TECHNICAL REPORT
| Grantee |
Tonga Communication Corporation (TCC)
|
| Project Title | Ucall in IPv6 World |
| Amount Awarded | USD 250,000 |
| Dates covered by this report: | 2022-10-07 to 2024-10-01 |
| Economies where project was implemented | Tonga |
| Project leader name |
Maile Halatuituia
|
| Project Team |
Tevita Siuli Fifita,Gina Mahe, Nisifolo Havea, Sitani Akolo, Sione Likiliki,Iki Tuitavake,Iki Tausinga, Veisinia Vi, Fatima Moa, Aisake Samiu, Uikelotu Paletu’a, Tigard Pulotu, Malakai Tonga, Douglas Akauola, Tuuta Puafisi, Tevita Tahaafe, Tevita Fotu
|
Project Summary
The proliferation of Internet-enabled mobile devices has highlighted the limitations of IPv4, including address exhaustion and inefficient routing. To address these issues and ensure sustainable growth, Tonga Communications Corporation (TCC) embarked on an 18-month project to implement IPv6 on its "Ucall" mobile cellular network. This initiative is critical for maintaining service quality and preparing for future technological advancements.
Project Goals and Main Activities
The primary objective was to achieve a 50% to 80% IPv6 adoption rate among mobile devices ( both Android and iOS). The project was executed in several key stages:
- Information Gathering: Verified Current Software and Hardware IPv6 Compatibility.
- User Access IPv6 Internet: Provide IPv6 Connectivity for TCC Mobile Subscribers.
- Training and IPv6 Public Awareness Events: IPv6 Training and Awareness for TCC Staff, Private and Public Enterprises in Tonga.
- Transport Path: Seamlessly Enable IPv6 Protocol on the Network without affecting current IPv4 Service for Users.
- Mobile Core Node Config Enable IPv6 on TCC Test and Production APNs.
- Enable IPv6 on Android Devices: Android Users change their APN Settings manually to enable IPv4v6 or IPv6 only.
- Enable IPv6 DS on iOS (iPhones) : iOS version 17 compatible device IPv6 DS Access to Internet.
- Enable IPv6 on Cellular Fixed CPE 4G Modem: Replace current 4G Modems and Pocket Wifi with IPv6 capable devices.
Achievements and Lessons Learned
Android Devices : Manually changing APN settings is a challenging thing to do. We needed over-the-air updates of Android settings on all Devices in order to significantly improve our project adoption rate. For now this manual activity will continue beyond the project timeline close on the 31st of July 2024.
iPhones : Apple provides iOS 17 compatible devices dual stack support on the TCC Ucall Mobile Network. These device users update their Phones with the new software automatically to enable IPv6, therefore they require no manual intervention.
We did request CLATd for Tethering Devices to be able to access IPv4 only Destination but Apple confirmed we will not have it as this time but only Dual Stack as mentioned.
Internal Collaboration and Team work among Project Team Members:
Project Team members work closely together, event beyond the completion of project activities. Technical training and implementation activities used a lot of teamwork and this facilitated knowledge-sharing among staff from different sections. Engineering department staff were selected to be members of the project staff.
Adoption Rates :
We expected adoption rates of 50 - 80 % before the project, based on the number of IPv6-enabled devices on the network. However, in the 12 months since we deployed IPv6 to our Production APN's we only see well below 30%. This is due to some challenges we faces which will be explained in more detail in this report but to summarize:
1. No Over The Air updates for Android's software to automatically apply the IPv6 enable setting on the device APN config. Primarily we rely on user responses to our messages to prompt them to change their APN settings.
2. Only iOS 17 compatible devices on the network have IPv6 DS connectivity. This means iPhone 10 and previous models remain IPv4 until users replace their devices.
