To be competitive in the telecommunications landscape today providers rely on workflow processes and systems that integrate information across the company to support running the business efficiently. A GIS-based network management system provides telecommunication providers with many key benefits in this ever-changing industry. The GIS system allows providers to build a digital replica of the physical connected network to support all aspects of the business including operations, planning, engineering, provisioning, sales, marketing, and finance. This digital replica of the network enables collaboration across departments providing timely and fact-based information to support better decision making on financial investments, reducing operational costs, and improving customer satisfaction.
The GIS provides a unified repository for modeling the telecom physical network and connectivity while also providing the tools to manage, view, analyze, and share data in the context of location across the company. This data is shared across the departments through easy-to-use, web-based, and mobile GIS tools that are focused on the specific needs of each user group.
Below are several key examples of how the GIS is used within a telecom:
Inventory tracking
The system provides accurate tracking of assets including the location, size, quantity, and availability of physical infrastructure including ducts, manholes, poles, cables, splices, and equipment. This provides the ability to analyze and report on the quantity and availability of infrastructure to support all aspects of running a telecom.
Field operations
The GIS provides field technicians and outside plant (OSP) engineers with the tools required to maintain the network and turn up customer services efficiently by eliminating the need for truck rolls required to validate the use of physical assets in the field. A good example of this would be the screening of call before you dig tickets. With accurate GIS data, you can reduce the number of locate requests coming from state agencies and screen tickets you do get without having to go to the field. This significantly reduces the overall cost and truck rolls to locate the network in the field.
Infrastructure planning
A GIS network management system helps telecoms plan their infrastructure by providing accurate and up-to-date maps and data on the location and status of network components. This helps telecoms make informed decisions about where to expand their network and which areas to prioritize. A good example of this would be to track the burn rate of fiber usage along the backbone to develop business cases for the timing of overpulling sections of the backbone to support future growth.
Network management
The GIS models the connectivity of the physical network and its association to customer circuits providing the ability to map the physical path of circuits running over the fiber network. This provides network operators with the capability to manage the network and quickly resolve outages. This also is used to demonstrate how a customer’s diversity requirements are being met in the sales process by developing maps to visualize the routing of a customer’s service.
Sales
The GIS provides sales with the ability to quickly respond to a prospective customer’s request for service and to analyze relativity to network, interconnection cost, and available capacity. GIS routing tools are used to automate the design and estimate construction costs to enable real-time quoting customer solutions. GIS web-based tools are used by sales to develop customer network designs that can be presented and visualized through maps.
Customer service
A GIS network management system can help telecoms provide better customer service by allowing them to quickly identify and resolve network issues. For example, fiber monitoring systems can be implemented and integrated with the GIS to pinpoint the physical location of a fault in the network and dispatch a technician to resolve the outage quickly.
Regulatory compliance
Telecoms are subject to various regulations regarding the location and deployment of network infrastructure. The GIS network management system helps telecoms ensure compliance by providing accurate and detailed information on the location and status of their network components.
Finance
The GIS is used to report on the location and quantity of network assets to value the network for tax reporting to meet the requirements of the judications the network passes through. This data is also used to determine the company’s valuation that is presented to the investors and stock market on a quarterly basis.
Corporate development
When a telecom is pursuing acquisition opportunities, the GIS network data is used to analyze the value of the deal through comparing the company’s network footprint and potential synergies and cost reductions. This provides the data to build a business case to justify the acquisition which is then used as the roadmap to the future integration and realization of the synergies post-acquisition.
Overall, a GIS-based network management system can help a telecom company improve many aspects of the business including financial, operational, and customer satisfaction. One of the keys to overall success is to identify data owners and to have workflow processes in place to maintain the data as the network changes. Overtime, as stakeholders in the business rely on the data to support their functions, the value of the data is realized, and accountability of the data owners will drive the overall accuracy and benefits of the GIS.
