Google Offers Airtel Subscribers Toll-Free Data to its Services

   
Yet another 1-800 data service (see also AT&T/Verizon, Vimpelcom, Facebook).

Read the terms carefully!

   

Airtel is "Presenting Free Zone powered by Google, an innovative service that allows you to access Google mobile services on the go at absolutely no data costs! Now with your internet-enabled mobile on the airtel network you can: Search on Google and browse the internet for FREE Send and read emails on Gmail for FREE Stay connected with your friends on Google+ for FREE"

"The free data usage on Free Zone is available up to a limit of 1GB per month .. you don’t need a data plan to use Free Zone as it is free of charge .. If you click on a link that takes you outside Google+ or Gmail or if you want to view an email attachment, you will need to pay data charges. Before you are charged, you will see a notification page, you can purchase a data plan or you can proceed further with the default pay-as-you use data charges .. When you click on a link in the search results page, you don’t pay anything. The first page(s) linking from Google Search are free, for pages thereafter you will need to pay for data usage".

"Can I use Free Zone on my computer or tablet? No, you can only use Free Zone on internet-enabled mobile phones"

Ericsson: It is about Video

While I do not like these "prediction/index" reports, I believe that when it comes from an organization such as Ericsson, with its huge managed services operation, it has a stronger base.

Ericsson published a new edition of its Mobility Report, that "reveals that mobile-data traffic will continue to grow significantly in the coming years, a trend driven mainly by video. Overall data traffic is expected to grow 12-fold by the end of 2018. Increasing usage is driven by continual growth in the amount of content available as well as the improved network speeds that come with HSPA and LTE development"

"LTE services will be available to about 60 percent of the world's population in 2018. We expect LTE subscriptions to exceed 1 billion in 2017, driven by more capable devices and demand for data-intensive services such as video .. Video makes up the largest segment of data traffic in networks, and it is expected to grow around 60 percent annually up until the end of 2018. Video consumption is on average 2.6GB per subscription per month in some networks"

Some figures from the report:

Mobile data traffic by application type, 2010-2018

Application mobile data traffic volumes by device type

Mobile subscriptions by technology and region,-2012

See "Ericsson Mobility Report: LTE and smartphone uptake drives video traffic growth" - here.

Flash Networks: Things you can do with Analytics

   

Back in 2012, Telefonica said it is going to "Monetize on its Mobile Analytics Data" (here). An example of the type of information that can be collected by MNOs is provided now by Flash Networks. 

The mobile optimization vendor announced that "..Based on Harmony Analytics, Flash Networks discovered that people who browse on tablets are twice as likely to go to shopping sites, and three times more likely to browse news sites than people who browse on smartphones. Conversely, those who browse on smartphones are more than twice as likely as tablet users to engage in social networking activity, such as Facebook and LinkedIn .. The findings were based on mobile Internet traffic data retrieved from operators in Western Europe and Asia during March of 2013".

Merav Bahat (pictured), VP Marketing and Business Development, said: "Mobile operators are currently in a position to share valuable information about subscriber preferences that can unlock the key to realizing the potential of mobile advertising”

See "Flash Networks Analysis Reveals that Tablet Users are Twice as Likely to Shop Online as Smartphone Users" - here.

Avvasi Launches Video Analytics Service Gateway - w/Location (RAN), Device and Subscriber Awareness

 
Avvasi announced the ".. launch of Avvasi Q-SRV Video Service Gateway .. Q-SRV has been designed for LTE and broadband networks. It enables network operators to detect poor video experience in their network, per subscriber, device, location, and service and to improve the user experience in real-time while simultaneously increasing virtual network capacity. Additionally, Q-SRV helps rationalize and create SLAs for video quality, which is indispensable for video monetization".

Avvasi's marketing team shared with me the following screenshots. The top one shows a comparison of “Unmanaged Traffic” vs “QoE Normalized Traffic”; the second shows the reduction in ‘bad QoE’ sessions and the reduced size of the bar indicates the additional virtual capacity that has been added.

"Avvasi Q-SRV runs on Avvasi’s Xperium platform, a carrier-grade, ATCA-based chassis that provides industry leading scalability, flexibility and performance needed to help service providers monetize massive video traffic growth".

See "Avvasi Launches Video Service Gateway to Help Service Providers Measure, Improve and Monetize the Video Experience on Mobile Devices"- here.