3. The fixed 4G Cellular Modem and Pocket Wifi currently used by TCC Ucall subscribers do not Support IPv6.
Table of Contents
- Background and Justification
- Project Implementation Narrative
- Project Activities, Deliverables and Indicators
- Project Review and Assessment
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Project Communication
- Project Sustainability
- Project Management
- Project Recommendations and Use of Findings
Background and Justification
Since the commissioning of the international fiber cable by the Tonga Government in 2013, latency and speed have significantly improved compared to the satellite era. However, new challenges have emerged, such as increased network resource consumption due to the growing demand from TCC subscribers, which is constrained by the available network capacity.
By 2014, TCC had established a 3G-capable network. In the subsequent years, LTE was introduced in limited areas, primarily in central Nuku'alofa. In 2018, TCC's 4G network covered nearly all of Tongatapu and extended to three of the main island groups.
The rapid development from 2014 to 2018 resulted in a threefold increase in demand for bandwidth and network resources. This increased demand specifically pertains to NAT44 capacity on the network side, as RFC 1918 addresses are used for mobile handsets to access the Internet.
Despite having sufficient private and public IP addresses for NAT44, TCC faced TCP resource limitations and hardware constraints with its firewall, which manages NAT44 for customer mobile traffic, resulting in additional costs for a firewall upgrade.
Given that a significant portion of mobile data traffic is IPv6-ready, deploying IPv6 is intended to alleviate the ongoing financial burden associated with CAPEX for NAT44, which involves converting private IPv4 addresses to public IPs for Internet access.
Implementing IPv6 on the TCC cellular network will offer the following advantages:
1) TCC aims to remain competitive in the region by adopting the latest technologies, such as IPv6.
2) TCC's network modernization will future-proof the system, enabling the integration of IoT and other advanced technologies for Ucall mobile customers.
3) Vendor specifications often dictate implementation choices; however, TCC can independently advance IPv6 deployments, which is feasible regardless of vendor decisions. This approach proves to be more cost-effective, as demonstrated in previous deployments.
In a rare instance, TCC experienced upstream IPv4 connectivity issues. However, IPv6 allowed customers to access the Internet seamlessly, without noticing the problem. Without IPv6, this issue could have resulted in a complete Internet outage for customers.
Project Implementation Narrative
1. Information Gathering
The project team arranged consultations between the vendor who manages our cellular network (Ucall) and a consultant on how we will proceed with deploying IPv6. At this early stage it was identified that we will use a single APN for production deployments however we used three APN's scenario during test phase for proof of concept. Also at this stage we knew that we should work together with Apple to enable IPv6 on iOS in our network.
2. User Access IPv6 Internet
Prior to this project, only IPv4 Internet access was available for our Ucall subscribers. But when we enabled IPv6 Dual Stack on our Production APN on the 30th August, 2023, we saw there were ~3k online users instantly accessing the Internet over IPv6 protocol. We didn't know at the time who these users were in terms of what device model or make but certainly we confirmed at the time these were all android devices. The reason for this is because iPhones weren't enabled for IPv6 until 6th March 2024.
3. Training and IPv6 Public Awareness Event
Training and consultation for the TCC NAP Team: After this consultation all teams within the TCC engineering Departments (NAP) contributed answers to questions raised by the consultant about what needed to be done during technical implementations. This information included how we can provide Dual Stack in our production APNs.
Training for the rest of the TCC local staff who directly Interact with our Ucall subscribers: After this training these staff were able to help customers who came to our front counters to change their APN settings in Android systems or update their compatible device if its iPhones to enable IPv6. This did improve our adoption rate of IPv6 as a whole.
The IPv6 Public Awareness Events were a success: The project team conducted these Activities in all the four main islands of Tonga including Tongatapu. We invited various types of organization. These included Government Ministries, Private and Individual Businesses and the local Women Community Development Group (which is not related to ICT).
We think its also equally important to share what we learned during our deployment phases through presentations at international Conferences such as the APNIC meeting, which would help others, especially smaller operators in the region, in their IPv6 Deployments. If TCC, a small operator can do it, why not others too? If we had known a lot of this information before our deployment it would have made it much easier, particularly in our dealings with vendors.
