TELKOMSEL PAPER

LESSON LEARNED SHARING

RTPO 2.0, ITS QUALITY TIME

Raden Argya Harish / 92017

ICTNM Sumbagsel

Prepared by,

Acknowledged by,

Raden Argya Harish

Andrias Indra

Lahat, 28th October 2015

PT Telekomunikasi Selular

Table of Contents
I.

Abstraction ............................................................................................................................................ 3
I.1

RTPO 2.0, Its Where You Work to Learn. .................................................................................. 4

I.2

The Initiative to Do More ............................................................................................................. 5

I.3

Get In Touch ................................................................................................................................. 6

I.4

Thorough Analysis, Great Plan, and Smart Execution ................................................................. 8

II.

High Achievement .............................................................................................................................. 10

II.1

II.1.1

Accessibility ........................................................................................................................ 10

II.1.2

Mobility............................................................................................................................... 11

II.1.3

Retainability ........................................................................................................................ 11

II.1.4

Service Integrity .................................................................................................................. 12

II.2

Network Performance Monitoring, Optimization, and Capacity Expansion .............................. 12

II.2.1

Methods of Monitoring ....................................................................................................... 12

II.2.2

GSM Channel Adjustment .................................................................................................. 13

II.2.3

Resource Sharing ................................................................................................................ 14

II.2.4

3G RAN Resource Management......................................................................................... 15

II.2.5

Hardware Remapping and Relocation ................................................................................ 16

II.2.6

Aggressive 3G Implementation .......................................................................................... 16

II.2.7

Feature Activation ............................................................................................................... 18

II.3
III.

Network Key Performance Indicator (KPI) ................................................................................ 10

Incremental in Revenue .............................................................................................................. 19

Lesson Learned ............................................................................................................................... 21

I.

Abstraction

Radio, Transport, and Power Operation (RTPO) is a section under Network Service Area Department
(Regional ICTNM) that ensures the availability and reliability of cellular network in its operational area.
It is RTPO responsibility for hardware and software operation which supports network availability. One
of the main activities for RTPO is troubleshooting for network outage recovery, which includes hardware
reparation, replacement, or even modification to get the hardware up and running. RTPO mainly handles
3 section of hardware classified by its function, which is radio, transmission, and power.
In accordance of companys vision in 2015 regarding network quality, RTPO also partakes in various
activities to improve network quality. In collaboration with various departments from ICTO even from
SCC to improve user experiences, RTPO 2.0 is all about improving network quality. But alas, RTPO 2.0
does not forget the basics, which is availability of network element (NE). Through great availability and
great quality, we can deliver WOW, great experience! to our customers. The premise of RTPO as first
layer network incident handler is taken to wider concepts in RTPO 2.0, not only to act swiftly in the event
of network outage, but also in experiencing the quality of our network first hand. Through customer
complaints that we gather from our call center, or even complaints from various sales outlets scattered
throughout the cluster, RTPO 2.0 have to analyze, plan, and act accordingly to mitigate the trouble. With
great teamwork and coordination with other department, feedbacks from our customers will be our map
to improving network quality.
This paper primarily describes RTPO 2.0 activities on improving network quality, and gives example
from our activities during past semester, particularly in RTPO Lahat Section, Network Service Area
Bengkulu, ICT Operation Regional 2, Sumbagsel. There is a saying in our region:
Good preventive will leads to less corrective
We applied this principle in our efforts for improving network availability, we have to be able to see the
trouble before it even emerges. The same also applies to network quality, a good capacity monitoring will
also lead to better, more thought out, and precise capacity expansion, which in turn can greatly enhances
the user experience that we delivered to our customers. Better understanding of customer complaint will
also lead to better relationship with customer, and better and faster complaint resolving/closing.

I.1

RTPO 2.0, Its Where You Work to Learn.

