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    Beware the seven deadliest customer experiences – Foundever

    Nick Booth
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    Beware the seven deadliest customer experiences – Foundever

    Repetition, ratings and rude robots

    You can tell a CEO who’s spent too much time ‘in the cloud’. They believe their own customer satisfaction surveys. Either that or they are deliberately gas-lighting us. To improve customer experience, Mobile Europe sought simple ‘people pleasing’ advice for telcos from people who really know the customer. In the first of an occasional series, Maria Harju, Foundever’s Chief Revenue Officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, describes The Seven Deadliest Customer Experiences and how mobile network operators can avoid them.

    Repetition.

    Repeating your story to multiple people is enough to make 57% of Europeans hang up. Yes, some problems demand escalation, but if you’re moving your customer across an omnichannel platform it’s omni stupid not to move the information from channel to channel too. A CX should systematically do that. This averts another massive frustration, disregard for the customer’s history. How can you pretend to care about the customer experience when you show you are demonstrably oblivious to it? All the information across all channels is captured and should be correctly stored and retrieved so that your agents can do their best jobs.

    Rate your experience.

    OK, we need performance feedback, but customers are suffering from survey overload. Every trip to the toilet now involves an invitation to rate the experience. There are better ways to learn how customers feel about service and how they perceive your brand. Speech and text analytics are instant, less obtrusive and more accurate.

    Chatnots.

    If you don’t acknowledge your chatbot’s limitations, you’re setting your brand up for a CX failure. If your customer knows it’s an automated system, they’ll treat it as such and adjust their expectations accordingly. But when the bot goes beyond its domain intelligence it must hand off to a live representative and pass on the information shared up to that point.

    Chats …. with delayed response. 
    Chat’s rationale is about immediacy and accuracy but long wait times and vague unfocused responses will demolish that advantage. Immediate contextual support can help a customer take action or make a decision. Avoid the temptation to set high chat concurrency targets for agents. The more conversations they handle the less likely they are to resolve complex issues or satisfy each customer. Use your best pre-scripted responses in early conversational stages so that agents have more time to find a resolution. Cross train your CX staff so that they can work across channels based on peaks in demand.

    Undervaluing CX

    If each interaction doesn’t meet expectations it will damage your brand. So stress its value in your proposition. A superior customer experience should be reflected in the price of a product or service. If you’re cheap very hard to hold on to customers, especially in the current economic environment. Here is the value of CX. Three in four consumers will walk after a single disappointing customer experience, yet 42% would pay more for an identical product or service if it were supported by a superior CX. Being in the latter camp starts with understanding who your customers are, their wants, needs and expectations.

    Treating vocal interaction like a necessary evil.

    Test yourself before you test their patience. Voice is about people not managing processes, so IVR should solve customers’ problems, not stress test their patience and short-term memory on the altar of your management processes, said Harju. Most consumers are frustrated by complicated menus then agitated by the agent that takes over. A happy resolution is an uphill battle. An IVR should minimise menu options, as part of the identification or authentication process so that more of the conversation is focused on the customer and their issue, and use it to coach the customer. Rather than playing a message saying the call is important, a message asking if a person has the reference number or other relevant information to hand is going to make everyone’s life easier.

    Network resilience is fundamental to Ukraine’s fight for survival

    Michelle Donegan
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    Network resilience is fundamental to Ukraine’s fight for survival

    Kyivstar’s CEO and CTO talk about the power of grit and operators pulling together

    In a small, quiet meeting room on the sidelines of Mobile World Congress with executives from Ukraine’s largest operator Kyivstar, the discussion was in stark contrast to what was going on at the show. While other European operators talked about fair-share politics and future immersive experiences, Kyivstar provided an update on how it has kept people safe and its network up and running after one year of war. 

    Oleksandr Komarov, Chief Executive of Kyivstar, acknowledged having a somewhat “alien” feeling here as the operator has “very different challenges and priorities” compared to the rest of the industry.

    In an interview with Mobile Europe, Komarov and Volodymyr Lutchenko, Chief Technology Officer at Kyivstar, shared how network resilience challenges have changed dramatically over the last year and how people have pulled together to preserve communications services. (Also see Telecoms in time of war)

    National roaming

    Cooperation among the country’s three operators – Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine, and Lifecell – has been “essential” for overall network resilience, and they have been “exchanging capacity and providing equipment to one another,” said Komarov.

    Indeed, one of the first and most important steps the operators took after Russia invaded a year ago was to implement national roaming, so that if network services are down on one network, users are automatically switched to another. National roaming is unusual and difficult, but the Ukrainian operators were able to launch it in about three weeks with support from the national regulator.

    The service is “working well to keep services going,” said Lutchenko. When the country suffered power blackouts in November last year, he said more than 2 million people per day used the national roaming service.

    When the war started, the government also issued additional frequencies free of charge to the operators to give them extra network capacity. Meanwhile, equipment suppliers and local businesses have also rallied to help keep the networks going.

    Komarov cited an example where Ericsson stepped up to support a “very big ambitious project to roll out a national core site in the western part of Ukraine … to mitigate the risks related to the potential loss” of other sites, he said. In peace time, such a project would take 12 to 18 months. But with everyone cooperating, he said they started the project at the start of 2022 and it was completed in early May, taking less than five months for a major deployment.

