Cxo Accent

Next generation installation

Scott Dale discusses various aspects that need to be co-ordinated while installing broadband services.

The world is experiencing unprecedented growth in consumer broadband penetration. According to DSL Forum data prepared in conjunction with industry analyst Point Topic, DSL, the world’s most popular broadband technology, gained 10 million new global subscribers in the first quarter of 2005 alone, and is estimated to reach 115 million subscribers worldwide by June 2005.

While this may sound like a lot of broadband users, the figure represents only a fraction of the potential market penetration worldwide. There are strong drivers encouraging even faster growth, including pilots on new services such as IP-based television and an ongoing investment in building sophisticated broadband infrastructures. For example in India where, according to the Financial Times, there are 72 million phone connections but only 3 million broadband users, fixed-line service providers are planning to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in network upgrades. Once the network is in place, what are the bottlenecks to capturing market share in India and other markets, and turning on service for these newly acquired customers?

Let’s consider a hypothetical example. If a service provider wants to acquire 5,00,000 new broadband subscribers next year he would need to conduct many more actual installations. Why? Because some of the installations would fail and require a second visit to the customer. What’s so difficult and time consuming about installing broadband services anyway? For one thing, there are many aspects that need to be co-ordinated. The subscriber’s computer needs to have the proper software and hardware configuration. There are also complicated wiring issues to manage such as the installation of filters in the case of DSL. Finally, the modem needs to be properly configured and connected to the PC. These complexities are significantly compounded when new services such as Voice over IP and IP television are added to the mix. These new services require specific connection ‘Quality of Service’ to function properly as well as a router. The router has arcane configuration settings such as Network Address Translation, port mappings and firewall levels. The router firmware must also be kept up–to-date and match the requirements of the ever evolving network.

Steps to installation automation

There are three key steps that the service providers need to take to automate their installation of triple play services. First, they need to introduce premises-based automation to reduce the time it takes to install and provide high-speed data service. Second, they would need to introduce network-based automation in order to enable the self-installation of additional services such as Voice over IP and IP television. Finally, they need to introduce installation verification to make sure that the customer is not just connected, but connected properly.

Step 1: Enable premises-based automation

The current process for turning on high-speed data service at many service providers is manual and inefficient. An application that can guide a customer or a field technician through the installation of high-speed data is critical to reducing installation time. There are several key features that premises-based automation provides:

• Robust error handling: The application can isolate if there is a problem with the PC, the connection between the PC and the modem or the connection between the modem and the ISP. Using intelligent analysis and diagnostics, the application will either automatically fix the problem or provide the customer step-by-step instructions on how to resolve the issue.
• Wireless integration: Market studies show that over 50 percent of home networks use Wi-Fi. The process of setting up wireless security is complex and confusing to the majority of end-users. Premises-based automation simplifies the process by guiding the user to select the appropriate SSID and WEP or WPA code. The terminology is explained and data validated to ensure proper values are entered.
• Web-based architecture: Customers can simply plug in their modem, open a Web browser and begin the installation process. Service providers can respond rapidly to new market dynamics by introducing new value added services, modems or languages into the installation flow.

(Refer Fig 1)

Step 2: Enable networkbased automation

Network-based automation dramatically reduces the complexity of enabling Voice over IP service and eliminates the need to send a technician to the subscriber’s home. With Zero Touch Configuration the user simply connects the device and the rest happens automatically. The network auto-configuration server (ACS) will automatically power cycle the router and download the appropriate firmware and configuration file to enable the appropriate services. The process becomes:

• Customer purchases Voice over IP upgrade over the internet
• Auto-configuration server configures the router
• Customer connects the analog terminal adapter

(refer fig 2)

Standards are critical to making network-based automation a reality. Service providers want to be able to use any device in the marketplace. It is important that the ACS be able to interface with these multiple devices. The DSL Forum has produced Technical Report TR-069 CPE WAN Management Protocol which specifies the protocol that should be used by routers and auto-configuration servers in order to enable network based automation.

Step 3: Enable installation verification

Installation verification is critical to preventing the latent installation issues that create repeat technician visits to the customer.

Taking our Voice over IP example, installation verification might consist of the following:

• Verify that VoIP signal levels at the customer premise are within acceptable ranges.
• Identify any problems and clearly identify the necessary steps to resolve these problems.
• Automatically escalate those problems that cannot be resolved immediately via existing trouble ticketing systems.
• Provide detailed results to appropriate levels of management on the quality of that installation

An installation verification application should verify the installation quality by benchmarking VoIP characteristics such as Mean Opinion Score, Latency, Jitter, Packet Loss, Post-Dial delay and Post-Pickup delay. Based on this information, the application should launch a set of support flows to determine the root cause of the problem.

By leveraging installation verification, service providers can have technicians spend more time on new installations instead of fixing existing installations.

The author is Chief Technology Officer, SupportSoft.