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Mobile operators are undergoing deep and lasting change. The ability for operators to keep pace with data traffic growth, increasing penetration of smartphones, and the rapid innovation cycles associated with connected applications is vital to their ongoing success.

This white paper discusses a critical aspect of performance and scalability in advanced 3G and emerging LTE networks: the control plane. It provides the results of independent performance tests of Bridgewater’s control plane solution including the Home Subscriber Server and Policy Controller and the Cisco ASR 5000 mobile packet core. 

It also discusses the demanding performance and scalability requirements operators need to consider in managing mobile data traffic growth and changes in user behavior including longer data sessions, increasing video usage, and more connected devices and machines.