Trends for SPs & services/infrastructure: Aricent

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Aricent, a global innovation, technology and outsourcing company focused exclusively on communications, presents its perspective on the trends for service providers and services, as well as on infrastructure technology for 2009.

Trends for service providers and services



Microtelecom: We will see the roll-out of new infrastructure advances required to enable profitable mobile service deployment to the next billion subscribers in rural areas globally. These services will cater to subscribers seeking basic services with much lower ARPU.

Mobile VAS: The year  2009 will be seen as the breakout year for Mobile Value Added Services, with significant uptake in applications such as mobile payment, mobile ticketing, mobile TV broadcasting, and location-based services.

Socially Relevant Mobile Web: In 2009, there will a shift towards a unique Internet and user experience on the mobile for the mobile. It will no longer be sufficient to provide a replica of the desktop experience. Operators and device manufacturers must offer users what they really want; relevant, personalized information, formatted for the mobile screen.

Infrastructure technology trends



Green Initiatives: The year 2009 will witness the adoption of new technologies to reduce power consumption in communications infrastructure and the increased use of alternate energy sources, such as solar-powered base stations.

Progressive LTE: During 2009, LTE chipsets, testing equipment and early infrastructure equipment will begin to surface, however we will not see 4G field-trials until 2010.

Rethinking Security: Converging and changing networks, with multiple radio access technologies and Web 2.0 applications (such as YouTube and Facebook) are leading to significant changes in traffic patterns on mobile networks. This is posing a challenge for operators, they will need to deploy new, updated security systems for their networks and enforce policies that ensure all subscribers get the level of service they are expecting. Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), examining the data content on networks, is rapidly becoming the technology of choice to implement in next-generation systems.

New Backhaul Techniques: With the advent of iPhone and data-heavy next-gen devices/ applications/ usage models, existing network nodes are being choked and there is a need for better and more effective backhauling techniques. This demand is forcing operators are re-invent their backhaul mechanisms, IP Backhaul and Metro Ethernet are two of the major methods we expect to see implemented extensively in 2009.