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Although fault and performance-monitoring services initially focused on traditional technology, such as base station performance, they have now evolved to reflect the complex and diverse array of mobile services - such as mobile TV, music and video downloads, and other multimedia services.

Ericsson Strategic Solution Manager Anders Bill says: "Operators today offer more than just voice calls or MMS. Providing complex services means they also face increased demand and price pressure, and are consequently seeking more efficient, cost-effective ways to deliver quality services. They are focused on the end-user perspective and understand that reliable, timely, quality service delivery is key.

"All operators tend to engage in monitoring services," Bill says. "The differentiator is the degree of information they obtain and how they use it to gain a competitive advantage."

Monitoring in action - a snapshot
In preparation for a large international sporting event, Ericsson partnered with a local European operator to improve the throughput rates for its MMS service. The peak traffic normally experienced by the operator was between 3000 and 5000 messages per hour. This was expected to increase substantially during the event, so ensuring a quality service for end users while maximizing revenue opportunities was key.

In order to develop an end-to-end understanding of the main issues, Ericsson assembled an international team of MMS experts who worked in close cooperation with the operator. Ericsson also employed a variety of performance-monitoring tools, such as its Solution for Service Assurance, which included active and passive probes to measure the "health" of the MMS service.

The review identified a number of problems affecting the network's capabilities. For example, the MMS service had been experiencing severe problems with long delays and queues, the overall success rate for MMS traffic was low compared to the market average, and WAP service accessibility and download success rates were low. Additionally, certain handset models experienced long MMS service delays, and there were fluctuating send and download times.

As a result of the review, the throughput rates were increased from two to four messages per second (MPS) to 12 to 15 MPS for mobile to mobile services, mobile to e-mail services, and value-added services. This outcome exceeded expectations.

Looking forward
While operators increasingly look to monitoring services to find out what is working, there is significant potential for monitoring to be employed as a sophisticated business tool. At one end of the spectrum, basic monitoring can be ad-hoc and decentralized, while those at the forefront of the industry are embedding it into their regular business activities.

Bill says monitoring services are not at the front of every operator's mind. "For example, they could be focusing on a range of things, such as expanding their network or migrating to 3G. But sooner or later market pressures will lead them to look to monitoring services to provide them with business-critical information and ensure quality for end users."

Today, most operators have moved beyond basic monitoring and are now focused on end-to-end monitoring to try and understand the business impacts of faults and service issues. The potential is for operators to benefit from predictive services that are able to identify potential problems, and link this information to business metrics such as delivery times, subscriber numbers, and return on investment.

In addition to lost revenue, poor service can also ruin a hard-earned reputation with customers. End users expect good quality and it is an area where operators can differentiate themselves.

Bill says: "Consumers are price sensitive and they expect to get what they pay for, so it is up to operators to ensure their network is functioning seamlessly in order to boost revenue and protect their investment."