Smart networks for smartphones

As we move towards a Networked Society, it’s not only phones that are becoming smarter. It’s also essential to build smart networks to keep subscribers happy while managing the ever-increasing volumes of data traffic.

Networks don’t come much smarter than Telstra’s Next G mobile broadband network. The largest operator in Australia has become the first in the world to trial network-initiated dedicated bearers, a feature designed to provide high-speed, end-to-end connectivity for selected applications, media and content. As a result, network efficiency is maximized and subscribers can enjoy a consistent quality of experience – even at times of peak demand.

"We can transfer different types of traffic at different bitrates," says Mike Wright, Executive Director of Networks & Access Technologies at Telstra. "For example, video streaming for a specific user could be prioritized over other data traffic."

The timing could not be better. Rapid consumer adoption of smartphones and changes in subscriber behavior mean that operators around the world have to keep up with rising demand for mobile-data services while differentiating their offerings amid increasingly fierce competition. Ericsson’s solution – developed in partnership with ST-Ericsson and Qualcomm – enables operators such as Telstra to ease the pressure on their networks while meeting their subscribers’ expectations on quality of experience, rather than relying on the best-effort approach of conventional wireless infrastructure.

Vice President of Product Management, Qualcomm, Serge Willenegger says: "The ability to establish a service-specific bearer is key to enabling service differentiation based on quality of service. Qualcomm is pleased to have once again teamed up with Telstra and Ericsson on another 3G/HSPA+ industry first, and is looking forward to the innovative mobile-broadband-service offering enabled by network-initiated dedicated bearers."

Håkan Eriksson, Managing Director, Ericsson Australia, says: "The development of this type of feature is only feasible when the whole industry works together to create an ecosystem supporting it from an end-to-end perspective. Ericsson was the first vendor to implement dedicated bearers into all network nodes, which we did to help mobile-broadband operators both accommodate the strong growth in mobile-broadband traffic and secure the performance of premium applications."

Dedicated bearers are a default feature in the LTE standard, and as such are available in LTE networks around the world. However, with 3G/HSPA+ networks set to coexist with 4G for many years to come, extending this capability across all network technologies is essential if operators are to reap the full benefits. The Telstra trial represents the first time that this technology is used in a 3G/HSPA+ network – proving that while phones may be getting smarter, so can networks.