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c a s e s t u d y

Engineering for Growth inthe Middle EastLeveraging Geospatial Technology for

Business Efficiency

THE CHALLENGEu QatarranksamongthetopthreecountriesintheArabworldintermsofthe

numbersofcomputer,Internet,wireline,wireless,andbroadbandusers,according

totheInternationalTelecommunicationUnionandtheUnitedNations.Those

numberswillincreasedramaticallyoverthenextseveralyearsasthecountrys

telecommunicationsregulator,theSupremeCouncilofInformationand

CommunicationTechnology(ictQATAR),increasesthenumberofwireline,

wireless,andVoIPserviceproviderlicenses.

Thatcombinationofcontinuedgrowthandincreasedcompetitioncreates

opportunitiesandchallengesforQatarTel(Qtel).Withwirelinetelephony,ADSL,

ber,andwirelessnetworksthroughoutQatarandwithWiMAXontheway

Qteliswell-positionedtosignupnewbusinessandresidentialcustomers.Butthe

increasedcompetitionalsoputsmorepressureonQteltoimproveitsbusiness

efciency,whichaffectsitsoverheadcostsandthusitsabilitytopriceitsservices

competitivelyyetprotably.

Improvingbusinessefciencyisnosmalltaskforanoperatorthathas57.5

millioncustomersin17countriesacrosstheMiddleEast,NorthAfrica,andSoutheast

Asia.InQataralone,Qtelhasmorethan2millionmobilecustomers,anditstriple-play

customerbasegrew61percentinthersthalfof2009.Morecustomersmeansmore

infrastructuretoinventory,particularlyinfast-growingQatar.

Working Smarter, Not Harder

Qtelstartedlayingthefoundationforgreaterefciencyin1988,whenitjoinedthe

QatargovernmentsefforttoimplementanationwideGeographicInformationSystem

(GIS)platformthatwouldeventuallyserveawidevarietyofgovernmentagencies,

CommunicationsServiceProviders(CSPs),andotherentities.

uThis [Telcordia Network Engineer]

is one o the fnest GIS telecom

sotware solutions available. Its open

and very powerul. The network

inormation is at the users fngertips.

Krishna Kumar

Qtel

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AfterseeingthebenetsofGISrst-hand,Qtelstartedapilotprojectto

useGISformappingandmanagingitsnetwork.Asfarbackas1991,Qtel

realizedthepotentialofGIStechnology,saysKrishnaKumar,HeadofGIS

systemanddevelopment.

In1998,Qtelbeganconvertingmorethan5,000paperdrawingsofitscopper

networkintoelectronicformforusewiththeGISplatform.Atthesametime,

Qtelalsotrainedacross-sectionofitsstaff,ontheESRI ArcGISDesktop

application.

Thebenetswereimmediateandenormous.Forexample,beforethe

conversion,Qtelstaffhadtocomeintothecentralizedengineeringofceand

spendhoursndingaprinteddrawingofthenetworksectionwherethey

neededtodowork.Theythenhadtomakeacopyofthedrawingbeforenally

returningtotheirremoteofceandtheeldandonlythencouldtheirwork

actuallybegin.

Itwasatediousprocess,Kumarsays.Itusedtotakedays.

Qtelalsoknewthatitcouldimproveitsefciencyandresponsivenessand,

intheprocess,itsbottomlineevenmore.LikeanyotherCSP,Qtelneededa

highlyaccuratephysicalinventoryrepositorynotjusttounderstandwhatis

deployed,butalsototrackwhatisactivelyin-service.Thecompanyrecognized

thatduplicationofplanningworkbydifferentstaffcouldbeavoidedaswell.An

accurate,continuallyupdateddatabaseletsCSPssuchasQtelavoidthatwaste

andthusfreeupcapitalthatcanbeputtomoreeffectiveuse,suchasdeveloping

innovativeservicestodrivenewrevenueandattractcustomers.

Qtelalsoknewthatacontinuallyupdatedinventorywouldprovidean

accuratepictureofitscapabilitiessothatitsmarketingandengineering

departmentscouldimmediatelytellwhetheranewserviceorpromotioncould

belaunchedquicklyandcost-effectively,orwhetheritwouldrstrequire

deployingadditionalinfrastructureinanticipationofincreaseddemand.Those

insightsalsohelpimprovecustomersatisfactionbecausethenetworkcanhandle

theadditionalsubscriberloadthatcomeswithanewpromotionorservice.

Inadditiontodataaccuracy,Qtelneededamoreefcientend-to-endprocess

formanagingthenetworkbuildfromworkordergenerationandcosting

throughconstructionandclose-out.

THE TELCORDIA RESPONSE

u ToimproveitsbusinessefciencybeyondwhatitsbasicGISplatformcould

provide,QtelturnedtoTelcordia.Kumarandhiscolleagueswereparticularly

impressedbyTelcordiaNetworkEngineer,anetworkmanagementsystemthat

usesgeospatialinformationtoprovideacomprehensivefoundationfordesigning,

documenting,andmanagingnetworkinfrastructure.In1999,Qtelbeganusing

NetworkEngineertoleverageitsGISinvestments.

uIt used to take planners months

to know about the network, and

they used to do it manually. Network

Engineer helps our network planners

do a aster expansion into the

new area.

Krishna Kumar

Qtel

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QtelinitiallydeployedNetworkEngineerforitsberaccessnetworkbefore

quicklyexpandingitsuseinsupportofitscopperinfrastructure.Topreparefor

thedeployment,Qtelspent10monthsconvertingallofitsshapedrawingsand

relatednetworkinformationintothespatialdatabaseengine,anindicationofthe

projectsbreadthandcomplexity.

