Zero-rating. Giving Services in Exchange for Brand Loyalty. USE CASES FOR ZERO-RATING Application identification on which you can base your plans.

Transcription

1 Zero-rating Giving Services in Exchange for Brand Loyalty USE CASES FOR ZERO-RATING Application identification on which you can base your plans. Unlimited Application Data Unlimited access to applications like Facebook, WhatsApp, or YouTube or to complete categories like social media or streaming video apps Sponsored Data Content provided at no charge and paid for by third parties in exchange for access to mobile customer bases VoIP Data Unlimited offers for over-the-top VoIP applications to increase satisfaction and create new revenue streams for operators SOLUTION OVERVIEW Consumers want unfettered access to the applications and services that deliver their most valued content. However, operator service plans have traditionally been provided as metered data which forces many customers to limit the use of their favorite applications. This transactional model has encouraged more price sensitivity among consumers and, consequently, less brand loyalty for their mobile providers. Zero-rating turns that equation around, establishing a more cooperative relationship between operators and their subscribers. Zero-rating provides unlimited usage of single or multiple applications or application types (like video) as part of a data plan, allowing operators to provide more compelling offers, target different demographics with personalized offers, build brand loyalty, and consider alternative approaches to building revenue streams. USE CASE TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW The term zero-rating refers to the practice of assigning a price of zero to a particular type of data traffic. The Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) is the element that counts the zero-rated application bytes and marks that traffic to not count against customer data allowances. In addition, there is a multi-step process and a set of specialized technologies that are needed to dependably deliver, charge for, and offer compelling zero-rated offerings. This process consists of three main steps (see Figure 1). Step one is to analyze the applications in use, the bandwidth required, and the subscriber demographics and behavior considering the distribution of plans, application usage by time of day and peak usage, and other inputs for the sensitivity analysis needed to prioritize potential, zero-rated offers. Procera s PacketLogic Platform provides the deep and finegrained views needed to understand subscriber behavior by plan, application usage, location, device, and much more. In addition, Procera s Insights Analytics software simplifies the aggregation and visibility of this information for more rapid and more effective decision-making and outcomes. Step two is to be able to choose and consistently identify the applications to be zero-rated. Procera has invested heavily in these capabilities over the years. Our PacketLogic Datastream Recognition Definition Language (DRDL) traffic identification engine uses multiple approaches to identify applications including using Procera s library of over 2800 application signatures. This library continues to grow, with new application signatures added and existing signatures updated on weekly bases. Other techniques are deployed as well including real-time, URL entry checks (using 60+ million entries) and multipath signature analysis to adapt to polymorphic applications such as Skype. Step three in the process addresses the actual design and implementation of zero-rated policies. Procera s PacketLogic provides the network and subscriber intelligence, policy control, and interoperability with other network functions needed to implement zero-rated plans for operators worldwide. 1

2 USE CASE COMPONENTS Mandatory Licenses PacketLogic Base Signature & Heuristics Engine Policy Enforcement with Gx Integration for Enrichment Optional Licenses Gy Integration CDR Generation Insights Analytics BGP Integration ContentLogic IFD Database ContentLogic IFD Database Fraud protection and network neutrality also should be considered and addressed. PacketLogic combines multiple methods, such as Service hostname (SNI, URL or CN) and IP endpoint mapping, to reduce the abuse surface area and protect from fraud. In addition, PacketLogic can categorize entire classes of applications such as video streaming, social networking, and music streaming, in regions where net neutrality allows zero-rating only for entire classes of applications. USE CASES There are multiple deployment options for implementing zero-rating with PacketLogic software. All use cases rely on the PacketLogic Base software, Signature and Heuristics Engine, Policy Enforcement with Gx, and Integration for Enrichment, and optional software licenses can be added to provide more service options and analytical capabilities. The use cases range from game changing unlimited application data plans to more discrete zero-rated offers that provide additional content and services to subscribers and build additional revenue streams for operators. Figure 1 ZERO-RATING: A PROCESS OF INSIGHT, IDENTIFICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION UNLIMITED APPLICATION DATA Customers think in terms of applications and content and not in terms of bites and usage. By limiting mobile data plans by usage, operators have found themselves in an antagonistic relationship with subscribers because the operators assume the role of limiting the very services that subscribers want. With the onslaught of streaming video and other high volume applications and content, the monthly data caps have become an ongoing source of tension between the operator and subscribers as well as a point of contention within subscribers own families. Clearly this situation is not designed to build operator brand loyalty among subscribers. Some operators have chosen to alter their relationships with their customers, especially for their postpaid customers who are precisely the high-value customers that they want to engage and keep as customers for the long-term. The results from these operators have been promising. Case in point, T-Mobile became the global poster child for unlimited application data plans, offering unlimited music and video streaming in 2014 and 2015 respectively. 2

