Bahan Presentasi Matakuliah : Jaringan Telekomunikasi dan Informasi / SKI / PMDFT UB / 2013
Dosen Pengampu : Soleh Hadi Pramono, ST., MT., PHd.
Nilo Pasquali and Abraão B. Silva
Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (ANATEL), Brasília, Brazil {nilo,asilva}@anatel.gov.br
Abstract. Next Generation Networks (NGN) is envisaged to “substitute” all telecommunication network infrastructure for a packet IP-based concept in the near future. However, is this NGN infrastructure capable to support all future applica-tions, especially those that are highly dependent on quality, reliability and speed? To evaluate this, the standardization sector of the International Telecommunica-tions Union (ITU-T) has started studies related to the Future of Networks, that is, networks beyond NGN.
1 Background
1.1 Anatel’s Role, Why Are We Talking about This
Anatel is the National Telecommunications Agency in Brazil, responsible for the regulation of the telecommunication market. It was created on the period that Bra-zil stared the privatization of the sector, around 1997. Its main responsibilities are related to the implementation of national policies related to telecommunications, give authorizations for service providers, administer the radiofrequency spectrum and satellite orbits, and supervise the overall functioning of the Brazilian tele-communications market.
Under Anatel’s responsibilities is also the task to represent the Brazilian ad-ministration in all international forums related to telecommunications [5]. It is no surprise that, from an Administration point of view, the ITU is the main interna-tional telecommunication body, so, Brazil takes special interest on its activities. In order to fulfill its responsibilities as representative of the Brazilian Administration, Anatel has a specific structure under its internal organization form by four Com-missions (Brazilian Communication Commissions - CBCs) [6], each responsible for specific aspects of the telecommunication environment, they are: i) Govern-ance and International Regimes; ii) Radiocommunications; iii) Telecommunica-tion Standardization; and iv) Telecommunication Development.
Under the third Commission, namely CBC 3, is the responsibility for all the standardization work conducted by the standardization sector of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Therefore, in the scope of Future Networks, and the Focus Group conducting this activity, which will be better explained in the following chapter, the work is under CBC 3 responsibility. The main objective of this paper is to present the work that has just begun in the ITU on the matter, and invite interested parties to participate.
1.2 ITU Standardization Sector and the Creation of the Focus Group
The World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA) takes place every four years in order to review working methods, approval process, work pro-gram and structure of the standardization sector Study Groups and the overall management of ITU-T. It undertakes studies, make regulations, adopt resolutions, formulate recommendations and opinions, and collect and publish information concerning telecommunication matters [1].
WTSA-08 took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from the 21st to the 30th October 2008. Among all the work carried out during this period, Resolution 2 (Johannesburg) [3] is of special interest, since it establishes the responsibilities and mandates of the Study Groups of the Standardization Sector. The Fig.1 bellow gives a general idea of the structure of ITU-T´s work.
Annex A to Resolution 2 points to the general area of study for each Study Group in ITU-T presented in the figure above, and states the following for Study Group 13, entitled “Future Networks including mobile and NGN”:
“Responsible for studies relating to the requirements, architecture, evolution and convergence of future networks. Also includes NGN project management coordination across study groups and release planning, implementation scenarios and deployment models, network and service capabilities, interoperability, impact of IPv6, NGN mobility and network convergence, public data network aspects and network aspects of IdM. Responsible for studies relating to network aspects of mobile telecommunication networks, including International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT), wireless Internet, convergence of mobile and fixed networks, mobility management, mobile multimedia network functions, internetworking, interoperability and enhancements to existing ITU-T Recommendations on IMT.”
Prior to WTSA-08, Study Group 13 had the responsibility for NGN related studies and Study Group 19 was responsible for mobile networks, including Fixed to Mobile Convergence (FMC). The revised Resolution 2 (Johannesburg) combined these areas of responsibility and expanded the work to include Future Networks.
The possible limitations to current IP-based network architecture for providing support to futuristic applications have being studied for some time, and many projects around the world are dealing with this matter such as IRTF (International), GENI/FIND (in the United States of America), FP7/FIRE (in the European Union), CNGI (in China), AKARI/NwGN (in Japan), FIF (in South Korea), ARCMIP (in Brazil), among others.
Question Q.21/13, under the purview of Study Group 13, was then assigned to study matters related to Future Networks. As stated on the motivation to this question, the Future Network is envisaged to be an evolution of the current IP-based network architecture, capable of providing futuristic functionalities that are unsupported by current technologies, or that their implementation is prohibitive under the current paradigm [2]. Essentially, there are concerns related to many aspects of IP based networks, such as scalability/ubiquity, security/robustness, mobility, heterogeneity, Quality of Service (QoS), reconfigurability, context-awareness, manageability, data-centric, network virtualization, economics, among others. At first, backward compatibility with existing networks and systems could be understood as unnecessary, however, this idea has been changing as discussions progress.
