How to transform networks to meet the next generation network (1)

1 Introduction

Telecom operators around the world are facing tremendous pressure from the constant technological innovation and the constant pursuit of communication methods by users. In particular, the profit of the traditional main business PSTN of fixed network operators is declining year by year. On the one hand, the free services of instant communication, P2P voice and streaming media such as MSN on the Internet have greatly attracted the attention of broadband Internet users, large-scale consumption of bandwidth by telecom operators and delivery of traditional voice services; on the other hand, due to the pursuit of real-time mobile communication, mobile voice is gradually replacing fixed PSTN voice services. Therefore, telecom operators must take advantage of the Next Generation Network (NGN) development opportunity to carry out network transformation around innovative and profitable business transformation, laying the network foundation for the development of new and profitable broadband services.

2. network transformation for the Next Generation Network

Undoubtedly, the discussion on next-generation networks is on the rise. According to the precise definition of the Next Generation Network, ITU, IETF, 3GPP and other international standardization organizations and telecom operators all have their own expressions, but the overall goal of the next generation network is becoming more and more consistent. People hope to use a unified network to solve many problems in various networks, including network scale, network security, and Network Service Quality Assurance (QoS, reliability, availability), Network Mobility, network management, network service evolution and integration, and business billing, as well as how the network evolves smoothly, and how the new and old services are compatible and transformed. To this end, ITU has also set up a working group (ITU-TSG13 Research Group FGNGN) to standardize the Next Generation Network, focusing on business needs, functional architecture and mobility, IP-QoS, control and signaling capabilities, network security, network evolution, and IP bearer capacity requirements are in seven fields, in order to meet international urgent requirements for the next-generation network standards, specify network evolution and product R & D development directions and technical routes for telecom operators and equipment manufacturers. However, the reality is not optimistic. The next generation network is still full of resources, and there are still many problems and confusions in terms of accurate definition (maybe never) and phased-out target definition, in particular, how to develop the target framework and implementation steps of the integration of the telecom business and the three networks (telephone PSTN, Internet, and television network) in a phased and pragmatic manner, each Telecom standard group and each telecom operator have their own ideas.

Despite this, both fixed network operators and mobile operators are making intensive business transformations aimed at business innovation and revenue gains. Mobile operators develop towards wireless broadband to increase Internet and video services, while fixed network operators transform towards the next-generation broadband network, introducing IPTV/triple playback services, use broadband videos to create digital homes. As a result, the network transformation based on business transformation is surging over the waves, and telecom operators have begun to enter the next generation network in the form of network transformation. It is no longer necessary for operators to wait for the parties to give a unified and clear definition of the Next Generation Network. This waiting weakens the operator's business innovation capability and core competitiveness, moreover, even if we find the accurate definition of the Next Generation Network, we cannot change our business and network in a very short time. We can only regard the Next Generation Network as a target network, so as to actively develop and implement pragmatic and progressive development strategies based on the basic concepts, Framework objectives, and technical routes of the Next Generation Network. In a broad sense, the next-generation network can be divided into the next-generation Broadband Network (NGBN) and next-generation mobile network (NGMN), as well as various business networks based on the next-generation network, including our known next-generation Internet (NGI) the Next Generation Communication Network (NGTN), the next generation video network (NGVN), and the next generation video network (IPTV. The operator's business transformation is a strategic step to implement the above-mentioned business networks and to integrate the above business networks, network transformation is to implement the next-generation Broadband Network and next-generation mobile network, as well as the strategic steps around the convergence of the two networks.

Network transformation will certainly bring considerable investment in network upgrading, transformation, and reconstruction to fixed network operators, whether fixed network operators or mobile operators. Based on the development architecture of the next-generation broadband network, it combines existing investment and utilization, and takes into account the new business promotion speed, market acceptance scale, business deployment and management capabilities, and other factors, the previous vertical investment model will be replaced to achieve the best return on investment (see figure 1 ).