Elitecore Enhances PCRF with Enterprise Self Provisioning, Analytics, Parental Control and more

Elitecore Technologies announced it has added several new features to its PCRF product, NetVertex (here, here and here) including "Enterprise Policy, Policy Analytics and RADIUS support for Wi-Fi Offload".

Dhaval Vora (pictured), VP, Product Management explains:

• Enterprise Policy enables operators to address growing enterprise demand for Data Services Control within or outside the organization. It includes a service selection portal allowing Enterprises to self-manage their employees’ data consumption for usage, time & access controls, consistent QoS, Bandwidth-on-Demand, hierarchy-based personalization and more, effectively transferring controls from operators to enterprises

• Policy Analytics will help design and launch subscriber-specific promotions & plans (such as include Social media-only services, Device specific plans, city-wise usage, access network usage, students or Government sector plans) based on various inputs of revenue, usage and traffic feeds reports to PCRF
   
• RADIUS support for Wi-Fi Offload provides native support for Wi-Fi Offload through a single PCRF deployment. Operators no longer need to procure a separate Diameter Translation Agent to talk to PCRF for Wi-Fi offload.

Other new features include Parental Controls and a Device management module which maintains information on different devices available in the market, enabling operators to easily launch device-specific plans easily without having to configure device details everytime.

See "Elitecore releases latest PCRF with powerful new features" - here.

PCC (w/Device Awareness) Win for Comptel

Comptel announced that a "..leading Asian mobile operator has deployed a customised version of Comptel Control and Charge. Leveraging the product for its Online Charging Function (OCF) capabilities, the operator wanted to provide low-cost, device-specific SIM bundles that would allow it to engage a different subscriber segment, as well as create upsell opportunities among existing customers who would pay extra to get separate SIMs for their tablets"

"Comptel’s bespoke device detection solution enables the mobile operator to not only sell data plans at a reduced price to satisfy customers, but also limit subscribers’ usage to specific tablets, so that SIM cards will not be misused and affect its unlimited data plans. The mobile operator has implemented a tiered alert system to notify customers when it finds that the SIM cards have been used on unauthorised devices like 3G modem dongles, and discontinue their data service following a third warning .. Comptel successfully delivered the project, which involved OCF implementation and DIAMETER Gy integration, on time in less than 12 weeks and to the operator’s specifications".

Ulla Koivukoski [picutred], SVP Marketing and Communications, provided me with some more details on the solution:

"This solution is based on Comptel EventLink and Comptel Control and Charge, but part of the implementation has been tailored based on the customer specific requirements. It was using IMEI (no DPI), but Gy Diameter interface with GGSN and using lookups to map to devices and subscriber subscription In SPR to understand whom and when to apply this control". 

Related post - "Why Do Mobile Carriers Need Device Awareness?" - here.

See "Asian Mobile Operator Expands Partnership with Comptel to Develop Bespoke Device Detection Solution" - here.

Mobixell: Video Optimization Myths

A webinar by Mobixell explains why and how MNOs should use video optimization.

Bottom line, according to Mobixell:

• Video optimization helps you serve more high-performance sessions to more concurrent users
• Targeted video optimization (device-, user-, content-, Network-, Congestion-Aware and Policy-driven) means better video performance
• Too much video optimization can harm user experience and even revenue
• Video optimization can defer CAPEX and does not have to be expensive
• Video Optimization is critical for creating new data service revenues

 

Allot Enables Better Monetization with Granular Usage Analytics and Subscriber Profiling

Allot Communications announced the "..expansion of its Proactive Analytics suite to include granular usage insights such Facebook applications traffic, ad network performance or content publishers popularity. In addition, the release features new segmentation capabilities based on device, interest, usage and location, designed for marketing management. With Behavior and Web Analytics". operators can now easily spot trends and identify specific needs of different subscriber segments such as iOS users, light/heavy users, and movie lovers. Advanced, usage-based segmentation enables operators to introduce value-based service plans, better targeted advertising campaigns, revenue-sharing content partnerships, and customer retention activities". 

Andrei Elefant (pictured), VP of Marketing and Product Management said: “We have been working closely with our customers on pricing innovation. These new segmentation tools, combined with the performance of the Allot Service Gateway, are the engines required for operators to evolve their network monetization models”

See "Allot Supercharges Proactive Analytics Suite" - here.

