Real World LTE Roaming

Diameter Signaling Deployment Strategies

May 2014
Kim Fisker, Chief Architect, Ulticom
Industry Trends and LTE Deployments

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 MENA LTE Deployments

18 LTE Networks in 8 different countries

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 Roaming Revenue Growth Trends
Roaming Revenue Projections
100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

voice+txt data total

Source: Juniper Research 2014

Data Roaming Revenue is growing at a

Combined Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 21%
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LTE Roaming Today – MENA

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LTE Data Roaming
Today

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 LTE Data Roaming – Home Routed

• Authentication is done remotely (driven by visited MME)

• Policy and Charging are handled in the home network

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LTE Data Roaming - IPX

“Navigating Complexity:
the Quest for True IPX”
TelecomAsia, October 2013

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Voice and Text Roaming
Today

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 Voice and Text Roaming over LTE - Today
• Voice Service (and roaming) in LTE networks today is based upon
2/3G network solutions and Circuit Switched Fallback
• Circuit Switched fallback is viewed as a first step for VoLTE
• Some operators are going directly to VoLTE, not implementing CS
Fallback
• Long term, the cost implications will drive MNOs to embrace VoLTE

• SMS or Text Roaming is based upon the 2G/3G infrastructure with

a new interface (SGs)
• SGs enables SMS over LTE access without forcing the UE to fall back to
overlay 2G/3G accesses
• SMS over SGs is defined in 3GPP TS 23.272
• When SMS over SGs is provided for roaming, existing roaming
interfaces for SMS services (E interface) are used without change.
Therefore, there are no new guidelines required for SMS over SGs
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Voice Roaming with CS Fallback – How It Works
HPMN

GMSC C HSS PGW

S6a
SS7 IPX/GRX
E S8
DEA
D
VPMN

MSC/VLR SGs MME S11 SGW

U-Plane Lu/A/Gb
After Fallback MT Paging
SMS Data Path
Delivery Path
UTRAN
GERAN E-UTRAN

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Real-World Signaling
Examples

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 Routing Address Conversion

• Routing Interworking
• IPX supplier needed to interconnect operator who are using a
proprietary routing mechanism
• 3GPP specifies the use of realm, based upon user – very similar to the
SS7 Global Title routing mechanism
• Different applications use different AVPs as basis for routing
Operator A IPX Operator B

Edge Router Diameter Edge Router

(DEA) Hub (DEA)

epc.mncXXX.mccYYY.3gppnetwork.org ← realm → realm=prop.proprietary.dk

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 Access Control Optimization

Access Control
Alternative

• DEA or IPX implements access control without impacting the HSS and
incurring remote database access latency
• Using error code, it is possible to limit access to certain RAT types of
VPMN. The MME maps error cause values as follows:
• The "RAT Not Allowed" error code forces the UE to select another RAT in the same PMN
• When receiving a "Roaming Not Allowed" error code, the UE stores the PMN identity in
the "forbidden PLMN list" in the SIM card

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 Network versus Peer - HSS Limitation
Region 1
HSS DSC
DSC
HSS

2
Network (MMEs)
HSS DSC
HSS DSC
Region 2

• Problem: HSS can only commicate with direct peers!

• Solution: A script is deployed on the DSC to create 2 virtual MMEs located

on the DSC. All MME request are transformed to come from these 2 virtual
MMEs!

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 Support Pre-Release 8 HLR for LBO

• What happens if you have a Release 6 or 2G-3G HPMN

Release 7 HLR wants to offer LTE access?
HLR
• IR.88 demands a Release 8 or later HLR 2
MAP Gr

• IR.88 Support for LTE Roaming mandates

• KASME style authentication vector information
DEA
PDN
• Related subscriber profile content Diameter S6a
Gi

• Interworking can be provided by the DEA PGW

as part of the MTP-Diameter interworking S5/S8

S11
-- as an alternative to requiring an HLR SGW MME
upgrade
S1-U
E-
UTRAN
EPS VPMN

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LTE Data Roaming
Evolution

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 LTE Data Roaming Trends
• Data continues to generate of 90% of all consumer traffic, with
the largest volumes associated with file sharing, video streaming,
video calls and online gaming1
• New mobile devices providing a higher quality user experience are
driving faster uptake of gaming and video calling, both of which
are expected to continue to notch up over 40% year-on-year
growth between 2010-20151

• Local Break Out (LBO)

• Good. More efficient data path. No trombone routing.
• Challenge. More complicated interworking between HPLM and VPLM
• Good. Same architecture as VoLTE (without IMS obviously)
• Challenge. How to give same user experience (www.google.com …)

1 Source: ITU Trends in Telecommunication Reform, April 2013

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 LTE Data Roaming – Local Break Out (LBO)

• With LBO, data is routed locally (better for subscriber and carrier)
• Authentication, Policy, and Charging are done in cooperation
(which implies interworking between HPMN and VPMN)

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Voice Roaming
Evolution

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 VoLTE

“The main drivers we see for VoLTE are to provide innovative

communication services with better quality and features and
provide differentiated services against OTTs’ VoIP services,”

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 VoLTE Target Roaming Architecture

• IR.65 and IR.88 specify the target architecture for VoLTE Roaming
• Variants of the concept exist with respect to the location and
control of policy functionality and use of the Diameter S9
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Conclusions

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 Many Challenges Remain

For Data Roaming…

More
Revenue
$42 Billion by
2018
More Regulation
More Data and
and Competition
More Subscribers

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 Many Challenges Remain

For Data Roaming…

User Experience will Drive LBO

Local Break Out (LBO) is Inevitable

But There Are Major Interworking Challenges

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 Many Challenges Remain

For Voice Roaming…

OTT Competition is a real Concern

End-To-End QoS is the BIG DIFFERENTIATOR

and Interworking is the Big Challenge

VoLTE is Essential to Customer Retention

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Diameter Signaling is Key to Roaming Success

EPC OCS / OFCS IMS IPX

Ro, Rf, Gy, Gz, Sy
LB Services
S6d

Sh, Ro, Rf DEA

DEA MNO 2
S6a, S6d, Cx, Sh Cx,Rx, SGi AF / CSCF
UE GERAN
IMS UA
LB DSC
S4 DSC
SGSN Central Router IPX Hub
HSS IP
UE
UTRAN
IMS UA
DEA
DEA
DRA MNO 3
S9, Gx,Rx, Sy

S6a
UE PCRF
LTE
IMS UA S3
DEA
DEA
S1 MME MNO n
eNodeB Sec MME DEA
DEA
GW S11
S9, S6d, S6a, Gy

2G,3G MNO
S6a, S6d
S-GW S5 P-GW Gx, Gy,
DEA + D7G HLR
Gz, SGi MNO1

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For over 30 years, Ulticom has provided signaling solutions for the world’s telecom networks

www.ulticom.com
©2014 Ulticom, Inc. All rights reserved. Information is summary in nature and
subject to change. Ulticom and Signalware are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Ulticom, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.

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