6 best practices for lte roaming

Top 6 Best Practices to Implement #LTERoaming

Russell J. Green, CTO and VP Technology Group, SAP Mobile Services

© 2015 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. 2 Public

1. Sound preparation and process

Prepare list of questions that determine

network’s #LTEArchitecture and configuration

for roaming.

Every problem we encountered was covered in

this list!

Allows early identification of likely issues and

efficient sharing of information between roaming

test parties.

#1


1. Sound preparation and process

Efficiency is further improved by end-to-end

management by an experienced technical

project manager who works on all aspects of

interconnection and testing.

#1


2. Progressive testing

First things first!

Don’t carry out functional tests before basic

connectivity is established.

Careful troubleshooting and monitoring,

transport and then protocol connectivity

between operators and hub done before

interface testing.

For example, ensure basic IP connectivity works

before attempting to test Diameter transactions or

an actual #roaming use case.

#2


2. Progressive testing

Go into detail now.

Basic tests can then be followed by desired

subset of standard test suites, for example,

#IR.35 test suite by #GSMA.

#2


3. Essential troubleshooting support for #DiameterTraffic

Can’t do without!

Good #troubleshooting probes and

configurable reporting are essential to find out

where, when, and how things work differently

from way they should.

Most issues outlined were identified through

these tools.

#3


4. Adhering to standards eases interconnection

Standardised approach is not so common!

Standards provide common means to

communicate.

Local implementations don’t always keep to

these as they aren’t all relevant for only-in-

network traffic.

Divergence is exacerbated by rush to

implement and early deployments of older

specs.

#4


4. Adhering to standards eases interconnection

Problems we solved:

Routing by IMSI rather than by realm — some

operators locally route by IMSI rather than 3GPP

defined root-domain-based realm.

This has to be translated in Diameter interworking

function to standard realm to allow other operators

to understand it.

Use of non-standard realms — some operators

abbreviate or change realm domain names.

These too have to be configurably translated to

enable interworking.

#4


5. Establish roaming identifies #EPC design choices

Roaming helps review larger implementation

and design choices of LTE networks!

Ensuring identified LTE roamers authenticate only

against LTE and not roam on 3G. But, needs care

with CSFB.

Incorrect configuration of APNs and associated

DNS IP addresses to conform to known IP

addresses that are allowed to query home DNS

server.

#5


5. Establishing roaming identifies #EPC design

differences

Modification of QoS and session parameters to

force correct handset behaviour in visited

network.

Some implementations transmit invalid AVPs,

not an issue in home network but cause

problems in visited network.

Some erroneous values in roaming:

Requested bandwidth values, wild-carded APNs,

and PGW selections

#5


6. Prepare and dedicate resources to get job done

Efficiency and progress of interconnectivity

depends on skill and experience of operator

staff.

If staff has been allocated time to prepare as part of

a structured project, progress is made quickly.

If it is an additional duty to normal production

duties, interconnection doesn’t get priority and

proceed as required.

#6


Growing momentum

Growing operator experience with LTE

networks and interconnect partners means LTE

roaming can be established quickly!


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