Network Policy Controller
With Network Policy Controller, broadband Service Providers gain a comprehensive solution that manages bandwidth, access to applications and services, and quality of service — in real time and on a per-subscriber, per-session basis.
Service Providers know that to stay competitive and reduce subscriber churn, they need to deliver the latest technologies, applications, and services with a high quality of service (QoS), while controlling costs and still maintaining existing revenue streams and profitability levels. The best way to achieve these goals is to centralize the management of the subscriber experience in relationship to the network resources using network policy control.
Network policy controller enables the creation of business rules defined by subscriber information and preferences, network resource allocation, and application definition. This subscriber-centric policy management approach centralizes all business rules for management of network availability around the subscriber and subscriber's choices of content and applications. An evolution of DBM, Network Policy Controller allows Service Providers to clearly define and manage the subscriber experience.
Network Policy Controller at a Glance
The ability to dynamically manage the subscriber experience and allow subscribers to make choices that give them access to a variety of available experiences is at the heart of Network Policy Controller.
- Efficiently control and optimize use of network resources on a per-subscriber, per-session, or per-application basis.
- Enforce fair-use policies and apply QoS controls to precious network resources to eliminate "bandwidth abuse."
- Offer bandwidth-on-demand service upgrades in real time — such as "turbo boosts" and service-tier upgrades — to capitalize on incremental revenue opportunities.
- Differentiate content services with QoS guarantees or prioritization.
- Reduce operating costs by enabling deployment of self-care portals for subscribers and customer service representatives (CSRs).
- Improve the subscriber experience by delivering instant gratification for service needs — including immediate upgrades and self-care options.
- Provide comprehensive network policy control in an IMS and a non-IMS environment. Additionally, Network Policy Controller incorporates the standards-based Policy Control and Rating Function (PCRF) as defined by 3GPP, TISPAN, and 3GPP2, and the Policy Function, as defined by the WiMAX Forum.
Features and Benefits
- Centralized policy data store supports flexible, highly configurable controls — Allows real-time control of the subscriber's network experience.
- Real-time metering — Applies QoS by service tier, sets and enforces bandwidth thresholds in real time, and redirects users to a payment portal when appropriate.
- Robust authentication — Integrates session information from RADIUS and DHCP systems and allows Service Providers to apply additional security controls.
- Automatic flow-through to back-end systems — Interacts with operations and business support systems automatically when QoS is adjusted.
- Real-time mid-session modification — Provides immediate service response and instant control over bandwidth usage and enables modifications to be initiated by subscribers or customer service portals.
- Subscriber redirection — Pushes to a web portal based on pre-set usage thresholds or other criteria.
- Self-care portal framework — Easy-to-use web interface integrates with Service Providers' existing environments and supports role-based levels of administrative control and subscriber self-care.
- RADIUS or DHCP support — Ideal for multiple or converged network environments and supports various migration scenarios.
- Carrier-grade scalability and performance — Supports more than 125 million subscribers and handles 14 billion transactions per month.
- Support for deep packet inspection solutions — Integrates with industry-leading devices to provide a comprehensive policy decision and enforcement solution.
- Service enablement — Allows for on-demand options such as bandwidth turbo boosts, service tiers for specific target groups, and content-triggered QoS, to tap into new revenue opportunities, improve the overall subscriber experience, and drive up ARPU.
