Roaming and Interconnect Assurance (RIA)

Single, comprehensive roaming quality solution helps maximize the performance and profitability of an operator’s roaming and interconnect business.

Your Challenges

Network operators need to ensure that mobile services subscribers receive the same high levels of quality as roamers that they are used to when they are at home because they are likely to blame their home carrier if their roaming expectations are not met. Likewise, inbound roaming minutes are typically charged at premium rates so it’s also critical to ensure accessibility and retainability for inbound roamers while delivering the same or better Quality of Service (QoS) as the roamers’ home carrier. Network operators need to meet service level agreement (SLA) requirements for inbound roaming quality of international partners. It’s also important to optimize international routing by balancing cost and quality of global roaming partner routes. In order to accomplish these goals, network operators need to understand inbound and outbound roaming service usage to enable optimal selection of global roaming partners.

How We Can Help

Tektronix Communications Roaming and Interconnect Assurance product delivers the tools required to proactively identify Quality of Service (QoS) issues associated with outbound and inbound global roaming in order to maximize the revenues and minimize the overall costs associated with roaming and interconnect for mobile services. Roaming and Interconnect Assurance measures the Global Roaming Quality (GRQ) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for SMS, voice, and data as defined by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA). The Tektronix Communications solution provides individual performance intelligence and reporting by operator to facilitate the selection of new roaming and interconnect partners based on quality and roaming subscriber behavior. Roaming and Interconnect Assurance also delivers proactive monitoring and analyses of the performance of selected partners for specific KPIs related to QoS delivery.

Features and Benefits

  • Automatic network element detection and integrated troubleshooting tools accelerate the resolution of identified mobile services performance issues while providing visibility to associated home and partner network elements.
  • Additional troubleshooting tools delivered by the underlying GeoProbe system further extend resolution paths to reduce MTTR (Mean Time to Recovery).
  • Unique subscriber identification and steering detection enables network operators to make informed decisions with a better understanding of roaming activity and validate partner compliance to volume-based agreements when steering is employed.
  • Real-time performance monitoring and threshold-based violation-triggering alarms leverage 5-minute performance visibility to clearly identify revenue at risk and guide performance team prioritization.
  • Automated, filter-driven reports enable cross-functional analysis with standardized templates for routine review.
  • Global Roaming Quality (GRQ) reporting compliance support quality-centric SLA initiatives with framework-based voice, SMS and data Key Performance Indicator (KPI) definitions and support for inter-partner reporting formats.

Applications

  • Understanding of originated and terminated traffic for inbound and outbound roamers (Roaming Performance for Mobility, Voice, SMS, and Data module)
  • Determine best-cost routing and analyze performance of Interconnect Partners (Roaming and Interconnect Assurance Interconnect Assurance for Mobility module)
  • Verify Quality of Service (QoS) provided for PLMN customers (Transit Performance module)

Understanding Of Originated And Terminated Traffic For Inbound And Outbound Roamers

The Roaming and Interconnect Analysis product’s Roaming Performance for Mobility, Voice, SMS, and Data module provides a correlated service view that reports using roaming direction. This module provides roamer distribution analysis, unique roamer reporting, inbound and outbound roaming failure reporting by PLMN, drill-down to failure causes by response code analysis and call trace, inbound and outbound volume and performance tracking by country and PLMN, and Global Roaming Quality (GRQ) reporting by PLMN.

Customers gain an in-depth understanding of where their outbound subscribers are travelling to and where the inbound roamers are coming from as well as what services are being used. This makes it possible for network operators to conclude the most beneficial international roaming partner agreements, reduce roaming revenue leakage and protect their preferred partner status.

The Roaming and Interconnect Analysis product’s Roaming Performance for Mobility, Voice, SMS, and Data module’s ability to provide a customizable and detailed view of all roaming activity, alerting, and call tracing helps network operators maximize roaming revenues and provide home and guest customers with the best possible roaming experience.

Determine Best-Cost Routing And Analyze Performance Of Interconnect Partners

The Roaming and Interconnect Assurance product’s Interconnect Assurance for Mobility module provides an uncorrelated view of interconnect performance that is reported using message/signaling direction and incoming/outgoing MAP and CAP protocol procedures. Interconnect for Voice (ISUP/VoIP Interconnect) is an optional module that provides near-real-time monitoring of signaling performance to and from interconnection carriers, to and from specific gateway nodes, and to and from destination countries and regions.

Proactive problem management features in the Roaming and Interconnect Assurance Interconnect Assurance for Mobility module enable operators to mitigate regulatory and service related complaints, identify revenue barriers and opportunities and increase the number of call completions. The module provides a comprehensive view of interconnect performance, enabling operators to improve customer satisfaction, increase customer retention and generate higher revenues. Operators can maximize profitability by identifying strategic rerouting opportunities and measuring the validity of inter-networking opportunities. Operators can also identify illegitimate network traffic such as SMS spamming to help conserve bandwidth and minimize revenue leakage.

Verify Quality of Service (QoS) Provided To PLMN Customers

The Roaming and Interconnect Analysis product’s Transit Performance module measures the performance of the signaling routed by the transit carrier/roaming hub in terms of originating PLMN and destination PLMN for the MAP and CAP protocol procedures.

Customers can proactively manage and verify their Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with PLMN customers by defining alarms on SLA KPI thresholds and by generating Quality of Service (QoS) reports. Transit Performance tools can also be used by hub operators to verify traffic volume handled for their customers.

Transit Performance helps hub operators ensure the profitability of their primary business by enabling them to monitor roaming hub performance and meet the terms of their SLAs with PLMNs. Roaming hub operators and interconnect operators can utilize the Transit Performance module to verify SLA, QoS, and traffic volumes for their PLMN customers and provide a higher level of service and interoperability to subscribers.

Related Solutions

  • Roaming Management Solution - The Roaming Performance Module of Tektronix Communications’ Roaming and Interconnect Assurance (RIA) product delivers per PLMN partner visibility to mobility, voice, SMS and data service performance based on correlated service views. This management solution enables focused analysis of originating and terminating traffic for inbound and outboard global roaming...Read More