Telecom Management

The pictures in this chapter marked with For the teacher are not meant to be
shown for the students. The students dont even have these pictures in their
material. It is an extra information for the teacher to get a deeper understanding
of the subjects, and in case of questions from the students to be able to answer
them. There is not enough lesson time to use this information.
Exercises are marked as a picture Exercise.

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Objectives: Telecom Management

After this part, you will be able to:
realise the importance of telecom management in a competitive
environment
state the most important standards within the area
describe the historical evolution of telecom management systems
state the application areas of telecom management

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Reference model

Network intelligence

Access

Access
Transport

Network management

Figure A.8.1

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Chapter contents

Telecom management standards

Telecom management systems

Telecom management application areas

10-4

Telecom Management, an introduction

Internet

PLMN

PSTN

Most operators work in a deregulated market with aggressive competitors,

demanding customers and many different networks and technologies (PSTN,
PLMN, ATM and IP switches/routers as well as thousands of access and transport
network elements). This is a very tricky situation, and IT support is vital.
Incumbent operators have in many cases in-house developed telecom
management systems (Telia, for example, had some 120 different systems in
1998) which makes it more difficult for them to change services. Intruder
operators have more flexible and modern systems.
In a competitive market, an operator must position himself compared to his
competitors. An operator who is perceived as giving the best customer care has a
valuable position, and to achieve this he must have well working management
systems (and probably a good call center solution connected to this).
Example with Swedish mobile operators:
Telia - best coverage
Comviq - cheapest
Europolitan - best customer care

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The operators wish

Fault-free network => high quality of services

High call-completion rate => high revenue

Happy and faithful customers => low churn rate

Low costs for operation and maintenance

Information at your finger tip => you know what is going
on; quality, customer habits, popularity of different services

Common management systems for all types of service
mobile
fixed
data

Network management affects the result both on the cost and revenue side.
Operators requirements for a management system
Towards the network: (cost side)
cheap
easy to use
little operating staff
save network costs
Towards the end-user: (revenue side)
retain the customer
connecting new customers
add new revenue-generating services

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Centralized O&M
Sales

Billing
+ less employees
+ gathered competence
+ broadcast
5

OSS

11

12

10
new

10
new

10

BSC
new

4
4

SCP

Mobile
8

MSC

IN
9

SSP
1

PDH

6
13

MUX

LT

SDH
7

DXC

DXC
R

NE

Talk shortly of of how an operator can cut costs for operation and maintenance
with OSSs (Operation Support Systems), see fig. A.8.3-A.8.7 and the text below.
Some typical cost related figures are: O&M 15 %, billing 12% and customer care
15% of the total expenses (except for taxes etc).
Overview of the development:
1. Dedicated staff in each exchange has been the case in more than 100 years.
2. With thousands of exchanges operation and maintenance will be very
expensive if this staffing is retained.
3. With the introduction of centralized O&M there is a lot to gain. OSS
(Operation Support System) is the general name for a system used for centralized
O&M.
4. The exchanges can now be operated and maintained from the OSS, and do not
have to be manned any more.
5. Less employees are needed, the competence is gathered in one place and
software can be updated as broadcast.
6. Except exchanges there is also transmission equipment in the network.
Traditional equipment is PDH including e.g. multiplexers, line terminals and
repeaters. There is an important difference between the exchanges and the PDH
transmission equipment. Exchanges has their own intelligence and can report to
the OSS when they are faulty. A repeater has no intelligence and can not report
any faults, it has to be tested from the OSS.

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7. PSTN/ISDN exchanges and the PDH transmission equipment are all by now
traditional equipment in the network, but new equipment have come the last
years. SDH transmission equipment with e.g. DXC is quite new in the network.
8. Mobile equipment is also quite new in the network, as well as IN equipment.
9. In the Next generation network IP and possibly ATM equipment will be
abundant.
10. All this new equipment has to be taken care of by the OSS.
11. There is a wish to connect the computer of the sales department to the OSS so
that it will be possible to register the subscriber just once. The right exchange will
be automatically updated.
12. There is also a wish to connect the billing department to the OSS. The bills
could be collected centralized in the billing computer.
13. Any equipment in the network that is supervised from the OSS is called a
Network Element.

