Showing papers on "Telecom infrastructure sharing published in 2017"

TelcoFog: A Unified Flexible Fog and Cloud Computing Architecture for 5G Networks

Abstract: We propose the TelcoFog architecture as a novel, secure, highly distributed, and ultra-dense fog computing infrastructure, which can be allocated at the extreme edge of a wired/wireless network for a telecom operator to provide multiple unified, cost-effective, and new 5G services, such as NFV, MEC, and services for third parties (e.g., smart cities, vertical industries, and IoT). The distributed and programmable fog technologies that are proposed in TelcoFog are expected to strengthen the position of the mobile network and cloud markets. TelcoFog, by design, is capable of integrating an ecosystem for network operators willing to provide NFV, MEC, and IoT services. TelcoFog's key benefits are the dynamic deployment of new distributed low-latency services. The novel TelcoFog architecture consists of three main building blocks: a scalable TelcoFog node, which is seamlessly integrated in the telecom infrastructure; a TelcoFog controller, focused on service assurance and based on service data modeling using YANG, which is integrated in the management and orchestration architecture of the telecom operator; and TelcoFog services, which are able to run on top of the TelcoFog and telecom infrastructure. The TelcoFog architecture is validated through a proof of concept for IoT services.

How to Design a Common Telecom Infrastructure for Competitors to be Individually Rational and Collectively Optimal

Abstract: The fast development of mobile networks calls for the massive consumption of materials, land, and energy in building and maintaining infrastructures, which is always intensified by the repetitive constructions of competing network operators. To reduce the resource consumption for social benefit, one business solution, implemented in the Chinese telecom industry, is forming a joint venture responsible for building and maintaining common infrastructures. The novelty of this practice is that the joint venture is shared by the competing operators who also rent infrastructures from the joint venture. We note that such a solution can be potentially generalized to other industries for reducing resource consumption. However, before generalization, an understanding of the pros and cons from the economic perspective of the business model is urgently needed. In this paper, we study this business model from a game theoretic approach. Our results show that if we properly regulate the joint venture, the market can converge to equilibriums with desirable properties which cannot be achieved without the joint venture. Furthermore, we also study the investment reduction in the presence of the joint venture. Our numerical results show that under a moderate user density, the total investment on the infrastructures can be significantly reduced.

Network functions virtualization: An overview and open-source projects

Abstract: Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) has emerging as a networking technology from telecom industry to provide agility and flexibility in the deployment of network services and to reduce the Capital Expenditures (CAPEX) and the Operating Expenses (OPEX) by leveraging virtualization and cloud technologies. NFV decouples the software implementation of network functions from the underlying hardware, and it provides an abstraction of network functions such as: firewalls, deep packet inspectors, load balancers, among others, via software components that can run on general purpose devices that can be located in a variety of telecom infrastructure, including: data centers, network nodes, and end-user facilities. These Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) can easily be created, moved or migrated from one equipment to another without the need to install new specialized hardware, allowing a faster deployment of the services and providing innovation and a great number of opportunities for the world of networked systems. In this paper an overview of NFV technology is presented, explaining its characteristics, enabling technologies, benefits, use cases and challenges, as well as its relationship with another emerging technology as Software Defined Networking (SDN). The architectural framework and a list with more than 170 SND/NFV open-source projects are also provided, at the end it is described the Proof of Concepts (PoCs) and some research lines in this interesting research area.

The Impact of Telecom Infrastructure on the Economic Growth: The Case of Oil-producing and Non-Oil Producing Arab Countries

Abstract: This study attempts to assess the impact of investment in the infrastructure of the telecommunications sector on economic growth in the Arab countries, using advanced econometric techniques, such as fully modified ordinary least squares, and panel data analysis utilizing cross sectional data covering 12 countries and a period of 20 years 1996-2015. The study finds evidence that investment in infrastructure for the telecommunications sector has a positive and significant effect on economic growth in non-oil producing countries in the long-term; it shows that a 10% increase in the number of telecom subscribers leads to an increase of 3% in real gross domestic product in these countries. The results also show that there is no impact for telecommunication on the economic growth of oil-producing countries. In light of the above findings, policy makers should pay more attention to the telecom sector in the Arab countries, and encourage investment in this sector.

The land rental system and diffusion of telecom infrastructure in Ghana: an institutional and transaction economics approach

Abstract: The paper answers the question: which are the economic and practical challenges encountered by mobile operators and tower companies when deploying infrastructure in countries with land ownership systems as in Ghana? The foundation for this issue is the clash and articulation of different kinds of land ownership structures and rights. Under the traditional social or communal ownership system, land belongs to the clans and is distributed among families following tradition-based user rights. The land ownership structures of a capitalist mode of production are only slowly breaking into this system. The analysis is based on institutional analysis including a calculated estimation of the transaction costs for telecom operators seeking to establish contracts for land rental and for enforcing contracts. Quantitative as well as qualitative empirical evidence is analyzed. The paper concludes that the land ownership system in Ghana creates problems for the telecom and tower companies. The communal lands constitute the dominant land ownership system. When this system encounters a private ownership system, a number of land ownership cases are produced, which costs money for the telecom companies. The total transaction costs relating to ownership problems connected with mobile towers are calculated to be between GHC 6.9 and 13.9 million in 2015. In the Ghana context, though this may not be a very large sum, such problems may hold or delay the expansion of the telecom infrastructure especially in rural areas. Uncertainty is an important factor when making investment decisions.

