high level of transparency and configurability thanks
to its Agile Rules Technology, making it well suited to the needs of CSPs who require a flexible policy
management solution for new and evolving IP-based services.
4.1 Strengths
CSPs invest in policy management solutions primarily to implement fair usage policies to protect their IP
network assets from high volumes of unwanted network traffic. However, as CSPs focus on IP service
innovation, there is an increasing requirement for policy management solutions to be more flexible and scalable
to meet the needs of new and evolving IP services. Today, most commercial policy management solutions lack
configuration flexibility to enable CSPs to innovate at their own pace. As a result, CSPs become dependent on
vendors or systems integrators to implement new policy use cases, as these may require some level of hard
coding and testing which are not completely transparent to the CSP after deployment. Transparency of policy
management is becoming more important as the PCRF is becoming the core to delivery of all services,
particularly in mobile networks.
The agile rules technology embedded in ALU‟s 5780 DSC provides transparency of all the network resources
and OSS and BSS functions that are affected by each policy management rule. In addition to reducing
dependency on the vendor for the creation or modification of policy management rules, the transparency A.R.T.
provides can also help CSPs troubleshoot unknown network and service issues such as intermittent issues, by
providing the ability to manipulate the network with policies to simulate or remove traffic. This is unique for
PCRF solutions, and A.R.T. potentially provides CSPs with another system to reduce resolution times for
network/service issues. A.R.T. is the main differentiator of the 5780 DSC and is backed by over 140 pending
patents that allow it to offer scale and performance combined with flexibility, ease-of-use and maintainability.
The 5780 DSC also has the advantage of being convergent (fixed, mobile and Wi-Fi) and providing industry-
standard interfaces for ease of interoperability with third-party systems. In addition, it is one of the few policy
management solutions that have Wi-Fi policy control aligned with the 3GPP‟s ANDSF standard. Like all
leading policy management solutions, it can integrate into multi-vendor PCC environments. In addition to this
third-party integration, as a Tier-1 NEM, ALU can deliver its own pre-integrated PCC architecture as a single-
vendor solution (see Figure 2.5, above).
Traditionally, ALU has been strong in the fixed domain. However its timely investment in its lightRadio
solution and 7750 SRs in the mobile packet core has increased its penetration of the mobile market, as LTE
emerges as the next wave of mobile technology. ALU‟s greater strength in the mobile segment has increased the
success of its 5780 DSC, being used as part of the upgrade of 3G packet cores and new LTE deployments.
In addition to network protection, policy management is a key system for CSPs to innovate, develop, deliver and
manage new IP services to increase their revenues. ALU is fourth overall in the service delivery platform (SDP)
market, and leads in North America with a strong position in telecom app servers, mobile content management
and delivery and subscriber data management. Additionally, the vendor has worldwide sales channel and
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 18
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 4: Analysis
solution delivery capability, and can deliver SDP solutions as part of larger network and managed-services
deals.
4.2 Weaknesses
Being one of the largest and most longstanding NEMs, ALU has a list of legacy products which it still needs to
support for CSPs that are not ready to change – e.g. the 5750 SSC for fixed networks. The cost of maintaining
legacy products increases ALU‟s operational costs.
In spite of having a strong SDP and PCC portfolio, ALU has been plagued by numerous business disruptions
such as its large-sale reorganisation in 2011 and recent restructuring in response to a poor 2012 half-year report.
These business disruptions have hindered the company‟s ability to execute consistently against its competitors.
4.3 Threats
In addition to internal business disruptions, ALU faces external threats from the many other policy management
vendors in the market. In the policy management (PCRF) market, it lags in revenue behind Ericsson, Huawei,
Tekelec, Openet Amdocs and NSN. Ericsson, Huawei and NSN have increased their market share primarily
from PCRF implementations in mobile core networks. This is as a result of the superior strength of these NEMs
in the mobile domain compared to ALU. In North America, Openet has secured its largest deal with AT&T,
which reduces ALU‟s revenue opportunity in the region.
While ALU has not acquired technology in the development of its policy management solution, both Amdocs
and Tekelec have done so: Amdocs acquired Bridgwater, and Tekelec acquired Camiant and Blue Slice
Networks. These acquisitions have augmented the position of these vendors in the policy management market,
as CSPs consider their offerings to be more independent and multi-vendor PCRF solutions than those from
NEMs.
4.4 Opportunities
ALU has seized opportunities in North America associated with LTE deployments. However, its strength in
fixed networks provides another emerging opportunity as CSPs and governments invest in optical next-
generation access and national broadband networks. ALU‟s acquisition of Velocix, a provider of content
delivery networks, provides the opportunity for policy deployments to maximise the capacity on these high-cost
access networks while guaranteeing consistent QoS. Similarly, the 5780 DSC‟s ANDSF-compliant Wi-Fi
control module also provides an opportunity, as CSPs look to Wi-Fi networks to offload traffic and optimise
their precious mobile spectrum.
ALU‟s pre-integrated PCC architecture increases its opportunity to sell components to CSPs when their current
systems approach end-of-life, or require replacement owing to rationalisation or technology refresh. The 7750
SR, 8650 SDM and 8610 ICC products presently have higher market presence than the 5780 DSC and 5450
ISC. As a result, CSPs with IP networks using 7750 SRs or with the 8650 SDM deployed can recognise the
value of implementing the 5780 DSC as their core policy management solution. Similarly, a 5780 DSC
deployment can attract the implementation of an 8650 SDM as the CSP upgrades its HLR to an HSS with the
aim of delivering more personalised services to increase its revenue. Additionally, the migration of existing
5750 SSC customers to the 5780 DSC is a potential opportunity.
Customer experience management is becoming a hot topic for CSPs, particularly in highly competitive and
saturated markets, as a way to reduce churn and increase market share. ALU has enhanced its PCC portfolio by
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 19
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 4: Analysis
coupling its Motive customer experience management and analytics solutions, allowing the delivery of more
personalised services in real time.
Finally, ALU‟s Shanghai Bell business is an opportunity to gain share in the policy management market in
China, leveraging its FTTx deal with China Telecom as part of China‟s national broadband initiative.
Alcatel-Lucent’s 5780 Dynamic Services Controller: Agile, convergent and interoperable policy management | 20
© Analysys Mason Limited 2012 About the authors
About the authors
Glen Ragoonanan (Senior Analyst) is the lead analyst for Analysys Mason's professional services research
programme. He joined Analysys Mason in 2008 and has worked as a consultant on projects on next-generation
IT and telecoms networks, systems and technologies for incumbents, new entrants, private companies,
regulators and public-sector clients. His primary areas of specialisation include operations and business support
systems (OSS/BSS), solution architecture and integration for business process re-engineering, business process
optimisation, business continuity planning, procurement and outsourcing operations and strategies. Before
joining Analysys Mason, Glen worked for Fujitsu, designing, delivering and managing integrated solutions.
Glen is a Chartered Engineer and project management professional with an MSc from Coventry University.
Anil Rao (Analyst) is a member of Analysys Mason‟s Telecoms Software research team, focusing on service
assurance, Infrastructure services, service delivery platforms and telecom software strategies programs. He has
over 10 years‟ experience in the telecoms industry, working in system integration and service delivery with
major Tier 1 mobile and fixed line operators, and independent software vendors. Anil joined Analysys Mason in
early 2012. He holds a BEng in Computer Science from the University of Mysore, and an MBA from Lancaster
University Management School.
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