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Centralised Operation and Maintenance

Reduce costs with OMC, Operation and Maintenance Centre

Create overview with NMC, Network Management Centre
NMC

Network
management

OSS

OMC
OSS

OMC

OMC

OSS

Element
management

OSS

DXC

PSTN

PLMN

Transport
network

Figure A.8.25

OSS Operation
Support
System

This is what the operator can do to cut costs. Fig. A.8.17-A.8.25.

Daily operation is handled locally. This staff works normal working hours.
Network planning issues and alarms outside office hours are handled more
centrally.
Advantages with centralized O&M:
A lot of functions will effectively be handled from a few points in the network.
It leads to a reduced personal staff, and is therefor cheaper for the operator.
A big number of functions can be automated.

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TMN
TMN Telecommunications Management network

OSS
OSS

OSS
OSS

Data communication network

Q3

Figure A.8.11

Network
element

Network
element

Network
element

Network
element

Network
element

Telecommunications network

The TMN standard was introduced as a model for operation and maintenance of
telecommunication networks for two important purposes:
-Functionality in a multi-vendor environment
-Optimization of network functionality
Networks with different types of network elements, made in different versions
and by different manufacturers, need:
-standardized interfaces in order to cooperate, defined management functions and
routines/processes

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Standards related to Telecom Management

TMN, telecommunications management network
OSS, operations support system
NE, network elements
Q3 interface

MO, managed objects

MIT, management information tree

CMIP, common management information protocol

FTAM, file transfer, access and management

Internet standards
SNMP, simple network management protocol
Web technology with HTTP and HTML

Standards from IT industry

CORBA, common object request broker architecture
EDI, electronic data interchange

TMN has not become what it was intended to be (it has never been fully
implemented). However, NE and Q3 are commonly used concepts. The element
management level with OMCs is the most real application. Show fig. A.8.8
and A.8.11 from the book with notes, or write on the white board. (Figure A.8.12A.8.14 can also be studied)
CORBA is important for the new management systems, since it is well suited for
distributed systems running on different platforms (even written in different
languages). CORBA can be seen as a software bus used by clients and servers.
All CORBA objects are described in an interface specification enabling other
objects to communicate with them. A special language is used, Interface
Definition Language, giving input to a database with metadata of each interface.
CORBA is a standard for different software programs for the OSS-components
regarding traffic measurements, charging etc.

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Evolution of management systems

AOM 101
an example of a large monolithic system
1977 => -86

TMOS
UNIX-based system on an Ericsson platform
1987 => -96

Standard IT systems
1997 =>
Extensive sourcing
Third-party suppliers specialised in one area (e.g. fault
management)
Pre-integration made by Ericsson

The telephone network used to be built on one proprietary platform, such as

AXE, and the best management solution was a proprietary system connected to
this platform.
Since then, much has changed. The network contains a mixture of systems from
many different vendors. At the same time the management area has become much
more standardized.
This means we (Ericsson) can (and must) source out much of the development
and concentrate on the integration that creates a total solution - both when
building networks and when building management systems.
The IT industry is increasingly entering the telecommunications area. Pure IT
companies are entering, like the German company SAP working with economy
systems.

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Telecom Management Application Areas

Customer
Customer
network
network
management
management

Customer
Customer management
management

IT
IT &
& system
system
management
management
Data
Data
warehousing
warehousing

Network
Network
operation
operation
Service
Service
provisioning
provisioning
Data/IP
Transmission
Telephony/ISDN

Access

The various parts of the network will have their element management systems
(OMCs). We then need to integrate functionality in a number of areas, supporting
the sales office, billing office, large enterprise customers and, last but not least,
the O&M staff.
(Of course there are also functions for the IT-support who install and maintain the
management system itself, as shown in the right-most area.)
Network operation: Here we have the NMC. Sweden uses one NMC for each
network. In California they use two NMCs for all networks.
Each network (the clouds): Different element management systems with OMCs.

