Alcatel-Lucent Instant Zone (IZO)
R EL E A S E 2 . 4
The Alcatel-Lucent IZO is an application that enables mobile service providers to address hyper-market segmentation by creating attractive tariff packages based on the location of the subscriber. The Alcatel-Lucent
IZO is a key software component within the Alcatel-Lucent Convergent Payment solution. Alcatel-Lucent
Convergent Payment is an industry-leading, highly configurable and proven solution with deployments
by 210 service providers supporting more than 400 million subscribers worldwide.
The Alcatel-Lucent Instant Zone (IZO)
allows mobile service providers to define
key zones, such as home zones, regional
zones and yield zones, to support a
greater diversity of price plans for
current and future subscribers. For
example, when a mobile subscriber is
within their home zone, the service
provider may choose to apply a different
rate, which translates to a fee equal to
or better than their fixed-line rate for
the month; when the subscriber is
outside their designated zones, the
standard price plan would apply.
Similarly office zones can be proposed
to enterprises: as enterprises may have
multiple office locations, they may want
to have multiple zones defined as the
office zone for their employees.
The Alcatel-Lucent IZO allows service
providers to support defined zones for
both voice and data services as well
as to support multiple zones per
subscriber. Some examples of zones
that could be offered are:
• Regional zones – supporting
specialized tariffs for regions
where fixed line penetration is low
• Home zones – targeting consumer
segments
• Office zones – focusing on
corporate or small-to-medium
business segments
• Campus zones – addressing
university students
• Special events zones – supporting
zones created around stadiums,
concert halls and festivals
• Tourist zones – targeting the
discretionary income of roaming
prepaid Subscriber Identity Module
(SIM) users
• Commercial zones – combining
mobile “value-call” concepts with
enterprise marketing partners such
as coffee shops and associated
loyalty programs
• Yield zones – enabling local and
dynamic yield management, with
attractive tariffs at off-peaks
for encouraging calls and tariffs
at peaks that make network
expansion economic
The definition of zones with specialized tariff structures has demonstrated
the ability to increase service usage,
reduce churn and even acquire
subscribers from fixed-line providers.
Features
• Home zone and Group zone
¬ Define one or more subscriber
specific zones for consumers,
families and enterprises
¬ Apply discounted when calls are
performed from these subscriber
specific zones
¬ Allow multiple zones per subscriber
• Regional zone
¬ Define geographical zones for
all subscribers
¬ Apply discounted tariffs when
calls are performed from these
geographical zones
• Preferred zone
¬ Associate one or more pre-
defined regional zones to
specific subscribers
¬ Apply discounted tariffs when
calls are performed from these
geographical zones
¬ Allow multiple zones per subscriber
• Yield zone
¬ Discount is based on the traffic in
the zone, periodically calculated
using current traffic data and
historical data
¬ Discount info can be cell-broad-
casted in the zone (configurable
option) or can be requested by
individual subscribers via USSD
¬ Subscribers are notified of the
discount via flash SMS when
they launch a call, as ultimate
guarantee
• Geographic Number translation
to implement a pseudo fixed/long
distance call with tariff differentiation based on called-number
geographical zone
• Hyper-segmentation
¬ Apply unique tariffs for voice as
well as data
¬ Several zone types can be defined
to create new commercial packages such as event zone, campus
zone …
• No modification of the handset
required
• Simultaneous support of 2G and 3G
mobile networks
• End-user interaction and provisioning
¬ Self care API (subscriber specific
zone provisioning & location/
discount inquiry) available for
self care channels.
¬ Unstructured Supplementary Ser-
vice Data (USSD) self-care channel
integrated in Alcatel-Lucent Instant
Convergent Charging product.
¬ Service provider administrators
can create, modify or delete zones
using a web-based Graphical User
Interface (GUI) or using batch files
¬ Database can be extended to add
parameters for zone definition
and to improve zone accuracy
¬ Choice of algorithms available to
calculate the actual definition of
the zones
• Open APIs
¬ Ease of integration with third-par-
ty information technology (IT) and
network elements using open interfaces based on XML and Simple
Object Access Protocol (SOAP).
