Policy Control & Charging

Globally, telecoms spent over $8 billion in 5G infrastructure last year, while in the U.S. alone operators spent more than $80 billion on 5G spectrum. The key to unlocking a return on investment will depend on how effectively telecom service …

The First Responders Network Authority board has a new chair: Robert Tipton “Tip” Osterthaler was nominated to the position today by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Osterthaler is a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general and former CEO of satellite services …

Amdocs gaining deeper bench in 5G policy, charging and data management Amdocs announced on July 23 it will acquire Openet for $180 million with the transaction slated for completion before the end of the year. Amdocs, which counts more than …

Orange Poland virtualizes business and customer support systems to compete in digital market Openet, Ireland’s largest privately held tech firm that develops software for telecom service providers, recently announced Orange Poland, a Polish telecommunications provider, has started using virtualized versions …

Policy control and increased reliance on automation seen as key operational goals for AT&T ECOMP initiative AT&T continues to tout the abilities of its enhanced control, orchestration, management and policy project, known as ECOMP, with the latest link connected to …

Battery life is an essential feature that directly influences a consumer’s purchase decision, brand choice and subsequent usage of a wearable device. A wearable device’s small size and mobile nature limits manufacturers’ ability to use bigger or more densely packed …

Wireless and telecom bills have historically been large and confusing. So much so that it created an entire cottage industry of bill auditors. However, over the last few years we have seen carriers move to simplify their plans. I am …

Consumer watchdog group calls out Comcast for engaging in monopolistic business After trying out capping customer data use at 300 gigabytes per month, Comcast is expanding the practice to new markets in 12 states. The data caps, which Comcast refers to as …

Broadband Conduit Deployment Act of 2015 emphasizes expanding broadband infrastructure, particularly in rural America The federal government, of late, has pushed hard to expand high-speed broadband access through rural America; the latest push is the Broadband Conduit Deployment Act of …

In a new promotion, mobile virtual network operator and Sprint subsidiary Boost Mobile is rewarding customers who pay their bill on time with access to more mobile data for free. Subscribers can get up to 3 gigabytes of additional mobile …

A Damascus, Oregon, couple has gained national media attention after Verizon Wireless sent them a bill for cellular service totaling a whopping $2,156,593.64. Ken Slusher and his partner opened the account in November, received the bill, closed the account in …

CEO John Legere says some customers with unlimited data plans are abusing policy related to tethering devices Apparently some users are actively subverting T-Mobile US’ policy regarding use of tethering devices by customers with unlimited data plans. And T-Mobile US …

Some Comcast customers are subject to 300 GB per month data cap Many customers may just now be finding out that Comcast caps home Internet use to 300 gigabytes per month. Perhaps more surprising is the company’s rationale. According to …

Partnership with UhuruOne in Tanzania brings citywide Wi-Fi service Austin, Texas-based Alepo, which specializes in software solutions for communications service providers, was on hand for the grand opening of the RCRatx Studio lounge to discuss a recent deployment in Tanzania. …

On this week’s NFV/SDN Reality Check we talked with Thomas Vasen, subscriber experience evangelist at Procera Networks, and Gerry Donohoe, director of solutions engineering at Openet, about the impact network functions virtualization is having on policy and charging systems. With …

FCC ups minimum speeds required for broadband standard The Federal Communications Commission redefined broadband speeds in a statement that also detailed the failure of broadband development in rural America to keep pace with the rest of the country. A report …

The ongoing move toward virtualizing network functions is growing to include such services as policy, routing and diameter. This move is seen as ideal for such functions, which are becoming increasingly taxed by the growth in mobile data traffic. Oracle …

LAS VEGAS — Now that LTE deployments have become nearly ubiquitous among the nation’s larger operators, the next challenge for operators is how to drive more revenues from those deployments. Having spent billions of dollars in acquiring the necessary wireless spectrum …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reader Forum section. In an attempt to broaden our interaction with our readers we have created this forum for those with something meaningful to say to the wireless industry. We want to keep this …

Mobile Minute: Keeping data flowing in even in the most crowded environments is an important goal for Japan’s SoftBank Mobile, and to that end the company has partnered with Ericsson. SoftBank Mobile will deploy Ericsson’s “mobility-based” policy solution, which directly …

Software is becoming an increasingly important part of telecommunication networks and deployments as both wired and wireless carriers look to add functionality to operations while increasing simplicity and reducing costs. RCR Wireless News is keeping an eye on recent developments …

Comptel reported 17%  growth in new business during the most recent quarter, although its net sales were largely flat. Juhani Hintikka, president and CEO of Comptel, said that the company won five new customers during the first half of the year, …

Liam Maxwell, VP of products for Oracle Communications, talked with RCR Wireless News about big data from the network, and how that ties into Oracle’s marketing automation service Eloqua and its communications portfolio. In the video below, Maxwell touches on how last year’s …

Each time we use our mobile devices we can generate multiple signaling events within the mobile core. As a result, signaling traffic has risen at a faster clip than traditional mobile network traffic. “The volume of signaling traffic is high, …