Page 32 - Mobile World Daily - Day One

VOLTE | SONUS

Ray Dolan, President and CEO, Sonus

Accelerating the Promise
of VoLTE by Building a
Better Business Model

Technology transitions are never easy and rarely go according to plan. For and Unified Communications (UC). By “By embracing IP at the
nearly two decades I have been surrounded by colleagues who looked marrying programmatic network control with core, MNOs can
forward to the moment when the Internet was not only mobile, but also network state awareness and application disaggregate the services
able to handle real-time voice and video communications simply, reliably and policy, MNOs can deliver second-by-second they offer from access to
securely. The mobile network operator (MNO) business is in the midst of a SLA assurances for the applications they those services in ways
major transformation as fixed, cable and wireless networks converge, while carry. Building a smarter VoLTE network only applications like
at the same time 4G/Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technology promises exciting results in lower capital costs; operational Skype or WhatsApp could
multimedia services previously only imagined. expense (OpEx) savings via automated previously.”
provisioning and the ability to evolve toward
The adoption of Internet Protocol (IP) the move to VoLTE brings the richness of a “Network-as-a-Service” (NaaS) model that communications pass across networks. By
standards to enable 4G/LTE every day interactions and engagement in a enables more robust scaling options and differentiating services and earning the trust
eliminates a fundamental service in manner that is cost-effective, reliable and improved QoE through application-aware of users, security becomes an incredibly
wireless networks—circuit switched voice. secure MNOs can take some strategic and policies and real-time network awareness to valuable brand asset.
Voice over LTE (VoLTE) is built on top of IP, purposeful steps forward. support SLAs—all while eliminating reliance
not circuit switched networks. Existing on a single vendor’s hardware. BRINGING IT TOGETHER
business models for MNOs are fast becoming SMARTER NETWORKS PROPEL In aggregate there is a new networking plane
obsolete as over-the-top (OTT) content SMARTER BUSINESS Moving real-time traffic from a circuit emerging that brings intelligence and security
providers and third-party voice and video domain to IP means it is mixed with other together as it toggles between the networking
applications compete for consumers using With applications and networks moving to types of IP traffic, which in turn, requires core and the social, mobile and Cloud
wireless networks as a transport medium. the Cloud and becoming virtualized in a intelligent policy to ensure QoE. The applications that power our lives through
VoLTE ushers in the transition of voice as an manner where they gain the ability to quickly corresponding move toward network real-time services. This can be referred to as
IP app as well as other fully mobile IP disaggregate and re-constitute themselves, it functions virtualization (NFV) is ideal for the “intelligent delivery layer.” Growth in real-
offerings. This shift enables MNOs to seems a daunting challenge to meet the high- policy, routing and Diameter services that will time communications across VoLTE
compete with OTT providers and build a new traffic densities and network performance as increasingly tax VoLTE networks as real-time networks necessitates the most efficient
business model as they deliver an improved communications progress from basic audio to interactions grow as a percentage of mobile delivery path of traffic, and NFV/SDN
user experience through innovative new rich, multimedia services. As seen in fixed data traffic. Fast forward just two or three technologies enable this intelligent delivery
services. networks, the increase in Voice over IP (VoIP) years and you can expect that the majority of layer to emerge by seamlessly connecting the
or video traffic can directly impact quality of Diameter signaling traffic to be policy related, application to the end user. When coupled
VOLTE AND REAL-TIME experience (QoE) if not proactively managed. surpassing centralized routing and roaming with an effective plan to secure your voice,
Too often IP networks are built for best effort traffic. As mobile operators move policy, video and collaboration traffic, the intelligent
By embracing IP at the core, MNOs can data communications; when click-to-connect routing and Diameter services to a virtualized delivery layer leverages these new tools so
disaggregate the services they offer from voice and video applications are layered in, environment they benefit through reduced MNOs can realize an effective return on
access to those services in ways only the scale requirements are tremendous. CapEx and added flexibility to rapidly scale investment from their new VoLTE driven
applications like Skype or WhatsApp could Further, as users federate across coworkers, VoLTE networks. business model.
previously. Moving from circuit switched business partners and friends, the network
voice to an all-IP infrastructure for service must be able to deliver a high degree of SECURITY AS AN ENABLER Here's to the future of VoLTE, in real-time.
delivery enables MNOs to leverage multiple density as latency sensitive communications
access technologies— so they can deliver climb from a usage standpoint. Many view security as a hurdle to delivering a
services via multiple apertures. By flattening superior QoE. By ensuring a foundational
the IP network for service delivery everything Past lessons teach us that well-designed level of endpoint security across disparate
becomes an application riding on IP. Since the policy and analytics engines can help VoLTE VoLTE network topologies subscribers will be
wireless access technology no longer networks run hotter while still maintaining unleashed in how, when and where they use
determines the services offered the adoption end-to-end service level agreements (SLAs), real-time applications. As a result, security
of VoLTE becomes a catalyst for an array of thereby reducing capital expenditures becomes an enabler. Securing real-time
new real-time communications features. With (CapEx) and maximizing operating resources. communications is not simply adding a
VoLTE, MNOs can leverage the step-change Advanced software-defined networking firewall, as voice, video and collaboration
improvement in network performance to (SDN) technologies enable MNOs to require a layered approach. Next-generation
deliver richer presence tools, chat and differentiate between internal, best-effort Session Border Controller (SBC) technologies
collaboration resources and new latency traffic and latency sensitive real-time deliver encryption en masse, detect unusual
sensitive voice and video services. To ensure communications traffic, thus improving traffic patterns, secure conversations and
VoLTE network utilization for voice, video normalize different protocols as real-time

PAGE 32 Monday 2nd March MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS DAILY 2015 | www.mobileworldcongress.com