• High availability
¬ High availability solution offering
active-standby configurations
¬ Geographical diversity to support
disaster avoidance and disaster
recovery programs
• Extensive usage records
¬ Generation of call detail records
(CDRs) / event data records (EDRs)
in operator configurable formats
(ASN.1)
Benefits
• Encourages subscribers to substitute
mobile services for fixed services
• Defines unique rates based on
the zones associated with the
given subscriber
• Defines geographically discounted
calls for all subscribers
• Allows tariffs dynamically dependent on traffic in the zones (yield
zones): peaks and off-peaks are
efficiently tracked, network utilization is optimized, congestion risk is
reduced, playful offers with attractive tariffs help reduce churn, gain
new subscribers and increase
consumption
• Simultaneously addresses consumer
home zones, enterprise office zones as
well as campus zones for universities
• Simplifies subscriber-zone process
calculation with pre-integrated GIS by
entering subscriber’s physical address
• Allows end-user query on present
zone location
• Simultaneously supports both
prepaid and post-paid subscribers,
eliminating the need to have
separate support infrastructures
• Offers open APIs for ease of
integration into existing service
provider environment
• Delivers flexibility to support a
number of different connectors to
third-party elements:
¬ Real-Time Charging/Call Control
system, for real-time locationbased charging
¬ Home Location Register (HLR), for
retrieving the end-user location
e.g. when Cell Id is not provided
by the network or in case of called
location option
¬ Network Topology Data Base, for
keeping the cell database of IZO
up-to-date
¬ Short Message Service Cell Broad-
cast system (SMS CB), for the yield
zone discount information broadcast option
¬ Operation and Maintenance Cen-
tre (OMC), for collecting cell load
indicators for yield zone
¬ Geographic Information System
(GIS), for enabling zone calculation from physical address
¬ Operations Support System/Busi-
ness Support System (OSS/BSS),
e.g. for customer care or customer
self provisioning
• Ability to easily support the expansion and evolution of the network
Alcatel- Lucent 8614 Instant Zone – IZO | Release 2.3 | Data Sheet2
Flexible architecture
The Alcatel-Lucent IZO is a highly flexible
product with a set of open APIs that
allow easy integration into a service provider environment (see next figure). The
Alcatel-Lucent IZO consists of two main
software components: the Zone Manager and the Zone Generator (optional).
Zone Manager
The Zone Manager contains the
definitions of all zones, cells and
subscribers. To apply the correct tariff
plan, the zone definition information
can be provided by IZO in real-time:
• Either to the an on-line charging
system (in prepaid/post-paid on-line
charging case)
• Or to a call/session control system
(in post-paid off-line charging case)
as to enrich the network CDR with
zoning information that can be used
by billing.
The Zone Manager is pre-integrated
with the Alcatel-Lucent Instant
Convergent Charging (ICC) Suite
for on-line charging cases and with
Alcatel-Lucent Service Interaction
Gateway Real-Time Call Control (SIG
RTCC) for off-line charging cases.
When integrated with a third-party
on-line charging system or call/session
control system, the Zone Manager can
be triggered either by its real-time
XML API or thanks to Alcatel-Lucent
SIG RTCC which can act as a proxy
between the network and third-party
on-line charging system.
This wide range of integration
patterns allows the Zone Manager
to accept requests from the network
in all cases as to determine the
subscriber’s zone for the purpose
of rating.
If needed, the Zone Manager cell and
zone data can be synchronized from
operator network topology database
thanks to a file interface. In addition,
the Zone Manager has the ability to
query the HLR to refresh the current
location of the subscriber and use
network information such as Mobile
Station ISDN number (MSISDN) and cell
identity to request the real-time zone
calculation to be completed by the
Zone Generator. The result is compared to the defined zones associated
with a given subscriber.
For Yield Zone purposes, the Zone
Manager also interfaces with the
OMC-R as to upload cell load data
(pre-integrated with the AlcatelLucent 9159 Network Performance
Optimizer of the Alcatel-Lucent OMC-R
solution) and with the Cell Broadcast
system as to advertise Yield Zone
discounts (pre-integrated with
the MCMS Cell Broadcast solution
from Intersec).
Figure 1. Alcatel-Lucent IZO suppor ting uniq ue tari ffs for multiple zones
OSS/BSS systems (configuration, provisioning,
customer care, self care (Web, USSD, IVR, ...)
