Cellwize Secures $24.5M to Boost its SON Solutions

   

I covered the Israeli startup, Cellwize, a number of times last year - which is unusual for such young company:

• The product (see "Cellwize Launches NFV Based, "pay-as-you-grow", SON" - here) and,
   
• Impressive deployments by large MNOs (Cellcom, Israel on Sep. '14 and Telefocina, UK on Oct. '14).

It seems that these winnings and the promising market (see "SON Market to Reach $4B (2017)" - here) led to an impressive funding round of $24,5M in equity and credit.

The company announced it has "..raised $14.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Carmel Ventures and Vintage Investment Partners. In addition, Viola Credit (formerly Plenus) granted a $10 million credit facility to Cellwize. The funding will be used to boost Cellwize’s innovative SON customer-centric optimization capabilities and to expand its market presence including a planned significant increase in its workforce.
  
Already in operation for over two years, Cellwize optimization solutions are implemented in some of the world’s leading mobile operators serving over 300 million subscribers".

Ofir Zemer [pictured], CEO of Cellwize, said: “Cellwize has continuously invested in technology innovation and solution leadership, we will now be able to further accelerate our product road map and our market reach to take advantage of new SON opportunities Our recent growth demonstrates even more, that enabling mobile operators to ensure a high quality of service for subscribers while maximizing profitability is essential in today’s highly competitive market space.”

See "Cellwize Secures $24.5M in Funding led by Carmel Ventures" - here.

Telefonica [Argentina] Selected Gigamon for Visibility and Optimization

Gigamon  announced that "Telefonica Argentina, a subsidiary of the Telefonica Group, has selected Gigamon’s visibility solutions to help optimize its subscriber service offerings.

Telefonica Argentina is utilizing a number of Gigamon solutions and technologies including several GigaSMART® applications for traffic intelligence: Adaptive Packet Filtering, Application Session Filtering and Header Stripping as well as Gigamon’s patented Flow Mapping. 

By combining Gigamon´s Aggregation Solution, GigaVUE-TA1, and the GigaVUE-HD8 Fabric Node with the GigaSMART applications implemented as part of a Visibility Fabric™ architecture

Telefonica Argentina gained visibility into more than 32 x 10Gbps IP/MPLS links. The GigaSMART feature set significantly reduced the traffic that needed to be processed by the tools, resulting in a 10:1 cost savings ratio for Telefonica. With Gigamon’s solution in place, Telefonica Argentina can streamline the introduction of new technologies such as VoLTE, IMS and CDN to its network and reduce operational and performance impact.

   

Alberto Bernal, Telecom Network Planning Engineer, Telefonica Argentina said: “Gigamon has also helped us gain greater visibility across our entire network and identify and address issues as soon as they arise. In fact, during the deployment process, Gigamon helped us to troubleshoot a DNS Cache Server Farm performance issue, resolve it remotely avoiding a possible service outage. It really helped us to streamline the performance of the DNS system”.

See "Telefonica Selects Gigamon to Gain Network Visibility and Optimize Customer Offerings" - here.

Movistar Argentina Deploys Comptel Data Analytics

Comptel  announced that it has ".. started the deployment of Comptel’s DATA FASTERMIND™ with Movistar Argentina, an operator owned by Telefónica Group ..  Movistar Argentina can now glean real-time insights from its data, to enhance business stream and service monitoring and improve data record searches and reporting to local authorities.

DATA FASTERMIND™ embeds analytics into operational processes, providing the intelligence to detect deviations in usage data, utilising machine-learning capabilities. This helps the fixed and mobile operator easily perform service monitoring in real time. 

With the automatic triggering of early warnings, Movistar can react quickly to irregularities and identify root causes to enable faster resolutions. This protects Movistar’s revenue, while helping it plan for system resources against future usage. 

DATA FASTERMIND™ also allows Movistar to comply with lawful interception requirements. The technology enables efficient searches into the operator’s storage capacity, consisting of hundreds of terabytes of data accumulated over the course of 10 years. With Comptel’s solution, Movistar can easily analyse, filter and cross-check users’ information, such as call detail records (CDRs).


See "Movistar Argentina Applies Advanced Analytics to Data with Comptel" - here.

Astellia to Optimize Telefonica Group's RAN

Telefonica Group global presence 

Astellia announced that it has ".. entered a global framework agreement for RAN optimization with Telefónica .. the two-year framework agreement establishes Astellia as a qualified global supplier and enables any of Telefónica’s Operating Companies (OpCos) to benefit from Astellia’s solution and expertise in network optimization.

