Broadband Mobile Convergence: The Future

Hassan Ahmed, CEO Sonus Networks

Introduction:

For years, the idea of Broadband-Mobile Convergence (BMC) has offered the promise of an entirely new way of communicating by bridging the gap between fixed line networks inside the home and broader macro-cellular networks that empower today’s mobile phones. Yet mainstream adoption has yet to occur despite the fact that indoor use of mobile phones is increasing. A recent survey by The Yankee Group showed that consumers are making up to 40 per cent of their mobile phone calls from home. Furthermore, 48 per cent of UK workers make mobile phone calls from their desk according to research by Mitel. Given the problems associated with in-building service coverage and the cost of mobile calls relative to landlines, broadband-mobile convergence offers the solution for both consumers and businesses.

The main reason for this slow initial take off has largely been due to flaws in two of the technologies that support extension from the fixed network to the mobile handset: Bluetooth and WiFi. Bluetooth has proven not to be sufficiently robust to cover a whole house or to extend to office use.  WiFi is widely available and capable of covering entire business premises, but requires special WiFi-compatible handsets, which currently demand significant battery usage. Consequently, only high-end business phones with powerful batteries are currently feasible, significantly reducing mass-market appeal.

New Advances in Picocell and Femtocell Technology Offer Promise

The emergence of in-building microcellular devices, in the form of pico- and femtocells, are one way to alleviate some of the obstacles that have hindered BMC adoption. Operators with existing mobile licences are currently looking to expand 3G pico and femto services using technology to deliver high-speed mobile broadband in order to recoup their 3G investments. In the UK, a number of fixed-line operators are also exploring the use of micro cells that leverage the release of Low-Powered GSM (LP GSM) licences to deliver innovative BMC services.

In April 2006, LPGSM licences were awarded to 12 fixed-line operators including BT, Cable & Wireless, COLT and Carphone Warehouse Networks. With the original GSM licences exclusively issued to only five operators in the UK, the release of LP GSM spectrum has opened up the possibilities for new entrants to compete for share of the BMC market and to drive competition in this space. Following the success of local loop unbundling (LLU) and the liberalisation of the market in the UK, LP GSM offers alternative network operators further opportunities to offer new services that will drive innovation and competition in the fixed, broadband and BMC markets. LP GSM will also provide opportunities for operators to extend mobile connectivity to areas where there have previously been no mobile signals, such as the London Underground, or to provide campus services, e.g. for universities, airports or hospitals.

Driving the demand for Broadband Mobile Convergence

At present users seem content with multiple services via diverse devices and networks, for which many areas have sufficient in-building coverage, but with a saturated market and increasing pressure from regulators to drive down costs of roaming and call charges, mobile operators are being challenged to find new revenue streams. Analysts speaking at a recent IBC conference predicted that video streaming will account for 44 per cent of monthly revenues for mobile operators by 2010. Conversely, mobile users will be decreasing spend on voice services from £277 and £154 per year.

In the future users will demand more sophisticated, seamless services that run across networks and across devices. A recent study from Nokia found that mobile users would be willing to pay a 50 per cent increase on their monthly bills in order to receive 3G data services. A similar study by Yankee Group predicted that the streaming media market was worth £1,65 million by 2006, if 10 per cent of mobile users were to spend £5 per month on data services. At present in-building coverage may not be sufficient to deliver these types of high-bandwidth services. According to Ericsson, mobile traffic is expected to grow tenfold by 2012, driven by increased use of data services in addition to traditional voice calls. To answer the bandwidth demands, operators need to make a strategic decision to pursue a BMC strategy for more efficient use of available bandwidth, or invest in the expensive build out of new mobile towers.

From both an economic and services perspective, broadband cellular technology is an attractive proposition for both mobile and fixed service providers. With users demanding more advanced services and increasingly using mobiles handsets indoors, the cost of expanding macro-network coverage to meet these demands, in particular for 3G, is expensive. In order to drive high-speed data services to handsets, 3G networks require substantial investment: for example, while approximately 15,000 aerials are needed to provide broad coverage for a voice-only service in an area the size of the UK, an additional 25,000-35,000 are needed to assure high-quality data services because 3G is particularly sensitive to walls and buildings. The additional aerials are needed to guarantee the signal strength. 3G pico- and femtocells connected into the building via fixed broadband lines reduce the investments required for these external aerials and improve the dependability of the quality of the data service. With service providers competing to attract and retain customers in an increasingly saturated market, they must increase their network capacity whilst limiting expenditure. Pico- and femtocell technology provides an unrivalled opportunity to do deliver these benefits.

For mobile operators who have already invested in GSM licences, microcellular connectivity offers an attractive, low-investment means of rolling out high-speed broadband services to mobile devices via fixed-line broadband connections – with the only additional infrastructure cost being the base units required in each office premises or home (which cost in the region of £100-150 per unit for femtocells and around £800-1200 for picocells). Mobile operators are keen to use 3G femtocell technology to encourage users to become accustomed to using 3G mobile services at home thereby promoting the use of mobile 3G services outside of the home as well.

Moving To The Future

The first BMC deployments have been based on Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA), such as BT Fusion. UMA is a mobile telephony system designed to enable seamless roaming and transfer between Local Area Networks (LANs) and Wide Area Networks (WANs) using a dual-mode phone. The system is based upon use of unlicensed spectrum with technologies like Bluetooth, WiFi, GSM and GPRS. Given the technical challenges and potential management issues of dual-mode handsets, femtocells offer a solution which bypasses the need for them. By plugging in to the broadband connection that a customer already has, operators can significantly reduce transmission backhaul costs as well as realize a profit by reselling broadband. So, whilst UMA permits carriers to deliver voice, data and SIP applications to phones on multiple networks, this is only a temporary measure. As the core of the network is evolving to an all-IP base, the access to the network, and the way users communicate to the core of the IP network, becomes independent. Voice Call Continuity (VCC), a continuity server that moves across different access methods, provides the long-term solution. This means the actual handset becomes less of an issue, as VCC is SIP-based and as handsets become SIP-enabled, eventually the problem is solved as a matter of course.

Low-powered GSM technology looks set to create disruption in the mobile network sector in the UK by enabling new entrants and competition. It is expected that there will be services under LP GSM licensees in the mass consumer market in late 2007 or early 2008. For existing 2G/3G license holders, by enabling easy-to-implement, high-speed mobile services via existing handsets, 3G femto- and picocells promise to harness the potential of BMC and become the mainstream enabling network technology behind it, supported by VCC. As technology advances and users become more demanding, operators will need to embrace the innovative services made possible by BMC in order to reduce churn and maintain profitability in an increasingly competitive market place.

Broadband provides a more cost effective option and higher quality for voice and data traffic, as well as the ability to support both fixed and mobile devices with just one user identity. Equally as important, as coverage becomes more ubiquitous, operators will be able to take advantage of the platforms that will enable them to provide their clients with unique and innovative offerings that blend personalized services, mobility, and presence-awareness into the communications experience. Already pervasive in the emergence of Web 2.0 applications, these characteristics are in high demand, and without services that embrace these qualities, network operators increase their risk of high churn and low customer loyalty.