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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
The Numbers
Increasing Market Demand
LTE Mobile Broadband Regional Growth
and Penetration
LTE Optimized Network Financials
LTE Presents New Network Challenges
The 360 Solution to Troubleshooting LTE
and VoLTE
End-to-End Subscriber Session Analysis
Empowering Network Engineers
Summary
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Introduction
Mobile Operators worldwide are rushing to migrate from 2G and 3G services to 4G technologies. Once deployed, operators must optimize
their LTE mobile broadband network. No sooner is LTE deployed than operators initiate network engineering plans for the integration and
overlay of VoLTE (voice over LTE) functionality to free up their valuable spectrum still consumed by 2G and 3G voice services and redeploy
it for LTE.
The process is complicated and creates new testing and troubleshooting challenges for operators engineering teams. Prior to LTE and
VoLTE, troubleshooting via signaling tests was the standard mode of operation. The advent of true mobile broadband services has raised
the bar for network engineers, especially those whose experience has primarily been within the mobile communications silo. New
knowledge, skillsets and equipment are vital to quickly and effectively mitigate service issues.
The Numbers
The explosion of mobile broadband devices looks like a hockey stick on every graph you look at. Mobile broadband growth is fueled by the
rapidly approaching ubiquity of smartphones in both developed and developing markets, PC modems, next generation tablets, phablets,
machine-to-machine devices and as yet to be conceived mobile data devices. Global consumers appetites to communicate and be
connected are exponentially increasing demands on wireless operators.
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Always On has become the gold standard service mode for enterprise and personal users of mobile broadband
Always on has become the gold standard service mode for enterprise and personal users of mobile broadband. They expect full
accessibility to their corporate intranet, push content, subscription services, business associates, and their friends 24/7/365. Consumers
of mobile data are much like the majority of automobile owners. They do not care how their mobile service or auto works, they just want it
to work seamlessly wherever and whenever. They want it fast. They want it perfect. They want it now.
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More than 80 percent of the estimated 100 million LTE subscriber connections are found in the US, Canada, South Korea, Japan and
Australia. Given the vast geographic areas of the US, Canada and Australia it is noteworthy that 80 percent of the population has LTE
coverage.
In the Asia/Pac region, South Korea, an early adopter of LTE, is expected to reach 50 percent broadband user penetration in 2014. Japan is
on course to achieve 20 percent LTE penetration by the end of 2013, similar to the US adoption rate. China is scheduled to allocate 4G
spectrum licenses in 2014 and appears to be favoring TD-LTE (a time division variant). Once launched, Chinas mobile broadband service
is destined to rapidly become an enormous market. Network operators must prepare to service these new customers.
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1. Network service troubles: Either localized or system wide it affects multiple broadband devices and connectors and can occur on
either LTE or VoLTE service.
2. Device-centric troubles: Isolated to the user it may manifest as inability to make a data connection, poor voice quality, dropped
calls or at times result in no service connection.
LTE Presents New Network Challenges
Backhaul Field Engineers
Challenges
bandwidth anymore
VoLTE)
Network element impairments
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In the first instance of network-based troubles, there are dozens of possible causes. The sources of these issues are frequently difficult to
overcome because there are so many possible components and transactions where issues may be hiding. Some of the possible sources:
the eNodeB (Radio Transceiver), the LTE Evolved Packet Core, the IMS (Internet Multimedia Services platform) or even upstream to the
ISP (Internet Service Provider). Is the issue caused by the eNodeB or the backhaul? Is the network losing packets due to issues with the
bearers? Or is the trouble rooted in the user plane? It could be a case of the control signal not functioning properly and compromising the
ability to set up an end-to-end link with Google or a corporate intranet.
At the subscriber device level VoLTE presents another set of challenges. The migration of voice from 3G to LTE must be seamless.
Operators must be able to troubleshoot problems associated with individual customers and be able to escalate the issues through
progressive support tiers. Any degradation is immediately obvious to the user. The user is paying for this service and consequently it must
not only meet, but beat over the top applications such as Skype in ease of use and quality of service.
With more than 500 different 4G devices available in the market - handsets, tablets, modems, M2M, and other connectors and another
estimated 1,000 LTE devices that have been announced by one hundred manufacturers, the challenges of troubleshooting individual users
issues is increasingly complex. Discovering the sources of device-centric problems are a huge concern of operators engineering teams and
often quite difficult to ascertain and fix. The cause may be improper algorithm coding within the device itself, or that the CRM (customer
relationship management) department incorrectly programmed the customers plan. Perhaps the device was brought to market before all
the software bugs were corrected. Maybe the case shields the antenna or there is a propensity to be unusually effected by interference. The
trouble can also be related to the HSS (home subscriber service) not being able to authenticate the user because certain user data isnt
correct.
Traditional troubleshooting tools including many well-known test equipment products, while useful, fail to achieve the results LTE demands.
Stories of core engineers spending weeks searching for a problem using some of these tools are legend in the industry. These tools do not
provide core engineers with the detailed information they need to quickly and efficiently fix the problem. LTE networks experience more than
signaling issues. Traditional tools focus on signaling analysis and do not provide the engineers with the application analysis essential to
persuasively validate the problem lies with the application and not the network.
Furthermore, these lower functioning tools lack the ability to manage high data rates on backhaul/EPC leading to dropped packets and
missing payloads. They are not designed to set up complex filters to avoid overflowing capture buffers. Synchronization of multiple capture
points is time consuming. Many existing testing tools are poorly designed for discovering and correlating packets from multiple sources.
They are generally poor at capturing control plane intelligence and transferring it to the operations center. Due to their essential
sophisticated design and functionality these testing devices are often too complicated for field technicians to properly employ. Sending
specialized, highly skilled engineers to the trouble site to operate these devices is cost prohibitive. And how many network operation
centers have enough senior-level engineers experienced in IPV6, LTE and application analyses that they could even consider sending one
on a troubleshooting mission?
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1. Performance: The troubleshooting equipment must be scalable to effectively handle the operators load requirements.
2. Visibility: Network engineers must be able to immediately and clearly see packet-level metrics when problems arise and be able
to know exactly where in the communications channel the gaps are.
3. Portability: The equipment must be constructed to quickly and also cost-effectively be transported to the specified location no
matter what the conditions and when it is needed.
4. Usability: Operation of the gear must be easy be pretty much plug-and-play for field technicians to operate, yet provide the
comprehensive capture and analysis required by more skilled engineering personnel usually located far from the testing site.
Troubleshoot issues back in time by "capturing and store all the packets and events".
Analyze voice/video/data applications for a subscriber/coverage area
Identify the root cause of slow applications and poor voice QOS
Correlate video/voice/data from multiple locations to identify root cause
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Summary
As LTE broadband networks are deployed, expanded and present core engineers with ever mounting challenges, it is critical operators be
equipped with an all-in-one troubleshooting tool that can discover, analyze and determine the trouble in minutes rather than hours or days.
Accomplishing this goal requires tools that deliver maximum visibility of both signaling and applications data.
LTE network operators core engineers and C-level execs will immediately recognize the benefits of an all-in-one portable troubleshooting
device. Core engineers will appreciate the ease of use that delivers superior performance and presents transparent visibility. CFOs and
CMOs will realize quantifiable ROI via increased market share, data use, and enhanced ARPU and net capital and operation savings.
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