SFR Underpins Its First-to-Market 4G LTE Service With Cisco Next-Generation Internet Architecture

SFR Underpins Its First-to-Market 4G LTE Service With Cisco Next-Generation Internet Architecture

Cisco Elastic Packet Core, Mobile Internet Protocol Backhaul and Service Provider Wi-Fi Solutions Enable SFR to Optimize and Monetize Mobile Services

SAN JOSE, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 02/26/13 -- Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced that SFR, a leading mobile telecommunications provider in France, has selected Cisco to expand and enhance its mobile Internet network in order to accelerate the deployment of advanced 4G long-term evolution (LTE) services to its customers.

The Cisco(R) next-generation Internet architecture, including elastic packet core, mobile backhaul, and service provider Wi-Fi solutions, will help SFR deploy the widest range of heterogeneous radio networks (2G/3G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi), capture new business opportunities, foster new business models and meet rapidly growing network demands. The simplicity of this all-IP architectural play provides the operational efficiency that was key in enabling SFR to be first to market.

As part of its ongoing efforts to deliver a superior mobile experience, SFR's new network will provide customers throughout France with greater network speeds and a higher quality of service over 4G LTE, complemented by high-capacity mobile backhaul and select Wi-Fi access.

Key Facts/Product Highlights

 
--  Serving more than 20 million customers in its mobile network over its
    2G and 3G mobile network, SFR was the first service provider in France
    to offer 4G LTE benefits to its customers. After Lyon, Villeurbanne
    and Montpellier in 2012, and la Defense (a major district in
    Paris) in January, SFR will, at the end of June 2013, cover 10 cities
    in 4G, including Lille, Marseille, Strasbourg and Toulouse. SFR's 4G
    LTE service enables data speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second.
--  In addition to SFR's 4G deployment, Cisco will also support the
    service provider's 2G and 3G cellular networks with its Cisco Gateway
    GPRS Support Node (GGSN) and Cisco Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN).
--  According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Global Mobile
    Data Traffic Forecast Update (2012-2017), 4G is expected to support
    nearly 10 percent of all mobile connections and 45 percent of mobile
    data traffic by 2017.
--  The Cisco ASR 5000 Series, based on StarOS, is a robust, elastic
    multimedia services platform that brings a new level of network and
    customer intelligence coupled with the ability to provide dynamic
    quality of service, policy control and analytics to the mobile
    network. Such intelligence is critical for SFR to deliver real-time,
    personalized mobile services and monetize its mobile network. The
    elastic evolved packet core provides intrachassis virtualization
    capable of allocating resources on demand across transactions,
    throughput and sessions, and it allows SFR to converge its packet core
    applications onto a single platform, which is bringing operational
    simplicity and efficiency.
--  The Cisco Elastic Packet Core will provide 4G LTE Mobility Management
    Entity (MME), Serving Gateway (SGW), Packet Data Network Gateway
    (PGW), 2G/3G GGSN and SGSN applications. The MME is critical to the
    network function of the 4G LTE network. The Cisco MME manages multiple
    back-end functions, including authentication, paging, mobility with
    3GPP 2G and 3G nodes, roaming and other functions. The Cisco Serving
    Gateway (SGW) and the Cisco Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW) are two
    essential elements to SFR's 4G LTE mobile network. The Cisco SGW
    provides superior throughput and processing, while the Cisco PGW acts
    as policy enforcement, managing quality of service (QoS).
--  SFR is also deploying the Cisco ASR 901 and Cisco ASR 903 mobile
    backhaul solutions. This enables SFR to lower operating costs,
    implement a new class of price performance and flexible service
    delivery and provide flexible commercial options with a goal to
    continuously optimize and drive down the transport cost per bit to
    their network. It accelerates the support of any type radio access and
    implements an aggressive next-generation IP RAN through several
    backhaul topologies including "Fiber to the radio site."
--  In support of SFR's customer-retention strategy, the Cisco service
    provider Wi-Fi solution provides carrier-grade, highly secure,
    heterogeneous access to enable a high-quality mobile experience.
    Cisco's Passpoint technology helps ensures a consistent experience as
    users roam between indoor venues and the cellular network.

Supporting Resources

 
--  SFR
--  Cisco
--  Cisco Visual Networking Index home page
--  Information on Cisco Service Provider products and technologies
--  For more information about Cisco's service provider news and
    activities visit the SP360 Blog or follow us on Twitter
    @CiscoSPMobility
--  Cisco Service Provider Mobility Community
--  Subscribe to Cisco's SP360 feed

Keywords

Cisco, SFR, 4G, LTE, SP Wi-Fi, Cisco Visual Networking Index, VNI, ASR 5000, ASR 1000, Mobile Internet, Connectivity, Mobile Data

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