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Network operation

Network traffic management
Multi-vendor and multi-service networks (voice, IP, ATM)
Monitor, supervise and control traffic in real time

Network fault management

Detect, manage and resolve disturbances
One system for faults = better customer service

Network performance management

Present trends and statistics
Find points of expansion/reduction

Multi-vendor, multi-technology (the PSTN and the Internet e.g.) and technical
convergence has made this area more difficult. For example, a router and an AXE
switch reacts differently to faults. This creates competence problems. Telecom
operators know the PSTN, and the Internet operators know the routers, but now
the telephone network and routers should be handled by the same staff.
The O&M staff are supported with the following functions:
Network Traffic Management -traffic analyses and supervision
A system for viewing, tracking and managing voice and data
communications across multi-vendor, multi-technology networks.
Network Fault Management:
Network Surveillance- fault localization
Presents and analyses network alarms (switching, transmission systems
and load conditions reported by the switches e.g. overload alarms).
Trouble Manager- fault correction
Supports the problem-resolution process. Fault management has become
more difficult as different network element behave differently (e.g. a
faulty router behaves differently from a faulty AXE exchange).

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Network Performance Management -measurement for statistics

Stores, analyses and presents historical data from the network. Used for
service and maintenance planning.
(The network Fault Management is presented in more detail further ahead)

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Customer management

Billing and call charges (e.g. discounts)

Payment management (credit card, prepaid etc.)

Inter-operator accounting

Customer order and work management

Help desk

Here we will find the Sales office and the Billing office.
Customer management is becoming more and more important in a competitive
market. Ordinary people find it difficult to differentiate and compare the services
offered by different networks. However, if you have to wait 30 minutes in the
Customer Care Center, it is easy to say something about the operator. Some
people claim that one dissatisfied customer conveys bad will to a large number
of other customers or potential customers in the ratio of 1 to 8 (the bad will
conveyed by one dissatisfied customer is equal to the goodwill created by eight
satisfied customers).

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Service provisioning

Service activation

One system for all types of service, if possible

Automatic, if possible
Real-time, if possible
By the customer, if possible (e.g. via Internet)

Service provisioning will be more and more important if many different services
are offered by the network (e.g. POTS, ISDN and ADSL).
NI service handling is included in this area (Service Management System)

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On white board
Local Exchange
Subscriber
switch

Group
switch

LIC

ADSL
Connection change
made by an intelligent
cross connector

An intelligent cross connector can be used by the operator to connect a subscriber

to a new line interface for e.g. ADSL or ISDN. In this way the subscriber gets his
new service faster. In the old way the operator had to shift the cables manually.
This is one way of provide services for the customers in a shorter time (TTC).
.

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Service provisioning, example

Manual

Order

Manual work

Service in operation

-$

Automatic

Order

+$

Service in operation

+$
Service
provisioning

It is quite complicated to connect one subscriber to a network or a new service if

this involves setting up data in a number of systems (e.g. the access network,
local switch, billing database, IN-node, etc.).
Being able to do this from one point creates a shorter TTC (faster Time-ToRevenue) and a happier customer.

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Data warehousing

Fraud detection

Customer calling analysis

Monitoring of Quality of Service

Churn management

The term data warehousing means that lots of data is stored and post-processed to
find many particulars about the subscribers and the network. Usually, most of the
data originates from the Call Detail Record (CDR) used for charging. CDR
analysis can show many different things, such as fraud and many other
unsatisfactory conditions.
A lot is won if the operator can discover and act upon problems before the
customers or competing operators discover them.
This type of information, just as the customer data base (Customer management),
is business critical. Therefore it is normally not outsourced, but handled by the
operators themselves.

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Customer network management

Management of customers network
Centrex
Virtual private network
Real-time billing

Outsourcing of network management

Bandwidth management

Customer network management is used to support large business customers. For

example, Telia takes care of Ericssons ECN network, which requires efficient
tools. IT support is a key success factor for the company.
Many large enterprises want to divide the management. For natural reasons
(competition between the end users, in this case the enterprises) they want to take
care of the business critical areas themselves. What areas that are business critical
depend on the enterprise, but it might include streamlining the connections,
managing a call center, monitoring things like the QoS or the call-completion
rate, etc.

