Integrated planning for Next Generation Networks

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify concerns developing in regard to current approaches used to define, deliver and fund universal service obligations (USOs) for telecommunications due to developments in competition, new technology, e.g. wireless, convergence and next generation networks (NGN), including voice over internet protocol (VoIP). To stimulate thinking about the policies required to deliver USOs in an IP‐enabled NGN environment.Design/methodology/approachThe paper examines the nature and scope of USOs, including the concept of “functional internet access” to address questions about whether in an NGN environment: present USOs are sustainable; USOs need to change; and whether USOs should include access to broadband? The paper also examines alternative/complementary sources of funding for USOs.FindingsWith falling revenue (due to increasing competition and declining prices) occurring alongside strong demand for funds to deploy NGN, telecommunications operators are less able to provide USOs sustained by cross‐subsidisation. Universal service funds, too, may be under pressure. Also there is likely to be an uneven migration to NGN since it is likely that NGN will be deployed first in more profitable, densely populated areas and then only later (if at all) in relatively less commercially viable rural/remote areas. The paper concludes that present USOs can be maintained in an NGN environment. It concludes that since USOs is an evolving concept, there should be regular systematic reviews of whether USOs should be extended to include broadband. The paper concludes that increased funding from general taxation revenue is warranted and would link decisions concerning the nature and scope of USOs more closely with financial responsibility for such decisions.Originality/valueThe paper stimulates rethinking about whether, and if so how, arrangements relating to USOs need to change? In adopting a longer term perspective of universal services, the paper may be a valuable complement to the reviews of USOs being conducted in various countries (since short term decisions should be consistent with longer term developments).

The accurate estimation of the traffic parameters, especially traffic intensity that the network must support is a key criterion in the development of an effective Next Generation Network (NGN) model. In this paper, starting from data collection involving users of telecommunication services in Benue State, Nigeria, the call rate, data transaction rate, call holding times/data transaction time and traffic intensity have been estimated at the 23 local government headquarters of the State. The existing network in Benue State is GSM based and the services provided are Voice, SMS and Internet. A marketing research was first conducted to determine the level of services usage by the amount of money spent by the high, middle and low income earners. Then using the prevailing tariff rates, the amount of data transferred in bits for the three classes of services were determined. The traffic model used is based on a probabilistic model of events initiated by calls and transactions of NGN services. The model is used to estimate the symmetrical and asymmetrical traffic intensities separately at each of the 23 headquarters representing the network nodes. Generally, the results of the study show that a developing country is characterized by a prevalence of voice and SMS services, and limited Internet services; large number of low income earners; and low rates of call/data transactions and traffic intensities. The study demonstrates a method to estimate traffic parameters at different network nodes starting from subscriber field studies. The use of the method will facilitate the preparation of both business and technical plans for effective and efficient planning and dimensioning of NGN networks in a developing economy.

The next generation network (NGN) is envisaged as being an IP-based network which supports a wide variety of applications in an increasingly converged fixed-mobile environment. This paper looks at the key standards which are available as enablers to the building and operating of an NGN that delivers appropriate levels of quality of service for end-user applications. The paper starts by looking at a general framework for quality of service (QoS) standards, including the necessary terminology to distinguish between the performance of the network and the requirements of applications. It goes on to look at the key standards that address the application requirements, the performance of the IP layer and the behaviour of its bearer. In addition the paper discusses several concepts designed to allow the control of QoS levels in IP-based networks. Although it also discusses published standards, there is much ongoing standardisation activity in the technical areas of QoS and network performance that is outside the scope of this paper.

The inherent design for Converged Next Generation Networks (NGNs) accommodates Packet Switched (PS) services. IEEE 802.16e, 802.16m, 3GPP LTE/LTE-Adv are converged IP-based Next Generation Networks (NGNs) that endorse IP Multimedia Services (IMS) support in the Core Network. Converged NGNs are mainly intended to be deployed in urban areas with wide-area coverage provided by existing 3G networks in the initial deployment. The main revenue driver for 3G operators is still Circuit Switched (CS) Voice and CS data, like SMS. Hence, there is a battle for CS Voice services support over these PS-based 4G Networks by contenders such as Voice over LTE Generic Access (VoLGA), IMS-VoIP, Media Independent Handover and CS-Fallback solutions. This paper addresses the Inter- Radio Access Technology (RAT) handover solutions in IEEE 802.16m and IMT-Advanced networks. We propose a novel solution to support backward Inter-System Handover (HO) to CS-voice from PS-Networks using VoLGA Access Network Controller (VANC) and CS Inter-Working Control to maintain CS-service growth until Next Generation Networks are deployed throughout the nation.

