[Infonetics Survey]: CSPs Expect to "significantly increase" Wi-Fi Access Point Deployment

A recent survey by Richard Webb [pictured], research director for mobile backhaul and small cells, Infonetics Research, finds that "service providers across the globe that operate carrier WiFi networks or will do so soon .. expect to significantly increase their access point deployments by the end of 2016 .. a quarter of the respondents expect that by 2016, 26 percent of their access points will be Hotspot 2.0-compliant to enable seamless roaming among WiFi networks and between WiFi and cellular networks"

Related post - "Ruckus/Global Reach Enables Hotspot 2.0 Service in San-Francisco Area"  - here

“Revenue generation has become a key driver of carrier WiFi deployments. Not only does Hotspot 2.0 support integration of WiFi with mobile and fixed networks, but it supports the creation of new revenue models for WiFi services”. Says Richard. 

• Survey respondents’ top drivers for deploying carrier WiFi are preventing churn, bundling service with mobile broadband, improving coverage and generating new WiFi access revenue
   
• Carriers surveyed are adopting a growing variety of monetization models, with tiered hotspots and WiFi roaming growing the fastest through 2016
   
• For the third straight year, Ruckus Wireless and Cisco lead respondent perception of top carrier WiFi vendors

See "Hotspot 2.0 and Virtualization Key to New Revenue for WiFi Carriers" - here.

Arris, Aptilo, Ruckus and Benu Introduce a SP Wi-Fi Solution

Arris announced a new new "Service Provider Wi-Fi solution", build with components from Aptilo Networks, Benu [see "Benu Promises to Increase QoE, Optimize RAN and Reduce Costs for MNOs" - here], and Ruckus Wireless.

The solution extends "residential Wi-Fi services outside the home and addressing paying verticals including SMB, MDU and campus type environments. The carrier-class solution will allow operators to offer centrally managed, coordinated service offerings to their customers and greatly improve their ROI on wireless infrastructure.

ARRIS’s Service Provider Wi-Fi Systems Design and Integration combines key service components— Authentication Authorization and Accounting (AAA), policy enforcement, web portals, wireless access gateways, radio resource management, access point controllers, and access points—for delivering a single, unified customer experience regardless of device, location or transport technology.

The platform’s turnkey, carrier-class capabilities integrate seamlessly into operators’ delivery network and back-office systems as a result of ARRIS’s integration with Aptilo Networks, Benu Networks and Ruckus Wireless ..  The combined platform leverages Aptilo’s service management platform, Benu’s wireless access gateway, and Ruckus carrier-class, Smart Wi-Fi access points and control systems to provide a scalable, global platform for new Wi-Fi service delivery"

See "ARRIS Introduces Carrier-Class Platform for Wi-Fi Deployments" - here.

Ruckus Adds App-Aware Traffic Management Technology to Improve Performance

Ruckus Wireless announced  that "..several Ruckus ZoneFlex™ access points (APs) ..  have all been qualified under the Microsoft Lync Server Wi-Fi qualification program.

.. Unlike competitive alternatives, Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi access points integrate patented SmartCast™ technology. SmartCast combines sophisticated scheduling and queuing mechanisms with advanced heuristic algorithms that automatically identify and characterize traffic based on its unique behavior to help ensure peak performance.

With a Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi system, all traffic is queued/de-queued by specialized schedulers, optimized for the corresponding traffic type, the delay/jitter tolerance and bandwidth requirements of the traffic, and the changing characteristics of each station on the wireless LAN. This automatic Type Of Service (TOS) tagging also eliminates complex Quality of Service (QoS) configurations, with automatic management of lower-speed 802.11 devices to assure bandwidth availability for prioritized video and voice over Wi-Fi applications. When combined with Ruckus BeamFlex™ adaptive antenna array technology that directs each packet over the fastest signal path that yields the highest data rates, multimedia Wi-Fi performance is effectively perfected".

See "Ruckus Makes Multimedia Streaming and Wi-Fi Calling Crystal Clear, Flicker Free, Picture Perfect" - here.

Ruckus/Global Reach Enables Hotspot 2.0 Service in San-Francisco Area

 
Ruckus Wireless announced a "major initiative with the City and County of San Francisco, the City of San José, CA and Global Reach Technology to create the first large-scale municipal Hotspot 2.0 service that allows millions of visitors and residents to automatically and securely connect to and seamlessly roam using San José and San Francisco free Wi-Fi services. The new Hotspot 2.0 service is now live and operational.

.. Leveraging new Hotspot 2.0 technology, users in San Francisco and San José now can enjoy seamless and secure Wi-Fi data connectivity that mirrors today’s cellular experience, with the added benefit of working on Wi-Fi-only devices such as tablets and laptops ..  Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi equipment, which has been Passpoint™ Certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance, is being used to power the new Hotspot 2.0 service across both the San Jose and San Francisco Wi-Fi networks. Simple device provisioning and unified authentication services are being provided through a cloud-based system operated by Global Reach, a Ruckus technology partner.