    Moving targets for resilience

    As the months of war have dragged on, the network resilience challenges have changed. In the first few months, Lutchenko said Kyivstar was engaged in “urgent activities” to keep the network going when the infrastructure was physically damaged by rockets, bombs, mines, and tanks, because the biggest problem is that it is often too dangerous to get to the sites to repair damages.

    “[The sites] could be in occupied territory or on the front line. The area could be under fire or the fields can be mined so that without supervision from the military, you cannot get there … That’s why your network should be very reliable and still work with multiple damages like ours,” said Lutchenko.

    Later in the summer, the resiliency work shifted to “stabilisation” projects. By September, Kyivstar’s network performance KPIs remarkably were “almost on a pre-war level.” Apart from occupied areas where Kyivstar had no access to sites, “the network was really good,” he said. 

    Attacks on energy pose new threats

    The communications resiliency landscape changed in October when Russia started attacking the country’s energy infrastructure. Lutchenko said the challenge is now “really huge” and the “new reality.” In late October, about 20% of Kyivstar’s base stations were affected by power outages. Lutchenko said the worst day was November 24, 2022, when 65% of Kyivstar’s network was without electricity.

    In response, Kyivstar has strengthened energy resilience by adding longer-life backup batteries and diesel-powered generators.

    Here again, cooperation has been vital. In Kyivstar has “crowd-sourced” access to power generators from local businesses, such as a petrol station located near one of the operator’s cell sites. “We asked businesses and invited people to help us with keeping the network up and running,” said Lutchenko, and now more than 600 sites are connected to diesel generators.

    But this is one area where Komarov feels help from the government has been “limited”. Of Kyivstar’s 1500 generators, he said about 40 were provided by the government and the rest were either procured by the operator or acquired from third parties that have “extra power capacity on hand located nearby our sites.” Kyivstar said it has invested around US$5 million just on generators and diesel fuel. 

    Fighting on two fronts

    Kyivstar’s network is under threat from cyberattacks as well as physical attacks. “The Russians want to destroy us not only physically, but virtually as well, so that means we have to fight on two front lines,” said Lutchenko.

    The operator took measures to protect its network by relocating certain equipment away from areas that were likely to come under Russian control. Komarov explained that in occupied territories there was a cyber defense effort underway to ensure that despite not having control of all its network, the operator was not “vulnerable to extra threats.”

    “We streamlined the architecture of our core infrastructure to minimise the number of potential vulnerabilities,” he said. In Kherson, for example, Kyivstar had “just a media gateway and RAN network” and this “decreased the risk of penetration,” he said.

    Restoring liberated areas

    As territories are liberated, Kyivstar works on repairing the destruction to its network. Lutchenko said that about 18% to 20% of the telecom infrastructure in formerly occupied regions is “totally destroyed,” meaning “there is nothing from an equipment or infrastructure point of view.” About 30% to 35% is “heavily damaged” and about 40% has “minor damages.” Kyivstar says it can repair nearly 90% of the network in those areas.

    “We’re waiting for our military to liberate more territory and we are ready to restore everything,” said Lutchenko.

    Losing more than infrastructure

    Kyvistar is worried about losing more county’s critical communications infrastructure: it is also working to keep its 3,800 employees and their families safe. In the initial months of the war, the operator provided instructions for where people could go for safety and converted regional offices into temporary homes with showers and washing machines for displaced families.   

    Around 140 Kyivstar employees have been drafted into the army and thousands volunteer to help the army in various roles. The operator has lost three of its employees in the war and two are missing.

    Kyivstar relies on maintenance and construction suppliers, but their situation is “very much worse” because they cannot protect employees “with the same efficiency as Kyivstar” due to its critical infrastructure status, explained Komarov.

    Lutchenko joined Kyivstar in November 2021 and has been in the telecom industry in Ukraine for more than 25 years. “I don’t think anyone can plan for stuff like this. The most important thing is we have the greatest team in the world.”

    Asked how the war has affected the operator’s business, Komarov said the operator was “in the green” and there is “extremely high pressure on our networks.”

    “But let’s face it, it’s less about business and much more about survival,” he said.

    More techcos step up to support Ukraine

    Annie Turner
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    More techcos step up to support Ukraine

    Microsoft, VMware, Intel, AMD and OneWeb are the latest to stop trading with Russia – and some with Belarus too

    Last week Google blocked Russians’ access to Google Pay and Apple did likewise with its wallet product and product sales in Russia.

    Some have criticised Apple’s move, pointing out it could push people towards using Android phones made in China that are more susceptible to hacking and surveillance.

    However, Apple made the moves after a direct appeal to its CEO, Tim Cook, by the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Vice

    Now more big tech firms are following their lead.

    Microsoft has suspended all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia.

    The chips are down

    Chip giant Intel said in a statement that it, “condemns the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and we have suspended all shipments to customers in both Russia and Belarus.

    “Our thoughts are with everyone who has been impacted by this war, including the people of Ukraine and the surrounding countries and all those around the world with family, friends and loved ones in the region.”

    Another chip giant, AMD has also stopped shipments to Russia and Belarus.

    VMWare is suspending all its business activities in Russia and Belarus due to the unprovoked attack by Russia. It published a statement that read, “We stand with Ukraine, and we commend the bravery of the Ukrainian people. The human toll is devastating and like other global businesses, we are committed to supporting our Ukrainian team members, customers and partners.”

    It added, “We are also seeking to support non-Ukraine-based employees with family members located in Ukraine with information to access available resources. We continue to support our employees in Russia, as they are adversely impacted by the consequences of their government’s actions.

