Use cases for the involvement of SURFnet in mobile activities

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Use cases for the involvement of SURFnet in mobile activities Project : GigaPort3 Project year : 2011 Project manager : Frans Panken Author(s) : Frans Panken Due date : May 2011 Version : 1.

1 Use cases for the involvement of SURFnet in mobile activities Project : GigaPort3 Project year : 2011 Project manager : Frans Panken Author(s) : Frans Panken Due date : May 2011 Version : 1.0 Summary The development of mobile networks happens very fast; so rapidly that we may overlook opportunities. This deliverable investigates SURFnet s role in mobile networks. This role is justified by possible use cases: examples of how SURFnet could become an important player such that students and employees of higher education and research centres can make use of the features offered by mobile networks. Use cases sketch opportunities that need to be explored. The opportunity includes the integration of the eduroam WiFi infrastructure with a 4G infrastructure at the campuses of Dutch centres for education and research. This publication is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported. More information on this license can be found at

2 Colophon Program: GigaPort3 Workpackage: MOB Activity: Activity I&II: Identifying requirements of wireless transmissions within institutes and for research activities Deliverable: MOB Access rights: Public External party: - This project was made possible by the support of SURF, the collaborative organisation for higher education institutes and research institutes aimed at breakthrough innovations in ICT. More information on SURF is available on the website

3 Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Output of the workshop Restrictions Desires Statements at the end of the workshop 3 3 Use cases From workshop towards use cases Ambition Boundary conditions 7 4 Conclusion and next steps 8 Use cases for the involvement of SURFnet in mobile activities III

5 1 Introduction Dutch higher education and research centres are facing important and unprecedented challenges in an ever dynamic, constantly changing, and complex environment. Several factors, including the increased popularity of mobile devices, have forced them to look for new forms of offering access to ICT facilities. Not only indoor in lecture rooms and cafeteria, but also outdoor on the campus and outside of the regular working environment. An environment that is constantly changing. This deliverable presents an overview of the activities that SURFnet should start to assist universities in their struggle with mobile technologies. These activities are formulated as an use case: clarifications and justifications of the activities that have potential to solve the mobile challenges. Before jumping to conclusions on how new mobile standards can be used by Dutch higher education and research centres, the needs and the bottleneck of the current solution should be resolved. Where do people struggle with, which challenges do people fear, which needs do they have? A workshop was organized to gain insight in current restrictions / challenges as well as the needs for the near future. The results of this workshop were taken as a base for the overall solution that results in a use case. Use cases for the involvement of SURFnet in mobile activities 1

6 2 Output of the workshop On March , a workshop was organized with the aim to determine the mobile wishes and desires of the SURFnet customers. Three categories of people were invited to participate in this workshop: teachers, researchers and people working at the ICT departments of an education or research centre. It was no open call for participation; the audience was carefully selected and were addressed personally to contribute. This chapter provides a summary of the results. A more detailed description of the outcome and the presentations given can be obtained from: 1.aspx. About 35 people attended the workshop (2/3 working at an ICT department of a education or research centre and 1/3 teachers/researchers). The workshop was organized as follows: it was split in two plenary sessions with presentations, each followed by sessions with individuals and a summary with voting at the end. Two topics were discussed. The first topic was to identify the current barriers. After a joint presentation, seven groups of five persons each identified the barriers of today s mobile network infrastructures (both cellular and WiFi) from their own experience and background. A summary of the results of each group was made. The next topic was about identifying mobile desires. The same approach was followed, resulting in seven statements regarding desires for the next generation mobile network. The audience was requested to think beyond current funding models and organizational restrictions, but related to their background and daily working experience. 2.1 Restrictions The audience concluded that the number of mobile devices per student and employee is increasing, the amount of data transferred through these devices is increasing even more rapidly, and students and employees are becoming more dependent on wireless services. All of these result in extra demands on the wireless infrastructure. The attendees working at an ICT department indicated that something must happen at the current WiFi infrastructure to make sure that a wireless network service can be offered in the future. These people fear for a degradation of the availability, scalability and reliability of the wireless service if no action is taken. The high costs associated with international roaming are another remark that was stated frequently. The fact that the mobile 2G/3G subscriptions apply per device and not per individual, the limited and sometimes even poor coverage in some parts of the country, difficulties of maintenance of wireless networks were also considered as a pain. The audience concluded that commercial and community interests for e.g., frequency usage collide with one another, where the balance seems to turn in favour of commercial interests. 2 Use cases for the involvement of SURFnet in mobile activities

