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CONFIDENTIAL
Roaming Service Level Agreement Guidelines between Operators and between an operator and a Roaming Hub Provider Version 3.1 2 July 2010
This is a non-binding permanent reference document of the GSM Association.
Security Classification CONFIDENTIAL GSMA Material Confidential Confidential Confidential Confidential GSMA Full Members GSMA Associate Members GSMA Rapporteur Members GSMA Parent Company Members X X X X
Copyright Notice
Copyright 2010 GSM Association
Antitrust Notice
The information contain herein is in full compliance with the GSM Associations antitrust compliance policy.
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Table of Contents Roaming Service Level Agreement Guidelines between Operators and between an operator and a Roaming Hub Provider ......................................1 Version 3.1........................................................................................................1 2 July 2010........................................................................................................1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 General .......................................................................................................3 Introduction ...............................................................................................3 QOS PARAMETER values .........................................................................4 Different Methods for Measuring QoS Parameters.................................5 Conditions and REcommendations for QOS Parameters ......................6 Cost of Testing ..........................................................................................7 Implementation and calibration................................................................7 exchange OF test results ..........................................................................8 Maximum time to restore service (mtrs) ..................................................9 9.1 General ...............................................................................................9 9.2 Troubleshooting remarks ....................................................................9 9.3 RSLA Parameter Investigations ..........................................................9 9.4 Response, Update and Restoration times ........................................10
10 Dispute resolution and escalation .........................................................10 11 Guidelines on the use of the RSLA ........................................................11 12 Guidelines for sourcing an OC-compliant GRQ monitoring Solution .11 Annex 1 SLA SPECIFICATION ......................................................................12 DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT .........................................................................13
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1 GENERAL
This document provides guidelines to those Operators wishing to establish an end-to-end Roaming Service Level Agreement (RSLA) either between themselves and/or through a Roaming Hub Provider. It includes suggestions on how to set up a RSLA, as well as information on Quality of Service (QoS) Parameters and procedures. Operators willing to sign a RSLA are free to select the QoS Parameters and measuring methods they find most appropriate for their business. The basis for the RSLA is the signing of Annex C12 of AA.13 (if signed between Operators) and/or the corresponding annex of the AA.73 (if signed between an Operator and a Roaming Hub Provider). For bilateral relationships, this Annex C12 consists of a template for the RSLA contract and an embedded excel sheet which can be used for the regular exchange of the RSLA results between Operators (cf Annex).
2 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of a RSLA is to ensure the quality of the roaming wholesale services provided by the roaming partners and/or the Operators and Roaming Hub Providers. In order to fulfil the QoS Parameters and escalation processes in the RSLA, it is important to have a clear understanding of how the international traffic is exchanged between roaming partners. The international traffic can be handled in various ways e.g. direct interconnect, mobile carrier products or least cost routing. The various ways of terminating international traffic has pros and cons linked to fulfilling a RSLA and it is important to clearly understand the link between the QoS Parameters and escalation processes and the various ways of terminating international traffic before implementing a RSLA. This is also the case for signalling and GRX traffic. It is therefore strongly advised that operators using the RSLA will have corresponding Service Level Agreements in place with the involved carriers / service providers either directly or through the Roaming Hub Provider (if provided). Standardized formats for such SLAs can be found in the PRDs IN.01 (voice), IN.05 (signalling) and IN.10 (GRX). It is also important to agree in your SLAs with your vendors times for restoration and updates for minor, major and critical issues that are in line with your Roaming SLAs. Other assumptions / conditions for implementing and measuring the QoS Parameters are: QoS Parameters must be measurable by either Party in a large enough sample. The information can be gathered using test traffic (e.g. thanks to the use of automatic test probes on the VPMN network) or using live traffic monitoring tools (e.g. signalling monitoring, traffic reports or data from HPMN network and/or Roaming Hub Provider) It is assumed that the end user can handle his mobile and the service he wants to use (the service is available and not barred, no interoperability problem between end user equipment and the visited network, routing is defined correctly without errors, the end user equipment is ready to answer the call)
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It is assumed that the conditions enabling roaming are fulfilled i.e. the routing, the GRX/international voice infrastructure are correctly configured and available
This means the Party commits to have at least 90% of the calls made by the roamers with a Post Dialing Delay < 10s. Below you will also find an overview for all RSLA and Trigger Values. These Values are based upon the results of the 40 GRQ Trials between Operators (it is the average from all trial measurements). They can be used by both the VPMN and HPMN, and by the Roaming Hub Provider, to compare the network quality perceived by the HPMN or the Roaming Hub Provider and that of the VPMN roaming partners (either through a bilateral relationship or through a Roaming Hub Provider). Data trials have only been done on GPRS networks. Some Parameters have not been measured at all in the trial for various reasons. As it was decided to use RSLA values for all Parameters only after the trial period, quite a few of these values are also missing in this overview. However it is fair to say that for these Parameters a typical RSLA value would be 95%, and the Trigger value is the one to focus on.
