Abstract
Mobile broadband represents a “kill or cure” solution to the
profitability outlook of mobile operators throughout the world. New revenues
promise to lift the trend in revenue and ARPU, while new volumes of data
traffic threaten to increase costs as quickly as revenues increase - or even
faster. Even where some of the world' s leading mobile networks are delivering
very encouraging financial performance with their mobile broadband service
offerings, the pressure on the CFOs in these companies to maintain tight
control of capex and opex while maintaining or enhancing network availability
and performance remains intense.
The so-called “flat“ IP network is heralded as a critical next stage in the
evolution of the mobile broadband business model. Superseding the
multi-layered, hierarchical topology that has served mobile operators
relatively well until now, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has
designed networks based on HSPA Evolution, and especially LTE, to provide a
much lower cost, much more flexible network for mobile broadband, delivering
superior performance.
The evolution of the logical architecture is clear: Beginning with LTE, the
RNC layer is done away with altogether, and the separate voice and data cores
converge into a single Evolved Packet Core (EPC). This report looks beyond
this high-level architectural flattening to examine the case for taking both
3GPP-defined and non-3GPP-defined elements and capabilities that have
traditionally resided in the center of the mobile network, and distributing
those capabilities out closer toward the user at the edge of the network, in
the pursuit of lower cost and better performance.
This report sets out to provide a better understanding of what the
opportunities and risks of distribution really are. It discusses the gains
that can be made; the ability of operators' organizations to execute on the
strategy; and additional costs that are liable to be incurred as the plan is
implemented. It sheds light on the business case for distributing each
potential network feature and the impact of distributing any one feature on
its own, as well as in conjunction with others.
The wider architectural decisions, having little or nothing to do with issues
of feature distribution - such as the rollout of new packet synchronization
standards, new security solutions such as IPsec and new interfaces such as the
direct X2 interface between eNodeBs in LTE - are also key. Holistic design
principles are relatively straightforward in a TDM-based architecture. They
become much more challenging in any all-IP environment; still more challenging
when you add in the cell-handover requirements of a mobile network; and
potentially even more challenging when you start distributing features from
the center of the network to the edge in this environment.
The opportunity and risk associated with feature distribution is also a key
issue for equipment vendors that are targeting the mobile packet core and
mobile transport spaces. Platforms and future roadmaps need to be designed
with specific features and timelines for those features in mind. Depending on
the pattern of demand for distribution from each vendor' s lead customer
prospects, that may vary significantly from one vendor to the next.
Care also needs to be taken not just with respect to determining which
present-day features need to be supported, but also which future requirements
need to be supported, which interfaces to third-party elements are liable to
required and what might be required from a network management perspective in a
highly distributed mobile network environment.
Mobile Network Feature Distribution Strategies for 3G & LTE explores the
opportunities and risks of feature distribution for mobile network operators,
analyzes the prospects for distribution of the primary network elements that
are deployed centrally in mobile networks today, and examines the various
factors that could accelerate or impede this trend. The report also makes
specific recommendations for how equipment vendors can best position
themselves to capitalize on the move toward distribution.
Recent Heavy Reading research shows a lot of hesitation on the part of mobile
operators to distribute specific types of network functionality. As shown in
the excerpt below, from Heavy Reading' s June 2010 LTE Strategies Survey, 46
percent of mobile operators respondents in this survey were clear that at
least some level of distribution of network elements will be required where
the EPC is concerned, although around half gave non-committal responses.
Distributed or Centralized EPC ?
Source: Heavy Reading' s 2010 LTE Strategies Survey; n=102
Table of Contents
I. INTRODUCTION & KEY FINDINGS
- 1.1. Key Findings
- 1.2. Report Scope & Structure
II. TOWARD DISTRIBUTED BROADBAND NETWORKS
- 2.1. Definition of the NGN
- 2.2. Distributed Functionality in Carrier Networks: Opportunity & Risk
- 2.3. Real-World Distribution Models In Wireline Broadband Networks
III. MOBILE OPERATOR OUTLOOKS ON FEATURE DISTRIBUTION
- 3.1. The Six Pillars of Feature Distribution
- 3.2. Most Operators See Distribution as a Long-Term Play
- 3.3. The Challenge of Maintaining Holistic Design Principles
- 3.4. Organizational Issues
- 3.5. LTE Rollout
- 3.6. Traffic Volumes
- 3.7. Traffic Types
- 3.8. The Cost of Transport
- 3.9. Market Geography
- 3.10. CDMA & W-CDMA Legacies
- 3.11. Available Network Equipment
- 3.12. Small Cell Deployment
IV. THE OUTLOOK FOR SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS & FEATURES
- 4.1. IP Peering Points
- 4.2. Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN)
- 4.3. Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN)
- 4.4. Offload Gateways
- 4.5. Mobility Management Entity (MME)
- 4.6. Serving Gateway (S-GW)
- 4.7. Packet Gateway (P-GW)
- 4.8. Content Caching
- 4.9. Video Optimization
- 4.10. Deep Packet Inspection (DPI)
- 4.11. Security Features
V. CHALLENGES FOR VENDORS
VI. VENDOR PROFILES
- 6.1. Alcatel-Lucent
- 6.2. Aviat Networks
- 6.3. Bridgewater Systems
- 6.4. Ceragon Networks
- 6.5. Cisco Systems
- 6.6. Dragonwave
- 6.7. Ericsson
- 6.8. Huawei
- 6.9. Intracom Telecom
- 6.10. Juniper Networks
- 6.11. Nokia Siemens Networks
- 6.12. Openet
- 6.13. Saguna Networks
- 6.14. Sycamore Networks
- 6.15. Tekelec
- 6.16. Tellabs
- 6.17. Volubill
APPENDIX A: ABOUT THE AUTHOR
APPENDIX B: LEGAL DISCLAIMER
LIST OF FIGURES
- Figure 2.1: Characteristics of Legacy & Next-Generation Networks
- Figure 2.2: The Velocix-Enabled ISP
- Figure 3.1: Heavy Reading' s Six Pillars of Mobile Network Feature
Distribution
- Figure 3.2: Distributed or Centralized EPC?
- Figure 3.3: Live LTE Networks as of May 2011
- Figure 3.4: Fixed & Mobile Traffic of an Incumbent European Carrier
- Figure 3.5: Heavy Reading' s Global Cell Site Forecast
- Figure 4.1 Offload Gateway Architectures
- Figure 4.2: Video & Other Data Traffic in the Mobile Network
- Figure 4.3: Important Technologies for Mobile Video Management
- Figure 4.4: Most Important Technology for Mobile Video Management
- Figure 4.5: Global DPI Market Forecast
- Figure 4.6: The Case for DPI & Caching Distribution
- Figure 5.1: Vendor Positioning Across the Pillars of Distribution
