Bouygues Telecom selects Acme Packet for IMS network (France, USA)
Acme Packet, the leader in session delivery networks, announced that Bouygues Telecom, a leading fixed and mobile service provider in France, is deploying Acme Packet Net-Net Session Director session border controllers (SBCs) in its IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network, supplied and integrated by Alcatel-Lucent. Acme Packet’s SBCs fulfill numerous IMS functions at both the access and interconnect borders, ensuring security, interoperability, and quality in the network.
Bouygues Telecom is deploying IMS to support multiple services, including migration of existing residential voice to voice over IP (VoIP), interconnecting with other service providers and launching new services, such as visual voice mail.
The Net-Net Session Director fulfills critical IMS functional requirements at the access and interconnect borders of Bouygues Telecom’s network. In the access network, SBCs provide the critical Proxy-Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) and IMS-Access Gateway Function (AGW) for securing, interoperating, and controlling all SIP-based services to subscribers. The Net-Net Session Director provides Interconnect Border Control Function (I-BCF) and the Transition Gateway (TrGW) for controlling fixed and mobile SIP traffic at interconnect borders, encompassing both internal interconnection between Bouygues’ fixed and mobile networks as well as between the IMS network and other service providers.
Bouygues Telecom is using Acme Packet’s interoperability feature set that includes SIP normalization and SIP to SIP-I interworking that helps accelerate time-to-market and reduce operational costs as the network expands. Net-SAFE®, Acme Packet’s security framework, provides denial of service (DoS) attack prevention, topology hiding, and access control to protect Bouygues Telecom’s IMS network and ensure service availability. Other key features include accounting for billing and traffic planning, as well as admission control, routing, and quality of service marking for service level agreement assurance.
Jean-Paul Arzel, Bouygues Telecom networks director, said that Acme Packet’s SBC is a key part of their IMS network, built to enable innovative services and deliver enhanced customer experience to their fixed and mobile customers. They chose the Acme Packet solution due to their culture of innovation, the rich functionality and scalability of its session border controllers, and the company’s impressive track record in enabling trusted, high-quality VoIP, and IP interactive communication services.
Mario Oliveira, Acme Packet’s vice president of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, and Caribbean and Latin America sales, said that Acme Packet brings extensive experience in helping their customers build next generation communications networks. Their IMS solution portfolio delivers the security, interoperability, and quality functionalities that Bouygues Telecom and leading service providers demand to be successful in their migration to end-to-end IP communications.
Alcatel-Lucent to offer innovative measures for mobile operators to overcome data storm (USA)
Tony Wood, Country Senior Officer of Alcatel-Lucent in East Africa, explains how innovation can help operators rise above the data storm to overcome network, business-model and competitive challenges.
The globalisation of the economy and the growth of the Internet have enhanced worldwide communications. End-users wherever based in a remote village or in a big city should rely on stable telecommunications connections to enquire about the wider world and make their contribution to it. The convergence of services (broadband Internet + video on-demand + voice) has become a significant reality. Telecom operators, service providers, enterprises rely on their networks to run their voice, data and Internet communication.
Africa is a growing market and a focus market for Alcatel-Lucent; it remains among the company’s most promising markets. Indeed, broadband is one of the top priorities in Africa, good progress has been made to connect cities to national backbones, but connectivity of small towns still poor.
It is a vast continent with various needs for connectivity and is mainly characterised by basic infrastructure needs in some areas, and more developed areas where existing infrastructures must now deliver high-quality broadband connectivity to support services like high-speed Internet access.
Alcatel-Lucent is strongly involved in the telecom infrastructure development in Africa to support telecommunications actors to rise above the data storm to overcome network, business-model and competitive challenges. Meeting the need for mobile telecommunications and the adoption of next-generation technologies, including lightRadio – the revolutionary innovation of Alcatel-Lucent (a miniature device that offers a solution to network gridlock and universal broadband coverage) and 4G LTE networks, to foster digital inclusion and the development of applications to enhance education, youth employment, social engagement, health and transportation among local communities and across large geographies.
Wood said that breakthrough innovation and technologies, proven execution and experience – that is what mobile broadband operators count on from them, from their market leadership in wireless and IP, their research advances from Bell Labs, their company’s innovation engine, responsible for breakthroughs that have shaped the networking and communications industry and their global service experience in transforming networks to rise above the mobile data storm, to deliver cost-effective and high quality mobile broadband services to consumers and business users. He added that realising the potential of a connected world is an integral part of their vision and strategy.
He also said that Alcatel-Lucent unveiled lightRadio last year – the outcome of research by Bell Labs, the group’s world-leading R&D arm. It is a completely revolutionary approach for mobile networking. This brand new range will free the mobile sector around the world from its dependence on antenna masts and mobile base stations (cell towers), which are generally the most energy-consuming components of the network, and also the most expensive and difficult to maintain.
At a time of rapid traffic growth, the lightRadio system will radically simplify mobile networks, expand network capacity, lower operating costs, reduce energy consumption and bring connectivity to everyone around the world. With its flexible architecture, lightRadio is typically located at the base of each cell tower, is broken into its component elements and distributed through the network or ‘carrier cloud’.
