An ICT-oriented Management Solution for NGNs

NGN architecture reused several standards from the IP world, as exemplified by the Session Initiation Protocol SIP, which is ubiquitous in the majority of these network components. However, the NGN management architecture simply presented a very generic management model that follows TMN. Several management technologies are proposed, such as Web services, CORBA and SNMP, to implement management solutions. Network and systems management standardizing bodies currently promote newer technologies that aim to solve known shortcomings to these. This paper proposes a management solution for NGNs based on recent IP world technologies. The presented solution was implemented in the form of a middleware to manage NGN elements. This middleware was used in the management of an element belonging to the IP Multimedia Subsystem platform, namely the Policy and Charging Rules Function

Electricity Supply in Nigeria: Cost Comparison between Grid Power Tariff and Fossil-Powered Generator

Electricity supply in Nigeria is a huge problem with great economic and political consequences. After unbundling and privatization of generation and distribution companies, not much improvement has been experienced by electricity consumers; this is due to lack of investment in infrastructure. Lack of investment in infrastructure especially from private investors is caused largely by non-cost reflective tariff among other factors highlighted in this study. While many believe tariff has to be controlled such that it does not go beyond the reach of average citizens, many also believe that the average citizens can pay much more than the current tariff. The latter is evident considering the average amount spend on the use of portable gasoline generators by most homes and small enterprises both in rural and urban centers. The whole life cost method is used to show here that it costs a home or business premise that operates a portable gasoline generator for 6 h daily NGN 37,000/ month and costs NGN 157,000 to operate 20 kVA diesel generator. This shows the consumers’ capacity to pay the appropriate tariff that can attract investors to the sector

Система оценивания эффективности применения криптографической защиты трафика NGN

В статье анализируются недостатки современных систем криптографической защиты трафика. Рассматриваются вопросы разработки системы оценивания эффективности внедрения новых алгоритмов и модификации сетевых протоколов с учетом параметров, задаваемых в соглашении о качестве обслуживания.In the article the shortcomings of modern cryptographic systems for the traffic security are analyzed. The issues of development assessment system efficiency of the implementation of new algorithms and modifying network protocols within the parameters defined in the agreement about the quality of service are considered

Empirical Modeling of Nigerian Exchange Rate Volatility

In this study, we examined the volatility of Naira/US Dollar and Naira/UK Pound Sterling exchange rates in Nigeria using GARCH model.The data on the monthly exchange rates were collected from Central Bank of Nigeria which spanned through the period 2007-2010, and the analysis of the series was carried out using Econometric software (E-view 7.0) Investigation conducted on the exchange rates showed that volatility on the returns is persistent. The result of normality test indicated that the series residuals are asymmetric The plots on the original series and unit root test on the return series established the non-stationarity status of Nigerian foreign exchange series.The paper therefore recommends that the impact of policies of government on foreign exchange rates should be investigated. Keywords: Exchange rates, GARCH model, Heteroscedasticity, Volatility, Uncertainty, Stability

Linking session based services with transport plane resources in IP multimedia subsystems.

The massive success and proliferation of Internet technologies has forced network operators to recognise the benefits of an IP-based communications framework. The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) has been proposed as a candidate technology to provide a non-disruptive strategy in the move to all-IP and to facilitate the true convergence of data and real-time multimedia services. Despite the obvious advantages of creating a controlled environment for deploying IP services, and hence increasing the value of the telco bundle, there are several challenges that face IMS deployment. The most critical is that posed by the widespread proliferation ofWeb 2.0 services. This environment is not seen as robust enough to be used by network operators for revenue generating services. However IMS operators will need to justify charging for services that are typically available free of charge in the Internet space. Reliability and guaranteed transport of multimedia services by the efficient management of resources will be critical to differentiate IMS services. This thesis investigates resource management within the IMS framework. The standardisation of NGN/IMS resource management frameworks has been fragmented, resulting in weak functional and interface specifications. To facilitate more coherent, focused research and address interoperability concerns that could hamper deployment, a Common Policy and Charging Control (PCC) architecture is presented that defines a set of generic terms and functional elements. A review of related literature and standardisation reveals severe shortcomings regarding vertical and horizontal coordination of resources in the IMS framework. The deployment of new services should not require QoS standardisation or network upgrade, though in the current architecture advanced multimedia services are not catered for. It has been found that end-to-end QoS mechanisms in the Common PCC framework are elementary. To address these challenges and assist network operators when formulating their iii NGN strategies, this thesis proposes an application driven policy control architecture that incorporates end-user and service requirements into the QoS negotiation procedure. This architecture facilitates full interaction between service control and resource control planes, and between application developers and the policies that govern resource control. Furthermore, a novel, session based end-to-end policy control architecture is proposed to support inter-domain coordination across IMS domains. This architecture uses SIP inherent routing information to discover the routes traversed by the signalling and the associated routes traversed by the media. This mechanism effectively allows applications to issue resource requests from their home domain and enable end-to-end QoS connectivity across all traversed transport segments. Standard interfaces are used and transport plane overhaul is not necessary for this functionality. The Common PCC, application driven and session based end-to-end architectures are implemented in a standards compliant and entirely open source practical testbed. This demonstrates proof of concept and provides a platform for performance evaluations. It has been found that while there is a cost in delay and traffic overhead when implementing the complete architecture, this cost falls within established criteria and will have an acceptable effect on end-user experience. The open nature of the practical testbed ensures that all evaluations are fully reproducible and provides a convenient point of departure for future work. While it is important to leave room for flexibility and vendor innovation, it is critical that the harmonisation of NGN/IMS resource management frameworks takes place and that the architectures proposed in this thesis be further developed and integrated into the single set of specifications. The alternative is general interoperability issues that could render end-to-end QoS provisioning for advanced multimedia services almost impossible

Echoes from Post-Civil War Development in Nigeria: Igboland and Infrastructure Development in a Millennium Development Goals Epoch

This paper examines trends in infrastructure development in Nigeria with specific emphasis on the Southeast geopolitical zone. Using the case of infrastructure development provided in sectors of health, water and sanitation, and education under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) programme, it posits that the region has recorded positive gains. As a result, this paper contends that despite the effects of the Civil War on Igboland, infrastructure development efforts of successive governments within the region together with years of self-supported infrastructure projects initiated by Ndi Igbo (both at home and in diaspora), have ensured that this once known commercial hub moves towards her pre-civil war status. The paper further argues that it is not yet eureka for Ndi Igbo since there is also the need to sustain this and other efforts amidst contemporary challenges of corruption, good governance, calls for reforms in revenue sharing formula, insecurity, return to true federalism, and political and socio-economic 'social justice in Nigeria. Using a qualitative case narrative methodology, the paper concludes that these contemporary issues have the potential to distract Ndi Igbo from the real focus, which is a continued and sustained effort towards accelerated infrastructure development of this once war-torn area in Nigeria

A typology of cooperation strategies in the telecommunication industry: An exploratory analysis and theoretical foundations

The value chain of the telecommunication industry is subject to a continuing disintegration which is caused by outsourced network operation, the provisioning of wholesale interfaces to competing service providers and the cooperative provisioning of broadband access. Thus, many companies regard cooperation as an element of cooperate strategy. In this paper we propose a cooperation topology for the telecommunication industry and identify drivers of cooperation based on the assessment of case studies. The results indicate that drivers of cooperation differ with respect to the cooperation direction and that the combination of complementary resources is the dominating driver of cooperation. --Cooperation,telecommunication,typology of cooperation strategies,transaction costs