Learn how to improve your inbound and outbound Global Roaming Quality

1. Global Roaming Quality
Presented by Torbjorn A Pettersson
Global Roaming Quality Expert & Advisor
Confidential Information
© GSMA 2010
All GSMA meetings are conducted in full compliance with the GSMA’s anti-trust compliance policy

2. Agenda Global Roaming Quality
 Background and needs for Global Roaming Quality
 What is Global Roaming Quality?
 Key to success for GRQ?
 Update from regions and GSM Arab world
 Understand how to get started to implement GRQ
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3. Background
Quality and GRQ
“Average of 39 percent of
630 Million Live Mobile
Calls fall below the
industry minimum
standard for voice quality”*
How does Global Roaming
Quality and impact us?
* Ditech Networks World Wide Voice Quality Audit, Feb 2008
information obtained from more than 630 million live mobile calls in 16
different networks across 12 countries
•In mature markets such as the U.S. and Western Europe, 23 percent of all
calls fall below the industry minimum.
•In rapid growth markets, such as the Middle East, India and South America,
59 percent of all calls fall below the industry minimum.
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4. Background
GRQ framework
Recognition that improving quality involves
all parties in the traffic chain – quality is
only as good as the weakest link
GSMA has developed a cost-effective
framework for monitoring and assuring
quality of roaming services globally,
including:
Set of quality parameters and how to
measure them
SLA templates with roaming services quality
measures included
Troubleshooting procedures
Guidelines and contacts for information exchange
Regional GRQ campaign groups to support
quality discussions between roaming partners
GRQ for use in a roaming hubbing
environment as well as bilateral roaming
relations
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5. Background and needs for GRQ
By implementing GRQ, operators,
hubs and carriers define the GSMA
standard for QoS, gaining volumes
and revenue.
The beauty is to create a win-win!
“I expect my mobile services to
work well at all times”
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6. Background
Global Roaming
Quality
Help operators and carriers to work more
closely to improve the quality of voice,
dataand SMS services or roaming
customers
What are the impacts of poor quality?
Without automated end-to-
How does that affect our customers and end monitoring, problems
roaming business? at often looked at from the
tip of an iceberg!
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7. GRQ parameters are now a roaming standard
The KPI’s have been identified by defining 5 QoS aspects for Roaming
Signalling, Voice, Data and SMS. Cross references has been done with
ETSI, ITUT, 3GPP and IETF.
 Network accessibility
– The network indication on the display of the mobile is a signal to the
customer that he can use the service of this network operator
 Roaming Service accessibility
– If the customer wants to use a service, the network operator should
provide him as fast as possible access to the service
 Connection establishment
– Is to measure on the connection establishment
 Service retain-ability
– Service Retain ability describes the termination of services (in
accordance with or against the will of the user)
 Connection quality
– For measuring the connection quality
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8. How to get started
 Review how you work today, and set a goal what to improve
 Self monitoring of important roaming destinations and services
 Set up a 24/7h International Network Operational Team
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9. What do we need to get started?
 The GSMA framework of GRQ documents, templates and guidelines are
ready for use by operators.
Mobile operators and Hubs
International Carrier
– BA.51: Roaming SLA Additional PRDs supporting the GRQ
Handbook framework:
– IR.42: QoS Parameters – IN.01, IN.05, IN.10, AA.80: SLA
IR42
– AA.13 (Annex C.12): Computation templates for carriers, GRX, and IPX
Roaming SLA including trigger – AD.22: Self certification for GRQ
point Dictionary
– IR.81: GRQ measurement vendors
Implementation – IN.02: Use of Gateways for Mobile
– IR.78: Trouble shooting Communications
IR81
procedure GRQ
– IR.21: Contact information for Measurement Link to Infocentre GRQ Knowledge Base
trouble shooting Implementation https://infocentre.gsm.org/cgi-
bin/knowledge_base_disp.cgi?1933
IR.78
BA.51 AA.13
Roaming IR.21
Roaming SLA Roaming SLA
Trouble Database
Handbook Annex C12
Report
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10. Example – start with a few KPIs!
Active method measure about 27 KPIs
Passive measure about 13 KPIs
There are 7 KPIs that can be comparable between active and passive
monitoring tools- those are the most important
 Location update success rate
 Network effectiveness ratio MO
 Network effectiveness ratio MT
 Call setup success ratio MT
 Service Accessibility for SMS-MO
 Packet Switched Location Update success rate
 PDP Context Activation success rate
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11. GRQ Monitoring Methods
Monitoring methods
 There are two main ways to measure QoS.
– Active methods using either fixed or mobile probes
– Passive methods using either SS7 signaling
– The GRQ framework has standard test scripts for both methods.
