DSC Deployments [343]: Telekom Austria/Vip Uses Diametriq NFV Solution

Yet another component of vEPC pioneer, Vip Mobile [Serbia], NFV-based deployment (see "Telekom Austria Implements Connetem NFV-Based EPC w/Procera's DPI" - here). This time it's the Diameter routing technology.

Diametriq announced that its "Diameter Solution Suite™ is being used to power Connectem’s virtual EPC now being deployed by Telekom Austria Group to deliver a complete set of virtualized LTE network functions for its Vip mobile subsidiary in Serbia.

Connectem [see "Brocade Acquires Connectem" -here], one of the early adopters of Diametriq’s NFV enabled virtualized Diameter routing product, takes a service oriented view of Evolved Packet Core (EPC) functionalities. In its Virtual Core for Mobile (VCM) solution, Connectem maps the packet core functions into a computational problem, enabling network capacity (signaling, bearer or throughput) to be translated to a common computing resource requirement (CPU, memory, I/O and storage). Diametriq’s virtualized signaling router is tightly integrated with Connectem’s vEPC to seamlessly address on-demand network signaling and capacity expansions.

Instead of mobile traffic running on dedicated proprietary hardware and software, Vip mobile data is terminated in a general purpose IT data center running Intel x86 hardware and virtualization services. Additional solutions providers participating in the Serbian demonstration include Intel, VMware, Red Hat, Metaswitch, and Open Cloud".

See "Diametriq’s Diameter Solution Suite™ Powers Connectem vEPC for Telekom Austria Group’s New Vip mobile Deployment" - here.

Optimization Deployments [341]: Telekom Austria/Vip Mobile [Serbia] Selected Flash Networks

Flash Networks announced that the "Serbian operator Vip mobile [See "Telekom Austria Implements Connetem NFV-Based EPC w/Procera's DPI" - here], a member of the Telekom Austria Group, has selected Flash Networks’ Harmony 7.5 to provide their subscribers faster mobile browsing and smoother video viewing. Enabling operators to boost network speeds, Harmony 7.5 includes the ability to self-detect congestion in real-time for all types of traffic, including encrypted traffic, without violating user privacy"

At the end of December 2014 Vip served over 2 million active subscribers, had 22.5% market share (see chart below)  

Source: Telekom Austria 2014 report

See "Vip mobile selects Flash Networks’ harmony™ 7.5 to enhance video viewing and boost browsing speeds" - here.

Bill Shock Prevention: Promises and Reality

I has a number of posts about mobile operators, regulators and industry organizations announcing their plans to implement bill shock prevention tools (see "24 Operator Groups (4B Subscribers) to Adopt Bill Shock Prevention Measures This Year (2012)" - here; "Latam MNOs to Implement Bill Shock Prevention by H1 2013" - here, "Australia - Bill Shock Prevention Self-Regulation is Coming" - here; "Bill Shock Prevention is Coming to the US Mobile Service" - here and "EU Helps Preventing Mobile Bill Shock" - here.

And the reality?

A survey conducted by MACH (see "MACH Launches a Cloud-based Bill Shock Prevention Solution" - here) shows that the ".. majority of mobile operators (62%) have not yet implemented any form of bill-shock prevention to protect their customers against unexpectedly high data roaming bills. Furthermore, only 24% of mobile operators worldwide have a solution that can monitor subscriber data usage habits in real-time, thus complying with the GSMA Data Roaming Transparency Initiative launched last year. Such solutions, that consider the subscribers’ data roaming experience first and foremost, boost uptake of data roaming services, leading to more revenue for operators and increased customer satisfaction".

Nevertheless, I also covered several deployments of bill shock prevention by Telefonica, Zain Jordan, Orange Africa, Belgacom and Telekom Austria.

See "Mobile Operators Slow To Protect Consumers From Bill-Shock, Says MACH" - here.

PCRF Deployments [139]:Telekom Austria Deploys Openet

After we heard about Telekom Austria's DPI deployment (Procera, here) and Video Optimization (Flash Networks, here) - the missing piece, a policy manager, has been announced as well.

Openet announced that  "Telekom Austria Group has selected Kapsch CarrierCom to integrate the Openet Policy Manager across six operating companies in Eastern Europe. The deal was primed by Kapsch, and the company will serve as the system integrator and provide regional complimentary services and support for the solution. The six network operators will benefit from spam attack detection and flexible bill shock prevention as well as the implementation of requirements related to roaming regulation. As the leading PCRF (Policy Control and Charging Rules Function) vendor, Openet offers Telekom Austria Group existing use cases cutting down on development effort and time. The deployment of Openet’s Policy Manager product will go live in 2012 and makes it possible for approximately 19 million mobile subscribers to benefit from enriched and innovative services that will enhance customer experience".

"This PCRF implementation will require the Openet Policy Manager to deeply integrate with the mobile packet core nodes, which is a key area of expertise for Kapsch"

See "Kapsch to deploy Openet Policy Manager across Telekom Austria Group" - here.

DPI Deployments [133]: Telekom Austria Selected Procera

Yet another Telekom Austria deployment - last week it was Flash Networks' optimization product (here) - and in just few days we get a 2nd vendor announcement, this time for fixed and mobile networks.

  

Procera Networks announced that "a new contract to provide Telekom Austria Group .. with a Services Optimization Solution based on Procera Networks award winning PacketLogic™ hardware and software platform. Following extensive market evaluation, the contract, which is worth an undisclosed value, will cover products and services to all Telekom Austria Group companies"

  

See "Telekom Austria Selects Procera for Multi-Country Fixed and Mobile Deployment" - here.

Optimization Deployments [131]: Telekom Austria Selected Flash Networks

 
Flash Networks announced ".. an agreement for the implementation of Flash Networks’ Harmony Web & Media Optimization in Telekom Austria Group’s network .. Harmony accelerates Telekom Austria Group’s network and reduces video stalls, providing improved user experience".

At the end of 2011 Telekom Austria group had 20.3M mobile subscribes, in 8 countries (see chart below). A year ago, its CEO said that "We own the infrastructure. We should decide who uses it" (here) - I wonder if this is part of the plan.

See "Telekom Austria Group Implements Flash Networks’ Harmony Web & Media Optimization" - here. 

Telekom Austria CEO: "We own the infrastructure. We should decide who uses it"

 

Hannes Ametsreiter (picture), CEO of Telekom Austria Group, was interviewed to Ben Rooney, Technology Editor for the Wall Street Journal Europe, on Net Neutrality issues.

See "Telekom Austria CEO Dismisses Net Neutrality" - here.

Some quotes:

About DPI: "It’s very clear. The decision is up to the operator. He owns the technology and he owns the infrastructure. How he uses that infrastructure should really be up to the operator".

About blocking competitive services (Skype et al.): "I have a very clear stand on that one. If there is somebody using our infrastructure to cannibalize and eat up our revenues then of course we set measures against them. If we did not do so we would not have the money to invest in the infrastructure and to keep it working. If Google Voice, Skype or any other player attack our revenues then this would create problems"