Experiences and future perspective of China Telecom on optical access networks

Abstract: As the largest FTTx operator in the world, China Telecom faced with technical and engineering issues during FTTx deployment and operation. In the paper, China Telecom's experience and technical innovation on FTTx networks were given. Moreover, China Telecom's vision on future FTTH network, including PON technology upgrade, software-defined access networks and central office re-architecture as edge DC, were presented.

Towards an assessment of resilience in telecom infrastructure projects using real options

Abstract: This paper employs the concept of real options to quantitatively assess resilience. First, the definitions of resilience are distilled from literature in the fields of engineering, management and ecology to give requirements for further assessment. From this, it was found that resilience requires a system to be robust, adaptable and flexible in the face of uncertainty. The main contribution of the paper is to connect these requirements to real options valuation and demonstrate the evaluation of the robust and flexible cases through real options methods. Specifically, Least Squares Monte Carlo method is used to value each option with the robust case being the benchmark and flexibility representing upgrades to the system. This is applied to an illustrative telecommunications case and the properties of the model assessed. The results show that uncertainties on the system can be captured and valued through this method so that it can aid a decision maker to assess which technology option or investment to select for future planning.

Experimental assessment of Big Data-backed video distribution in the telecom cloud

Abstract: The telecom infrastructure is undergoing a huge transformation since operators are deploying their own cloud infrastructure to provide cloud services and enabling Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). The resulting infrastructure is referred to as the telecom cloud. NFV decouples network functions from proprietary hardware appliances, so they can be implemented in software and deployed on virtual machines (VM) running on commercial off-the-shelf computing hardware.

Telecommunication Tower Sharing Effects on Network Providers in Zambia

Abstract: Tower sharing has become the norm among telecommunication companies in developed countries, and now in developing countries in Sothern Africa. Zambia’s mobile operators; Airtel, MTN, and Zambia Telecommunications Ltd (Zamtel) recently adopted this business model. The sharing of infrastructure has led to a number of effects which this paper seeks to outline. The paper utilized a quantitative research approach to explore the effects of tower sharing on telecommunication market and technology advancement among mobile operators. The research was conducted using questionnaires and face interviews. Data collected was analyzed using Excel. The research found that there is positive correlation between infrastructure sharing and the rate at which new technology is adopted among network providers sharing infrastructure. Thus, affecting service quality and pricing.

E-Commerce Initiatives: A Positive Prospective

Abstract: Developing countries can be industrialized and modernized if they can widely apply information technology to increase productivity and international competitiveness and develop e-commerce and e-government applications. An information-based society or a knowledge-based society consists entirely of IT products, socio-economic and IT applications. Many countries in Asia use electronic commerce through economic opening, which is essential to open competition and spread Internet technology. The Internet is improving the efficiency of developing countries and improving market integration. Developed countries have long been leaders in developing countries in telecommunications infrastructure. Keywords: E-business, telecom infrastructure, e-commerce, Innovations.

Next Generation Access Networks: Infrastructure Sharing

Abstract: The migration to Next Generation Access Networks (NGAN) has raised a range of issues related to building wiring and infrastructure sharing. The deployment strategies for operators and entrants are completely different. European Commission argues that infrastructure-based competition is the best and fastest way for broadband development. The arguments are that infrastructure based competition provides efficiency incentives to operators, reduces prices, increase penetration, stimulates innovation, etc. However, civil costs represent up to 80% of the total roll-out cost of NGA. The study deployed shows several broadband access infrastructure sharing solutions.

Application of ETLR in Telecom Domain

Abstract: Objectives: To apply ETLR (Extraction, Transformation, Loading and Retrieval) paradigm to build an efficient, effective and cost effective data warehouse for telecom industry. The focus point is to optimize every layer of telecom DWH. Methods: The data techniques used are making use of telecom infrastructure, i.e. MSC files and applying segregation logic at the source layer i.e. mediation layer. Files are pushed towards predefined separate destinations and applying multiple technology mix mainly of database inbuilt utilities and custom scripts to avoid use of commercial ETL tools; and at the same time achieving enhanced performance at every front. Technology mix includes source optimization, external table implementation and switching, DB copy utility and retrieval level optimization. We have used data loading statistics to compare the results. Findings: The ultimate result is a telecom data warehouse and the result that we have achieved using ETLR paradigm improved the data processing of the data many folds. The motive is to optimize every layer that comes in between the data warehouse building process. Source level optimization leads at the data cleaning at the source level itself, thus shifting the load at the source system and reduced the load on the DWH servers. We have supplied bunch of files to the external tables and thus utilizing the OS storage for tabular data. Transforming data using views and push them into partitioned tables using DB copy utility improved the overall performance. Using query optimization techniques and DB level tuning ensures the data availability in minimum time. The data availability of a standard DWH is sysdate-1; but in our case, we have reduced it to approx. 4 hours with indexes intact. The scalability is also a very strong point of our ETLR paradigm. Now telecom operators have a better system available for building their data warehouse without taking care of heavy license fee for commercial tools. Application/Improvements: The application of the paradigm is in mostly every sector where data processing is a big challenge and cost is a major factor. We have given its application in telecom sector in this paper. The same can be implemented in Banking Sector, Insurance Sector, social media etc. and we can put it on cloud also in case hardware is a constraint.