FINAL WORD
“
RCAF HAS PROVEN,
OBVIOUS APPLICATIONS IN THE
BATTLE FOR CONSUMER LOYALTY.
plans, but during non-congested periods
or in non-congested areas, all users will
experience the same speeds. In this scenario,
the operator can build incentives for users
to move to premium plans and ensure
optimum connection speeds regardless of
network conditions.
Speed limits for heavy users
Ahmad Sayed, Regional Director, Middle
East and Africa at Nexign
The light at the end
But how? It is hard to make a business case
for the significant capital outlays necessary
to expand resource pools, just to cater
for events that do not happen every day.
Meanwhile, the market is baying for just
such a change. But what if there was an
elegant solution that introduced elasticity
into infrastructure, allowing the radio-access
network (RAN) to tailor connection speeds to
specific circumstances?
Enter Congestion Management, a feature
that is now supported by some telecom
vendors. CSPs with access to a business
support system (BSS) solution that offers a
RAN congestion-awareness function (RCAF)
find themselves better able to solve a lot
of problems. Operators can increase the
number of satisfied subscribers and give
them fast access to priority applications
even in peak-use periods. Additionally, they
can dynamically manage temporary failures
on radio and core networks, improving
user experience (UX) for high-value
subscribers, and prioritising mission-critical
communication traffic for dedicated groups
of subscribers.
Operators can limit heavy users’ activity, in
congested locations, to provide a better UX
to the majority of common users. This step is
essential when an operator offers unlimited
data plans to their subscribers. All users,
including heavy data consumers, will enjoy
the same speed in non-congested periods
and areas, but high-priority users with high
average revenue per user (ARPU) and low
monthly data consumption will have a much
better UX in congested locations.
Full speed ahead
A further advantage of RCAF is the ability to
optimise license fees for third party telecom
vendors, while still increasing network
capacity and providing enhanced user
experiences for all subscribers. Because each
application requires different connection
speeds to deliver a great user experience, as
an example, operators can prioritise internal
resources, text messengers and partner
content-providers over other applications,
such as video streaming, P2P traffic or
software updates. Users on congested
networks will not experience any performance
degradation for priority applications but
will see a slide in performance for other
applications. And a single default bearer can
be used for all applications, without the need
to raise several dedicated bearers for different
priority applications.
Third-party application partners
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INTELLIGENTCIO
Congestion management function
serves this ecosystem as well. In times of
congestion, the operator can inform partner
applications and content providers of users
that are experiencing performance dips.
A third-party application can be notified
when a subscriber enters or exits congested
conditions, to optimise content delivery.
Providers of these applications can compress
or transcode traffic into formats that
require less bandwidth, or they can send
lower-resolution content. And a third-party
video-streaming platform can select codecs
with low data-consumption rates for users in
congested locations.
Application control
Prioritised plans
This function presents new opportunities for
monetisation. Subscribers can pay premium
rates for prioritised service plans. Users that
opt for these premium subscription plans will
have faster connection speeds in congested
locations than those of users on normal
offerings, eliminated barriers to new markets
and broadened its talent pool; customer
engagement and brand loyalty are at an
all-time high.
Now let’s consider the future. Let’s assume
that the operator has forged strategic
partnerships with several third parties by
opening-up its core platform to integration
with many others. It has enriched its
The benefits of applying RCAF are
obvious and far-reaching, encompassing
monetisation, customer experience and
resourcing issues. It is nothing less than
the ability to dynamically manage service
quality, either scheduled or in real-time.
It is a nuanced tool that allows digital
service providers to consider and prioritise
technologies, locations, applications and
users, in view of ARPU and immediate or
projected congestion states.
RCAF enables the delivery of mission-critical
communication as a service. It leads to
increases in subscriber loyalty, by coupling
ARPU to service levels during congested
periods. And it attracts high-value subscribers
willing to pay a premium for enhanced
connection speeds during busy times.
We often talk of ‘Digital Transformation’ in
lieu of specifics. RCAF has proven, obvious
applications in the battle for consumer loyalty.
As operators continue the move to becoming
digital-service providers (DSPs), RCAF will
be an indispensable tool for differentiation,
alleviating the need for massive capital
investment in infrastructure. n
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