7 People working for ICT departments identify the gap between vision and policy; a wireless network infrastructure is not an item on the agenda of policymakers. In addition, the constantly changing infrastructure within the campus (together with the bad communication about the changes and the purpose of rooms) results in non optimal wireless coverage. The WiFi infrastructure needed for a large lecture room or meeting room differs significantly from the one for a small room, corridor or closet. The flexibility of moving walls and changing the functionality of rooms has huge impact on the planning of the wireless infrastructure. 2.2 Desires Integration of the WiFi and the 4G infrastructures is high on a wish list of many attendees. This should be realised as transparent as possible for the end-user also preferably accompanied with reduced configuration and management issues. A kind 4G equivalent of eduroam is a commonly heard desire. Ideally, this could be realised by degrading the mobile network to layer 2 functionality that offers operator independent access to the campus-network, where a user can be authenticated and the IP-address can be obtained. This eases control of e.g. firewalls and decouples access from the mobile operator. Determining indoor location of a device should be improved. More control over the SIM card and the provider with whom a device connects, is another frequently mentioned desire. Sometimes there is no demand for a network: teachers have (during exam period) the need for locations that are free of network connectivity. And researchers have needs for an experimental environment: a state-of-the-art mobile laboratory where one can experiment with new ideas before they are scaled up. From a user's perspective, the desire rises that ICT just needs to work, without the need for adjusting or configuring anything. 2.3 Statements at the end of the workshop Each group made a statement containing their greatest desire. The audiences voted about the desires, where each participant had two votes (we did not keep track of whether the rules were obeyed by everyone). This resulted in the following statements: Attendees requested SURFnet to examine whether it can play the role of virtual operator (25 votes). The complete transition from WiFi to 4G in buildings and around the campus, received 12 votes. From the groups of researchers rose the desire to own a state-of-the art (4G/wireless) network for research purposes and educational applications (18 votes). The wireless infrastructure should be an item on the agenda of directors of research institutes (9 votes). Use cases for the involvement of SURFnet in mobile activities 3

8 3 Use cases Based on the results of the workshop and bilateral discussions with attendees, we conclude that SURFnet should investigate in resolving how research institutes and higher education can benefit from the developments of 4G/LTE/LTE-advanced. This should be realised in close harmony with the existing eduroam wireless (authentication) infrastructure at Dutch centres of higher education and research. The aim is simplification of configuration and seamless usage of both networks. To realise this, we need to understand the opportunities of such a merger, the ideal location(s) of the integration with a functional decomposition and the impact of each of the opportunities that realize it technically. This merger should also take into consideration important boundary conditions and trends. As the mobile arena is new for SURFnet, one should carefully consider its role and activities in this arena. The starting point should take into consideration the current strengths, namely authentication and knowledge about fixed networks and network operations. For extending SURFnet s current networks offerings with mobile offerings, the network expertise that can be beneficial and re-used, is mainly restricted to authentication and network operations. The use cases were therefore strongly inspired on using SURFnet s strengths and reputation on authentication. The situation in the Netherlands is that operators are making plans for the deployment of 4G technologies or are working towards trials. The licenses Dutch operators bought in 2010 come with the obligation of a phased rollout, starting with a first phase in At first glance, it seems that SURFnet s timing for entering the mobile arena is good as it allows the cooperation with operators. 3.1 From workshop towards use cases The results of the workshop show that the desires and wishes of teachers/researchers and ICT departments show overlap. The research community is more ambitious and would like to have a national wide wireless broadband network. The people working on ICT departments restrict their focus to the campus area (both inside and outside). Many restrictions and needs apply to national and international mobile networks (e.g., the high costs associated with international roaming). SURFnet cannot solve these restrictions (at least not soon). Since the deployment of a mobile network is a new area to SURFnet, it is better to start on a small scale. The campus seems a good location for that. We therefore conclude that SURFnet should give priority to solving the pain points that reside on the campus. Teachers, students and researchers clearly benefit from this, as this is where they spent most of their working time. By duplicating the solution on various campuses, the national and even the international scale can be reached later. 4 Use cases for the involvement of SURFnet in mobile activities

