Whitepaper

NEXT-GENERATION POLICY MANAGEMENT & RATING ARCHITECTURES FOR 4G NETWORKS AND SERVICES
Bohdan K. Zabawskyj & Frank Seiferth
Redknee Inc. 2560 Matheson Blvd. East, Suite 500 Mississauga, Ontario Canada L4W 4Y9

Abstract 4G networks incorporating IMS centric architectures will facilitate growth in new media services. IMS architectures will provide for increased operating and capital cost efficiencies due to a degree of protocol rationalization and will allow services to be extended in access technology agnostic manner. This will facilitate the delivery of contextual services in a multi-access (e.g. wireless, cable, IP) environment. Critical to the long term viability and success of new media services is the implementation of a reliable, real-time, value-based, transaction-oriented rating environment. Real-time value-based rating is essential as it facilitates the development and implementation of new emerging data/multi-media services and provides network operators with a foundation for creating new revenue streams with unique and flexible rating plans which reflect the pricing requirements of various market segments. Consistent and predictable Quality of Service (QoS) levels will also form a crucial part of the end-user experience. It will therefore be important to regulate and guarantee QoS levels on a per service and per subscriber basis. I. INTRODUCTION

paid account structures. The new paradigm will consist of fragmented and shifting value chains consisting of a wide variety of 3rdparty service/content providers, chronologically and demographic specific services, a wide variety of payment mechanisms, and new business models that will subsidize or otherwise reallocate service costs to other entities (e.g. advertisers). This will lead to new markets, services, and value chains, that will have to be exploited rapidly and effectively on both a tactical and strategic basis in the immediate future. In parallel, mobile data revenues are growing quickly, and in many developed countries, they now account for 20% to 30% of operator revenues, whereas voice revenues are stagnant or falling. Next generation access technologies including WiMAX, HSDPA, EVDO Rev. A/B/C, and PacketCable as complemented by IMS based core network infrastructure will facilitate growth in new IPcentric media services. Network operators will in turn require means to introduce innovative pricing plans. Network operators must be able to properly correlate value to distinct media services. Traditional flat-rate or volume-based pricing plans have demonstrated little utility in this regard. Consistent and predictable Quality of Service (QoS) levels will also form a crucial part of the end-user experience. It will therefore be important to regulate and guarantee QoS levels on a per service and per subscriber basis. In particular, given the stochastic nature of next-generation media services the best effort delivery of services will almost guarantee inferior service levels irrespective of the access technology used.

The communications industry is on the cusp of disruptive cycle characterized by ubiquitous broadband access + mobility + low power multimedia/computational capabilities. In the classic paradigm, the network operator had direct control over the entire value chain where a limited set of well defined services were offered from a walled garden and paid for via established pre/post

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In turn, resulting in dissatisfied subscribers. It will therefore be important to regulate bandwidth in a manner that allows carriers to mitigate costly capacity build-outs for lowvalue traffic. Therefore, real-time policy management will be an essential and complementary function to real-time value based rating given the finite capacity accorded by 4G & IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) based networks. II. REAL-TIME VALUE BASED MONETIZATION the early generation of mobile IP (WAP) services but is equally applicable to recently developed state-of-the-art services as evidenced by subscriber feedback in connection with services that were offered with the 2006 FIFA world cup [2]: 51 per cent of subscribers who used mobile data services during the World Cup found them to be far too expensive; and 44 per cent indicated that they were completely dissatisfied.

The high bandwidth and low-latency of next generation access technologies provides an opportunity to facilitate the development of a variety of mobile-centric IP services including streaming or media delivery services such as IP TV and music distribution. In tandem, operators are introducing mobile entertainment and multi-media content services - and content providers are generating and adapting content for the mobile environment. Subscribers are generally familiar with the growing number of mobile multimedia services. For example, over half of mobile subscribers are aware of the availability of mobile/IP TV and other media services. For example, one customer report stated that only 7% of subscribers have indicated that they would be willing to pay for mobile TV services [1]. Generic media services combined with flat-rate or monthly surcharges are simply not viewed as a compelling value proposition in a mobile context. Given the success of comparative media distribution services such as Apples iTunes - there is evidence that there is a latent demand for services that are convenient, simple, intuitive and with a clear value proposition that is focused at a transactional level. In a mobile environment, endsubscribers will be willing to pay for services that are optimized to their specific context, preferences, and state. To the extent that these conditions are not met, the end result will invariably lead to the rejection of the service and the economic collapse of the associated business model. It should be stressed that this premise is not specific to

