4th Generation IP – leading performance drives growth

The new era of 4G IP networking is founded on the creation of a network with the scale and scope required to satisfy the demands of an increasingly connected world. As we get closer to the Networked Society, operators face three fundamental challenges: rising subscriber expectations, a fast-evolving commercial landscape, and exponential growth in data traffic.

These challenges present opportunities, and operators are in a prime position to benefit. But first IP network design plans need to be reassessed, innovation needs to extend beyond capacity expansion, and best use of network capabilities to create and monetize new forms of differentiation need to be explored.

One of the catalysts for change is in the way content and services are delivered to subscribers. Operators no longer have end-to-end control. People can buy content directly from application service providers (ASPs) and content providers – with no ties to connectivity.

However, changing demands and increased network use by both people, enterprises and connected machines requires much closer interworking among devices, applications and networks. This calls for networks with evolved capabilities, and new relationships between operators, ASPs and content providers.

With this in mind, capacity expansion alone is no longer enough for the IP network. To fully embrace the potential of mobile broadband, the shift to video- and cloud-based applications, and emerging machine-to-machine (M2M) and people-to-machine (P2M) communications, the guiding principles of a 4G IP network are:

• smart – to support service differentiation and evolved business models
• scalable – to improve time-to-market and ensure economic use of resources
• simple – to manage growing technical complexity and enhance productivity.

Networks need to be able to provide superior performance for every client – be it a person, a machine or an application.

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4th Generation IP – leading performance drives growth