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The wireless network capacity challenge facing operators today is only set to compound as 4G/LTE infrastructure and associated promises of ever more data-rich services are made to subscribers. If wireless networks are to survive with customer experience and quality of service intact, they need to address the pressure of capacity inside their network infrastructure. Wi-Fi offloading currently represents the most compelling escape valve, to protect networks from collapsing when pressures on the infrastructure become intense.
The past twelve months alone have seen such demands on network capacity emerging from a diverse range of sources: substantial software updates, operating-system downloads, live streaming of major sporting and entertainment events, and increased video and photo sharing. The demands placed on networks from these and other data-heavy transmissions increases the risk of signaling storms, infrastructure congestion and related poor customer experience.
The argument for Wi-Fi offloading in such situations is a simple one: carriers get to free up network capacity with a cost effective solution, utilizing capacity from third party Wi-Fi at a fraction of the cost of deploying new network infrastructure, and subscribers enjoy an automatic, seamless and uninterrupted connection, without having to take any action. Win-win, you might say.
But a word of caution needs to be added. Whilst having a Wi-Fi offloading strategy in place can mitigate the risks, several important caveats should be considered.
When offloading to Wi-Fi, operators need to be aware of what they can and cannot control. Wi-Fi spectrum is neither licensed nor owned by the operator. They are effectively ‘borrowing’ bandwidth from a third party, which makes the quality of experience once handover has happened, somewhat unpredictable. While Wi-Fi can keep mobile services expanding smoothly, inattentive implementation of Wi-Fi technology and handling of customer care can cause some self-imposed punctures in the operation.
For a tactical capacity solution such as Wi-Fi offload to yield its greatest value, carriers need to take a holistic view of their complete cellular network. Too often, the management of Wi-Fi nodes is siloed, without regard for the rest of the network. For example, the intelligence to offload a subscriber to Wi-Fi lives within the Core network and is triggered by location. Put simply, subscribers entering an area that has been configured for offload due to increased capacity on the RAN will automatically be offloaded. Once this takes place the RAN teams have little or no visibility of customer experience post offload. The knock-on effect is that Customer Care teams are unable to provide support when Wi-Fi related care issues become apparent. They simply won’t have the data.
Therefore, the need for real-time monitoring of customer experience indicators once offload has occurred, and making speedy decisions if Wi-Fi is not performing as expected, is paramount to ensuring subscribers remain happy to keep their default Wi-Fi settings in the “on” position. If they suspect that the Wi-Fi experience is going to be a poor one based on past performance, they may start deselecting Wi-Fi as an option in future in the hope of remaining on the 4G/LTE network, potentially rendering Wi-Fi a white elephant.
In dealing with Wi-Fi-related customer care during times of potential network stress on, it is important to have an efficient method of root cause identification and analysis and plans to communicate with various units within the network.
Advanced support technology is available that helps customer care make a decision as to where the ticket should be routed. The technology can reveal the geographical location of the caller, which Wi-Fi node was the source of the issue involved, and whether the trouble ticket should be routed to the Radio Access Network operations, Core Network operations, Engineering or other units. For example, if a particular Wi-Fi node is resulting in multiple trouble tickets, the Core team will need to be informed to avoid offloading further to that node. This joined-up thinking is essential to ensure the benefits from Wi-Fi offloading are optimized. In designing escalation workflow, customer care should account for Wi-Fi offloading strategies and reflect all the possible scenarios that might impact subscribers during the offloading process.
Additionally, Wi-Fi needs to coexist with femtocells, picocells, and microcells to distribute wireless services effectively. They should all be optimized to make the best use of Wi-Fi offloading. Ignoring other types of implemented small cells will cause higher management costs and greater potential network points of failure for carriers.
And preparation is key. When a large media event is anticipated for example, whether it’s a Super Bowl, Olympic Games or breaking news event, successful Wi-Fi offloading is all about anticipating where and when users will cause the greatest demand. For example, if out of town visitors attend an event and they all take a single major route to the venue, the wireless carrier should anticipate this congestion. In response, a carrier can configure Wi-Fi offload to take place via local restaurants, hotels and the venue itself, testing the coverage well in advance, to ensure they meet the needs of users without straining the macro network.
In other instances, carriers upgrade their IMS subsystem, but it may be some time later—during a period of high demand—that they discover they have neglected to provide support for Wi-Fi offload in improving their multimedia core network technology. These oversights have caused major difficulties for a number of carriers; ensuring the continuity of Wi-Fi operations should be a critical aspect of these upgrades.
The same technology that supports customer care by making customer interactions with the network more visible is capable of allowing carriers to see who has shut down the Wi-Fi on their phones so customer care staff can contact them and encourage Wi-Fi use or reassure them if a poor experience has driven their decision to effectively opt out of Wi-Fi offload. The technology also permits the network to see each person who goes into the Wi-Fi network, along with the flow of their authorization message. Knowing the number of subscribers at each Wi-Fi location, carriers can more easily discover issues at that site and pass this information on to planning teams that can determine where more Wi-Fi nodes need to be placed. During high-demand events, the technology can pinpoint impacted Wi-Fi sites and provide alarms that signal operators to take actions to limit access to overburdened cells.
In summary, times of extreme and concentrated demand offer unique challenges for operators. By combining a broad view of all the elements of the wireless network with deep, real-time insight into user interactions, operators can achieve greater predictability in offloading subscribers to Wi-Fi, with more confidence, better clarity for all network teams concerned and enhanced customer experience.
