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Service Broker Network Elements: Bridging the "Converging Network"
Growing competition from"over-the-top" non-traditional telecom providers, deregulation, rapidly changing technologies and saturation in some markets are making it increasingly difficult for operators to build market share and shore up their ARPU. While the NGN/IMS blueprint has provided a good foundation on which new feature rich applications can be built, the revenue generating, table-stakes applications of the legacy network are often overlooked. |
Ronald Gruia |
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Greening the Carrier Access Network with WDM-PON
In times of stagnating subscriber numbers and flatrate-based price competition, carriers are finding it increasingly difficult to offset the rising costs of their network operation. The recent hikes in energy prices and increasing labor costs have added another element of complexity and urgency to the problem. Service providers are seeking to respond to this pressure by adopting greener and more energy-efficient networking strategies. Until now, this has often resulted in increased expenditures but this is set to change. |
Jim Theodoras |
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The Virtual Machine Tsunami
We are facing a pending tsunami of VMs unleashed by an unprecedented liquidity in system capacity which is enabled by hypervisor-based cloud computing. This is being driven by corporate IT departments that are under greater capital spending constraints as well as by the high friction processes for getting applications into production using the legacy approach -- i.e. provisioning servers with a general purpose OS and then attempting to install/configure the app to work on the production implementation which is no doubt different than the development environment. |
Billy Marshall |
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What the US Election Means for Telecoms
The accepted wisdom appears to be that the chairman of the FCC, Kevin Martin, will step down following the election of Barack Obama, and will likely be replaced by a Democrat nominated by the incoming president. What's next for telecoms? |
Jan Dawson |
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The Unique Promise of WDM-PON
The drive toward carrier-class Ethernet rolls on, with the introduction of the External Network-to-Network Interface (E-NNI). E-NNI is the latest milestone on the road toward delivering carrier-class Ethernet services and is critical to delivery of ubiquitous services. Here is an overview. |
Paul Morkel |
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Could Mobile Voting Happen in 2012? or 2016?
With long lines expected at polling places for today's U.S. election, many young American voters may be wondering today "Couldn't I have voted via my iPhone, Blackberry or other smartphone?" |
David Aviv |
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E-NNI Delivers Another Milestone for Carrier-Class Ethernet
The drive toward carrier-class Ethernet rolls on, with the introduction of the External Network-to-Network Interface (E-NNI). E-NNI is the latest milestone on the road toward delivering carrier-class Ethernet services and is critical to delivery of ubiquitous services. Here is an overview. |
Jim Theodoras |
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Cyber Security: Protection Against Cyberwarfare
Cyberwarfare has been a long time coming, and it will soon affect a computer near you. It goes far beyond the type of college-hijinks hacking seen just a year ago. This phenomenon occurs in a parallel virtual world, and is essentially the "New Cold War." Instead of seeking protection against physical armies using guns and bullets, institutions must guard against virtual armies whose weapons of choice are worms and viruses. With so much of our world’s economy dependent upon the Internet to function, cyberwarfare is a very real threat that merits close attention to cyber security. |
Antonio Nucci |
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Real-Time Traffic Intelligence for Defending Networks in an Age of CyberWar
Managing and securing large IP networks has become nothing short of a nightmare for network operators due to their increasing complexity. Defending against a gamut of innovative and sophisticated network attacks and the prospect of cyberwarfare add to the complexity, making it harder for operators to effectively deliver value-added services to increase business revenue. Here are some strategic thoughts. |
Antonio Nucci |
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Evolving Security Requirements for Communications Service Providers
While standalone session border controllers (SBCs) have enabled service providers to take the initial steps on this journey, it is not clear that they provide a true long-term solution. The real question is not will standalone SBCs go away, but rather, how will the functions provided by today's SBCs evolve over time as service providers move their current networks toward true next-generation network architectures. |
Yaser Mujahed |
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SMBs: New Challenges for VoIP
Selling computer or communication technology to global enterprises bears little similarity to selling to SMBs. The presence of an information technology (IT) department at enterprises homogenizes the interface they have with outside technology vendors and service providers. The headway VoIP has made into the SMB marketplace and the pace at which adoption will continue will depend to some degree on how effectively and efficiently the benefits of VoIP can be translated into a unique value proposition suited to each particular small business. |
Tom Flanagan and Fred Zimmerman |
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IMS Growth: The Handset Connection
When fully realized, IMS will allow users to access familiar communication services on either mobile or fixed network devices. But why aren't handset manufacturers more rapidly adopting IMS? Here is a look at what is required to make it happen. |
Hartmut Schittko |
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Fixed Mobile Convergence: Where Does Perception End and Reality Begin?
The buzz over fixed/mobile convergence (FMC) is still out there. But the reality of the situation is that when FMC finally does emerge from being an"budding" technology to become a viable economic force in the marketplace, it may not resemble what the industry perceived it to be. |
Ravi Kodavarti |
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Simplified Application Call/Session Control for Evolving Networks
he Home Subscriber Server (HSS) is an important new system in the IMS environment and can be thought of as the modern day Home Location Register (HLR). However, the HSS as a monolithic database represents a potential single point of failure and a highly attractive target for both internal and external attacks. Here are some thoughts of safeguarding such systems. |
Mike Jones |
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IPRD and the VoIP Migration at the Core of Telephony Networks
A revolution is taking place on the Internet, with new sites redefining how we interact online. But the new wave of Internet applications has its unintended victims. One of them turns out to be the Domain Name System (DNS). MySpace and YouTube substantially increase the DNS query load for carriers -- slowing things down for everyone. |
Tom Tovar |
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The Future IC/UC Net Will Be Federated
Unified Communications will only become valuable when we can use them to reach anyone, anywhere, anytime. To paraphrase Metcalfe's Law: the usefulness, or utility, of interactive communication equals the square of the number of users. Our only options for delivering this network nirvana are the Internet or the Federnet - a federation of managed IP networks. Here are seven fundamental IP network precepts driving the emergence of the Federnet for IC/UC. |
Seamus Hourihan |
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The Pervasive Network Access Voyage
Large organizations must strike a balance between network access and security for internal and external user. With ever-changing business needs and a persistent increase in the number of network users, CIOs should turn their attention to a new, more holistic architecture called Pervasive Network Access. The aim is to enforce access and business policies across any mix of user roles, endpoint devices and network technologies. |
Karthik Krishnan and Jon Oltsik |
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Provisioning Standards Help Internet Voice Providers Compete With Telecom Providers
The first wave of Internet-based Voice Service Providers built their services with proprietary provisioning systems. In recent years, several standards for provisioning IP-based voice and other IP services have emerged. For instance, PacketCable3 defines provisioning standards for voice-enabled cable modems. For CPE devices that connect to DSL networks, there is the TR-069 standard. Here is a look. |
Sanjay Bhal |
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Defending the IMS Core
To establish and expand the border of next-generation networks, carriers must deploy IMS/TISPAN border security solutions that align with standards and provide the traditional protection handled by SBCs. Equally, the IMS/TISPAN border security solution must fit in the context of an overall NGN security architecture which includes both border and IMS core elements. In other words, carriers must look"beyond the border" so all elements are secure. |
Bob Bradley |
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Enabling Applications in an IMS World
The transition to an IMS network in today's cost constrained environment is challenging, so most implementations are currently being phased in over long periods of time. Replacing non-IMS applications to comply with an IP structure remains a long term goal; however, if there's no additional revenue to be generated, replacement becomes a financial decision. Unfortunately, IMS does not adequately allow legacy applications access to IMS elements directly; the net effect being that major IMS expansions are delayed pending positive business cases. |
Jose Deras |
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