WiFi Offload Survival Guide - Part 4

w w w . g r e e n p a c k e t . c o m

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DATA OFFLOAD SURVIVAL GUIDE - PART 4

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Abstract

Over the past few years since the 3rd party application type services

entered the telecom landscape, mobile operators have been chasing after

the promised “app revenue” with a little less than desirable results in the

midst of perceived threats from over-the-top (OTT) players. Despite the

buzz telcos were far from a comfortable position to benefit from the app

model. Telco appstore copycats made little impact against the popularity of

centralized app stores of Apple and Google platforms. It merely helped

push the upgrade of customers to signup smartphone data plans.

One of the concerns carriers are struggling to contain is the fear of

ending up being nothing less than a utility service i.e. “dumb pipe”.

With commoditization of service and near stagnant revenue growth,

carriers are at risk of financial trouble if unavoidable capital investments do

not match up when deploying next generation networks. Carriers urgently

need to take action. Users today do not differentiate the applications and

services, as they expect it to be part of an integrated experience regardless.

Although no carrier has found the perfect solution, but there are no

shortage of best practices to learn from. Given that service prices will

continue to decline, it’s best for carriers to explore ways boost efficiency as

they set out to build new generation networks, rather than simply blocking

out the non-traditional competitors that are multiplying. For a start, they will

need to find a business model that will help enable them to achieve all of the

above with the right business models.

Offloading via Wi-Fi is one of the main ways carriers can offer their

customers to faster speeds for data applications, especially in areas that

have a high concentration of people, such as airports, stadiums and

shopping centers, without the need for a large infrastructure investment or

compromising the performance of 3G. In this fourth paper of a 5 part series,

we take a look at how carriers can include Wi-Fi within their mobile strategy

and make it possible for an addressable market for converged wireless

experience by personalization of services; the aim to offer customers more

than one way to connect to the Web, simply and at high speed with

Seamless Offload approach.

Contents

Overview 01

Change the Way of Mobile Broadband 02

Don’t Let Your Network Come Up Short

Get Ready for Smart Service

Something for Everyone 05

Making Sense of Technology

Take Seamless Offload to the Road with Greenpacket 07

Secured Integrative Experience

Conclusion 09

Deliver Certainty over Your Service to Customers 10

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Overview

Strong demand for mobile devices with embedded wireless capabilities is

fueled in part by more LTE rollouts. According to research firm HIS,

smartphone is expected to account for 54% in 2013 of the total global

handset shipment and will become dominant in terms of unit shipment.

The declining smartphone prices and diverse model selection has spurred

both lower-end and mid to high-end smartphones globally. The promise

of LTE becoming the enabler of mass connectivity across information,

content, people, machines, places and everything in between will create

massive implications simply for the amount of data being generated and

moved across mobile networks. Not forgetting the signaling load that will

choke networks or at its worst cause service outage. Even with LTE, the

need for complimentary networks such as small cells and Wi-Fi will play

an important role. Not all networks will be 4G LTE and many still rely on

3G networks to carry the load and some are already converging networks

for improved performance.

Today, the average carrier faces challenges from multiple fronts; added

CAPEX from deploying LTE and also spectrum costs, declining revenue

streams, and managing a network under pressure from the data deluge

pouring from tablets and smartphones that are designed to support

bandwidth hungry usage like high definition video, gaming and many

other sophisticated media formats. On top of that, carriers have to deal

with uneven and less predictable usage patterns. Mobile data usage is no

longer fixed at a particular location, but happens anywhere at any

anytime. This means the cost of delivery will remain critical for every

carrier. Across all regions there is increased pressure to consolidate in

order to gain the necessary scale needed to maintain profitability.

OTT services not only run on top of a network and puts stress on network

resources, but also dilute the carrier’s revenue by enabling customers to

talk, text and chat freely, while bypassing the carriers billed voice and SMS

services. What bothers carriers is the “ownership” of their customers

getting hijacked. The separation between network and services that is run

on top of it is becoming more apparent. Services need not be bound by

the network in today’s OTT terms. The carriers are now forced to adapt

new service structures or risk falling behind. Carriers can either choose to

work with OTT or block them out, which the latter seems unwise.