Today,QtelisnishinganotherupgradeofNetworkEngineer,inlinewithits

goalofkeepingcurrentwiththelatestavailabletechnologiestheindustryhasto

offer.Overtheyears,QtelhasworkedwithTelcordiatocustomizeNetwork

Engineerinavarietyofwaystomeetitsbusinessneeds,highlightingthe

productsexibility.

Forexample,QtelalreadyhadanEnterpriseResourcePlanning(ERP)

systemthatstaffusedtodeterminetheavailabilityofmaterialandequipment

neededforeachproject.WiththehelpofTelcordia,wenowhaveaninterface

tothissystem,makingtheworkorderprocessseamless,Kumarsays.That

interfaceletsQtelworkmoreefcientlythroughreal-timesharingofworkorder

detailsandstatusdirectlybetweentheERPsystemandNetworkEngineer.

QtelalsocustomizedNetworkEngineerbybuildingaweb-basedapplication

thatletsusersviewbutnoteditinformationinNetworkEngineer.Designed

withTelcordiashelp,thewebviewerenablesfastaccesswhichhelpsmakeQtel

staffmoreresponsivetocustomerneeds.

Theendresultisthatatanypointintime,NetworkEngineerishandling

approximately1,500workorders,highlightingQtelsworkloadasitresponds

togrowthinthecapitalcityofDohaandtherestofQatar.

Itwaswithallofyour[Telcordias]supportthatwehavedoneit,

Kumarsays.

THE RESULTS

u AfternearlyadecadeofuseatQtel,NetworkEngineerhasstreamlineda

widevarietyofnetworktasks.Someexamples:

QtelstaffuseNetworkEngineertoplan,review,andapproveconstructionwork.

Theyalsocanaccessnetworkinformationimmediatelyintheirofce,sotheynow

canspendthemajorityoftheirworkdayonupgrades,repairs,andprovisioningand

othertasksthatimprovecustomersatisfaction.

NetworkEngineerallowsQtelstafftoviewtheinsideplant,suchasthefrontofa

racktoseeiftheresroomforadditionalequipment.Thatvisibilitymeanstheydonthavetowastetimetrekkingouttoafacilitytoseewhatsavailable.Mostofthe

Qtelaccessnetworkengineersseldomgoontothesiteanymore,Kumarsays.

TheyuseNetworkEngineer.

Qtelssalesstaffcanaccessthesystemtodeterminewhichservicesarefeasiblefor

prospectivecustomers,aswellasforexistingcustomersthatwanttoaddnew

services,suchasMPLS.Forexample,NetworkEngineermakesitfastandeasyto

tellwhetheracustomerisnearaberbackboneorinabuildingthatalreadyhasa

lateral,aswellashowlongitwilltaketoprovisionservice.Ithelpsthemtovery

uWith the help o Telcordia, we

now have an interace to this [ERP]

system, making the work order

process seamless.

Krishna Kumar

Qtel

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For more information about Telcordia

Technologies, contact your local account

executive, or you can reach us at:

+1 800.521.2673 (U.S. and Canada)

+44 (0)20 7632 4450 (Europe)

+1 732.699.5800 (all other countries)

info@telcordia.com

www.telcordia.com MC-COR-CS-010

quicklytellakeycustomerhowmuchtimeitwilltaketogetthemserviceor

whetherit'savailablealready,Kumarsays.

NetworkEngineeralsostreamlinedQtelsabilitytoaddandrestoreservicequickly

andcost-effectively.Forexample,QteltechnicianscanentertheGPScoordinatesof

afaultoracustomeraccesspointintotheirportabledevicesotheycanquicklynd

theirwaytothatlocation.ThatresponsivenessisparticularlyimportanttoQtels

enterprisecustomersandhelpstheoperatormaintainitscompetitiveposition.As

newCSPsenterthemarket,Qtelcanmarketitsnetworkshighavailabilityasaway

toretainandattractenterprisecustomers.

QtelusesNetworkEngineertosupportitswirelessnetworks,suchasbyproviding

theengineeringstaffwithinformationaboutberaccesstobasestations.Wemake

themmapswithNetworkEngineertohelpsupportradioplanning,Kumarsays.

Mostofthebasestationinsideplantisdocumentedinthesystem,aswell.

Asinthepast,QtelcontinuestoleverageGIStosupportthecitizensof

Qatar.TheQatargovernmentsoliciteditshelpmorethantwodecadesago

becauseitsawGISasawaytoensurethatthebuildingboomofthe1980swould

causeminimaldisruptiontoresidentsandbusinesses.SupportingtodaysgrowthaswellwithNetworkEngineer,Qtelstaffcanquicklydevelopaplanfordiverting

partofthenetwork,suchasinanareawhereroadconstructionwilldigup

infrastructure,asjustoneexample.

Itusedtotakeplannersmonthstoknowaboutthenetwork,andtheyused

todoitmanually,Kumarsays.NetworkEngineerhelpsournetworkplanners

doafasterexpansionintothenewarea.

Qtelisoneof55governmentagenciesinthecountrythat18yearsago

formedaCenterforGIStosharepertinentGISinformationwithotherparties,

suchascontractorsthatneedtoknowwherecopperandberareburiedwhen

buildingaroadorupgradingwaterlines.QatarhadtheconceptofsocietalGIS

backinthe80s,stillinplaytoday.

ThisisoneofthenestGIStelecomsoftwaresolutionsavailable,

Kumarsays.Itsopenandverypowerful.Thenetworkinformationisatthe

usersngertips.

ESRI and ArcGIS are registered trademarks ofEnvironmental Systems Research, Inc.

Copyright 2010 Telcordia Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved