OSN: WebGate Service
New Services, Policy Enforcement, Customer Communications
Creating Differentiated Services
The combination of high-end mobile devices and unlimited data plans at low rates has led to accelerating data usage. However, this business model is not sustainable because wireless spectrum is a limited resource. The OSN WebGate™ Service allows operators to offer differentiated services for subscribers based on rate plans and other parameters. In the future, charging users variable prices for bandwidth consumption will become an important revenue source. Using WebGate Service, operators can flexibly define unique service offerings based on sites visited, devices used, usage profiles, time and date, and any other identifying parameters available to them.
Enforcing Fair-Use Policies
Today’s wireless networks give users access to a highly diverse set of applications with varying bandwidth requirements — and varying value to the operator. For example, a single video user can easily consume the same network resources as 100 or more typical web users, although they all pay the same amount to access the network. In this environment, a tiny fraction of users generate more than half of the total network traffic, effectively monopolizing network resources and displacing higher-value web and email users. To prevent intentional or unintentional abuse of the network, operators have included fair-use policies in their subscriber service agreements but often lacked the ability to enforce them. The OSN WebGate Service intelligently identifies excessive usage and enforces fair- and limited-use policies that can range from gradual degradation of service quality to complete blockage of access.
Facilitating Partner Relationships
Traditionally, operators’ primary source of revenue was the service fees of their subscriber base. Internet companies have successfully demonstrated alternative business models based on the power to influence users’ browsing behavior. The OSN WebGate Service enables operators and content providers to share this power of influence, with the operator passing user browsing information to its content partners while the user is browsing those partners’ websites. The gateway solution provides the flexibility to enrich HTTP headers and alter the content of URLs in real time to include any internal or external information that the operator chooses to share with content partners.
Coordinating Value-Added Services
As operators offer a multitude of in-line services — such as content adaptation, content filtering, day-pass access, and portal-only access — they become aware of their inability to coordinate, order and control these services. As they add services, they also experience linear growth in network latency. Using a creative ICAP implementation, the OSN WebGate Service functions as a central hub that coordinates traffic flow between services — ensuring that each service processes only the necessary traffic — and connects with back-end systems to share profile data.
Opening Communication Channels with Consumers
Captive portals — implemented using the various redirection capabilities of WebGate Service — offer operators an interactive communication medium to reach customers with marketing surveys, event notifications, service warnings, limited-usage internet access, and even ad-sponsored internet service.
Allowing Network Access to WAP 2.0 Phones and Full-HTML Browsers
The OSN WebGate Service has built-in WAP 2.0 gateway functionality that converts formats used by WAP browsers to the standard HTML format used on the Internet. The gateway also functions as a standard HTTP proxy to support full-HTML browsers. A detailed device database enables the gateway to ensure that only authorized devices can access the network and that phones receive only the content they can actually process. Operators can apply unique rules to each device type.