4. The issues around the transport path
When we started this project, the only part of our network that was IPv6 enabled was the path for fixed broadband, which was already on Dual Stack (DS) from a precious deployment on our IP Core. Since this Project was solely focused on our cellular network, there was no IPv6 at all in this part of the topology. Early from the start it was identified that from the Mobile Core side we would only enable Dual Stack on the uplink from the Mobile Gateway (UGW) toward the IP Core which is already DS. Although it seemed like it was a single task, it was actually the most challenging and time-consuming part of the technical implementation. The project team consulted both the Vendor and VAS Support independently. Since our team has the expertise when comes to redesigning the network topology and our VAS consultant has the knowledge to do the UGW configuration we chose at this stage to follow these steps.
4.1 Introduce a new Cisco Router to the network to handle NAT44. (Configure, install and new link cabling. Also considered DPI cabling too).
4.2 Reroute selected Ttaffic on New Path 3.1 to confirm OK.
4.3 Once this new path 4.1 was confirmed, then rerouted all Ucall Subscriber Traffic on this new path toward the Internet.
4.4 It's worth noting that the rest of the mobile core traffic still remained on the original path toward our firewall including its management traffic, primarily for security reasons.
When we introduced IPv6 to our Ucall subscribers we were fully aware at the time that this IPv6 traffic does not require this unneccesary hop on 4.1 above to the NAT44 Router. So we created a more direct route as follows:
4.5 A new physical link was created to directly connect the Mobile IP Gateway to our border router.
4.5.1 On this new Link NAT64 wasalso enabled. As a result of introducing IPv6 to the Cellular Network we have two 10G paths from the Mobile IP Gateway. One toward the Nat44 router for IPv4 Traffic, the other is a direct connection to our border router for IPv6.
There were many notable experiences during this phase given the pressure upon the project team to make sure that outages were avoided as much as possible.
Most of the this tedious work was planned during day time and we had to request a maintenance window to be approved by TCC Management then actually implement it during our off peak time between 03:00 AM - 06:00 AM on the selected dates.
5. Mobile Core Node Configuration.
The bulk of this Implementation was planned and carried out by our VAS consultant engineer. This involved the creation of test APNs then provision of test devices to conduct end to end tests of both android devices and selected iPhones.
During the end to end test three test APNs were created, each one with different modes. One for IPv4 only , Dual Stack and the last one for IPv6 only. Selected Android and iOS devices were provisioned for the tests. Android was straight forward and required little effort except the User has to toggle his APN settings on their device on these modes respectively.
For iPhones, a test software version provided by Apple installed on selected Test iPhones using the MacOS Laptop and the iPhones bought with the Project fund.
6. Enable IPv6 on Android Devices (Ongoing)
This part of the project will go beyond the project timeline, and involves manually advising Android users on how to make the necessary changes to their APN to enable IPv6. One thing we learned is that we cannot force our users or customers to do anything. However, we will continue to explore a proper method to address this challenge such as over the air updates. For this, we need to examine case studies of previous organizations who have done this. Unfortunately we have not talked to someone even though we did attempt to reached out to people, but as yet we have not had any positive result. That is why this will be ongoing in to the months, and who knows, after a year from now perhaps we will still be doing these activities. So this may or may not be typical of an IPv6 deployment.
7. Enable IPv6 DS on iOS Device (Phones)
We requested IPv6 Only plus CLATd functionality for Tethering Devices, we got DS only on iOS 17 compatible Devices. Incompatible devices (iPhones 10 and below) have remained IPv4 only until these users replace their device with an iOS 17 compatible device.
8. Enable IPv6 on Cellular Fixed CPE 4G Modem. (Ongoing)
The Current 4G CPE Fleet does not Support IPv6. We will use the rest of the funds at our disposal now to order a sample to replace these modems.
