Cisco Expands SCE Line with a 60Gbps and Virtual Models

Cisco has added recently two new models to its standalone Service Control Engine (SCE) product family - a new, 60Gbps hardware and a virtual version.

Originally, the SCE product line came to Cisco with the acquisition of P-Cube, 10 years ago (here). The product is no longer developed in Israel (home for P-Cube R&D center), and since the acquisition till now, Cisco has not added new h/w models, leaving the SCE 8000 as the high-end model, with total throughput of 30 Gbps per chassis - far behind the competitive products.

According to Cisco source, the company will continue to support both its standalone (SCE) and embedded DPI products (ASR 5000, for example).

More on the new products:

• The SCE-10000 - "The Cisco SCE 10000 Series Service Control Engine (SCE 10000) is specifically designed for carrier-grade deployments requiring high-capacity, stateful application and session-based classification. It helps you better control or manage application-level IP traffic by subscriber".
  
  This is a 2RU product, with the following interface performance features:

• Cisco vSCE -"The Cisco vSCE adds a new virtual network function (VNF) to enhance the extensive virtualized capabilities provided by the Cisco Evolved Programmable Network (EPN) architecture. The Cisco vSCE expands the Cisco Service Control solution portfolio that is designed to align with evolving market trends and customer needs and promote rapid deployment of innovative new service offering .. 
  The Cisco vSCE is a virtual appliance that retains functionality parity with existing physical appliances and can be deployed using hypervisor software platform. The Cisco vSCE is access technology independent and can be deployed in any cable, wireline, mobile, public sector, or enterprise network application. Customers can also use it for testing purposes and for trial of new services" 

[ABI]: VoLTE (w/IMS) is the Next Big Thing; $30B Market to 2019

   

A new report by Sabir Rafiq [pictured], research analyst, ABI Research finds that ".. as the first wave of LTE deployments achieve coverage, VoLTE is the next big thing. VoLTE runs on IMS, and the market will total over $US30 billion through 2019 as it becomes widespread. 

Leading infrastructure vendors such as Ericsson and Nokia are fully committed to VoLTE and IMS space and equip customers with this next wave in mobile broadband. Similarly, other vendors such as Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei, and Cisco recognize the impact VoLTE and IMS will have on the market. These vendors are active in the VoLTE space by offering credible solutions in order to attract and retain customers ..  IMS mobile core revenue corresponds directly with the popularity of VoLTE”.

".. With the availability of VoLTE smartphones, operators realize benefits with improving quality in voice service, and also top-line growth with value adding services. This leads to increasing VoLTE services in smartphones, with Apple [see "iPhone 6 also supports Voice over LTE (VoLTE)" - here] and high-end Android  [see "New Moto X on Verizon to get Advanced Calling 1.0, run VoLTE - here] devices leading the way. 

[see also: "GSA: 116 MNOs Offer HD Voice - Even on 2G Networks!" - here]

VoLTE will become extremely important in the future and ABI Research believes competitive positioning will lead operators to VoLTE/IMS"

See "Mobile Broadband Operators Scramble for VoLTE, Creating an IMS Land Rush as Ericsson and Nokia Stake Claims on the $US30 Billion Market" - here.

Orange Business Services Offers Application-aware Business VPN Internet

 
Orange Business Services announced it is "extending its core Business VPN service with Business VPN Internet. 

It is designed to meet the growing demand from multinational corporations (MNCs) for high-performance, secure access to Internet-based cloud and Web services ..  It provides secure business-class Internet, which improves performance for the entire network by eliminating congestion risks on the IP VPN, reducing Internet access latency and prioritizing business-critical traffic.

To deliver Business VPN Internet, Orange Business Services has initially invested in 15 global Internet gateways on five continents (London, Frankfurt, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai, Sydney, Tokyo, New York, Atlanta, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Johannesburg and Bahrain) .. application prioritization: new Internet Class of Service (CoS) enables accurate application prioritization and supports traffic bursting between the Internet and IP VPN as required. 

See "Orange Business Services extends network to drive enterprise digital transformation" - here.

GSA: 116 MNOs Offer HD Voice - Even on 2G Networks!

GSA reports that ".. 116 mobile operators in 75 countries have commercially launched HD voice services .. more than 30% higher than a year ago. Mobile HD voice uses Adaptive Multi Rate Wideband (W-AMR) technology, enabling high-quality voice calls in supporting mobile networks and an improved user experience for calls between mobile phones supporting the feature"

"The majority of operators offer HD voice service over a single radio access network, however some offer the service over more than one network system: The system technology totals are:

• 105 HD voice operators use 3G/HSPA networks
• 10 HD voice operator use 2G/GSM networks
• 11 HD voice operator use 4G/LTE networks"

See "116 mobile operators launched Mobile HD voice in 75 countries; 11 operators launched with VoLTE" - here.

