PCC Deployments [215]: Tigo [Africa] Uses BroadHop for Quota and Self Top-Up

In a recent webinar, before its acquisition by Cisco, BroadHop presented several Policy and Charging Control deployments.

The slide below shows the one for Tigo (part of the Millicom Group) in Africa, done with an unnamed  DPI PCEF. Allot Communications has recently announced DPI deployment in Tigo's affiliates in Latin America (see "Millicom (9 affiliates) Deployed Allot" - here).

[Survey] "16% not Using any Policy Management Solution"

It seems that the policy management market still has a lot to cover, or is still looking for appealing use-cases. According to a recent survey, only 23% of respondents said they are using policy management for the "new-age" use-cases, and the majority is mainly using it for traffic management. 

The survey, conducted by Heavy Reading (commissioned by BroadHop - now Cisco), covered the "current policy use, policy challenges and the benefits SDN (Software Defined Networking) is expected to bring to policy management" among "170 telecom industry experts and executives".

Results:

•  Policy use cases:
• 62% still using policy primarily for bandwidth management or data caps, tiered services, and throttling
• 23% said they were using policy for new service delivery, including data plan creation, user self-care and promotions.
• 16% not using any policy management solution
   
• Policy Deployment Satisfaction 

• Policy control deployments challenge: 
• 37% interoperability with other IT and network equipment
• 24% making a business case based on service differentiation
• 20% scaling up to high transaction loads. 
• 8.6% Adding new policy use cases was flagged by  of respondents and 
• 10% regulatory issues such as net neutrality and privacy
   
• Benefit of running policy management in a software-defined network (SDN) environment: 
• 33% of respondents felt it was too early to tell 
• 28% said that SDN would make it easier to launch new policy-supported services. 
• The rest were split evenly between the opinions that SDN would make it easier to handle peak loads, that it would reduce the cost of policy deployments, and that it would enable policy to be bought and sold as a service in the cloud
   

See "BroadHop Survey: Policy Challenges for 2013 include Scalability, Interoperability and Making a Case for Service Differentiation" - here.

Syria - Research on DPI

This year we have seen many stories about the use of DPI in Syria (which I haven"t covered in the blog). However, it seems that researchers from the University of Damascus are also working on DPI, in its more commercial apsect of traffic shpaping and QoS.

Eng. Asaad Jamous, Dr. Nawar Al-awa and Dr. Maher Suleiman published a paper last year on the subject.

Abstract

This research aims to study signature-based network traffic shaping systems, to manage the bandwidth of network link among different packets of applications according to the priority and importance per application , and building QoS classes.

In this research, we investigate the different methods of packets classifications, string matching  algorithm, regular expression, traffic shaping algorithms and techniques. A generic model to match the application signatures was developed, and integrated with QoS.

The system components implemented at Linux operating system using th e open sources units and programs. Experiments of the effects of various metrics and their overall performance have been undertaken and evaluated, and the limitations found in the study are also discussed.

See "Signature-based network traffic shaping" - here.

Optimization Deployments[214]: Sunbeach Communications [Barbados] Uses DiViNetworks to Add Capacity at Half Cost

DiViNetworks announced that Sunbeach Communications, selected ".. DiViNetworks as its data capacity expansion provider. The DiViCloud service adds International capacity without any upfront investment. Sunbeach is a major ISP in Barbados, providing Internet to residential and corporate customers for over a decade. Sunbeach is in the process of rolling out a cellular network .. Sunbeach’s international data traffic is steered to the DiVicloud’s PoP in Miami using standard peering ..  added virtual capacity is offered at half price".

See "Barbados’ Sunbeach Communications Inc. Selects DiViNetworks to Expand International Capacity" - here.