Additionally the various cell tower antennas are combined and shrunk into a single, powerful, Bell Labs-pioneered multi-frequency, multi-standard (2G, 3G, LTE) device that can be mounted on poles, sides of buildings, WiFi networks or anywhere else there is power and a broadband connection.
In only a year, Alcatel-Lucent has not only moved from prototype to product, but has built an entire next-generation mobile platform, and it has a rich ecosystem of partners and co-creation customers it has been working with around the world: Telefónica, France Telecom/Orange, China Mobile, and Etisalat in the UAE.
The lightRadio architecture is fundamentally changing the structure of wireless networks to handle the video and Web surfing demands of consumers, increasing daily with the number of smartphones and tablets. Connecting becomes easy with lightRadio.
Globe Telecom upgrades network in Davao City (Philippines)
Leading telecommunications company Globe Telecom, which is currently embarking on a $700-million landmark mobile network modernization program, brings a radically enhanced network experience to residents of Davao City through fast call connections, on-time delivery of text messages, and reduced incidence of dropped calls even at peak hours and traffic-heavy occasions.
Being a key market and focus area for Globe, Davao City was tapped for the implementation of the network change-out beginning December last year, resulting in doubled mobile telephony capacity in the area to support growing customer demand and improvements in voice and SMS service quality.
The network modernization program, touted as the most significant investment of Globe in the last two decades, includes an all-IP infrastructure, pervasive 3G coverage, double fiber optics capacity, 4G and LTE readiness, and overall quality and resiliency.
Once completed, Globe envisions a robust and resilient network that can provide an unparalleled customer experience to truly set the company apart from competition. The new Globe network and IT systems are not only designed to address all current customer needs but would also have the capacity and capability for more sophisticated use of mobile and broadband technologies.
With the telecom industry worldwide evolving at a breakneck speed, it has become imperative for local players to stay competitive and up-to-date with the latest developments. Thus, Globe constantly pushes its underlying infrastructure capabilities to much higher levels so as to touch both consumers and industries in new and progressive ways.
The unprecedented undertaking will modernize all layers of the Globe network within the next five years and is anticipated to set the industry benchmark for the most technologically advanced network in the Philippines. It is expected to bring aggressive growth prospects, savings in capital spending and expenses, as well as operational efficiencies from the synergy among Globe and its partners, Huawei and Alcatel-Lucent. Together bound by vision and resolve, the three companies are committed to instrumentally deliver a superior customer experience for the benefit of the consuming public.
At a higher level, Globe network modernization program also serves to broaden the telecommunications horizon of the Philippines as its corollary infrastructure expansion and service innovation stands to attract investment and business. Globe is effectively raising the bar of technology and service in the industry to make it at par with the world’s most advanced telecom communities and practices.
The Globe network and IT transformation program is an ambitious and yet necessary undertaking which will provide the platform that will make Globe even more competitive in the fast-moving market.
Alcatel-Lucent and Etisalat pioneer 4G LTE mobile broadband connection (UAE, Europe)
Alcatel-Lucent and Etisalat have successfully completed a technology trial with the groundbreaking lightRadio portfolio highlighting how it can meet fast-growing customer demand for high-bandwidth mobile broadband services. According to company reports, this is the first mobile broadband connection made in the United Arab Emirates made possible by Alcatel-Lucent’s lightRadio architecture over a working 4G LTE network.
Alcatel-Lucent showcased the capabilities of its new lightRadio Metro Radio Outdoor (MRO) product at Etisalat’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi, making the lightning-fast data connection over Etisalat’s commercial 4G LTE network, also powered by Alcatel-Lucent. This new offering is part of Alcatel-Lucent’s market-leading lightRadio Small Cells product family, and based on the lightRadio cube. It extends a service provider’s LTE network to provide hot-spot coverage in densely populated areas such as shopping malls, airports, and sports stadiums.
In the United Arab Emirates, demand for high-speed connections to mobile broadband services such as videoconferencing and on-demand TV has been driven by the mass take-up of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. In October 2011 Alcatel-Lucent and Etisalat signed an agreement to jointly develop the most sustainable and efficient way to meet this demand using the groundbreaking lightRadio portfolio. This successful trial of the latest technology marks a major milestone in turning that promise into a reality.
Tests conducted prior to the successful trial showed that service providers deploying the MRO in their LTE network could see improvements in capacity and performance that would allow them to realise cost savings of up to 40 per cent while delivering high-quality, lightning-fast 4G LTE data services to subscribers.
H.E. Ahmad Abdul Karim Julfar, Etisalat Group Chief Executive Officer said that Etisalat is proud to be part of this program, helping to shape the future of mobile broadband networks to satisfy their customers’ growing demand. With lightRadio they will not only be able to accommodate this growth in traffic, but we will also be able to offer their customers the most innovative solutions so they can easily access the latest and greatest mobile data applications on their mobile device of choice.
