Custom Application Services

In today's highly competitive business environment, wireless communications providers' systems need to deliver accurate and ever changing information at a much faster pace.

Wireless providers can no longer rely only on switch manufacturers to meet all of their functionality and efficiency requirements. Rapid modification of their systems' user interface is the key to competitive advantage.

System customization is often the only way to ensure rapid system improvements and modifications. 3D Cellular can design and develop custom applications to answer wireless providers' specific needs and requirements.

The custom application development process normally includes the following phases:

Requirement analysis
  • Assist customers in defining their key requirements.
  • Define and document custom applications requirements.
Select language / operating system
  • Select the programming language and the operating system (UNIX, Windows, etc.) that will most effectively satisfy project requirements.
  • Choose any other third-party tools that may be required.
Application & user interface design
  • Consult with the customer on an on-going basis
  • Design the application and user interface step-by-step.
Implement, train and support
  • Ensure the application delivers the desired results
  • Support any performance issues and requested revisions.

 

Ideas for custom applications

There are many functions in network engineering, operations, marketing and customer service that require not only the gathering of specific data but also its manipulation in order to extract useful information. 3D Cellular has unique expertise in our industry for creating flexible applications that manipulate data in a way that makes it easy for the user to get what he needs.

Trunk Usage Report Tool

Wireless partnerships and network configurations are becoming more complex every year. Many configurations require financial control and billing analysis. 3D Cellular can propose the design of custom applications capable of easily handling the import of billing or AMA records and letting the user specify data sorts and reports to answer questions regarding usage on PSTN connections.

Billing Usage Report Tool

Trunk usage and bills from the trunk-group providers along with the distribution of funds to partnerships based on wireless usage can often be problematic. It is also needed to verify local and long-distance PSTN connection billing data. 3D Cellular's application could import the different systems' billing data (flexible front-end) and create reports to meet user needs. It could import or export data to Trunk Usage Report Tool for unmatched auditing of events.

Network Engineering / Planning Reporting Tool

3D Cellular proposes a network-engineering tool that collects ALL associated network costs (Facilities, Equipment, Software-Support, etc.) and allows planners to easily view and analyze areas with the greatest opportunity for improvement (graphical network picture with data).

Facilities Engineering Reporting Tool

3D Cellular proposes a tool that handles all facilities information for each DS-0 (voice or data path) in your network. It could display all facilities data for each PSTN trunk, or cell-site RF channel, as well as each leg of each connection, in an easily viewed format. System technicians and facilities engineers could more easily maintain and engineer this important area of the wireless system. Data would be kept in an inter-relational database for creative searches and sorts, and there would be better over-all record keeping for these important connections.

Custom Applications using Lucent ROP port

Pro-Active Trunk- Capacity Application

MTSO facilities and switch capacity engineers must use the System Vendors' prediction tools to try and keep ahead of trunk and cell channel capacity requirements. Because developers (as opposed to users) created those tools, they are usually bare-bones applications with few or no custom features. They are usually not GUI-based, and do not do what most of their users would like them to do.

To correct this problem, we at 3D Cellular propose a tool using the hourly smdump, combined with ROP output, to better predict the trunk-quantity problems before customers find them for themselves. This tool would have user-programmable triggers to alert the proper people via e-mail message reporting. With this system, an engineer handling an area could go on vacation, knowing that an e-mail would arrive at a peer workstation for him or her to handle the problem. The application would also keep historical data, for the engineer to view at a later date. With the proper interface, a large quantity of systems could be combined into one. The tool could make predictions based on historical data, making it possible to create accurate budgets. The tool's Graphical User Interface would make training and actual use much easier than present methods.

Pro-Active Alarm Correlation

NOC centers are always searching for flexible, user-definable alarm correlation. 3D Cellular proposes a tool with such a capability, based on the Advanced Switch Monitor. The ability for users (NOC center or local system technicians) to define automatic alarm responses is something MTSO managers have only dreamed about. With a certain amount of development time and effort, the Advanced Switch Monitor could be made to do alarm correlation in a user-definable mode.