9 From the various ideas raised at the workshop, we conclude that LTE should play an important role in the solution. LTE and WiFi have their own characteristics and their own strengths and weaknesses. Where WiFi operates best indoor and at relatively close ranges, LTE operates better outdoors and on macro scale. WiFi and LTE technologies complement one another and hence should be positioned in harmony with another and not as competing technologies. 3.2 Ambition The ideal situation we have in mind is that 4G equipment (antennas, enodeb, ) provides coverage on the campus and (in part) inside buildings of Dutch higher education and research centres. How 4G can offer indoor connectivity and how it relates to the existing wireless networks, needs to be studied. At first glance, the WLAN infrastructure provides better indoor performance characteristics. The 4G infrastructure that is needed would be owned partially by the university, and partially by the mobile network operator(s). For instance, the university might own the antennas and active equipment within the campus while the operators own the infrastructure outside it. Equipment located in the domain of SURFnet glues these two worlds together and provide access to the internet. The way the coverage of the area is realized should preferably be simpler than today s WLAN infrastructure. The WLAN infrastructure is realized by placing access points in areas (lecture rooms, corridors, canteens) and connect them via WLAN controller with the local ICT infrastructure. For 4G coverage, simplification of (physical) maintenance is important, so we think of placing a few poles with a small number of powerful antenna(s) attached to it. These antennas should cover the complete campus area. In a later stage, more antennas could be added. The antennas and associated 4G equipment should make it possible to connect to the internet, through the ICT infrastructures of the university and SURFnet. The 4G infrastructure on the campus should be such that every student and employee at a university has access to 4G, regardless of the operator with whom the mobile contract was negotiated and independently of the user s subscription. This stems from the current behaviour of students who often select a new (smart)phone and then look for a corresponding subscription that offers the lowest price. This behaviour also rejects the possibility for SURFnet (or institutes) to become MVNO: students already have a subscription and may not own a phone that can handle multiple SIM-cards. In addition, becoming MVNO comes with unnecessary overhead of distributing and managing SIM-cards. The 4G solution on the campus will require pricing agreements with participating operators about data usage, where SURFnet is a big supporter of the flat-fee model with no data limits. As the equipment that offers access via 4G on the campus is partly owned by the institute, data usage on the campus can be outside the subscription that users negotiated with their network operator. If the user moves to a location outside the range of the antennas on a campus, the device should switch back to the regular subscription without actions of the user. In that case the pricing for campus usage will no longer apply. Use cases for the involvement of SURFnet in mobile activities 5

10 We strive for a situation that is likely to be adopted by several Dutch centres for higher education and research. This stems from the strategy and position of SURFnet. Students and staff roaming to a different participating university should have access to the campus 4G network in a similar manner as at their home university. In this way, a national 4G roaming-network for Dutch higher education is realized. In a later phase, it should be possible to upscale to a solution that works in several countries in the world. We position 4G as an alternative technology for gaining access to the ICT infrastructure on the campus. This means that once a user is successfully authenticated, equipment of the wireless network operator may not /should not be involved in the data path of the connection. To realize the ambition, various technical implementations are possible which require more study. The study is not limited to a technical implementation; also the business part of each participating partner should be clear. We foresee that functionalities will take place in three possible domains, namely the ICT infrastructure of the university, the participating operators and SURFnet. Although the exact role of SURFnet within the 4G infrastructure still needs to be determined, the functionalities that will be supported should glue together the 4G infrastructure on the campus with the functionalities in the network operator s domain. Authentication of 4G devices is one of the functionalities where SURFnet can play a role. A possible solution is that SURFnet connects with the AUthentication Centres (AuC) of all cooperating operators such that the education and research centres neither need to maintain the necessary equipment nor the individual connections with operators. In practice, this could mean that for each authentication the IMSI of the device is forwarded to a server from SURFnet that in turn requests the authentication vectors from the AuC that are subsequently used to perform the challenge and responses with the SIM card in the end-user device. This shows many similarities with the way eduroam works today. The main difference is that with eduroam SURFnet forwards the authentication requests to the home institute with whom the user authenticates. In the 4G case, SURFnet may perform the authentication with the authentication vectors provided by the AuC. This option needs further study. The focus is on supporting data connections; voice and text messaging are considered optional applications that can be positioned on top of the data connection. This stems from the data driven education and research community. We foresee that current 2G&3G infrastructures will and can be used for voice and text messaging. The implications of this decision are not clear and are studied in the technology scouting. Students and staff move between buildings of a university. Also education and research centres want to support the new and flexible ways of working. Hence, the 4G solution should support movement within a campus (which may involve handover to the WiFi network). Data sessions should continue while moving. Seamless handover of connections between the 4G infrastructure on the campus and the public infrastructures off campus is considered unnecessary. 6 Use cases for the involvement of SURFnet in mobile activities

