Juniper Networks is set to unveil a trio of mobility solutions under its Project Falcon initiative designed to allow wireless operators to optimize network traffic on their current networks a provide a path for migrating from 3G to 4G technology. The solutions are dubbed Traffic Direct, Media Flow and Mobile Core Evolution.

Juniper said the Traffic Direct offering optimized data traffic by “combining intelligent subscriber and application policies” with its MX 3D series routers “scaling to offload bulk data traffic directly to the Internet.” Juniper added that a study by research firm IDC validated its claims that the solution would lower a carrier’s total cost of ownership by up to 70%.

The Media Flow solution leverages software from Juniper’s partner Ankeena Networks that Juniper said optimizes network transmission of video content and works in conjunction with Traffic Direct to offload network traffic and content delivery “closer to end users.” Both Traffic Direct and Media Flow are scheduled to be available during the second quarter.

The final leg in the offering is the Mobile Core Evolution solution that Juniper said will leverage its MX 3D routers and embedded software from Junos “to deliver 3G and 4G gateway capabilities while accelerating service innovation and time to market with uncompromised scaling across bandwidth, subscribers and services.” The Mobile Core Evolution solution is scheduled to be available to select customers in beta form by the end of the year.

Juniper said pricing for the services will be announced closer to availability.

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Mobile operators realize they need customers to adopt increased data services to offset declining voice revenues but are not sure how to best implement strategies to facilitate that, according to a December survey of nearly 200 senior-level wireless operators, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Innopath Software.

Of the 197 execs interviewed, 44% said they think data revenues will offset declining voice revenues in the next five years. Further, the survey said operators realize that open networks are the future, which means sharing revenues with content providers. Operators also are counting on advanced networks to contain operating costs, but 58% said usage-based pricing would help ensure profitability.

“Operators recognise the challenge posed by non-traditional service providers such as Skype and Google, but they have not yet clearly defined their strategies for making their mobile data businesses more competitive,” says Katherine Dorr Abreu, senior editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Innopath, which offers customer relationship management services to global operators, conducted the survey in part to help introduce three enhancements the company is making to its ActiveCare CRM solution.

With roots in over-the-air firmware updates, Innopath is adding more support for smartphones, which are the fastest-growing segment of handsets. Smartphones generate more revenue for carriers, but often require operators to spend more time on customer care for smartphone users because the devices are more complicated, said Dave Ginsburg, VP of marketing at Innopath. Smartphone support can cost four times that of feature phone support, Innopath estimates.

Despite all of the efforts to push customer care to more automated responses, the majority of customers (72%) still prefer a live agent, which can be costly if that agent keeps having to move the customer up the CRM support chain. Google Inc.’s lack of live agent support for its Nexus One smartphone when it first came to market validates the need for live agents, said Ginsberg. Google is implementing live customer support to address the criticism.

Innopath said the latest version of its ActiveCare platform offers universal device support for Android, Symbian, RIM and Windows Mobile operating systems today, and will be available on the Apple OS by the end of June. The Frontline Care software enables less-sophisticated customer care representatives the ability to see what is wrong with the handset, thus reducing average call times. The solution also works on feature phones that use the BREW platform. Innopath can show a return on investment for the solution within six to 12 months, Ginsburg said.

The second feature Innopath is introducing on its ActiveCare platform is called Mobile Update 2, which offers enhancements to both the client and the server that enable better performance with large update packages and scalability. As smartphone manufacturers continue to update their OSes and fix bugs in the system, this solution allows carriers to perform those updates and fixes remotely on a large scale.

Finally, the third enhancement is called Mobile Activate. Already deployed with Tata DoCoMo in India, it ensures that the device is working properly when the customer first turns it on – what Innopath calls the ‘golden hour.’ Tata DoCoMo turned on its network in June and already counts 25 million subscribers, Ginsburg said. Mobile Activate detects which device is trying to connect to the network and then configures the phone to make sure it is enabled for all of the features and services it is capable of doing, Ginsburg said.

Innopath supports Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility and other tier-one operators.

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Employment in the wireless carrier sector ticked up by 1,400 jobs in December, according to the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, but average weekly earnings for wireless carrier employees dropped by $1.10 to $854.83 in December. About 4,300 jobs were lost in the wireline carrier sector, according to preliminary figures.

Overall, the nation’s unemployment rate fell slightly, from 10% unemployment in December to 9.7% unemployment in January. (Drilling down to employment by wireless and wireline carrier statistics lag a month behind statistics for the overall telecom sector.) In the telecom space, the unemployment rate stands at about 8.8%, with about 3,100 jobs lost from December to January. The unemployment rate in telecom for at the end of the year was about 8.3%. Telecom sector employment accounted for about 954,500 jobs in January, with about 619,000 people employed on the wired side and just under 200,000 employed in wireless. Of that figure, telecommunications equipment installers and repairers (excluding line installers) accounted for 134,040 jobs, while another 98,210 people were employed as line installers and repairers. More than 131,000 people were employed as customer service representatives for telecom companies. The number of hours worked was stable at 36.5 hours per week.

By state, California continued to employ the most people in the wireless carrier sector, counting 31,800 jobs, which was flat month-to-month. Employment in Washington state was also stable, at 12,800 jobs, and in Georgia, at 12,700 jobs. New Jersey, New York and Texas do not break out employment by wireless and wireline categories.

