Author: Hamid Modaressi
In the highly competitive world of telecommunications, where user experience (UX) and customer experience (CX) are paramount, a new term has gained significant traction: Network Experience (NX).
Network Experience encompasses the overall performance, reliability, and accessibility of telecom services, spanning from traditional voice calls to sophisticated enterprise solutions. It is a multifaceted concept shaped by the intricate architecture of telecom networks, including elements such as the Access Network (e.g. RAN), diverse infrastructure technologies, and core network systems.
When it comes to network performance, NX looks at large data sets that come in from different parts of the network and then there are aspects that directly impact user experience, such as dropped calls, weak reception signals, freezing videos, or jumbled voice conversations. These are the real-world challenges that can arise from technical factors like Latency, Jitter, packet loss, and application performance. It is not easy for network technicians to perform network analysis and diagnosis due to vast amount of data and technology diversity of the network. And hence, NX issues can only be proactively diagnosed and fixed by intelligently dealing with large data sets using specialized tools to cleans, correlate, and curate the data..
The Business Problem
Telecom service providers grapple with the formidable task of managing diverse network elements sourced from numerous vendors while offering a spectrum of services to consumers and enterprises. The challenge lies in ensuring seamless performance, expeditious service provisioning, and proactive response to network events that influence user satisfaction.
The Data Challenge
A crucial aspect of addressing network experience lies in handling the vast troves of data generated by network elements, operational support systems (OSS), business support systems (BSS), and external events. This data comprises network performance metrics, provisioning records, authentication data, and external factors like weather events or localized traffic surges.
Critical metrics for evaluating network experience encompass service performance degradation, time-to-service provisioning, and the nimbleness in introducing novel services. These metrics are indicative of the quality of user interaction with telecom services and the provider’s adeptness in meeting evolving demands.
Data Sources and Analysis
In the world of telecommunications, the scale of data generated from network elements is staggering.
First – the architectural elements of the network produce huge quantities of data, they produce network events and also provide performance data. This data comes from element management systems of different vendors of the network equipment.
And then you also get data from network management systems, which basically manage multiple types of network elements from different vendors and different parts of the architecture within the network. Data that comes from this source is huge. We are talking about gigabytes of data on an hourly and daily basis that keeps on coming. When collected and stored, the data size can easily exceed terabytes in magnitude.
The second piece of data comes from what’s called OSS which involves provisioning of services, authentication of services etc. The third source of data comes from external events that impact the network experience.
We have extreme weather events such as storms, tornadoes or flash rains that can adversely impact the network and its performance. We also have seasonal events – like the holiday season or major sporting events when the network usage could significantly increase.
So, we have these different data sources, the network itself, the OSS, BSS, infrastructure and the external events – delivering huge volumes of data on a daily basis. Service providers rely extensively on these data sources to gain insights into network performance and user behaviour. The challenge is in terms of capturing, persisting, curating, and correlating this data to extract meaningful information about network experience trends and anomalies.
Data Curation and Correlation
Effective data curation involves identifying and mitigating data anomalies, correlating disparate data sets to unveil patterns, and constructing a historical context for network experience trends. Data, when captured comprehensively, presents a wealth of information. However, the true value lies in distilling this data into meaningful insights. This process begins with identifying and addressing data anomalies—those elusive fragments of incomplete or erroneous data that can skew the entire analysis. By meticulously curating the data, we can get accurate and reliable insights that can drive informed decision-making. Data empowers telecom providers to predictively identify bottlenecks impacting specific applications, look deeply at performance issues, proactively optimize network resources, and elevate network experience.
Similarly, in response to changing market dynamics, telecom providers may introduce innovative and competitive products/services that attract a substantial influx of users.
For example, if it is competitively priced – Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) can attract large number of customers in limited geography, negatively impacting network experience. To address the issue, service providers can use curated data insights to anticipate network strain, enhance infrastructure in key areas, and ensure a seamless user experience during planed rollouts.
Conclusion
In the dynamic changing space of the telecom industry, network experience has emerged as a critical differentiator for service providers aiming to deliver innovative services and exceed customer expectations. Through advanced data analytics, telecom companies can navigate the complexities of network experience, drive operational excellence, and ultimately elevate the quality-of-service delivery that is vital to succeed in the digital era.
For more information, write to : sales@sincera.com