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.
Acision and Aegis Mobility partner to enable mobile operators to accelerate deployment and delivery of distracted driving solutions
Addressing one of the greatest safety concerns associated with mobile phone use, Acision, a world leader in mobile data, and Aegis Mobility, a leading developer of solutions for distracted driving, today announced an alliance that will enable mobile operators to offer subscribers breakthrough safe-driving technology.
The alliance integrates Aegis Mobility’s DriveAssist solution with the Acision Personalized Messaging portfolio, which enables mobile operators to deliver mobile messaging solutions with additional value-added services. The interoperability with Acision’s enabling technology – and the company’s longstanding relationship with the operator community – speeds up and simplifies the deployment of Aegis Mobility’s distracted-driving solution for operators. DriveAssist automatically allows the network to mediate text messages, data sessions, and voice calls when a cell phone user is driving.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver inattention is the cause of almost 80% of traffic crashes with mobile phone use being the most common distraction. The National Safety Council reports that 28% of motor vehicle crashes can be attributed to talking and texting on a cell phone while driving. Texting and driving is especially dangerous and has been found to increase the risk of a crash by 8 to 23 times.
“Acision is partnering with Aegis Mobility to offer a solution to address safety concerns associated with mobile phone usage while operating a motor vehicle. We believe operators will find strong market interest in this distracted driving solution, especially among parents looking to protect their teenage children, as well as enterprises wishing to reduce liability risk and enhance the safety of their mobile employees,” said Rick Harris, senior vice president and general manager of North American operations for Acision. “This alliance empowers operators to accelerate the deployment and delivery of a distracted driving solution that will save lives.”
“Acision and Aegis Mobility are working together to address the challenge of distracted driving,” said William Stack, President of Aegis Mobility. “Our work with Acision is an important step in the ongoing effort to provide solutions that enable operators to meet growing subscriber demand for distracted driving solutions in a scalable, network-efficient manner.”
The two companies are working together through the Acision Innovation Network, a program that includes more than 100 partners from across the communications industry working with Acision on the creation and marketing of new applications and services to advance the way the world uses mobile communications.
Increasing mobile core network spending to offset RAN equipment decline
As per a new survey, mobile operators are steadily getting a handle on the mobile data traffic boom that is rippling through their networks, as smartphones and apps downloads redefine the end-user mobile experience.
According to researchers, operators are investing significantly in their core network architecture, not just to speed up the throughput on their networks but also to make those networks more efficient and aware of the traffic passing through them.
Researchers estimate that $12.5 billion will be spent on mobile gateways, subscriber databases, IMS, session border controllers, and software switch/media gateways in 2011. That represents an increase of 4.2% year-on-year (YoY).
It is well known that voice revenues are declining. In 2010, global mobile voice revenues declined -0.7% YoY, yet mobile networks carried 26.1 Exabytes of traffic. While that traffic does benefit from IP’s greater efficiency, operators need to create additional revenue opportunities and constrain operating expenses wherever possible.
The researchers stated that overall capital expenditure by the global mobile operator community is projected to decline slightly (-1.2%) to $110.3 billion by the end of 2011. Yes, operators will need to invest significantly in 4G, but they will be striving to reuse existing cell-site towers, backhaul infrastructure and core network data centers. The initial strategy will be to secure as much population coverage as possible for the most efficient investment profile. Operators are also seeking optimized products and services to maximize their return on investment. Operators will increasingly rely on outsourcing their network management to vendors and on small-cell technology for base station deployment, as well as embracing offload strategies (Wi-Fi , content delivery networks, direct tunneling) to maximize network efficiency.
Samsung plans to launch mid-sized Android Tablet
Samsung is planning to launch a third mid-sized tablet device, with a possible launch as early as next month.
According to the company spokesman, an 8.9-inch tablet will be released in the global market through mobile operators, although the person did not confirm the date or price.
According to reports, the launch would be next month, which would probably put it ahead of the expected availability of the new Apple iPad.
Samsung has already launched the Galaxy Tab with its 7-inch screen and recently launched the Galaxy 10.1, which unsurprisingly comes with a 10.1-inch screen. The new model, which is also expected to run the Android OS as the earlier models will sit comfortably between the two.
Mobile operators bet upon Africa broadband
Mobile operators in Africa are betting that broadband via a cheaper mobile device can deliver explosive growth and help transform economies.
While mobile firms in developed markets have long seen mobile broadband as a lucrative add-on service, Africa’s limited internet infrastructure means that mobile phones are becoming the point of entry for high-speed Internet.
Big shots of the Industry such as South African group MTN, Indian operator Bharti Airtel and France Telecom’s Orange unit, as well as smaller firms like South Africa’s unlisted Cell C, are ramping up investments to win the new battleground of high-speed internet via mobile phones.
According to Karel Pienaar, Managing Director of MTN South Africa, for many consumers, their first internet experience is via a mobile handset — and this is the next revenue frontier for African markets.
Telecoms research firms expect non-voice revenue in Africa, including short messaging services, to hit $10 billion by 2014, from about $5 billion now. Mobile broadband still accounts for a small fraction of industry revenue, but its contribution is growing rapidly and is now helping to boost revenues at African operators.
