NSN White paper October 2013 Enterprise Connectivity over Mobile Broadband Enabling Carrier Ethernet over LTE Networks
CONTENTS Executive Summary 2 Market Trends 3 Target Customers 6 Proposed Solution 8 Solution Components 10 Solution Highlights 12 The Path Forward 14 Glossary 15 Executive Summary With Enterprise Connectivity over Mobile Broadband, NSN offers a new, innovative revenue source by targeting premium customers. The solution is characterized by the following attributes: Fast and easy installation Cost effective Secure Extended radio transmit and receive range Fast hardware-based performance monitoring and 24x7 SLA assurance Optimized use of mobile broadband infrastructure Distinguish business customers from other users. The growing attraction of LTE stems from its high-speed performance, inherent packet data structure and simple IP RAN requirements, making it well suited to new broadband markets. LTE based services can outperform older technologies and compete with wired infrastructure on time to market, speed of deployment and capital and operational expenditures. Speed and efficiency is part of the LTE ecosystem that will satisfy market demand for the next decade. Page 2
Market Trends In 2011, about 30% of European citizens did not have broadband access to the Internet and the problem is even larger in other parts of the world: In America, Asia and Africa, up to 85% of rural residents have limited or no access to wireline broadband Internet. With more and more services being offered exclusively online, the demand for premium connectivity has increased significantly over the past few years. This market has established its place in Europe and North America and will develop rapidly in Latin America, Asia-Pacific and South Africa. The digital divide is also creating a growing gap between rural areas and cities, badly affecting a country s economic power. The European Commission s Eurostat 2012 Community survey on ICT use and e-commerce in enterprises showed that 89% of enterprises in European countries (EU27) have fixed broadband access (see Figure 1). Up to 97% have access in some countries, while others, like Bulgaria and Romania, clearly fall below this average. The survey covered enterprises with at least 10 employees in 2012. However, even in countries with good availability of fixed broadband for enterprise subscribers, one has to look deeper into the bandwidth available for business use. Enterprises having a fixed broadband connection, All enterprises, without financial sector (10 persons employed or more) Year: 2012 100% % of enterprises 75% 50% 25% 0% Figure 1: Percentage of enterprises with a fixed broadband connection (Source: Eurostat European Community) Page 3
Fixed broadband lines by speed at EU level, January 2012 Above 144 kbps / below 2 Mbps 10 Mbps and above 48.4% 8.2% 43.3% 2 Mbps and above / below 10 Mbps Figure 2: Fixed broadband lines by speed at EU level (Source: European Commission, Digital Agenda Scoreboard) The European Commission s report of January 2012 found that a significant proportion of broadband lines only offer speeds of 1-2 megabits per second (Mbps), which is the lowest bit rate a fixed line can offer to be classified as broadband. Based on the Digital Agenda Scoreboard (see Figure 1), only 48% of EU broadband lines (EU27) had speeds of at least 10 Mbps, up from 29% on statistics published one year earlier, showing a significant year on year growth. As the gap between countries in which more than 60% of broadband lines run at 10 Mbps and countries like Germany where only about 40% of broadband lines reach this value, there is a clear need for an alternative solution which is able to: Provide service for places without coverage, especially in rural areas Offer real high speed Internet access (> 10 Mbps) everywhere Offer a full range of services including Carrier Ethernet to business customers This must all be done in a way that is profitable for the service provider. Page 4
The European Commission conducted a survey to report on the broadband coverage in Europe. According to the survey in 2012, 3G coverage is on average about 90% throughout Europe (see Figure 3) and provides above 80% coverage even in rural areas. Many nation s cessation of analog broadcast TV (the digital dividend) and the broad introduction of LTE and LTE advanced (2012 and beyond) mobile broadband coverage is expected to grow towards 100% and hence could be a foundation for Enterprise Connectivity over Mobile Broadband based on 3G and especially LTE access. HSPA coverage, end of 2012 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% Total Rural 0% SK EE DE CZ HR PT IE LT HU NO IS SI RO EU IT PL CH AT UK ES BE NL DK CY LV EL BG FI LU FR SE MT Figure 3: 3G coverage as a percentage of total population in the EU (Source: Digital Agenda Scoreboard 2013, European Commission) Page 5
Target Customers The proposed solution is designed to target mobile operators and converged service providers as well as fixed network operators. The NSN solution enables customers to offer VPN services with point-to-point and multipoint-to-multipoint architectures over mobile broadband access for the following: Ethernet Private Lines Virtual Private Lines Ethernet Internet Access Multipoint L2 VPNs Transparent LAN Services Mobile operators For those interested in launching new applications over LTE to target new classes of customer. For example, by offering premium connectivity for rural based enterprise customers who can t run their business via xdsl/fiber/cable, this solution would open a new revenue stream to them and will create a new layer of data services. VLAN A VLAN A VLAN B VLAN C VLAN C VLAN C VLAN B Figure 4: Metro Ethernet Connectivity Offering Page 6