To be blunt, in telecommunication engineering there are a lot of field of studies, even in the sub-genre
of cellular network technologies alone. There are a lot of terms and subjects to learn, formulas and
theories to understand, and once were going to discuss about the hardware then the possibilities virtually
became endless. Specific vendor will have proprietary features exclusive to that vendor alone, other
vendor may have a similar feature but have different characteristics and terminologies, and that surely can
be overwhelming. Learning specific hardware and software from one vendor is vastly different from
learning the other. Radio, transport, and power hardware has its own vendor, even in one category, our
company may have more than one vendor. The learning curve for mastering these can be steep at times,
but better understanding of how the hardware works will deliver swift, methodical, and precise trouble
clearing. But then again, its just business as usual, its what youre supposed to do in RTPO
Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn
-Benjamin FranklinNetwork quality is whole another world to be honest, there are lot of network KPIs, such as accessibility,
retainability, mobility, and so forth. Different cellular technologies have different principles in terms of
how they work, our methods for monitoring and optimizing, and our way to improve its quality. The key
for RTPO 2.0 is to never lose interest in learning new knowledge on how to deliver great experience to
our customers. Different departments, even from those that are not in the same job family can bring a new
perspective to the condition of our network.

Figure 1 Learning is only bound by your imagination

RTPO 2.0 is the place where you work to learn, and to deliver great experience beyond our customers
expectations required a lot of passion for learning. Not just to learn the hardware and the technologies, but
also to learn your customers needs and necessities, learn your peers and work colleagues from your own
or other departments. Learn the quality of your value and where it needs to be, and strive to be the best.
Learn the quality of our network and where it needs to be, listen to your customers, to your peers, and
analyze, plan, and act accordingly. That is RTPO 2.0 in a nutshell!

I.2

The Initiative to Do More

Without initiative, leaders are simply workers in leadership positions

-Bo BennetInitiative stems from the Latin word initium, which means beginning, it also means the ability to assess
and initiate things independently or the power to take responsibility and act before others do. For me,
RTPO who manned the frontline in assuring the network should be the most versed with the network in
their respective clusters. RTPO 2.0 have to possess the initiative to take advantage of useful and plentiful
data other departments collected for them. Even better, they have the initiative to search and get the data
themselves regularly to enrich their sources for analysis and planning. During last semester, I implement
this with the help from our technical support to gather data weekly and monthly, so we can keep track of
our network resources and its conditions.

Figure 2 A sample of our weekly monitoring, stored in folder and sorted by functions

For example, we keep separate KPI tracker for 2G and 3G network, and we have our own weekly alarm
log and resources utilization. Of course there are other departments whose job is to do exactly what we
just did. But the more the merrier, and the more data we collect, the more accurate our analysis will be.
The point is, this is the initiative to get to know your network better, using the data to pinpoint the
problem in your network, using the data to plan network capacity expansion, and so on.
But of course in order to do so, you have to learn beforehand. Learn the concepts, the KPIs, the tools and
the software so you can fully utilize it. Learning and initiating goes hand in hand, you have to learn to
initiate and you got to have the initiative to learn.

Figure 3 Will Findley finally show his boss some initiative?

I.3

Get In Touch

At the end of the day, data is just a tool, and user experience is the more pressing matter here. You have
to put yourself in the customers shoes, and have the courage to admit if the network is not satisfactory
and use that to motivate yourself to improve the network. Your toughest customer should be yourself, and
the first step to bring great experience is to experience it yourself. For RTPO, it is our duty to frequently
visit and audit our sites. But for RTPO 2.0, you have to go beyond, experience the network, and get in
touch with the customer directly and optimize any available network resources to deliver great user
experience.

Figure 4 RTPO 2.0 from top left clockwise (1) Fibonacci Project, (2) New site speed-test, (3)
Complaint handling which leads to drive-test and physical optimization, (4) Sharing session about
network condition with outlet owners the gateway to our customers

RTPO 2.0 should not limit themselves under the boundaries of KPI given by vendors, they should not
limit themselves under the constraint of being the first layer in network hierarchy. Like every other
section in Telkomsel, they should strive to give the best service whenever it is possible to their customer,
by bringing great experience for the customers to enjoy.