Overview - 01APPLICATION NOTE

Overview - 02APPLICATION NOTE

Considering OTT has a very low entry barrier and the fundamental model

behind scalability of large numbers, carriers would have a better chance

of keeping their business relevant by working with them.

This is a unique opportunity for operators to pull together the necessary

wireless connectivity using alternative technologies like small cells and

Wi-Fi to sell more than just tariffs, but service experience that their

customers want. The reality of complementary 3G-Wi-Fi offloading is real

and brings tremendous benefits in operator networks. Data offloading

done correctly enhances the experience by addressing issues of

connectivity, access, security, authentication and enablement of multiple

service offerings.

Change the Way of Mobile Broadband - 02APPLICATION NOTE

Change the Way ofMobile Broadband

Mobile users have long embraced traditional messaging services but it is not

enough today for carriers to continue on that business model. Today’s

converging communication environment offers a wide array of services ranging

from voice, text, chat, video, Internet, music and more. Carriers benefit from the

opportunities and at the same time face many risks. Broadband networks have

allowed many OTT players flourish, increasingly losing control over their

ownership of users and has resulted in service disintermediation. Carriers now

see many companies competing to provide service over their networks and build

a relationship with their customers.

Previously, mobile data usage was merely within the boundaries of email and

web browsing capabilities. Today, the smartphone capabilities are far more

powerful. Understanding how consumers are using their smartphones today

presents a far greater challenge than older generations of handset. Pertinent

questions such - How much data are they generating and over which network?

Which apps are generating data and how does the quantity of that data vary

between Wi-Fi and cellular networks?

APPLICATION NOTE

Don’t Let Your NetworkCome Up Short

Smartphones offer consumers a single device to meet all of their

communication needs. Similarly, smart networks require tools that provide

a level of visibility into network activities and resources – deeper

understanding of interactions between policy-control systems including

provisioning of services. Data traffic generated by smartphone users needs

to be differentiated to enable service differentiation and improve user

experience while optimizing network resource utilization.

Only with real-time and direct delegation of policy from the policy controller

to these components can carriers monitor, differentiate and prioritize traffic

according to user subscriptions and network conditions together with the

assurance of inter-working between networks.

Change the Way of Mobile Broadband - 03

Change the Way of Mobile Broadband - 04APPLICATION NOTE

Get Ready for Smart Service

At a time when carriers recognize taking transformative measures to current

business models in an increasingly competitive marketplace, relate to the

end-user through relevant services and cut operating costs; they need to

work as closely as possible with the broadening reach of the content supply

chain and applications market. A logical step to effective management of

operations will turn in the direction of a managed service model. Previously

network- and services-driven, carriers now place its view of partnering

providers of 3rd party service platform as the next logical step to

optimization of service delivery. Carriers can bring their own unique

capabilities to overcome competition and demand, where relationships

between both parties can benefit. In the 3rd party supply chain space, it’s

all about working out equitable revenue sharing deals, brand equity and

mass market reach as a start to treating partners as customers as well.

Focus on enabling the Internet communication apps and getting the most

relevant apps working well on smartphones brings value on the collaboration

equation. And stop trying to be actual content providers. Many carriers have

implemented policy control to some degree and see opportunities to adapt

new innovative offerings, delivered by end-to-end policy control and QoS,

which allow smartphone operators to stimulate mass uptake of mobile data

and broadband as they differentiate from their peers.

Something for Everyone - 05APPLICATION NOTE

Something for Everyone

Automating areas like access, discovery and selection as a first step in

guiding the user experience is rewarding be it from a user level to network

level and service level. Today’s user expects less than a set of integrated

communication features as necessary for voice, data, content, media,

applications and more.

The efficiency for building advanced networks is clear- higher speeds,

bigger capacity, better reliability, but the revenue case may not necessarily

equate to reciprocal uplift. Although it may pull customers away from rivals,

with less capable networks it does not mean they are willing to pay more.

The mechanism to extract efficiency of Wi-Fi in delivering content, new

ways of charging customers for usage has to be implemented with careful

study of what is realistic and what is not. Examining the interest level of

customers to bandwidth-rich offering and preferences can help operators

delay the rollout of next-generation networks wherever necessary and

focus to supplement demand-driven pattern with advanced technology.