    “The suspension of operations includes suspension of all sales, support, and professional services in both countries in line with VMware’s commitment to comply with sanctions and restrictions.”

    The board of directors at satellite operator OneWeb has voted to suspend all launches from Baikonur, the Russian cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

    Social media battles

    Meanwhile social media sites are continuing their battle with Russian authorities, which are keen to control the flow of information and the narrative surrounding the war.

    Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have acted to prevent Russia’s state media making money from ads on their sites. In response, Moscow has said will restrict access to Facebook after its parent company Meta refused to stop fact-checking some Russian media companies’ output.

    TikTok has limited access to Russian state-controlled media accounts in the EU and Reddit has stopped users posting links to Russian state-sponsored media.

    Expect yet more big techcos to act soon.

    Nokia and SURF hit 800Gbps in Hadron Collider upgrade tests 

    Simon Dux
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    Nokia and SURF hit 800Gbps in Hadron Collider upgrade tests 

    Trial was conducted over 1648km existing fibre link connecting research facilities at Nikhef, CERN, and SURF

    Nokia and the collaborative organisation for IT in Dutch education and research SURF have successfully reached a single carrier 800Gbps optical transmission over SURF’s existing cross border, multi-vendor research and education network infrastructure. The transmission, based on Nokia’s photonic service engine technology, will help accelerate the massive data exchange between the CERN particle accelerator – the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) – and the NL Tier-1 (NL T1) research IT facilities at SURF and Nikhef, the Dutch National Institute for Subatomic Physics.  

    The upgrade has become necessary because according to CERN, the four main LHC experiments have so far produced more than 1,000 petabytes of data and this data is accessed and analysed by thousands of scientists and ICT companies around the world, who are studying disciplines such as high-energy physics, radio astronomy, meteorology and biomedicine. 

    By reaching 800Gbps per channel on older fibre varieties, Nokia and SURF prove that existing infrastructure still has tremendous potential, and that legacy optical fibres can be used to meet future capacity demands of the huge data streams generated by international scientific research instruments. 

    The trial was conducted over a 1648 km point-to-point fibre link connecting Amsterdam and Geneva, crossing Belgium and France. The fibre link is part of the SURF-network, which connects national research and education institutes in the Netherlands, such as Nikhef. Additionally, the SURF-network is also well connected to other research networks and experiments worldwide, including the LHC Optical Private Network (LHCOPN). The LHCOPN provides access to data at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. 

    For this trial, CERN, Nikhef, SURF and the ATLAS LHC experiment have collaborated to include real production workflows that are expected when the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) is operational. 

    More data, deeper insights  

    SURF is preparing its network for CERN’s LHC upgrade to the HL-LHC that will become operational in 2029. The discovery of the Higgs boson by the LHC has already revolutionized the world’s understanding of the universe. Expectations are that the future HL-LHC will reveal even deeper insights into the fundamental building blocks of the cosmos.  

    This upgrade will not only provide more insightful research results and improve the potential for groundbreaking discoveries, but it will also produce enormous amounts of scientific data. The HL-LHC is expected to generate data at a rate of five times the speed of its predecessor. Therefore, it depends on advances in SURF’s high-performance network, as demonstrated in this trial, to enable fast and reliable data transfer to the NL T1 for further scientific exploration. 

    “This trial is an important milestone for us as we prepare our network for the future demands of scientific research and education, including the upgrade of CERN’s particle accelerator. By emphasizing testing and the adoption of advanced technology, SURF ensures optimal service and support for its research partners’ innovative, data-heavy projects and applications,” said SURF board member and chief innovation officer Ron Augustus. 

    “We are committed to helping SURF prepare its network for the upgrade of CERN’s particle accelerator, and look forward to working with other research and education networks around the world to advance their missions and enable cutting-edge discoveries,” said Nokia VP and GM optical networks James Watt. 

    Nikhef  IT-Architect Tristan Suerink added: “The 800Gbps technology demonstrated together with SURF and Nokia, shows us that getting the data from the HL-LHC at CERN to Amsterdam will be very feasible. Nikhef is working hard to design and build the detectors that will be part of the HL-LHC and therefore it’s crucial to be able to transfer the massive amounts of data that will be generated by the experiments.” 

    Kit used by Nokia 

    Nokia’s sixth-generation super-coherent Photonic Service Engine (PSE-6s) was deployed on the Amsterdam-Geneva link, in combination with SURF’s line system with equipment from a third-party on an older fibre link. It showed that the partners were able to achieve 800Gbps transmission using 16QAM-shaped PCS modulation.  

    The trial needed to cross four countries – from CERN in Switzerland, through France and Belgium – to reach the data hub in Amsterdam. Never before had these large data volumes been tested over such a large physical distance using outdated fibres. The trial also needed to take into account that the line systems and transponders used by SURF came from two different suppliers. 

    To cope, the existing data stream was transferred to an upgraded connection where the data points were equipped with the latest Nokia transponders, high-speed network equipment and servers. New amplifiers from supplier Ribbon were also installed on the fibre to facilitate the test. 

    Oman-IX officially launched by Awasr, AMS-IX and Alliance 

    Simon Dux
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    Oman-IX officially launched by Awasr, AMS-IX and Alliance 

    Middle Eastern traffic routes and internet exchange points continue to proliferate, threatening Egypt’s dominance

    Oman telco Awasr has joined forces with regional digital infrastructure services company Alliance Networks, Amsterdam internet exchange AMS-IX to launch the Oman-IX internet exchange point at Equinix’s neutral carrier data centre, in MC1 in Muscat. The partners said they had been working on getting operational for at least a year – they went public with their collaboration in September last year. 