With this agreement, Telefónica reinforces its focus on making network quality a core component of its customer experience policy. Astellia’s radio optimization expertise in multi-techno, multi-vendor environments will help Telefónica prevent any quality degradation of their network and hence improve the customer experience". 

Astellia's  Nova RAN Optimizer is a multi-technology & multi-vendor radio optimization tool which uses network equipment Call Trace files to measure RF coverage & quality of the network. It facilitates daily radio optimization tasks by automating recurrent analysis and reduces drastically the number of drive tests.

Geo-located Radio Coverage

See "Astellia signs global framework agreement with Telefónica Group" - here.

ALU Transforms Telefonica's IP Network; Sandvine Remains Happy

Alcatel-Lucent
7750-12 

  
Alcatel-Lucent announced it is "transforming Telefónica’s fixed and mobile networks with its IP technology and services expertise to meet growing consumption of data and video by its customers – while ensuring optimal operational cost and efficiency".

Later in the release (see below), ALU states the 7750 Service Router (7750 SR-12) will be part of the transformation. Among its many features, the 7750 is also ALU's DPI based traffic manager used in both fixed and mobile networks.

As Telefonica is a long-time Sandvine customer for its DPI needs, I asked Sandvine about the impact of this project on their business with Telefonica. Their response follows:

"Alcatel Lucent has always been a vendor into Telefonica, and we sold into Telefonica using them until a little while ago. We now use a combination of IBM and direct sales. In short, the threat of replacement by an integrated NEV has been there the whole time, but Telefonica has consistently chosen to go best-of-breed with Sandvine – a decision that is made centrally. We are by now well entrenched in their business processes. The Telefonica Group remains a big customer of ours as you know, and while you can never say never, we are happy with that relationship" 

Related posts:

• "ALU's DPI Device to Get a 400GE Interface" here 
• "ALU Positions the 7750-SR as a DPI based Mobile Application Assurance Gateway" - here). 

Back to the announcement:

"Video content is causing data traffic to rise dramatically across Telefónica’s networks .. Demand is also growing amongst Telefónica’s mobile subscribers, as well as amongst customers of its fixed access business, driven by the operator’s announcement earlier this year that it will triple the speeds of its fiber fixed-line services. As a result of this demand, Telefónica aims to increase network capacity and reduce complexity to allow it to manage traffic with even greater efficiency: 

• Alcatel-Lucent will replace older routers within the network, using its IP routing portfolio to perform core routing and layer two and three edge routing functions and act as a broadband network gateway for the provision of residential services. Alcatel-Lucent will deploy the 7950 Extensible Routing System, the 7450 Ethernet Service Switch (7450 ESS-MM), and the 7750 Service Router (7750 SR-12).
   

  

  5620 SAM – Assurance visualization
  for network & service operations

• End-to-end management will be provided by the Alcatel-Lucent 5620 Service Aware Manager
   
• Alcatel-Lucent offers a comprehensive portfolio of hardware and software based routing functionalities for enhanced network efficiency, allowing service providers to address the overwhelming growth in video and data traffic and offering a seamless migration toward virtualized network architecture, using NFV. Alcatel-Lucent recently announced an extension of its collaboration agreement with Telefónica to test NFV functions, following outstanding lab test results achieved by the Alcatel-Lucent Virtualized Service Router.

See "Alcatel-Lucent transforms Telefónica’s IP network as demand grows for highest network performance to deliver data and video" - here.

Warren Buffett Leads $22M Investment to Convert Network Intelligence into Power Saving

eVolution Networks announced that "Berkshire Hathaway Energy subsidiary IES Holding, and GE Ventures have invested $22.5 million in eVolution Networks.

eVolution Networks' Smart Energy Solution is a software-based solution that analyzes the mobile network's traffic needs and adjusts the use of the network's resources based on real-time demand from subscribers. This adaptive and unique approach to managing the network's resources has been deployed by Tier-1 operators such as Telefonica Group and has proven to save millions of dollars annually on energy bills".

Digicel Jamaica deployed eVolution Smart Energy Solution in 2013 (here). In 2014 it was selected as Telefonica Group's global partner for RAN energy saving (here).

eVolution Networks' technology includes Radio Coverage Analysis and Traffic Analysis & Prediction that feed the ePlatform that eventually deactivates base stations reducing operators’ energy consumption by up to 35% annually.

