Carrier-Class Wi-Fi |
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Aptilo Networks is the leading provider of pre-integrated carrier-class Wi-Fi access control, policy control and charging solutions. Our system has been deployed with 120+ customers in more than 50 countries.
Some of the service providers currently using Aptilo’s solutions for delivering carrier-class Wi-Fi include: |
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Save time and money with Aptilo’s carrier-class next generation hotspot systemSave time and money with Aptilo’s carrier-class next generation hotspot system
In late 2010 the Wi-Fi Alliance launched a concept they call Hotspot 2.0 primarily focusing on Wi-Fi radio vendor certification and the new IEEE 802.11u standard which facilitates an automatic network discovery and selection of carrier operated Wi-Fi networks. At the same time the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) - where Aptilo is a member – launched their Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) program which primarily focuses on interoperability between operators’ Wi-Fi networks and roaming. Together the two initiatives aim to create advanced Wi-Fi hotspot networks with an improved end-user experience for authentication, security, network selection and roaming.
There are certain key ingredients when building a Next Generation Hotspot / Hotspot 2.0 Wi-Fi network:
- An IEEE 802.11u enabled Wi-Fi network (facilitates interworking with external networks).
- Support for SIM-based authentication in order to handle mobile data offloading.
- Support for roaming.
- A highly scalable back-end system and access gateway with carrier-grade stability and redundancy for handling the three core functions for the Wi-Fi service:
- Access Control
- Policy Control
- Charging
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| There are two ways of building the back-end system for a Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) / Hotspot 2.0 Wi-Fi network. One approach is to select products separately from different vendors in the categories of access control, policy control and charging. Although we believe that Aptilo Networks would be considered in each and all of these categories - with our native interfaces facilitating integration with a minimal impact on existing systems - we think there is a better way than going multi-vendor and that is going Aptilo Fast-track. |
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Multi-vendor approachMulti-vendor approach
It is important to consider that there are a lot of “hidden costs” not showing in the CAPEX reports when going multi-vendor – namely, the cost for the integration project. The initial integration can be very time consuming and costly, but don’t forget that continuous testing during the whole lifespan of the service needs to be done for every new software version. This process multiplies with the number of systems integrated. The main purpose of selecting the best system in each category is to obtain the best sets of functionality. But when integrating systems from different vendors a great deal of functionality is often lost as only a subset of the functionality can be used when all of the different systems must work together.
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Aptilo Fast-trackAptilo Fast-track
With the pre-integrated Aptilo Service Management Platform™Aptilo Service Management Platform™ the operator does not need to spend time integrating the three core functions as they are already tightly integrated off-the-shelf. Also, Aptilo takes care of the regression testing before each new release of software. The different parts are purpose-built to work together so the full functionality in each part can always be utilized.
We call this fast-track as the operator gets more functionality faster at a lower cost while still having the flexibility to integrate with additional third-party systems of choice.
The Aptilo Service Management Platform is Hotspot 2.0-ready with the addition of the Aptilo SIM-Authentication Server™. This is the ultimate solution for a mobile operator building their own Wi-Fi footprint for mobile data offloading. Please go here to learn more about the Aptilo Mobile Data Offloading Solution.
Pre-integrated multi-access and multi-vendor platform
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The important functionality of access control, policy control and charging are handled by Aptilo’s AAA+/PCRF+ core (Authentication, Authorization, Accounting / Policy Charging and Rules Function).
This is a case when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, which is why we have added a “plus” to the standard terms. The plus values include:
- A unique tight integration between the policy and charging functionalities
- Advanced APIs
- Aptilo Intelligent Database Interface
- Dynamic Account Engine
- 3rd party gateway adaptors
- Extensive native interfaces toward OSS/BSS
- Session management
- Wholesale support
- Intelligent roaming
- Schedules
Furthermore, the platform comes with a number of optional pre-integrated additional functions for subscriber management, WEB portals, statistics & reporting, voucher management and prepaid billing.
The Aptilo solution is future proof as it is possible to run Wi-Fi, WiMAXWiMAX and 3G/LT3G/LTE from the same platform.
Support for a multitude of business modelsSupport for a multitude of business models
Aptilo’s Dynamic Account Engine is at the heart of the operator’s charging of customers and features a complete set of different account types. All accounts have configurable characteristics such as access duration, access profile (specifying locations where the account should be allowed Internet access), organization ID, validity time etc. Example of some of the important account types are:
- Voucher accounts - valid for a predefined amount of time after first login
- Time-reducer accounts - defined by the allowed session duration from the first login
- Punch card accounts - more than one session, e.g. 10 logins valid for 60 minutes each
- Byte-reducer accounts - defined by the allowed sum of sent and received data
- Credit/money-reducer accounts - based on credit/money available instead of time/data
- Volume/time accounts - both time and data volume-limited accounts
- MAC accounts - based on the device’s unique MAC address
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The Aptilo solution has native support for a multitude of payment methods including:
- Credit card payments
- Recurring credit card payments (post-paid via CC)
- Premium SMS
- Roaming with aggregators like Ipass, Boingo, WeRoam and Trustive
- Payment via phone bill
- Payment via broadband bill
- Scratch cards
- Vouchers
- Payment via hotel bill
- Free access
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The nodes in Aptilo’s carrier-class Wi-Fi service management and policy control solution The nodes in Aptilo’s carrier-class Wi-Fi service management and policy control solution
The Aptilo solution consists of three types of nodes that can be configured for unprecedented scalability and reliability. Capacity is easily increased by adding load-sharing traffic servers and a load balancer to efficiently distribute traffic.
The Aptilo Service Management Platform™Aptilo Service Management Platform™ is the core component of Aptilo’s carrier-class Wi-Fi wireless service management and delivery solution. The Aptilo Service Portal™Aptilo Service Portal™, the main tool for automatic processing and display of data, reporting and statistics is used together with the Aptilo Access Controller™Aptilo Access Controller™ which securely communicates with the service platforms and oversees access and QoS control for Aptilo’s solutions.
Although Aptilo’s carrier-class Wi-Fi service management platform is optimized to work with the Aptilo Access Controller it also works with 3rd party access controllers3rd party access controllers or gateways or a combination of access controllers from Aptilo and other vendors. We are committed to driving interoperability testing with all major vendors enabling operators to apply a multi-vendor strategy on the radio network side. |
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Optionally the Aptilo carrier-class platform can be delivered through the Aptilo Managed Service™Aptilo Managed Service™
(as a cloud-based service or operated from the customer’s NOC), an ideal option for greenfield implementations needing to swiftly deploy a wireless service management solution without burdening new or existing network operations. The Aptilo Managed Service can be used as a permanent implementation or as an interim solution while building up technical know-how. In addition to being up and running in a matter of weeks, the reasonable annual subscription fee enables service providers to more efficiently manage wireless operating expenses by minimizing upfront capital and operational expenditures.
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