Aruba's WLAN Optimizes QoS and Fairness w/DPI

 
Aruba Networks, announced recently a new "..wireless LAN platform that addresses the explosion of mobile applications and devices challenging enterprise networks, while dramatically reducing enterprise IT costs .. the Aruba 7200 Series with new Aruba AppRF technology is the only [?*] wireless LAN platform with the integrated application intelligence and controls to optimize application delivery. This insight, and the ability to take real-time action, results in 11x better performance compared to existing solutions". 

*Several weeks ago Xirrus announced a similar industry first (here) - "..a wireless industry first: comprehensive Layer 7 application visibility and control directly at the wireless network edge", using Vineyard's DPI engine (here).  

Back to Aruba - "To accomplish this, Aruba AppRF software, which runs on the 7200 mobility controller, uses Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) for Layer 7 insight to identify application traffic. Then, using Airtime Fairness, QoS and integrated control of RF characteristics on the access points, the controller optimizes over-the-air performance for each application type and user profile".

"The Aruba 7200 Series Mobility Controllers, which include three models – the 7210, 7220 and 7240 – are available now, with prices starting at $16,995 U.S. list".

See "Aruba Networks Introduces First Wireless LAN Platform Optimized for Mobile Application Delivery" - here.

DPI Product Page Update - Dec 2012

Following the recent post on Huawei's DPI/URL filtering product (see "Huawei's SIG: Policy Enforcement and URL Filtering" - here), I updated the DPI product page (here).

The Huawei SIG 9800 was added, and some other updates made, such as reference to ALU's high-end product SR-7750-SR-12e.

[Ericsson] OSS/BSS in 2013: OTT Partnership, Tiered Services, Analytics and Bill Shock

 
Beau Atwater, Director of marketing strategy for Ericsson (previously from Telcordia, pictured), outlines the main reasons for CSPs to spend money on OSS/BSS systems upgrades in 2013 ("part evolution, part revolution"). As we have seen these vendor wishes many times before, I can only join Beau's statement "The more things change, the more they stay the same" - in selling side pitches and predictions.

• In 2013, consumers will continue to flock to over-the-top (OTT) voice, video and data services. What’s changing is that instead of sleepless nights pondering a future as a dumb pipe, CSPs will start turning OTT from a problem into an opportunity .. In 2013, many CSPs will partner with OTT players. For example, a mobile operator could provide a certain amount of bandwidth and prioritization to a video OTT provider that agrees to share revenue because the QoS would help differentiate its service. The video OTT provider’s brand also could help the mobile operator attract customers. Both companies also could market to each other’s customer base. CSPs will have to optimize their OSS/BSS infrastructure to execute this
   
• "OSS/BSS overhauls also will enable the trend toward tiered pricing, which will take off in 2013
   
• CSPs will spend more and more time analyzing customer behavior so they can capitalize on it
   
• Finally, 2013 also will be the year that CSPs began to turn another problem into an opportunity: bill shock. CSPs suffer financially when surprised customers become former customers or share their anguish with their social networks. CSPs also bear the cost of fielding all those billing inquiries. See "24 Operator Groups (4B Subscribers) to Adopt Bill Shock Prevention Measures This Year" - here, "Bill Shock Prevention is Coming to the US Mobile Service" - here and "EU Helps Preventing Mobile Bill Shock" - here. 

See "The OSS/BSS-enabled revolution begins in 2013" - here.

[Anonymous]: Sandvine Recent Deals are with ...

An anonymous person left two comments on my recent Sandvine deal announcements posts:

• "Sandvine: [Telefonica?] $4.5M Orders for Bill Shock and Tiered Services Enabling" (here) - the customer is O2 UK (O2 is part of the Telefonica Group)
   
• "Sandvine: Already $10M Orders from Asian Tier-1" (here) - This customer is Telecom Malaysia.
  
  At the end of Q3, 2012 Telecom Malaysia had 2M broadband subscribers (see chart below). Related post - "Telekom Malaysia Admits that its new Traffic Management System Needs Tuning" - here.