Once we will replace these CPE there is an expectation that a huge increase of IPv6 traffic due to the introduction of these modems will improve the rate of adoption in our project. this is expected to happen beyond the project timeline.
Project Activities, Deliverables and Indicators
Beginning of Project
| Activity | Description | #Months |
|---|---|---|
| Collection of information | Since mobile networks have many components we needed to find out the proper information from vendors and related teams/organizations that we considered to be included in this project. | 2 |
| Planning | This phase included consulting with third parties on best practice approaches to the project. We also looked at details such as infrastructure and billing. | 6 |
Middle of Project
| Activity | Description | #Months |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment on Backhaul Network Sides | This phase involved the follow-up after the planning. We already knew what needed to be done on the backhaul network components . We deployed IPv6 on it, did tests, and received confirmations. | 4 |
| Soft Deployment on Test APN | After backhaul deployments we created a test APN with dual stack and conducted tests and analysis. | 4 |
End of Project
| Activity | Description | #Months |
|---|---|---|
| Production Deployments | This is the final phase, during which we continued to address issues from previous phases. It involved further analysis of billing to make sure we did not have any revenue leakage. Not only that, we have redundancy we needed to test as well. It also included any other tasks that needed to be completed before closing the project. | 4 |
Key Deliverables
| Deliverable | Status |
|---|---|
| Initial Collection of Information | Completed |
| User Access IPv6 Internet | Completed |
| Training and IPv6 Public Awareness | Completed |
| Transport Path | Completed |
| Mobile Core Configurations | Completed |
| Enable IPv6 on Android Devices | Completed |
| Enable IPv6 DS on iOS | Completed |
| Enable IPv6 on Fixed Cellular CPE | Completed |
Key Deliverables - Detail
| Deliverable: Initial Collection of Information Status: Completed Start Date: June 1, 2022 Completion Date: December 31, 2022 Baseline: Before the project started we did not know what was needed to enable IPv6 for our mobile users. Activities: 1. The project Team gathered information on all areas such as Mobile Core, ISP Core and Server Infrastructure. Outcomes: Equipment and licenses were purchased. Additional Comments: The project team collected equipment, human resources and any other assets that would support the IPv6 Deployment on our ISP core, mobile core and also server infrastructure. The data collection took place from 1st June 2022 to 31st December 2022. |
| Deliverable: User Access IPv6 Internet Status: Completed Start Date: October 1, 2022 Completion Date: August 30, 2023 Baseline: There was only IPv4 Access for our Mobile Subscriber. Activities: 1. Enable IPv6 for subscribers. 2. Allow IPv6 traffic on our core toward the Internet. 3. Now Android users are able to change their APN Protocol Setting to IPv6 or IPv4v6. 4. For newer Android versions IPv6 DualStack is already active by default. 5.For IOS devices such as iPhones we still await Apple to provide an NDA so we can further work on it to enable IPv6 Dual Stack for all iPhones on our Ucall Network. Outcomes: Changes will be done and should result in a successful IPv6 Access from User Equipment through Mobile Core to IPv6 Internet. Additional Comments: We successfully deployed IPv6 to our Production APN on the 30th August 2023. From this day onward Ucall subscribers would be able to access the Internet on IPv6. |
