Cisco Integrates Acquired SON and Small Cell Technologies

Cisco announced it has "..opened an innovation center in Israel to develop and deploy a radio network topology for handling the surge in demand for mobile Internet services. Cisco is collaborating with Pelephone Communications Ltd., an Israeli telecom service provider, to test on its live production network the world's first self-optimizing heterogeneous configuration that combines small-cell, Wi-Fi and macro technologies.

Intucell CEO, Rani Wellingstein

The Cisco® self-optimizing network (SON) software [see "Cisco to Acquire SON Vendor Intucell; $475M" - here] , which automatically manages the solution, is a component of the recently announced Cisco Quantum™ software suite, an integrated suite of network management tools that give service providers such as Pelephone greater capability to efficiently monetize and optimize their networks as well as to deliver a superior experience ..  Cisco has built the market's most comprehensive small-cell solution, encompassing its existing mobile core and Wi-Fi offering and bolstered by the recent acquisitions of Ubiquisys [see "Ubiquisys Partners with Saguna - Adding Cache to Small-Smart-Cells" - here], the market leader in small-cell software, and Intucell, the market leader in SON technology",

See also "[Cisco Acquired] Intucell CEO Speaks about SON Opportunity" - here.

See "Cisco Opens Innovation Center in Collaboration with Pelephone to Boost Mobile Internet Capacity" - here.

[Cisco Acquired] Intucell CEO Speaks about SON Opportunity

 
Rani Wellingstein, CEO, Intucell, spoke today at the 4GIsrael conference. A week ago Cisco announced its intention to acquire Intucell for $475M (here) and this was an opportunity for me to hear why.

Rani said that Intucell has 12 deployments, in which the $55M AT&T (here) was the 2nd. Pelephone, Israel, was the first.

At AT&T they are now deployed across the continental US, and were able, with their Self Optimized Networks (SON) technology, to reduce by 40% the number of congested cells during business hours, and to increased the network throughput by 10%.

SON is becoming the "Operating System of the for the RAN" (Radio Access Network) - consolidating all control, over macro, small and Wi-Fi cells in one system - the same way the billing system has to consolidate all subscriber information in one place.

As such, it provides an opportunity to smaller vendors to deliver cell solutions to large MNOs, and for the MNOs to spread their budget, as all multi-technology, multi-vendor cells are merged under one control system.

VAS Deployments [213]: Pelephone [Israel] Uses Checkpoint's Cloud-based Security

Haim Raviv reports to The Com (here, Hebrew) that Israeli MNO, Pelephone, will be "..the World's first cellular operator to offer Checkpoint's cloud-based security service to its subscribers. Dubbed 'Pelephone Anti-Virus', the service protects against viruses, spyware and Trojans and offered for ~$3.5/Month".

The service (here, Hebrew) is based on "Checkpoint's ThreatCloud, does not require any update to the subscriber's handset and offered to all smart devices and computers with cellular modem, except Blackberry handsets. Obviously the service is not applicable during Wi-Fi connections".

At the end of Q3, 2012 (here) Pelephone had 2.8M mobile subscribers, a 0.1% decease compared to the same quarter last year. ARPU decreased by 11%, from NIS107 to 95 ($25), mainly due to competition from new operators. VAS revenues were 35.1% of total cellular services. Quarterly churn rate was 6.7%. Other technologies deployed by Pelephone - PCRF (here), Caching (here)

According to Checkpoint ThreatCloud (see spec below) " .. is a collaborative network and cloud-driven knowledge base that delivers real-time dynamic security intelligence to security gateways. That intelligence is used to identify emerging outbreaks and threat trends. Since processing is done in the cloud, millions of signatures and malware protection can be scanned in real time".

Cache Deployments [118]: Pelephone [Israel] Deployed PeerApp

   
While I was switching (last week) from Pelephone to a different mobile carrier, here in Israel, (the number was ported in 4 hours!), my old carrier "has deployed PeerApp’s UltraBand transparent caching platform in its network. UltraBand".

According the PeerApp's announcement "UltraBand transparent caching platform helps Pelephone speed content delivery and reduce network load by automatically detecting popular content and delivering it as close as possible to the subscriber".

Shmulik Bachar, PeerApp's VP of Products and Marketing, told me that "Our deployment with Pelephone works on the Gi interface, getting the content closer to the users and providing best quality of experience". Since Pelephone announced recently it has deployed a PCRF system (here), I asked Shmulik if the two systems are connected - the answer was "No PCRF integration".

Motti Alegresi, head of the packet core engineering division at Pelephone, said: “PeerApp’s UltraBand has helped us optimize our network to serve content at top speeds, while saving backbone and transit bandwidth costs”.

Pelephone is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Israel's incumbent carrier, Bezeq. It had 2.9M subscriber at the end of 2011 Q3. Pelephone migrated directly from CDMA to 3.75G/HSPA, with 60% of subscribers now using the new network (see chart).

