StarHub Trialed Nokia's Liquid Applications at WTA Finals

Nokia announced that StarHub [Singapore] has trialed ".. implementation of Nokia’s Liquid Applications solution at its 4G mobile base stations within the Indoor Stadium at Singapore Sports Hub, bringing ‘live’ sports action closer to spectators. For the trial conducted on 21 October 2014, four ‘live’ video feeds of the Rising Stars Finals played at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global were delivered concurrently to spectators on mobile devices, giving them different perspectives of the action played out in the court. Spectators were able to zoom in on the action by selecting any preferred camera angle at any time .. StarHub is carrying out further trials of the full suite of Liquid Applications".

"Nokia’s Liquid Applications, an industry first solution, brings superior services to mobile broadband customers from the mobile base station. This is achieved by bringing applications, content, popular Internet sites or enterprise solutions into the base station whereby these are stored, processed and delivered directly and rapidly to mobile devices, increasing customers' mobile surfing performance. The solution will also allow mobile operators to offer other innovative services such as augmented reality and location-based services". [Related post: "Rumors: NSN's Liquid Applications Uses Saguna's Technology" - here]

See "StarHub and Nokia Networks at the edge of mobile content delivery" - here.

[Singapore]: Auto Login to Free Wi-Fi (also for Visitors!)

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), announced that "Consumers will soon enjoy easier access to all Wireless@SG hotspots, when a new automatic login feature kicks in from April 1. 

Dubbed EAP-SIM (RFC), this new SIM card-based login feature offers users an "always on" experience by allowing them to automatically connect to any Wireless@SG hotspot using a supported device with a local SIM card. This means new and existing users of Wireless@SG no longer need to sign up for the service or enter any credentials to access the Internet at any Wireless@SG hotspot.

Wireless@SG users can easily configure their supported mobile devices to make use of this new login feature by following the connection guide available from the IDA website at www.ida.gov.sg/Individuals-and-Community/Infocomm-You/Wireless-SG.

Source: Cisco (here)

Visitors in Singapore will benefit from the improvements, too. From June 2014, visitors can register for a free account at any Wireless@SG hotspot and receive their login details through SMS messages sent to their foreign mobile numbers. Alternatively, visitors can buy a local prepaid SIM card from M1 (here) and StarHub (here) to log on to Wireless@SG via the new SIM-based login feature .. By 2015, the IDA will double the total number of hotspots to 10,000. This will be further doubled to 20,000 by 2016".

See "Wireless@SG to Offer Seamless Wi-Fi Connectivity, More Hotspots" - here.

Singapore Telcos Plans for Data Monetization: Tiered Services, Music and Gaming

How will operators increase their revenues in 2014? Joyce Hooi, The Business Times, interviewed the 3 telcos in Singapore:

• Kevin Lim [pictured], Chief Commercial Officer, StarHub: "We are primed for data monetisation next year as we expect more customers to adopt tiered data plans".
  
  See "PCRF Deployments: Starhub Selected NSN" - here and "StarHub  Selected Neuralitic for Usage Profiling and Monetization" - here.

• Chua Sock Koong [pictured], CEO, Singtel : "In Singapore and Australia, we are actively promoting data usage, including the use of innovative plans that help customers' avoid bill shocks like Optus My Plan .. In the emerging markets that our regional mobile associates operate in, we are rolling out 3G networks to accelerate data usage"
  
  See "Singtel: 10% of Subscribers Consume 64% of Data; Implements Tiered Services" - here and "Optus Uses Cisco and BroadHop" - here.
   
• M1 - "The telco will bank on mobile games, music and video content to drive data usage, said Chua Hian Hou, its assistant general manager for corporate communications".

See "Data monetisation: Telcos' holy grail in 2014" - here.

StarHub Deploys Broadpeak CDN (w/ HLS Support)

Broadpeak announced that ".. Singapore-based communications provider StarHub has deployed Broadpeak’s BkM100 Mediator content delivery network manager and BkS300 multiformat video streaming servers to power its live video services. Utilizing Broadpeak’s highly flexible and customizable CDN and video server solutions, StarHub can cost-effectively deliver live television content in a variety of adaptive streaming formats, including Apple® HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), [here] providing end users with a superior quality of service".

At the end of 2012, StarHub had 2.2M mobile, 444K broadband and 536K pay TV customers. See also "SwiftServe - New Transparent Cache Player/CDN" - here.