[ABI]: Small Cell for Public Venues - $3.1B Market by 2018

A recent research by Nick Marshall (pictured), principal analyst, mobile networks, ABI Research finds that "Public venue small cells are an emerging class of small cell equipment, which are expected to grow at a CAGR of 67% to $3.1 billion in 2018. The public venue small cell category is a subset of the existing enterprise small cell segment, and will represent 50% of the segment by 2018".

See also - "Survey: 98% of MNOs Believe Small Cells are Essential" - here.

"Deploying, installing, and operating small cells in public venues involves different considerations than street-level small cell deployments. Backhaul, power supply, and increased scale, with dozens or even hundreds of small cells in a densely packed network need to be handled. Also, unlike street-level deployments, public venue small cells face different interference challenges, dealing with higher interference between the small cells, rather than the surrounding macro"

See "Small Cells Expected to Carve a Niche in Public Venues, Worth $3.1 Billion by 2018" - here.

VAS Deployments [213]: Pelephone [Israel] Uses Checkpoint's Cloud-based Security

Haim Raviv reports to The Com (here, Hebrew) that Israeli MNO, Pelephone, will be "..the World's first cellular operator to offer Checkpoint's cloud-based security service to its subscribers. Dubbed 'Pelephone Anti-Virus', the service protects against viruses, spyware and Trojans and offered for ~$3.5/Month".

The service (here, Hebrew) is based on "Checkpoint's ThreatCloud, does not require any update to the subscriber's handset and offered to all smart devices and computers with cellular modem, except Blackberry handsets. Obviously the service is not applicable during Wi-Fi connections".

At the end of Q3, 2012 (here) Pelephone had 2.8M mobile subscribers, a 0.1% decease compared to the same quarter last year. ARPU decreased by 11%, from NIS107 to 95 ($25), mainly due to competition from new operators. VAS revenues were 35.1% of total cellular services. Quarterly churn rate was 6.7%. Other technologies deployed by Pelephone - PCRF (here), Caching (here)

According to Checkpoint ThreatCloud (see spec below) " .. is a collaborative network and cloud-driven knowledge base that delivers real-time dynamic security intelligence to security gateways. That intelligence is used to identify emerging outbreaks and threat trends. Since processing is done in the cloud, millions of signatures and malware protection can be scanned in real time".

Diameter - New RFC but More Work Ahead!

 
Xavier Milà (pictured) and Victor Pascual, Acme Packet, provide more information on the "a new version of Diameter, RFC 6733 (this was previously known as RFC 3588bis)".

"The main improvements in this new version include:

• Improved transport efficiency and clarifications of security mechanisms, adopting TLS/TCP and DTLS/SCTP as primary security mechanisms and IPsec as a secondary alternative
  
• Correlation of application-Id fields, which are necessary due to the proliferation of applications based on Diameter

• Clarifications and enhancements regarding routing and agent discovery
   
• Advanced redirect capabilities to reflect modern requirements for flexibility to route based on multiple parameters including user, realm, application, etc. 

Beyond this, the new specification contains a number of clarifications related to the state machine, extensibility guidelines, caching, deprecation of the end-to-end security framework and other miscellaneous fixes .. However, the Diameter protocol standardization has not concluded with RFC 6733. There are a number of RFCs in development or published related to security, prioritization, dynamic capabilities exchange, NAT, application design guidelines and routing".

See also "F5 Adds RFC 6733 Support to the Diameter Router; Better Security" - here.


See "A New Spin on the Diameter Protocol: RFC 6733" - here.

Bell Labs: Distributed IP Edge with CDN Caches can Reduce TCO by 33+%

A recent study by Bell Labs finds that "..By 2020 people in the US will be consuming 7 hours of video per day - mostly video on demand - which will place disproportionate stress on the IP edge of broadband networks .. The proportion of time spent watching managed video-on-demand services will grow from 33% to 77% .. Internet-based video consumption each year will grow twelvefold".

And the network effect:

• As unicast replaces multicast/broadcast - and video traffic levels surge - centralized content injection will drive up the cost of video delivery in the IP service network, as well as video server and link congestion, and impact service availability and quality.
   
