Integrate Open Systems

As a small wireless carrier, you face the same network challenges as larger, established carriers, and then some. Time is critical. Money is tight. Yet you need a sophisticated network to compete. How do you build a network today that will allow you to grow tomorrow? Open-standard-based systems allow you the flexibility to select infrastructure elements that make the most sense for you.

According to Ed Kurzenski, Objective Systems Integrators director of market segment markets, until the mid-1990s the industry assumed that smaller companies could rely on proprietary-based systems because they didn't have the clout to demand multiprotocol systems. In the past, carriers bought infrastructure from one vendor, but today most realize the value and freedom that open systems allow.

"Even the smaller service providers -- the 1-switch, 2-switch, 3-switch providers -- are now depending on one technology and leveraging off the marketplace's offerings," Kurzenski said.

Now, you can choose different vendors, different types of equipment by different vendors or the same type of equipment from different vendors.

Smaller carriers want the same options as large providers. As providers grow and wireless becomes more mainstream, they need to be able to keep pace with that growth even in rural areas. A proprietary or single-vendor system has limitations, and network management becomes easier and more efficient with open systems.

SELECTING A SYSTEM An open system makes sense for small carriers for the same reason it makes sense for larger providers -- to handle anticipated growth. Often, small carriers choose proprietary systems at start- up because they want 1-stop shopping. But if you are forecasting growth in your business model, consider whether you have a long-term purchase commitment with your infrastructure provider or your back-office system provider, Kurzenski said. An infrastructure contract may limit your ability to install open equipment. But if you don't have a long-term commitment to a vendor, an open system dramatically increases your ability to change directions.

"The key driver is growth," Kurzenski said. "We've seen over the past two years a tremendous amount of interest from the smaller carriers."

LifeCom, a cellular and PCS provider in St. Cloud, MN, uses a combination of two network-management systems because it has multiple technologies -- AMPS, TDMA and CDMA, according to Albert Kangas, network operations manager.

LifeCom, which has fewer than 40,000 subscribers, uses a Nortel switching platform for the main infrastructure for its three technologies and a repeater network-management system for repeaters that are not connected to the network. The repeater-management system and Nortel's data-server network-management system are proprietary solutions. So LifeCom has to manage both elements from different systems, Kangas said. But because it's a client-server-based application, one client workstation still can do all of the functions.

Initially, LifeCom couldn't combine the two systems because it didn't have the resources, but eventually Kangas hopes to integrate them with an open system.

"We basically were crawling, and we couldn't start running so we took an interim step," he explained. "Right now, it's not a problem because we're not that large, and we're able to manage it, but as we get larger, it's going to be necessary to have one common point."

Clearnet Communications has two mostly open networks, an SMR network with a Nortel switch and a PCS network, which is all Lucent equipment.

According to Stephen Howe, Clearnet director of technology development, when something is standardized, it's theoretically open. But often manufacturers interpret the standards differently, and service providers must work with the vendors to make the switches talk to each other.

Clearnet shares several infrastructure elements between the two networks because they are both "sort of open," and that keeps costs low, according to Howe. Although the carrier's two networks share real estate, cell sites, backhaul and voice-mail platforms, Howe wants Clearnet's networks to be 100% open.

"You get the best of both worlds with open systems," he said. "(There would be) more manufacturers, more vendors supplying the equipment, and therefore it would be cheaper for the service providers and cheaper for the customers. "

Howe said there are steps in the right direction. Currently, vendors are working on IS-634A, a standard that allows one carrier's cell sites to be hooked up to another carrier's switch.

"It all comes down to competition. The preference is the more open the standard, the more open the competition, the cheaper the prices," he said. "We push for open standards because of that."

OPEN FROM THE GET-GO To avoid difficult transitions in the future, Kurzenski said you should incorporate an open system at the initial planning stages.

During the analog growth period in the early 1990s, many small carriers chose the proprietary route. As they design and implement new systems for the next generation of technology, Kurzenski said they are interested in implementing open systems from the start.

For many small, emerging carriers, the business model suggests rapid growth as the ultimate goal.

In addition, smaller carriers will need to support the new features that are coming, and that means more infrastructure.

"To accommodate this growth, having scaleable systems is ultra-critical," he said, "and while it would be nice to believe that you're going to be a 1-infrastructure company forever, that's not reality."

Carolina PCS, which has BTAs in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, plans to roll out service in 1999. Carolina PCS chose an open system during the design phase of its network.

"It gives a business advantage," said Michael Kurtis, executive vice president of network operations. "Anytime that you're able to maintain a competitive bidding situation as you grow your system and structure a system in such a way that you can pick and choose each piece as the technology advances, it results in a lower-cost deployment of the latest and greatest features, which translates to a more competitive service offering."

As more carriers enter the market, all carriers, regardless of size, must compete both in service offerings and pricing. This is especially important for smaller carriers trying to get a foot in the door.

The problem with proprietary, Kurtis explained, is that you are locked into using one vendor. Because this may limit growth, whatever market discounts you try to get are based on the size of your company and the volume of your company at the time you made the deal.

With an open network, you can expand the system any time you want; you can rebid for those pieces from different vendors, he said.

An open system also allows you the flexibility to take advantage of technological advances on features that one vendor offers over another, which can help you compete with larger providers. Carolina PCS' decision to use AirNet's base-station subsystem is a good example.

"(Because) it's an open standard, I can take their base-station subsystem and mate it with what I would view to be an industry-standard premier switching vendor," Kurtis said. "It allows you the ability to take advantage of technological advances on one side or the other, and it lets you pick or choose the best of each of the subsystems so you don't have to compromise and give up one particular subsystem."

Open architecture also ensures plug-and-play capability, he said.

"I don't see any limitations (to open systems)," Kurtis said. "It's really a situation where you get the benefit without an off-setting drawback."

AN OPEN FUTURE But the decision to switch to open systems is not easy. For many smaller carriers, it is the biggest investment they will ever make. Not all small carriers should switch to open systems. Proprietary systems probably are fine if you aren't experiencing dramatic growth. It just depends on your business model, Kurzenski said. Making your network totally open, however, is not as easy as it seems.

"It's a slow evolution; you're battling 100 years of telecommunications," said Clearnet's Howe. "No matter how open you want to be, you're still stuck with proprietary (solutions) because there are only five big infrastructure manufacturers to choose from."

Howe said things are slowly changing, but it's going to be another 10 or 20 years before things are as open as carriers would like.

"The Lucents and Nortels of the world don't have the incentive to move to open as quickly as we would like because they make huge margins," he said. "We, as service providers, continue to push them. We're slowly whittling away their less-than-open architectures, but it's a long, slow battle."