    The move is part of the overall acceleration of fibre cable connectivity being built or proposed as operators seek potential alternatives to passing through Egypt which has traditionally been an expensive route.  

    Egypt has dominated Asia-Europe traffic with an estimated 17 to 30 per cent of all global internet connectivity running through the Red Sea and across Egypt. Egypt Telecom to its credit is already building out more cables and internet exchanges but new terrestrial cables are also being planned through Saudi Arabia which inevitably make Oman’s role pivotal in how things shape up from here. For example, already, SubCo’s 9800km, 48Tbps Oman Australia Cable is underway and Equinix is handling the cable landing station in Muscat. 

    Oman incumbent Omantel offers connectivity to more than 20 subsea cable systems and operates five separate landing stations in Oman.  

    Big IX plans 

    The companies said the launch of Oman-IX aims to revolutionize digital infrastructure services in the region by establishing a neutral internet exchange and connecting leading telecom industry networks providers, hyperscalers, data centres and cloud services across the Middle East and beyond. Awasr, Alliance Networks, and AMS-IX will collaborate to build digital ecosystem and infrastructure services, leveraging Alliance’s and Awasr’s expertise in the region. 

    “We are delighted to officially launch Oman-IX in collaboration with Alliance Networks and AMS-IX,” said Awasr chief commercial officer Eugen Comendant. “We are confident that we will open new horizons for Oman in the field of digital data, enabling efficient internet traffic exchange and enhancing digital innovation across sectors towards enriching the customer experience.” 

     “The collaboration between AWASR, Alliance Networks, and AMS-IX strengthens Oman’s digital landscape and accelerates the Sultanate’s interconnectivity to global networks through public peering, Oman-IX will serve as a vital hub for digital services, internet and data exchange, providing an enhanced user experience and promoting digital innovation,” said AMS-IX CEO Peter van Burgel (pictured, top).  

    Alliance Networks CEO Adel Al Daylami added that the partnership with Awasr will contribute to enrich connectivity and facilitate seamless data exchange across borders. 

    Regional aspirations 

    Oman is not the first Middle Eastern foray for AMS-IX. Last month, Batelco renewed its partnership with AMS-IX to enhance MN-IX services in Bahrain, with the aim of further improving the Internet experience for users across the MENA region and beyond. 

    Last October, AMS-IX signed a partnership agreement with datacentre specialist Wingu to launch a new Internet Exchange in Djibouti. That exchange is called AMS-IX Djibouti and will launch with the 20+ connected networks of Djix, Wingu’s existing IX in Djibouti, which will be consolidated in the new platform. 

    Last week, on the other side of the Mediterranean, AMS-IX signed a reseller agreement with telco and DC operator Lancom in Greece. Lancom’s customers now have access to the AMS-IX network from their proprietary data centres, including Balkan Gate Thessaloniki and the upcoming Balkan Gate in Heraklion, Crete. Additionally, Lancom’s PoPs in third-party data centres throughout Greece are interconnected with AMS-IX. 

     The partnership extends to central Europe, with connectivity points in Telepoint Sofia, Equinix FR5 Frankfurt, MIX Milan, and Cineca Caesar Rome. This expanded reach offers Lancom customers enhanced network connectivity and access to global internet traffic. Interconnection to AMS-IX is powered by multi 100-Gigabit DWDM.  

    Orange adds network AI to ops centres after production trial of Augtera

    Annie Turner
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    Orange adds network AI to ops centres after production trial of Augtera

    Operator says it identified AI and ML operational use cases that will reduce Network Operation Centres’ alarms by 70%

    Orange announced it is adding the Augtera Network AI platform to its Network Operation Centre (NOC) tools to apply AI and ML to daily network operations. Augtera specialises in AI and ML-powered network operations platforms,

    They expect this move to reduce the number of alarms in the NOC have to addressed by 70% daily due to Augtera’s auto-correlation based on its knowledge of network topology.

    Augtera’s Anomaly Detection should also help avoid network failures as it can predict incidents so they can be addressed before impacting customers. 

    Completed by end 2024

    This integration in Orange Global Network will start this month and completed by the end of this year. Orange Global Networks a worldwide IP network service that serves wholesale and B2B customers. It comprises thousands of IP routers in 800 Points of Presence across 100 countries.  

    Incorporating the Augtera tech into the networks follows a two-year production trial of Augtera in multiple Orange networks including the French backbone, Orange Global Network and SD-WAN Network.

    The trial involved thousands of backbone and provider edge routers and thousands of pieces of customer-premises equipment for SD-WAN. It evaluated Augtera Network AI technical capabilities along with quantifying the business value of AI and ML in multiple use cases. 

    70% reduction

    The 70% reduction in alarms by Augtera would allow Orange’s operations staff to focus on “true incidents and improve their proactivity, identifying network incidents before they are noticed by its customers, for improved customer experience,” according to the press statement. 

    Augtera is directly integrated with Orange International Networks in Orange Private Cloud to capture network topology and various network related data. The Augtera Network AI platform on-premises builds ML models using data from Orange via unsupervised and online learning.

    The models include for anomaly detection on metrics, logs and models for auto-correlation built using auto-discovered network topology. 

