Roaming Health Check Launched February 2011

Evolved Intelligence, the next generation IN company, has launched a roaming health check for mobile operators that uses a combination of SS7 and radio probes and analysis.   The health check gives operators a review of key issues such as the total number of visitors to their network, who is steering against them, traffic being lost due to network issues and potential fraud.   It can also help operators to build business cases for new investments in roaming applications or radio network extensions.

The SS7 probes have been evolved from the company’s NIF, or network interface function, technology.   NIF technology was developed to allow complex IN applications to be delivered to operators from remote servers.

Says Evolved Intelligence’s CTO, Nick Jones:   “NIFs are essentially active probes that allow us to deliver services such as steering of roaming and SMS fraud management to operators from remote servers.    The NIF connects to the operator’s SS7 network and communicates to our application server via IP.    When we first started deploying these remotely managed services, at the beginning of 2009, we needed to analyse various messages in order to ensure the best performance of our applications.    However, with time, we have expanded the messages that we look at, and the analyses that we perform, to cover a much wider range of issues.”

The development of a passive version of the NIF has opened the way for Evolved Intelligence to offer a roaming health check using the technology.    The passive NIF provides a low cost, loss less probe.   It is also easy to attach to the network.   It can be loaded as a piece of software to existing nodes.    If there are no existing nodes, then a portable version of the hardware can be attached.

Says Nick Jones:   “The development of the passive probe posed some particular problems.   This is because it is easy for passive probes to miss data generated on the network.   However I am now pleased to say that we have a probe which does not miss any data.   This is very important as some of the tests that we do rely upon our being able to prove that something is not present in the message stream.   This is of course difficult to do if your probe might be missing data.”

The health check also uses radio probes.   These are used both independently and also in conjunction with the SS7 technology.    They are used on their own in a drive to provide an overview of the relative competing networks strengths of signal.    Computer modelling techniques are used to indicate possible geographic areas where roamers might be lost to competitors.

The probes are used in conjunction with the SS7 tests to look for certain types of fraud.   They can also provide a definitive proof of any anti steering activity by competing networks.

Says Robin Burton, Head of Marketing at Evolved Intelligence:   “The health gives roaming managers the answers to key questions such as “How good is my relationship with key partners?” or “How much potential is there for me to win more traffic from visitors?”.   It provides the information needed for effective action.”

Evolved Intelligence plans to provide a real time permanent version of the health check service soon as a “roaming dashboard.”

More information is available here

About Evolved Intelligence
 
Evolved Intelligence is based in Bristol, UK and was formed in 2007.   The Evolved Intelligence team has a long experience in delivering IN services.  Key members of the team worked for the Bristol based company, Aethos, widely regarded as one of the principal pioneers of pre-pay mobile communications.   The Evolved Intelligence team is also a pioneer in the use of the JAIN platform and of Agile Development methodology.  
 
www.evolved-intelligence.com
 
For more information please contact Robin Burton:  
robin.burton@evolved-intelligence.com  
+44 7843 241371