Bhutan Telecom to Use Alepo's Wi-Fi Offload and Hotspot Monetization Solution

Alepo announced a "..new partnership with Bhutan Telecom, the largest mobile operator in Bhutan, to launch an expansive Wi-Fi Offload and Hotspot Monetization Solution for the Bhutanese market.

With Alepo’s Wi-Fi monetization solution Bhutan Telecom will be able to fully monetize its Wi-Fi hotspot networks by offering attractive Wi-Fi plans and promotions to its subscribers. Bhutan Telecom’s customers will be able to use a single mobile voucher to purchase mobile and Wi-Fi hotspot services, making it a simple and convenient experience. 

• As part of its Wi-Fi monetization platform, Alepo provides an end-to-end solution for the entire purchase, activation, real-time charging, and customer care of Wi-Fi hotspot services, as well as integration with the charging system in the mobile core. 

• With Alepo’s Carrier Wi-Fi offload solution, Bhutan Telecom will be able to leverage its planned network of Wi-Fi hotspots across Bhutan in order to increase its capacity for mobile data services as well as to enhance the customer experience of those data services.

Bhutan Telecom subscribers will enjoy a seamless 3G/4G LTE to Wi-Fi offload experience, thanks to Alepo’s full integration with the HLR and HSS in the mobile core network. 

The agreement with Bhutan Telecom signifies major milestone for Alepo. The “all things data experts” technology provider has announced several Wi-Fi monetization and offload contracts with many tier one mobile operators like Sri Lanka Telecom, Afghan Wireless, ETB Colombia [here] and others"

See "Bhutan’s Largest Telecom Operator, Bhutan Telecom, Taps Alepo for Wi-Fi Monetization and Offload" - here.

Offload Deployments [363]: ETB [Colombia] Expands LTE Coverage w/Alepo

     

Alepo announced that "La Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogota (ETB), has successfully launched Alepo’s Wi-Fi Offload solution in Bogota, Colombia .. With Alepo’s Wi-Fi Offload solution, ETB is able to broaden its next-generation data footprint with a combination of high-speed LTE and Wi-Fi Hotspot services. In doing so, ETB can deliver complete data coverage for its subscribers. Whether connected to ETB’s recently launched LTE network or – in absence of LTE coverage – offloaded to the operator’s expansive Wi-Fi hotspot network, ETB subscribers enjoy a consistent and convenient data experience".

Related post - "ETB [Colombia] Uses Alepo's PCRF-Lite" - here.

"In order to enable LTE to Wi-Fi offload at ETB, Alepo integrated its carrier-class Wi-Fi Offload platform with ETB’s LTE Home Subscriber Server (HSS). Armed with subscriber profile information, the Alepo solution is able to authenticate ETB subscribers to the Wi-Fi hotspot without requiring them to manually log on to the Wi-Fi hotspot network at each use. The scalable solution employs open, standards-based interfaces, making ready to deploy in best-of-breeds network environments of any size". 

See "Alepo Makes Wi-Fi Offload a Reality for ETB in Colombia" - here.

PCC Deployments [353]: Djibouti Telecom Manages Bandwidth with Alepo

Alepo announced that its "longstanding client Djibouti Telecom has decided to upgrade to the latest version of Alepo’s Service Enabler in order to deliver more advanced and flexible data offers to its rapidly growing subscriber base while achieving a significant reduction in OPEX. 

   

.. With Alepo SE, Djibouti Telecom gains real-time capabilities, such as the ability to enforce bandwidth policies and to offer features like “Bandwidth on Demand” to customers. What more, the upgrade will also help Djibouti Telecom make seamless offerings of discounts, promotions and communications via SMS, email in order to engage customers. The new functions in Alepo SE will help in greatly enhancing Djibouti’s capability to gain and retain subscribers"/

See "Djibouti Telecom Modernizes Fixed Broadband Network with Alepo BSS/OSS Upgrade" - here.