    Tech cap and business outcomes

    Jean-Louis Le Roux, Executive Vice President International Networks at Orange, commented, “Over the past two years we have been evaluating Augtera AI in various production environments to assess both the technical capabilities and business outcomes. Through a systematic evaluation of multiple use cases, we have identified two initial ones that produced excellent results during the trial.

    “We are pleased to be moving forward to integrate Augtera with our existing NOC tools to bring transformative efficiency and predictability to our operations. This aligns with our ongoing commitment to pioneering the adoption of AI/ML and innovating to provide the best-in-class experience to our customers.”

    Rahul Aggarwal, Founder & CEO at Augtera Networks, said, “Orange has been a visionary in the adoption of AI/ML for network operations and was among the pioneers to trial Augtera.

    “We are delighted to integrate our Network AI platform as part of Orange’s NOC tools following the excellent results from the production trial. This not only underscores the industry-leading AI algorithms, scale, and maturity of our platform but also highlights AI’s capability to deliver transformative business results for network operators.”

    The Industrial Metaverse: A New Frontier for 5G Monetization | White Paper by COMARCH

    Annie Turner
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    The Industrial Metaverse: A New Frontier for 5G Monetization | White Paper by COMARCH

    Enter the Industrial Metaverse and Discover New Opportunities for 5G Monetization

    With the arrival of 5G, telcos focused primarily on winning over the consumer market. Now they are seeking new use cases to monetize 5G, and the industrial metaverse offers great opportunities to do this. Harnessing AI/ML, the IoT, 5G MEC and URLLC, it offers new routes to human-machine cooperation, while promising to raise productivity in manufacturing.

    However, unlike the relatively captive consumer sector, the manufacturing industry needs to be convinced that 5G and smart factories are more than about connectivity. Thus, telcos need to build and demonstrate persuasive use cases that prove the inherent business value and benefits of the industrial metaverse. Such use cases can pave the way for partnerships that benefit both sides – helping the telecommunications monetize the 5G networks and gain a return on their substantial investments in this area, while making manufacturing smarter, more efficient and more productive.

    The capabilities and the technologies are already there to achieve all these goals and more, and will ultimately also open the door to innovative interaction between machines and humans, impossible until now.

    The latest episode of Comarch’s 2023 telco excellence campaign is your guide to all of this and beyond. It consists of a short video introducing the industrial metaverse, and a free white paper that digs deeper into the concepts, technologies, challenges and opportunities behind it. With this expertise to hand, the door to the industrial metaverse will be wide open to you.

    Watch the episode here, and download your free copy of the white paper today.

    DOWNLOAD NOW

    Case Study: Border Security | White paper by SS8

    admin
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    Case Study: Border Security | White paper by SS8

    Swisscom turns to Ericsson again to help automate its network 

    Simon Dux
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    Swisscom turns to Ericsson again to help automate its network 

    From IP Multimedia Subsystem on the fixed side, to full RAN and Core upgrades on mobile, the two partners are now targeting network automation

    Swisscom has beefed up its network automation and energy efficiency with the help of long-term vendor partner Ericsson. The telco has already made great strides in migrating to cloud native. In March 2023, Swisscom started a trial with Ericsson 5G Core applications running on AWS as it explored hybrid cloud as a complement to existing private cloud infrastructure – essentially doing things like offloading to AWS if high traffic is experienced during maintenance periods, for example.  

    At the time, the operator and AWS said they will also look to migrate Swisscom’s 5G network built on current infrastructure to a new, standalone 5G network powered by AWS’s cloud platform. 

    The operator’s journey to cloud native started even earlier than the AWS tie-up as it had already been collaborating with Ericsson using its Network Functions Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVI) solution to support its telecom applications. 

    The work between Swisscom and Ericsson has always been a little bit different to other operator vendor relationships. In 2015, for example, they agreed to form a new team comprising an equal number of Ericsson and Swisscom employees to plan and drive further development of the mobile network. This consummation was agreed to run for an indefinite period.  

    That’s a rAPPs  

    The latest agreement will see the introduction of Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform (EIAP) to provide multi-technology network management and automation Swisscom’s network. Adopting it means means Swisscom can take advantage of the growing Ericsson portfolio of rApps, including AI powered Cognitive Software rApps, as well as rApps available from other contributors to the open EIAP rApp Ecosystem.  

    Ericsson said the EIAP ecosystem and Software Development Toolkit (SDK) will be an “essential tool” for Swisscom to enhance its subscribers’ service experience while “delivering operational savings through industrial scale automation in the radio access network.” As part of the overall renewal Swisscom will continue with Ericsson Expert Analytics which uses AI/ML to analyse and resolve potential subscriber issues in real-time.   

    The new contract will also see the introduction of Ericsson’s energy-efficient lightweight dual-band Radio 4490, as well as a next-generation RAN processor from Ericsson’s RAN Compute portfolio. With the capacity to serve all new and existing radio technologies from a single box, Ericsson RAN Compute processor therefore has a smaller footprint and lower energy consumption, plus the ability to support real-time AI processing without capacity loss, according to Ericsson. Swisscom further aims to equip many sites with Ericsson’s Massive MIMO portfolio in the next three years as a part of the continued effort to expand mid-band TDD coverage further. 

    Cloud Native with an AWS twist  

    With this new deal Swisscom will now take on Ericsson’s Cloud Native Infrastructure solution (CNIS), expanding its ability to host cloud-native telecom applications from Ericsson as well as from third-party providers. The deployment will bring together a close collection of telecom partner companies such as Extreme Networks and Dell Technologies, which contribute components, infrastructure and capabilities to the solution.  