"..Broadpeak’s BkM100 CDN Manager streamlines content delivery based on the type of service and customer location. By continuously monitoring the popularity of content based on usage patterns, it automatically pushes popular content to the edge of the servers, while long-tail content remains on the larger central library, lowering StarHub’s storage use and operating expenses. Relying on the completely open and scalable solution, StarHub can easily support additional streaming applications such as IPTV and cable TV in the future".

See "StarHub Deploys HTTP Live Streaming Services With Broadpeak CDN and Server Solutions" - here.

SwiftServe - New Transparent Cache Player/CDN

 
A new caching-CDN-filtering vendor, SwiftServe, was officially launched - "..Founded as a joint-venture by a team of serial technology entrepreneurs from Singapore and the UK, SwiftServe is focusing initially on transparent caching and content delivery network (CDN) technology, enabling content publishers and network service providers to offer a faster, safer and better multimedia experience to consumers and enterprises. SwiftServe has already established a significant foothold in South-East Asia, with customers such as Singtel, Starhub, True Corporation and Singapore Airlines (see unnamed case studies - here, here), and is working with partners in other regions".

SwiftServe offers solutions for transparent caching, content filtering, licensed CDN, web acceleration, video streaming and file-download optimization.  

The above mentioned carriers  are already using a number of traffic optimization technologies (not necessarily for the same network): "StarHub [Singapore] Selected Mobixell" - here, "Does True Internet [Thailand] Use Oversi Just to Improve Internet Video QoE?" - here and "True Internet [Thailand] Uses Bluecoat to Reduce Costs and Improve QoE for Web and Video" - here.

SwiftServe is a joint venture joint-venture by the founders of Versio4 and Conversant. Versio4's Co-Founder, Adam Twiss (pictured), was also the founder of CacheLogic, later to become Velocix and acquired by Alcatel-Lucent. See "Carrier CDN Deployments [145]: Who is Using ALU's Velocix Solution?" - here and "[Heavy Reading]: Mobile Caching - 'part of larger traffic management solutions'" - here.

See "SwiftServe - New Technology Company Makes Multimedia Content Delivery Faster, Safer and Better" - here.

Singapore: Who is Using Data Throttling? (Answer: Everybody)

Sidney Wong covers in an article for Singapore Hardware Zone the different methods operators are using to handle ".. tremendous surge in data traffic that is exerting a lot of pressure on telcos to maintain a decent user experience on their mobile networks".

For data throttling - "We reached out to the three telcos in Singapore on their takes on data throttling, and you will be very surprised by what we've found out. As you might know, IDA works with the various service providers to provide a reasonable level of service quality to consumers. The authority is aware that service providers may need to manage their networks some way or the other in order to optimize the quality of their services to subscribers in general. You can find out more about IDA's stand on this here".

• StarHub - "To prevent service deterioration and to enhance the end-user experience for all, StarHub implements network management techniques to ensure that no application or user should dominate finite network resources, especially during peak surfing hours (6pm to 2am on weekdays and 11am to 2am on weekends)," said Mr. Mock Pak Lum, StarHub's Chief Technology Officer [pictured]".
  
  See "StarHub Selected Neuralitic for Usage Profiling and Monetization" - here and "PCRF: Starhub [Singapore] Selected NSN" - here.
   
• M1 - "We do conduct traffic management of peer-to-peer protocol during peak hours, to maintain service quality to all users. M1’s network management ensures fair and consistent traffic utilization across our customer base and applications," said Petrina Teoh, Senior Manager for Corporate Communications.

• SingTel - "SingTel optimises the quality of its mobile broadband services with its fair-use policy which aims to ensure a smooth and consistent experience for all customers. When customers have exceeded the $94 data cap, their mobile line will be limited to a speed of 64Kbps until the end of the monthly bill cycle. To reach the $94 cap, customers would have to consume 18GB of data usage on top of their bundled allowance for the month," said Dylan Tan, Senior Corporate Communications Manager.
  
  See "Singtel: 10% of Subscribers Consume 64% of Data; Implements Tiered Services" - here.

See "Telcos' Strategies to Manage Mobile Data Traffic Flow" - here.

PCRF Deployments [140]: Starhub [Singapore] Selected NSN

 
Nokia Siemens Networks announced that "StarHub, the second largest mobile operator in Singapore, has selected Nokia Siemens Networks as its LTE (4G) mobile broadband infrastructure and services vendor".

  

NSN will ".. provide StarHub its Single RAN platform, built around the compact, energy efficient Flexi Multiradio Base Station, which will enable StarHub to run GSM and LTE concurrently on the 1800 MHz band. The company will also provide its Evolved Packet Core* platform including Flexi NS (Network Server) and Flexi NG (Network Gateway - (W/DPI - here). In addition, Nokia Siemens Networks will provide software for personalized customer experience management, including Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF - PCS-5000 here) and One-NDS subscriber data management (SDM)".