I.4

Thorough Analysis, Great Plan, and Smart Execution

Figure 5 Leaders perspective : (1) Root cause analysis (2) Strategic solution plan (3) Execute within
timeframe

Figure 5 shows the general outline in RTPO Lahat Section when planning monthly activity, by using
Gantt Chart (shown by Figure 6) [1] we can create timeframe for our activities and plan accordingly. For
activities involving quality improvement usually starts from weekly monitoring and derives to parameter
modification, hardware upgrade, or even escalation and coordination to regional RPA and SQA for
recommendation.

Figure 6 Gantt Chart

Thorough analysis, great planning, and smart execution is the key in our scope of work, and evaluating
the progress of the activities is also important. With this we can enhance what was good so it will be
better, and improve what was lacking so it will be good.

II.

High Achievement

Improving the network quality starts from knowing the surrounding of your sites, whether it covers
bustling market area, or crowded suburbs and housing area. Different sites may have different parameters
and configurations depending on its potential customer. There are three things that we try to emphasize
during our efforts to improve network quality:
1. Listen to customers, whether its from Authorized Dealer (AD), outlets, or directly from a
customer. A great network KPI performance should translates to great user experience, but
without building relationship with your customer, youll only get one side of the story, so to
speak. To view the network with holistic approach, youll have to view the network from your
point of view as a network engineer and as a customer who uses the product on a daily basis.
2. Routine monitoring, we audit our sites regularly to analyze the needs of each site, and plan
appropriate action accordingly.
3. Early and anticipative monitoring, which requires a lot of coordination between departments to
predict and prepare the network resources in the event of sudden rises in the number of
customers. These can be caused by a sales event, national holiday, sporting event, and any event
that most likely to attract a large number of people to flock to a particular area. By knowing
where and when these types of situations will take place, we can plan preventively to alleviate
network congestion that will likely to occur.

II.1 Network Key Performance Indicator (KPI)

There are four types of network KPI that we monitor closely and regularly along with availability and
resources capacity, the following section will be a brief description about those KPIs.
II.1.1

Accessibility

Accessibility is defined as the ability of mobile stations (MS) or user equipment (UE) to access the
network [2]. Cellular network typically offers three basic services which is voice, SMS, and data.
Different cellular technologies such as GSM and WCDMA have different terminologies in terms of
accessibility performance indicator. Accessibility faults can be caused by hardware, bad coverage, or even
inappropriate parameter configurations. Bad accessibility could lead to unsatisfactory user experience,
such as failure in attempting a call, delay on sending and receiving SMS, or slow data experience such as
browsing and chatting.
10

II.1.2

Mobility

Mobility and radio resource management plays a major role in Quality of Service provisioning for cellular
communication systems. Due to the limited radio coverage of a cell, an ongoing call while being handed
off may get dropped [3]. A good mobility is indicated by seamless handover between sites without
interrupting ongoing services. In a very mobile customer demographic, it is expected for our customers to
be moving constantly while using our services. Mobility performance dictates how well our network
perform when the user is changing coverage from one site to another. Ideally, an on progress call from a
user who is moving from one cell to another should not be terminated, but often we found that because of
capacity congestion in the target cell the call will have to be terminated.

Figure 7 Illustration of handover [4]

II.1.3

Retainability

Retainability is indicated by the ratio of moving MSs to all MSs as well as the moving frequency. In
addition, these KPIs indicate the capability of providing continuous services, which means a low success
rate leads to low user satisfaction. Dropped call rate (DCR) is one of the more pronounced KPI in this
particular category and it affects the user experience greatly. A call is deemed to be dropped when the call
is cut off before any of the speaking parties had finished their conversational tone and before one of them
hung up. Dropped call may have various reasons, such as bad air interface between the UE and
BTS/NodeB, transmission or hardware fault, or even inconsistent parameter setup.

