ALLIED Telesis IP Triple Play User Manual

Product | Applications
IP Triple Play
voice|video|data
IP NEXT-GENERATION
NETWORKS
Contents
Executive Summary 3
Access Technologies Overview 5
IP Triple Play Building Blocks 7
Business Case for IP Triple Play in Europe 17
Technology Partner Program 18
Summary 19
Working Together 19
"...the entry of big telcos into the IP Triple Play market using IPTV will make it a must-have feature for any major provider of broadband services. However, offers will need to be well thought-out and innovative to attract customers, and must take full advantage of the greater flexibility inherent in a TV proposition based around broadband and IP"
January 2007, Graham Finnie, Senior Analyst, Heavy Reading
The different IPTV strategies pursued by operators are clearly influenced by a number of factors. If they see IPTV’s best role as churn prevention and broadband customer acquisition, then aggressive pricing on similar services that are already in the market might be the best bet.That is, to compete on things that customers already understand — such as speed and price — while at least matching the TV experience offered by the cable operators. If extra revenue per customer is the priority, then greater emphasis on interactive services and pay-TV (exclusive content, perhaps) might be the best IPTV approach, although more risky and
The mar
.
more costl greater functionality that IPTV provides compared with cable TV.
Telecommunications Magazine, September 2006
y
keting push here would be on the
2 | IP Triple Play Solutions Guide
Executive Summary
Delivering Global Solutions
Allied Telesis has fused the worlds of IP/Ethernet and Carrier-
class access technologies to create a truly comprehensive range
of solutions for IP Triple Play Service Providers. All the hallmarks
of the Allied Telesis portfolio of solutions are to be found in
these industry-leading, global internetworking solutions which
span across a wide range of solutions and market segments
including Carriers, Network Service Providers, System Integrators
and Post,Telegraph and Telephone administrations (PTTs)
worldwide. These solutions include: Carrier-class integrated iMAP
Multiservice Access Platforms, iMG intelligent Multiservice
Gateways†, iBG intelligent Business Gateways and the
Provisioning and Management systems: Zero Touch Configurator
(ZTC) and Network Management Software (NMS).
The Challenge Facing Today’s Revenues
Today’s network service providers are faced with on going
pressure to maximize profitability. Revenues from traditional
services (i.e. voice and data) are on the decline as competition
is encroaching on established Operators and Service Providers.
Furthermore, a plain ‘vanilla’ Broadband offering is no longer a
business opportunity and is quickly becoming a commoditized
offering with little or no margin to the Providers. One logical
approach for addressing the margin erosion and revenue
pressures is to generate additional sources of revenue through
new innovative service offerings. These new ser vices need to be
added whilst getting the most from existing infrastructure as
ell as lev
w
that many Providers and System Integrators (SI) are now
focusing attention on is interactive entertainment services.
Broadcast video
(VoD) are just a few of the high-value services that Operators
and System Integrators can provide. Combined with high-speed
Inter
Play’ of voice, video and data can be bundled together in
attractive service packages to significantly improve Providers’
rev
eraging telecom de-regulation frameworks. One area
Pay-Per-View (PPV) and Video-on-Demand
,
net access and traditional voice services, a potent ‘Triple
enues and profits.
he whole is greater than the sum of individual parts
T
The bundled package of services is intended to return more
benefits to end-customers by offering a more affordable service
tariff than the aggregation of charges for individual services.
‘Bundling’ Services
The advantages of ‘bundling’ services have been proven by
traditional cable TV Operators who also offer packaged voice,
video and data services. These Operators have demonstrated
that average revenues per subscriber can be increased and
customer churn can be reduced by service bundling.The
traditional local exchange Carrier or competitive operator can
also realize these benefits by offering their own service bundles.
Recent technology advancements now enable these traditional
wireline Service Providers to offer a ‘Triple Play’ package of
voice, video and data services using either fiber optic or voice-
grade copper facilities. Moreover, emerging Operators from
different industries and sectors such as utilities, hospitalities,
municipalities and housing associations can leverage their
lished infrastructure and customer relationship to offer
estab
advanced innovative services at a more competitive price-
performance point than previously achieved.
Bundling services creates the ‘Halo Effect‡’ with subscribers and
end-customers.
‘stickiness’ and encourages uptake of other service offerings
vailable from the provider.
a
mer
or
iMG f
‘Halo Effect’ describes the effect that a positive experience with one aspect of a
The
vice infers about other aspects of a service .The perception is that the overall service is
ser better than the sum of the individual par
This effect incr
erred to as the ‘Residential Gateway’ or ‘RG’.
y ref
l
eases their lo
ts.
yalty, creates more
IP Triple Play Solutions Guide | 3
The Changing Landscape
Technology and economics advancements in DSL technology have been the primary enabler of IP Triple Play service packaging among PTTs and alternative Carriers, due to the ability to offer high bandwidth over existing copper facilities. In many countries, these facilities have been ‘opened-up’ ­unbundled - for competitive use allowing alternative Carriers to access these subscriber lines as well. With DSL ser vices like ADSL2+ (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line) providing high bandwidth access at speeds of up to 26Mbps and VDSL2 providing up to 100Mbps today, it is now possible to provide a high quality, high definition, video service to multiple TV sets while simultaneously providing high-speed Internet access and several telephone lines over a single copper loop. By utilizing this ‘fixed investment’, these Operators can dramatically improve profitability, increasing revenues per loop by up to four times their current revenue.