BSS Deployments [350]: VIPNET [Ivory Coast] Selected Alepo

Alepo announced a ".. new agreement with VIPNET, a major internet service provider in Ivory Coast, to support its launch of a new 4G LTE network. As part of the deployment, VIPNET will leverage Alepo’s Service Enabler 9 (SE)– a complete BSS/OSS framework that spans CRM, charging and billing, and customer experience management.

VIPNET cited the need for advanced mobile broadband speeds to increase data ARPU as a main driver behind the LTE project. With a complete Alepo charging and billing core, VIPNET will be able to readily deliver, manage, and monetize 4G LTE services, upon launch and as those services and market demands evolve. Alepo’s Convergent Charging and Billing platform readily enables advanced LTE use cases including data rollover, application-based charging, shared and family plans, and many others, giving operators like VIPNET the ability to differentiate its business and stand apart in the emerging LTE marketplace" 

See "Alepo Lands LTE Charging and Billing Deal with Ivory Coast’s VIPNET" - here.

PCC Deployments [348]: Zipnet [Ghana] & West African CSPs Selected Alepo

Alepo announced a "new partnership with Zipnet – a leading internet service provider in Ghana – to evolve ICT services across the country with advanced policy and charging control solutions for IP-based services and 4G mobile broadband. 

Zipnet recently selected Alepo to provide its policy and charging control solutions as well as its BSS/OSS framework, Service Enabler 9, in order to support Zipnet’s multi-access network operations, spanning WiMAX, Wi-Fi, and a planned LTE network. 

In addition to the recent contract with Zipnet Ghana, Alepo has many deployments in West Africa, including Niger, Mali, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast and Nigeria".

See "Zipnet to Boost the ICT Sector in Ghana with Alepo Policy and Charging Control" - here.

Alepo Launches a Packaged Solution for MNOs

Alepo announced its "new Mobile Broadband Accelerator – a packaged solution that enables wireless network operators to readily introduce more advanced and differentiated mobile data offerings .. from bandwidth on demand to data rollover plans to prepaid data models and well beyond. The solution also provides tools to enhance the customer experience, to gain business insights and analytics, and to explore new revenue models and untapped markets for mobile broadband services – all key factors in growing revenues and market share"

Alepo MBBA solution modular building blocks 

Alepo’s Mobile Broadband Accelerator solution brings together best-of-breeds IT and core network software from Alepo and Alepo partners and professional services on a single, pre-integrated platform, oriented towards the operator’s mobile broadband business needs and priorities. An open, flexible solution, it is highly adaptable to any type of network environment. The solution can be deployed as an “overlay” platform that extends the functionality and feature-richness of an operator’s existing mobile broadband network while avoiding unnecessary replacement, complexity, and disruptions to existing services. Conversely, the packaged solution can serve as a complete core network and CRM for Greenfield or startup operators. In any case, operators benefit from Alepo’s constantly evolving collection of out-of-the-box capabilities and business use cases as well as over a decade of industry expertise in “all things data.”

See "Alepo Reveals New Solution to Accelerate Growth in Revenue and Market Share on Mobile Broadband Networks" - here.

Alepo Enhances BSS w/Data Plan Advisory & Self Provisioning

Alepo announced the "latest release of its signature BSS / OSS framework, Service Enabler 9.2, which boasts new and advanced capabilities for the creation, monetization, and delivery of innovative data plans and promotions. 

SE 9.2 is already in live production at a major fixed mobile operator in West Africa with numerous deployments underway.

In SE 9.2, Alepo introduced:

• Package Advisor – an intelligent tool that assists subscribers in the online shopping experience by guiding them to select the best data plan based on their usage patterns, habits, or other criteria. The Package Advisor helps customers to navigate the mass of choices at a time when communications service providers’ product offerings and promotions are burgeoning with personalized and differentiated plans.
   
• enables service providers to bring new products and offers to market faster than ever, whether family plans or shared plans, data rollover, loyalty rewards, free apps, or others. Service providers can quickly create and push these offers via automate promotional campaigns towards specific customer segments". 