11

II.1.4

Service Integrity

The KPIs describing integrity are related to the actual quality of service, for the given service under
consideration during its use. In the case of mobile data services, this type of KPI is very closely related to
those of retainability KPIs. In the day and age of mobile browsing and internet, people nowadays start to
compare the download and upload speed of their data services between operators. Using application such
as OpenSignal, people can directly test the integrity of the network without much of a hassle. Downlink
throughput is one of the KPI we studiously monitor to track whether or not the experience is satisfactory.
On the other hand, for the more traditional voice services it is possible to evaluate the actual speech
quality, and hence the integrity aspects, from its own category in this type of approach [5].

Figure 8 OpenSignal, an example of application to test your providers download and upload speed

II.2 Network Performance Monitoring, Optimization, and Capacity

Expansion
This sub-section will elaborate the methods for network performance monitoring, the basics of
optimization and capacity expansion. Which are implemented during last semester, a brief explanation
about the results of those activities will be given also. All of the activities have been executed under
supervision from SQA, we also reported back to SQA for feedback and further evaluation.
II.2.1

Methods of Monitoring

There are various tools at our disposal whether it is exclusive to our region, such as Sumbagsels specialty
BADIX (Business Analyzer & Dashboard Information eXpert), or OSS tools from vendor. Huawei BSS
& RAN can be monitored using U2000 which has integrated UI and KPI browser. By mastering the
software, we can conveniently make various templates within the performance query section to easily and
12

regularly gather data and track KPI. BADIX also provides us with more convenient way to assess and
compile all the data needed for optimization and capacity expansion. It also provides us with strategic
map to plan and coordinate our efforts in improving network quality.
II.2.2

GSM Channel Adjustment

As mentioned before, different sites may have different situations and needs depending on their location
or coverage. For example, a site may have a majority of its users handset as a voice only device so the
needs for data services are low. Then we adjust the site parameters accordingly to accommodate larger
capacity for voice services. In 2G, a cell capacity is defined by the number of transceiver (TRX), in which
each TRX consists of eight timeslots. These timeslots can be configured with different types of channel to
cater to voice or data services.
By bringing feedbacks from customer or analyzing KPI data, we can adjust existing resources to suit the
needs of a particular site and emphasize better user experience. For example, one site may experience
blocking or congestion on CS services (voice) but have no issues on PS services (data). So we configured
it with more channel for voice to alleviate some of the congestion. Even better, there are a lot of
algorithms and features to enable dynamic channel conversion from data channel to voice and vice versa.
Figure 9 is one of the example of the channel adjustment, by modifying the ratio of data channel and
voice channel, we were able to reduce congestion in busy hour in a site.

Figure 9 Congestion rate is reduce by adjusting the ratio of data and voice channel

13

II.2.3

Resource Sharing

One way to reduce the load of a congested/crowded cell is to share its load with nearby cells. This can be
done via modifying its accessibility parameters both in idle and dedicated mode and its handoff
parameters. The idea is to intentionally adjust one cell to be the more dominant cell, or in other words to
be more likely to be selected or to be camped on by UE. By selectively choosing the right cell, we can
basically share the load of the congested cell, and reduce overall network congestion. Figure 10 shows
some examples of cumulative traffic and congestion in two cells that have been implemented with this
kind of resource sharing between the cells.

Figure 10 Resource sharing to reduce network congestion and blocking rate.

14

II.2.4

3G RAN Resource Management

In 3G, generally there are six types of RAN resource which encompasses channel element (CE), HSPDSCH Code, IuB Bandwidth, OVSF Code, UL Power, and DL Power. If any of these resources are not
sufficient for the current network, then the network will be congested and some of the accessibility KPI
will be degraded. The allocation for these resources mostly can be done via software through license
upgrading and modifying parameters. Figure 11 illustrates our activity by adjusting code allocation to
reduce accessibility faults caused by code congestion.

Figure 11- 3G RAN Resource Management

15

II.2.5

Hardware Remapping and Relocation

Some resources such as CE or signal processing capabilities for NodeB are tied to hardware. Newer
module (board) offers larger capacity or better CPU capabilities, some congested NodeB may have older
module installed. By regularly monitoring our module usage we can classify all of our NodeB in terms of
utilization, from high to low. By capitalizing all available resources in our network we can remapped the
distribution of these modules in a way so the congested NodeB due to hardware issues is taken care of.
The idea is to relocate and install the low utilization board from a NodeB to the congested NodeB while
making sure that the donors KPI does not degrade after relocation.
We monitor our board or module usage in a weekly basis so we can ensure whether or not a NodeB is
consistently congested during busy hour or if it just a spike caused by sudden rises of the number of users.
Figure 12 shows the some samples from the activity.