DSC Deployments [322]: BASE Company [Belgium] Selected F5

F5 Networks announced that ".. BASE Company [formally KPN Belgium] —best known for its consumer-orientated mobile services brand, BASE, and one of Belgium’s largest telecom providers—has selected the F5® Traffix® Signaling Delivery Controller™ (SDC™) to meet subscribers' increasing demand for data. 

Last year, BASE Company became the second operator in Belgium to launch 4G for its customers, providing them with much higher speeds to optimize user experience while watching video and consuming rich media".

Ben Volkow, VP, Product Development, F5 said: “Our Diameter-based SDC has proved itself in more than 50 installations [see "F5: We are Starting to See Policy Enforcement Wins; Tremendous Progress with Traffix Diameter" - here] with leading operators across the globe. One of its prime roles is to enable operators to manage the huge increase in signaling messages that typically occurs with LTE technology, primarily due to consumer behavior with smartphones”.

In Q2, 4G at BASE Company was also made available in Brussels. End of Q2 4G is offered in more than 700 cities, towns and villages, equaling approximately an outdoor population coverage of 55% of the Belgian population.

BASE 4G Map 

 See "BASE Company Selects F5’s Diameter Signaling Delivery Controller to Provide Optimal LTE Customer Experience" - here.

Radisys Introduces New COTS-based Platform with NFV-based Flow Classification

Radisys introduced an ".. innovative family of T-100 Series (T-100) Platforms with new FlowEngine™ data plane software technology. The T-100 Platforms, based on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) silicon technology, are designed and optimized to support high performance Software Defined Networking (SDN) and data plane Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) processing requirements. Integrated with Radisys’ FlowEngine technology, the T-100 delivers capabilities that accelerate SDN and data plane NFV application development, improves platform efficiencies with increased density, and lowers CapEx and ongoing OpEx for mobile operators.

• Radisys’ FlowEngine™ Technology
  
  Radisys developed FlowEngine to deliver a pragmatic and differentiated approach to deploying an NFV architecture. FlowEngine delivers many capabilities for SDN and NFV architectures, including:
   
• Delivering wirespeed flow classification within the platform switch mechanics to rapidly identify traffic, reducing DPI loads on CPU blades and increasing overall chassis capacity and performance
   
• Integrated load balancing to intelligently share loads across VNFs

• Radisys’ T-100 Series Product Portfolio
  
  Radisys’ T-100 Platform family consists of the T-100 Ultra, a 14 slot chassis that delivers 2+ Tbps aggregate throughput, and the T-100 Pro, a 6 slot chassis that delivers 640 Gbps aggregate throughput. The ATCA standards-based products leverage COTS silicon technology engineered for telecom reliability and performance, so customers can leverage a broad range of virtualization and development tools available for Intel® x86 processors.
  
  A Radisys T-100 Platform with A2470 switches, populated with A4700 resource blades running Intel® Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK), is an ideal NFV data plane processing platform for Layer 5-7 DPI applications, Policy Control Enforcement Functions (PCRF), or Gi-LAN application processing requirements"

See "Radisys Launches T-100 Series Portfolio with FlowEngine Technology to Accelerate Mobile Operators’ SDN and NFV Deployments for the Data Plane" - here.

Apple IOS8 Update - DDoS Attack? Can Cache Help?

Some traffic management aspects of the recent iOS8 release:

• Procera Networks' blog explains that ".. the latest IOS 8 update has hit some networks pretty hard. Several of our customers had such severe traffic spikes that they initially thought that they were under a DDOS attack ..  because the DDOS protection mechanisms implemented in the Procera solution kicked in, and customers were concerned that there was a wide-scale attack occurring. Using our Dynamic LiveView technology, we were able to quickly isolate the problems to Apple Devices and the Apple Update signature.
  The worst case we saw occurred in a CIS mobile network [left chart], where traffic jumped an almost astonishing 4000% at peak from normal to become one of the biggest traffic sources on the network. This bandwidth was achieved even with the operator managing the traffic using fair usage for each subscriber to ensure that the rest of the network traffic was not affected by the download. This is an astonishing number for a non-video application, and is the network equivalent of an Apple flash mob.
• 
  The European mobile network below saw [right chart] a big spike of over 1Gbps of Apple store updates in a very short time, with Apple Updates going from .01% of total network traffic to over 6% of the total traffic.

See "Apple’s Flash Mob: IOS 8 Update Resembles DDOS Attack for operators" - here.