See "Alepo Introduces Package Advisor for a Smarter Online Shopping Experience for Data Plans" - here.

PCC Deployments [336]: ETB [Colombia] Uses Alepo's PCRF-Lite

Alepo, announced the "successful delivery of a major network upgrade to ETB’s fixed broadband network across Colombia .. As part of a major, three-year transformation process, Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogotá (ETB) has successfully launched new communications services, including a Fiber to the Home (FTTH) network, interactive digital television, and 4G mobile services. To bring its corporate strategic plan to life, ETB selected Alepo to provide a high-performance AAA infrastructure that increases the established network reliability, capacity, and services innovation.

As part of the network modernization, ETB replaced its legacy AAA server with Alepo’s High-Performance AAA plus PCRF-Lite for real-time policy control on its fixed ADSL network. Alepo’s AAA platform integrates openly and seamlessly into ETB’s multi-vendor, best of breeds network environment. Already, ETB has experienced increased network speed, performance, and reliability in its current network. In addition, Alepo’s AAA infrastructure features advanced noise reduction, self-healing capabilities, centralized session and accounting database, and convergent authentication and authorization.

see "ETB Colombia Modernizes Its Fixed Broadband Networks with Alepo" - here. 

PCC Deployments [334]: Emcali [Colombia] Uses Alepo

Alepo announced that "Colombian telecommunications service provider, Emcali, has selected Alepo to modernize its AAA infrastructure across its multiple fixed and mobile broadband networks:

• With Alepo’s carrier-grade AAA Infrastructure, Emcali will be able to bring new triple-play services and revenue opportunities to market faster without adding network complexity. The platform offers multi-access network support, which will enable Emcali to use a single AAA infrastructure for its WiMAX, Wi-Fi, xDSL, GPON, and mobile 3G UMTS networks, reducing OPEX and total cost of ownership. What’s more, the scalable solution is built to support rapid subscriber growth without sacrificing speed or efficiency of service delivery.
   
• Alepo will also provide standards-based integration with many third-party systems and legacy CRM platforms
   
• Alepo will deploy its “PCRF Lite” to perform advanced, real-time policy control within the fixed broadband network environments".

See "Emcali Selects Alepo’s High-Performance AAA and Policy Control to Modernize Its Fixed and Mobile Broadband Networks" - here.

PCC Deployments [317]: Blu [Ghana] To Use Alepo for LTE

IT News Africa reports that "Alepo has unveiled that it will provide policy and charging control for a new 4G LTE network at Blu Telecommunications in Ghana. Blu plans to launch LTE services including: data, voice, IPTV and Wi-Fi hotspots for residential and commercial customers. The services are planned to be launched in the second half of 2014.

As part of the network launch, Blu will leverage Alepo’s Service Enabler 9.0 (SE) .. Pre-integration of SE 9.0 with Alepo’s policy and charging control nodes means that BLU will be able to deliver, manage, and monetise LTE services, upon launch and as those services and market demands evolve. 

Initially, BLU will focus its LTE network on the delivery of data, Wi-Fi, content, and IPTV. The company then plans to later extend its offerings to include services such as IMS & VoLTE, assured of its future-proof solution from Alepo .. Alepo is also said to provide infrastructure to support Wi-Fi hotspot services, and will integrate its platform with third-party vendors including Cisco and Huawei"

See "Ghana: Alepo announces major LTE win" - here.

PCC Deployments [291]: Tishknet [Iraq/Kurdistan] Selected Alepo

Alepo Technologies announced that "Tishknet, a leading 4G service provider in the Middle-East, is upgrading its WiMAX network to LTE [here] in order to provide faster and more modern services to a rapidly expanding customer base. As part of its migration, Tishknet will be deploying Alepo’s Service Enabler 9 Suite including its CRM, OCS and PCRF for End-to-end Convergent Service Management. Through integration with a third-party Evolved Packet Core [Ericsson's SSR 8000 - here], Alepo’s solution will provide the backbone for an innovative, Policy 2.0-ready LTE network including mobile apps for easy access and control of the service"

See "Alepo to Deploy LTE CRM, OCS & PCRF Solution with 4G Tishknet in Kurdistan" - here.