3 SOLUTIONS CASE STUDY BRIEF T-Mobile s results were impressive, growing its subscriber base by 39% an increase of 20 million subscribers over an 18-month timeframe. Based on this success and others, many operators are now offering zero-rated plans and are considering more investment to broaden their zero-rated efforts in the near future (see Figure 2). Figure 2 OPERATOR ZERO-RATED INVESTMENT PLANS, 2017 TO 2020 OVER THE NEXT 3 YEARS, HOW LARGE AN INVESTMENT DO YOU PLAN TO MAKE WITHIN THESE USE CASES AND TRENDS? Moderate investment 39% Large strategic investment 32% No investment 29% Accurate application identification is extremely important because zero-rated plans often designate applications as part of their service contract. If operators cannot appropriately identify applications and charge accordingly, then they may not be in accord with their service contracts and may cause issues with customers or regulators. Poor accounting of application traffic may very well cost operators in terms of lost revenue as well. One reason that PacketLogic s DRDL traffic identification engine delivers better zero-rated application services is because it has a larger library of signatures for popular application and content types even those that are encrypted. And DRDL employs a variety of other approaches to identify applications that use additional measures to mask themselves. PacketLogic has deep congestion management functionality that allows operators to deliver zero-rated traffic in ways that satisfy the demands of both customers and regulators. When traffic is congested, it can be apportioned to be delivered equally to all customers to meet net neutrality rules or it can be prioritized or throttled by application, data limit, data cap, or type of plan to deliver to the diverse terms of the growing number of unlimited plans. And as zero-rated traffic passes through the network, PacketLogic collects statistics on throughput, latency, and packet loss for all subscribers to provide operators with quality of service metrics that can be visualized in Procera s Engineering Insights and ScoreCard analytics products. SPONSORED DATA Sponsored data refers to the practice of operators providing commercial, educational, or public content at no cost to subscribers but instead at costs to third party sponsors. The main distinction between sponsored data and the unlimited application data use cases is that sponsored data s zero-rated service is applied to content or a service that is outside the scope of the mobile service plan itself. For instance, the third party could be a car manufacturer providing subscribers with free access to a new car launch promotional piece. Or it could be a public service message from a governmental entity. There are indications that sponsored data will become more popular in the near-term for a couple key reasons. In developed markets, where more generous post-paid, unlimited 3

4 SOLUTIONS CASE STUDY BRIEF application data plans are taking hold, there are less interesting subscriber offers that operators can provide, so they are turning to sponsored data as an alternative model for new revenue generation. In developing markets like Latin America, Africa, and Asia, sponsored data is one way that low budget pre-paid users can get access to more free content albeit in exchange for a promotion or advertisement. Sponsored Data can run the risk of violating net neutrality guidelines, especially as content providers and operators join in efforts to deliver more unique offers such as mobile plans that include discounts (or free data) for content from a given provider. Net neutral regulators consider these types of preferences to run counter to the open and fair access they desire. PacketLogic provides much of the intelligence and logic that drives sponsored data plans. Sponsored data plans need strong policy management along with subscriber and application visibility to deliver the right content, apply the appropriate charges, and rapidly deploy new sponsored offers. PacketLogic s broad 3GPP compliance, extensive support for policy and charging interfaces, proven interoperability with network element and operational support system vendors, and deep insight into both the context and details of the network traffic at hand ensure consistent delivery and appropriate charging for sponsored offers. VoIP DATA Operators around the world are learning to use zero-rating techniques to win new customers, keep existing customers, and to drive new revenue streams. There is a growing group of zerorated activities under development, and one of the more interesting demonstrates how some operators are transitioning to more open models for delivering voice services. In many developing markets, over-the-top VoIP services compete directly with operator provided voice. In some cases, operators block OTT VoIP applications to encourage subscribers to pay high international calling rates for their voice services. This voice service model has met with limited success as consumers have been prevented from using popular VoIP and messaging applications like WhatsApp on their local mobile plans. In response, many consumers have learned ways to get around these restrictions with alternative technologies like VPNs. Some of these operators now realize that it is better to charge a reasonable monthly fee for unlimited, zero-rated, OTT VoIP access than to upset customers and gain little traction with over-priced, restrictive service offerings. PacketLogic supports these more open, zero-rated, OTT VoIP offers by identifying the applications in question, rating them appropriately, and providing the information that charging systems need to properly account for subscriber data usage. PROCERA S UNIQUE ZERO RATING BENEFITS Industry Leading Application Identification Procera s application intelligence powered by the DRDL engine delivers the industry s most granular and comprehensive signatures database. Identifying over 2800 encrypted and non-encrypted applications, and delivering weekly updates, PacketLogic delivers best traffic detection accuracy with thousands of frequently updated signatures and local development resources within region. Broadly Interoperable Extensive 3GPP compliance and interface support provides ready integration with other leading systems and faster delivery of new, innovative plans and offers. 4

5 Flexibly Addresses Net Neutrality Concerns Easy to use categorization of entire classes of applications and self-maintained signature databases help service providers dispel net neutrality concerns. Designed with Revenue Assurance in Mind PacketLogic employs a combination of sophisticated detection methods that accurately classifies content and application traffic to reduce abuse surface areas and protect from fraud. In addition, PacketLogic increases billing accuracy by analyzing and accounting for traffic by subscriber ID, service or other criteria for more accurate charging. High Performing and Scalable PacketLogic is flexible and adaptable, working well in multi-network, multi-vendor, and NFV-based, virtualized environments. Enhanced Visibility Provides highly focused visibility into service provider networks with multiple portal views showing real-time and historical statistics for subscribers, flows and applications. Contact your Procera sales representative to find out more about this solution and how it can help you transform your business. v ABOUT PROCERA NETWORKS Procera Networks, the global Subscriber Experience company, is revolutionizing the way operators and vendors monitor, manage and monetize their network traffic. Elevate your business value and improve customer experience with Procera s sophisticated intelligence solutions. For more information, visit proceranetworks.com or follow Procera on Twitter CORPORATE OFFICES Procera Networks, Inc Fremont Blvd Fremont, CA P F CORPORATE OFFICES Procera Networks Birger Svenssons Väg 28D Varberg, Sweden P. +46 (0) F. +46 (0) ASIA/PACIFIC HEADQUARTERS Unit B-02-11, Gateway Corporate Suite, Gateway Kiaramas No. 1, Jalan Desa Kiara, Mont Kiara Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Copyright Procera Networks. All rights All rights reserved. reserved. All other All other trademarks trademarks are property are property of their of respective their respective owners. owners.