    “We’ve been working closely with Ericsson for over 10 years with a great amount of trust and success. We are now taking the next step in this long-standing strategic partnership as we endeavour to turn Switzerland’s best network into its smartest one,” said Swisscom CTIO Gerd Niehage (above). “This will enable us to not only offer our customers the best customer experience, but also to place an even greater focus on sustainability and innovation.” 

    Swisscom said its network is already fully powered by renewable energy and, with Ericsson, added it will go a step further with the launch of an Energy Sustainability Programme to intelligently reduce the energy consumption of their mobile communications systems. 

    “We have already managed in recent years to set important benchmarks for the global development of the telecommunications market from within Switzerland,” said Ericsson head of customer unit Western Europe Daniel Leimbach. 

    EdgeConneX secures further $1.9bn to expand EMEA facilities 

    Simon Dux
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    EdgeConneX secures further $1.9bn to expand EMEA facilities 

    The oversubscribed, sustainability-linked financing will help fund its EMEA data centre footprint

    Global data centre operator, EdgeConneX, has secured an additional $1.9 billion in sustainability-linked financing to support its EMEA digital infrastructure expansion. The latest deal, which was marked by significant oversubscription from existing and new lenders, adds to EdgeConneX’s $2.9 billion in sustainability-linked financing, initially issued in October 2022.  

    With a growing European footprint of more than 20 facilities, EdgeConneX continues to expand its presence in the region, driven by strong global customer demand for cloud and AI infrastructure.   

    The Swedish-based infrastructure investment company EQT-owned data centre operator has now raised more than $7 billion in total green investments over the past two years.  

    The financing consolidates EdgeConneX portfolio across EMEA, transitioning it from stand-alone project-based funding to a more robust structured corporate debt package. The company said this latest transaction provides it with “enhanced financial flexibility” and a greater capacity to support projected growth throughout the EMEA region.  

    Part of the latest deal includes sustainability-linked margin adjustments. This feature directly ties the interest rate to EdgeConneX achieving predetermined sustainability objectives. While PUE measures sometimes do not work that well for operational data and multitenant data centres, to its credit, EdgeConneX is also looking to eliminate its waste and water footprint as it moves to powering its entire data centre platform with renewable energy sources by 2030.   

    Tripled capacity

    Since EQT’s acquisition in 2020, EdgeConneX has more than tripled its capacity and expanded into Asia, Latin America and new European markets. Today, the company has a global footprint of 80 data centres in operation or development in more than 50 markets across North America, Europe, APAC and South America. 

    “The reception of this transaction reconfirms our status as an industry leading data centre developer and operator and reinforces our belief that responsible growth and operational excellence go hand in hand,” said EdgeConneX CFO Joe Harar. 

    “It showcases our ability to replicate this success on a global scale. This is a significant milestone in our journey towards leading the industry in sustainable practices, and we are excited about the future possibilities this opens up for EdgeConneX and our stakeholders,” he added.  

    “With this latest sustainability-linked financing deal, EdgeConneX is rapidly ascending as one of the largest financing issuers in Europe, underscoring our commitment to sustainability and innovation in the data centre sector,” said EdgeConneX SVP corpoate finance Eelco Holst. “Our team’s exceptional achievement was accomplished through dedicated efforts in cultivating a broad range of lending relationships, as well as close cooperation with the coordinators, advisors and EQT Infrastructure.”  

    Pinpointing Subject Identities with Recursive Identity Lookup

    Annie Turner
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    Pinpointing Subject Identities with Recursive Identity Lookup

    Partner content: Encryption of digital comms protects individuals’ privacy, but obscures payloads and endpoints so law enforcers have shifted their investigative focus

    The encryption of nearly all digital communications today advances individual privacy protections, but it also obscures payloads and endpoints from lawful interception. Accordingly, law enforcement agencies (LEAs) have shifted their investigative focus from message payloads to traffic flows and distributed data sources. This class of evidence increasingly depends on locating, assembling, and drawing insights from digital breadcrumbs, rather than from directly intercepted communications. The breadcrumbs themselves typically require a degree of forensics to locate and identify, followed by additional analysis to reveal their significance and investigative value.

    SS8 lawful intelligence tools provide superior traffic analysis based on deep packet inspection (DPI) to identify and aggregate digital markers that advance investigations. These measures illuminate application- and sub-application layer information about who is communicating, when, and across what platform, then enrich that session-specific metadata by associating it with other information. These connected breadcrumbs can reveal insights that help identify individuals, build patterns of life, and expand the network of subjects of interest in an investigation.

    Building a picture from breadcrumbs

    One way that lawful intelligence commonly advances investigations is by building a network of relationships outward from known provisioning targets being investigated under a warrant. For example, a provisioning target may exchange messages with any number of other individuals, some of whom may be known to investigators as subjects of interest. In most cases, however, at least some of these other parties are unknown, and learning their identities can be valuable.

    SS8’s Enhanced Protocol Extraction Engine (EPXE) analyzes communication application protocols and ports, including encrypted flows, to reveal digital breadcrumbs such as an IP address or phone number. Data from a communications service provider (CSP) or existing evidence can then be used to reveal who the B-party is – if a warrant can be obtained. Often, however, those measures are not sufficient, such as if a subject of interest is using a burner phone, and the B-party remains hidden. In such cases, investigators must use other measures to build a case to provision the B-party as a lawful interception target. The SS8 platform provides mechanisms to help compile information about such individuals using publicly available data.