Converged Service Providers For large incumbent service providers offering both wireline and wireless services. Service providers, such as Vodafone or Telefónica, that already serve enterprise customers with a combination of fixed and mobile offerings. Many already offer LTE for enterprise services, but mainly on a best effort kind of fast Internet access. The proposed NSN solution will open new revenue streams to them and will create a new layer of premium data services. Fixed Network Operators For service providers that offer Ethernet based connectivity services to their large and medium sized enterprise customers based only on wireline access. Today, these services are typically delivered via either fiber based access, providing data rates of 1Gbps or 10Gbps, or over SDSL, which can offer data rates of 2Mbps to 10Mbps. LTE capabilities not only provide pure broadband Internet access, but can also offer Enterprise Connectivity over LTE. Thus service providers focusing on enterprise customers can significantly and easily extend their service coverage; they don t even need to own the mobile infrastructure and can just buy in the required volume of air time from any LTE service provider on a regional or national level. Page 7
Proposed Solution Carrier Ethernet Services are defined by the Metro Ethernet Forum in several ways: the service itself, such as E-Line or E-LAN, the QoS definitions and the SLA monitoring requirements. To allow a service provider to seamlessly integrate services offered over LTE with fiber-based services, it is vital to comply with the Metro Ethernet Forum, the defining body for Carrier Ethernet specifications. Ethernet services can be a challenge for today s wireless broadband networks because they are fully IP based and do not natively support Ethernet. The Enterprise Connectivity over Mobile Broadband solution resolves this and offers: Compatibility with Metro Ethernet standards Provides services with several QoS groups Permanent SLA Monitoring Supports existing mobile infrastructure adapted for I-HSPA, HSPA+ and LTE Compatibility with NSN s and other vendors radio infrastructures. EVC Traffic Ethernet Tunnel GTP Mobile Backhaul and Core Net B SAE Net A IP/MPLS Core Corporate Figure 5: Solution Overview Page 8
Solution Architecture Mobile broadband services are based only on IP and while this is in general a good choice, for many Enterprise customers transparent Ethernet connectivity is the preferred technology. NSN has therefore developed a solution based on the concept of tunneling Ethernet frames across an IP network. The tunnel is terminated in the mobile core by a carrier grade switch/ router capable of providing the tunneling support, protection and resiliency. The encapsulated Ethernet frames are transported between an indoor unit and the tunnel terminating router in the core network, completely transparently to the mobile network elements. The SLA for the Ethernet service needs to be supported by a suitable SLA in the wireless subscriber database to ensure that appropriate QoS settings are applied to the wireless link. The mobile backhaul network provides inherent protection to the transported Ethernet service traffic to ensure end-to-end resilience. Page 9
Solution Components Indoor Unit The latest version of the Accedian MetroNID supporting Ethernet over IP tunnel encapsulation forms the indoor unit. The high performance MetroNID demarcation device provides carrier-grade demarcation within the metro and access networks. It supports the service provider in continuously monitoring and assuring the SLA agreed between the service provider and its enterprise customers. Outdoor Unit This Enterprise Connectivity solution interworks with most available LTE modems available in the market. For better radio performance, an outdoor installation on the building s roof is recommended. Based on LTE UE category parameters provided by the 3GPP Release 8 standard, the downlink rates can reach 100 Mbps with uplink rates up to 50 Mbps. Page 10
Central Management System The solution includes a central management system that collects, processes and presents the performance KPIs to give real-time performance monitoring and indication of the health of the services. Radio infrastructure This consists of a standards-based LTE radio infrastructure including enodebs, a mobile backhaul infrastructure and the packet core gateway. NSN provides 3GPP compliant security for LTE networks: The solution secures data between the base station and the core network with IP security (IPSec). In addition, strong certificate authority using Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) ensures only operator-authorized base stations can access the network. The enterprise solution is completely transparent to the mobile network, including LTE base stations, mobile backhaul, LTE core components (SGW, MME and HSS) and the IP core network. In effect, no entity needs to be aware of the Ethernet tunneling concept implemented between the MetroNID and the dedicated tunnel termination router. Outdoor Unit Indoor Unit Page 11
