07 360 VISION 2016 TRANSCODING A LOOK AT HOW TRANSCODING CAN HELP IPX PROVIDERS CLIMB UP THE VALUE CHAIN

FUTURE PROOFING YOUR Digital BUSINESS

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EVOLUTION CREATES COMPLEXITY table of ContentS

The world of telecom services is evolving In contrast, while each originating service faster than at any time in the past, as customer provider could provide the necessary expectations for always-on and faster solutions transcoding to make international calls work, Before we transcode grow with each new handset design. their transcoding requirements are more sporadic and variable, and for them investing we need to Encode... 5 In this new world, there are a plethora of in transcoding solutions is therefore less cost applications making use of the high definition effective. audio and video capabilities of modern mobile handsets. And these applications require It could be said that basic transcoding is just a data processing that would eclipse a serious necessary function to make a call work when gaming PC from just a few years back. the end devices or networks are unable to DIFFERENT APPROACHES directly establish a call. As such, it could be TO TRANSCODING 11 While this is great for consumers and the one of those capabilities that does not create industry, this evolution also comes with a any visible differentiator for IPX providers. massive increase in overall service complexity. So why should IPX providers bother when For the foreseeable future, these evolved simpler options exist? One strong driver is the handset capabilities will still need to interwork growing adoption of VoLTE services, with many CARRIERS' TRANSCODING with much less powerful earlier generation more advanced interactive services driving handset, or even a standard telephone. opportunities for IPX providers with a future- OPPORTUNITY 16 proof vision for delivering transcoding and IPX providers responsible to interconnect calls other value added services for their service between disparate endpoints and networks provider customers. could fall back to the lowest quality, lowest complexity service. However, as subscribers This 360 vision will not only explain what WHERE IS THE now demand a better quality of experience, transcoding really is, but also why it is becoming this simple route is not always the right one. increasingly important for IPX providers to VALUE? 20 support it. We will also discuss the challenges IPX providers are in an ideal position to offer related to offering transcoding services and the evolved transcoding services required for will finally outline potential real life use cases communications interoperability to happen, that will convince you to add this capability to partly because of their position as the future-proof your business. interconnecting engine of the global telecom network, and partly because of the efficiency about HOT TELECOM they can generate from sharing a transcoding Steve Heap 26 infrastructure investment across many CTO about radisys customer groups. HOT TELECOM

2 360° VISION TRANSCODING 3 TRANSCODING Simplifying the digital evolution

Before we transcode we need to encode...

nteractive voice and video communication services involve the exchange of sounds and images. Audio encompasses a wide range of frequencies, from sounds that we feel rather than hear, through to the highest notes that we might not be even able to discern. Our eyes see a broad range of colors and perceive Iimages in 3D. When we try to transmit this information to another location, we need a way to convert it into the basic building blocks of modern telecoms: packets of digital information. A coder/decoder algorithm (or a codec), encodes an analog audio soundwave or a video stream into 1s and 0s, for transmission across the network, so it can then be decoded to recreate the original audio or video as accurately as possible at the far end.