In related industry sectors, employment in the computer and electronic products category was down about 3,600 jobs to employ nearly 1.1 million people in January. Drilling down further into that sector, about 1,300 jobs were lost in the semiconductor and components category, which counts about 358,200 positions. Communications equipment employment lost another 1,000 jobs, with 118,200 positions filled in January.

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With the wireless industry increasingly focused on the deployment of advanced wireless data services, network management capabilities are becoming an integral part of network deployments. Spectrum constraints combined with consumer demand require almost mandatory management solutions in order to keep both the network and customers happy.

To that end, computing pioneer IBM Corp.’s Tivoli software division is looking to increase its presence in the management of network operations. In late 2005, IBM acquired network management provider Micromuse, and in early 2007 completed its acquisition of network monitoring provider Vallent Corp. Both operations were folded into IBM’s Tivoli division in an attempt to bolster Tivoli’s end-to-end proposition to customers.

Those customers include telecom operators looking for a hosted solution directly from IBM or through a white-label agreement with partners like Alcatel-Lucent, Motorola Inc. or Huawei Electronics Co. Ltd.

The acquisitions of Micromuse and Vallent gave us the ability to provide management services covering everything outside the data center, and with Tivoli we can manage that data center,” said Kieran Moynihan, VP and CTO of Telecoms at Tivoli. “Now we can offer the entire package.”

While past management solutions focused on tracking the quality of voice traffic over mobile networks, the so-called “blocks and drops,” Moynihan said carriers are being forced to shift much of their analysis over to the data part of their networks as traffic-heavy devices and applications come online.

However, one challenge Tivoli sees with current network management and monitoring equipment is the ability to process the amount of information coming in from the network. This is one area Tivoli thinks IBM’s history in the computing space is paying off.

“The biggest challenge for carrriers is that too much information is coming in, and there is not enough processing power process it,” Moynihan said. “This is an advantage for us as IBM has that kind of track record in crunching that volume of data. Also it’s important to process the information in a quick enough time frame to make it actionable for the carrier. There is no use in knowing there is a traffic problem at a cell site if that information does not reach the right people in time.”

Battle for the home

Another area Tivoli is looking to spread its monitoring wings is at the edge of the network, and more specifically in devices and in-home network extensions. Moynihan explained that by extending network monitoring capabilities beyond the core, carriers could save money on network diagnostics.

“We are seeing increased calls from fixed and broadband customers saying their networks are not working,” Moynihan said. “After spending the time to diagnose the problem we are realizing it’s a home IT problem, not a problem with the fiber to the home. These diagnostic sessions cost a lot of money for the telco’s. A future trend we see is in providing capabilities to monitor a customer’s network from their home.”

Moynihan said that one way of doing this would be to install software on a smartphone that would allow a telco so see exactly the problem a customer is describing from their point of view. Another solution would be to have monitoring software installed on a femotcell or router in a home that would allow the same level monitoring from the consumers perspective.

“The battle ground of the future will be for control over the home,” Moynihan said.

These solutions are only part of the package Tivoli hopes to use as it attempts to gain a greater share of the network monitoring business. And with wireless carriers set to unveil more advanced mobile networks capable of supporting increased data usage, and customers looking to take advantage of the additional capacity, the market for that business looks set for robust growth.

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As speculation mounts that Leap Wireless International Inc. has hired advisers to explore a potential sale or merger of the company, look for international operators to be interested in the property.

Leap stock was up 13% Monday after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company is once again exploring its merger options. The stock was down a few points on Tuesday. While conventional wisdom has Leap teaming with MetroPCS Communications Inc. because those two companies previously talked about combining, but that may be unlikely after a 2007 merger attempt failed. Likewise, Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility are often mentioned as likely partners, but both carriers would face increased scrutiny from federal regulators who already worry too much that the nation's No. 1 and No. 2 operators wield too much power in the marketplace.

The Leap-MetroPCS rumors pop up every few months, although this speculation appears different in that news outlets are going so far as to name the advisers hired. In the past, carriers have been known to watch Wall Street's reaction to potential tieups to see how the Street responds to the news.

Deutsche Telekom and SK Telecom both have shown their interest in the U.S. marketplace; DT owns T-Mobile USA Inc., the nation's fourth-largest wireless operator. Speculation heightened last fall that DT was interested in increasing its presence in the U.S. by buying Sprint Nextel Corp. T-Mobile and Leap use different technologies, which may have dampened DT's interest Sprint Nextel and likely would be a factor in weighing a purchase of Leap.

Despite its writeoff of the failed Helio venture, SK Telecom reportedly is still interested in a U.S. wireless play. SK Telecom issued a statement in 2008 that it was not interested in acquiring Sprint Nextel following weeks of rumors the two companies were in talks.

Leap is set to release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2009 results Feb. 25. The flat-rate carrier is under increased pressure as larger rivals step up their efforts in the prepaid space. Verizon Wireless, for its part, noted it gained 1 million of its 2.2 million net additions in the fourth quarter from its resale channels, which include America Movil subsidiary Tracfone. Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility and regional carrier U.S. Cellular Corp. all introduced unlimited voice calling plans for $70 per month earlier this year. Those calling plans could lure customers away from Leap and MetroPCS, which both offer similar calling plans that include data and text messaging for around $60 per month.

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