Solution Highlights Service Assurance The Accedian Networks High Performance Service Assurance platform helps service providers to efficiently deploy, manage and maintain premium SLA-backed services and enables new revenue streams that strengthen their competitive position. The integrated SLA-Meter provides complete end-to-end, per-flow monitoring of all key SLA performance criteria, including one-way delay and delay variation, bandwidth capacity validation (in-service throughput testing), availability and packet loss. Now service providers can monitor the service connectivity 24 x 7 to make sure everyone is getting what is being paid for. The MetroNID product supports both IP and Ethernet layer active SLA performance monitoring; the unit provides traffic statistics and PM metrics on a per-second basis. LTE does not provide the same bandwidth and delay performance as fiber, but still allows service providers to offer peak bitrates of up to 100 Mbps with a delay of only a few milliseconds. The QoS concept in LTE Networks LTE uses a reduced QoS parameter set (compared to GPRS/UMTS) in order to reduce implementation complexity. The standardization body introduced a single scalar label, the QOS Class Identifier (QCI) as a pointer to a set of QoS parameters (see Table 1). The goal of such a common QoS label is to ensure the same minimum level of service quality in multi-vendor network deployments and for roaming. This standardized QCI and its corresponding characteristics are independent of the end user s access technology (3GPP or Non-3GPP). Page 12
Service establishment and QoS implementation When a new service is enabled, a default bearer is established that attaches the end user to the Evolved Packet System (EPS) network. The default EPS bearer is non-gbr and it is always-on, i.e. it is not released until the UE detaches from the PDN. The default EPS bearer s Traffic Flow Template (TFT) matches all packets, i.e. it can be used for any traffic. In addition to the default EPS bearer, a dedicated EPS bearer is established. This can be either GBR or non-gbr and is used to carry the traffic types described in table 1 below. Table 1: QoS Profiles QoS Parameter QCI GBR Priority Delay Budget Loss Rate Application 1 2 100 ms 10-2 Conversational Voice 2 Guaranteed Bit rate 4 150 ms 10-3 Conversational Voice, Live Streaming 3 3 50 ms 10-3 Real Time Gaming 4 5 300 ms 10-5 Buffered Streaming 5 1 100 ms 10-5 IMS Signaling, Control plane 6 Non 6 300 ms 10-5 Buffered Streaming, TCP applications (specific services) 7 Guaranteed Bit rate 7 100 ms 10-3 Interactive Gaming, Live Streaming 8 8 300 ms 10-5 TCP applications (premium bearer) 9 9 300 ms 10-5 Default Bearer Page 13
The Path Forward Solution Benefits The Enterprise Connectivity over Mobile Broadband solution supports Metro Ethernet E-Line and E-LAN services across mobile networks with QoS support to implement a variety of data services. In combination with the Performance Assurance Agents in the IDU, these data services can be permanently monitored and supervised to ensure 24/7 availability of the enterprise services. The solution is based on highly reliable and cost effective carrier-grade equipment. Flexibility inherent to the design makes the enterprise customer location geographically independent; thus the mobile operator does not have the overhead normally associated with location-based services. Positioning The availability of high speed site-to-site and Internet access with guaranteed QoS is business critical for enterprise customers. NSN supports operators in their endeavors to improve telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas. With Enterprise Connectivity over Mobile Broadband, NSN is able to offer the most suitable solution from both a technical and commercial perspective. With its broad knowledge in planning and deployment of Carrier Ethernet for operators worldwide, NSN is able to augment this with its Enterprise Connectivity over Mobile Broadband solution to LTEbased enterprise access. The solution s components are selected and developed together with leading IP vendors with longstanding partnership agreements with NSN. The NSN Mission NSN is a leading global enabler of telecommunications services. With its focus on innovation and sustainability, NSN provides a complete portfolio of mobile and converged network technology, as well as professional services including consultancy and systems integration, deployment, maintenance and managed services. It is one of the largest telecommunications hardware, software and professional services companies in the world. The combination of NSN s strengths in 2G and 3G radio access and its leading position in LTE, together with partner products from Accedian with its leadership in Performance Monitoring and Service Assurance, means operators can benefit from a unique solution for high-performance Enterprise connectivity services over 4G broadband networks. Page 14
Glossary 2G Second Generation 3G Third Generation 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project 3GPP2 Third Generation Partnership Project 2 bps bits per second xdsl Digital Subscriber Line EPS Evolved Packet System FDD Frequency Division Duplex GBR Guaranteed Bit Rate GHz Gigahertz GPRS General Packet Radio Service GSM Global System for Mobile Communications HSPA High Speed Packet Access (HSDPA with HSUPA) HSS Home Subscriber Server Hz Hertz IDU Indoor unit IP Internet Protocol Mbps Megabits per second MHz Megahertz MME Mobile Management Entity PDN Packet Data Network QoS Quality of Service QCI QoS Class Identifier SGW Serving Gateway TDD Time Division Duplex UE User Equipment UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Page 15
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