Introducing vCPE can give legacy gateway devices a new lease on life, thus deferring CPE capital expenditure for new services, in addition to delayering the IP network topology and simplifying the network edge.

Beyond hardware savings, vCPE offers service providers the ability to flexibly roll out new value-added and even personalized services to create new revenue streams while enhancing subscriber quality of experience (QoE). One fundamental benefit of virtualization is the introduction of “anything as a service” (XaaS) concepts. The ability to introduce any new service is the ability to define new products and generate new revenues.

Today, operators need to extract data from multiple sources to gain visibility into the customer experience and determine how to deliver the best possible customer experiences. vCPE offers a bridge into all customer and network traffic from the subscriber’s premises into the provider’s network services edge, enabling all of a customer’s devices to be visible to customer care systems and no longer hidden behind layers of address translation or firewalls. As a result, operators can use vCPE to gain new subscriber insights and perform customer experience management tasks.With the ability to collect metrics and performance data from within the vCPE, and the orchestrated network paths serving the vCPE, operators can see the individual behaviors and experiences that each of their subscribers enjoy, as well as any problems.

This level of insight lets operators know exactly when and where service enhancements need to be made or new services can be offered. This data can then be used to target subscribers for service improvement packages. For example, offer subscription services such as parental controls or bandwidth increases to subscribers who may be willing to pay a little more for the extra service.

Furthermore, removing the focus from physical CPE enables you to fast-track service delivery. This is because you can flexibly create and deliver new offerings without updating firmware for each gateway on your diverse network. This, in turn, reduces the need for remote upgrades and truck rolls. The marketing and sales opportunities that arise from this level of insight and flexibility will help service providers continually and dynamically introduce new service offerings in the future.

Controlling functions from within the operator’s network also means you can simplify the network, standardize user interfaces, and improve system integration to lower training costs and simplify processes for administrators and CSRs. All the while, vCPE gives you the ability to orchestrate new feature updates to multiple devices with varying standards because functions are not completely reliant on proprietary hardware builds.

Clearly, vCPE also benefits subscribers. The subscriber is in control of their Internet services — not limited by the capacities or features of a physical box on their premises — and can customize services from a self-care web page. Overall, vCPE offers subscribers vastly improved self-care, new service offerings, and the potential for dynamic service subscriptions, which results in higher QoE and increased retention rates.

The Road Ahead

The shift to vCPE is unlikely to occur overnight, but the technology permits communication service providers to introduce this new set of services a-la carte within the current service network.  With the right vCPE solution, operators can begin a smooth transition into a hybrid environment where virtual functions control network and device options while still leveraging hardware innovations that assist with WiFi range and increased bandwidth, speed, and capacity.

Communication service providers stand to gain a lot from virtualization technologies — and in a market of declining revenues, the ability to gain greater insight into subscriber habits, offer value-added services, and reduce time-to-market without increasing costs will be essential to remaining competitive.