• PeerApp has "released data that shows 96 percent of iOS 8 requests through PeerApp customers were served from the cache, allowing subscribers to download the update much more quickly. PeerApp measured apple.com traffic of a sample of customers over the period of September 15th – 21st, and found traffic peaked after the iOS 8 release to over 4 Terabytes per hour – a rate four times higher than normal traffic peaks of 1 Terabyte per hour".
  
  See "Millions of iOS 8 updates Delivered 8 to 12 Times Faster with PeerApp" - here.

Artesyn Announced High-density Video Acceleration PCI Cards

 

SharpStreamer™ PCIE-7207

Artesyn Embedded Technologies announced the "SharpStreamer™ add-on acceleration card that enables content owners, broadcasters and service provider networks to speed the deployment of high density video transcoding and multiscreen delivery.

..Artesyn is targeting the highest H.264/AVC and H.265/HEVC transcoding density in the smallest footprint. An Artesyn SharpStreamer card is capable of up to 48 streams of 1080p H.264 transcodes, or 4 streams of 1080p H.265/HEVC transcodes. It uses four Intel® Core™ i7-4650U Processors at 1.7 GHz with Intel® HD graphics 5000 Graphics supported by 8 GB memory per processor subsystem in a three-quarter length PCI Express card footprint.

..As with other add-on acceleration cards in the Artesyn portfolio, SharpStreamer is designed for compatibility with servers from Dell and HP.

The SharpStreamer is equipped with a software development kit comprised of the Intel® Media SDK with Intel® HD Graphics' hardware acceleration, monitoring and processor subsystem operating system and management tools for easy integration with server host processing environments"

See "New Artesyn Embedded Technologies Add-on Acceleration Card Enables High Density Video Processing in Standard Servers and Cloud Networks" - here.

PCC Deployments [321]: INWI [Morocco] Uses Openet for Monetization

Openet announced that "INWI, a leading Moroccan operator, has deployed Openet’s Policy Manager to successfully provide convergent policy control and advanced allowance management .. INWI has integrated Openet’s Policy Manager with its advanced Balance Manager and Offer Catalog solution to monetize and shorten time-to-market for innovative new use cases. 

These will include: 

• the offer of ‘one day’ mobile data service passes 
• real-time data upsell notifications to its 13 million subscribers

These new innovative services will ensure new levels of offer transparency and Balance Management to maximize customer quality of experience, control local and roaming traffic and reduce bill shock".

INWI has ~28% of the local market.

See "Openet Enables INWI to accelerate data innovation and optimize the customer experience through real-time visibility and account control" - here

Teclo Migrates its Mobile Acceleration Technology to Enterprise Networks

Teclo Networks announced the "launch of the B-Series, a simple to deploy solution that speeds up business networks. Based on its mobile data acceleration technology and expertise [see "Free [France] Uses Teclo's TCP/IP Optimization" - here] - delivering lightning-fast Internet for wireless operators- Teclo Networks now brings outstanding network performance and reliability to the enterprise.

Proven to speed up business networks by as much as 400%, the B-Series will improve a number of network functions including: cloud computing, file transfers, web browsing and video conferencing. The B-Series runs off just one single hardware unit, making it both cost effective to buy and install. Regardless of the amount of devices or operating system connected, the B-Series is able to improve the performance and user experience on smartphones, tablets, PCs, laptops and Mac devices".

See "New Enterprise Class Technology from Teclo Networks to Power Workplace IT Networks" - here.

Allot:3 Orders from Data Centers/Cloud Providers

Allot Communications announced "orders from three separate major data center and cloud providers around the globe:

• ..an order from a U.S.-based, multinational cloud provider. The Allot solution will be used to monitor and guarantee service level agreements (SLAs) for its cloud-based services to enterprises across the customer’s multiple data centers worldwide.
   
• One of Latin America’s largest data center providers is installing an Allot Cloud Access Optimization solution to support the organization’s cloud platform, web hosting solutions and data and application storage services. The Allot solution will deliver multi-tenanted application visibility to the provider’s enterprise customers.
   
• .. an order from a European multinational IT services provider for Allot NetEnforcer, a purpose-built appliance for monitoring and managing data traffic. This order expands on its current data center deployment and allows the provider to enhance visibility, service delivery, control and management".

See "Allot Communications Secures Three Orders from Major Cloud Providers" - here.

