case study
drive-less optimization
Challenge
Main drive testing limitations
A tier 1 European mobile network operator (MNO) with Only a sample of network performance/experience
over 20 million subscribers faced similar challenges to most Restricted to specific (outdoor) locations at specific
service providers operating their own mobile network, times of the day and specific days, drive testing fails
particularly with regard to cost and network quality: to capture the 24x7 impact of the dynamic wireless
• Operational efficiency is a key differentiator for MNOs; environment on network performance, and can only
addressing network-related customer complaints approximate the distinct usage profile and experience
quickly and successfully has been proven to increase of each customer
customer satisfaction
Significant direct/indirect cost
• Network quality remains one of the top 3 reasons for
A time and investment demanding activity (despite
churn; the ability to identify network issues proactively
solutions such as relying on MNO employees’ cars),
and analyze/resolve them in a right-first-time manner
drive testing is behind many non-captured or
is essential
slow-to-resolve issues and customer complaints
that lead to churn, and has an environmental
To analyze and optimize its 2G/3G/4G network
(carbon footprint) impact too
performance, the MNO was interested in alternatives
to drive testing. While indispensable for pre-launch
testing of new technologies or for competitive network
The MNO wanted to follow a drive-less optimization1
benchmarking, drive testing has also been known for
approach, and engaged Amdocs after prioritizing the
key limitations.
following key areas:
Customer Worst cell
complaints optimization
Cluster Single site
optimization verification
1. Strictly speaking, the ‘drive-less’ reference does not imply use of call traces, i.e.
records of calls with information on signal strength/quality, throughput, timing (used
for call geo-location), subscriber, device, etc. In effect, network optimization based on
any data source or set of data sources other than drive tests could qualify as drive-less
optimization. The terminology ‘virtual drive testing’ has also been used for network
(and handset) test methodologies that simulate or approximate drive tests.
Specifically, the MNO wanted to: The project required fewer than 10 Amdocs engineers
– both on premise and remotely – who used Amdocs
• Drastically reduce dependence on drive testing for the
ActixOne and worked with the relevant MNO teams.
identified key areas of network operations, including
Amdocs highlighted the need for Configuration
new site/carrier launch
Management, Performance Management, and call trace
• Substantially decrease the time needed to resolve data. Mobile agent data (3G) were also considered for
customer complaints or analyze/optimize/verify sites application (Facebook, WhatsApp, etc.) performance
in order to, for example, improve SLA performance for insights. Using the provided data, the Amdocs team
high-priority complaints produced detailed reports and suggested network actions
• See the benefits of drive-less optimization in practice, to resolve customer complaints, improve worst cells or
by confirming the metrics (KPIs) that can be measured site clusters, and verify site performance. It also assisted
and by checking the impact of actions suggested in the the MNO in confirming any data limitations/issues and in
absence of drive tests understanding how drive testing could be reduced.
In effect, the MNO needed a solution to quantify the drive- Amdocs proposed a revised approach to operations such
less optimization benefits: enhanced operational efficiency as customer complaint handling, to bypass the need
and network quality (customer experience) – and therefore for multiple analysis tools and a slow – often iterative,
better network ROI – by facilitating faster, more accurate trial-and-error – process: field visit for drive test data
and more cost-effective analysis/optimization. collection, log processing for root-cause analysis (RCA) and
recommendation, and field visit for change verification.
Solution
1. Customer issue
Amdocs provided a solution that combines the power
of the Amdocs ActixOne platform with the expertise of Customer calls Customer Care;
Customer Care verifies issue
Amdocs engineers. Variants of this solution have been
and opens ticket
deployed in similar engagements, proving in practice the
benefits of the Amdocs approach.
2. Detailed analysis
High-level benefits of
IMEI Call
Amdocs Drive-less Optimization solution Traces
Engineer collects data in one
Peace of mind through objective evaluation of platform, and conducts RCA
network performance independently from equipment CM/PM/FM IMSI
providers, using network expertise and a software-
powered offering built upon 25+ years of experience
3. Recommendation & change implementation
Increased operational efficiency, including reduced
Engineer recommends
cost due to drive testing and faster resolution
network changes to improve
of customer complaints, via a centralization and customer experience; MNO
automation based approach implements changes
Improved customer experience through the ability
to proactively monitor network performance, and 4. Change verification
potential revenue/profit increase via enhanced SLA
Engineer verifies change
offerings (and fewer SLA penalties)
impact using Amdocs
ActixOne to validate indoor/
Minimal risk for MNOs worried about solution
outdoor performance
scalability or (niche) vendors’ future, using a flexible
and scalable deployment model
2
The software platform used by the Amdocs engineers Customer complaints: Amdocs team impact
Amdocs ActixOne is a unified (one-stop) multi-vendor • Complaint resolution time of approximately 40 minutes
and multi-technology platform for effective and efficient • Suggested actions improved network experience, e.g.
