End-to-End LTE Feature Editorial

Create New Business Models by Scaling your Network Infrastructure and Operations

By Erin Harrison, Executive Editor, Cloud Computing

As 4G cell sites are rolled out advancing Long Term Evolution, or LTE (News - Alert), services, and the increase in mobile data services continues, it is expected that average bandwidth requirements will increase to tens of Mb/s per site, creating the opportunity for new business models for network operators.

 

According to the Alcatel-Lucent (News - Alert) white paper, 'LTE Mobile Transport Evolution,' to keep pace with this growth, 'service providers need an end-to-end architecture - from cell site to core - that supports a variety of network evolution alternatives and service provider deployments.

 

In addition, the expansion of service level agreement support on a per-subscriber and/or application basis will help service providers looking to stave off commoditization and better monetize new services. This added intelligence will provide several additional benefits, including:

 

• Enhanced visibility into end-user traffic patterns, which will help service providers with network planning and the development of new services;

• The ability to better safeguard the network by restricting applications based on preconfigured 'fair use' policies;

• Improved policy enforcement, which will enable service providers to optimize network resources among subscribers or applications;

• The ability to create tiered services that balance price and performance; and

• Support for new business models with third parties, as a result of new application-aware interfaces that enhance application performance and enable new services.

 

Company officials said that Alcatel-Lucent consultative services ensure key business requirements are met through efficient management of all aspects of the provider's business including networks, services and operations. This includes lowering the cost structure, expanding network capacity, and generating new business models for more revenue.

 

With the coming of 4G and LTE, network operators can reposition themselves in the wireless value chain, optimize user-paid data revenue and capture new sources of revenue from content and application providers.

 

This past March, TMCnet reported that the ng Connect Program, co-founded by Alcatel-Lucent and a multi-industry organization committed to the rapid deployment of the next generation of broadband services based on Long Term Evolution and other ultra high bandwidth technologies, announced that 10 new members have joined the program.

 

Company officials said with the addition of 10 new members, the multi-industry 4G/LTE ecosystem that is dedicated to creating network-ready applications, services, content and devices for emerging LTE networks. This provides further evidence that by scaling network infrastructure and operations, LTE offers significant opportunity.

 

In addition, through the implementation of the Alcatel-Lucent Mobile Evolution Transport Architecture, service providers can consolidate capital expenditures and rationalize operating expenditures while benefiting from a more scalable, flexible, resilient and secure transport network.

Erin Harrison is a senior editor with TMCnet, primarily covering telecom expense management, politics and technology and Web 2.0. She serves as senior editor for TMC's print publications, including 'Internet Telephony (News - Alert)', 'Customer Interaction Solutions', 'Unified Communications' and 'NGN' magazines. Erin also oversees production of TMCnet's weekly iPhone (News - Alert) e-Newsletter. To read more of Erin's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Erin Harrison