• The extra expense of maintaining multiple networks, one for managed video and one for high-speed Internet service, will become prohibitive.
   
• BRAS routers simply do not have the capacity to handle the increased traffic load or the service intelligence to support the personalized video and Internet services customers are demanding.
   

"service providers that adopt a distributed IP edge with CDN caches can lower total cost of ownership of their network by more than 33% vs. those that maintain today’s centralized architectures"

See "Bell Labs Video Traffic Study" - here and study - here. 

Huawei's SIG: Policy Enforcement and URL Filtering

More than 2 years ago I had a post about the use of Huawei's solution by TalkTalk for web filtering (parental control) service - see "TalkTalk Uses Huawei to Detect Malware (or Parental Control?)" - here.

Later TalkTalk provided more details on the service itself (HomeSafe) - see "TalkTalk [UK] Launches Free, Opt-in, Parental Control/Malware Detection Service" - here.

A recent document by Huawei provides more technical information on the product used by TalkTalk - Service Intelligence Gateway (SIG):

"Huawei provided its Service Intelligence Gateway (SIG) solution, which can be deployed on a fixed (between the broadband remote access server and international gateway), mobile (at the Gi, Pi, or ASN-GW egress), or converged network. Its architecture is simple, consisting of a front end, back end, upgrade center, and cloud security center.

The front end is responsible for analysis, reporting, and policy enforcement, while the back end manages SIG systems, users, and policies. The back end automatically receives the latest knowledge base and URL classification statistics from the upgrade center and cloud security center, without service interruption, while providing SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) interfaces to enable/disable services and configure policies. Based on its interfaces, service providers can develop self-service portals by themselves or through Huawei, while operators can use the SIG to deliver AoS (Alert of Security) messages to customers.

With its carrier-class router platform, Huawei SIG performance is assured through its ASIC and multi-core network processors – service throughput can reach 120Gbps on fixed networks and 100Gbps for mobile. Reliability is another key feature, thanks to redundancy in SIG’s design for boards and key components, both on the front end and the back. The system is also equipped with professional-grade bypass devices, to protect links against anomalies. During upgrade, operators need only replace the interface or service board (overhaul is unnecessary).

SIG boasts a library of over 65 million URLs in 43 categories, which operators can customize as required. Based on an industry-leading malicious code detection technology, SIG can filter malicious URLs dynamically, keeping viruses and other malware out of the home. If something is detected, the system can send alerts to users".

See "TalkTalk provides online protection for families" - here.

Allot CEO Plans to Continue Acquisitions in 2013

Yoram Gabizon and Dror Reich interviewed Allot's President and CEO Rami Hadar (pictured) to the Israeli Daily TheMarker ("The only question on the agenda is how quickly we will take market share from Cisco" - here, Hebrew).

Some quotes from the interview (beyond the description of DPI technology, solution and use-cases):

• We have the resources to do things, use the money we raised and the momentum for aggressive growth. Allot acquired two companies in 2013 (here, here), and I hope we will continue doing that in 2013. 
   
• There are many advantages of being mid-size company, but from my standpoint this is not a stable state in the telecom market. We need to ask ourselves every day how to enter new areas, and grow.
    
• In recent years Allot was successful in winning large customers. In the last quarter we announced a US Tier1 wireless operator and in Europe two of the top4 MNOs are our customers. We do this direct and not through contracts with large TEMs like Alcatel-Lucent (hinting to Sandvine). 
   
• We have two groups of competitors. The first is the pure players - Sandvine, Procera and 2-3 smaller companies. Sandvine did nicely in the US cable market - but outside the US this is not a big market.
   
• The 2nd group is the TEMs - Cisco, Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent. It is not clear how much the big players are selling in this space, but my goal and challenge is to convince their customers to buy Allot - this is the growth engine.
   