| Deliverable: Training and IPv6 Public Awareness Status: Completed Start Date: June 1, 2022 Completion Date: September 6, 2024 Baseline: There was very limited or a lack of awareness regarding IPv6 Technology within the project team. Let alone the whole TCC staff, management or stakeholders. Activities: 1. Training for TCC Network Access Platform (NAP) Team conducted by our IPv6 Consultant alongside consultation with respective teams within the departments runs for 2 whole weeks continuously during the Month of June 2023. 2. Starting in Dec 2023 to March 2024 project team conducted local training for TCC Staff on IPv6 deployment on our Network both Fixed and Cellular. 3. IPv6 Public Awareness Events where we invited Participant from the public to attend through a letter of Invitations to many organizations in Tonga. Outcomes: The outcomes for these 3 main training and awareness events are 1. TCC Engineering Team not only fully aware of the IPv6 Project, Gain IPv6 Knowledge from the Training but most importantly contribute to the Technical Implementation through the Consultations conduct at the time. 2. TCC Local staff can help improve the adoption rate. 3. IPv6 public awareness events to make the public Aware IPv6 protocol is enabled on the TCC Ucall Network. Additional Comments: TCC NAP, frontline staff and the public are fully aware of the project, and contribute to improving the adoption rate of the project. |
| Deliverable: Transport Path Status: Completed Start Date: January 2, 2023 Completion Date: July 24, 2023 Baseline:There were no IPv6 from PGW to the Internet Gateway. Activities: 1. Enable IPv6 on PGW 2. Enable IPv6 in Core-1 Router's 3. Enable IPv6 on Core-1 toward Internet. Outcomes: We should be able to send an icmp6 packet to a destination on the Internet and get a reply. Additional Comments: Configuration of Transport Path from UE to Internet |
| Deliverable: Mobile Core Configurations Status: Completed Start Date: January 2, 2023 Completion Date: August 30, 2023 Baseline: Applied for a license and configured APN test Activities: 1. Enable license 2. Configure mobile core nodes. 3. Create APNs 4. Provision users 5. Provide test case. 6. Run and verify end to end Test. 7. Consider accounting and billing Outcomes: 1. Ucall subscribers are able to access the Internet over IPv6 2. Confirm accounting is correct 3.Confirming billing 4. Test IPv4 , IPv4v6 and IPv6 only Additional Comments: After this Phase, Ucall subscribers were able to access the Internet over IPv6 with current billing and accounting processed. |
| Deliverable: Enable IPv6 on Android Devices Status: Completed Start Date: August 30, 2023 Completion Date: June 30, 2024 Baseline: When we started deploy IPv6 to the Ucall Network, only the latest Android versions were capable of accessing the Internet on IPv6. Older models required intervention from Users and IOS does not enable IPv6 by default Activities: 1. Enable IPv6 on all TCC Live APNs 2. Automatically we see the latest Android versions and models have IPv6 Connectivity either IPv6 only but majority were DS. 3. Media Broadcast through TCC Social Media Outlets, Talk Back Radio Program on how Androids Users can change their APN Settings. 4. Create Promotional Activities like raffles, posters or even one to one interaction on front counters. Outcomes: Improvements on Adoption Rate from ~3k Subscriber to ~4k. now after almost 12 months when we first enable DS on our Production APN. Additional Comments: This task is yet to achieve the goal targeted. Even though it will be beyond the timeline of this project we will still continue to perform these in order to keep improving the adoption rate. . |
| Deliverable: Enable IPv6 DS on iOS Status: Completed Start Date: July 1, 2022 Completion Date: March 6, 2024 Baseline: Activities: Outcomes: 1. Couple of months take to establish the communication with Apple 2. We request DS, IPv6 only plus CLATd , however Apple confirmed only DS on iOS 17 compatible Device should be available on the TCC Network Additional Comments: On March 2024 Apple release iOS 17 with DS support for TCC iPhone Users. |
| Deliverable: Enable IPv6 on Fixed Cellular CPE Status: Completed Start Date: July 1, 2022 Completion Date: October 1, 2024 Baseline: Activities: Outcomes: TCC needs to replace its fixed cellular CPE to support IPv6. We will order a sample of these CPE with in this Project. Additional Comments: 1. Currently there are ~200 Subscriber whom are on Fixed CPE online at all times. |
Project Review and Assessment
The team initially anticipated that technical implementations on the network would be the most challenging aspect. However, they found that despite the need for ongoing collaboration with consultants, support, and vendors, it was manageable and within their control.
