Thursday 30 June 2011
Monitoring performance on Carrier Ethernet networks is all very well, but what telecoms operators really want is for the vendors to create an easy networking environment so they can concentrate on being service providers.
That was the message from Total Telecom's Carrier Ethernet for Business Services & Mobile Backhaul breakfast meeting in London on Thursday, at which a number of telcos were given the opportunity to share their desires with the vendor community.
When it comes to selecting vendor partners for Carrier Ethernet, "the thing that swings it every single time is operational simplicity," said Matthew Finnie, chief technology officer at Interoute.
Finnie accepted that "as a vendor you want to differentiate your offer," but warned that operators are primarily looking for cost-efficiency and an easy-to-manage network.
Telcos do not want to have to check multiple screens when there is a problem, said Finnie. Just "get me out of jail fast".
Representatives from Level 3 and BT Wholesale agreed with Finnie's comments.
"Cost-efficiency, that's taken as read," said Tim King, director of product management at Level 3.
Meanwhile, Tim Hubbard, head of data solutions at BT Wholesale, shared his company's experience of working with one, unnamed, customer that is focusing heavily on quality of service (QoS) levels.
He explained that BT Wholesale is working on a deal with a customer that requires 47 different performance management reports on its Ethernet network to be delivered on the 15th of every month.
"Noone's going to read it!" Hubbard declared. "We're going to kill an Amazon rainforest once a week... [and] it will cost us a fortune," he said.
The one vendor in the room, RAD Data Communications, was unfazed by being so outnumbered by operators though, highlighting its role in shielding the end-user from the complexities of the network, QoS and all.
The end-user with the iPhone doesn't care about the underlying network, said Amir Karo, vice president of marketing and business development at RAD Data Communications. "He doesn't need the drill, he needs the hole," said Karo, drawing on a DIY metaphor. "We provide the tools for customers to buy the holes," he added.
And mobile operators in particular need the tools to check what is happening on their networks, given that they are often buying in capacity from elsewhere – transport providers, for example.
"Mobile operators... really do not understand their networks," agreed BT's Hubbard.
The industry accepted transfer time between mobile cellsites and the core network is 450 milliseconds, but most mobile operators take a couple of seconds, he said: "There is all sorts of cr*p in their networks."
Meanwhile, mobile users continue to drive demand for Carrier Ethernet, with growing traffic volumes placing increasing strain on backhaul networks.
"There's a real need to orientate all the backhaul to Ethernet," as mobile operators move towards LTE, noted session moderator Richard Webb, directing analyst at Infonetics.
Indeed, Hubbard shared the example of one U.K. mobile operator who recently asked BT: "Can you deliver 10 Gig to a cellsite this year some time?"
That means BT needs to put 100 Gbps into the core site, Hubbard explained. This is a challenge for the company, since its radio network controller (RNC) doesn't support 100 Gbps, he added.
"Customers want [Ethernet]," Hubbard said. "Apple makes a shedload of money from people who want iPhones, why can't we make a shedload of money from people who want Ethernet?" He asked.