• DPI is not a market - it is a technology, and customers are buying solutions that help the save costs or increase revenues. We call our product a Service Gateway, not DPI - and tell customers - let the router route, and us do the intelligent things.
   
• Net Neutrality uncertainty delays the market in the US; our success there was with analytics, video caching and optimization.
   
• There is no reason for Allot not to continue be an independent company. However I report to the board and shareholders and they will decide if Allot will be acquired, is such offer will be made. It is not on my agenda. Last year we got such offer (F5). 

Does Android Provide Better Data Usage Control?

DataWiz for iOS

In the 4th episode of their "Reasons no to Buy iPhone5" series , Kevin Smith and William Wei of Business Insider compare the data consumption control iPhone and Android have in the data caps era.

Note that this relates to build-in features of the iPhone, while there are plenty of applications, including by MNOs, that provide the necessary information for iOS for example - "New Mobile Usage Tracking App Predicts Future Usage" - here



See "Android Kills The iPhone When It Comes To Preventing Data Overcharges" - here.

How does Netflix Optimize Video?

With Netflix responsible for "up to 29% on North American Internet traffic" (Sandvine, here) - managing the load created by its content delivery should be a very important task for ISPs and carriers.

Operators may use network based optimization, or data caps (here) to mange to load - but it appears the Netflix is putting a significant effort to help them as well, and always deliver the most optimized content to the subscriber, by preparing it in advance.

Kevin McEntee (pictured), VP Digital Supply Chain, Netflix explains in a blog post and a short video (here) the video supply chain - the steps taken to prepare a movie or TV episode for streaming. included is a step in which Netflix transcodes the content to multiple devices/ bit rates. This creates 120 different downloadable per movie!.

See also "Canada's Usage based Billing - Bell Rethinks, Netflix to the Rescue" - here and "Are UK ISPs Ready for Netflix?" - here.

See "Complexity In The Digital Supply Chain" - here.

[Analysys Mason]: How will Operators Handle OTT / Voice and SMS Revenues Decline?

A new research by Stephen Sale (pictured), Principal Analyst, Analysys Mason ".. analyses the key factors that are driving the voice and messaging markets in Western Europe, and provides forecasts for traditional operator-provided services, next-generation operator services and OTT services".
 
 

• Several mobile operators have launched their own VoIP apps, typically offering low-cost or free calling via Wi-Fi. They aim to address arbitrage opportunities targeted by alternative apps. Examples include T-Mobile’s Clever Connect, Tele2’s +46 and Telefónica’s forthcoming TU Go.
   
• VoLTE offers an opportunity to improve the mobile voice feature set, notably by integrating it into other IP services. However, a clear vision for how voice services should evolve has yet to be articulated and discussions of its potential benefits are focused almost entirely on cost reduction. VoLTE plans are currently being decided by spectrum strategies. Most operators do not have a meaningful voice strategy.

Source: Analysys Mason, 2012

See "Operator and OTT voice and messaging services in western Europe: forecasts and analysis 2012–2017" - here.

[Infonetics]: "it comes down to subscribers either being willing to pay a fair price for the services provided or not"

A new research by Stéphane Téral (pictured), principal analyst for mobile infrastructure and carrier economics, Infonetics Research finds that "over-the-top voice revenue is shifting away from mobile operators .. SMS use is fading in places like Japan, the US, the Netherlands, and the UK in favor of free applications over mobile broadband that enable internet browsing, email and, more importantly, video .. Those services may be free to subscribers, but handling the traffic is not free to the network operators. Service providers are spending billions of dollars to upgrade their networks to handle the skyrocketing traffic; if they don’t, they face network outages and subscriber turnover. They’re all looking for cost savings and efficiencies. But it comes down to subscribers either being willing to pay a fair price for the services provided or not".

