COMMENT
CONTENTS
CSPs look inwards as well as outwards Test and measurement used to be self-contained within the CSP. More accurately, it was a network operations function and exclusively confined to that discipline. After all, who else needed to know the network was up and performing as expected? Provided network operations could gain visibility into indicators such as throughput everything was rosy in the CSP garden. Alerts would point to problems that could then be fixed with some but minimised disruption to users. Hopefully they wouldn’t notice. However, the complexity of the test, measurement and monitoring task has greatly increased partly because it now needs to take into account multiple network types within the CSP and also because it needs to address on-net and off-net factors such as mobile device performance, problems in third parties’ systems and a user that has a greater willingness to complain and a greater choice to leave if they’re not satisfied. George Malim, Editor: VanillaPlus
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Introduction and contents
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Talking Heads
Doug Fantuzzi, vice president of JDSU’s Communications Test and Measurement, explains how CSP attitudes to test, measurement and monitoring are changing
S7 End-to-end monitoring George Malim explores why no technology can remain an island anymore
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LTE preparation
CSPs need to eliminate guesswork from their LTE backhaul networks
S10 Danger! High VoLTEage Paul Beaver explores the demands support VoLTE places on CSPs Supplement Cover:
For that reason, CSPs are now looking to monitor and manage the entire end-to-end experience. This is no longer solely a network operations discipline. Alarms may now trigger a marketing response, feed into partner relationship management and also customer experience management. The widening in scope of the remit of test and measurement has made it vastly more complex and that is costly to address. Fortunately, that situation also means that investments in these technologies are now applicable to far more than just network operations departments. That means a clear return on investment case can be constructed even though the costs are potentially greater than old fashioned network-centric techniques. One of the greatest challenges for CSPs is in making the cultural shift to allow this to happen. They have many millions of Euros tied up in old-fashioned network management systems. There’s not necessarily anything wrong with those apart from the fact they only address one problem in isolation – the network. The industry is starting to make the shift into the new era but it is a difficult and lengthy journey. Enjoy the supplement George Malim, editor, VanillaPlus
JDSU innovates and markets diverse technologies that enhance the way people experience the world every day. We enable fast, high-quality communications, secure financial transactions, reliable consumer electronics, green energy, differentiated brands and a host of other solutions. We provide these solutions through three business segments: Communications Test and Measurement, Communications and Commercial Optical Products, and Advanced Optical Technologies. To learn more about JDSU, please visit www.jdsu.com and www.jdsu.tv and follow us on JDSU Perspectives, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
VANILLAPLUS TEST & MEASUREMENT AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2012
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