Core Networks and P-Cube partner to provide integrated platform

Core Networks, a leader in operations support system (OSS) solutions for the cable television/broadband industry, and P-Cube Inc., the originator of programmable IP Service Control Platforms, have entered into a joint marketing agreement.
Under the agreement they will work together to provide cable operators with an integrated platform to allow differentiated service tiers for subscribers of advanced services. The joint platform enables cable operators to profile and trend subscriber and application traffic, and to produce trend reports that can be used to design service offerings that maximise revenue potential and available network resources. Historic subscriber profiles may be used to target subscribers for new services or eliminate service abusers.
"The revenue potential for cable operators from the various advanced services is still very much unrealized," said Craig Soderquist, CEO of Core Networks. "And that's because until now the sheer complexity in trying to manage bandwidth and subscriber activity data has been prohibitive. Now the combined platform of CoreMeter and Engage provide a management solution that enables incremental and differentiated services with increased operational efficiency."
The joint platform is based on Core Networks' CoreMeter and P-Cube's Engage. CoreMeter, a proven HFC event- and trend-management system, collects and stores usage statistics via SNMP from access network elements such as cable modem termination systems (CMTSs) and cable modems, enabling cable operators to profile access network traffic that is not routed to the Internet. CoreMeter provides on-net bandwidth reporting and last-mile capacity management to P-Cubes Engage platform.
Engage provides the means to control network traffic and resource consumption efficiently based on application and subscriber parameters. This allows operators to increase the performance and reduce network costs of the high-speed data network by controlling traffic consumption of 'broadband-aware' applications such as peer-to-peer, voice-chat, or gaming, while ensuring a reliable network experience for the subscribers.
With the new combined platform, cable operators can increase revenues by moving subscribers to tiers of service reflecting their usage profile and increase return on capital employed by maximising network resource utilisation.
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