Stephen Carter, President, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Alcatel-Lucent said that they are happy to have the opportunity to work with Etisalat to leverage lightRadio to address their business needs. The work completed as part of this successful project has yielded valuable data about how service providers such as Etisalat can very easily deploy Alcatel-Lucent’s metrocells to transform the mobile broadband experience for their customers, while at the same time reducing their power consumption, costs and equipment footprint.
RCom shortlists vendors to outsource network management (India)
Indian telecom operator, RCom (Reliance Communications), may be planning to outsource its network management for which it has identified certain vendors. According to reports, the operator is considering vendors such as Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei Technologies and ZTE, for the deal which may be worth US$ 3 billion, for a period of five years.
Sources claim that the deal would consist of outsourcing end-to-end management services and will include all services with the exception of consumer and IT services. The agreement, expected to be finalized in the coming months, is considered to be largest outsourcing contract by a telecom operator.
Currently, RCom has a 50:50 joint venture with Alcatel-Lucent, for managing its networks. However, sources claim that the operator now wants to tie up with a single vendor for outsourcing all network management services, and Alcatel-Lucent is one of the shortlisted vendors.
Rival telecom operators, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone have also outsourced their network management, but have tied up with multiple vendors.
Company officials are yet to issue a statement regarding the same.
Globe signs network modernization deal with Huawei (Philippines, China)
Globe Telecom has signed a deal with Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, for a US$ 700 million mobile network modernization program to be rolled out within the next five years, across the nation. According to company reports, Alcatel-Lucent will manage the project.
As per the company, the network modernization includes an all-IP infrastructure, pervasive 3D coverage, double fiber optics capacity, 4D and LTE readiness, along with overall quality and resiliency. Further, at least $570 million of the total amount is expected to be spent this year and in 2013.
Globe aims to offer customers a robust network that can provide unparalleled customer experience that will set the company apart from other competitors. Further, the new Globe network and IT system is expected to not only address current customer needs, but also provide additional capacity for more sophisticated use of mobile and broadband technologies.
The updated network will offer improved call quality under pervasive 3G coverage, rare dropped calls, and instantaneous SMS delivery as well as fast Internet access.
Globe Telecom to sign $700 million contract with Alcatel-Lucent and Huawei (Philippines)
Globe Telecom has launched a massive investment deal for its network modernization program. Globe has roped in cellular firm Huawei Technologies as lead partner and Alcatel-Lucent as project manager in the $700 million deal. Alcatel-Lucent is engaged with the Ayala-controlled cellular firm for Australia’s national broadband network project. As per sources, for Alcatel, the deal with Australia is far bigger in terms of investment than with Globe.
The network modernization project of Globe will be comprised of all-internet protocol infrastructure, extensive 3G coverage, double fiber optics capacity, 4G, overall quality and flexibility, etc. According to sources, a minimum of $570 million of the total amount will be utilized this year and rest will be taken care of in 2013. Throughout the year, Globe continued to excel in its performance via initiating post paid plans, launching value for money services for prepaid customers, etc.
Globe’s postpaid, prepaid and broadband business generated stupendous revenue throughout 2011, and the company closed its postpaid business with almost 1.5 million subscribers. Globe Telecom’s service revenues closed at $67.8 billion last year, 9 percent higher than previous year. The company said that the network modernization project will yield positive results with $170 million as savings. The company expects to complete the network modernization project in five years.
Bouygues Telecom picks Alcatel-Lucent for broadband network transformation (France)
Bouygues Telecom, a French mobile phone and Internet service provider company, has reportedly selected Alcatel-Lucent to transform its broadband network into a single IP-based infrastructure capable of supporting voice services along with video and high-speed internet.
According to reports, the operator is looking to deploy an IP-based model in the core area of the network connecting it with other service providers along with the access part of the network that connects with the subscribers.
As per sources, the new IP network will improve the overall quality of service for voice and data, and will also help the operator to offer services to many devices, such as smartphones and its BBox residential gateway.
Alcatel-Lucent’s profit forecast lowest in nine years (USA)
Alcatel-Lucent, the largest telecommunications equipment supplier in France has reportedly cut its profit forecast due to economic uncertainty in Europe which has caused to hold back orders. As per reports, the shares fell by almost 17 percent resulting in the biggest decline since 2002. Further, the company said that the full-year adjusted operating margin will be about 4 percent, 1 percentage point less than an earlier projection.
According to sources, the company said that it plans to seek additional savings of about US$ 690 million in 2012 as it tries to keep down costs of sales and project implementation. Further, reports suggest that Ben Verwaayen, CEO, Alcatel-Lucent has sold assets including a stake in Thales, the aerospace manufacturer, and the Genesys call-center software unit, which Permira Advisers LLP agreed last month to acquire for $1.5 billion, in an attempt to rebuild the company. Those proceeds will be used for debt repayments and general working capital, as claimed by Chief Financial Officer, Paul Tufano.
As per reports, Alcatel-Lucent’s sales in its biggest market, North America, fell by 0.3 percent while Asia saw a fall of 19 percent. The company reported a negative free cash flow of over $ 600 million. In terms of the network business, the company faces tough competition from Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. in China and Ericsson in Europe.