The Global Reach software platform includes the AAA servers (Authentication, Authorization and Accounting), Hotspot 2.0 device detection, and landing pages with the Hotspot 2.0 token. The Hotspot 2.0 provisioning feature, developed by Global Reach, configures devices with an ‘anonymous’ credential which is used to automatically connect to any network honoring the credential and is also a component in the process used to generate the encryption keys for the secure connection".

See "San Francisco and San Jose Create the First Large-Scale Municipal Hotspot 2.0 Service with Ruckus Wireless and Global Reach" - here.

Ruckus Launches NFV based WLAN Controller; to be Used by Google

Ruckus Wireless unveiled the "industry’s first carrier-class virtualized wireless LAN (WLAN) controller, the Ruckus virtual SmartCell™ Gateway (vSCG), designed to streamline the creation of highly scalable and resilient cloud-based wireless LAN (WLAN) services .. designed for use with Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi ZoneFlex™ access points (APs), the Ruckus vSCG runs as a virtual application within either the KVM (Kernel-base Virtual Machine) or VMware vSphere virtualization environments .. Managed WLAN services represent a major revenue opportunity for MSPs as businesses of all types are looking to outsource this function". 

GigaOm reports that "Google is working with Ruckus Wireless to build a Wi-Fi network in the cloud" (here) - "It’s building a virtual Wi-Fi network in the cloud that could connect hundreds of thousands of wireless nodes".

".. The Ruckus virtual SmartCell Gateway was designed from the beginning for carrier-class deployments. In addition to being highly scalable, reliable, and easily manageable, the Ruckus vSCG can also support value added Smart Wireless Services such as location based services and analytics like Ruckus SPoT™ Smart Positioning Technology and Ruckus SmartCell Insight (SCI), provide data plane flexibility, and carrier-class features like Hotspot 2.0 and multi-tenant support. The WLAN control plane traffic is handled within the vSCG virtual appliance layer, while the WLAN data plane traffic may be forwarded via either centralized or distributed paths. This provides for some Wi-Fi user traffic to be forwarded directly from the AP to the Internet, while other traffic is forwarded to an operator, partner, or enterprise network for additional handling.

The Ruckus virtual SmartCell Gateway (Ruckus vSCG) will be available starting in June, based on a perpetual software license fee of $995 USD for each instance of the vSCG deployed, plus a perpetual license fee of $100 USD per each Ruckus ZoneFlex access point installed in each network. 

See "Ruckus Launches the virtual SmartCell Gateway for Carrier-Class WLAN Management in the Cloud" - here.

[Infonetics]: Offloading Leads a $8.5B Carrier Wi-Fi Market (2013-17)

   

A new report by Richard Webb, directing analyst for microwave and carrier WiFi, Infonetics Research finds that "Over the 5 years from 2013 to 2017, operators will spend a cumulative $8.5 billion on carrier WiFi equipment, led by mobile operators using carrier WiFi for data offload. This strong growth will gain additional impetus from the proliferation of small cells with integrated WiFi over the coming years”.

"Globally, revenue for carrier WiFi equipment, including carrier WiFi access points and WiFi hotspot controllers, totaled $338 million in the first half of 2013 (1H13) .. As the carrier WiFi market evolves and more operators launch carrier WiFi services, Infonetics expects fluctuations in market share, with the top 5 positions—currently held by Cisco, Ericsson, Huawei, Ruckus, and Alcatel-Lucent—potentially shuffled"

See "$8.5 billion to be spent on carrier WiFi equipment over next five years" - here.

Ruckus Launched Wi-Fi Analytics

Ruckus Wireless announced "launch of Ruckus SmartCell™ Insight, the first carrier-class Wi-Fi analytics platform capable of archiving years of historical operational data that can be generated by up to hundreds of thousands of Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi access points and millions of client Wi-Fi sessions on mobile network operator (MNO) and large enterprise Wi-Fi networks .. Available starting in Q1 2014, the Ruckus SmartCell Insight base software platform is priced at $35,000 (USD), with additional access point licensing of $25 (USD) per AP, which lets customers pay as they grow"

Ruckus SmartCell Insight is a software-based analytics platform that collects, stores and parses a wide variety of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi components including Ruckus ZoneFlex™ access points (APs), the Ruckus SmartCell™ Gateway (SCG), and Ruckus ZoneDirector™ wireless LAN (WLAN) controllers".

Selina Lo [pictured], president and CEO ("Prefect Happiness? A big and unexpected P.O at the end of the quarter"), Ruckus Wireless said:

“Operators want and need this level of visibility to assess if the Wi-Fi networks they are building are actually meeting the objectives of their business .. SmartCell Insight is the first carrier solution on the market to do this by delivering detailed analytics in an easy to use, customizable and highly scalable fashion”.

See "Ruckus Introduces The First Massively Scalable, Carrier-Class Wi-Fi Analytics Platform" - here.