    Data fusion solutions

    Data fusion solutions like SS8’s MetaHub can automatically investigate connections between known breadcrumbs and additional details, largely using open source intelligence (OSINT) feeds. As a simple example, the B-party’s phone number may show connections to social media accounts or email addresses. Each such connection expands the potential avenues to discover more about the subject of interest. Lawful intelligence collects, evaluates, and analyzes this information from sources that range from ad-targeting, gaming, and blog platforms to tax and land-ownership records.

    OSINT-driven investigation is adept at revealing associations between a single person’s multiple online identities. Different social media accounts may reflect various aspects of an individual’s personal, political, and professional selves. Discovering an associated Skype account may reveal an alternate phone number, location, and profile picture. Vehicle records may provide access to toll records and automated number plate recognition (ANPR) systems.

    Collecting and collating these breadcrumbs to identify an unknown individual may be referred to as recursive identity lookup. It can help provide a richer understanding of those subjects of interest, including potential connections to the larger investigation, and justify provisioning additional interception targets. EXPE can further refine a target’s pattern of life by identifying which apps they use most and whether they communicate using voice, video, or chat, and MetaHub can be configured to automatically scan OSINT feeds and other available sources to discover new breadcrumbs. In this way, recursive identity lookup supports a rich investigative narrative populated by recognized actors.

    Assembling and applying target profiles

    Combining multiple internet identities into a single, enriched profile of a subject of interest, rather than analyzing disconnected threads of a digital presence, is critical to investigating an individual. It gives investigators a more complete understanding of the subject and his or her relationships with other people, places, and events. To formalize that model and extend its benefits throughout the lawful intelligence practice, SS8’s Intellego XT includes the iDossier module, which collects important details about a person or organization of interest and flexibly includes those that may or may not be under investigation or provisioned as interception targets.

    Details contained within profiles may come from recursive identity lookup, case or investigative records, analyst entries, or any other source. A comprehensive iDossier profile can include a wealth of diverse data such as pictures, online identities, residence and work addresses, physical attributes, voice samples, and other details. They can also be linked to external data sources such as criminal records, passports, and driver licenses. This information can be continually updated to facilitate building rich patterns of life in real-time, with connections among associated individuals and organizations.

    Within the broader context of lawful intelligence, the SS8 platform can make iDossier profiles available to analysts with automatic name-number lookup to identify and give context to parties of interest that are communicating with each other. Integrated with the rest of the SS8 platform for capabilities such as analytics, data fusion, and location intelligence, such insights into subject identities help move investigations toward successful outcomes.

    About David Anstiss

    David Anstiss is Director of Solution Engineering at SS8 Networks. He has been with SS8 since 2015 and has significant experience in critical network architecture technology and advanced data analytics. He currently works as part of the Technical CTO Group under the leadership of Dr. Cemal Dikmen and is responsible for leading engagement with both intelligence agencies and Communication Service Providers (CSPs) around the world. He has been instrumental in helping them transition to 5G, defining system requirements to meet regulatory compliance. As a member of ETSI, he represents SS8 to ensure the adoption of cloud-native infrastructure is met with industry best practices and to guarantee that compliance of lawful interception is maintained. Learn more about David here on his LinkedIn profile.

    About Rory Quann

    Rory Quann is Head of International Sales at SS8 Networks and brings with him over 10 years of experience in the Lawful Interception and Data Analysis industry. Prior to joining SS8 in 2013, Rory worked for BAE System Applied Intelligence where he was focused on large scale Government deployments of Intelligence Solutions. Rory has held multiple positions in the Lawful Intelligence space ranging from Deployment Engineer, System Consultant, and Sales Engineer focusing on Country-wide Passive deployments. Rory is a Certified Microsoft MCSA Engineer and EMC Certified deployment Engineer. You can learn more about Rory on his LinkedIn profile by clicking here.

    No contest? Traditional automation vs new AI capabilities

    admin
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    No contest? Traditional automation vs new AI capabilities

    Partner content: Telecoms must navigate the complex interplay between the network, automation and AI as all three evolve

    In the heart of the digital revolution, the telecoms industry finds itself navigating the complex interplay between traditional automation techniques and the emerging potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This landscape presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities for telecom service providers, sparking a critical examination of conventional approaches and the pathways to future advancements.

    The Critical Role of Automation

    The telecom sector, propelled by the next generation of fixed and mobile services, faces an undeniable complexity. This complexity necessitates a shift towards automation and orchestration, especially in environments where manual processes cannot keep pace with the demands of dynamically orchestrated, virtualised 5G networks. Automation emerges not just as a beneficial tool but as an imperative for maintaining efficient, cost-effective service lifecycle management amidst this evolving backdrop.

    Reassessing the Relationship Between AI and Automation

    An important consideration in the current discourse is the distinct role of AI in relation to automation. While acknowledging AI’s capacity to transform future operations, it’s crucial to understand that automation’s efficacy isn’t contingent on the immediate adoption of AI technologies. This realisation encourages service providers to tap into existing automation capabilities, fostering innovation and creating immediate value without necessarily depending on AI’s progress. It posits that AI, although promising, serves as an optional enhancement for many telecom processes rather than a foundational necessity.

