Network Planners Need Next-Gen Approach

The more network planners want to build and support next-generation services, the more they will have to make elaborate preparations for their network builds and rollouts, according to a survey of wireline, mobile, and cable operators.

As the gap between technology and process increases between the uptake for next-generation services and a network's ability to respond at an optimized speed, the providers must acquire new ways to adapt, the survey found. The survey of global operators was conducted by Analysys Mason for consulting firm Amdocs.

The survey found that providers need from 6 to 12 months just to launch a "simple" service like VoIP while a "complex" service like IPTV is likely to require at least 12 months for launch.

"Demand for new services and data consumption is increasing," said Seth Nesbitt, Amdocs VP of products and solutions. "Service providers must manage capacity demand while optimizing the investment in the network."

The survey respondents made it clear that new approaches to network operational planning and execution are needed, Amdocs said. One solution is for providers to closer link marketing and network planning so a baseline can be created, bringing marketing assumptions and network capacity consumption plans more in sync with each other.

"Eighty percent of survey respondents said they would prefer to plan for new services using marketing forecast data to set the baseline," Amdocs said, adding that, "network capacity consumption trends data (would be used) to confirm marketing's assumptions, plans, forecasts, and needs."

Also on Tuesday, Amdocs released a benchmark in which IBM servers and storage technology successfully used Amdocs Convergent Charging and Amdocs Turbo Charging products in measuring real-time charging performances.