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CODECS, CODECS AND MORE CODECS... As a result, we have gone from a world of TDM of these encoding technologies to ensure Voice transcoding circuit networks encoded with G.711 (the basic that the latest handsets will communicate When it comes to voice, current “phones” have Although more bandwidth is available now codec which compressed a very narrow range with legacy devices, and interwork with other a defined set of codecs and service providers than at any time in history, there continues to of audio frequencies into a 64kbit/s stream), service providers that are at different stages of pre-select certain ones to be preferred. For be bottlenecks and costs associated with its to a variety of open source and commercial their network evolution. instance, 2G and 3G mobile networks use provision, especially toward the edge of mobile codecs used with IP packet networks. AMR-NB as a low bandwidth way of providing networks. basic narrowband audio service. As the diagram below explains, modern THE ROLE OF THE HANDSET Due to these constraints, codec technology codecs have managed to support a massive As customers sought out better quality, some has evolved to deliver ever improving voice improvement in quality – up to full band stereo Voice over IP calls use a signaling system service providers added a wideband version of and video quality, while compressing as – in basically the same bandwidth allocation (known as SIP) to establish and control the codec (AMR-WB) into 3G smartphones and much information as possible into the lowest as the narrow “dead sounding” audio of that the call. During call setup, these signaling provided the necessary transcoding to make bandwidth to minimize transmission costs. old telephone call. Simply put, HD voice and messages also exchange codec “capability calls between these HD enabled phones and beyond is quickly becoming the new norm. and preference” messages from the originating the older 2G/3G devices work. But another big technology change needs to equipment to the terminating device. be overlaid on codec evolution: the move from However, with the growing number of codecs With the rollout of LTE (and particularly Voice TDM to IP. TDM (or Time Division Multiplex) comes growing complexity. Service providers Each endpoint outlines the specific codecs over LTE, or VoLTE), the entire network structure basically assigns a full circuit (at 64Kbit/s) to now have to be in a position to support most that the endpoint can support in priority order. is finally being moved from its traditional TDM a voice call, and uses that If there is no match between the available architecture to an end-to-end IP environment. bandwidth to encode a codecs, the network needs to quickly insert a New codecs for both audio and video continue narrow approximation of Types of audio codecs currently in service transcoding function in the call path during call to be developed and continue to grow in the original audio. setup, to establish a call between incompatible complexity. handsets/networks. The evolution to IP packet Agile transcoding allows service providers to networks meant that carefully select which codecs to deploy in order service providers had WHAT IS TRANSCODING REALLY? to maximize utilization and minimize cost. to encode the original audio into a series of data Transcoding is the interception of the media In situations with incompatible endpoints, packets. (the voice and/or video) in real time and service providers could elect a simple strategy modifying it to make it work with the equipment to transcode any high definition source down to Voice calls in IP networks in the distant network. If the source and the lowest common denominator (narrowband are vulnerable to lost destination endpoints discover they support voice). packets, noise, delay, the same codec during call set up negotiation, and jitter (variances in transcoding is not required. However, when a While you could use narrowband end-to-end on delay), hence modern codec mismatch is identified, transcoding will a call, there are benefits to applying transcoding codecs along with the be required somewhere in the call path. and keeping the VoLTE call portion on HD transcoding functions codec. Agile transcoding would allow AMR-WB in IP networks, are also But the real value add of transcoding comes and Enhanced Voice Services (EVS) codecs to designed to compensate from honoring the best quality codec offered be utilized for better bandwidth efficiency over and minimize their impact by the source and destination to get the best the expensive air interface, and then transcode on the real-time audio call possible performance from that specific within the IPX network for connectivity with experience. session – what we like to call agile transcoding. endpoints using older handset technology. Source: -codec.org, Radisys

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Finally, communications app designers are options to compress real-time video into a back the quality to the level supported by depending on the case being dealt with and much less constrained on which codecs to stream of packets, making it far more complex the oldest video device on the video call, we will provide you answers to most of these use. They tend to prefer high-definition open to transcode than voice. but rather delivers the highest quality of in the remainder of our 360 vision document. source codecs, to differentiate their audio experience for the end-users when it comes quality with no licensing fees, to minimize their Yet, video is the future of communication, with to live media. costs. LTE providing the high speed IP connectivity to the handset and consumers, and a growing Going beyond the needs of end-to-end As each new technology rolls out, such as number of networks offer video over LTE (ViLTE) calling (whether audio or with video), the WebRTC, more advanced codecs are often services to their customers. world of digital content is itself an enormous rolled out in parallel. The days when the marketplace. International Telecom Union (ITU) would bless In the presence of the /Skype/Facebook a codec for global deployment are over. generation, the challenges for interworking A service provider can deliver additional video must be tackled with the same urgency value and differentiation by managing the Video transcoding as voice. real-time needs of transcoding live video to make it viewable, with the highest quality, Video, with its differing screen sizes, formats, For example, service providers must ensure on the diverse screens of a global audience. and image refresh rates, has many more that every video conference doesn’t step Transcoding and transrating (which corrects for different frame rates) is the new normal Transcoding requirements in the communications industry and will generate many profitable opportunities for those service providers that can support it.

