BROWSING: Reader Forum

Service fulfillment is one of the twin pillars of the traditional OSS/BSS architecture, turning customer orders into active communication services and mirroring a parallel flow of chargeable records from network to bill. But these straightforward days are fast disappearing – are we now witnessing fulfillment’s final finale?

Self-organizing networks (SON) is a key element of next generation radio access networks, especially LTE where SON techniques are an integral part of the LTE specifications. While SON in the RAN network has been defined through organizations like 3GPP and NGMN, SON in the mobile backhaul space remains undefined. Here, I like to present my take on what SON means in the context of small cell mobile backhaul where SON techniques are set to play a prominent role.

Increasing performance of mobile devices along with today’s mobile subscribers’ higher levels of adoption for mobile apps has encouraged developers to produce powerful mobile applications. Because of the complexities in the mobile apps development and competitive pressures, apps developers are sometimes turning a nelson eye towards conforming to established app development standards. As a result, apps produced are prone to issues like inefficiencies in end user experience, interruptions and interferences with phone operation and network resources, mala fide intentions, and resultant vulnerabilities such as attacks by worms, Trojans and other malware.

Consumer appetite for video-on-demand services – the ability to access videos when and where it is convenient to them – is on the rise. The arrival of 3G/4G and LTE networks has opened up new bandwidth for on-demand access, with entertainment such as movies and television shows driving adoption. Other driving factors are at work, too, particularly for mobile subscribers, which leaped over the 300 million mark in the United States alone this past year.

"A small coffee, please." – As the barista uses a tablet to take your order, you check the balance of your bank account and look at the weather forecast on your smartphone. When your coffee arrives, you sit down and scroll through the latest news headlines on your smartphone. Convenient and easy, right?

HTML5 is a language for structuring and presenting content for the Web, a core technology of the Internet. It is the fifth revision of the HTML standard and as of September 2011, is still under development. Its core aims have been to improve the language with support for the latest multimedia while keeping it easily readable by humans and consistently understood by computers and devices. You may ask, what the big deal, why should I care in wireless telecoms? The short answer is that HTML5 will be the technology that will create a multibillion dollar value chain disruption for app developers, enterprises, for Apple, for Google and for wireless operators – does that make it interesting enough?

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 as open as possible, but...

As organizations expand in headcount and location, one of the first things they look for are ways to cut costs from the bottom line. Telecom expense management was a straightforward idea that easily took hold as the value proposition was simple: success could be assured if executives simply managed inventory and conducted audits in the right way and at the right time.

Mobile networks up to 3G were designed to deliver excellent coverage to the handset, accommodating small PCM voice channels on the order of eight kilobits to 16 kb, rather than high data speeds. 3G networks are deployed with radii typically around three to eight kilometers in diameter for the macrocell, and backhaul capacity of less than 50 megabits per second for connection to the core network. While most mobile networks today utilize 3G, operators are moving to technologies such as WiMAX 802.16e or even HSPA+ to claim “4G.” In 2011, the Global Mobile Suppliers Association counted 17 commercial LTE deployments, with 180 operators in 70 countries committing to LTE, with another 64 in service by 2012.

In the mobile handset world, there has long been a drive towards smaller more powerful devices. And even though the rise of the smartphone has seen a return to larger screen sizes, today’s handsets are still remarkably compact.

During your average day how many times do you speak or text on your smartphone, browse on your tablet, or work on your laptop? In the evenings you may read e-books, message from your mobile, or check your Facebook. You go on vacation and watch videos while waiting for the plane, take pictures with your phone and send them to friends back home.

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 as open as possible,...

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 as open as possible,...

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 as open as possible,...

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 as open as possible,...

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 as open as possible,...

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 as open as possible,...

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 as open as possible,...

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 as open as possible,...

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 as open as possible,...

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 as open as possible,...

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 as open as possible,...

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 as open as possible,...

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 as open as possible,...