An Operations & Maintenance Interface provides smart user interfaces, including graphical, web-based and command line, giving operators a wide range of tools to analyze system operations across the network, allowing them to have full visibility and control around the clock.

See "Berkshire Hathaway Energy subsidiary IES Holding, and GE Ventures contribute to funding to grow worldwide sales and promote the Smart Energy Solution to new industries" - here.

Telefónica UK Deploys Vasona - 700 Cell Sites in Central London

Vasona Networks announced a "pilot deployment with Telefónica UK. This follows trials during which the international mobile operator has achieved real-time visibility of network traffic, and active session management across individual cells when congestion occurs. 

The pilot covers O2’s customers in London with deployments of the Vasona SmartAIR™1000 [see "Vasona's Cell Traffic Management" - here] edge application controller and SmartVISION™ analysis suite [see "Vasona Adds Cell-Level Analytics" - here] .. The Telefónica UK pilot currently covers O2’s 3G service and spans 700 cell sites in central London"

Biren Sood [pictured, left, with Nery Strasman, CTO], CEO, Vasona Networks said: “Telefónica UK is implementing a mobile traffic management solution that also provides cell-level insight to enhance network planning and to speed resolution of issues. Our work with Telefónica is demonstration of how Vasona Networks collaborates with mobile network operators worldwide on assuring the best consumer experiences.”

See "Vasona Networks begins pilot deployment with Telefónica UK to improve mobile data experiences" - here.

SON Deployments [324]: Telefonica [UK] Deployed Cellwize

Cellwize announced that its "elastic-SON™, the Centralized Self Organizing Network solution (C-SON) has been commercially deployed by Telefónica UK to enhance mobile network performance and Quality of Service for UK subscribers. elastic-SON from Cellwize was selected following a rigorous evaluation process carried out by the Telefónica Global CTO Team and Telefónica UK.

Telefónica UK is the first to implement the C-SON solution in the Telefónica Group globally and effectively the first company in the UK to implement a SON solution across all three technologies (2G, 3G and 4G)".

Adrian Di Meo [pictured], CTO,  Telefonica UK said: “We chose Cellwize due to its ability to work with all Telefónica UK incumbent RAN vendors and technologie.. Our team is working closely with Cellwize to support additional business needs for special events which require enhanced coverage and capacity. Recently the Cellwize elastic-SON platform was supporting Notting Hill Carnival and the Ryder Cup 2014 event”

See "Cellwize SON Boosts Telefónica UK Network Modernization Rollout" - here.

Ceragon Partners with Qosmos and Telefonica to Improve QoE

Ceragon Networks announced that " in collaboration with Telefonica .. is demonstrating applications that provide operators with the ability to enhance user experience and enable more capacity and coverage at a lower total cost of ownership. 

• One application allows service providers to enhance Quality of Experience (QoE) by rerouting traffic based on intelligence of current network conditions and using DPI capabilities with wireless link information. This application shows how SDN and the IP-20 platform go far beyond the capabilities of today’s L2 and L3 networks.
   
• A second application demonstrates the IP-20 platform’s ability to dynamically allocate spectrum where needed via central, dynamic spectrum and interference management which considers intelligence of service capacity demand with spectrum resources availability.

..For this demo, Ceragon has partnered with Qosmos, the market leader in embedded Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) and network intelligence technology for use in physical, SDN and NFV architectures" 

Luis Miguel Contreras Murillo [pictured], technological specialist, Telefonica I+D / Global CTO unit said: “Telefonica shares in Ceragon’s long term SDN vision, and is confident in Ceragon’s abilities to deliver in this realm,” said. “We value our ongoing partnership and collaboration both in the ONF Showcase, and beyond”

See "Ceragon Demonstrates Advanced SDN Applications for Wireless Backhaul Networks at SDN & OpenFlow World Congress" - here.

Telefonica O2 Shines in Spirent's UK QoE Study

A new "Independent Review of Mobile Voice and Data Services Commissioned by Telefonica O2" by Spirent finds that ... Telefonica provides the best QoE for data services in the UK in almost every aspect of the test! 

