How to deliver a first-class mobile internet experience

As demand for smartphones explodes around the globe and 3G wireless penetration rates continue to rise, we continue to see exponential growth in the demand for mobile broadband. In a sea of economic turbulence where wireless and wireline carriers are unsure about where and how much capex to invest, one thing is certain: mobile broadband is growing, and growing fast. Carriers across the world are funnelling capex into their mobile broadband infrastructure to improve customer quality of experience (QOE). They are adding more cell sites, offloading traffic to Wi-Fi or WiMAX networks, deploying femtocells and, most commonly, investing in their backhaul and packet core infrastructure.

In Australia, we are seeing this phenomenon clearly: carriers are aggressively migrating their customers to 4G. According to Ovum, more than 50% of Australian mobile users are on 3G networks and that number is expected to reach 90% by 2013. Carriers are investing in faster HSPA+ networks offering 42 Mbps moving to 84 Mbps. 1) Mobile broadband data traffic is growing in Australia by over 80% year over year. Over 50% of new mobile broadband users are PC or netbook users, who normally consume more capacity than regular smartphone users. 2) We are even seeing evidence that Australians are turning off their home broadband lines (ADSL) and switching to mobile broadband instead.

In this environment, carriers need to do two things: 1) invest in higher capacity solutions and 2) embed more application intelligence in the network. But what is the case for each investment? Let’s examine the issues.

Carriers need more capacity for multiple reasons. First, as I’ve previously stated, carriers are experiencing an enormous surge in mobile broadband data traffic and need to build capacity to reduce congestion in the network and improve consumer QoE.

The second reason is structural: carriers build their networks to optimise voice traffic. Voice traffic is low bit rate and constant in nature and since it has been the majority of the traffic in the network, carriers optimised their architectures for it. Architectures were created that were low capacity, static provisioned, hierarchical and very reliable and they have served the industry well to this point. However, static, hierarchical networks (predominately using TDM infrastructure) do not have economical scaling and the ability to handle bursty traffic the way packet networks can do.

Packet networks, more specifically carrier ethernet networks, can scale to high bandwidth economically as well as handle the bursty nature of data traffic without excluding or negatively impacting voice traffic. Packet networks can do this by using advanced tunnelling protocols called pseudowires. All of these factors make carrier ethernet networks the new architecture to deliver surging mobile broadband data traffic efficiently and economically.

Moving to carrier ethernet is a necessary first step, but it is not sufficient to compete in this new landscape. Now that carriers are mostly handling data, they need to be aware of the applications they are providing in order to deliver maximum value to their subscribers. This intelligence can come in several forms. These include the ability to 'see into' the packets and determine the applications running using a technique called deep packet inspection (DPI).

Next-generation equipment can peer into these packets as fast as they traverse the network (or at line rate) and understand whether this traffic is VoIP, video, peer to peer file sharing, YouTube or other applications. This information can be combined from the packet core information about subscriber, location, handset type to give a much more complete view of what users are doing on the network where and with what types of devices. This information can then be used by carriers to both improve the customer experience as well as provide new revenue streams.

After their move to carrier ethernet is completed, carriers have multiple options to improve their network efficiency and monetise new data applications. Here are just a few examples. Carriers can now use the application information to traffic-manage their networks and give certain applications priority. For example, carriers can sign agreements with particular services (like Netflix for movies, for example) and deliver those services at a higher quality level than say peer to peer file sharing; or, carriers could look at the most popular internet content, maybe the Top 10 video downloads in Australia and cache them locally in the network. This would both reduce congestion as well as improve the page-loading experience for the subscriber. Carriers could also use this functionality for security applications to look for virus signatures or malicious Smartphone users and filter out harmful content.

Finally, carriers could provide the missing links in the mobile application value chain: by packaging application, subscriber and location information, operators could enable micro-targeted advertising to mobile devices, delivering specific sales or product information to subscribers who use certain applications in certain locales. (For example, an electronic coupon for Starbucks when a subscriber enters or passes one of the coffee chain’s outlets.) In addition, this information could be shared with application developers to help them understand how their applications are being used and by whom, enabling them to deliver more effective 2.0 versions.

As data becomes the main traffic on mobile networks, carriers will need to respond by investing in intelligent carrier ethernet infrastructure in the backhaul and packet core. Only with this new infrastructure in place will carriers be well positioned to survive the current broadband data boom and position themselves advantageously for the new revenue streams of tomorrow.

Source:
1 Ovum Report, 3G in Australia: HSPA Mobile Broadband Marches On
2 Ovum Report, 3G in Australia: State of the Market and Operator Strategies
 

*Mike O’Malley, Director of Market Strategy, Tellabs