Happy September for Redknee: 2 Weeks, 3 Deals, $20M

In just two weeks, Redknee [see "[Vendor Review]: Redknee Policy Management Strategy" - here] announced 4 multi-million deals:

• [Sep. 17] "a leading communications service provider (CSP) in the Americas region, has signed orders worth more than $8 million dollars. These new service agreements will enable the CSP to launch innovative data services and increase its competitive position in the market. Redknee supports more than 200 communications service providers and Tier 1 operators across the world to monetize digital services and increase profitability"
  
  Redknee Signs $8 Million Dollars of Orders with Operator in the Americas - here

• [Sep. 9] ".. has received $6 million in orders for software and services from a leading global group mobile network operator. The orders will support the operator to launch innovative data services and advanced customer care capabilities to enhance the experience of its customers"
  
  Redknee Receives $6 Million Orders from Leading Global Group Mobile Operator - here

• [Sep. 3] ".. a Tier 1 communications service provider (CSP) in Asia Pacific has placed an additional software expansion order, worth $6 million dollars, to support the growth in subscribers and data usage on its 4G/LTE network. The first expansion order for $9 million dollars was announced on June 12, 2014. This software expansion highlights Redknee’s capability to support the growth strategies of Tier 1 CSPs to advance the customer experience, generate new revenue streams and launch innovative data services faster to market"
  
  Redknee Signs $6 Million Dollar Order with Tier 1 APAC Operator - here

[ABI]: 123M Fixed LTE Connections by 2019

Yet again analysts are expecting mobile access technology to be an alternative to residential broadband access and replace cable or DSL.

Already 4 years ago, 8.5% of UK households said they are using mobile service at home, as their only access service (here). Other expected it to fail - see "Analysys Mason: Mobile Broadband will Fail as an Alternative to Fixed Broadband" - here) but shortly after saw the light with LTE "Analysys Mason: Will LTE be a Threat to Fixed Broadband Providers?" - here.

3 years later, LTE is seen again as an alternative, mainly to cover for lack of a fixed infrastructure. I wonder what would be the cost of 300 GB quota service with LTE.

A new report by Jake Saunders [pictured], VP and 4G practice director, ABI Research finds that "1.26 billion households do not have DSL, cable, or fiber-optic broadband. Fixed and mobile telcos are looking to LTE to make the connection .. By the end of 2014, ABI Research anticipates there will be 14.5 million residential and commercial premises with fixed LTE broadband access. By 2019, that figure should grow to 123 million .. the shipment numbers for residential LTE gateways and commercial LTE fixed wireless terminals to grow from 9.3 million in 2014 to nearly 44 million in 2019"

See "LTE Reinvigorates the Broadband Wireless Access Marketplace" - here.

MediaTek LTE SoC will Embed Opera's Optimization S/W

Opera Software announced that "Opera Max, a data-savings app for Android phones, will be embedded into MediaTek’s LTE System on a Chip (SoC). The first two MediaTek SoCs to be shipped with Opera Max are the high-performing 64-bit LTE SoCs MT6752 and MT6732 chips. Opera Max will enable smartphones with these chips to consume half as much the data within the same monthly plan at no extra cost"

Opera Software has leveraged its market-leading video and data compression technology in Opera Max, which compresses video, photos and text across most apps and browsers on a smartphone by up to 50%, extending the life of a user’s data plans at no cost. The app also enables videos to start faster and take far less time buffering.

Users can easily monitor and manage the mobile data consumption of each app from Opera Max’s intuitive dashboard, which also reminds users when they are travelling away from their carrier’s network, so users can adjust their connectivity settings accordingly to avoid paying expensive roaming fees"

See "MediaTek and Opera Software partner to extend consumer data plans at no cost" - here.

Procera: "lower than anticipated total addressable market" for NAVL

In its filling to the SEC (here), Procera Networks states:

"On September 15, 2014, Procera Networks, Inc. (“Procera” or the “Company”) concluded that it will be required to record an impairment charge to write-down the carrying value of its goodwill and intangible assets recorded as part of the Company’s 2013 acquisition of Vineyard Networks, Inc. (“Vineyard”)"

See "DPI Merge: Procera Acquires Vineyard Networks for $28M; Riverbed OEM Adds Enterprise Business" - here

"Under generally accepted accounting principles, when indicators of potential impairment are identified, companies are required to conduct a review of the carrying amounts of goodwill and other long-lived assets to determine if impairment exists.

As a result of lower than anticipated total addressable market and revenue growth of Vineyard’s Network Application Visibility Library (“NAVL”) products, the Company has begun an impairment review of its NAVL intangible assets and goodwill, and currently estimates that it will record a write-down in the range of $10 to $16 million (on a pre-tax basis) and that the write-down will result in future cash expenditures in the range of $100,000 to $200,000, related primarily to severance obligations.

The Company will continue to support and enhance the NAVL product going forward".