DPI Deployments [108]: Public Mobile [Canada] Uses Procera for Personalized, Device Aware, Policies and Charging

   

Procera Networks announced that ".. Public Mobile deployed Procera’s PacketLogic solution set in implementing new 3GPP-standard charging models that are enabling personalized services, such as on-demand pre-paid data roaming .. In order to keep prices down, the wireless company needs visibility into its network traffic that is both granular and scalable ..Public Mobile is also an early adopter of Procera’s new PacketLogic Report Studio feature, generating analytics for their business decisions. Already, they have used the solution to respond to customer trends in smartphone use, enabling accurate capacity planning and enforcement of terms of service"

Public Mobile operates in Toronto and Montreal area, and claim to have 150,000 subscribers as of Q3 (here - note the comments). One of their web pages (here) answers with a simple "no" the question "Can I use my data phone to connect to the internet on my laptop (tethering)?", which may explain the need for a device aware DPI solution.

Brian O'Shaughnessy (pictured), CTO, Public Mobile said: "Procera's proven ability to cost-effectively implement device-aware policies and their flexibility in new charging models were the primary reasons we selected Procera for this deployment .."

See "Procera Networks Delivers Optimal Solution for Public Mobile" - here.

NI Announcements: Allot Adds Proactive Analytics for Mobile

 
Recently the DPI vendors have expanded their Network Analytics offering, the passive part of their product, adding new features, depth, metrics and reporting capabilities. See examples from Procera, Sandvine and Commprove.

This seems to be important, as Sandvine's CTO complained recently about other vendor making false claims about who was the first to add "sophisticated analyses" (see "Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery" - here).

Allot Communications joined the trend and announced the ".. expansion of its Proactive Analytics suite to include mobile specific metrics. .. Proactive Analytics utilizes real-time data collected by Allot’s inline platforms and visually represents performance and activity metrics that are easy to interpret. Operators can gain a clear understanding of network usage and subscriber behavior down to very granular levels. The latest addition to the Proactive Analytics suite is a set of mobile specific analytics that allows operators to assess both strategic and tactical intelligence, such as most popular handset and usage patterns, which applications are most popular on which type of device, and how much bandwidth they consume. This type of analysis is designed to assist operators in taking the next step towards facilitating new revenue streams, such as content partnerships, Value-based charging plans and Application-based tiered services.".

Unfortunately I could not find on the site, or get from Allot, supporting graphics to illustrate the new features.
See "Allot Proactive Analytics Goes Mobile" - here.

Verizon: "video quality has to be optimized to the particular device it's consumed on"

 

Interesting story by Sarah Reedy (pictured) for Light Reading provides insight into Verizon's 3G/4G video optimization technology. 

  

Mitch Dornich, Verizon's director of product management and head of Verizon Video, told Sarah the following (there is more in the article "Verizon Tweaks Mobile Video for Data Caps" - here - I just took the optimization related stuff):

• Video quality has to be optimized to the particular device it's consumed on .. taking into account if the phone is on 3G or 4G, how large the screen is, how capable the processor is and what kind of data package the consumer has
   
• We’ve matrixed and said, 'Based on a device with a screen size of X and processor of Y and a 3G network, here's the optimum bit rate to stream it at and how to encode it' .. It’s not prioritizing traffic or differentiating traffic. It's right-sizing to the size of the device.
   
  
• That doesn't mean always delivering the highest-quality video either .. It's what the processor can handle, as well as what makes sense based on the user's data plan (see "Verizon's UBB Starts July 7; Tethering Surcharge: $20"- here)

Nevertheless, Verizon said in September (here) that  ".. to optimize our network, we manage data connection speeds for a small subset of customers".

So we are looking at a combination of policies, with different goals. 

See also a previous post - "Optimization Deployment: Verizon Wireless Optimizes Web & Video using Transcoding, Caching and Buffer Tuning" - here).

DPI Announcements: Procera Adds a Network Analytics Reporting Facility

 

Procera Networks announced the "..  availability of PacketLogic Report Studio .. enable network operators to conduct sophisticated analyses on their network traffic for capacity planning, marketing analysis and service planning. Also unique to this solution is that they can turn it immediately into an executive-level, business- and print-ready report. .. PacketLogic Report Studio's sophisticated design and layout engine, however, facilitate the delivery of complex analytics, covering both data gathered by the PacketLogic Intelligence Center and data from external sources, to provide relevant business input to decision makers .. PacketLogic Report Studio is included at no cost with the PacketLogic Intelligence Center and is available now".