See "PeerApp Helps Pelephone Deliver World’s Top-Rated iPhone Service" - here.

Related posts: "Pelephone Israel Reveals Mobile Internet Information" - here.

PCRF Deployments [111]: Pelephone [Israel] Selected Ericsson's SAPC

    

Doron Kurtz, Pelephone's VP Engineering & Technology announced during a press conference that the mobile operator selected Ericsson's PCRF system, SAPC (covered - here), "the first PCRF in Israel".

Amitai Ziv reports to The Marker (and twitted me the slide - thanks!) that according to Pelephone's presentation, the system enables personalized charging (according to the subscriber profile), volume base service plans, real time notifications and a Turbo Button (Bandwidth on Demand) feature.

See here (Hebrew).

Earlier this week, customers of Pelephone's first MVNO (Ramy Levi) complained that Pelephone reduced their download speed to 2 Mbps, vs. 7.2 Mbps when using the native Pelephone service (here).

[Israel] Pelephone Limits Download Speeds of its MVNO Subscribers

  
Earlier this month I reported on the new age of mobile competition in Israel - the launch of the first MVNO service, by the retail food chain Ramy Levi, served by Pelephone's network (see "Competition Leads Partner [Israel] to Offer Reduced Speed Mobile Internet Instead of Overage Fees" - here).

Amitai Ziv (picture) reports to The Marker that Ramy Levi's customers are complaining that the download speed of the new service is limited to 2Mbps vs. the promised 7.2Mbps.

"When switching from a Ramy Levi's to a Pelephone SIM card, speed goes back to 7.2Mbps .. tested in numerous places .. Both companies did not deny the facts .. Pelephone hinted that limiting speed to 2Mbps is part of the contract with Ramy Levi"

Article - here, Hebrew.

Competition Leads Partner [Israel] to Offer Reduced Speed Mobile Internet Instead of Overage Fees

 
Until recently, there was almost no competition in the Israeli cellular services market. 3 operators (Partner, Cellcom and Pelephone) of similar size + a smaller one (MIRS) offered similar, high prices to the consumer market.

Recent government regulation changed the market, leading to increased competition that shifts gear this week with the first MVNO operator, Rami Levy (a chain of discount supermarkets, publically traded in the Tel Avis Stock Exchange - RMLI).

Although Rami Levy operates as an MNVO (reselling Pelephone services) it announced a very low pricing strategy (compared to the existing plans) based on actual consumption rather than a commitment to packages of minutes, SMS and data.

The incumbents response is due this week, and Amitai Ziv and Ruty Levi (pictured), The Marker reveal Partner (branded as Orange, although not part of the Orange Group) plans.

In addition for estimated 40% reduction compared to existing plans, Partner will offer customers that exceed their data quota a reduced speed service for the rest on the month, rather than paying overage fees (which were very expansive).

Story here, Hebrew.

Israeli MNOs - Do They Keep the Net Neutrality Law?

  

Amitai Ziv (picture) has a story today in the Israeli news site, TheMarker, on Net Neutrality.

As Israel has a Net Neutrality law for wireless services (see "Net Neutrality [Israel] - Parliament Approved Wireless Neutrality" - here), it is interesting to see the comments he got by the 3 mobile operators:

• Pelephone (here): "we study the subject and will act according to the law"
   
• Cellcom (here): "we act according to the law"
   
• Partner (here): "we keep the net Neutrality principle and operate according to regulation and our license terms. We do not prevent access to any network service. As guided by the regulator, we use systems to optimize network resources and prevent malicious activities by the subscribes"

See - here (in Hebrew). I was also interviewed to the article.

Pelephone Israel Reveals Mobile Internet Information

Pelephone Israel launched today a new HSPA+ network (3.75G) providing download speeds of up to 21Mbps. Pelephone ("wonder-phone" in Hebrew) is the mobile subsidiary of Bezeq, the Israeli incumbent carrier and was the first mobile operator in Israel, when it was established in 1986.

After going through AMPS and CDMA cellular technologies, the company is now based on GSM. Pelephone has 2.8M subscribers, of which 1.6M are 3G subscribers (end of Q1, 2010).

During the launch event the company exposed some information on their Mobile Broadband subscriber base:

• Pelephone has 102,000 subscribers using mobile connected laptops (with Pelephone's "NetStick" USB dongle or built-in modem). They make 6.3% of the operator's high speed connected devices.
   
• Total data traffic on Pelephone's network reached 171TB during the last month, of which 84% is generated by the above laptops. This brings the average monthly consumption of a laptop subscriber  to 1.67GB,

With the recent FCC report ("FCC Annual Wireless Report: Mobile Internet Usage Information" - here) we can compare these numbers to the US. The share of laptop users in the US is 8.4% (Vs. 6.3% for Pelephone), and the average monthly consumption 1.41 GB/Month (Vs. 1.67 GB for Pelephone). Note while Pelephone's numbers are current, the US numbers are more than a year old.