Vedicis and 6WIND Launched Virtual PCEF and TDF

Vedicis and 6WIND announced they have launched  "virtual Policy Control Enforcement (vPCEF) and virtual Traffic Detection Function (vTDF) appliances to support mobile operators in their move towards Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) architecture. 

The Vedicis solution runs on a standard Intel server and includes:

• Red Hat OS with KVM hypervisor
• Open vSwitch
• 6WINDGate NFV Infrastructure (NFVI)
• Vedicis Content Smart Switch

.. vPCEF and vTDF are required to provide DPI-based advanced charging, bandwidth and congestion control, and traffic visibility for data usage knowledge .. 6WIND’s Fast vNIC driver is integrated into Vedicis’ Content Smart Switch running as a Red Hat KVM guest to exchange packets (external traffic and VM to VM communication) with faster virtual input/output (I/O) technologies". 

See "vPCEF & vTDF Platform" - here.

[Analysys Mason]: Analytics S/W Market for CSPs to Reach $3.8B in 2018

A new report by Justin van der Lande [pictured], Principal Analyst, and Atul Arora, Analyst, Analysys Mason finds that "The worldwide analytics software market for telecoms service providers is forecast to grow from USD2.1 billion in 2013 to USD3.8 billion in 2018, at a 12.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). 

Communications service providers (CSPs) need to increase average revenue per user (ARPU) and decrease churn, and this is driving the most significant innovations in the use of analytics software solutions. We expect CSPs to increasingly use analytics tools in, or to inform, all customer interactions".

• NA is the largest user of analytics tools driven by market maturity and the need for innovative marketing to maintain market share. New technology such as software-defined networks will also drive uses of analytics to provide dynamic optimisation of network functions.
    
• Revenue in LATAM will grow, but the region will lose out to other faster-growing regions, such as APAC, and will experience a decline in the overall market share.
   
• Revenue in the EMEA region will grow, as CSPs in the mature markets of Western Europe invest in more-sophisticated analytics tools to maintain market share and optimise network assets.
   
• APAC’s share of revenue will grow the fastest, driven by underlying telecoms market growth of subscribers and service revenue, a high level of innovation and roll-out of new services particularly LTE.

See "Analytics software solutions: worldwide forecast 2014–2018" - here,

PeerApp: 450 Deployments; 50 New Customers in 2014; New Tier1 Deal

A blog post by Gadi Tamari, [pictured] the recently appointed PeerApp CEO (here) describes the company as " .. market leaders, with 450 deployments globally managing an aggregate of 3 Terabits capacity .. We’ve also gained a lot new customers in 2014 – 50 to be exact. It is great to see global Tier One operators embracing PeerApp solutions to help turn challenges into the opportunity of improved QoE; with 10 Tier One operators joining us as customers in 2014 (see "Quality of Experience Drives Adoption of PeerApp Solutions" - here).

.. In talking with customers, it’s clear that there is a growing need for local content delivery to leverage network investments. I believe that history of providing carrier-grade solutions that accelerate content delivery 4-10x, and reduce network costs up to 50%, combined with our continued innovation, puts PeerApp in the best position to fill that need. We are scaling our organization to support our wider customer base and have broadened our executive team in key areas to ensure we execute on our customers’ requirements".

See "PeerApp Customers Deal with Challenges from Increased Content Consumption" - here.

[ABI]: Multi-tier, Multi-device Shared Plans Allow Price Increase

A new report by Lian Jye Su, Research Associate, and Jake Saunders [pictured], VP and Practice Director for Forecasting, ABI Research, finds that "The aggressive deployment of LTE networks has encouraged higher data consumption .. countries that have a monthly data quota in the range of 8 to 10 GB have increased from 21% in 1Q 2014 to 83% of the total in 2Q 2014.

Facing a downward trend in ARPU, mobile operators are in search of solutions to boost their income. The introduction of multi-tier, multi-device shared plans allow mobile operators to target different customer segments more effectively, and in some cases, increase the price.. This is reflected in an average increase of 11.31% in the monthly tariff in the top 20 markets. In Canada, all three major mobile operators increased their price by US$4.50, despite offering an identical data quota (limit) before the price hike.

On the other hand, all-you-can-eat data plans are slowly disappearing, dropping from 50% in 1Q 2014 to 27.6% in 2Q 2014. Instead of unlimited data plans, major mobile operators in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, and Australia are offering multi-device data sharing plans. For example, U.S. Cellular focuses its pricing strategy solely around data sharing plans and has increased its prices significantly" 

See "Mobile Data Sharing Plans are Gaining Popularity, but They Come at a Higher Cost" - here.

ipoque Enables Monetization with Enhanced Reporting Tool

ipoque announced the "release of its enhanced Net Reporter, a comprehensive and feature-rich traffic and subscriber analytics solution for operators with near-100% detection of all network traffic. 