The deployment of Next Generation Networks (NGNs) across Africa is accelerating digital connectivity and economic growth. However, this transformation is accompanied by escalating cybersecurity risks that challenge the effectiveness of traditional perimeter-based security architectures. This paper presents an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven Zero Trust Security (ZTS) framework specifically designed for NGN environments within the African context. Rooted in the "never trust, always verify" principle, the proposed framework leverages machine learning and behavioral analytics to enable continuous authentication, dynamic access control, and real-time threat mitigation. The integration of AI enhances the system’s ability to detect anomalous activities, respond to zero-day attacks, and adapt security policies based on contextual awareness. Recognizing Africa’s unique challenges—including infrastructural constraints, diverse regulatory landscapes, and limited skilled cybersecurity personnel, the model emphasizes scalability, automation, and cost-efficiency. Simulations and case studies demonstrate the proposed solution’s effectiveness in mitigating insider threats, lateral movement, and advanced persistent threats (APTs) within NGN infrastructures. The findings suggest that AI-powered ZTS can serve as a foundational cybersecurity strategy for building resilient, intelligent, and secure digital ecosystems in Africa. Index Terms: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Zero Trust Security (ZTS), Next Generation Networks (NGN), Cybersecurity, Network Access Control, Behavioral Analytics, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), African Telecommunications, Context-Aware Security, Dynamic Threat Detection, Identity and Access Management (IAM), Digital Infrastructure Security, Policy-Based Security.

Regulatory Approaches to NGNs: An International Comparison

Next Generation Networks (NGNs) promise Always Best Connection in heterogeneous networks. Providing end-to-end QoS in such environment is a challenging task. Since application's requirements and user's expectations are increasing, QoS gains the significance in NGNs. In order to provide end-to-end QoS in NGNs, this paper proposes a new protocol Combined SIP HMIPv6 (CSH) with a module QoS manager. Unlike other QoS mechanisms, CSH focuses on both core and edge networks. The achievements of CSH will include better session and terminal mobility, network mobility, proper bandwidth management, good resource reservation, user authentication and less delay while establishing multimedia traffic.

IPTV is one of the most highly visible services to emerge as part of the development of next generation network (NGN). IPTV services over manageable broadband link from a provider will be one of the ultimate goals of the broadband revolution using NGN. In this paper, we analyze IPTV architecture developed by ITU-T and provide functional architecture for NGN-based IPTV services according to functional mapping between IPTV and NGN. For this, we provide the detailed functional architecture and relevant operations with other functional blocks and present the harmonized architecture between IPTV and NGN for NGN-based IPTV services with the alignment with existing NGN architecture. As challenging architectural issues, we also introduce personalized IPTV services based on Web-based open platform in NGN environment and illustrate functional architecture and service examples for Web-based personalized IPTV services.

The rapid evolution of Next Generation Networks (NGNs) has brought unprecedented capabilities in connectivity, automation, and data-driven services. However, the distributed and heterogeneous nature of NGNs—spanning cloud, edge, and IoT domains—poses significant challenges to maintaining robust cybersecurity without compromising data privacy or system latency. Traditional centralized security models struggle to cope with massive data volumes, privacy constraints, and real-time threat detection requirements. To address these challenges, this paper proposes the integration of Federated Learning (FL) into NGN security architectures, enabling distributed intelligence across network nodes while preserving data locality. In the proposed framework, participating edge devices and network entities collaboratively train a shared intrusion detection or anomaly detection model without exchanging raw data. This approach enhances data privacy, scalability, and adaptability to emerging threats. Furthermore, it mitigates the risk of single-point failures and bandwidth bottlenecks inherent in centralized learning systems. Experimental results and simulations demonstrate that FL-based NGN security models can achieve comparable or superior detection accuracy to centralized methods while significantly reducing data transmission overhead. The proposed system architecture leverages secure aggregation, robust model updates, and blockchain-based trust mechanisms to ensure integrity and resilience against model poisoning and adversarial attacks. This study highlights Federated Learning as a transformative paradigm for distributed NGN security, paving the way for intelligent, privacy-preserving, and self-adaptive defense mechanisms in future 5G and 6G networks. Keywords: Federated Learning, Next Generation Networks, Distributed Security, Edge Intelligence, Intrusion Detection, Privacy Preservation, Model Aggregation, 5G/6G.

