SmartFren: Excellent OAM with ZSmart SQM

SmartFren Telecom was formed in 2010 by the merger of Smart Telecom and Mobile-8. The company has a nationwide CDMA network and seven million users in Indonesia. ZTE is Smartfren’s exclusive CDMA equipment supplier, and has provided Smartfren with an entire BSS/OSS system, including billing system, CRM system and OSS.

In 2005, SmartFren Telecom started developing an OSS system that includes resource management and integrated network management systems. They have also realized electronic OAM. As Smartfren expanded, especially after the merger with Mobile-8, they encountered some challenges in enhancing network operation and improving customer service quality. Smartfren lacked an effective way to

• improve customer service and settle customer complaints efficiently. Customers were not being satisfied.
• monitor and evaluate service quality
• monitor real-time product, and SLA service quality
• analyze service quality in terms of customers, products, and networks.

SmartFren decided to establish a service quality management (SQM) system. In the OSS phase III project, an SQM system was designed to enhance network and service quality, improve customer satisfaction, and foster brand loyalty. By providing service monitoring and quality alarms, the SQM system helps SmartFren provide the best customer service. SQM system can

• define KQI and monitor end-to-end quality across the whole service chain, from content and network providers to end users
• establish a system model (customers—services—network indexes) that includes network performance index, service conditions, efficient service delivery, efficient problem-solving, effective customer support, and quantifiable service quality index
• highlight services that affect customer satisfaction
• specify reasonable service-level objectives to meet customer expectations and help customers realize the complexity of problems.

After analyzing SmartFren's need in depth, ZTE designed a customized solution called ZSmart SQM. The solution provides quantified data that reflects how a user experiences services and networks, and it facilitates service improvement.

ZSmart SQM comprises SQM and customer experience management (CEM) (Fig. 1). SQM is part of QoS management and is used for end-to-end monitoring of service quality. It forms models for different service-quality indexes. CEM is part of QoE management and is used to evaluate customer experience. It analyzes a customer's attention to services and weighs KQIs to create a QoE index system that truly reflects customer experience.

 ZSmart SQM adheres to TM Forum standards, including GB917 and GB923. It meets SmartFren's OAM demands and supports future services. It can

• provide a key quality index system (KPIs, KQIs and QoE) as a reference for monitoring customer service quality and satisfying the SLA
• give real-time alarm in case of service degradation and violation of service-level objectives.  This helps Smartfren detect service problems and improve customer satisfaction.
• monitor network operation and service response efficiency to help Smartfren better manage its networks and services
• support new and existing service-monitoring tools, and this helps facilitate new service development.

For the advantages of ZSmart SQM to come into full play, adequate data sources and high data quality are necessary. ZSmart SQM incorporates information extracted from all of Smartfren's OSS resources, which include their integrated network management system, resource management system, service management system, and customer management system. With its customer—service—network model and key quality index system, ZSmart SQM allows operators clearly understand the quality of their service, from OAM to network services, from pre-sales to after-sales services. In this way, Smartfren can discover areas for improvement and give customers the best possible service.

ZSmart SQM has been partly implemented. It is helping SmartFren monitor service quality and conditions of local and nationwide networks. With ZSmart SQM, SmartFren can detect areas and equipment with service quality degradation and eliminate problems while saving manpower. ZSmart SQM analyzes network conditions and suggests optimization and planning. It also monitors KQI of service conditions and suggests improvements to service quality that ultimately improve customer satisfaction.