Figure 12 CE Usage increases after installing a baseband module with a larger CE capacity, notice the
flat graph before execution.

II.2.6

Aggressive 3G Implementation

As we discussed in previous section, the need for high speed data services become more prominent as the
need for mobile internet and connected services rises. In crowded area, we try to push the users to camp
on UMTS cell as much as possible. One of the parameters that we play around is the trigger for
compressed mode, by reducing the threshold for starting and stopping compressed mode depending on the
signal strength (RSCP) and signal quality (Ec/N0). This translates to UE to be more likely to selects 3G as
its network of choice and push the data services to better and faster UMTS network. In addition, there are
16

a lot of parameters that we can modify to further enhance the aggressiveness of 3G network. Figure 13
shows how aggressive 3G can increase the number of users (HSDPA user in particular).

Figure 13 The result of aggressive 3G implementation

17

II.2.7

Feature Activation

BSS and RAN vendors may offer features (sometimes its proprietary to them) that helps to negates
congestion and improves network performance. These features typically can be activated by injecting
license and activating it via software configuration. After auditing our license distribution (its something
that we include in our weekly activity), there are a lot of NodeBs that already injected with a license for a
particular feature, but the feature itself is not activated yet. Some of these features, such as DC-HSDPA
improve the downlink speed significantly, while others may provide us with a method to reducing
network congestion without the need of hardware addition.
The following are some of the highlights of feature activation that we executed ourselves under
supervision of SQA during last semester.

(1)

(2)
Figure 14 DC HSDPA (1) A comparison of download speed before and after activating DC-HSDPA (2)
Improvement in mean HSDPA troughput after activating DC-HSDPA

18

Figure 15 Uplink interdependency of multiple baseband processing units.

Figure 15 shows the result of activating a feature which helps to alleviate accessibility faults due to uplink
CE congestion. The feature itself does not need any additional boards or modules to activate, so it is
helpful when we our resources are fairly limited. As long as the NodeB fulfill all the specification and the
requirement, then the feature can be activated after injecting license.

II.3 Incremental in Revenue

Customer satisfactory is a way to build our service credibility, and by giving our customer the WOW,
great experience! , we strive to give them something beyond their expectations. Great network quality
and great user experience should reflect on the increment in revenues. After optimization and capacity
expansion, we regularly check the revenue to see if the improvement on traffic and payload translates to
revenue.
The following figures are a brief overview of how by improving network quality using aforementioned
techniques, we can increase revenue.

19

(1)

(2)

(3)
Figure 16 (1) & (2) Revenue increase in two different sites after network optimization and capacity
expansion. (3) Daily revenue in the past 6 months
20

III.

Lesson Learned

1.

One of the key points to improving network quality is to have database which includes all of
your resources utilization. With those, you can have the ammunition in case of emergency
measures that require us to relocate or move some of the resources to mitigate congestion.

2.

Listen to customers, whether from direct complaint from users or from outlets, it will be our
key to plan and coordinate network optimization and capacity expansion.

3.

Learn the network KPI, and learn to translate those KPI to actual user experience. Learn to
analyze the root cause of why a site may have unsatisfactory experience, such as slow data
connection, or bad voice quality. Learn to collaborate with different departments to quickly
find the faults in the network.

4.

Learn the OSS software and learn how to commissioning and modify parameters accordingly.
By doing so, not only that youll have to learn the key concepts of cellular communication
technologies, but also learn about the features and the quirks of your vendors hardware and
software.

5.

Expand your network to learn from colleagues who work with vendor and learn from them.
Youll have it easier the next time youll need to modify parameters or commissioned
something yourself.

21