Video compression technology, a key component of IP Triple
Play, has also improved dramatically over recent years. The
MPEG-2 (Motion Picture Engineer Group 2) standard has been
deployed globally for video compression applications.Video
compression technology is developing and advancing quickly
with the introduction of techniques like MPEG-4 and Windows
Media 9 that are far more efficient and require much less
bandwidth. Soon, Carriers and Service Providers will be able to
stream high quality video at less than 1Mbps.These technologies
will be crucial in the deployment of high bandwidth services
Television (HDTV). Also, the availability
such as High Def
of proven and well-established interactive video platforms
combined with the emergence of video content aggregators
and brok
content.
The Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) pla
role in the delivery of IP Triple Play services. As traditional
broadband CPE devices such as modems and home routers
cannot suppor
er
inition
s is beginning to facilitate access to IP-based video
ys a fundamental
t these new services, Operators will need access
to ‘intelligent’ Multiservice Gateway devices in order to enable
IP Triple Play delivery to customer premises.To be competitive,
the total cost per end-customer connection m
minimum.The price performance ratio for the CPE device is the
key to validating the business model of Service Providers and
Operators. The economies of scale provided by the adoption of
Ethernet technology have helped to pave the way to the ‘right’
price point for the new advanced IP Triple Play ready CPE
devices, proving the business case for the provider.
ust be kept to a
The Allied Telesis Value Proposition
Allied Telesis builds state-of-the-art IP, transport, aggregation,
access and customer premise equipment for next-generation
broadband networks capable of supporting the most rigorous
of IP Triple Play services’ requirements. In addition, Allied Telesis
provides true end-to-end systems with high availability
networking products incorporating latest developments in
Ethernet management and protection for 99.999% reliability.
The solution architecture provides radically improved efficiency
and manageability of network infrastructures whilst solving the
QoS bottleneck for handling time sensitive IP multi-media traffic.
Many vendors are keen to promote the ‘evolutionary not
revolutionary’ angle for their products but Allied Telesis is proud
to describe its Carrier-class Ethernet-based systems as truly
revolutionary. So, regardless of the service provider’s access
network – copper or fiber access – Allied Telesis has an end-to-
end, fully managed solution for providing IP Triple Play services.
With a comprehensive offering of IP next-generation
broadband technologies, services and expertise and dozens of
real IP Triple Play deployments with live paying customers, Allied
Telesis is uniquely positioned to assist Carriers and Providers
with delivering innovative and high-value services to residential
and business customers.
4 | IP Triple Play Solutions Guide
Access Technologies Overview
P
OTS UPSTREAM
0.14 MHz 1.1 MHz 2.2 MHz
D
OWNSTREAM
ADSL2+
ADSL2
30.0
ADSL2+ ADSL2
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
DATA-RATE (Mbps)
LOOP LENGTH
Kilofeet
Kilometers
0.3 0.6 0.9 1.2 1.5 1.8 2.1 2.4 2.7 3.0 3.4 3.7
The largest component of any Carrier ser vice deployment is the
‘access’ portion of the network, which connects access nodes to
individual subscr
ibers. Literally, it is the last link, also known as ‘last
mile’ or ‘first mile’, in a network between the customer premises
and the first point of connection to the network infrastructure -
a Point of Presence (PoP), Exchange or Central Office (CO).
The access network has consistently been regarded as a
bottleneck in the provisioning of new communications services.
This is primarily due to the fact that technology tends to be put
in place for a specific purpose and in doing so it has traditionally
been difficult for this same infrastructure to carry new services.
Furthermore, the bandwidth available has lagged behind that
provided within Local Area Networks (LANs) and in the upper
echelons of the network (in Metro and Core networks, for
example), where concentration factors and economies of scale
have allowed optical fiber to unleash significant bandwidth
capacity. It’s worth noting that these dedicated transpor t facilities
to the actual end-subscriber and associated CPE (Customer
Premises Equipment) mak
e up most of the cost of those service
deployments. In fact, at least 50% of all network CAPEX costs are
in the access network and often have a long depreciation period.
The improvements provide better modulation efficiency, lower
framing overhead, and enhanced signal processing algorithms. In
fact,
ADSL2+ doubles the maximum frequency of the
downstream transmission to 2.2 MHz.This translates into the
doubling of the maximum downstream data-rate to 26Mbps at
distances up to 600 meters, with the possibility of achieving rates
of up to 20Mbps on loops less than 1,500 meters in length.
