BroadForward Helps Convergence w/RADIUS to Diameter Interworking

BroadForward (see "BroadForward CEO: 'We have a very ambitious 5 year growth plan'" - here) announced that the "..latest release of the BFX Interface Gateway introduces further service logic enhancements for advanced RADIUS to Diameter Interworking scenarios. Users of BFX get sample configuration templates to quickly connect RADIUS based Fixed network elements such as Edge Gateways and Wi-Fi Packet Gateways with Diameter based Mobile network elements such as PCRF, OCS, optionally through a DRA. 

The ability to connect RADIUS and Diameter network elements allows service providers to enable service continuity scenarios with converged policy control and integrated data bundles. Examples of such converged services are: common charging and subscriber policies across access networks, automatic access to Wi-Fi offload, seamless roaming scenarios between access providers including authentication and accounting of the subscriber, portable security and service assurance amongst others".

See "BroadForward enables advanced RADIUS -Diameter interworking for Fixed-Mobile Convergence" - here.

Policy Enforcement and Charging will Drive Convergence

    

Huawei's Communicate interviewed Gabriel Brown (pictured), Senior Analyst, Heavy Reading on "on networks, technologies, and products in the EPC (Evolved Packet Core) age".

One of the trends discussed was Convergence (of GSM/UMTS and LTE in the context of this interview).

Gabriel sees the ".. desire for common services, policy enforcement and charging across HSPA+ and LTE" as the important driver for convergence.

See (much more!) - "Convergence in the EPC age" - here.

Converged Networks Challenges - Policy management and Real time Charging

  

Gary Rieschick, Director, Wireless & Broadband Solutions for Openet posted an article to the company's blog on policy management in converged networks (while claiming that convergence isn’t yet happening - ".. operators need to manage usage in a converged manner creating huge hurdles ahead").
  

As far as Policy management is concerned - "wireline networks are less complex than wireless and are chock full of legacy infrastructure. This means that operators have a hard time merging the two and deploying effective policy management strategies such as tiered services when the policy enforcement points have smaller sets of functionalities but this varies slightly from vendor to vendor ..
 
Nevertheless, how can operators benefit from converged networks? "There are many benefits, including offloading data, which can effectively reduce network capacity augmentation costs while supporting new business models…cross selling services across networks"

See "Let’s Get Together: Convergent Policy Management" - here.

Orga System says that convergence ".. has proven a challenge to the BSS vendors due to real-time requirements of the prepaid world and the number of subscribers ..end-to-end convergent billing solutions have to offer real-time charging, billing and financial management capabilities"

See "Convergence – old hat with new challenges" - here.

Related post - "AT&T Seeks Unified Policy Management for Wireline and Wireless" - here.

AT&T Seeks Unified Policy Management for Wireline and Wireless

 

AT&T network architect Yiannis Argyropoulos spoke today at Light Reading's Backhaul Strategies and Core Convergence for Mobile Operators event in New York.

See coverage by Carol Wilson "LTE Will Reshape Entire AT&T Network" - here.

"AT&T also is looking for coordination of policy control between its wireline and wireless networks, so that the core network services are the same for end-users, regardless of how they connect to the network. It is no longer adequate for quality-of-service to be delivered piecemeal, within different segments of the network, Argyropoulos stated: "There is a lot of work going on right now to harmonize these."

See "AT&T Uses Openet for iPad Monetization" - here - for the selection of Openet, a Policy Management software (PCRF) vendor by AT&T.