Tekelec's PCRF Used with Verizon's "Turbo Button" API

   

Following the recent story by Mark Hachman at PC Magazine - "Verizon API To Give Apps 'Turbo' Bandwidth Boost" (here) I was wondering if Verizon's PCRF system (a Tekelec product - here) takes part in this Bandwidth on Demand (BoD) system.

To get some clarifications, I contacted Joanne Steinberg (pictured), Strategic Marketing Director at Tekelec. Joanne confirmed that "Verizon is using Tekelec’s Policy Server (PCRF) as well as their own innovative, in-house network optimization API development to deliver service innovations such as the turbo button. As stated in the PC Magazine article, the turbo button can provide "guaranteed quality of service" and the network optimization API will "likely expose attributes like jitter, latency, bandwidth, and priority to app developers."

According to the PC Magazine story - "Verizon will publish an API that could allow consumers to "turbocharge" the network bandwidth their smartphone apps use for a small fee ..Verizon anticipates that a customer running an app on a smartphone will have the option to dynamically snatch more bandwidth for that app, if network congestion slows it down ..  Even with it LTE technology driving its fastest mobile network in the U.S., Verizon still sees a day when congestion can impact high-bandwidth apps".

Joanne sees the following values with API/Policy management system:

• This is a great example of how policy can be used to help service providers deliver more personalized services, add value to over-the-top and in-house applications, and generate more revenues from mobile data
   
• Service providers can also personalize services by providing subscriber data such as location information to applications if the subscriber opts in, guarantee quality of service, and allow subscribers to prioritize their preferred applications. They can also provide analytics to over-the-top application providers such as information on how different policies impact application usage.

See also - "Verizon Wireless Continues To Open Its Network To Developers With Launch Of Location, Messaging And Network APIs" - here.


Tekelec Policy Server Interfaces (Source: Tekelec)