network performance analysis/optimization and poor indoor coverage
management. It addresses various use cases with focused
modules, bringing together call traces, drive tests, OSS
counters/alarms, planning data, customer information,
etc. as needed. Amdocs ActixOne provides a web-based
graphical interface and a secure, multi-user environment
that facilitates standardized/tailored in-depth analysis,
tool consolidation, data sharing, and end-to-end process
automation.
Geo-located customer experience (blended and high-res discrete,
signal strength) maps for customer complaints analysis
Worst cell optimization: Amdocs team impact
• Analysis for special event (football match) also conducted
• Suggested actions improved network experience, e.g.
connection failures due to insufficient downlink power
Network-wide visualization
Dashboards, reports, integrated views across data sources
Drill-down analysis
Configuration, alarms, events, traces
Multi-dimensional approach
Mobile agents, PM, CM, FM, call traces
Call (PS)
Call (CS) Drop
Drop
Throughput
Detailed cell-specific analysis for worst cell optimization
HO (IRAT) (DL)
Failure
Throughput Cluster optimization: Amdocs team impact
(UL)
HO (Intra) • MNO-specific (template based) report creation time of
Failure
approximately 30 minutes, and 4-5 hours for detailed
Poor
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Coverage
analysis and recommendations2
LAC/TAU
• Suggested actions improved network experience, e.g.
Failure
poor signal quality
Poor
Quality
Call (PS) Setup
Failure
Poor
Call (CS) Setup Signal
Failure Interference
Amdocs ActixOne use in this project
Geo-located customer experience (signal strength/quality)
maps for cluster optimization
Result
The Amdocs team worked closely with the MNO for a
2. Time reflects the resource allocation per task in this project (more
month. Key figures and outcomes from this engagement
than one engineer focused on cluster analysis compared with single site
are highlighted opposite. verification, where one engineer typically suffices) 3
Single site verification: Amdocs team impact Based on the available mobile agent data, Facebook
• MNO-specific (template based) report creation time of was seen to be the most used application. Amdocs
1-5 minutes, and less than 2 hours for detailed analysis also assisted the MNO in confirming which drive test
and recommendations 2
measured KPIs can be fully/partially replaced, and which
• Suggested actions improved network experience, e.g. ones may require equipment/other updates. Finally,
poor indoor coverage Amdocs provided suggestions for the next project phase,
e.g. establishing best practices and closer collaboration
amongst teams.
Benefits in Amdocs engagements of similar nature
Reduced cost for new site related drive tests by 80%
Geo-located customer experience (signal strength/quality and
Accelerated analysis of network issues by 50%
too many server) maps, created for single site verification
Improved SLA performance and network experience
Response speed improved as the Amdocs and MNO
for enterprise customer by reducing network issues,
teams got used to working together. In similar projects,
such as call drops by 75%
further performance enhancements were seen after
each month. Automation enabled rapid report creation
and analysis, while recommendations for action (e.g. Amdocs Network Experience Management
antenna tilt and cell parameter changes) were based
on Amdocs ActixOne and Amdocs engineers’ expertise. Amdocs offers a new approach to understanding
The considered actions led to network experience and managing how customers experience network
improvements, including voice/data drops and traffic. performance. Amdocs Network Experience Management
comprises equipment and technology agnostic services
and software products/platforms, focusing on:
Benefits in practice: what it means
Commercial project significance, on top of reduced • Actual customer experience of the network, beyond cell-
cost due to drive testing, and Amdocs team impact centric and area/time-limited network KPIs
• End-to-end network performance, analyzed/optimized
Operational efficiency using analytics and cross-domain data correlation
For example, the ability to accurately analyze
• Operational agility, beyond silo organizations that make
and pinpoint the network root cause of customer
little use of automation and resource synergies
complaints in a matter of minutes can drastically
reduce the cost of network operations • Return on network assets, through effective
optimization targeting high-value customers/areas first
Network quality
Customer experience focus helps identify network The offering addresses a variety of use cases, from
issues faster and earlier, and can also unveil hidden/ network rollout/acceptance and operations (e.g. triage)
unexpected problems that may affect customers to service/technology introduction and optimization,
indoors or outdoors including LTE/LTE-A and VoLTE.
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