This extended loop reach allows high-speed access to the vast
majority of residential and business subscribers in Europe where
loop lengths tend to be the shortest compared to the rest of
the world.
ADSL2+ doubles the bandwidth used to carry downstream data.
Source: DSL Forum
Fortunately, Service Providers can now utilize access solutions that
are based on the ubiquitous, economical technology of Ethernet in
their deplo
class leader in IP Ethernet-based solutions and can assist Carriers
and Operators in deploying these IP Triple Play solutions with our
state-of-the-ar
Broadband ADSL/ADSL2+ over Copper
ADSL is the most widel
o
enhancements to the ADSL specification have improved the data-
ate and reach to enab
r
voice-grade copper lines.The ADSL2+ enhancement has been
designed to off
riple Play services. Allied Telesis is a world-
yment of IP
t Car
T
rier-class Ethernet products.
y deplo
ed xDSL technology to date with
y
ver 250 million lines in service already.Additions and
y of IP Triple Play services over
le the deliv
er higher data-r
er
ates (26Mbps) o
er longer distances.
v
ADSL2+ doubles the maximum downstream data-rate.
Source: DSL Forum
IP Triple Play Solutions Guide | 5
Fiber-To-The-Home, Business, Building or Node
DS ADSL2+ (2.2MHz)
DSVDSL1 (12MHz)
250
200
150
100
50
500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
3500
DATA-RATE (Mbps)
Reach / m
Reach / ft
0.6 1.2 1.8 2.4 3.0 3.4 3.7
P
Tripl
Service
Voice
R
Life cycle
DSL ser
Life cycle
DSL ser
DSVDSL2 (30MHz)
VDSL2 =VDSL Speeds with ADSL/2+ Reach and Flexibility
Source: DSL Forum
VDSL2 Performance
using Ethernet
Fiber is an unparalleled medium to deliver any imaginable
media-rich and interactive portfolio of services. Fiber is a true
‘future proof’ technology providing virtually unlimited bandwidth
and allowing Operators to scale their networks efficiently
depending on service demand and technological developments.
Deploying fiber deeper in the access network and nearer to
subscribers opens up a plethora of revenue opportunities for
Operators and Ser vice Providers.The reach is measured in 10’s
of kilometers and bandwidth is virtually unlimited. Whether it is
Fiber-To-The-Home or to the Business, support of certain
value-added services is only possible on fiber. These services
include high quality video services such as HDTV, video
telephony and surveillance, Peer-to-Peer services and
applications as well as business connectivity services such as
leased lines and VPNs.
In ‘greenfield’ sites, capital expenditure (capex) of a fiber roll-out
is comparable if not less expensive to that of copper. There are
significant savings from the newly-built fiber in reduced
operational expenses (OPEX) as fiber is considered a very low
maintenance technology. Fiber is often described as one access
network, for multiple services, for the next 100 years!
Ethernet and IP
On the technology side, Ethernet has become the de facto
standard in data communication with well over 98% of traffic on
the Internet today, starting and terminating on an Ethernet port.
Ethernet provides a simple ‘flat’ Layer 2 network that can
recognize the economies of scale of Ethernet components to
provide the most simple, high-bandwidth, cost-effective access
network possible.The message is clear: Ethernet is ubiquitous in
the LAN sphere and is now breaking open the ‘last mile’
bottleneck between end-users and high-speed networks. With
rates of up to 100Mbps and 1Gbps full-duplex per subscriber,
there’s enough bandwidth available to ensure that, once a network
is installed, it has the horsepower to cope with all future demands.
Ethernet and IP-based technologies have proven to be much more
scalable and cost-effective than traditional TDM or ATM
technologies. In fact, the fastest growing format for ADSL and FTTx
deployments today is Ethernet/IP-based solutions rather than the
legacy ATM-based multiplexers so prevalent in the 1990s.
When fiber is deployed deeper in the access network and
ed to bring higher
closer to subscr
VDSL2 can be deplo
s,
iber
y
bandwidth over shorter copper loops. VDSL2, the newest and
most advanced standard of xDSL, permits the transmission of
asymmetr
ic and symmetr
voice-grade copper pairs. VSDL2 promises to deliver 100Mbps
ic data rates up to 100Mbps over
at 0.5 km and 50Mbps at 1 km from the Central Office or
remote node
compatibility with ADSL2+ technology allowing already
deployed CPEs to continue to operate normally and only
require upgr
6 | IP Triple Play Solutions Guide
. Furthermore, its main advantage is backward
ading when more advanced services are uptaken.
ade intelligent Ethernet-based DSL
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ier
The Allied T
elesis Car
and FTTx solutions enab
from complex and expensiv
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IP/Ether
vice off
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viders to move away
e circuit technologies such as
y whilst realizing impro
v
itability via
ed prof
erings such as high quality voice, tiered
vices and broadcast quality IP video
TM
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