Net Reporter delivers information such as application usage, device, location, ARPU and QoE/QoS statistics that are valuable to various departments within network operator, for example, Customer Service to pre-emptively avoid subscriber churn, Network Planning to predict and mitigate against congestion, and Marketing to identify specific subscribers to offer additional revenue generating services". 

Dirk Czepluch [pictured], CTO, ipoque said: “With our enhanced Net Reporter traffic and subscriber analytics solution we enable mobile and fixed network operators to monetize the pipe they provide by helping them get detailed knowledge about their customer’s usage behavior. The insight gained is extremely valuable for customized Marketing campaigns and made to measure service offers, for example guaranteed QoE for business critical applications or content partnerships with preferred streaming platforms”.

See "ipoque’s enhanced subscriber analytics engine enables operators to monetize the pipe" - here.

Hitachi Develops its TMS Concept - will Resell Comptel's PCRF

Comptel announced that they have entered into a Reseller Agreement with Hitachi Ltd " .. for Hitachi to resell Comptel Policy Control Solution (PCRF) to Hitachi’s customers worldwide. This strategic partnership with Hitachi enables Comptel to enter the Japanese market and boost its presence in the US.

Going forward, Comptel Policy Control Solution will play an important role as a part of Hitachi’s network solutions for Traffic Management and Network Function Virtualisation".

HITACHI’S TMS (Traffic Management Solution) CONCEPT (here)

Information and communication technology (ICT) covers both information technology (IT) and
telecommunications. In terms of its role in managing the rapidly growing volumes of data communications traffic, ICT is being called on to satisfy the following two requirements.

(1) Optimization of investment: expanding data communications traffic and data storage capacity at low cost.

(2) Innovation: promoting business innovation and helping establish and expand new businesses.

A TMS is a solution for collecting information on the traffic between people, machines, and systems,
and for performing analysis and control based on specific objectives. With the TMS playing a core
role, Hitachi uses ICT solutions that incorporate a variety of technologies to implement features such as network virtualization, and to deliver innovation and optimize investment in user ICT systems belonging to telecommunications operators or to transportation, distribution, local government, or other service providers. These technologies include software-defined networks (SDN), network functions virtualization (NFV), and M2M (see Fig. 1).

In the case of telecommunications operators, for example, for whom dealing with the growth in traffic volumes is an urgent issue, Hitachi can optimize investment in telecommunications equipment by using a TMS to provide fine-grained and realtime bandwidth control for each user, and techniques for making effective use of available bandwidth, such as data offloading and data compression.
 
Hitachi also brings innovations to telecommunications operators’ ICT  systems by, for example, helping them identify changes in user needs, provide new services, and establish new business models through the analysis of realtime traffic data along with their customer and other stored data.

See "Comptel and Hitachi Entered into Reselling Partnership for Comptel Policy Control" - here.

Openwave Mobility Deploys Cloud-based Mobile Video Optimization

Openwave Mobility announced it has "successfully implemented the industry’s first public cloud-based mobile data optimization solution for a prominent North American service provider. 

.. Operators utilizing optimization via a public cloud can in some cases dramatically simplify their infrastructure planning and utilize economies of scale and “pay per use” on-demand elasticity. The public cloud deployment of video optimization is especially attractive to operators with roaming traffic or those who have fluctuating demands. 

DynaMO is also the industry’s most comprehensive mobile data optimization solution. The NFV-enabled solution combines contextually-selective and congestion-aware optimization techniques to optimize video, audio and web content".

See "Openwave Mobility First to Deploy Mobile Video Optimization in the Public Cloud" - here.

SON Deployments [320]: Cellcom [Israel] Expands Cellwize Solution to LTE

Cellwize announced that it has "expanded its existing agreement with Cellcom Israel to deploy, through a dedicated innovation center, the unique capabilities of its elastic-SON™ functions .. Cellcom Israel, the nation’s largest operator [3M subscribers as of June 30, 2014], is a long term partner of SON specialist Cellwize 

After the launch of its LTE network [here; see also "LTE Services Enabled in Israel" - here] and in preparation for its 4.5 network supporting LTE-Advanced launch subject to allocation of frequencies and the Israeli Ministry of Communication’s approval, Cellcom has expanded the Cellwize elastic-SON™ solution to ensure improved user experience.

Leveraging their existing agreement, Cellcom Israel and Cellwize embark on a joint Innovation Center which will enable faster and more robust quality of experience for voice, data and M2M/Internet-of-Things services throughout Cellcom Israel’s network evolution. 