[Infonetics]: Carrier Wi-Fi to Reach $3.9B by 2017, Fueled by MNOs; Cisco and Ruckus Lead

A new research by Richard Webb (pictured), directing analyst for microwave and carrier WiFi, Infonetics Research finds that "The carrier WiFi space is red hot right now, driven by the explosion in demand from mobile operators using WiFi to augment their 3G/4G deployments and offload a portion of mobile data traffic to unlicensed spectrum .. and enhance the broadband experience for users. For the long-term success of carrier WiFi, though, integration with the mobile network is key.

• Carrier WiFi equipment revenue, including carrier WiFi access points and WiFi hotspot controllers, jumped 53% worldwide in 2012 from 2011
   
• Perennial market leader Cisco again led carrier WiFi revenue share in 2012, followed by Ruckus Wireless and Ericsson; all 3 vendors achieved notable year-over-year growth
   
• The global carrier WiFi equipment market is forecast by Infonetics to top $3.9 billion by 2017, primarily driven by mobile operators deploying carrier WiFi for data offload"

See "Carrier WiFi market is red hot" - here.

ABI Research - 30% of Mobile Data Offloaded to Carrier Wi-Fi by 2017

 
A new research by Nick Marshall (pictured), principal analyst, mobile networks, ABI Research, finds that "Global revenue for carrier Wi-Fi access points and controllers will reach $2.2 billion in 2017 .. The majority of the total market in 2011 was accounted for by Cisco, Ruckus Wireless, and Ericsson/BelAir .. the drive by mobile operators to offload data traffic is providing a significant boost to this segment of the market".

".. the use of increasingly sophisticated connection managers, which aggressively seek out validated Wi-Fi access in accordance with the service provider’s policies, will accelerate this trend. Thanks to this trend, carrier Wi-Fi data traffic offloaded is expected to grow to around 30% by 2017".

Compare to - "[Juniper Research]: 60% of Mobile Data Offloaded in 5 Years" - here.

  

See "Carrier Wi-Fi Equipment Market to Grow Eight Times Its Current Size to $2.2 Billion by 2017" - here.

Ruckus Adds Policy Management; Buys Comability's IP

 

Doron Givoni

Director, Engineering

at Ruckus Wireless

Last week I mentioned Ruckus Wireless in a post about policy management for Wi-Fi networks (see "Smarter PCC Solutions Open the Door for Wi-Fi Charging" - here). We did not have to wait long to understand the sudden interest Ruckus shows in PCC.
  

Guy Grimland reports to The Marker that Ruckus is buying Comability’s intellectual properties (see "Policy Vendor ComAbility Closes Down"- here), which will be the foundation for its new R&D center in Israel. Comability focused on policy and subscriber management software for carriers Wi-Fi networks (covered - here).

 
According to the Comability's court assigned receiver, Yoav Kfir, at least 4 former Comability employees, including the CEO, Doron Givoni (pictured), are now employed by Ruckus. The company posted a couple of R&D jobs on Linkedin (here)

See the The Marker story here (Hebrew). See also - "KDDI to Deploy 120,000 Wi-Fi Offload Hotspots" - here

Smarter PCC Solutions Open the Door for Wi-Fi Charging

   

Sarah Reedy interviews for Light Reading Steven Glapa (pictured), senior director of field marketing, Ruckus Wireless who predicts that ".. Wireless operators will be investing up to nine figures in Wi-Fi by next year, and they have to recoup it somehow .. most operators are at least exploring how to charge for Wi-Fi now .. considering bundling in an extra cost for the off-network access into data plans and counting that usage against the data cap .. Once they have the policy management in place to integrate Wi-Fi into [their networks], you have those options". See "Wave Goodbye to Free Wi-Fi" - here.

Recently, Sandvine's CTO referred to the policy enforcement solution for shared access control (here) - "we provide the same consumer policy on all access technologies and on all access vendors. .. Currently they are operating on 2.5G or 3G, 4G or some WiFi offload and some WiMax and these are the types of combinations you are getting. You got a code that is on family plan, or share free to multiple devices and one of those is on a 2.5G and the other one is on a WiFi, and for all of it we can do universal service across all technologies. It is very powerful particularly when there’s transitioning occurring in network technologies like that"

KDDI to Deploy 120,000 Wi-Fi Offload Hotspots

  
While AT&T does not believe in Wi-Fi offloading (see "Wi-Fi Offloading - Booming in India but Failing For AT&T?" - here), Sarah Reedy reports to Light Reading that "KDDI Corp. has selected Ruckus Wireless Inc. to deploy more than 120,000 Wi-Fi hotspots throughout Japan, sources tell Light Reading Mobile. Ruckus will provide KDDI with dual-band 802.11n devices to blanket enterprises, starting in Tokyo in the small-and-medium size business sector.. KDDI plans to roll out 10,000 Wi-Fi locations initially in Tokyo then move nationwide with 120,000 devices by the middle of 2012, sources said"

See "Ruckus Makes Over KDDI With Wi-Fi Offload" - here. See below a short video from Ruckus explaining the advantages of "Carrier Wi-Fi". 

"KDDI accelerated deployment following the earthquakes in Japan when a Wi-Fi public access network proved easier to set up than wireless, says a source close to the deal"