EASIER SAID THAN DONE 4G/LTE WebRTC Tablet video Obviously people expect all of the different technologies to seamlessly interwork, and so the challenges of transcoding continue to grow.

AMR-NB AMR-WB In our opinion, the key areas that need to be addressed when implementing transcoding solutions are threefold: 2G Mobile VoLTE Mobile 1. Where should the transcoding take place? 2. When is transcoding needed?  Transcoding  3. How do you perform the actual PSTN Phone Transrating IP Softphone transcoding?  Media conditioning On PC The answers, as you may expect, can vary

Source: Radisys

8 360° VISION TRANSCODING 9 TRANSCODING One size does not fit all

different approaches to transcoding

ranscoding is basically the function of decoding an incoming audio or video signal encoded using one type of codec format, and then re-encoding the same signal into an alternative codec format before forwarding to the distant party. In 2-way or N-way conversational voice and video services, this needs to be done in real time in a way that minimizes delays or distortion that Tmight impact call quality.

Architecturally, transcoding can be performed inside an existing call processing element (a Session Border Controller for instance) or deployed as a stand-alone transcoding solution. The transcoding function itself can also be undertaken in software or dedicated hardware. This article looks at the drivers for these different solutions and identifies what the likely long term answer is going to be for many large service providers.

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TRANSCODING 2. The complexity of modern codecs adds Taking all of these factors into account, TRANSCODING SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE? significantly to the processor load designing a solution where the transcoding INTEGRATION OR STAND ALONE? function takes place in software does work Modern codecs deliver the benefits of higher Transcoding can either be performed in for small scale deployments. However, as Another key consideration is the architecture quality with lower bandwidth requirements, software running on a general purpose CPU, the volume of media processing increases of the transcoding solution with other call at the expense of much higher algorithm or in hardware elements designed using in a network, the cost of assigning more and processing elements. complexity. This adds significantly to the digital signal processing (DSP) chips that are more processor capacity for software-based processor load, as it needs to make many optimized to efficiently deliver transcoding. transcoding can become prohibitive when Do you integrate the transcoding function, more calculations on each media stream. total cost of ownership is considered. either in software or through dedicated chips, As we know, there is a general industry move into the voice gateway or session controllers? To illustrate this complexity, the diagrams toward the virtualization of network specific As a result, delivering transcoding at scale below show that the latest wideband codec hardware onto standard industry servers is often still best achieved using dedicated Or do you implement standalone transcoding for audio, known as EVS, requires up to four (Network Function Virtualization or NFV). hardware resources engineered using digital solutions that are brought into the media times the processing power of the original Transcoding, however, brings some key signal processing chips optimized to process stream, as and when they are needed? HD mobile codec (AMR-WB) and up to 40x challenges when implemented in software on codec algorithms with high efficiency. that of VoIP era codecs. standard servers: Software vs Hardware transcoding applications 3. No tolerance for delay 1. Media transcoding brings a constant demand on processing power Delay cannot be tolerated and jitter (the inconsistency of delay) can make the Unlike call signaling, where the processor session unintelligible. Unlike signaling, load is “bursty” during call setup and tear which can easily absorb a small delay if down, media is a constant flow throughout the processor is busy on other tasks, the the session and so the processor load media must be processed immediately as is constant for each call – in effect each it arrives. A sudden peak in calls requires new call adds a new steady demand enough spare processor capacity to deal on the processing power of the server. with that peak as it happens.