In this paper we apply classification to learn geographic regions using Location Based Services (LBS) in Next Generation Networks (NGN). We assume that the information in Local Network (cellular network) can be freely exchanged with Global IP Network (NGN) and the information can be gathered in a database. Location Based Services (LBS) in the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) also provide location information for the data sets. Statistic classification methods are applied to the data sets in the database. We distinguish two cases: (a) Learning the geographic regions in which certain events happen. Depending on the information provided by the users, they are divided into different user groups (event classes) using Type Filters (TF). Then discriminant analysis is applied to the position information offered by LBS in IMS to determine the geographic regions of the different classes. (b) Learning events that happen inside certain geographic regions. The observed area is divided into different geographic regions (location classes) using Location Filter (LF). Then discriminant analysis is applied to determine patterns of behavior in these regions. The learned geographic regions supporting up-to-date information can be used to establish services for this region or for other regions over NGN. The presented concept can be applied to any scenario with location-based events.

Next Generation Network (NGN) represents a fundamental paradigm shift in the wireless communication which uses packet switching instead of circuit switching. NGN is an architecture that provides seamless integration of both new and traditional telecommunication services across high-speed packet networks. Heterogeneous network (HN) is the group of network which integrated with wired, wireless and sensory network with internet connectivity. Combination of HN and NGN (HNGN) will offers highly reliable services at all situation. Implementing protocols such as TCP is much complicate in the heterogeneous network environment. The objective of this paper is providing an assured, reliable data transmission in the HNGN. Data transmission in HNGN renders ineffective communication due to barrier when implementing different network protocols. The proposed methodology, called Reliable Barrier-Free Services (RBS) optimizes the reliability of HNGN.

Implementation of Next Generation Networks (NGN) is well underway in developed countries. Focus is now on how to address issues like Quality of Service (QOS) control. This however has not been the case in countries with emerging economies which are still struggling to provide basic internet and telephone services. Broadband wireless networks present affordable communications solutions for such economies. In this paper we present a prototype NGN implementation based on Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) technology, Linux routers, an open-source IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network and open-source content servers. Link quality tests show that such an implementation is capable of providing NGN services to larger community sectors. In conclusion we recommend the use of a higher throughput subscriber unit for IPTV services and incorporation of IMS capabilities in the access and core networks to achieve QoS control through resource-based admission control lacking in the WiMax access network

Current networks are evolving to NGN (Next Generation Network) which supports guaranteed quality of broadband multimedia services that are integrated with communication, broadcast and the Internet. In NGN environment should enable various services which are requiring high-level quality of service like real-time services to be provided seamlessly even though users use many kinds of communication networks and terminals. This paper proposes not only a solution for a problem that a user network's bandwidth is so insufficient that all services cannot be supported, but also a mechanism that tries to improve services efficiency for the user network over NGN by designing the user bandwidth control function, named UBCF (User Bandwidth Control Function).

Next generation network (NGN) is a packet-based converged network to support session and non-session services in QoS-enabled broadband transport network. QoS based resource control must be defined to support differentiated services for various network users in NGN. This paper defined parallel control schemes for NGN resource control interfaces to minimize session and resource control delays. We simulated the existing and proposed NGN control schemes to measure and analyze control delays and completion ratios. By arrival rate of 120 in two-phase resource control, we checked out that completion ratios of sequential and parallel schemes achieved 100%, and the control delay of parallel scheme was improved by about 21.5% compared to that of sequential scheme.

The next generation network (NGN) must provide mobility and multiple interfaces to enable the seamless delivery of packets, in IP mobility environments, with the best possible quality of service (QoS) guarantee. This paper proposes an efficient resource reservation and QoS provisioning mechanism based on mobile SCTP (mSCTP) with network mobility and multi-homing for NGN. To do this, the proposed mechanism does not refresh the reserved resources on the common path through the path management at the time of mSCTP-based handover. The path management is accomplished by maintaining the common path and common routers on the path. To show the validity of the proposed mechanisms, the ns-2 simulator was used, it can provide the end-to-end seamless QoS and resources management in IP mobility environments more efficiently.