Clearly, any gap in the perceived value of a rendered service will result in a strong negative subscriber reaction that will be difficult to overcome. Traditional flat-rate or monthly surcharge based rating schemes have three negative affects: i) a segment of subscribers are deterred from trying new services given the uncertainty in the value of the service; a segment of subscribers use the service in an excessive manner that results in a net loss for the network operator; and for pre-paid subscribers, the pre-existing OSS/BSS solution may not be able to disable services on a suitably granular level or timely basis leading to revenue leakage conditions.

ii)

iii)

Critical to the long term viability and success of new media services is the implementation of a reliable, real-time, value-based, transaction-oriented rating environment. It is important to develop rating rules that are strongly correlated with the rendered service whether it be a discrete charge for viewing or retrieving a media file or paying a classic chronological charge for a real-time video-phone service offering. Real-time value-based rating is essential as it facilitates

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the development and implementation of new emerging data/multi-media services and provides network operators with a foundation for creating new revenue streams with unique and flexible rating plans which reflect the pricing requirements of various market segments. Value diluting rating flat-rate rating schemes need to be replaced with subscriber and service centric real-time rating mechanisms that reflect the value and context of provided services. The monetization solution must enable value-based real-time rating based on attributes extracted from the network, such as transaction type (URL, IP address, port, media type); other contextual information such as location and time of day; as well as subscriber attributes. The real-time monetization solution will necessarily have to support a variety of Diameter & Radius as well as proprietary interfaces to both pre-IMS and IMS compliant network elements in order to extract the relevant information for the purpose of determining the applicable rating rules and applying real-time service controls. Consistent with the need to apply subscriber-centric value based rating rules, A real-time monetization solution must allow network operators to rate and charge data traffic at a service and transactional level (e.g. IPTV, VoIP, WEB, MMS, Streaming Video) in addition to traditional time and volume based methodologies in subscribercentric and intuitive manner. A monetization solution must rate both postpaid and prepaid transactions across all access technologies and services in real-time so that all subscribers can benefit from advanced features such as bundles, account groups, and cost-control. Operators are also integrating their existing fixed and mobile networks and services to extract increased operating and capital cost efficiencies as well as to leverage economies of scale to provide competitive bundled offerings and complementary distribution channels for content and services given the advent of alternative IP-centric communication service providers. Operators will need to create and segment their service offerings in the context of a converged fixedmobile service environment in order to leverage their brands while simultaneously tailoring product-packages to meet the specific requirements of given subscriber sub-segments. A real-time monetization solution will enable network operators to rate and charge IP traffic and services in real-time and to generate sophisticated, context-aware rating and charging rules in order to address the rich variety and dynamic nature of mobile data services that will be offered via next generation fixed and mobile networks. III. SUBSCRIBER CENTRIC POLICY MANAGEMENT

Wireless access technologies such as WiMAX, HSDPA, and EVDO Rev A/BC will increase the aggregate bandwidth and capacity supported by a given base-station. In turn, this will facilitate the delivery of mobile multi-media content and IP-centric services in addition to classic voice and messaging services to mobile devices. As wireless access technologies utilizes a shared wireless transmission medium, there are inherent bandwidth and capacity constraints relative to fixed or wired access technologies. With the advent of mobile multi-media services, there is an increased likelihood of bandwidth contention between emerging multi-media and traditional communication services. Specifically, as network operators have modeled and engineered their networks for relatively well understood IP based services there is a probability that the relatively dynamic services provided by alternative IP service providers will congest both the core IP and Radio Access Network of network operators. Access to the shared transmission medium will have to be regulated and rated concurrently according to both service and subscriber centric attributes. It is important to highlight that certain applications and services are already consuming non-trivial portions of available