Active Monitoring Passive Monitoring
Pros  Useful for testing purpose Pros  Real-time view of the network and
 Reproduce test can be done anytime service performance experienced by
 End to end view is possible the roamers
 All RSLA KPIs can be measured  Easier to identify the root cause of
 Number of test cycles is flexible problems
Cons Doesn’t reflect real customer
Cons Not all RSLA KPI can be measured
experience due to limited location for
(e.g. end to end delivery time)
testing
High CAPEX
Difficult to identify the root cause of
problems
High OPEX (cost of testing)
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12. Roaming SLA and SLA
Have SLA with your carrier for all services
Agree on Roaming SLA with your most important partners
Redundant solutions to secure GRQ and weakest links
SLA SLA SLA
Carrier Carrier
A B
Operator A SLA SLA SLA
GRX
Operator B
GRX
SLA SLA SLA
SMS SMS
Hub Hub
RSLA
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13. GRQ Use Case – 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa
Operator Report Sample
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14. GRQ Monitoring Methods
Monitoring methods
 There are two main ways to measure QoS.
– Active methods using either fixed or mobile probes
– Passive methods using either SS7 signaling
– The GRQ framework has standard test scripts for both methods.
Active Monitoring Passive Monitoring
Pros  Useful for testing purpose Pros  Real-time view of the network and
 Reproduce test can be done anytime service performance experienced by
 End to end view is possible the roamers
 All RSLA KPIs can be measured  Easier to identify the root cause of
 Number of test cycles is flexible problems
Cons Doesn’t reflect real customer
Cons Not all RSLA KPI can be measured
experience due to limited location for
(e.g. end to end delivery time)
testing
High CAPEX
Difficult to identify the root cause of
problems
High OPEX (cost of testing)
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15. GRQ Business Intelligence
 Create your own business intelligence for GRQ
 Collect, measure and analyse all your roaming
 Follow up alarms and reports daily and weekly
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16. GRQ daily report example
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17. GRQ Update from GRQ Arab World
 GRQ workshop was hosted by
Mobily SA in Jan 2011 (Jeddah)
 Participants included:
• Mobily Saudi Arabia (Host)
• Zain Saudi Arabia
• Zain Bahrain
• Vodafone Egypt
• Thuraya UAE
• Qtel Qatar
• Orange JO
• VIVA Bahrain
• Maroc Telecom
• Keynote SIGOS (& others)
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18. GRQ Arab World
Findings:
GSMA should define a minimum set of KPI’s (the 7 most important and common for
both Passive and Active)
The background is that there is a limited number of KPI’s (13x) that can only be measured
with Passive probes, however, most KPI’s (27x) can be measured with Active probes.
Findings:
Reject codes in MAP signaling should be more clearly defined (since a number of reject
codes relevant for SoR and ASoR) is not described in either IR42 and IR81.
This is confusing while configuration the KPI’s using Passive probes (since the Reject codes
wrongly defined would cause inconsistency in the KPIs between Active and Passive
measurements (CS Location Update, and GPRS location Update
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19. GRQ Arab World
Findings:
CLI Transparency and not CLI Delivery
There is a need for this clarification, since it might appear to mean the same, but it is
different KPI’s and needed further clarification.
The KPI for CLI transparency MUST mean the same in both SLA (MNO-Carrier) and
RSLA (MNO-MNO).
SIM box detection affect roaming traffic is now part of GRQ.
The further defined clarification has been APPROVED by IWG on November 2010 for PRD IN.18
Section 5.1.4 and PRD IN.01 Section 1.0 & Annex A.
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20. Example- SIM box with the capacity of 4 E1’s
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21. GRQ Next Steps
 Evaluate the impact of SIM Boxes on RSLA
– SIM Boxes is affecting roaming traffic as quality is compromised
– Prepare SIM Box slides for the IWG Plenary that highlights the impact to roaming
customers and quality aspects
 Impact of Steering & Anti-Steering of Roaming on GRQ measurements
– Liaise with SIGNAL to ask for a possible KPI to measure Steering and Anti-steering of
Roaming
 Initiative on how Roaming KPIs are inter-related with Interconnect KPIs
– Draft a new PRD based on current IMQ IN21 to be approved at IWG Plenary 2012
 HPIG decided to further investigate possibilities of implement GRQ parameters
between Carriers
 Need for future KPI’s for VOIP, LTE, VOLTE …
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23. Summerise
 Understand what the current situation are
 Create a Business Case and set goal for GRQ
 Start with internal processes – start today
 Implement GRQ measurements
 Set up a Service Level Management and INOC team (24/7)
 Check redundancy all roaming services
 Agree on SLA & Roaming SLA
 Start with a few KPI’s and follow up daily (alarms & reports)
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24. Global Roaming Quality - Q&A
Torbjorn A Pettersson
GSM Association GRQ Expert & Advisor
torbjorn.pettersson@telenor.com
Mobile +46 708 331244
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