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IT and systems management

Manages the support system

Supports distributed systems
should also support evolution from monolithic
systems to distributed systems
management of interfaces between systems

User-authorisation profiles

Upgrading of applications

Monitoring of computer resources

Just like in any other network environment there are also functions for managing
the management systems themselves.
Users can be defined and authorized to a certain user level, HW and SW
interfaces can be set up and the management applications can be installed and
maintained. This means there is an administrator user (super user) who has the
widest authorities and who can perform all these tasks.
The Telecom management system is built up by LAN, servers, disk systems and
executive systems like UNIX or Windows NT. For large operators much work
goes into supervising and updating all these entities.

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Example: Network fault management

NFM should minimise service downtime

Faults in a multi-vendor and multi-technology network is
difficult to handle

NFM should
detect faults
manage the fault resolution process
correct the fault

NFM consists of three main parts

Network surveillance: presents network alarms
Trouble manager: supports the problem-resolution process and
notifies other systems (e.g. customer management system)
Performance manager: stores, analyses and presents historical
data (could be used for service planning)

The Network surveillance handles alarms and localizes faults.

The Trouble manager handles trouble ticketing, work orders and fault correction.
The Performance manager is used for preventive actions.

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Example: Network fault management

1. Xxx xxx
2. Xxx xxx
3. Xxx xxx

Stop

Notify
Customer
management

Trouble
manager

Network
surveillance
Alarm list
Alarm log

Performance
manager

OSS

Topology
database

X.25 or TCP/IP

Data links

Q3
interface
NE

The various network elements (switches, routers, multiplexers, etc.) send their
alarms and status records over data links to the NFM system. Also existing nonstandard protocols can be handled in this communication. The NFM system then
stores all this information in a unified way in its database and presents it to the
operator (who gets one interface independent of the differences in the network
elements way to convey their information).
Network Surveillance presents network status on maps (could be large screens)
and indicates alarms graphically. All alarms from network elements are stored in
the database (alarm list).
Trouble Manager helps the operator to fix the fault. For example, a flow chart can
be presented on the screen, and access to O&M documents from the supplier is
provided.
Performance Manager presents statistics valuable for service planning.
All this is notified to the customer management system. This makes it possible
for the Help Desk to indicate what caused the disturbance. See the left arrow in
the picture.

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Example: Customer management/Billing

Billing of

Fixed and mobile networks

Business subscribers (e.g. Centrex, VPN and leased lines)
Broadband services
Data communication (e.g Internet)
Cable-TV network
Accounting (against other operators)

Multi-vendor and multi-technology support

Examples of new demands:
Hot billing
One customer - one bill (for different network subscriptions)

There are many functions in Customer management. Well focus on the billing
function.
Towards the large enterprise customers (who have traditionally catered for a large
portion of the operators profit), a clear billing has been a demand for some time
already. This is now spreading also to small companies and households.
For the operators themselves a fast and efficient handling of the billing gives a
very strong impact on their result. The handling cost of one bill might well be in
the range 10-20 USD, so being able to send a single bill to each customer instead
of maybe 3-4 bills (fixed telephone, mobile phone, cable TV, Internet
connection) saves money.
Multi-vendor and multi-technology gives the operator opportunities to sell
services for different kind of networks, and disadvantages in the coordination of
different equipment and networks.

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Example: Customer management/Billing

Information from
network fault
management
Customer
orders

Front help
desk

Customer
trouble
ticketing

Other
operators

Hot billing
Call rating &
billing

Payment
management

Customer order
management

Tariff plan
management

Inter-operator
accounting

Data warehouse
- Fraud detection
- Calling analysis
- etc.

Billing mediation platform

CDRs

The Call Detail Records (CDR) are sent to the Billing Mediation Platform for reformatting (required if different vendors have different formats of the CDRs).
CDRs are also sent to Data Warehousing for analysis. Call rating and Billing
generates the actual bills, but can also send out information directly to the
customer for a specific call e.g. e-mail to a hotel or a car rental company. This is
called Hot billing. Billing information is also used by the accounting function
regulating the flow of money between operators.
(If a Swedish subscriber calls a friend in the UK, the Swedish operator sends the
bill and gets the full income. But the call has passed the English operators
network too, and maybe even been transiting through other operators networks,
so some of the income must be shared with these operators. This is called
accounting, and how the money is shared is strictly defined by interconnection
agreements.)

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