See also:

• TM/Security Deployments [122]: StarHub [Singapore] Selected Mobixell - here
• NI Deployments (72): StarHub (Singapore) Selected Neuralitic for Usage Profiling and Monetization - here
• Optimization Deployments (30): StarHub Uses Huawei to Reduce Network Signaling by 83% - here
   

See "StarHub selects Nokia Siemens Networks for 4G, GSM modernization" - here.

TM/Security Deployments [122]: StarHub [Singapore] Selected Mobixell

   
Mobixell Networks announced that "StarHub, Singapore’s fully-integrated info-communication company, has selected Mobixell Seamless Access as its mobile data traffic management solution. Seamless Access was chosen by StarHub to reduce costs and enable introduction of new and futuristic services, such as video optimization, personalized advertising and content filtering (see "Mobixell and Commtouch Offer Parental Control W/Real Time Content Categorization" - here), for the next generation mobile Internet".

Liong Hang Chew, Assistant Vice President of Mobile Network Engineering at StarHub said, “ .. At the same time, implementing Seamless Access will enable future services such as content security and other possible revenue-generating features"

At the end of 2011, StarHub had 2.2M mobile subscribers, of which 49% were post-paid, generating 81% of revenues. 

Related links:

• StarHub (Singapore) Selected Neuralitic for Usage Profiling and Monetization - here
• StarHub Uses Huawei to Reduce Network Signaling by 83% - here

See "StarHub Chooses Mobixell to Provide Next Generation Mobile Data Traffic Management Solution" - here.

NI Deployments (72): StarHub (Singapore) Selected Neuralitic for Usage Profiling and Monetization

     

Neuralitic Systems announced a ".. a new deal with Singapore’s StarHub. The mobile operator will utilize Neuralitic’s SevenFlow™ software suite to understand the data usage profile of its customers and monetize data traffic".

See "Neuralitic Expands its Customer Base with StarHub" - here.

StarHub, Singapore’s 2nd largest mobile operator, had 2.145M subscribers at the end of Q1, 2011 (see chart).

Joanna Chan, VP of Personal Solutions, StarHub said: “The insights provided by SevenFlow help us in understanding customers' data usage pattern so that we can develop products and initiatives that better cater to the needs of specific customer segments.”

Neuralitic’s SevenFlow is a Mobile Data Intelligence solution that gives marketing professionals and other decision-makers the critical insights they need to improve marketing ROI based on actual subscriber usage characteristics. Its Data Bus component extracts 100% of all mobile network data from a copy of traffic across an industry-standard network interface. The Data Bus also includes customizable business rules to filter data on an as-needed basis, and channels the data to the Knowledge Portal.

Among other functions, the Knowledge Portal presents protocol usage information on a wide range of distinct protocols (http, BitTorrent, ftp, etc.); and helps users measure the impact of particular protocols on the mobile network. See also a patent application - "A METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ANALYSING A MOBILE OPERATOR DATA NETWORK" - here.

Optimization Deployments (30): StarHub Uses Huawei to Reduce Network Signaling by 83%

In a recent post - "NSN CEO: “Finding ways to support the 10,000% increase in smartphone generated data traffic by 2015 is vital for operators worldwide” - here - I covered the "Keep alive" problem - messages commonly used by smartphone applications which consume network equipment resources (such as IP addresses and PDP contexts) with little value to the user and almost no revenues to the operator (and it also drains the smartphone battery).

Mobile Business Briefing reports that Huawei has solved this problem for StarHub, Singapore’s second-largest operator. See "StarHub cuts signalling traffic by over 80%" - here.

"Working with Huawei, StarHub claims to have developed a unique method of creating an ‘always on’ path for the smartphone that uses the network paging channel to maintain a ‘heartbeat’ connection at low enough levels to affect neither data tariffing nor drain battery life. Tests found that this method could reduce signalling traffic by more than 80% for small packet transfers and by around 50% for larger packets."

Peter Cook, VP of mobile network engineering for Starhub said" “ [Starhub] decided to focus on the signalling congestion occurring at the RNC as it believed it was this bottleneck that was the root cause of any overall network congestion .. this is the world's first Smartphone Intelligent Signalling Solution and we use it to reduce signalling load at all levels of the network but especially at the RNC. Congestion is caused both by the way in which smartphones communicate, and the way in which they are used"