This can be achieved with Seamless Offload by leveraging Wi-Fi networks.

From the user’s perspective, it means convenience and comfort level of

knowing what, where and how the content can be made safer, accessed

faster with a certain quality of service and readily available for personalization

and it all inter-works perfectly regardless of 3G, Wi-Fi or LTE.

Something for Everyone - 06APPLICATION NOTE

Making Sense of Technology

Technology is a valuable tool to derive new business models.

Greenpacket’s approach is focused on device-based solution that

streamlines the need to reach a large installed device base. The client is

uniquely developed to be instantly deployable, without long and

complicated integration and test cycles. By incorporating iWLAN

technology with a standards based design over native UI settings, the client

ensures user interaction with the device remains familiar. Additionally, the

client is scalable and readily upgradable to advance into the evolved packet

core (EPC) infrastructure.

The single-client software works to converge multiple network access and

executes data offloading transparently by switching between 3G-Wi-Fi and

vice-versa. Incorporating customizable features and capabilities, Seamless

Data Offload client can intelligently detect the availability of access networks

based on signal strength and user policies allowed for accessing certain

data services on a cellular network such as 3G and if there is less

congested alternative network such as Wi-Fi available in the same vicinity.

Carriers can also opt to customize those connection policies to route

certain IP traffic over specified networks with more advanced practices of

IFOM and MAPCON – the discussion of which is beyond the breadth of this

paper. By switching the user from 3G to Wi-Fi without interruption to

connectivity and retaining visibility over all carrier VAS and wall garden type

services, ensures a seamless user experience.

IP SEC

Take Seamless Offload to the Road with Greenpacket - 07APPLICATION NOTE

Take Seamless Offloadto the Road with Greenpacket

Need for a phased out offload roll-out and get started quickly and

economically? A client-based solution can be instantly deployable on

subscriber devices without capital build out or network upgrades. Many

carriers control the volume and type of data on their networks by using

policy management systems directed at traffic flowing within the network

core. It needs to be looked at more broadly. Signaling traffic directly impacts

the Radio Access Network (RAN) layer, which means it is best handled by

pro-actively client-side enforcement controlled through the policy

management system. This provides an overall policy strategy which

optimizes network resources for traffic to and from smartphones related to

the network and environment of use at a given point in time while having a

real sense of the core network backend condition in relation to the usage.


Secured Integrative Experience

Intouch Seamless Data Offload is a device-based client that is iWLAN

capable. The client can help ensure the subscribers are getting reliable

network connections on carrier networks or even when they are on partner,

private or public wireless network. Take the burden off the mobile network

at busy times through accessible, secure and reliable offload alternative

while keeping tabs on user activities. The closely integrated offload, ensures

operator has full visibility of their subscribers from the policies enforced,

access rights, allowed subscription, profile management and

SIM-authentication with a tethering mechanism back to the packet core

network, where content control and QoS is within the control of the

operator. Also in the emerging Hotspot 2.0 and Next Generation Hotspot

(NGH) initiative and framework, it will bring mobility and work hand in hand

to support interoperability across network technologies and devices.

The intelligent client learns of subscriber state and network state

parameters over time to detect the corresponding bearer (Wi-Fi, 3G, LTE) to

the suitability of context (service type, device type, environment in use).

These parameters ensure that the operator retains visibility of which IP

traffic are critical and retained on the 3G or Wi-Fi connection.

Also, the client can have extended abilities to support the Instinq Analytics

Engine1 to monitor connection activity and performance metrics across

multiple networks 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi with a closed-loop mechanism that

help measure the impact of offload and better policy definition to ensure

best possible user experience before and after offload.

It is obvious policy management now forms a critical part of wireless

networks and also wireline networks, both to address congestion and traffic

management but also to enable new applications and services. And all

these need to happen seamlessly and offer automation, in order to

capitalize the power of integrated billing. With Seamless Offload, the iWLAN

client ensures the process of offload do not bypass the operator’s core

network even when applications are headed for the Internet. The act of

retaining traffic within the operator’s core network may seem

counter-productive in offload, but having the right view of which types of

traffic should remain on which links with advanced technologies like

MAPCON or IFOM adds another dimension to the clarity of offload

objective. Service providers face choices as to how to scale their policy

1Note : Instinq Analytics Engine is part of the Customer Experience Intelligence solution platform from Greenpacket that aims to optimize the user experience through deeper understanding of applications, devices and environment in the areas of user analytics, network analytics and more.


deployments to meet these new requirements, including the decision as to

where in the network policy and local policy interact, reside, prioritized and

how it will or won't be controlled.