"Procera's customers are already using Report Studio to shape their network investments. Example reports that are regularly produced include: Network Usage and Summary Reports, Streaming Video Analysis, Peering Reports and Mobile Device Analytics.

Table 5, extracted from the Netflix example [here], shows usage data with device awareness and QoE ("based on how many packets that are retransmitted to each device due to packet loss in the core and edges of the network")..

See "Procera Unveils Game-Changing PacketLogic™ Report Studio" - here.

Sandvine CTO: Usage Management for Congestion Control doesn’t Work

  

Don Bowman (pictured), Sandvine's CTO, was interviewed recently to TELECOM Review October Edition, and provided some insights into the DPI business models - or why service providers are implementing policy based traffic management systems. 

Some quotes:

• Our biggest strength is that we are access agnostic; we provide the same consumer policy on all access technologies and on all access vendors. And that is how powerful we are. Currently they are operating on 2.5G or 3G, 4G or some WiFi offload and some WiMax and these are the types of combinations you are getting. You got a code that is on family plan, or share free to multiple devices and one of those is on a 2.5G and the other one is on a WiFi, and for all of it we can do universal service across all technologies. It is very powerful particularly when there’s transitioning occurring in network technologies like that.
   
• We are subscriber aware and service plan aware. We are also using the charging gateway. So we know if you are using an HTC model, and you know that you are a Sing Tel customer and when you are roaming we know whether you are on a prepaid or postpaid or what service plan you are on
   
• We have a case study with Telefonica, where we concluded that the unlimited social networking plan is the best interest and the network consumer saw their best interest with that, and how they were able to charge and have a higher ARPU
    
• If you want to give the best possible experience to users, predictable pricing is important. Users react poorly if they don’t know what the internet is costing them. Users react best if they know what the price is. So for monetization it is a complex set up of partnership, zero rating and charging the user where they can relate to.
   
• We never see success when they use usage management as a way to control congestion, it doesn’t work

See "Sandvine: Focusing on Transparency and Enabling Best User Experience" - here.

Sandvine on Device Awareness (Tethering Use Case)

  

A good post on Sandvine's "The Better Broadband Blog" about device awareness, by Tom Donnelly.

See "The Case for Device Awareness" - here.

Not an easy challenge, even for the "deepest" DPI devices, but it seems that Sandvine can provide it now. See the chart below, from Sandvine’s Network Analytics product.

And the use case - "One use case that Sandvine has assisted with, using device awareness, is enabling service providers to offer a special tier to those customers wishing to tether their mobile devices. Tethering is the use of your cell phone or other Internet-enabled mobile device as a modem for another device, like a notebook or PDA. It enables you to go online from your laptop, for example, in situations where there’s no other means of Internet access. By being able to identify “tethering” devices, a service provider can offer a service tier or package that caters to the subscribers’ needs".

Learn more in the following post - "Why Do Mobile Carriers Need Device Awareness?" - here and "Someone doesn’t like the iPad Tethering" - here.

Why Do Mobile Carriers Need Device Awareness?

  

Procera's VP of Product Management, Cam Cullen, posted a good review on device awareness - the needs, benefits and means to detect the subscriber's device type in real time.

See "Device Awareness: The Key to Service Planning" - here. 

Cam lists the ways in which the device type could be detected. Beyond the ability "to include this information in the BSS/OSS for each user account" - other methods require DPI capabilities.

However, one can wonder why a DPI system is needed if the information could be simply provisioned?

The answer is that mobile internet subscribers may use the SIM provisioned for a certain device with a different device they own. I believe that this is the main reason for the need to detect the device type, and DPI could certainly help here. Verifying the device type will allow the operators to offer device-dependant service plans, without fear of abuse (such as using a 3G/smartphone SIM in a laptop). I've seen this as the main reason in a number of RFPs - but unfortunately haven’t seen a reliable solution yet.

Similarly, some operators do not allow tethering (using a phone as a modem - see "AT&T - No More Unlimited Mobile Data" - here).

.