Tokyo, September 15, 2005 --- NEC Corporation today announced
that it has succeeded in the development of a service level
management system for mobile networks, which enables the provision
of high quality mobile services to enterprises by mobile network
operators. The newly developed system is a service platform that
supports mobile network operators by enabling them to provide
comprehensive services based on service level agreements (SLA,
*Note 1) with enterprises. It supports SLA management workflow,
consisting of assessment, monitoring and maintenance of network
quality in a restricted SLA area. Although SLAs currently exist for
fixed networks, they do not for mobile networks due to the
difficulty of guaranteeing radio interface quality and the lack of
an appropriate management system to monitor and maintain them.
This platform was realized by the development of the following
technologies:
(1)Radio quality assessment technology, which evaluates the
condition of radio waves on each floor of the enterprises'
buildings, collectively referred to as the SLA target area.
Assessment is performed by NEC's three-dimensional radio
propagation simulator "RS-3000" (*Note 2) that is based on an
adaptive ray-tracing analysis algorism. The technology realizes
effective performance improvement planning and the formulation of
appropriate SLAs without carrying out costly measurement of radio
waves inside enterprise buildings.
(2)Abnormal cell mining technology that effectively detects and
predicts faulty radio cell sites (service areas), which have the
potential to violate the SLA. This technology statistically
analyzes performance data monitored from enterprise mobile
terminals and the radio access network through anomaly detection
and time series data mining (*Note 3).
(3)SLA maintenance control technology, which restores service
levels in the detected/predicted faulty cells to a level equivalent
to the transmission quality guaranteed to the enterprise (SLA
target user). This technology dynamically adjusts the parameters of
admission control and handover control at the radio network
controller (RNC).
These technologies have the potential to realize expansion of
enterprise business of mobile network operators by providing an
operation and maintenance environment that prevents the occurrence
of serious faults, achieving high quality mobile services
corresponding to the SLA.
In recent years, the mobile business environment has seen many
changes, including the saturation of private user contracts, the
enforcement of mobile number portability and the assignment of
frequency bands to entrant operators. In response to this, mobile
network operators began introducing new services targeting
enterprises. One example of this kind of service is mobile Centrex,
in which mobile phones are used as internal phones within the
corporate domain. This means employees can use their mobile phones
like they use fixed phones at the office.
NEC will position this newly developed system as a service
platform for mobile network operators aiming to expand enterprise
business through high quality mobile services. With this in mind it
hopes that field tests will be carried out with the cooperation of
mobile operators to verify the system's practicability. Going
forward NEC will continue to actively develop this technology
toward the early commercialization of mobile network services with
enterprise SLA.
Framework of Mobile Service Level Management System
About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY) (FTSE: 6701q.l) is one of the
world's leading providers of Internet, broadband network and
enterprise business solutions dedicated to meeting the specialized
needs of its diverse and global base of customers. Ranked as one of
the world's top patent-producing companies, NEC delivers tailored
solutions in the key fields of computer, networking and electron
devices, by integrating its technical strengths in IT and Networks,
and by providing advanced semiconductor solutions through NEC
Electronics Corporation. The NEC Group employs more than 140,000
people worldwide and had net sales of 4,855 billion yen (approx.
$45.4 billion) in the fiscal year ended March 2005.
For additional information, please visit the NEC home page at:
http://www.nec.com
* Newsroom: http://www.nec.co.jp/press/en/
***
* Notes
(1)Service Level Agreement (SLA): Is a contract
between a cellular operator and its enterprise customer, in which
service levels of network performance are listed as numerical
targets. An SLA for a mobile network would enable a more
standardized level of mobile services for customers, and would
provide an indicator of how the business process should be improved
by network operators toward better customer satisfaction.
(2)RS-3000: Is an NEC proprietary radio
planning tool that supports mobile cell design and mobile data
services. Outdoor and indoor radio conditions can be estimated
seamlessly, quickly and accurately through 3D radio propagation
analysis with 3D digital maps and floor layout.
(3)Time series data mining: Performance data in
a communication system generally consists of detailed 24 hour and
one week cycle components. The analysis of long periods requires
huge calculation time. NEC's proprietary, high-speed time-series
data mining engine, TrendLiner(TM), enables real-time prediction of
SLA violations resulting from network performance degradation.
NEC Press Contacts:
In Japan Diane Foley NEC Corporation d-foley@ax.jp.nec.com
+81-3-3798-6511