Mobile Workforce Solutions

Telecoms use a combination of hand held devices including specially designed and developed rugged PCs with integrated test equipment, custom application software, and wireless communications to complete many of the jobs requiring mobility. These are used by techniaians that walk or ride in trucks to repair and install plain old telephone system (POTS) and special services (leased lines, high bandwidth) phone lines. They also repair and install special high speeed high bandwidth lines for business' in all market segments  such as large enterprise, mid-sized, and small offce home office (SOHO).  The test equipment is used to verify problems with the network or customer equipment, and to validate a fix once one is effected. The application receives real time job dispatch information, retrieves crucial customer account data, circuit design and history data, warnings of any potential dangerous issues with that cutomer (like a bad dog in the yard), and applicable maintenance plans if they exist to either bill the customer or not for services. It also allows the technicain to sell additional services to the customer and turn them on instantly as well as to status the job and complete their time sheets.

Employess that perform constuction and engineering functions use hand held devices to project manage the jobs, complete build design, inventory parts and note and resolve decrepencies in material and supplies. They status their jobs on a daily basis to show progress to their superiors and use this track their work to completion.

Network Capacity Planning and Demand Forecasting

Network capacity planning with demand forecasting play a significant role in keeping a telecom in business. The cost of telecom switches, cell sites, and the infrastructure needed to supply services to customers is very high. Therefore having a well designed and implemented process for identifying available and needed network capacity balanced against projeected customer demand require sophicated algorithms with inputs from many sources. The desired outcome from this system is a "just in time" and not a "just in case" supply chain system.

Inputs into this proceess include but are not limited to:

• The capability and projeected traffic carrying capacity of new technology switches.
• Current available bandwidth from existing equipment.
• Life expectancy and inventory of legacy equipment.
• Projected movement of business and residents in the georgraphies being served by that telecom.  
• Forecasted demand for services from the telecom as compared to the competition 
• Environmental issues emerging that can affect the telcom's long term viability
• Political issues forecasted that can affect the business climate
• Regulatory issues that cam impact the business  

Getting the capacity planning and demand forecasting right is if the utmost importance to all telecoms.

Service Assurance Applications

Service assurance applications allow telecoms to provide more relaible, timely, and cost effective service to their customers. The FCC, PSC, and PUCs mandate service levels which are to be maintained as directed or fines can be levied against the telecom for failure to comply. Sophisticated algorithms are used to analyze data collected from the network switch looking out to the customer and back to the network and Central Office. Looking out to the customer, these alogrithms are able to indentify telecom issues affecting their ability to receive and use the service provided reliably and for issues with the customer's equipment in receiving the service properly. Looking back to the network and  Central Office, the algorithms identify issues with the network facilities, with switching, wiring, etc. Timely dispatch of technicians both internally and externally to resolve identified issues are an integral part of a telecom's service assurance strategy. These technicians are equipped with state of the art test equipment, hand held computers with expert software sytems to help them to do a thorough and outstanding job of getting the customer back in service and to keep them in service.

Revenue Assurance Applications

In the Telecom sector there are deployed applications which use very sophisticated algorithms to analyze call data records captured at the switch and cell sites for revenue, service, and network assurance and for bandwidth optimization planning for cost abatement.For land line services, the data collected represent activity from the switch out to the customer and from the switch back to the network plant. For wireless providers the process is not quite the same and is currently being further developed.

The customer facing data allows companies using this technology to validate its accuracy down to the smallest acceptable time element. It is also used as input into the preparation of customer billing statements. This approach identifies any possible theft of service initiated by the customer or from improper internal procedures leading to customer use of service without billing. This technology also allows companies that partipate in providing inter-carrier services with reciprocal billing agreements, to have total autonomy in accurately determining what they have to be paid for the services they provided to other carriers and what they owe for services provided for them.

In the case of wireless providers, the data is collected from the cell site and can be similarly analyzed for accuracy of use. The issues around theft of service are ore complex and may not be as easy to detect since there is an absence of the physical line connection that can be traced. There are also pre-paid calling plans involving pre-paid cards that are hard to detect accuracy.