Cisco Systems, Inc. and Kineto Wireless, a global supplier of Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) Technology, announced today the companies have completed their first end-to-end UMA-based phone call utilizing UMA-security features, a milestone in their collaboration to enhance access control and security of UMA deployments for mobile and integrated operators.
Cisco and Kineto are working to easily and flexibly control subscriber access to UMA services while at the same time helping to protect operators’ core networks from both malicious and non-malicious threats from the public Internet.
“There is strong demand to deploy fixed-mobile convergence services today, and it’s clear that UMA is a leading technology for service providers,” said Larry Lang, vice president and general manager of Cisco’s Mobile Wireless Group. “Cisco is working with Kineto Wireless to enable operators to deliver UMA services to subscribers while working to enhance security of their networks.”
“With UMA, operators can now embrace the cost and performance advantages of broadband, Wi-Fi and the Internet,” said Rick Gilbert, president and CEO of Kineto Wireless. “Kineto is excited to be working with Cisco, the worldwide leader in networking for the internet, to safely and securely deliver mobile voice and data services over public IP access networks.”
Flexible management of subscriber access to UMA services is a critical requirement for operators. To meet this need, the companies are enhancing Kineto’s standard AAA-based authorization approach to help ensure only approved subscribers receive UMA services and only from appropriate locations (e.g. home, office, hotspots).
With this approach, operators can take advantage of existing subscriber databases accessed through standard AAA servers, thus minimizing impact to the core network while providing a flexible solution for managing access to UMA services. Additionally the companies have performed a range of interoperability and scalability testing between Cisco’s AAA solution, Cisco Access Registrar (CAR) and the Kineto UMA Network Controller (UNC) to meet the demands of nationwide UMA service deployments. Cisco Access Registrar, already widely deployed by cellular, Wi-Fi and mobility service providers and known for its scalability and extensibility, has a series of UMA specific features designed in conjunction with clients and partners for location service, EAP-SIM authentication and fraud prevention.
The companies are also working to enhance the security of UMA-enabled mobile devices accessing the operator’s core network. Cisco’s UMA security products are designed to provide defense in depth from both malicious and non-malicious threats by combining high-density IPSec termination with a voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) peering point security architecture, load balancing, routing and switching all converged in the Cisco 7600 series router platform. Cisco’s Enhanced UMA Security Gateway provides modular security coverage for operators considering UMA solutions well beyond the requirements of the UMA standard. Cisco and Kineto have performed interoperability testing between the Kineto UNC and the Cisco Enhanced UMA Security Gateway so that the combined solution can support the capabilities required for multi-million subscriber deployments.
