Tussle Analysis Goes to East Africa

posted 19 Apr 2012, 04:02 by Martin Waldburger
The Study Group 13 (SG13) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) organized a 1-day workshop on “Developments regarding telecommunication network architectures and services in Kampala, Uganda, on April 2, 2012. The event was hosted by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC). This workshop was intended to bridge the standardization gap between developing and developed countries, aiming to increase awareness among participants from countries which usually do not participate in SG13 meetings. The workshop brought together 27 participants representing operators (primarily) based in East and Central Africa, regulators, standardization bodies, network equipment manufacturers, and academia. SESERV's efforts in developing tussle analysis as a means to support and assess the socio-economic aware design of future network technology are brought into SG13's standardization activities by the University of Zurich (coordinator of SESERV, academic member of the ITU). Work on the according draft Recommendation Y.FNsocioeconomic is ongoing. Martin Waldburger participated in this workshop to give an outline of tussle analysis and the specific work in Y.FNsocioeconomic.

With the outlined workshop theme and objective in mind, the event was structured into three sessions.

Session 1: IMT & IMS: Developments and Impacts on NGN and Future Networks 

3GPP – The Home of LTE Standards Development. Dr. Asok Chatterjee, Ericsson USA
 [Biography]
Current status of IMT/IMS deployment strategies and future developments. Ms. Tengetile Nhlengethwa, Ericsson Sub Saharan Africa [Biography]
IP Multimedia System: general aspects and migration perspectives. Dr. Leo Lehmann, OFCOM Switzerland [Presentation | Biography]

Main Take Aways from Session 1
  • LTE is an evolution path. It’s up to operators to make a decision if and when LTE is adopted.
  • LTE and LTE-Advanced are not the end, but part of a process.
  • Additional spectrum allocation is required (WRC 2015)
  • IMS has left the trial stage.
  • IMS deployment is to be phased to allow integration and testing in a step-wise method.
  • Agreement on scope with customer is crucial. Work together with customer during deployment (knowledge transfer).

Session 2:  Cloud Computing Standardization and Future Networks

Cloud computing perspective and standardization. Dr. Jamil Chawki, France Telecom Orange
 [Presentation | Biography]
Socio economic aware design of future network technology (Y.FNsocioeconomic). Dr. Martin Waldburger, University Zurich Switzerland
 [Biography]

Main Take Aways from Session 2
  • Major cloud standardization areas have been identified in the ITU’s respective focus group.
  • Relevant cloud layers embrace the access, services, resources, and networks.
  • Virtualization is a key issue.
  • For Future Networks (FN):
    • Be aware of the socio-economic aspects of technology. Technology does not succeed by itself, but by its use.
    • Consider socio-economics in technology design.
    • Tussle analysis is an appropriate method.

Session 3: The African View on NGN

Status of Implementation of IMS/IMT, the UTL Perspective. Richard Adongu, David Ocira Oyaro, UTL Uganda [Presentation | Biography: Adongu | Biography: Oyaro]

Main Take Aways from Session 3
  • Uganda Telecom (UTL) considers IMS deployment from 2013 onwards.
  • Issues regarding replacement of legacy network/services exist.
  • Operator challenges for vendors to take up: Limited knowledge and skills, financial issues.
  • Market might not be ready for changes.
  • Fast technology changes may render operators unable to churn networks at a matching rate.

Comments