Spirent's Datum QoE
Analytics Application

"The study included over 47,000 calls and 170,000 data tests over a three month period from May to July [using Spirent's User Experience Analytics System, Datum] :

• .. the web browsing speeds for Telefonica O2 on the 5 tested websites ranked 1st out of 4 measured networks at an average time of 2.7 seconds, with the lowest ranked network at 3.4 seconds
   
• the file download speeds for Telefonica O2 and one other network were jointly ranked 1st out of 4 measured networks with average speeds of 11.3 Mbps and 11.6 Mbps, respectively, and with the lowest ranked network at 6.4 Mbps (the difference between the top 2 measured networks was not statistically meaningful, leading to a joint ranking)
   
• the file upload speeds for Telefonica ranked 1st out of 4 measured networks at an average speed of 5.5 Mbps with the lowest ranked network at 3.0 Mbps
   
• the web browsing success rate for Telefonica O2 ranked 2nd out of 4 measured networks at 97.9%, with the highest ranked network at a 98.6% success rate and the lowest ranked network at 96.4%
   
• the file download success rate for Telefonica O2 ranked 2nd out of 4 measured networks at 98.6%, with the highest ranked network at a 99.5% success rate and the lowest ranked network at 97.4%
   
• the file upload success rate for Telefonica O2 ranked 1st out of 4 measured networks at 99.2%, with the lowest ranked network at 97.6%.

Spirent's Datum QoE Reports

 

See "Spirent Releases User Experience Study of Britain’s 4G Mobile Services' - here.

Telefonica to Offer Akamai's CDN Services

Akamai Technologies and Telefonica Global Solutions, the global service provider part of Telefonica, announced a "strategic global alliance to deliver Akamai´s suite of content delivery network (CDN) solutions to Telefonica enterprise customers. 

To further enhance its CDN business, Telefonica Global Solutions is combining Akamai´s industry-leading content delivery platform with its own global IP network to deliver a suite of global CDN and telecom solutions to enterprises. The strategic alliance will initially focus efforts in Spain and Latin America with plans to expand globally. 

Telefonica International network

..The alliance with Telefonica provides greater distribution of Akamai servers within Telefonica’s IP network and provides additional capacity within Spain and emerging markets in Latin America. The result is greater network efficiency, better service quality for end users, and a more secure system. 

"Telefonica customers are expected to benefit from efficient content routing and high-quality delivery of digital content, video and Web applications, and ultimately a superior end-user experience".

See "Akamai and Telefónica enter into global content delivery alliance" - here.

[Light Reading]: Telefonica NFV Plans Start w/DPI and PCRF

Ray Le Maistre, Editor-in-chief, Light Reading reports about " a closed-door presentation delivered to just a handful of telecoms industry editors at the Spanish operators headquarters in Madrid, Telefónica's global CTO Enrique Blanco outlined a timetable for the virtualization of much of the carrier's new network functionality and explained his reasons for being at the vanguard of a game-changing network transformation .. The operator is calling its initiative UNICA (a name it has used previously for API development work) and will begin as soon as June 2014, the CTO said".

"..Other elements set for the first phase are the evolved packet core (EPC) and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), which is due to be the first implementation .. Also in phase one of UNICA are virtual deep packet inspection (DPI) elements, set-top boxes (STBs) and DNS (domain name system) servers ..Then in the next few years (2015-16), Telefónica will seek to introduce virtualized policy control resource function (PCRF), Broadband Remote Access Server (B-RAS), service delivery platform (SDP) functions, real-time analytics platforms and SDN orchestrator".

"The list of vendor partners is varied and interesting. Telefónica is working with Huawei Technologies, Alcatel-Lucent and NEC on proof of concept trials in Spain, Mexico, and the US respectively, while BroadSoft,Ericsson, HP and Nokia Solutions and Networks are also close partners. Other suppliers also working with the Spanish carrier include Brocade Communications Systems, Cisco Systems, Intel and Juniper Networks".

See "Telefónica Unveils Aggressive NFV Plans" - here.

Amdocs: Telus [Canada]; TIM, Nextel [Brazil]; Vodafone, Telefonica [Germany] Selected Actix/Celcite

Amdocs announced "a number of customer wins [and expansions] for mobile network optimization capabilities resulting from its recent acquisitions of Actix [see "Amdocs Acquires Actix ($120M) to Provide Geo-located Network Information" - here] and Celcite [see "Amdocs Acquires Celcite for $129M" - here]:

[see also "Amdocs Explains Celcite/Actix Business" - here]

• TIM Brasil [here] to improve data traffic transmission across Brazil
   
• TELUS (Canada) for 3G and LTE geo-location and radio access networks (RAN) consolidation into a single, unified solution that will enable TELUS to improve customer experience while realizing significant engineering efficiencies
   
• Nextel Brasil (NII Group) selected ActixOne to be one of the network optimization solutions for its recently deployed 3G network in Brazil
   
• Vodafone Germany to continue Vodafone's strategic RAN optimization program to increase efficiency, improve customer experience and enable advanced optimization
   
• Telefónica Germany added 2G optimization to the company's existing ActixOne optimization platform and extended 3G and LTE coverage to 100 percent"

See "Amdocs Announces Customer Sales Momentum for Mobile Network Optimization" - here.

