Improving the wireless Web experience

Most wireless carriers already have some type of network management and monitoring solution in place for their voice and data services. But wireless network performance needs all the help it can get.

So this week, Telephia (www.telephia.com) announced a solution that will interest wireless carriers, content providers, handset vendors and even infrastructure providers.

Wireless Data Network Application Performance (DNA) is a quality-of-service solution that monitors the end-to-end performance of wireless Web applications and networks from an end-user’s perspective. Using a global network of wireless probes deployed in high wireless data usage locations (airports, city centers, etc.), Wireless DNA delivers critical wireless data network and application performance information every 15 minutes. Data calls are initiated by the Telephia system and measurements (including site download speed and availability) are taken as the data moves from the wireless device, through the carrier infrastructure to the application server, and back to the device.

“The intent was to help the industry improve the wireless data experience,” said Liz Hobart, Telephia director of wireless data QoS. “The product focuses on improving the end-user experience, and carriers can use it as a benchmark for their own performance.” The flexible service allows customers to develop a “custom” measurement program based on unique information needs. Program selections include the set of applications to be measured, the markets and networks from which to take measurements and the frequency of measurement.

Through networks of proprietary monitoring equipment deployed in major U.S. markets, Wireless DNA collects data nationwide from all wireless data networks, including CDMA, CDPD, GSM/GPRS, iDEN, Metricom, Mobitex, Motient and TDMA.

Currently, the service collects network- and application-specific QoS measurements on wireless data services to enable carriers, content/commerce companies and enterprises to understand performance.

Telephia licensed Openwave’s (www.openwave.com) browser source code to provide both end-to-end monitoring for benchmarking and detailed diagnostic breakdowns of performance. That data can be used to monitor network/gateway performance, diagnose problems, manage content and infrastructure partners, enforce SLAs, benchmark performance and address key business issues.

Wireless DNA features a robust platform and an agent, or rack-mounted computer with phones and other devices, in each major market. Through that agent, the system sends commands and collects information along the path. It’s all delivered back to that unit and stored. All units collect to a central management system database where info is transferred to Telephia’s interactive Web-delivery tool. Clients can query and access the information however they want. The solution provides real-time updates every 15 minutes. (See diagram.) Nextel (www.Nextel.com), Qwest Wireless (www.qwest.com), Sprint PCS (www.sprintpcs.com) and Verizon Wireless (www.verizon.com) are all currently using the service in Seattle and San Francisco. The solution will roll out in the top-5 U.S. markets by October and in the top-20 markets by June 2002.

The solution works with cellular phones and Palm PDAs today. By June 2002, it also will work with 2-way pagers and pocket PC PDAs.

The service can monitor WAP browsers and Web clippings currently. Next year, SMS, HTML and iMode browsers, email, m-commerce, GPS location, streaming media and VoIP measurement will be available. Also next year, the system will be able to send alerting and 5-minute data feeds, in addition to the Web reports every 15 minutes offered today.

“As the bandwidth and capacity improves for next-generation wireless networks, the consumer use of them will become increasingly demanding and put new strains on the system,” Hobart said. “So there will be an increasing need for understanding performance.”

Most carriers monitor data on their own, but typically not from a full, end-to-end user experience, she said. Wireless DNA can monitor their competitors’ performance, too. Even if carriers already have monitoring solutions established, WDNA can provide greater visibility and enhance existing network monitoring systems. Direct data feeds supplied by Wireless DNA can be integrated into current monitoring solutions. And it’s all Web-based, so anywhere you can get an Internet connection, you can check performance.

In the initial phase, new data will be sent to a Web site every 15 minutes. The alerting mechanism coming online soon will send updates to network engineers via a wireless phone or pager.

Hobart said Wireless DNA will help the industry, not only with improving overall performance in terms of total download time, but also with eliminating the variability of content sites.

“If you have a favorite content site and it performs on average 3 seconds slower than a competing site, you may not mind waiting,” she said. “But if one time it takes 8 seconds and the next time it takes 20 seconds, given the nature of how people are using wireless data services today, we think narrowing that variability is very important.”