Cellwize Next-Generation SON optimizes Cellcom Israel’s network infrastructure, this unique cooperation will implement SON advancements, such as the efficient management of load balancing, to deliver a high quality service experience for its customers".

See also "Cellwize Launches NFV Based, "pay-as-you-grow", SON" - here. 

See "Cellcom Israel deploys Cellwize SON to ensure the highest level of service continuity for LTE users" - here.

Sandvine Receives $5M Expansion Order (CALA)

After Allot's overwhelming $15M order (here) there were good and bad news from Sandvine.

• The company announced that it "expects revenue for its third quarter to be between $27.5 and $28.0 million ... Our results this quarter highlight the challenges related to the timing of closing larger opportunities. There were a couple opportunities that we expected to close in the quarter that did not materialize as quickly as expected, which is disappointing, but we do anticipate closing them in Q4"
  
  See "Sandvine Provides Q3 2014 Revenue Estimate" - here
   
• Nevertheless Sandvine " has received over $5 million in expansion orders from a global tier 1 mobile operator group for its properties located in the Caribbean and Latin American (CALA) region. The operator group has been a customer since 2012 and has already deployed Sandvine products in select markets in the Caribbean and Asia Pacific. The expansion orders were received in Sandvine’s third quarter. With these orders, the tier 1 mobile operator group will grow Sandvine’s Network Policy Control solutions to over a dozen markets in CALA, which will allow the group to offer innovative new service plans to subscribers throughout the region".
  
  See "Sandvine Receives Over $5 Million In Expansion Orders From Tier 1 Mobile Operator Group" - here.

PeerApp and Sandvine Demo NFV-based Content Caching (w/Sandvine Steering)

PeerApp announced it will "demonstrate the industry's first virtualized content caching solution in cooperation with intelligent broadband solutions provider Sandvine and Dell at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) .. PeerApp and Sandvine's solutions are already integrated at dozens of operators globally using traditional deployment models [see "Sandvine: 40 Joint Deployments with PeerApp, Mobixell and Netsweeper" - here]

This demonstration shows a virtualized content caching solution using PeerApp's UltraBand caching engine in conjunction with a patented application-specific Divert solution enabled by the Sandvine Policy Engine, both running on virtual machines hosted on Dell hardware. 

Related post - "Sandvine CEO Bullish on IBM Relations; SDN and NFV will Take Time" - here.

Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) decouples network functions, such as caching, from hardware, using standard IT virtualization technologies. NFV enables cable, broadband and mobile service providers to build dynamic, virtualized networks with application and content awareness so they can quickly deliver new and innovative services, lower capital and operational costs, and increase flexibility and agility to respond to market demands. PeerApp's content delivery solution is one of the only standards-based solutions available today that supports the exploding popularity of over-the-top (OTT) Internet content with improved economics, flexibility and agility, as well as with the Quality of Experience (QoE) subscribers expect". 

Related post "Sandvine:'leading edge CSPs around the world are currently working with Sandvine on virtualization pilot projects'" - here.

See "PeerApp and Sandvine to Demonstrate the Industry's First Virtualized Content Caching Solution at IDF San Francisco 2014" - here.

Allot Receives a $15M Expansion Order, W/Analytics and DDoS Protection

Allot ServcieGateway
 Tera

Allot Communications announced it has "..received an expansion order of $15 Million from a major tier-1 operator for the Allot Service Gateway Tera .. Allot received this order during the third quarter of 2014.
 

Leveraging Allot's intelligent traffic steering and load balancing capabilities, the solution will provide various value-added services. Among the services ordered are Allot ServiceProtector for safeguarding against distributed denial of service (DDoS) cyber-attacks and Allot ClearSee Data Source solution to provide rich data sources for different applications".

Allot's ServiceProtector Architecture

See "Allot Communications Receives an Expansion Order of $15M from a Tier-1 Operator" - here.

[Strategy Analytics]: 3G Service Revenues Decline

A new report by Phil Kendall [pictured], Executive Director, Wireless Operator Strategies, Strategy Analytics finds that:

• Global mobile service revenue growth will accelerate in 2014, though after passing the $1 trillion mark in 2015, will struggle to grow any further
   
• Europe remains a drag on global mobile service revenue growth, with 2014 revenue forecast at 17% below its 2008 peak. The jump in global growth in 2014 is largely down to the slowing rate of decline in Europe
   
• 3G service revenue has begun to decline in 2014 as 4G growth accelerates. 4G LTE connections will account for 9% of global service revenue in 2013 and more than half of the 2018 total

• Despite the healthy 4G LTE contribution, revenue growth prospects are slim for mobile operators this decade. Mobile connectivity revenue will begin to decline in 2019.