The more challenging aspects involve iOS vendors and Android users. The team relies on these entities, which are beyond their control. Addressing Android users is somewhat less challenging; the team continues to broadcast messages encouraging APN changes for enabling IPv6 DS or IPv6-only configurations on Android devices. However, Apple has informed TCC that only compatible iPhones can support Dual Stack (DS) and that CLATd functionality is not available. Consequently, many iOS users will remain on IPv4 until they upgrade to compatible devices. Furthermore, compatible iPhones support only DS, not IPv6-only connections or CLATd for tethering IPv6-only devices accessing IPv4 content.
Despite the ongoing technical challenges, the project yielded significant positive results for the team. Rather than having individuals conduct internal training and public awareness programs, a team of 4-5 members managed these events. This approach enhanced morale and collaboration, fostering a deeper understanding of each team member's personality and improving teamwork. Post-training, the team is more inclined to collaborate on tasks beyond the project.
A key lesson from the project is that delaying IPv6 implementation in cellular networks increases the risk of incompatibility with iOS devices. For example, Apple confirmed that only iPhone 11 and later models support IPv6 Dual Stack with the latest iOS version, while iPhone 10 and earlier models will remain on IPv4 until users replace their devices.
Diversity and Inclusion
Three female members from various sections made significant contributions to our project team. One, a Network Engineer, was integral to the planning and design phase before departing for an overseas scholarship. Upon her return, she rejoined the team to help train TCC internal staff and conduct public IPv6 awareness events, including those on outer islands. Other female team members took leadership roles in preparing and coordinating training activities and consultation services, ensuring the project's smooth implementation and outreach. Their efforts were crucial in achieving the project's goals and fostering collaboration across departments.
The team extended invitations for IPv6 public awareness events to a diverse range of organizations, regardless of their size. This included small businesses, non-profits, and community groups such as the Women Development Group. The inclusion of non-technical individuals was particularly beneficial, as it provided valuable feedback representing broader public concerns about IPv6. This approach ensured that the project addressed not only technical deployment issues but also the perspectives and needs of end-users, thus strengthening a more comprehensive and inclusive understanding of IPv6 implementation.
Project Communication
Training and awareness programs were the main strategy used to communicate with TCC staff, enterprises and other network operators in Tonga. Stakeholders included high schools, the government data center, Tongan Defence Force, local Universities and others. These events allowed the project team to train and promote the project not just within TCC but to the public as well.
Positive outcomes resulted from local training to TCC staff such as:
After the project team met and discussed during the Training with Marketing Team , they confirmed that all their future order they will consider IPv6 support on all CPE as mandatory. These will include Fixed CPE for ADSL and FTTH, or 4G Modems and Pocket Wifi for the Cellular Network.
After public awareness events were conducted it was noticed that knowledge about IPv6 was very limited, only a few participants were aware of it. Afterwards, there were a large number of the participants indicating that it was their first time exposed to an IPv6 awareness event but most importantly they were also aware the technology is available on the Ucall Network .
One of the sessions during the events was a presentation on IPv6 deployments in small scale networks such as offices and schools. In one of the islands immediately after the training we enabled IPv6 on their local network. This shows that through the project activities it was well communicated to this TCC Customer.
Because of this project's technical implementation success, our new public Wifi service project will also enable IPv6 on its SSID. This will in fact contribute to the overall TCC IPv6 adoption rate.
Impact story
The team decided that these stories from our IPv6 Public Awareness Events are worth sharing:
A) IPv6 unfamiliarity
When the team traveled to one of the outer islands, 'Eua, an elderly woman introduced herself as a member of a local Women's Development Community Group. She admitted to having no knowledge of IPv6 or ICT. She raised two questions:
1. How would IPv6 solve Internet connectivity problems on their remote island?
2. How would IPv6 address climate change?
The team's response was that IPv6 does not address these issues. From a Network Operator's perspective users do not need to understand IPv6 nor aware of its exists on the network. But from the user perspective at least they should be made aware through public awareness about IPv6.