• Mobile service revenue is increasing year-over-year but the growth rate is decreasing and in some cases not keeping pace with network operator capital expenditures (capex)
• Despite the rise of revenue from mobile data services, blended ARPU continues to fall or stay flat due to fierce competition, declining voice ARPU, and regulatory tariffs
• Mobile broadband services are growing fastest, with global revenue on track to nearly double between 2012 and 2016.

See "Mobile operators feeling pressure from OTT and free services" - here.

US Bill Suggests to Control Data Caps

Few days after the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute report concluded that US ISPs data caps are ".. product of an uncompetitive broadband marketplace where providers use data restrictions to increase revenues and protect legacy services such as cable television from online competition" (here) rather than "..manage growing traffic and maintain quality of service on their networks" a new Data Cap Integrity Act was introduced the US Senate.

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (pictured) proposal (here, below) gives "consumers the tools they need to manage their own data usage, institute industry-wide data measurement accuracy standards for ISPs, and impose disciplines to ensure that ISP data caps are truly designed to manage network congestion .. The Data Cap Integrity Act requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish standards by how ISPs will measure data and empowers it to ensure that data caps are designed to manage network congestion rather than monetize data in ways that undermine online innovation. Furthermore, it ensures that consumers are provided tools to manage their data consumption and that ISPs cannot, for purposes of measuring data, discriminate against any content".



See "Wyden Data Cap Legislation Will Protect Consumers and Promote Innovation" - here.

AT&T Asks Subscribers about 1-800 Data Service

During this year we saw several AT&T executives talking about 1-800 data services (in which the content provider pays for the subscriber data consumption).

See "AT&T CEO: 1-800 Data will 'Catch Fire in the Next 12 Months'" - here and "AT&T Considers "1-800" Model for Mobile Data" - here.

While this challenges Net Neutrality (which does not apply yet to mobile services in the US, but such initiatives may trigger that) and raises doubts by experts (see "1-800 Apps Concept: Superficially Appealing but Unworkable" - here) AT&T seems to continue with the plan.

Karl Bode reports to DSLReports.com that "A reader writes in to tell us that AT&T is circulating a survey trying to gather support for the idea, by framing the discussion in the context of movie studios paying for the bandwidth to watch their trailers. The survey question:

While using your phone to search for content such as movies, games or music, you see a symbol or logo that indicates that the data usage for downloading or streaming will be free. It will not count against your monthly data plan.

For example, the 20 or so MB to watch a movie trailer would be paid for by the movie studio since they want you to watch it. You know the data usage will be free because you see the logo or symbol.

How interested are you in trying this idea described above?

"When I answered "not interested" the survey ended quickly," says tipster djrobx".

See "AT&T Still Interested in Developers Paying Fee to Bypass Caps" - here.

Zhilabs Wins a European Tier1 Contract

In a (traditionally) short message, Zhilabs announced that it has been "granted a contract whereby FlowSight will be deployed to provide ultimate Network Intelligence for a tier-1 European Fixed Broadband Operator. The contract has been awarded after the completion of a successful proof-of-concept where all FlowSight capabilities where demonstrated in the Fixed Broadband domain".

Other Zhilabs customers include Telefonica (see "Telefonica to Use HP in the Americas and Europe" -here), Vodafone and O2.

See "Zhilabs awarded contract for Fixed Broadband Network Intelligence @ Tier-1 European Fixed Broadband Operator" - here.

Report: Data Caps Raise ISPs Profit Margins

  
Verizon's CFO already said, in public, that shared (and limited) data plans are "an optimal way for us to monetize increasing data usage" (here). A new report by New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute [OTI] agrees.

The report, by Hibah Hussain (pictured), Danielle Kehl, Benjamin Lennett and Patrick Lucey finds that ".. increasingly costly and restrictive data caps are serving little purpose other than to raise the already high profit margins of broadband providers .. Internet service providers argue data caps are necessary to manage growing traffic and maintain quality of service on their networks .. instead, they are the product of an uncompetitive broadband marketplace where providers use data restrictions to increase revenues and protect legacy services such as cable television from online competition".