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Parameter CSLUSR
Relevance High
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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 21 22 23 24 25 26 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
CSLUDelay NERMO NERMT PDDMO PDDMT CSSRMO CSSRMT REL OCN&RDN CCR ALOC CLI SpQ SAMO SAMT ADMO ADMT E2EDTMO E2EDTMT PSLUCR PSLUDelay PDPCAct.CR PDPCAct.Time PDPCCutOffRatio PDPCAv.SessionTime ThroughputGPRS GoodputGPRS RoundtripTimeGPRS PacketLossGPRS
Low High High Medium Medium High High Low Low High Low High Medium High High Medium Medium Low Low High Low High Medium Medium Low High Medium Medium Medium
9s N/A N/A 10s 9s N/A N/A N/A notmeasured N/A notmeasured N/A 3 N/A N/A 5s 5s 12s 13s N/A 7s N/A 3s N/A notmeasured 29kbit/sec 32kbit/sec 1200msec N/A
notmeasured 96% 98% notmeasured notmeasured 94% 93% 99% notmeasured 97% notmeasured 99% notmeasured 94% 97% notmeasured notmeasured notmeasured notmeasured 97% notmeasured 98% notmeasured 3% notmeasured notmeasured notmeasured notmeasured 2%
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MSC vendor area, this is subject to financial consideration that has to be evaluated in collaboration with the active probes solution vendors. On the other hand a great advantage of an active system is that they can be used to reproduce any specific situation or problem. This is very useful for trouble shooting and to avoid false alarms during testing due to bad coverage, subscription or credit problems (prepaid) and phones running out of battery. Also intrusive tests can only be done with active systems, like Speech Quality and specific data applications. In networks where you have little roaming traffic, the active probe can generate enough traffic to make sure you know the service is working fine and the QoS level is good. Ideally we would recommend operators to use both methods in conjunction. This would give the best of both worlds. Apart from the fact you need to implement and maintain two systems, the actual costs of measuring would not have to be higher than using just one method. You can choose to use either method in a particular country/network without having to do double measurements. It is also possible to change methods from time to time depending on the situation.
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6 COST OF TESTING
The cost of testing is in principle at the expense of the requesting Party but both Parties can agree to do otherwise. By using passive probes (live traffic) there are no additional roaming costs. By establishing real connections with an active probe, the HPMN and/or the Roaming Hub Provider will incur roaming charges on the test SIM cards that are being used. This is only the case for a limited number of Parameters, but charges can be considerable, especially for data tests. In case both Parties are testing the QoS with active probes, the costs will more or less level out. In case only one of the Parties is performing QoS tests with active probes, or the IOTs are not in balance, the Parties can agree bilaterally on the settlement for the costs incurred. The Annex C.12 has some text that can be used to that purpose for bilateral relationships. For an Operator wishing to have RSLA with a Roaming Hub Provider, there is a need to agree on the charging mechanism. In any case, the options are as follows : - The costs of tests performed by the VPMN are part of the standard roaming agreement and/or the AA.73 and will remain unchanged in the context of this agreement, unless otherwise agreed. In this case, the threshold for test usage as per the AA12 and/or the AA.73 will likely remain in place. - However, it is possible to include these test SIM cards in the list of non-chargeable SIM cards specifically exchanged for RSLA purposes (see Annex C.12 for bilateral relationships). In this case, both Parties will agree that the Party bearing the charges will issue a (yearly) credit note for the usage of the notified test SIM cards.
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If both are using different methods (active vs. passive) they will have to use this calibration process to agree on the differences in the measurement results in order to reach a mutually accepted level of comparability. This is required to take into account the specific customer behaviour (e.g. voice-mail usage) and mix (e.g. pre-paid vs. post-paid) of the HPMN. Based upon the trial results extra attention should be paid to Parameters 5, 6, 34, 36 and 37, as they have shown the most variation between the different vendors in the trials. Once all parties are satisfied with the results and the additional agreements, the monthly measurements can start.
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Should either Party experience a major outage, it is recommended to report this straight away at least to the other Party. This will be beneficial for any trouble shooting, as well as explain any possible underperformances in the QoS measurements.
The procedure for troubleshooting is defined in PRD IR.78. For additional information on using IR78 in an RSLA see 9.2 & 9.3 below. Response, update & restoration times need to be agreed upon in the RSLA, see 9.4 for additional guidance.
9.2
Troubleshooting remarks
This non-binding PRD IR78 can be made binding between the two Parties by signing the RSLA. Any deviations from this PRD IR.78 need to be specified within the RSLA. The resolution times will only count from the moment either Party has received all the information that is necessary to resolve the issue. In case additional information that was requested by this Party is not deemed necessary for the resolution, the initial report will count as starting time for the problem resolution. Operators need to ensure that they have RSLAs in place with all suppliers and carriers that could impact on the quality of service they provide to inbound roamers.