(B) Interest in APNIC Foundation offerings
On the island of Vava'u, a woman expressed significant interest in APNIC Foundation services, such as the Request for Proposals, following a presentation by a Foundation employee. After the IPv6 public awareness Event, she immediately inquired about how her ministry could submit a proposal to improve internet connectivity for their office on the island.
(C) Insights and impact of TCC's first externally funded project
This IPv6 project represents the first externally funded initiative undertaken by TCC, distinct from the routine CAPEX projects typically managed within departmental budgets. It provided the IPv6 project team with valuable learning experiences regarding TCC's internal processes and collaborative efforts to achieve project goals. The project also involved significant interaction with vendors such as Apple, adding complexity to the deployment of IPv6 on a cellular network. The knowledge gained from this project positions the team to assist similar operators in deploying IPv6 within their networks.
Project Sustainability
The ultimate goal of the IPv6 project for TCC Ucall (cellular) mobile subscribers is to enable Internet access via IPv6. While the network implementation has been completed, we still need to activate IPv6 on user handsets. iOS devices require an update to the latest version, whereas Android users must manually adjust their APN settings. These efforts have begun and will persist beyond the project's timeline and funding.
During the deployment phase, the team discovered that the existing 4G customer premises equipment (CPE) did not support IPv6. To address this issue, two solutions were proposed:
Procurement of Updated CPE Models: TCC will acquire newer CPE models that support IPv6. This procurement process is managed by the marketing team, which will handle the orders using their departmental budget, rather than the project funds. This approach will facilitate the gradual replacement of the outdated CPEs with models capable of supporting IPv6. Since end users cannot be compelled to make changes, awareness programs—including broadcast messages on social media, TV, and radio—will continue beyond the project deadline. TCC will cover these costs once project funding is depleted.
As mentioned on this report, currently the adoption rate is well below 30%, this indicates TCC will make sure to continue with Androids deployments from the user Perspective in addition to that replacing our 4G Modems and 4G Pocket Wifi with CPE that is capable of IPv6. Our marketing team have confirmed they will order proposed CPE that is IPv6 capable in future stock. This is promising as we would expect in the near future that this portion of unsupported CPE in the Network would replace with IPv6 capable ones therefore improve further the adoption rate from 30%.
As you will find in our Financial Report TCC have already spent more than the total grant amount (270+k) this shows the Commitment of our management to sustain this project even after the official closure of our Project before October 1st 2024.
We hoped with this ongoing support we will see a much more adoption Rate in the next 12 - 24 months from now.
Capacity building
The project team closely collaborates and works together with almost all kinds of entity in Tonga during Public Events in the Project Activities. Not only did this collaboration extend to international partners and consultants but also international online learning resources outside TCC were used during project activities especially during training and awareness events.
Also a member from the project team was able to attend an international conference and workshops, primarily to share lessons learned and experiences during the project implementation, using the project fund.
Internal capacity building within the project team was also improved in term of the technical capability of the team. Before the start of the project we weren't aware of what technical details were involved in the deployment of IPv6 in a cellular network. After the project, using our experience, we would easily help others if there is a need to.
Project management and financial management skills were also improved within the project team. Because a group of individuals from the project Team were involved in activities such as planning, logistics and other tasks, we were able to understand more about the internal procurement process, which is a bonus for the team members involved in these activities.
Capacity Building Implementation
TCC Staff Training
As project Manager within our team we think it's important for TCC internal staff to aware of the IPv6 Deployments in TCC Networks comprise both our Fixed and Cellular Network. Therefore we conduct local training not only to Tongatapu main islands but also include other 3 main islands too. Those include Vava'u , Ha'apai and 'Eua. With the available fund a team of 4 was able to make the local trip to these islands and conduct the training in person. I thinks its important that TCC staff should have the whole picture from the start to where we are in the current situation as this is important to why TCC consider IPv6 Deployment. Not only that we have two additional major objective for this local Training.