Audio Video 45 8,000 40 7,000 Total cost ofownership Total 35 6,000 Software Media Resource Function 30 Hardware Media Resource Function 5,000 25 4,000 20 15 3,000 Media processing capacity & complexity 10 2,000

5 1,000

Relative Computational Complexity Computational Relative 0 Complexity Computational Relative 0 H.261 H.263 H.264 VP8VP9 H.265 VP9 Software transcoding solutions are Hardware transcoding solutions are more economical for smaller and often more economical for larger and simpler deployments more complex deployments VoIP era Today 5G era VoIP era Today 5G era  Several hundred to thousand  Several thousand ports Reducing bandwidth while maintaining/improving quality comes at the cost of computational complexity ports  Modern complex codecs such as

Source: Radisys  Simpler audio and video codecs EVS and Opus Source: Radisys Source: Radisys

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Integration Virtualization efforts are also intended to With this standalone architecture, the signaling border control functions very well – it is the consolidate network functions into larger and media processing functions can be scaled transcoding of modern codecs where legacy While there are probably no one-size-fits- central data centers to achieve economies of independently and the transcoding resources SBCs are often challenged, as no contemporary all solutions, the industry has often followed scale across the cloud computing platforms can be updated independently to support new SBCs were designed or intended to support its traditional path in this space. Early with many other applications. codecs as required. HD audio and video transcoding services. deployments of media gateways and session border controllers (SBCs) ran on dedicated While the delays introduced by centralization Another benefit of a decomposed strategy By separating transcoding processing into hardware with built-in transcoding functions, may be acceptable for call setup and is that the separated functions can now be standalone devices, SBCs continue to do what often on dedicated cards. signaling functions, the centralization of implemented in optimal locations. For example, they do best – signaling and border control transcoding functions may add noticeable and signaling functions are best centralized in core functions, while transcoding requirements are These systems were designed and installed unacceptable delays in the media path. data centers, while transcoding functions often addressed by modern adjunct platforms that when the large majority of sessions used should stay distributed to minimize end-to-end complement the SBCs with complex HD audio narrowband audio connections connecting Standalone delays. and video transcoding capabilities. endpoints using the same codec. For the small percentage of calls with incompatible endpoint As a result of these challenges, the current In addition, a decomposition strategy can also This future-proofed network architecture can codecs, media resource cards within the SBCs state-of-the-art comes from the decomposition extend the life of existing SBC investments. provide the best balance of cost, efficiency would process the transcoding required. and separation of the signaling and control SBCs continue to perform call signaling and and performance, now and in the 5G era. functions, with the transcoding processing With this design however, there are two issues: functions deployed on separate, standalone processing platforms. Stand alone vs Integrated transcoding requirements 1. The relationship between transcoding to support 80,000 sessions of transcoding resources as a percentage of overall The relatively small bandwidth and bursty capacity is relatively fixed, so if the nature of call routing and the signaling requirements for transcoding increase, the processes are well suited to virtualized software common solution is to deploy another SBC functions centralized in next-generation telco with more transcoding cards. Unfortunately, data centers. At the same time, the media can this will force you to buy more signaling be directly routed on the shortest IP paths from Integrated resources that will likely sit idle in order to originating service provider to terminating transcoding solution meet the increased transcoding need. service provider, when the end points are able to agree on a common codec. 2. The second issue is that if a new codec 5 SBCs required to transcode 80,000 sessions comes into common usage – as is When the controlling processes decide that happening more frequently – then the transcoding is required, the media flows can Stand alone answer might have to be a complete be routed to standalone transcoding functions, transcoding solution replacement of the SBC itself. This is a which efficiently fulfil the requirements for significant forklift upgrade and cost. complex media processing required between modern audio and standards. 1 SBC and 1 transcoding engine required to transcode 80,000 sessions The integrated design causes further issues when carriers look at the virtualization of the When transcoding volumes are small, the SBC. As mentioned, signaling is an intermittent standalone transcoding function might also be 80k simultaneous sessions of signaling function that is well suited to virtualization implemented in virtualized software, but more SBC Transcoding 15-20k simultaneous sessions of transcoding into a cloud computing environment. But a often it continues to be delivered in purpose- capabilities virtualized transcoding solution puts much built hardware solutions specifically designed more stress on the shared servers to the extent to provide economical complex transcoding Transcoding Supplements SBC with that the effort does not become cost effective. processing at scale. Platform +60k sessions of transcoding Source: Radisys