9.3
Either Party shall confirm it is fully compliant with GRQ Parameters as defined in IR81. They should also confirm they have performed a preliminary analysis: at network level to check data fill is correct and up to date, no service outages notifications have been received etc. verify there is no problem with their test systems, probes, SIMs etc. The Party shall provide details of its measurements like MSISDN (calling and called numbers), IMSI, probe location etc. Use the call record tab in the trouble report for these details together with the exact days when the Parameter requires investigation. It is suggested that the above exchange of information is conducted as soon as a Parameter problem is detected, it will be difficult for the other Party to troubleshoot if the Parameter has restored to normal or to investigate a problem that occurred in the past. Sharing test results/ information on a regular basis between home and visited network should assist in providing the high quality of roaming service all parties require. Detecting Parameter problems for inbound and outbound roamers, it is strongly recommended that operators continuously monitor their performance by use of alarms. This will provide quick detection of problems on both sides and assist with quality of service and resolution times.
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9.4
Both Parties can agree on response times for acknowledgement, updates and resolution in the SLA. Resolution times can be differentiated for SLA Parameter investigation, minor, major and critical cases. Both Parties can also agree on penalty clauses for any delays in resolution times. There is no standard framework available for penalties. For major and critical issues an email should be followed with a telephone call to ensure the other Party is immediately aware of the problems. Various factors will determine operator and Roaming Hub Providers response and restoration times i.e. if they have a 24/7 technical roaming team, SLAs in place with vendors and carriers etc. In case the response, update or restoration times are not met, the IR.21 and/or the Roaming Hub Agreement will have to provide an escalation point that should be used in these cases. On top of that there is a commercial escalation procedure (see chapter 10). For guidance below listed are typical times used by some of the larger operators, use should also be made of the Exceptions column for areas that are not under your control.
Parameter Investigation: One or more PARAMETER's below threshold* Priority Minor: One customer or VIP affected* Priority Major: A number of customers affected* Priority Critical: One of the roaming services down*
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An OC-compliant GRQ monitoring product or service provider should also: i. Offer a product or service that supports configuration of the following aspects of endto-end roaming QoS monitoring: a. GRQ parameter set b. RSLA values (trigger and SLA values) c. Test procedures and conditions (e.g. test frequency). d. Report production ii. Include a well-defined level of roaming trouble-shooting and problem-solving support as part of its standard service. Optional additional support should also be available outside of the standard service contract.
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iii.
iv.
v. vi. vii.
Offer a product or service that can provide (at a minimum) the following detailed measurement data on individual GRQ parameters for the last 10 calendar days to enable Client Operators to complete the IR.78 trouble shooting report: a. Time and date of transaction b. IMSI c. MSISDN d. Location of client device (e.g. IMSI) e. SMSC address f. APN address g. Bearer h. Dialled number Be capable of: a. Providing copies of detailed measurement data going back 90 calendar days from receipt of the Client Operator request. b. Performing end-to-end roaming QoS testing prior to launch or activation of roaming services. c. Providing automated detection of shortfalls of end-to-end roaming QoS level as agreed in a RSLA. d. Adding new roaming SLAs to the GRQ product or service. Protect the data security and confidentiality involved in roaming relationships Provide technical and operational guides to help Client Operators and their suppliers with implementing the GRQ framework using its GRQ products or services. Provide well-defined written procedures for the management of SIM cards provided by HPMN, VPMN, or their suppliers for the purpose of GRQ monitoring. (applies to active monitoring solutions only)
Operators are recommended to consider including clauses specifying the desired features above to their bilateral agreements with their GRQ monitoring product or service providers.
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DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT
Document History Version 0.1 0.2 0.2.1 0.4 0.5 0.6 Date June 7th 2006 June 16th 2006 21 June 2006 21 July 2006 17 Aug 2006 7 Sept 2006 Brief Description of Change First draft discussed at Taskforce meeting #7 Version for discussion at Taskforce meeting #8 Review by GSMA/PMO for style compliance Final draft sent to AGREE for review Final version sent to AGREE for approval Revised by Director R&B following comments gathered at RING, AGREE & BARG Sub-group Chairs Meetings Change to paragraph 4 as PRD IR42 has not been updated yet. Removed annex 1, and turned this into article 10. This version will be presented at BARG#69 in Brighton. Removed article 4.2, as this is now all documented in PRD IR.42 Revised following comments gathered at RING, AGREE and BARG. Awaiting BARG Approval. BARG Approved by Email (BARG Doc 71_006Rev1)
CR 001 and 002 to BA.51 (BARG Docs 72_032 and 72_057)
Approval Authority
BARG #nn EMC #nn BARG #nn eVote EMC #nn
Editor / Company
0.7
0.8
0.9
2 May 2007 28 Septembe r 2007 December 2007 20 November 2008 29 April 2010
0.10
1.0
BARG #71 BARG #73 EMC #69 BARG #75 & EMC #82 Jan Willem de Haan (KPN)
2.0
3.0
3.1
2 July 2010
Minor CR 004 to BA.51 Addition of GRQ in Roaming Hubs (Agree doc 73_004)
AGREE #73
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Other Information Type Document Owner Editor / Company Description BARG - AGREE Jan Willem de Haan (KPN)
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