Cache Deployments [282]: Telefonica Media Networks [Latam] Selected PeerApp

PeerApp announced that it has been "selected by Media Networks Latin America, a B2B unit of Telefonica Digital, to implement its UltraBand caching system across the company’s Latin America Satellite Broadband Internet access network".

Fernando Blácido [pictured], ISAT Technical Manager of Media Networks said: “We offer wholesale satellite residential broadband service to operators in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru .. With UltraBand we can ensure that the most popular content will be delivered at the advertised speed of our service. PeerApp caching is enabling us to fully leverage our larger infrastructure investments.

See "Telefónica Media Networks Selects PeerApp to Ensure Quality of Experience for Broadband Subscribers" - here.

[Analysys Mason]: Business Models for Application-based Pricing

As it seems that the FCC is considering more flexible Net Neutrality rules (see "FCC Chairman re-defines Net Neutrality: 'we're going to see a two-sided world'" - here), it is time to evaluate the business models for the relations between the customers, carriers and OTT content providers.

A new report by Ronan de Renesse, Principal Analyst, Glen Ragoonanan, Senior Analyst, Eva Weidinger [pictured], Research Analyst, and Anil Rao, Analyst, Analysys Mason on Application Based Pricing, finds that "The fact that consumers generally do not pay for content and apps is a fundamental consideration when deploying ABP solutions and exploring the underlying business models".

  

"Operators need to consider innovative tariffs to maintain ARPU and remain competitive as mobile data prices and per-user spending on digital content decline. Application-based pricing (ABP) is the inclusion of third-party content and services (applications) as part of tariff structures. ABP helps operators and over-the-top (OTT) players to further monetise consumer demand for popular apps on mobile devices. Apps drive smartphone adoption, and generate mobile data traffic, which in turn generates mobile data revenue for operators"

".. three typical business models, which are based on examples of exclusivity agreements:

• Fixed rate: the operator pays the OTT player a fixed rate, as per the Deutsche Telekom and Spotify agreement [see "DT to Offer Zero-Rate Video Calls, Messaging, File sharing and Music Services" - here]
   
• Revenue-sharing: the OTT pays the operator a share of revenue, as per Telefónica Digital and Aurasma‟s partnership.
   
• No-one pays, as per agreements between Facebook and dtac Thailand (part of Telenor), [see "Facebook Offers Free Messaging Through 18 MNOs" - here] as well as SingTel and WhatsApp".

See "Application-based pricing: opportunities, business models and case studies" - here.

O2 Germany Follows DT w/DSL Caps (100-300GB)

Deutsche Telekom's decision to implement data caps on its DSL service (see "DT Implements Data Caps (but Excludes its Own Video and Voice Services)" - here and "DT CEO: "We cannot Explain our DSL Throttling Policy"" - here) opened the door for the other providers.

Michael Filtz reports to ZDNet that "O2 Germany has announced [here, German] that starting in July 2014 it will begin implementing its first national broadband data caps As part of the company's proposed 'Fair Flat rate' plan:

• If DSL users on the company's 'All-in M' and 'All-in L' plans exceed 300GB for three straight months, their speed will be limited to 2Mbps when they use more than 300GB of data again on the fourth month. Additionally, the throttling will continue in subsequent months if users continue to break the 300GB limit. Normal download speeds for these plans are up to 16 Mbps and 50Mbps, respectively.
   
• And users on the budget 'All-in S' plan can expect the throttling to kick in much sooner: they'll have a 100GB cap each month, where their speeds will be reduced from 8Mbps to 2Mbps, regardless of whether they've exceeded the threshold in the previous month".

See "O2 bringing in broadband data caps in 2014 in Germany, power users face throttling" - here.