Source: Radisys 14 360° VISION TRANSCODING 15 TRANSCODING At the center of the equation

service providers' transcoding OPPORTUNITY

ll of this codec complexity provides great opportunities to make a significant difference to the way customers perceive service providers’ offerings. Some service providers might be serving markets with rapid adoption of the newest telecommunication technologies, such as VoLTE or WebRTC. Meanwhile, other service providers may be serving markets which are slower to Aadopt new wireless and endpoint technologies.

While the growing list of codec variants could be managed within one network or country by local agreements, there are so many possible variants that exist around the globe. There is therefore a need for middle-men willing and able to step up to the challenge of making the increasing complexity of interworking really work.

And this is where the IPX provider steps in.

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THE ROLE OF THE IPX PROVIDER An IPX provider with a cost-effective IN TRANSCODING transcoding solution could offer a service The potential roles of IPX providers in transcoding to manage the growing transcoding and With the rapid evolution of the global telecom interconnect needs for regional service industry, certain norms have arisen to ensure providers. Mobile callers Fixed callers that the media can be transported end-to-end. Mobile operator Fixed Operator This would allow their service provider One of these norms is that the responsibility customers to avoid having to invest in a large for ensuring that the audio (with its codec amount of transcoding capacity, while offering choice) that can be supported, belongs to an interesting new revenue source for the IPX OTT user Mobile callers OTT 1 Operator A the originating service provider. If some provider. Wholesale transcoding is needed to make it work, then Termination network the originating service provider is responsible In return, IPX providers who are able to bridge for that. the old with the new, the different technologies, OTT user Fixed callers OTT 2 standards and signaling approaches, will see IPX Operator B Many service providers have internal and their relevance and value grow in the eyes of national transcoding needs, between fixed and their service provider customers. mobile networks. Meanwhile, a new mobile Enterprise users WebRTC WiFi callers service provider with a pure LTE network (with Some areas in which IPX providers can play a Enterprise Gateway VoLTE as their only voice offering) may not have key role when it comes to transcoding include: Operator C any internal transcoding needs, but would still have to deploy their own transcoding solutions to enable call termination and interworking of • TDM to VoIP roaming with other networks around the globe. WebRTC • VoLTE to 2G/3G Contact center

Overlaid on the telecom networks we have • VoLTE to Unified Communications Source: Radisys been discussing, we now also find an Solutions Source: Radisys increasing variety of multimedia and multi- modal communications applications, offering • VoLTE to Communications Application various flavors of voice, video and messaging providers solutions. In effect, we have already moved • Video Transcoding for content delivery from the voice era, through the VoIP era, to the world of multi-media delivered to our handsets. • Video Transcoding for streaming live events The growing complexity around maintaining • Video Transcoding for ubiquitous and interoperability and connectivity between global consumer video conferencing diverging endpoint technologies is forcing communication service providers to look to IPX providers to help them deal with this new In the next article, we will discuss the value challenge, so that they can focus on what proposition for IPX providers in this new era of is key for them: their subscribers’ quality of transcoding. experience.

18 360° VISION TRANSCODING 19 TRANSCODING Climbing up the value chain

WHERE IS THE VALUE?

hile transcoding has been seen in the past as a necessary piece of plumbing in the network, going forward, we believe that transcoding will become an increasingly valuable part of IPX providers’ portfolio of capabilities, and in fact, become a competitive differentiator.

WFor example, new technologies are being deployed with WebRTC and are changing the landscape for customer contact and support. Over The Top (OTT) communication application developers are fighting for market share with new features. VoLTE deployments are accelerating around the globe.

At the same time, handsets supporting Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi) are becoming a key part of service providers’ offerings. The growing variety of communication services is introducing new interworking challenges as the newest services are often based on the latest advanced codecs, such as the Ultra HD Enhanced Voice Service (EVS) codec.

