Introduction

The need for Traffic Analysis.

In todays market conditions it is essential for network operators
to achieve maximum utilisation from the capital investment in
their network infrastructure and at the same time be ready to
extend the network in a timely fashion to meet future demand.
Add to this the need for revenue assurance, coupled with the
maintenance of quality of service so that new customers can be
attracted and retained, and it is not difficult to see that
achieving maximum profitability is no easy matter.

The need for

Traffic Analysis

The key to meeting these business objectives is being completely

in control of the network: knowing how it is performing now and
how it has performed in the past in order that its future can be
planned for growth and maintenance in the most cost-effective
way. If you dont know how your network is performing, then you
cant know if your business is performing optimally.The timely
gathering and analysis of the wealth of information the switches
on a network make available can have immediate, positive
impacts on four key areas of a telecom operators business:
Engineering, Operations, Planning and Marketing.
This article describes how the derivation of Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs) from the operational measurements, or
statistics, and the billing files can reduce operating costs,
increase network efficiency, reduce capital investment, produce
better marketing campaigns, increase customer satisfaction,
reduce interconnect costs, and a great deal more.
Two types of analyses are derived from the operational
statistics and billing files. These are called Traffic analysis and
CDR (Call Detail Record) analysis respectively in this article.

Improve Profitability Traffic Analysis

through Key
Performance
Indicators

The switches produce operational statistics at regular intervals,

commonly every fifteen minutes. A well-designed traffic analysis
system is capable of gathering the information from all switches
on the network, manipulating it, storing it in a database for trend
and historical analysis, and then presenting the data in a humanreadable form as reports and graphs using standard, normalised
ITU parameters (e.g. %ASR (Answer/Seizure ratio), %ABR
(Answer/Bid ratio), Erlangs etc.) so that meaningful comparisons
and informed decisions can be made.

Stanza Consulting Ltd.

2a Garden Avenue
Mitcham
Surrey, CR4 2EA
U.K.
Tel: +44 (20) 8640 1134
Mobile: +44 7764 413 083
Fax: +44 (20) 8687 2442
info@stanza-consulting.com
www.stanza-consulting.com
A graphical display lets you see traffic patterns and problems

Trend Analysis
Trend analysis is an extremely important element in network planning and
maintenance. It allows you to predict with confidence when capacity on
individual trunks needs to be increased. In trend analysis the data is
aggregated every n days over the whole period of interest, for the chosen
period of the day.

Near real-time Trunk Monitor

A near real-time trunk monitor, automatically updating the display as new
data arrives, allows trunks to be constantly monitored so that dangerous
situations can be noted and corrected before they become catastrophic.
Colour coding immediately indicates severity, and the thresholds should
allow for increasing severity with reductions in value. The performance
statistic to be monitored should be selectable on a trunk-by-trunk basis.

Benefits of Traffic Analysis

Features to look for in Traffic Analysis

Ability to perform historical analysis
Graphical display of results

The operational benefits an operator should

expect from such a system include:

Ability to group trunks for comparison of, or totalling

individual group members, or for convenience in reporting
and monitoring
Near real-time, auto-updating trunk monitor

The ability to see where network

congestion is taking place
The ability to see how best to divert
traffic from overflowing trunks

Automatically generate and email reports

The ability to plan network capacity

upgrades in a timely and cost-effective
manner

Ability to export to external programs (e.g. MS-Excel)

Maintenance of Quality of Service

Ease of use.

Ability to accurately predict the

optimum time to buy more capacity

Ability to perform trend analysis

CDR Analysis
Traffic analysis tells you how busy trunks are: CDR analysis takes this to a much finer level of granularity by letting
you know exactly which calls went down which route. The Operations, Engineering and Marketing departments should
all benefit from a CDR analysis system which provides comprehensive reporting by particular routes/carriers and
destination combinations, and by trunk direction.

Operations
Call Routing Validation

Interconnect Rate Negotiation

Least-Cost-Routing is used to produce optimum call

routing plans. CDR Analysis provides a very quick and
effective means to identify and correct the problems of
overloaded links resulting in calls regularly overflowing
and being routed sub-optimally due to mistakes in the
routing tables.

By providing detailed and accurate information on current

and predicted future call volumes to specific
destinations, CDR Analysis allows an operator to
confidently negotiate interconnect rates, which often
depend on an operators ability to guarantee to maintain
a minimum level of calls in terms of minutes per month.

Call Failure Analysis

International Transit Traffic

Lower-than-expected ASR rates on a trunk, highlighted by

Traffic Analysis, are indicative of problems in routing
calls. However, there may be problems for specific
destinations only, or for specific call types which are
masked by the overall volume of traffic on a trunk. CDR
Analysis provides detailed reports which allow you to
identify such problems and to take remedial action. By
analysing the failure codes in the call records, CDR
Analysis can report the specific reasons for call failure,
allowing you to determine the root cause of the problems,
such as congestion in the local, terminating or transit
networks, or problems with specific carriers.

