An operator's view on NGN:
commonalities and differences with
the Internet
ITU-T Workshop on NGN – Geneva, 9-10 July 2003
Bruno Chatras (France Telecom R&D)
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D1 - 11/04/2020
Which Internet are we talking about ?
s
Internet as a widespread multi-service
technology (mainly based on IETF & W3C
standards).
Or
s
Internet as a fully open network of
interconnected networks, and a philosophy
where networks are almost dumb and where
the intelligence resides at the edge.
France Telecom R&D
D2 - 11/04/2020
Internet as a technology for the
NGN
s
Clear benefits
QLarge economies of scales due to the widespread deployment of
the technology
QMulti-services technology -> Cost saving in both CAPEX and
OPEX
QCross-fertilisation of Internet services and telecommunication
services naturally enabled
QLarge community of application developers
s
Barriers to carrier-grade deployments
QAn overall architecture is missing
QInteroperability between vendors is still a major issue
QKey concerns not fully addressed (charging, service
interactions...)
France Telecom R&D
D3 - 11/04/2020
Internet as a philosophy for the
NGN
s A good point: Forces the telecommunication industry to
rethink the distribution of intelligence...
s
But can’t be applied too literally:
QThings that currently happen with the Internet, should no longer
happen with the NGN! E.g. Call Forwarding activation status lost
when a new software release is loaded on the end-user host.
QMost end users quickly tired of loading applications/patches
themselves and/or troubleshooting problems. On the contrary, most
users would pay for the complexity being handled for them...
Today, people are ready to accept limited inconvenience because they have their PSTN line as a
backup solution! This will no longer be true in case of full migration to the IP technology
France Telecom R&D
D4 - 11/04/2020
From the Internet to the NGN
 A significant effort in that direction has
Internet Technology
High speed access
already been done by 3GPP and PacketCable
Managed IP
Networks
Basic Operators
requirements
Next
GenerationNetwor
ks
Valued Added
Services
Building Blocks
France Telecom R&D
D5 - 11/04/2020
Main operators’ requirements
s
NGN standards should build on IETF/W3C standards to
provide support for:
QNetwork Reliability
QNetwork Integrity
QUser Privacy and data protection
QCharging and Usage metering
QSignalling Information Screening at network boundaries
QEmergency Telecommunications, Lawful interception and other legal
obligations
QSeamless interworking with legacy networks
QEnd-to-end guaranteed QoS and bandwidth
QGeneralized mobility accross access networks
AND
Interoperability between network elements and network domains
France Telecom R&D
D6 - 11/04/2020
Interoperability: The danger sign is on!
s
Increasing number of elements/interfaces involved in the
support and delivery of services
s
Increasing number of competing protocols/variants
One of the key characteristics of the NGN is the availability of open interfaces:
A major standardization effort is required to make the concept a reality !
France Telecom R&D
D7 - 11/04/2020
Interoperability Today:
Too many tools for doing almost the same job !
s
s
s
s
Controlling PSTN Gateways
QWhich base protocol? MGCP or H.248
QWhich profile ? MSF, Q.1950, TGCP,...
Accessing a user profile
QDIAMETER (which application/AVPs ?)
QLDAP (which information structure ?)
Controlling access gates between IP networks
QCOPS (which PIB structure ?)
QSNMP (which MIB structure ?)
QH.248 (which profile ?)
....
France Telecom R&D
D8 - 11/04/2020
Interoperability: The SIP example
s
Lack of interoperability is known to be one of the major brakes
s
Too many competing profiles are already available, with
TODAY
on large scale SIP deployments.
slightly different scopes: Q.1912.SIP, 3GPP, MSF Profile,
Packet Cable , ETSI TIPHON, ...
The number of profile specifications should be kept limited
(e.g. one per NGN service capability set)
s
Profile specifications should be (at least) as precise as for 3GPP IMS
(i.e. a list of supported methods and headers is not sufficient to ensure
interoperability).
France Telecom R&D
TOMORROW
s
D9 - 11/04/2020
From the Internet to the NGN
Internet Technology
High speed access
Managed IP
Networks
Basic Operators
requirements
Next
GenerationNetwor
ks
Valued Added
Services
Building Blocks
France Telecom R&D
D10 - 11/04/2020
Intelligence at the edge or in the network?
The Telephony View
The Internet View
Intelligence
centralized
in the network
Intelligence pushed at the
edge
Intelligence
from the network
where appropriate
The NGN View
France Telecom R&D
D11 - 11/04/2020
Intelligence from the network where
appropriate...
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
QoS guaranteed multimedia session set-up
Identification and Authentication
Directory services / Address Book
Presence and Availability Management
Location Management
Unified Messaging
Secure payment
Even though answering machines are cheap, network-based voice
messaging services are getting more and more popular...
France Telecom R&D
D12 - 11/04/2020
Service Interaction:
An ever increasing complexity!
s
Increasing number of service execution points
QProxies, End User devices, Application Servers,
Gateways,
s
Media servers...
Increasing number of service control mechanisms
QInteractions between SIP-based services, between SIPbased services and IN or Parlay-based services, between
SIP-based services and Web services...
s
New actors involved in service creation
QWeb application developers, 3rd party service providers,
end users,...
France Telecom R&D
D13 - 11/04/2020
Service Interactions
s
s
s
A difficult issue, which has never been properly tackled by
standards
A major standardization effort is required to define basic
mechanisms for handling:
Qfeature precedence and feature compatibility
Qinformation exchange between service features
Such mechanisms should work in a highly distributed
environment and should not be bound to a particular
service control protocol or API.
France Telecom R&D
D14 - 11/04/2020
Conclusions
s
s
s
The NGN will build on the Internet technology rather than on
its basic philosophy
Technical roadblocks to provide carrier-grade services and
enable operational deployments remain to be abolished
To make the NGN a reality, standards are primarily required
to:
QDefine an overall architecture that selects appropriate IETF/W3C
building blocks, adds the missing pieces and the glue that will bind
them together to make a reliable and profitable network !
QEnsure interoperability between major network elements and between
network domains
France Telecom R&D
D15 - 11/04/2020