An IPX provider with an agile transcoding approach can deliver an increasingly valuable service to the industry, resulting in differentiation and increased revenues. In this section, we look at two potential areas where transcoding capabilities offered by the IPX provider could be key to end-to-end services: VoLTE and WebRTC.

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TRANSCODING TO ENABLE VoLTE VoLTE enabled handset in an LTE coverage end-to-end, with the handsets trying to agree opportunity to price the termination on a call area or not, and if it is, what codecs does that on a suitable codec – perhaps falling back to by call basis, compared to pricing calls per VoLTE has rolled out very quickly in some network and handset support? narrowband audio in many cases. destination, based on the routing used. It could markets, such as in Korea and the USA, but it apply the “gold direct” pricing for VoLTE calls is still in early stages in many other markets. By nature, mobile service providers will aim The better solution is for the IPX provider to terminated on a high quality route end-to-end, This scenario gives service providers a major to maximize the number of VoLTE to VoLTE recognize, for example, that the particular while charging a lower “silver” rate to terminate headache, as their customers become used calls in order to benefit from their high quality, destination network prefers to use the EVRC- the calls that fallback to the PSTN. to the quality and features available on their features and spectrum efficiency. To achieve NW codec. VoLTE phones. this, each originating mobile network would This is an interesting business model that ideally like to maintain AMR-WB or potentially Rather than let the handsets degrade to should be of growing interest to service However, as soon as they call their family EVS as the preferred codec. narrowband, the IPX could take proactive providers that are constantly looking to overseas, the high quality is stripped away action to confirm AMR-WB on the originating streamline their cost structure, while ensuring leaving an unsatisfactory mobile conversation The IPX provider can add significant value side, confirm EVRC-NW on the terminating the highest quality of experience possible for experience. here to maximize the availability of end-to-end device and insert a transcoding function into their customers. VoLTE calls by maintaining a database of the the media path to maintain HD audio quality In addition, as distant networks are updated to capabilities of each destination around the for that session. VoLTE according to their own timeframes and world. TRANSCODING TO ENABLE WebRTC to their own standards, the service providers Similarly, calls to an IP-based Unified INTERCONNECTION have a new challenge: the status of a specific Without this direct involvement of the IPX Communications destination, or to an distant number will remain unclear. Is it a provider, each call would be established addressable communications application WebRTC is an up and coming technology that on the smartphone, would be transcoded to embeds media functions directly in the browser a wideband codec that the end user could to allow new communications capabilities to VoLTE transcoding support, maintaining high quality audio be offered without any downloads or separate rather than just making a “least common applications. denominator” decision. WebRTC-based customer contact is therefore G.711 Fixed Fixed or Phone Of course, a lot of calls will still need to be a key new opportunity to replace traditional Cable MSO connected to PSTN endpoints using older “800” based telephony call centers, with IPX platform codec standards (G.711 or G.729, for example customer support becoming a much more VoLTE to use a VoIP based wholesaler for a specific natural and contextually aware interaction handset Routing destination). Delivering this increasing volume with the company representatives. AMR-NB 2G/3G Legacy MNO handset of VoLTE to non-VoLTE connectivity will require SBC SBC EVRC AMR – WB increasing transcoding horsepower. Using WebRTC, a consumer can click a “get LTE MNO Audio Transcoding help” button on the company website which platform In this role, IPX providers are fulfilling a key opens a text or audio chat with a representative

G.722 Enterprise high value-add function, which is to hide with the ability to share a screen, move to video, Enterprise Phone the complexity of international termination or provide access to appropriate information from their service provider customers, while to help solve the problem via another window. maximizing the quality of experience for the end users. Amazon Mayday is a perfect example of this EVS VoLTE integration, providing real-time technical 4G/5G MNO handset In return, this gives IPX providers the support for its tablets within 10 seconds of the Source: Radisys