PCC Deployments [255]: Utande [Zimbabwe] Uses Alepo for Real-Time Policy Control

Alepo announced the "..successful deployment of a convergent 4G solution in Zimbabwe, enabling Utande to provide WiMAX, Intranet, and Wi-Fi services to a diverse client base of residential and corporate customers .. Through the deployment of Alepo’s AAA Server, Policy Manager, and award-winning Service Enabler .. A solution built to support growth without straining resources, key features include robust web self-care, real-time policy control, and remote configuration and monitoring of a vast network of Wi-Fi hotspots".

See "Alepo Announces Successful Deployment of 4G Services with Utande in Zimbabwe" - here.

PCC Deployments [243]: Spectranet [Nigeria] Selected Alepo for Real-Time Policy Enforcement

    

Alepo announced its ".. first LTE win in Africa by partnering with Spectranet, one of the fastest growing 4G service providers in Nigeria .. Specranet will deploy a broad suite of Alepo products to support their enhanced offerings, including Alepo’s award-winning OSS/BSS software, Service Enabler 8.1, Alepo’s Online Charging System (OCS), and PCRF, for fine-grained, real-time policy enforcement. Spectranet will also be deploying Alepo’s comprehensive set of APIs to integrate with a range of legacy systems and third-party vendors, including Huawei and Cisco network elements".

Regarding the PCEF used by Spectranet, Alepo marketing updated me that "Cisco SCE was originally planned in the network. Though they are currently using Huawei PDN that might be an open issue still"

See "Alepo Announces First LTE Win in Africa, Providing PCRF, OCS, and IT System for both Data and Voice" - here.

[Update 56: Alepo <-> Allot, Sandvine, Cisco] PCRF - DPI Compatibility Matrix

 
Alepo updated me that based on "multiple deployments with Cisco (SCE and PDN GW), Allot and Sandvine" their PCRF product  is compatible with these vendors DPI gear. 

Integration is based on Gx, Gy, R3 and SOAP interfaces. 

The matrix (here) was updated accordingly.

Alepo Enters the Diameter Routing Market

   

The recent surge in the Diameter Router market (forecast here and here) leads more players to enter the market (list here), in which a significant portion are policy management players that already have the Diameter protocol and environment expertise.

The new kid in the block is Alepo, that announced ".. the introduction of the Alepo Diameter Signaling Controller (DSC) to its suite of Evolved Packet Core (EPC) control plane network solutions .. Alepo successfully tested its Diameter Signaling Controller and PCRF in multiple local and roaming interoperability test scenarios." 



"The Alepo Diameter Signaling Controller serves two main functions, either as a network border element to facilitate roaming and interconnect scenarios between EPCs, or as a Diameter Routing Agent [see chart below] within the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) to streamline communication between network nodes and enhance network performance."

See "Alepo Announces Diameter Signaling Controller (DSC), Interoperability Success" - here.

Alepo Adds a Mobile App for Dynamic Bandwidth Speed Selection to its PCRF

    

Alepo has ".. unveiled the first mobile app to enable dynamic bandwidth selection by end users. Aimed at mobile operators as a value-added service, the app capitalizes on the growing demand for faster and more personalized bandwidth speeds on mobile devices while enhancing the customer experience .. Alepo's Bandwidth Selection App directly communicates in with the operator's PCRF in real-time. It is available for both Android and iPhone".

In view of the recent intentions of major providers to deploy speed based tiered services (see - AT&T, Verizon) - such management tools makes sense, and allows a more dynamic service management. Customers may change the speed based on their specific data needs and spending budget - boost it when necessary and get back to lower speed and costs at other times.

