STRATEGY ANALYTICS INSIGHT
Wireless Networks and Platfdorms
24 January 2013
Mobile Operators Virtualize to Win with SDN and Services at the
Edge: Executive Summary
Snapshot
A revolution in Next Generation Network Infrastructure is beginning in 2013, led by critical enabling trends in network infrastructure and services that can complement one another to create entirely new ways to lower network costs, enhance revenues and create the next generation of networking.
Virtualization of Resources in the Cloud, Software Defined Networking (SDN) and ‘Services at the Edge’ will dramatically change the way that network resources are allocated, standardize processing platforms for all types of network equipment – including gateways and routers - and eventually simplify network operations.
Mobile network operators are exploring how to utilize SDN and smart ‘services at the edge’ to scale rapidly to handle huge bursts of traffic, lower software platform costs and add unique value. This Executive Summary highlights how two major trends in network infrastructure and service delivery will change operator deployment and operations to create a winning approach in 2013 and beyond. The full Report ‘2013 Network Trends - BT,
Deutsche Telekom, Singtel, Telstra, Verizon Pioneer SDN and Services at the Edge’ is available as part of
Strategy Analytics Mobile Broadband Opportunities Service.
Analysis
Discrete, predictable networking has been replaced by bursty traffic and signaling floods end-to-end across mobile broadband networks. In this report we review the network approaches that will address these issues in a cost efficient manner.
Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) aims to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume servers, switches and storage. Last June BT announced that its’ “network virtualisation research show(ed that) using industry standard servers (there was) the potential to reduce the total cost of ownership by a third to a half, reduce power consumption by more than 50%.” BT helped co-found the NFV
Industry Specification Group (ISG) under the aegis of ETSI. Through the ISG, AT&T, BT, CenturyLink, China
Mobile, Colt, Deutsche Telekom, KDDI, NTT, Orange, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telstra and Verizon worked together to produce the ‘Network Functions Virtualisation – Introductory White Paper’ in October 2012 to describe potential use cases and benefits as well possible serious challenges for NFV.
Software Defined Networking (SDN) is the next step that will virtualize everything in the service provider network. SDN begins by virtualizing IP routing and switching as well as caching and storage resources; then ultimately core network processing. With SDN resource sharing will extend across technologies, frequencies and protocols for multi-device access to all network services everywhere from anywhere.
NFV is complementary to SDN but can be implemented without it. Together, however, the two enable greater cost savings and much faster service innovation and deployment. SDN provides an additional layer of abstraction by separating the control and data planes that can accelerates service innovation and makes rollout across converged service networks much easier.
Several developments in late 2012 show that the market for NFV and SDN are moving from hype to reality:
• At Broadband World Forum in October 2012 Deutsche Telekom’s CTO Bruno Jacobfeuerborn argued that the multiplicity of fixed and mobile networks must be replaced by virtualization across a common set of shared network resources - ‘one network’ - an SDN - with RCS as an OTT overlay and one day with a fully virtualized packet core.
• Just a week later in Darmstadt in the keynote at the ‘SDN & OpenFlow World Congress’ Dr. Stuart Elby,
Verizon’s Digital Media Services Chief Technologist noted that IMS is a great enabler to the goal of a carrier in adopting SDN to fundamentally “change the cost