    Navigating Automation Without Immediate AI Integration

    Exploring the practical application of automation, independent of AI, reveals how today’s technology can address complex processes, enhance efficiency, and reduce operational costs. This approach covers a spectrum of telecom operations, from service provisioning to enhancing customer experiences, showcasing the tangible benefits of automation leveraged through current technological advancements.

    Future Prospects: AI as an Operational Enhancer

    Looking ahead, AI is poised to play a significant role in refining telecom operations, capable of optimising complex decision-making processes. However, equating AI as the sole solution for present challenges overlooks the immediate benefits and practicalities of current automation technologies. By adopting a balanced strategy that prioritises automation now, telecom providers can establish a solid foundation for seamlessly integrating AI technologies in the future, ensuring it complements an already efficient operational framework.

    Strategic Implementation: A Forward-Looking Approach

    The strategy for embracing automation today, without the immediate inclusion of AI, emphasises the significance of practical, actionable measures. It suggests a focused direction for telecom operations, highlighting the importance of adopting automation with a vision that anticipates the eventual integration of AI. This approach not only addresses immediate operational needs but also prepares the groundwork for future technological advancements, promising a strategic advantage in the evolving telecom landscape.

    Conclusion: The Imperative for Immediate Action

    The discussion culminates in a strong endorsement for the proactive adoption of automation technologies in the telecom industry. This approach presents automation as an essential, readily available tool capable of delivering substantial benefits today, thereby setting the stage for the future role of AI. Such a pragmatic strategy ensures immediate improvements in efficiency and productivity, offering a rapid return on investment while preparing operations for future innovations.

    In essence, the telecom industry’s journey through digital transformation is marked by the strategic embrace of automation technologies. This path does not merely respond to today’s challenges but also anticipates the integration of AI, ensuring sustainable, long-term innovation and success. For telecom leaders, the message is clear: the time to act is now. By prioritising automation, the industry can maintain its competitive edge and navigate the complexities of the digital age with confidence and strategic foresight.

    DOWNLOAD THE FULL WHITE PAPER – AI-based automation: Wait or act now?

    In essence, “AI-based Automation: Wait or Act Now?” is more than a white paper; it’s a strategic manual for service providers navigating the complexities of the modern telecom landscape. It argues convincingly for a balanced, forward-looking approach to automation and AI, offering a blueprint for immediate action and long-term success.

    For those ready to chart their course in this dynamic environment, the insights and recommendations within this white paper are invaluable. It’s a clarion call to act now, harness the power of automation, and prepare for the AI-enhanced future. Download the white paper today and take the first step toward transforming your telecom operations with We Are CORTEX.

    German regulator releases first of a kind report on fibre wholesale prices

    Annie Turner
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    German regulator releases first of a kind report on fibre wholesale prices

    The draft strives to be a careful balancing act, intended to provide incentives for rivals to build competing fibre infrastructure

    Germany’s telecoms regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) has published its draft approval of the prices Telekom can charge competitors for the use of its fibre ducts and poles. Telekom is Deutsche Telekom’s opco in Germany and the largest network operator.

    Klaus Müller, President of Bnetza, commented, “In mid-2022 we imposed an obligation on Telekom to open up its ducts to competitors wanting to deploy fibre. We have now assessed Telekom’s proposed prices for access to its ducts. Our aim has been to accommodate Telekom’s legitimate interests while enabling competitors to realise their business models.

    “This balance of interests creates incentives to invest in swift fibre rollout across the country for the benefit of all consumers.”

    Lower prices

    The BNetzA assessed a range of prices proposed by Telekom and is considering lowering many of them, and in some cases making them much lower.

    This is the first time a price assessment has taken into account Telekom’s dominant position to ensure that there is still an incentive for competitors to roll out fibre networks.

    The prices calculated by Telekom factored in its potential loss of customers and concomitant loss of revenue to competitors – known as lost contribution margins. The regulator followed the same approach but also took into account the costs incurred by Telekom.

    It took the view that marking up costs to cover the potential loss of customers is only applicable to Telekom’s investment in fibre infrastructure. For example, connections between street cabinets and customers, where Telekom has only just begun to deploy fibre.

    In contrast, Telekom’s connections between exchanges and street cabinets are already mostly fibre, completed at the time of deploying vectoring technology – a means of means of increasing broadband speeds without investing in an extensive fibre roll-out. The operator’s investment in these connections is protected by a European Union risk premium on the rate of return for fibre networks (known as the Very high capacity network (VHCN) Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC).

    The regulator says is not yet possible to predict exactly how the take-up of duct access will pan out and hence the initial price approval will only last two years: Europe’s largest economy has one of the lowest fibre penetration rates on the continent.

    The German regulator and all network builders would do well to examine what has happened in the Spain, which is leagues ahead of all the other large countries in Europe regarding fibre penetration and overbuild. You can read Nae’s illuminating analysis here.

    Package of measures

    BNetzA’s decision on pricing is only one of a series of decisions relating to duct access.

    The regulator has obliged Telekom to submit its contractual terms and conditions for the use of its civil engineering assets (its “reference offer”) for assessment.

    In addition, Telekom must provide data on available duct capacity on a regular basis for publication in the Infrastructure Atlas. Telekom has so far met these obligations and the regulator says it will announce its decision on Telekom’s reference offer “in due course”.

    Next steps

    Comments on the draft approval decision can be submitted until 10 May 2024. The final decision will follow a consultation process that involves the European Commission and the regulatory authorities of the other EU countries.

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