[YG]: Shared Data Plans Coincide Nicely w/LTE in Europe

A new report by Declan Lonergan [pictured], VP, Yankee Group concludes that "The great shared data experiment is well under way in Europe. Building on the recent success of this concept in the U.S. [see reports from AT&T, Verizon], mobile network operators (MNOs) on the other side of the pond are turning to shared data in their attempts to successfully monetize 4G/LTE. These price plans will achieve some success, but European MNOs shouldn’t assume very high levels of customer acceptance will be replicated everywhere outside the U.S". 

European operators ramp up shared data offers. Throughout 2013 there has been a significant increase in the number of shared mobile data plans being offered by European MNOs. The list of players that now provide this type of plan includes TeliaSonera [see "Telia Claims for Europe's First(?) Data Share Plan" - here], Telefónica O2, TDC and EE .. 4G provides a perfect vehicle. The launch of shared plans in several European markets coincides nicely with the commercial launch of 4G/LTE.

Related posts -

• [Survey]: LTE Drives Majority of Operators to Replace Billing and Real-Time Charging Systems - here 
• Vodafone to Offer Multi-Device and Family Plans (End of 2013) - here
• Telenor: "Customers Say that Shared Data Plans are Bad Idea - But .." - here
• [YankeeG]: "Operators should develop multi-user and multi-device price plans for LTE" - here

See "Shared Data Gains a Foothold in Europe" - here.

[Juniper Research]: Analytics May Save MNOs $9B by 2018

Great savings for MNOs are just around the corner: while SDN will save them $4B by 2017 (here), big-data analytics will do more than twice: $9B.

A new report by Juniper Research finds that "The continued deployment of analytics platforms is expected to deliver combined savings and incremental revenues to MNOs (Mobile Network Operators) totaling more than $9 billion by 2018, .. Greatest savings are expected to result from reduced customer churn and more efficient capex allocation, with MNOs also able to derive significant revenues through the licensing of opted-in subscriber data to third parties".

"Some operators – such as Telefonica [see "Telefonica to Monetize on its Mobile Analytics Data" - here] and Verizon – have established in-house business units to offer aggregated subscriber data to enterprise customers, while in the UK, Everything Everywhere (EE), Telefonica O2 and Vodafone have founded the advertising joint venture Weve".

See "Harvesting ‘Big Data’ Offers Network Operators a $9bn Cost Savings & Revenue Opportunity by 2018: Juniper Report" - here.

EU Checks DT, Orange and Telefonica Use of DPI for Traffic Discrimination

It's action time for the EU!

While its stand on Net Neutrality is not clear (see "EU: Traffic Management, Pay for QoS - are all fine!" - here Vs. "What does the EU Want to Know about Traffic Management?" - here) it decided not to wait any more and look for the use of DPI by leading carriers as a mean to discriminate services.
 
Jennifer Baker reports to Computerworld that the "The European Union's top antitrust watchdog has carried out unannounced raids on Telefonica, Deutsche Telecom and Orange. The European Commission is concerned that the three companies may have violated E.U. competition rules prohibiting the abuse of a dominant market position, it said Thursday .. The Commission is understood to be looking into network operators' use of deep packet inspection, a technique that allows them to identify the type of content that runs through their networks and allows them to throttle traffic from particularly demanding applications such as video streaming or VoIP calls".

An EU memo explains that "The European Commission can confirm that on 9 July 2013 Commission officials initiated unannounced inspections at the premises of a number of telecommunications companies active in the provision of Internet connectivity in several Member States" (here).

See "EU competition watchdog raids Telefonica, Deutsche Telecom and Orange" - here.

PCC Deployments [252]: Telefonica [UK] Selected Tekelec for LTE

Tekelec announced that its Policy Server has been "..selected by Telefónica UK to provide the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) in the 3G and LTE core networks. The Policy Server will combine with Tekelec’s Subscriber Profile Repository to enable Telefónica UK to offer advanced digital lifestyle services for smartphones, tablets and other mobile data devices, while lowering network operating costs.

The Policy Server will help create new mobile data services and tariff plans using a variety of criteria, including volume of data, speed, time and applications. In addition, the operator could offer personalized loyalty programs, mobile advertising and time-based plans"

Telefónica UK has more than 22 million mobile customers, with 47 percent smartphone penetration as of March 2013. In the first quarter of 2013, 93 percent of new contract customers chose a smartphone.

Source: Telefonica 2013-Q1 Report 

See "Tekelec’s Market-Leading Policy Server Selected by Telefónica UK Limited for 3G and LTE Networks" - here.