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request and solving most issues without leaving Of course the service provider offering the call CONCLUSIONS the tablet for any other form of communication. center functions can provide this transcoding and interworking, but the scalability and cost Overall, we therefore see that the world of But what is the international service provider’s of that function for a somewhat unknown communications is not getting simpler over role in this ecosystem and use case? This demand is problematic. time – in fact complexities are increasing. brings us full circle to codecs again. WebRTC has standardized on the OPUS audio codec, An IPX provider with an accessible and cost- IPX providers are in a key position to offer a relatively new and computationally complex effective audio and video transcoding solution solutions to that complexity in a highly cost codec capable of supporting very high quality could take on this complexity, not only for effective manner. Agile transcoding is just the audio. VoLTE and traditional fixed/mobile international calls, but as a service supporting latest of these opportunities! handsets don’t generally support this codec. domestic interconnects as well.

Therefore, putting in place the capability to Once this capability is integrated within the transcode OPUS endpoints through to AMR- IPX provider’s platform, this business model WB, Enhanced Voice Service (EVS) or even can easily be replicated with other similar call back to G.711 and G.729 is critical. center customers around the world, extending IPX providers’ target market beyond the usual For video, WebRTC also standardized on VP8 service provider segment, and from audio video codecs, so real-time video transcoding transcoding support into video. may also be required to interconnect VP8 video with H.264 video or legacy H.263 video As the digital world evolves, the agile IPX provider endpoints. can maintain its key central role in optimizing international communications. WebRTC transcoding ‘We believe that transcoding will become G.711 Fixed Fixed or Phone Cable MSO an increasingly valuable part of IPX IPX platform providers’ portfolio of capabilities.’ Transcoding Support Center platform G.722 OPUS Audio Audio Public SIP Video Internet OTT Service H.264 Client VP8 Softswitch WebRTC Video Video gateway

H.264 Video Video LTE 4G/5G MNO handset AMR-WB Source: Radisys Audio Source: Radisys

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ABOUT HOT TELECOM ABOUT THE AUTHORS HOT TELECOM is one of the most innovative and creative research and consulting companies, which has been providing International operators and Isabelle Paradis carriers with specialized intelligence and advice for the past 13 years. President, HOT TELECOM

We understand the challenges faced by international carriers better than anyone, Isabelle has the customer’s experience at heart. She and have therefore developed a number of research and advisory tools and has spent the last 20 years working with over 100 Tier- expertise to mirror these needs, and provide the support any wholesaler requires 1, Tier-2 operators and wholesalers on all continents, to survive and thrive in the current environment. looking at how to improve and launch innovative To find out more about what we can do for you and how we can make the services. She has written many reports, white papers difference in your success, contact us and it will be our pleasure to provide and articles on the subject and has spent time looking you with tailored, real-life solutions that will meet your needs, challenges and at how telecom services are evolving, and what the objectives. future holds for the increasingly customer centric society. For more information, please visit www.hottelecom.com

Steve Heap ABOUT RADISYS CTO, HOT TELECOM

Radisys develops high performance software and integrated systems focused Steve has a lifetime of experience in designing, on key growth markets in the telecoms industry, including SDN/NFV and cloud engineering and operating networks, both domestic architectures, LTE networks, and IMS service delivery. and international. With leadership experience in small technology start-ups through to global service Radisys’ hyperscale software defined infrastructure, service aware traffic providers, he has deep experience in a wide range of distribution platforms, real-time media processing engines and wireless access products, technologies and geographies. He has the technologies enable its customers to maximize, virtualize and monetize their rare skill of being able to explain complex technical networks. issues in easily understood concepts and uses that extensively in his consulting work with HOT TELECOM. With over 25 years of experience in telecom networking and high-reliability platforms, combined with our professional service capabilities, Radisys delivers to our partners and customers the technologies and expertise to solve some of the industry’s toughest challenges.

For more information, please visit www.radisys.com

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Tel: +1 514 270 1636 e: [email protected] Web: www.hottelecom.com