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bandwidth. For example, peer-to-peer and other free-rider services already consume as much as 60-80% of available bandwidth in existing IP networks [3]. The consumption of bandwidth will only be aggravated with the advent of subscriber generated content and other place/timeshifting applications (e.g. YouTube, Slingbox, Orb.com etc). Based on a sampling of broadband customer connections in the core network, there is evidence that Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) traffic is already consuming a material portion of bandwidth [4]. The potential effect for access technologies is more onerous. For example, the Slingbox place-shifting application may consume up to 2 Mbps [5] in order to optimize the streaming experience. Potentially as few as 10 subscribers could consume the 20 Mbps bandwidth provided by wireless access technologies such as WiMAX to the detriment of high-value services [6]. The potential affect of these services is also highlighted in a report by Analysys [7] that notes that if 40% of mobile subscribers of subscribers watch only eight minutes of video per day, the bandwidth requirements would exceed the capacity provided by next-generation mobile networks. Real-time policy management will therefore be an important and complementary function to real-time value based rating given the finite capacity accorded by both contemporary and future access technologies. As the user experience is degraded beyond a given perceptual threshold, subscribers will reject the service and abandon wireless based services in favour of predicable and traditional service offerings. It should be highlighted that there are revenue opportunities for network operators in that there is inherent value with a constrained resource such as wireless bandwidth. This value can distilled by allocating bandwidth on a subscriber and application centric basis in order to guarantee quality of service levels. A Policy Management solution can provide real-time subscriber-based policy control and rating within pre-IMS and IMS environments. A Policy Management solution can specifically provide real-time Quality of Service (QoS) and bandwidth management to allocate appropriate bandwidth for the requested service(s) per a variety of attributes including the network operators policies with respect to service grades (e.g. bronze, silver, gold) and access privileges to off-network content or applications. By integrating with Traffic Enforcement Points (TEP) or Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) network elements in fixed/mobile networks, a Policy Management solution can enable real-time data classification and to implement the subscriber-centric policy based enforcement of services and bandwidth allocations. This permits distinct classes of services to be applied on a subscriber-centric and servicecentric basis allowing operators to provide a predictable and consistent quality of service for multi-media applications. A real-time subscriber and service centric Policy Management solution provides the following specific benefits: Enhances the user experience by the appropriate application of policy controls on a subscriber and application centric basis; Detection, filtering, and charging of free-rider or non-authorized data services; Enables new revenues from potential partners, such as VoIP service providers by allocating bandwidth to a given application and subscriber; and Ensures a return of investment given a limited network resource and allows operators to take a proactive approach to controlling OPEX/CAPEX spending.

In conjunction with a real-time monetization solution, a subscriber centric policy management solution augments the

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ability for operators to monetize the value of a given event or transaction on a subscriber centric basis. Subscribers effectively use a service at an agreed price and guaranteed quality level providing for a positive environment where subscribers will not be afraid to consume new media services whether they are offered by the operator or other partners. IV. USE CASES Control Function of the Policy Management solution. The scenario provides an example for Gating Control, Quality of Service (QoS) management and dynamic Charging Rule selection. It demonstrates how unauthorized services can be identified, blocked or downgraded, while authorized services enjoy a guaranteed Quality of Service. The Traffic Enforcement Point (e.g. a GGSN or PDSN), is required to support detection and static or dynamic downgrading of unauthorized services. Scenario 2 Subscriber Centric QoS Control As depicted in Figure 2 and described in Table 2, this scenario outlines an example of subscriber centric Quality of Service (QoS) management. Operators are in the position to better segment their markets by defining different subscriber types and assigning a personal profile to them. As a result Business subscribers may have a distinct QoS and higher maximum allowable bandwidth relative to a given Prepaid subscriber. In addition to the ability to define tariffs for each individual service, operators may define bandwidth packages at different monthly re-occurring fees. Figure 2 Subscriber Centric QoS Control

The following examples provide an illustration of two use cases for subscriberbased network resource and admission control as well as service aware flow-based charging. In particular, the policy management solution selects dynamic charging rules based on a variety of network, media and subscriber specific information, that are typically utilized for rating & charging of multimedia events. A Policy Decision Rule Server optimizes network resource consumption required to manage the demand for higher bandwidth and realtime services and drives revenue growth by providing more transparency to the value of multimedia services, while reducing operational costs. Scenario 1 Gating Control and Traffic Shaping Figure 1 Gating Control and Traffic Shaping

As depicted in Figure 1 and described in Table 1, this scenario focuses on the Gating

PCC Policy and Charging Control rule OCS On-line Charging Server TFT Traffic Flow Template (Gx) GGSN = PDSN

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Subscriber can choose packages dependent on their respective needs. This will allow operators to move away from the current all you can eat model and create new revenue streams by monetizing guaranteed Quality of Service levels. V. CONCLUSIONS enforcement of subscriber and servicecentric policies, and the real-time valuebased monetization of services at a transactional level. REFERENCES [1] Consumers want more local content from wireless service providers, CellularNews, July 14, 2005

The communications industry will be embarking on an exciting and disruptive transformation characterized by ubiquitous broadband access, mobility, and low power multimedia/computational capabilities. In the classic paradigm, the network operator had direct control over the entire value chain where a limited set of well defined services were offered from a walled garden and paid for via established pre/post paid account structures. The new paradigm will consist of fragmented and shifting value chains consisting of a wide variety of 3rd-party service/content providers, chronologically and demographic specific services, a wide variety of payment mechanisms, and new business models that will subsidize or otherwise reallocate service costs to other entities (e.g. advertisers and sponsors). The primary benefit of emerging access technologies can be distilled to the provision of relatively high bandwidth as complemented by the ability to support nomadic and mobile IP services. However, operators that rely solely on providing basic transport services with traditional rating schemes will be relegated to providing a simple delivery mechanism (i.e. become bit pipes) with the sole value add of providing the access technology for an increasingly transient and elusive subscriber base. Given the advent of multi-mode terminals, the value that a given operator can provide with a given access technology will be marginalized and will gravitate towards marginal cost-based pricing in a competitive environment. Progressive operators seeking to maximize benefits during this transformational cycle will in turn focus on the provision of contextual and relevant services via the

