With the introduction new roaming service capabilities – like VoLTE and 5G SA - the need for seamless international interconnectivity between IP-based networks has never been greater. At the same time, there have never been more potential problems or threats. Testing, validating, and continuous monitoring of IPX is therefore essential. Emblasoft Evolver has the solution.

In this third of our five-part series set of blogs on IPX roaming and services, we will discuss how IPX enables multiple applications and how, in turn, this leads to a need to support fine-grained differentiation in terms of service performance across your IPX infrastructure and interconnections.

The proliferation of roaming applications and services

Originally established to facilitate the exchange of core roaming services, such as voice, messaging and data, IPX has become increasingly complex. That’s because additional services have been added to the mix, together with each successive generation of mobile technology.

Not only do we have legacy networks, such as 2G (and, in many cases, still 3G), but we also have 4G and 5G. At the application level, we’ve seen classical messaging evolve into RCS and RBM, voice transform to VoLTE (plus ViLTE and VoWiFi), plus new kinds of dedicated offers for IoT.

As we move towards 5G SA roaming, this mix will grow, as differentiated services with very specific performance requirements are launched. The result? An increasingly complex mix of services that depend on different protocols and interfaces, as well as different network entities – with different performance requirements.

Supporting these services for roamers means it’s essential to perform comprehensive pre-launch test and validation, as well as on-going, continual active monitoring to assure performance, meet SLAs and compliance targets.

The growing importance of differentiated applications and services

These services are coming because they represent new value opportunities. Enhanced B2B offers, QoS assured traffic for both consumer and business customers, high-performance IoT and a host of other new services should represent premium services, allowing MNOs to grow roaming revenue.

The problem is new performance targets also mean new expectations from users and partners. There will be SLAs as well as general commercial agreements to meet – which means that there will be more KPIs to track and measure.

It also means that there will be new threats. You’ll have to increase the defences of your IPX services while ensuring that you comply with the terms of service you offer – and that will mean keeping pace with new GSMA guidelines (like FS.19, for example, or FS.36 for interconnect security and FS.40 for 5G) for securing traffic and your borders, while managing updates and new releases for the systems you deploy.

Put together, that’s a lot of moving parts. You’ll need to keep pace, because your competitors will all be racing in the same general direction. And, it’s a race that will accelerate because it’s expected that the control that 5G SA offers will usher in a host of new and more demanding experiences.

To put this into context, let’s briefly explore VoLTE – which has taken a long time to reach roaming maturity, but which is likely to enjoy surging demand.

VoLTE roaming focus

VoLTE roaming has been on the table for around a decade. First, we had to work out the best way to accomplish this (there were several alternatives), a matter that was settled by the GSMA by pushing for S8 Home Routing, or S8HR.

Then, we had to work out the complexities of implementing this – and, because we could always take the easy route and opt for Circuit Switched Fallback, we could simply dodge the issue and send traffic over 3G.

But with 3G networks disappearing into the sunset, that’s not an option anymore – a topic we’ve highlighted before – and on more than one occasion.  So, there’s a strong imperative to make VoLTE roaming work. And this is what is happening, right now.

Operators are rolling out VoLTE roaming agreements for both direct and hub-based connectivity. All of which means that another layer of complexity has been added to roaming arrangements and there’s another thing to track in your IPX systems.

Assuring just your existing IPX services is hard enough. Adding this new layer complicates matters still further – and 5G SA roaming and much more is coming.

In this context, you can’t leave manual or ad hoc processes in place. You need automated, full-service lifecycle testing and assurance so that you can both ensure service performance and consistency, through regular and periodic update and release cycles, as well as for maintaining security procedures and finding new gaps through which threats can enter (or exit) your networks.

How does Emblasoft help?

Emblasoft offers a complete solution to manage validation, performance testing and ongoing assurance of VoLTE roaming IPX services, through a combination of active and passive monitoring, as well as automated testing.

In roaming scenarios, Emblasoft Evolver enables testing of VoLTE roaming services from the perspective of both VPLMN and HPLMN via direct interconnection or via an IPX. MNOs can test signalling interconnection and voice quality by emulating HPLMN, VPLMN or IPX, and Evolver enables MNOs to run key scenarios during launch, and after using our active monitoring solution to ensure that the customer experience is maintained at all times.

We can test and assure Single Radio Voice Call Continuity (SRVCC), which allows an active VoLTE call to seamlessly transition from an LTE Packet Switched (PS) network to a legacy Circuit Switched (CS) network. We can also help you test, validate, and assure MO and MT call flows between all networks, while meeting all GSMA standards.

Evolver can also test and assure SRVCC triggering and handover, as well as ensuring emergency calling, which of course is a regulatory requirement. All of these scenarios can be tested and emulated pre-launch and continuously monitored post launch at every step, and in the live network.

In summary, Evolver can support full test cases and scenarios for:

• IMS registration and authentication
• MO / MT voice flows
• SRVCC handover
• Emergency calls while roaming
• QoS and dedicated EPS bearer
• Supplementary services
• SMS over IMS (roaming)
• Roaming charging
• IBCS, TrGW and ViLTE

All tests can be automated, leaving you to focus on generating new and existing revenue opportunities, while letting Evolver do the heavy lifting. It also ensures that any vendor partner changes are tested and monitored continually so they do not impact the performance of your network.

At the same time, active monitoring of the control and user plane, and passive control plane monitoring can be combined in a single, Emblasoft solution to enable continuous assurance and troubleshooting. When issues are detected in the live network and with real subscriber traffic by passive monitoring of the control plane, scenarios can automatically be instantiated and run through active monitoring agents – enabling rapid problem identification, pinpointing and resolution.

IPX services carry a diverse range of voice and data traffic and are vital to operator roaming revenue. Ensuring smooth delivery of expected service quality and experience is fundamental. The unique combination of active and passive monitoring unlocks continuous assurance in this dynamic and rapidly evolving environment.

Get in touch to find out more.