CurrentCast - Diameter: The Measure of Long-Term Success for Operators

Operators face a looming problem: the steady but significant build up of signaling traffic created by internal and external messaging associated with the delivery of IP-based services. While the exchange of this information, which is governed by the Diameter protocol, has yet to put a strain on existing fixed and 2G/3G network infrastructures, the adoption of all-IP based technologies - namely LTE and IMS – is anticipated to introduce significant scaling and complexity challenges. With actual deployments of equipment designed to solve these problems few and far between, a dominant or even preferred market approach has yet to emerge from the equipment vendor community.

The early entrants in the market come from different disciplines, including session border control, policy control, core signaling routing and protocol stacks. What are the different qualities and characteristics of each of these approaches? Which approach is more likely to meet the future needs of mobile and fixed operators? Perhaps the most immediate unanswered question, however, is around the product category naming convention, as a consensus opinion on what to call these devices has yet to emerge. The progress in this direction has been swift, as evidenced by an analysis of the state of affairs in the Diameter market in these recent reports:

• Dealing with Diameter: Sizing Up the Emerging Competitive Landscape, June 22, 2011 | Client Access
• CTIA 2011: Tekelec Adds Diameter Traffic Information to Performance Management Tools, March 22, 2011 | Client Access
• CTIA 2011: Traffix Systems Consolidates Diameter Traffic Control Products into Unified Solution, March 21, 2011 | Client Access
• MWC 2011: Acme Packet Extends SBC Platform with Diameter Signaling Control, February 14, 2011 | Client Access

While the Diameter market has clear long-term potential, there are challenges confronting the technology in the near-term. The competitive effectiveness of Diameter remains difficult to gauge until operators resolve multiple unanswered questions: What is the big deal about Diameter traffic and why should mobile operators care? How is the early Diameter traffic handling market segment taking shape? Is there any cohesion or agreement regarding the way early entrants are attacking the market? What are the mobile ecosystem implications of the Diameter protocol technologies? What follows is a conversation between Ron Westfall (Research Director, Service Provider Infrastructure) and Joe McGarvey (Principal Analyst, IP Services Infrastructure) exploring these themes.

| Client access - Report in IP Services Infrastructure |