[2] Mobile data a big turn-off for consumers, Wireless Week, Martyn Warwick, July 14, 2006 [3] Broadband Traffic Cop Needed, Light Reading, Sept. 1, 2006 [4] Internet Traffic Touched by YouTube, Light Reading, January 29, 2007 Goodies inside slingplayer 1.3.0.176, 2006, wwww.slingmedia.com

[5]

[6] The Promise of WiMax, Paul Sargeant, Motorola, 2005 [7] 3G: Mobile TV could swamp 3G, Mike Grenville Sept. 16, 2005 BIOGRAPHIES Bohdan Zabawskyj is the Chief Technology Officer at Redknee Inc.. In this role, Mr. Zabawskyj is responsible for formulating the framework of Redknee's strategic efforts with particular attention to directing the evolution of the Redknee application development framework to meet the requirements of nextgeneration mobile networks. Mr. Zabawskyj has a broad working knowledge of both the wireline and wireless industry based on over 18 years of experience in Bell Canada, Bell Mobility, and Clearnet Communications Inc. Specific areas of expertise include wireless networking protocols, circuit-switched and packet-based bearer networks, Intelligent Network service environments, and emerging IMS/SIP standards. Bohdan Zabawskyj has a M. Eng. degree from McGill University, a B.A.Sc. (Honours) degree from the University of Toronto, and an MBA of Information Technology from Athabasca University. Frank Seiferth is Director of Global Consulting Services at Redknee Inc.. In this

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role, Mr. Seiferth is responsible for directing Redknees global consulting efforts and has responsibility to help clients create greater value by efficiently leveraging new Redknee technologies to create sustainable shareholder value and maximize carriers Return of Investment (ROI). Mr. Seiferth has a broad working knowledge of the wireless industry based on over 11 years of experience of working in various positions for innovation leaders including AEG Mobile Communications, O2 Germany, and Redknee Inc.. Mr. Seiferth has experience in strategic business development, product management, product operations and consulting from working in the major geographic theaters Europe, Middle East, Africa and Americas. Frank Seiferth has a M. Eng. degree from University Westsaechsische Hochschule Zwickau (FH) in Germany.

Table 1 Gating Control and Traffic Shaping

Step 1 2 Action User A calls User B User A tries to make a phone call to an external IMS VoIP service to reach User B. An unauthorized service is identified on the basis of information received from the Traffic Plane Function and the subscriber profile. The Policy Decision and Rules Server installs a Policy and Charging Control rule for the service at the Traffic Plane Function (e.g. GGSN/PDSN). The Traffic Plane Function allocates QoS, i.e. block, guarantee bandwidth, or downgrade QoS . User A calls User C through the IMS VoIP offered by the operator. A) An authorized service is identified based on subscriber profile and media type information. B) The Policy Decision and Rules Server installs a Policy and Charging Control rule associated with this service. C) The Traffic Plane Function allocates QoS for the duration of the call. D) The Traffic Plane Function instructs the Online Charging Server to bill for the duration of the call. The call proceeds with guaranteed QoS and online billing.

3 4 4a 4b 4c 4d

Table 2 Subscriber Centric QoS Control

Step 1 2 3 Action User A is a BUSINESS user with high bandwidth allowance. User A establishes a video session, a whiteboard session and 2 VoIP calls. The Policy Decision and Rules Server installs the appropriate rating rules associated with each individual service considering subscriber type, subscribed QoS, location and access technology used. The Policy Decision and Rules Server verifies the requested bandwidth with the current QoS setting of the subscriber PDP context and informs the Traffic Plane Function to reserve appropriate network resources for the duration of the call. User B is a PREPAID user with lower bandwidth allowance. User B establishes a video session and opens a call. As User B tries to establish a second call, the request is rejected as it would exceed the users maximum allowable bandwidth. For the video and the first VoIP call, the Policy Decision and Rules Server installs the appropriate rating rules associated with each individual service considering subscriber type, subscribed QoS, location and access technology used. The Policy Decision and Rules Server verifies the requested bandwidth with the current QoS setting of the subscriber PDP context and informs the Traffic Plane Function to reserve appropriate network resources for the duration of the call.