CDR Analysis lets an operator analyse the transit traffic

from each carrier by specific destination (e.g. country,
city, or mobile operator) and by country of origin,
providing valuable information on which carriers are
actively promoting the transit business and allowing
sudden changes in transit volumes to be identified and
traced in the highly competitive Least Cost Routing
market.

Carrier Performance

Calls to specific destinations or call types (e.g. fixed or

Call failure analysis can also identify problems such as mobile) can be analysed to see how well each
incorrect routing tables or fraudulent attempts to access interconnect partner is performing. ASR rates may change
between carriers at different times of the day. Use CDR
the network.
Analysis to determine which carriers are best at specific
times of the day and route calls accordingly to maximise
revenues and limit customer complaints.

Engineering
It is the task of the Engineering Department to plan the infrastructure requirements to meet the expected traffic
growth and to ensure that new capacity is brought on-line in a timely fashion. CDR Analysis provides the information
to identify the areas of growth and to adapt the network to changes in traffic patterns.
Traffic Growth Patterns
It is not uncommon for lead times for interconnects to be six months or more; strategic planning and accurate
information are crucial to smooth, continuous operations. Producing accurate traffic growth forecasts show the
trends which help you to perform just in time purchasing.
Outgoing Traffic Planning
If you have a large proportion of calls routed to a particular carrier it may be cost-effective to have a direct link
to this carrier. By examining traffic growth trends CDR Analysis can predict when the call termination charges
will exceed the rental cost of a direct link, thereby determining the optimal time to implement the link.
Incoming Traffic Planning
Operators with large call volumes from Indirect Access customers may find that their incoming links are in danger
of being swamped as the customer base grows. Call Origin Analysis will allow the leading growth areas to be
identified on a geographical basis. It may be cost-effective to take on an additional Points of Interconnect in these
regions, solving the capacity problem and reducing interconnect costs.
Where links are bi-directional then detailed analysis of incoming and outgoing flows is all the more vital to correct
link sizing.

Marketing
In order to grow both the customer base and customer revenues the Marketing Department must develop
appropriate sales and marketing campaigns. The information provided by CDR Analysis allows the marketing
activity to be focused upon the areas where it will be most effective.
Customer Profiles
Evaluating your sales and marketing projects is a difficult business.
Call Origin & Destination Analysis allows call patterns to be analysed by customer geographical location, type of
customer (e.g. business/residential), and geographical call destination. You can determine if call patterns and
volumes match expectations, which regions of the country consistently produce the highest revenues, and which
destinations produce the highest call volumes.
Effective sales and marketing campaigns depend on a good knowledge of your customer base and target market
areas. CDR Analysis provides this information, accurately and totally up-to-date.

Keep up with the Competition

Most carriers face stiff competition on services from other
operators. Business customers are often registered with
more than one carrier and will redirect calls from one day
to the next with a programmable PABX system to the
cheapest available carrier, based upon destination. Even
subtle price changes can have a great effect on call
patterns.
Use CDR Analysis to determine call volumes and types
from specific regions or from specific customers in order
to detect fluctuations due to competitor price changes or
to evaluate the impact of adjustments to your own tariffs.

Key benefits of
Traffic Analysis
Reduce capital outlay
Increase efficiency
Reduce costs
Maximise Return on
Investment
Identify and resolve network
problems quickly
Improve network planning
Improve network maintenance

New Product Launches

Use CDR analysis to analyse patterns on daily basis instead
of waiting for the period billing cycle to find out how well
your new products are performing on a call volume and
revenue basis. Early evaluation allows you to assess the
effectiveness of your marketing campaigns from the
outset.

Maintain Service Level

Agreements
Reduce churn
Create effective, targeted
marketing campaigns

Features to look for in CDR Analysis

Comprehensive, user-maintainable number plan
Ability to classify destinations (fixed, mobile, nongeographic etc.)
Perform call completion code (reason code) analysis
Ability to report at any location level from single
subscriber to whole world
Reports by carriers or trunks
Reports by origin or destination
Reports by trunk direction
Selectable date range

Improve Profitability
through Key
Performance
Indicators

Easy to use
Export to external program (e.g. MS-Excel)

Conclusion
The information required to optimise the network and
maximise profitability through reduced operating costs and
improved revenue assurance is available from the switch. All
that is required is a system to gather and format the data and
present it in a form that transforms the data into information.
There are several computer-based systems available which
can provide all these benefits to some degree or another. The
Matador system from Stanza Consulting is a feature-rich, easyto-use system which provides all the benefits described,
coupled with a very low total cost of ownership.

Stanza Consulting Ltd.

2a Garden Avenue
Mitcham
Surrey, CR4 2EA
U.K.
Tel: +44 (20) 8640 1134
Mobile: +44 7764 413 083
Fax: +44 (20) 8687 2442
info@stanza-consulting.com
www.stanza-consulting.com