1. TCC Staff should be able to help our Mobile subscriber enable IPv4/IPv6 on their Androids Devices
2. TCC Staff Support Team to visit ADSL Subscriber Home to enable IPv6 Dual Stack on their ADSL Modems.
We propose for Engineers from respective Sections to do their own presentation. For instance the Engineer from Mobile Section present on the Evolution of the Technology in Ucall Mobile Network (TCC Cellular Brand) . The changes in technology plus rapid growth of Subscriber means higher CAPEX for TCC to maintain these growing number of Users. Deploying IPv6 in Ucall Network reduce this cost or in our case eliminate it totally as we reuse current device on the Network.
In addition to that we also invite an engineer from Fix Network to present from his side too the changes in the network such as Upgrades or existing nodes such as MSAN, IMS , LAN Switches in place that would relate to enabling IPv6 on our Fix Network.
After these presentation then I sum it up with the Actual Deployments on both Fix and Cellullar Network which is the primary focus of this project.
We have completed two islands and only left with Ha'apai as of now. We hope to compete this training soon as we also conduct IPv6 Public Awareness Events to in this same trip to these islands. This special event is a success as we do have 3 presentations from our partners , From APNIC Foundation , APNIC plus our IPv6 Consultant for our Project.
Full Report from TCC Local Training and IPv6 Public Events Photos from these events also included and it was a success as their local staff is able to make the change themselves instead of relying on teams from the main islands.
Not only our local staff but resprentative from public at large such as Government Ministries , Private Business , Corporate Customer and even local community Women were able to attend the Event.
One important points was raised by a woman from the Community Group in 'Eua Island is that we should do more of the Awareness Program about IPv6. Public need to inform of the technology as they will be using it.
Project Management
Typically, CAPEX proposals are submitted by Heads of Department (HOD) and reviewed by management. Larger projects are then presented to the Board of Directors if they exceed certain financial thresholds. For this project, all requests were made by the Project Manager with support from HOD, following the standard procurement process. For instance, requests for licenses or other payments were processed through the usual TCC procurement procedures but were initiated by the Project Manager rather than the HOD.
In typical CAPEX projects, Heads of Sections (HOSs) report to the Heads of Department (HODs), and the HODs usually serve as Project Managers. However, for the IPv6 project, an exception was made due to its non-standard budgetary status. The decision was made to appoint individuals who proposed valuable initiatives as Project Managers, deviating from the usual procedure. This approach has led to a trend where engineers from various sections are now serving as Project Managers. This shift has increased motivation among these individuals, benefiting both TCC and their professional development.
Project Recommendations and Use of Findings
The team identified the following key considerations:
1. Conduct a Comprehensive Review: Before engaging with a vendor, thoroughly understand the existing IPv4 network. This preparation helps prevent unexpected issues and surprises from the vendor.
2. Share Plans and Seek Assistance: Clearly communicate objectives and seek support to achieve them. Engaging with experts through conferences and network operator groups can offer valuable mentorship for IPv6 deployment.
3. Foster Curiosity: Embrace a willingness to learn by making inquiries and accepting mistakes as part of the learning process.
4. Explore Financial Resources: If an organization lacks funding for IPv6 deployment, consider submitting proposals for external financial support.
5. Prioritize Apple Devices: Address Apple devices as a critical component and deploy IPv6 as early as possible. The project revealed that Apple does not update or support older handsets. Consequently, iPhone 10 and earlier models on the TCC network will remain IPv4 until users replace them with compatible devices.
6. End-User Engagement: Both Android and iOS require manual user intervention to enable IPv6 on their handsets. It is crucial to plan for this requirement. If the team had been aware of this from the outset, early and widespread communication could have increased user awareness and readiness by the time network deployment was completed.
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