Hosted Enterprise Services

Description

Hosted Enterprise Services (HES) is a standardized service framework within 3GPP that allows a Mobile Network Operator (MNO) to host telecommunications services for an enterprise on the MNO's network infrastructure. The enterprise, in this model, acts as a service provider to its own employees or members, leveraging the MNO's core network functions without needing to deploy its own physical network. Architecturally, HES introduces the concept of a Hosted Enterprise Services Identity (HESID) and a Hosted Enterprise Services User Identity (HESUID) to uniquely identify the enterprise and its users within the operator's domain. The MNO's network, specifically the Home Subscriber Server (HSS) or Unified Data Management (UDM) in 5G, stores subscription profiles that associate users with their enterprise service parameters. When a user initiates a service, the serving Call Session Control Function (CSCF) or Session Management Function (SMF) queries the subscriber data, identifies the HES affiliation, and applies the specific service logic and policies defined for that enterprise. This can include specialized routing for voice calls (e.g., to a corporate Private Branch Exchange - PBX), enterprise-specific short codes for messaging, closed user group features, and tailored data access policies. The framework relies on standard 3GPP interfaces, such as the Sh interface between an Application Server (AS) hosting the enterprise service logic and the HSS, and the Ut interface for user self-management of services. HES enables the operator to offer a partitioned, virtualized slice of its network capabilities to the enterprise, supporting features like centralized corporate dialing plans, abbreviated numbering, and integration with enterprise IP-PBX systems over the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS).

Purpose & Motivation

HES was created to address the growing demand from enterprises for greater control and customization of communication services for their workforce, while avoiding the capital and operational expenditure of deploying and managing a private mobile network core. Prior to HES, enterprises often relied on basic mobile voice and data plans or deployed isolated Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC) solutions that were complex and not standardized. This led to fragmented user experiences and limited integration with the public mobile network. The 3GPP standardized HES framework, introduced in Release 12, provides a clear, operator-hosted model that solves these problems. It allows MNOs to monetize their network investments by offering value-added, branded enterprise services, thereby increasing Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) and customer stickiness. For enterprises, it solves the problem of providing a consistent, feature-rich, and secure communication experience to mobile employees, integrating seamlessly with their existing telephony and IT systems. The historical context includes the evolution of Centrex services in fixed networks and their extension to mobile, with HES representing the full, standardized mobile incarnation. It addresses limitations of earlier proprietary hosted solutions by ensuring interoperability between different operators' networks and user equipment, fostering a competitive market for enterprise communication services.