11 3.3 Boundary conditions Although we have no clear view of the architectural or the functional design of the solution, boundary conditions for the design were gathered. These boundary conditions take into consideration desires stated at the workshop, Dutch market conditions and general trends of student behaviour. The following points are considered as boundaries of the technical design of the solution we are looking for: 1. The privacy of the user and the security of the data must at least be equal to the level typically offered by an operator (when off campus). 2. The 4G facilities on the campus should be accessible through any 4G-enabled device, regardless of the subscription. This stems from the requirement that the service should be open for any student. 3. The procedure to gain access to the 4G infrastructure on campus must be familiar and transparent for student and staff (branding of e.g. eduroam or the university could be possible). This boundary stems from the desire to reduce ICT complexity. 4. To access the 4G network infrastructure at the campus, it will neither be necessary for users to run dedicated applications on the device nor to replace SIM cards. This boundary also stems from the desire to reduce ICT complexity. 5. Access to the 4G infrastructure at the campus must be regulated; basically access is only available for students and staff associated with an institute associated with SURF (in the Netherlands or abroad). 6. If several universities adopt the architecture, guest usage should be possible via the 4G infrastructures to provide access to students and staff associated with another institution for higher education or research. 7. To enable international roaming, it should also be possible to scale the solution to one that works across national borders. 8. The solution should not require private or separate spectrum. However, the consequences of the functional decomposition in which SURFnet owns spectrum in a later stage, should be taken into consideration. 9. The functional decomposition of the design that realizes the ambition, should be generic of nature. We are looking for standard functional entities that are standardized, e.g. by 3GPP/3PP2. The technical design should therefore not contain vendor specific products. Use cases for the involvement of SURFnet in mobile activities 7

12 4 Conclusion and next steps SURFnet has the desire and the ambition to integrate the eduroam WiFi infrastructure at Dutch centres for higher education and research with the mobile 4G infrastructure. We foresee various technical implementation candidates that can realize this ambition, outlined in Section 3.1. The first step was setting boundary conditions, see Section 3.3. The next step is decomposing all functionalities of the 4G infrastructure and resolving where (in whose domains) the integration with the existing infrastructure can be realised best. The functionalities can be located either on a campus area, within the domain of the network operator and/or in SURFnet s domain. The role for each domain and the implications of allocating functionalities to a certain domain needs to be understood before we can take next steps. This will be studied during a feasibility technology scouting. The mapping of the decomposed functionalities to real products is expected to result in a set of technical implementation candidates that are used as input for resolving SURFnet s wireless ambitions. This will be realised in close harmony with the audience that was invited for the workshop. 8 Use cases for the involvement of SURFnet in mobile activities

Open Call Deliverable OCN-DS1.1 Final Report (MEAL)

Open Call Deliverable OCN-DS1.1 Final Report (MEAL) 25-03-2015 Open Call Open Call Grant Agreement No.: 605243 Activity: NA1 Task Item: 10 Nature of Deliverable: R (Report) Dissemination Level: PU (Public) Lead Partner: SURFnet Authors: Sven Ubik, Claudio