XML/HTTP(s) or SOAP
CSV/FTP
MAP
CSV/FTP
SMS-CB
Call/session control and charging system
(ALU ICC, SIG RTCC or third-party system)
Zone
manager
Cells
Zones
Users
XML/HTTP(s)
Optional
(queried
when A or
B location
is missing)
Required
for Yield
Zone (feeds
cells load
in IZO DB)
Optional
(feeds
cells and
zones in
IZO DB)
Topology DB
HLR
OMC-R
SMS CB
Optional
(used to
broadcast
discounts
to users)
Prepaid and
XML/HTTP(s)
Open interfaces.
Pre-integrated
with ALU and
third-party GMLC,
HLR, OMC and
postpaid
Pre-integrated by
ALU ICC (provisioning high
level API, customer care
and self-care channels)
Zone
generator
(optional)
GUIs
Instant Zone (IZO)
IT platform
Open interface.
Pre-integrated by ALU ICC
and SIG real time call control
Open interface.
SOAP
Open interface.
Pre-integrated
with third-
party GIS
system
GIS
Optional
(used for
postal
address
conversion)
GSM/UMTS, CDMA, IWS, WiMAX
Alcatel- Lucent 8614 Instant Zone – IZO | R elease 2.3 | Data Sheet 3
Zone Generator
The Zone Generator performs the zone
definitions that are used by the Zone
Manager. To enhance the degree of
accuracy when calculating the individual
zones, the Zone Generator uses
network parameters such as Mobile
Network Code, Location Area Code,
cell identity, latitude and longitude
of the Base Transceiver Station (BTS),
radius of the cell as well as angles of
transmission. In addition, a plug-in
module facilitates integration with a
third-party GIS. This GIS pre-integration
with the Zone Generator enables the
mobile service provider to benefit
from a cell identity process calculation
simply by entering a physical address
(street, ZIP code or postal code and city).
Integration with the Zone Generator
is greatly simplified through an HTTP/
XML interface. It is important to
note that the Alcatel-Lucent 8614 IZO
can be proposed without the Zone
Generator and can integrate with
third-party zone generators through
an XML interface.
Easy integration in network and
OSS/BSS environment
Thanks to the open APIs (XML and
SOAP) and the multiple integration
schemes offered by Zone Manager
and Zone Generator (see descriptions
above), Alcatel-Lucent IZO can easily
be integrated with both network and
OSS/BSS elements. This capability
allows Alcatel-Lucent IZO
• to simultaneously support multiple
networks, including GSM, CDMA,
GPRS and UMTS.
• to fulfil all OSS/BSS needs (provisioning, customer care, self-care …)
The Alcatel-Lucent IZO also provides
a web-based GUI for service provider
administrators to allow the operator to
supply any data required by IZO (cells,
zones, subscribers).
The Alcatel-Lucent IZO can be deployed as a standalone product,
leveraging its open APIs for deployments in third-party component
environments, or can be delivered
pre-integrated with the end-to-end
Alcatel-Lucent Convergent Payment
solution, including the Alcatel-Lucent
ICC Suite.
Pre-integrated
Alcatel-Lucent products
• Alcatel-Lucent ICC Suite
¬ A complete, end-to-end convergent
payment solution that supports
real-time rating, charging and
billing for wire line, wireless, data
and video (quadruple-play) and
associated value-added services for
prepaid and post-paid subscribers
• Alcatel-Lucent Service Interaction
Gateway (SIG)
¬ A multi-purpose highly program-
mable call/session control module
which can be used for IZO integration in off-line charging model
or as a proxy to 3rd party on-line
charging system.
• Alcatel-Lucent 9159 Network Performance Optimizer, part of the
Alcatel-Lucent OMC-R solution
¬ A powerful performance man-
agement system used by IZO to
upload cell load information.
Technical specifications
Standards-based platform
• Latest IT hardware
• Solaris™ or Linux® operating
system
Supported protocols and
interfaces
• Internal Protocols: Distributed
Processing Environment (DPE)
• APIs
¬ XML /HTTP
¬ SOAP
¬ File (csv)
¬ MAP
• Administration: Alcatel-Lucent
IZO GUI
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