Mobile broadband traffic growth is driving large cost increases but revenue is failing to keep pace. Service providers, consequently, are seeking solutions that allow cost to scale more efficiently with traffic growth and are implementing monetization strategies to limit cost increases while accelerating revenue growth. Improved capabilities to meet security threats and neutralize attacks also are needed to implement monetization strategies.

F5 offers a unified solution that allows service providers to optimize, secure, and monetize their networks for delivery of mobile broadband services. The solution simplifies the network, yielding efficiency, lower cost and secure service delivery and provides greater subscriber and application visibility and control. The F5 unified solution uses a single management interface for all functions, which simplifies network management and operations.

ACG Research analyzed the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the F5 unified solution versus a point products alternative for two use cases: S/Gi network simplification and intelligent traffic steering for value-added service (VAS). For each use case the traffic and functional requirements for a typical S/Gi network node were defined and then configured using the F5 unified solution and alternative point products solution where best-in-class point products were utilized to provide each network function. The capital expense and operations expense for each solution were calculated and compared. ACG found that the F5 unified solution has 25 percent lower TCO than the alternative point products solution. The VAS solution with intelligent traffic steering has 50 percent to 84 percent lower TCO than a VAS solution with no intelligent traffic steering. The TCO savings increase as the share of total traffic used by each VAS decreases.

Click here to downloadBusiness Case for S-Gi Mobile Network Simplification.

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