See "4G LTE Boosts 2014 Mobile Service Revenue Though Impact Short-lived" - here.

Study: What are the Barriers for Watching Video on Mobile?

Ericsson's reports that its ConsumerLab found (based on interviews with over 23,000 people in 23 different countries) that:

• streaming video is now almost level with traditional TV watching, 75 percent of consumers watching streamed content several times a week, compared to 77 percent who watch scheduled broadcast TV programming several times a week
  

• Almost one in five viewers (19 percent) are prepared to pay for the ability to access their favored content on any device, an increase of 25 percent in just two years. a rise in the amount of time spent watching content on smart phones and tablet devices
     
• Barriers for watching video on mobile devices, outside home: 

• Alongside this, many viewers have moved to subscription-based video on demand (S-VOD) services such as Netflix and Hulu, and 48 percent state that they would like to see all episodes of a series such as "Breaking Bad" and "House of Cards" released together, so they can choose when to watch them.

See "Ericsson ConsumerLab: streaming closing in on traditional TV as users want 'anywhere access'" - here.

New Consortium Wishes to Replace TCP/IP

A new consortium, led by the Lixia Zhang, Jonathan B. Postel Chair in Computer Science, and Van Jacobson, a UCLA adjunct professor and member of the Internet Hall of Fame from UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, was launched "to promote the development and adoption of Named Data Networking. NDN [technical report - here] is an emerging Internet architecture that promises to increase network security, accommodate growing bandwidth requirements and simplify the creation of increasingly sophisticated applications .. Among the industry partners planning to participate are Verisign, Cisco Systems and Panasonic". 

The consortium first meeting was held this week, in UCLA.

"The NDN team’s goal is to build a replacement for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, or TCP/IP, the current underlying approach to all communication over the Internet. The consortium aims to generate a vibrant ecosystem of research and experimentation around NDN; preserve and promote the openness of the core NDN architecture; and organize community meetings, workshops and other activities"

Internet and NDN Hourglass Architectures
Source: Named Data Networking: Executive Summary

See "UCLA-led consortium to focus on developing a new architecture for the Internet" - here.

Nokia Adds BroadPeak's CDN to its Base Station Applications

Nokia announced a number of new features, including 3rd party application extending its Liquid Applications:

• Video Orchestration provides a new multimedia experience at special events, including race tracks, football stadiums, and fairs. This enables new video services, for example, streaming a live feed from inside a racing car, in real time, to fans at the trackside.

• Real-time Analytics capture user and service performance data to provide operators with new real-time insights into user experience for optimizing content delivery
  
  
• Nokia Networks has recently signed an AppFactory agreement with Broadpeak [see "StarHub Deploys Broadpeak CDN (w/ HLS Support)" - here] adding the France-based vendor to its list of 3rd-party application developers and collaborators. Broadpeak’s nanoCDN application will be developed for Liquid Applications to extend content delivery network capabilities to the base station.

• New LTE Quality of Service (QoS) features will allow operators to better manage network resources as well as high quality services for users. A nominal bit rate can now be provided for users at the cell edge experiencing poor radio conditions, for an improved level of service. LTE’s dedicated bearer functionality is also exploited to deliver high-quality and prioritized streaming services for third parties, such as Content Delivery Network providers.

See "Nokia Networks introduces advanced content delivery solutions, extends Liquid Applications" - here.

Allot Enables Music Streaming Revenues for Tier1 MNO

  

Allot Communications announced a "follow-on order with a Tier-1 global telecommunications group. This follow-on order to an existing contract will enable the operator to deliver streaming music services to over 30 million subscribers in multiple markets globally. Using Allot’s intelligent charging capabilities, the augmented solution powered by the Allot Service Gateway, will allow the Tier-1 operator to offer flexible application-centric plans to meet growing usage and service demand driven by the streaming music service". 

Source: Allot MobileTrends Report, H1 2014 (see more here)

 
See "Allot Communications Receives Follow-on Order from a Tier-1 Mobile Operator to Enable Streaming Music Services" - here.

Citrix: LTE Video Data is 5X Compared to 3G

A new report by Citrix (Bytemobile) finds that:

• Mobile network traffic volume associated with video has increased worldwide over 2013 and now represents 52% of worldwide mobile network traffic volume, as compared to 45% in Q2 2013 

• On a daily basis, social networking is the most popular mobile application, with 40% of mobile subscribers engaged, followed closely by news & information at 37% and shopping at 30%

• There are 1.5x more requests for video over LTE than over 3G. These result in 5X more video data volume served over the LTE network than the 3G network due to longer viewing times and higher resolution content 

See "Citrix Data Shows New Trends in Mobile Subscriber Data Usage" - here.