See "Alepo Introduces Mobile App for Dynamic Bandwidth Speed Selection" - here - however, I can’t locate the new app in the Apple App Store.

John Kim (picture), Alepo VP of Business Development, said: "Alepo's Bandwidth Selection App assures subscribers of more personalized services by enabling them to tailor their policy to each situation .. By monetizing the solution, mobile service providers not only increase ARPU, but are able to better balance network resources while satisfying all subscribers"

PCRF Deployments (54): Safaricom [Kenya] Selected Alepo for its WiMAX Network

     

Alepo announced a ".. partnership with East Africa's leading integrated communications firm, Safaricom, to support its growing WiMAX network with enhanced policy control, QoS granularity, and IP address management".

See "Safaricom Partners with Alepo to Bring 4G Services to Kenya" - here.

Safaricom has 3.6M data subscribers (September 2010) and total of 16.7M subscribers. The Wimax network has 165 base stations (more - here).

  

Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore (picture) said: "The implementation of Alepo's core network elements will afford Safaricom greater control over network policy, security and resource allocation, while achieving more flexibility in designing WiMAX and Wi-Fi service offerings for our customers, residential and commercial"

[Update23 - Alepo] PCRF - DPI Compatibility Matrix

     

Alepo, a vendor of software platforms and consulting services is added to the table with its PCRF product.

"Alepo’s PCRF is 3GPP-compliant, and is an integral part of any 4G deployment .. Alepo’s PCRF offers subscriber control in real time.  In communication with other network elements, the PCRF can downgrade users reaching a bandwidth cap, or simply downgrade overuse when the network is busiest.  It also allows providers to offer levels of quality of service to customers; allowing for more precise pricing plans for all levels of service use.   The PCRF can also enforce other changes of service in real-time.  For example, a user reaching their allotted bandwidth for video services for the month may be notified and then restricted to using only data until they have increased their balance.  This allows customers to avoid bill shock, helps networks maintain integrity by not overstretching their resources, and helps increase revenue by forwarding the customer to a purchasing portal"

The product was announced earlier this year - see press releases here and here.

"With initial deployments at Digicel Jamaica, Telkom Kenya and Nigerian service provider, Cobranet, demand for the high-performing Alepo Policy Manager is evident"

No mention of DPI compatibility, though vendors with DPI offering appear in the partner page (Cisco, Redback/Ericsson, ALU).

PCRF Vendor	PCRF Product	Allot	Arbor	Cisco	Procera	Sandvine
Alcatel-Lucent	5780 Dynamic Services Controller(DSC)
Alepo	3GPP Policy and Charging Rules Function
Aradial Technologies	Aradial Mobile/APC	●		●
BandWD	BwDRC - Dynamic Resource Control	●		●		●
Bridgewater Systems	Policy Controller/PCRF	●	●	●		●
Broadhop	Quantum Policy Server	●	●	●
Comability	ComAbility neXus			●
Comptel	Comptel Policy Control™			●	●
Cisco (Starent)	Policy and Charging Control
Digital Route	MediationZone Policy Control
EliteCore/NetVertex	Netvertex(PCRF)
Ericsson	Service-Aware Policy Controller(SAPC)
Flash Networks	POLICY MANAGER
FTS	Leap™ Policy Control	●		●		●
HP	HP Subscriber, Network and Application Policy	●
Huawei	Open Control & Charging Gateway	●
Kabira (Tibco software)	Policy Server			●
Mobixell (724)	X-treme Framework Platform (XF)	●		●
Nokia Siemens Networks	PCS 5000	●		●		●
Openet	FusionWorks™ Policy Manager			●		●
Orga Systems	Next Generation Control Point
Redknee	Policy Manager (PCRF)			●		●
Roox	SmartTraffic Management
Tekelec (Camiant)	Multimedia Policy Engine	●	●	●	●	●
Telcordia	Telcordia Bandwidth Manager
Volubill	CONTROL-IT Policy Manager
ZTE	ZXUN RCP	●