The study items, allocated to question Q.21/13, as approved in WTSA-08, are listed as follows:
- Problem statements on current IP-based network architecture (which should consider the current vision of future services and applications)
- Design goals and general requirements for the Future Network (scalability, transparency, multi-homing, traffic engineering, mobility, security, robustness, re-configurability, context-awareness, manageability, heteroge-neity, data-centric, and economics)
- Gap analysis between existing standards and/or proposals for next generation networks and the design goals and requirements for the Future Net-work (FN)
- Study of Meta architectures (network virtualization, cross-layer communications) and architectural framework for the Future Network (e.g. wireless, advanced photonics, embedded computing, intermittent network/DTN, ve-hicular/airborne network, programmable and cognitive radios, network virtualization, overlay service control)
- Study on how to incorporate new communication and service technologies into Future Networks, such as wireless edge network (e.g. mesh/sensor, ad-hoc, network movement) or optical backbone network (e.g. optical switch or router).
- Identify functions and capabilities necessary to support new services for the Future Network (e.g. user-centric, context-aware, user's preferences considering, proactive users provisioning, seamless services, QoS)
- What enhancements to existing Recommendations are required to provide energy savings directly or indirectly in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) or in other industries? What enhancements to developing or new Recommendations are required to provide such energy savings?
Therefore, it is clear that there is an extensive list of items to be studied during the four-year cycle (2009-2012) that just begun. To start this work, at the first Study Group 13 meeting, held in Geneva/Switzerland, from 12 to 23 of January 2009, question Q.21/13 met and proposed the establishment of a Focus Group on Future Networks (FGFN), since it allows for interested parties that are not members of the ITU to join the technical work, such as other standardization organizations, experts, individuals, academia, etc.
Additionally, at this first meeting of question Q.21/13 a preliminary workplan and general timeline was produced. These first ideas contemplated the development of a vision and service scenarios for Future Networks and two main Recommendations: a high-level requirements document and a framework document.
All these should be concluded by the first quarter of 2012, and some work would overlap with the activities of the Focus Group, as it is the main input for the work of the question.
An overall idea of these two Recommendations can be summarized in the Table 1, using the names as attributed by question Q.21/13.
2 ITU´s Focus Group on Future Networks
The Focus Group on Future Networks was proposed and agreed upon at the first meeting of Study Group 13 for the 2009-1012 study period, with the scope to, in collaboration with worldwide Future Network communities, collect and identify visions of such networks, based on new technologies; assess the interactions be-tween these networks and new services; familiarize ITU-T and standardization communities with emerging attributes of Future Networks; and encourage collaboration [4].
The first meeting of ITU´s Focus Group on Future Networks was held in Lulea, Sweden, from the 29th of June to the 3rd of July 2009, having one joint with the European initiative FIRE. The first step on this meeting was to agree on the work-ing methods and start the studies related to initiatives around the world on the is-sue of Future Networks. A preliminary framework of existing activities in China, Europe, Korea and Japan were presented and a repository was created to gather all possible activities. At total, it was presented eleven project descriptions related to Future Networks.
Two main deliverables were identified, as a result of the initial work from question Q.21/13, mainly: i) Future Networks: vision, concept and requirements; and ii) Framework of network virtualization. The discussions on timeframe for prototyping and phased deploying of Future Networks were an issue, and general agreement understood that somewhere between 2015 and 2020 should be a rough estimate.
The general timeline and tasks of the work of the FG-FN were identified and agreed. For this first meeting the main tasks included the setting up of the Focus Group and its working methods and begin the review of ongoing activities/initiatives on Future Networks. The following meeting, to be held in November/2009 in the USA, in collocation with project GENI, should continue the main tasks started at the previous meeting and carry on with setting up external collaboration channels, establish the descriptions of existing activities and iden-tify/describe benefits and visions for Future Networks. The following couple of meetings, in 2010, should then identify and describe attributes of these networks, build a vocabulary and draft action plans for further work.
All work related to ITU-T´s Focus Group on Future Networks is available on-line at http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/focusgroups/fn/index.html.
3 Conclusion
The Future Networks study is a key issue in order to ensure the continuum of the expansion and innovation on the Telecommunication sector. Even though many solutions have been found, and others are under study, to make current networks capable to support some of the envisioned applications, a bottleneck will be reached at some point. This “limitation” has to be dealt with and initiatives around the world have already started to deal with this.
The ITU-T, as one of the major standardization bodies in the world has a big responsibility on this area, so is no surprise that started it studies on this matter as well. Recognizing the need of participation from experts on the area, the ITU-T established the Focus Group on Future Networks, to ensure that it would be able to gather the most expertise in the issue, in an environment much easier to partici-pate and collaborate.
Brazil is following closely all this work, since it has its own activities on Future Networks and will continue to participate long after the conclusion of the Focus Group work.
Acknowledgments. This work is supported by the Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (ANATEL), Brazil.
References
- Constitution of the International Telecommunication Union, http://www.itu.int
- ITU-T Contribution 1 to Study Group 13 from WTSA-08: Questions assigned to Study Group 13 (Future networks including mobile and NGN) for the study period 2009-2012 (December 2008)
- ITU-T Resolution 2 (Johhanesburg): ITU-T study group responsibility and mandates
- ITU-T Temporary Document 3 of WP 5/13. Terms of Reference of the Focus Group on Future Networks (FG-FN)
- Law 9.472/1997. General Telecommunications Law (LGT). Brazil
- Resolution nº 502, of 18/04/2008. Alters the organization structures of the Brazilian Communication Commissions
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