MTN, Vodafone’s Vodacom and Kenya’s Safaricom have pointed to the rising smartphone and mobile internet use as partly helping the earnings last year.
MTN recently delivered a 46% rise in first-half data revenue to US$413.2 million, while rival Vodacom posted data growth of 41%.
Ericsson soon to offer Mobile Banking Services
Ericsson will be introducing its own mobile payment platform- Ericsson Money Services in a couple of weeks at the Mobile World Congress.
The launch of this new business follows two years of preparation and proof of concept in Europe and Asia. As part of this establishment, Ericsson has developed an end-to-end solution and associated business and operational model, fulfilling all necessary regulatory, legal and security requirements, in cooperation with its operator customers and innovative players in the financial sector.
Through Ericsson Money Services and its Money Interconnect Service, mobile operators, financial institutions and other service providers, wishing to extend their offering with mobile money services, will be connected to a real-time, cross-border, cross-currency switching network.
According to Semir Mahjoub, Head of Ericsson Money Services, Ericsson, a new market is opening up consisting of consumers whose first meeting with banks will take place over a mobile phone and who may never own a plastic credit card. People who may never enter a bricks-and-mortar bank now have the opportunity to walk into a virtual bank using their phone. They will also benefit from more reasonable fees for routine transactions such as transferring funds.
ComReg to sell radio spectrum next year
Ireland’s national telecoms regulator, the Commission for Communication Regulation (ComReg) is planning to raise millions for government treasury next year through the sale of scarce radio frequency spectrum.
According to reports, the sale is likely to form part of the targeted US$933 million in additional revenue that the government is expected to raise through once-off initiatives in 2011, as part of the terms and conditions of the agreement reached with the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Two bands of spectrum, to be used by mobile operators and wireless broadband providers, are slated to be auctioned off before the end of 2011, while a third band of frequencies will become available towards the end of the following year. The third band relates to spectrum currently being used for analogue TV services. The Republic hopes to switch these services off before end-2012 as part of the country’s digital television switchover.
According to the spokesman for ComReg, the release of this spectrum, to coincide with analogue switch off as recently announced by the communications minister Eamon Ryan, will increase competition in mobile markets and provide greater consumer choice. The release of such spectrum may also provide opportunities for innovation in advanced mobile broadband.
It is thought that ComReg is considering allowing a system of so-called ‘spectrum trading as one of the terms of the auction. Here, owners of spectrum would be free to use the wireless bandwidth for different purposes. ComReg is also considering including plans to allow more infrastructure-sharing among spectrum-owners, as well as the introduction of spectrum caps.
Movius Launches Reversed Billed Call Service
Movius Interactive, a Mobile VAS supplier, has announced the introduction of its new Pay-4-Me ‘reverse charge’ application for mobile operators.
According to the company, the new service is expected to increase network usage by stimulating additional call traffic, which will also boost ARPU levels.
The platform allows mobile phone subscribers to make calls even when they have no credit on their own devices by dialing a prefix number to request that the person they are calling accept the call charges.
According to Farid Hilal, Movius Regional Vice President for Middle East and North Africa, the company knows that many people can’t make calls for a number of days each month because they can not afford to top off their zero-balance prepaid accounts. This results in lost revenue for carriers but with the Pay-4-Me application calls that previously could not be made are now possible via reverse billing. Not only is this service of value in an urgent situation, for example by enabling a child with no credit to contact his or her parent, it can also be adopted for business purposes so that organizations can accept calls from employees.
Ofcom faces tough opposition from Mobile operators
According to Ovum, the UK’s telecoms regulator, Ofcom faces tough opposition from mobile operators in the battle to reduce termination rates due to the negative impact on revenues.
As per the new report from the telecoms analyst states that Ofcom and other regulators will become embroiled in a ‘vigorously contested’ consultation with operators, as they seek to protect their bottom line.
The mobile termination rate (MTR) is the amount charged by one operator to another for terminating a call on their network. The rates for mobile are currently higher than fixed line charges and vary across different operators. However the European Commission wants standardization across the continent and is putting pressure on regulators such as Ofcom to intervene.
According to the report, this would result in MTRs falling by almost 90% over the next five years, from an average of six euro cents to one.
AS per Matthew Howett, an Ovum lead analyst and co-author of the report, there is currently a revolution underway in Europe for how MTRs are calculated and we expect rates to fall considerably as a result. However, Ofcom’s intervention in the matter will be hotly contested by operators who will oppose a reduction in their rates due to the negative impact it will have on their revenues.
He added that operators will definitely not accept any reduction in termination rates without a fight and Ofcom should be prepared for a fierce battle with operators, keen to protect their own interests. As a result, consumers may be waiting longer for the cheaper calls that lower termination rates could encourage. Currently the termination rate represents a price floor in terms of the retail price paid by consumers. Regulators will also be vigilant of operators increasing call prices for some consumers as a way to make up for lost revenues.
Termination rates were reduced by 52% on average between 2005 and 2010, with France leading the way with a cut of 76%. In stark contrast, Ireland saw the smallest cut with a reduction of just 24%.
Howett added that according to the existing EU telecoms rules, Ofcom must take ‘utmost account’ of the EC’s recommendation and will have to bring termination rates down and ensure standardization by 31 December 2012. However, given the opposition that mobile operators will put forward, this could be a tall order.