Seamless Offload finds it value in the way it consolidate the ownership,

credentials, policy assignment and definition customized to give the degree

of control that the operator desire without suppressing user’s expectations

of neutrality and fair treatment of their rights as consumers. At the same

time, it is also important for operators to defend its wall-garden services

without discriminating and penalizing 3rd party services by charging a

premium which may result in backlash. Value added services such as

location-based services, m-wallet, parental controls, shared data plans are

some unique services that users may highly value and unavailable through

3rd party services. Ultimately, it is the perceived value or the lack of it that

primarily drives user expectations, depending on business model the operator

operates. Seamless offload offers carriers the convenience of enabling.

• Secured access to Carrier, Partner, Public or Private Wi-Fi hotspots

wherever available to create an automated experience to their customers

• Multiple platform service delivery and OTT delivery that takes on a

different type of contribution to the customer experience

• Integrated experience to offer service bundles – across multiple

devices and ability to customize/personalize relevant applications,

deeply integrated onto devices and working in collaboration across

3rd party services (where conflict of privacy concerns should be

succinctly addressed) other than carrier VAS

Conclusion - 09APPLICATION NOTE

Conclusion

As most carriers move into mobile data models, the fear of voice charging

becoming irrelevant is a blow to their business. So far, some carriers have

responded to VoIP by blocking it resulting in uproar of protests of the

consumers and advocates of net neutrality. The alternative in this is to see

VoIP and a host of other OTT services as an opportunity. It may seem

counter-intuitive at first to intensify the competition of the consumers’

fondness for such services by allowing it to run over their infrastructure and

service offering. But there is more to it when looked at a different perspective

that offers broad distribution. Operators can bring back the key relationship

with their customers and radically boost low-revenue growth prospects,

improve operating efficiency and perfecting their bundled service pricing to

differentiate what works and what doesn’t in the longer term.

Strong demand for mobile broadband modems and embedded connected

devices, fueled in large part by LTE rollouts will see mobile broadband

connections to grow 36% annually until 2015 as predicted by Gartner. It is

not surprise that carriers will need to re-think their operating models to

contain the right mix of heterogeneous networks and act fast. New IP

driven inter-connection and roaming support such as trusted Wi-Fi offload

and Hotspot2.0 and Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) are emerging to

enable cellular operators to meet those increasing traffic demands of mobile

users. Both trusted and un-trusted relationship adds a new dimension to

the control of network selection and traffic routing policies to create a

seamless experience.

On top of that, client device behavior and its relationship with the core

network should be wrapped around in an end-to-end core ability as it

brings a range of use cases, imminent in today’s diverse networks and

avoid falling into the trap of building networks in silo – carriers must instead

use methodologies that exhibit true performance and measure user

experience through connectivity, mobility and inter-operability through

Seamless Offload approach. By creating a greater overlap in Wi-Fi network

coverage and a greater variety of Wi-Fi networks that users can connect to,

operators can economically manage the needs of mobile data offload

without intensive capital expenditure as they build out newer next

generation networks.

Deliver Certainty over Your Service to Customers - 10APPLICATION NOTE

Deliver Certainty overYour Service to Customers

In these days innovation cycles are happening faster and faster, driven in

part by OTT players and developers. Operators need flexible network

architectures that can cope not only with the current demands, but the

onset of cloud-based services and anything in between that can be thrown

at it in the next five to ten years.

Turn your uncertain challenges into business certainty as we introduce a

phased approach for data offload strategy.

Embark on a journey with Greenpacket to discover the meaning of

seamless offloading and start realizing the possibilities for enhancing your

network and delight your customers.

With Greenpacket, you bring value to your subscribers and become their

partner of communication needs.

Free Consultation

If you would like a free consultation on how you can leverage data offload

solutions for enhanced network performance and user experience, feel free

to contact us at [email protected]. Kindly quote the

reference code, SWP1012-P4 when you contact us.

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