"The technical rational for imposing monthly limits on all subscribers makes little sense when network congestion tends to occur at limited times of the day and in certain locations. In addition, maintaining quality of service does not require Internet service providers to charge users exorbitant overage fees rather than pursuing less costly and punitive measures, particularly as the costs for operating broadband networks continues to decline"

"In July 2011, Verizon Wireless announced that it would be introducing a tiered pricing system for mobile users that included data caps .. Since then, both Verizon and AT&T have reconfigured their data plans, simultaneously raising prices and data caps so that while users may be paying less per MB today than a year ago, they have to choose between a more expensive basic plan and incrementally higher tiers as well .. Both companies have also introduced family share plans for data—similar to plans that allow families to share minutes and text messages—in which users share a single data cap,but pay a fee for each mobile device connected to the plan. The results of this policy shift have been clear—the average revenue per user (ARPU) from monthly subscription wireless data plans has steadily increased since 2009, climbing at a higher rate than the ARPU for other metrics such as retail service and other postpaid fees. And the trend is likely to only increase as AT&T and Verizon push their new shared data plans, which offer additional opportunities to boost data ARPU".

 

See "NEW REPORT: Capping the Nation's Broadband Future" - here.

[Juniper Research]: mVoIP OTT Is Still Ahead - 1B Users by 2017

A new report by Anthony Cox, Juniper Research forecasts that there will be "..over 1 billion users of over the top (OTT) mobile VoIP services by 2017, reflecting a dramatic shift in how voice traffic is carried over the next five years ..  improvements in network technology, increased competition and the move by telcos to join the OTT space will all come together to give the mobile “internet-voice” market a ‘second wind’. However, as with Skype on the desktop, only a very small proportion will pay for the service"

“.. The arrival of 4G will give further impetus to mobile VoIP take-up but potentially accelerate the decline in overall voice revenues.

See "Mobile VoIP Users to Reach 1 Billion by 2017, or One in Seven Mobile Subscribers" - here.

PCRF Deployments [212]: Network Norway Tries Every Possible Use-case w/Tango Telecom

Tango Telecom announced the ".. successful trial deployment of its cloud-based Policy Control solution with Network Norway"

Tor Anders Braun, Head of Services and Core Network, Network Norway said: “We chose Tango Telecom for this cloud-based trial because of the comprehensive nature of their product and the large number of use cases supported including sophisticated app-based self-care as well as QoS management, Turbo Boost and advanced Data Plan and Bundle management. They have proven to be a fast, flexible and capable supplier and we are very pleased with the speed with which they integrated with our other network elements and demonstrated a very impressive end to end solution”.

Network Norway is part of the Tele2 Group, with 1.2M subscribers in Norway. See also - "Networks Norway Uses Flash Networks for Video Optimization" - here.

See "Tango Telecom enables Leading Norwegian Operator to support Policy in the Cloud" - here.

Kindsight Adds VAS Opportunities for MNOs; Switches from Advertising to Freemium Business Model

Kindsight released ".. new features for Kindsight Mobile Security to expand the protection mobile operators can offer their subscribers. Mobile operators can now alert users of suspicious apps that would be missed by device-only security apps, block infected devices from communicating with attackers’ command-and-control (C&C) servers, and help the subscriber locate missing phones and remotely lock or wipe data from stolen phones".

Kindsight used to present the business opportunity for operators as a paid Value-added Service or free service with advertising (here). This seems to have changed, and the current model is the freemium concept:

"..Mobile operators can deploy the white-labeled Kindsight Mobile Security solution to launch new value-added services to their subscribers under their own brand. These services can be offered for a monthly fee to generate new revenue or by using a freemium model where some functionality is offered for free and the subscriber can upgrade to the premium features for a fee. Since mobile operators are the only providers who can combine network-based and device-based security, by working with Kindsight they can offer a strongly differentiated offering to their subscribers as compared to off-the-shelf, device-only mobile security solutions".

