Contents - Connect-World

VoIP
dated TDM networks. IP
networks are essentially
decoupled, requiring critical
voice networking knowledge.
Here are some important
considerations:
ˆ Ensure that the production
systems are redundant
and fully tested;
ˆ Testing should include all
ancillary systems, such as
media servers, POP3
servers, DNS set-up and
network connectivity (note
that many times lab / testing
environments do not
include important ancillary
systems);
ˆ Security policies should
be in-place;
ˆ Provisioning processes
should be in-place and testedincluding
fall-back
plans for each step along the
way;
ˆ Network documentation should be
in-place, accurate and sufficiently
detailed;
ˆ Procedures for carefully taking endusers
through planned changes should
be thorough and tested;
ˆ User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
should ensure that all features and
functionality are working as planned
this should include troubleshooting
checklists to systematically identify
any minor problems.
Voice expertise
Delivering VoIP services does require
experience in the voice telecom
worldthis is not a data service, but it
is not a traditional voice service either.
Engineering issues can be successfully
managed using either in-house expertise
or available through vendors / partners
in such areas as:
ˆ Local Number Portability (LNP);
ˆ 911 and e911;
ˆ Directory Assistance and Directory
Listings;
ˆ Operator Services;
ˆ Inter / Intra LATA dialing plans and
billing;
ˆ 800 Services;
ˆ Equal access;
ˆ Call flows (and feature use);
Figure 2: 69 per cent of service providers agree on a target range for cost-savings of
10 to 30 per cent.
ˆ TDM-based trouble-shooting;
ˆ Corporate CLEC (competitive local
exchange carrier) status;
ˆ Dealing effectively with LEC and
other CLEC procedures, processes and
people.
In addition, a formalised training programme
will be extremely valuable for
internal staff, for business and for residential
end-users. Since VoIP is new
to most users, providing them with
sufficient information is critical to
ensure all involved are comfortable
with the service.
Ongoing technical and
service support
Quality of Service (QoS) must be
addressed. The major contributing
factors to QoS are:
ˆ Latencythe time needed for a
packet to traverse the network;
ˆ Packet Lossthe percentage of
packets lost while transiting the network;
ˆ Jittera measure of the variation in
arrival delay for a series of packets.
Tier one and two customer support
procedures and hierarchy must be
established, with clear delineation
between your companys responsibilities
and those of your vendors.
Responsibilities to carefully consider
include problem troubleshooting,
maintenance of system integrity, as
well as hardware and applications support.
If you are providing VoIP services
to the business market,
technical knowledge for
customers LAN / WAN
assessments and interworking
will be needed.
Success in VoIP will be
defined by short product
development cycles —
quickly getting new features
and capabilities
from testing into production.
So, product development
and engineering
functions need to be
highly skilled and tightly
integrated.
Scalability of backoffice
and delivery
functions
As sales volume grows,
automation will be needed
in such operational
areas as: order input,
account set up, feature
assignment, billing, customer premises
equipment (CPE) fulfillment,
onsite network assessment and
installation (business market) and
customer relationship management
(CRM).
This requires considerable attention to
automation and integration of
Operational Support Systems (OSS)
and Business Support Systems (BSS)
in the early stages of service delivery.
In addition to dealing with growing
volumes, OSS / BSS systems must provide
increased accuracy and audit
capabilities through the entire service
or product life cycle in order to ensure
seamless delivery to customers.
Replicating service and
expanding service footprint
Initial selection of geographic markets
is a complex decision, considering the
companys preferred sales approach,
existing network, level of anticipated
competition and so on. Appropriate
phasing of growth is important to
maintain smooth operations and
sound financial results.
An orderly expansion will be facilitated
by what has been learned from initial
market experiences, but will nonetheless
require detailed cost analysis that
takes significant variations into
account, including conditions such as
LEC (Local Exchange Carrier) interconnection
for PSTN (Public Switched
Telephone Network) access, collocation
costs and local support, as well as
intrastate and interstate toll arrangements.
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