See "Kindsight Expands Mobile Security Protection" - here.

UK Government: No Need ("appetite") for Network Based Parental Control

I am following the UK government activity on network based web filtering service (parental control) for over two years now, starting with "UK: Public Pressure on ISPs to Enforce Parental Control" -  here through "UK Government Wants "Opt Out" Parental Control" - here, "UK Government Pushes ISPs (Again) to Provide Better Parental Control" - here to "UK: Top 4 ISPs Committed for Opt-In Parental Control" - here (see the chart below for the latter).

The last step was a public consultation - "Between 28 June and 6 September 2012, the ministers from the Department for Education and the Home Office who co-chaired the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) Executive Board consulted UKCCIS members and the wider public on their views on parental controls. - see "Parental internet controls consultation .. Over 3500 individuals and organisations replied to the consultation and gave a wide range of views" - here.

The result - the UK government response is: 

• "There was no great appetite among parents for the introduction of default filtering of the internet by their ISP: only 35 percent of the parents who responded favoured that approach"

• "The Government has therefore been working with all parts of the information and communication industries through UKCCIS to promote the approach recommended by Reg Bailey, “that the internet industry should ensure that  customers must make an active choice over what sort of content they want to allow their children to access … those providing content which is age restricted, whether by law or company policy, should seek robust means of age verification as well as making it easy for parents to block underage access”.

See "The Government’s Response to the Consultation on Parental Internet Controls" - here. 

Procera Reports New DPI Deals - ME MSO, Taiwanese Cloud Service Provider

Procera Networks continues to show traction in the large DPI deals (2 in one day, this time).

Beyond the traditional deployments by ISPs, MNOs and MSOs, Procera also reports a more unique use of DPI by cloud service providers (see "Procera Adds Application and Subscriber-Aware Solutions to Cloud Service Providers" - here).

The vendor announced it has received:

PL-8920

• "..multi-million dollar initial order from a Tier 1 multi-system operator (MSO) in the Middle East. This operator serves cable subscribers across its countrywide footprint as part of its residential triple play service offerings. This new service provider customer selected the PacketLogic PL8920 following extensive competitive product evaluation and testing that included many stand-alone and integrated competitors. Procera expects to begin to recognize the majority of revenue from this initial order in the fourth quarter of 2012"
  
  and
   
• [see also - "DPI Win: Procera Enforces SLA for Cloud Services in Asia" - here] "a follow-on order from a Tier 1 cloud service provider in Taiwan. This operator serves more than 20 million fixed and mobile subscribers across its coverage footprint, and offers cloud services to large end customers, as well as white-label services to other cloud service providers. Procera’s newly expanded Intelligent Policy Enforcement (IPE) systems are deployed to ensure a high Quality of Experience (QoE) for the Taiwan government cloud services that are hosted by the operator. Procera’s up-to-date, extensive signature database also enables the cloud operator to optimize the traffic and bandwidth management of its network resources".

See "Tier 1 Middle Eastern Service Provider Selects Procera Networks" - here and "Tier 1 Taiwanese Cloud Service Provider Expands Procera Deployment" - here.

Policy Management Consolidation: Cisco to Buy BroadHop

2.5 years ago I had a post  about - "Bridgewater and BroadHop are Getting Closer to Cisco" (here).

Bridgewater is no longer an acquisition option, and while Cisco launched its own PCRF product since then (IPCF - here and here), it appears acquisition is still relevant.

Cisco announced (in a blog) it "plans to add a critical piece of network management technology to its portfolio today by announcing its intent to acquire Denver, Colorado-based BroadHop, a provider of next-generation policy control and service management technology for carrier networks worldwide. BroadHop’s widely deployed policy control solutions for mobile and fixed networks will be integrated into Cisco’s Service Provider Mobility Group to provide service providers the flexibility to control, monetize and personalize the types of service they choose, on any network".

See "Cisco Announces Intent to Acquire BroadHop" - here.