Case study
U.S Wireless network operator automates spectrum management, saves development and Opex cost
OUR CLIENT
With roots dating back nearly three decades, this global telecommunications company is a leader in the wireless services industry. The company serves more than 190 million customers across North America.
THE CHALLENGE
U.S Wireless network operator needed an automated system to manage FCC spectrum licenses and usage
Telecom companies need to meticulously manage spectrum bandwidth usage to bill customers for cell phone services, manage profitability, and comply with FCC spectrum licensing regulations. Our client was using spreadsheets to manually manage spectrum usage-a cumbersome, time-consuming, and error-prone process. The spectrum asset management team wanted to implement a centralized platform to manage bandwidth licenses and its associated transmission frequencies across regions and markets, calculate frequency usage and ensure identify ways for optimization. Ideally, the team wanted a robust solution with:
- Near real-time processing- for most recent spectrum usage data
- Detailed reporting - to provide business insights
- Intuitive dashboards and interactive geographical cell site maps - to improve bandwidth management processes
- Automated business rules - to help pinpoint and resolve compliance issues
- Tight integrations across different communications channels - like email and chat
THE TRANSFORMATION
“Blue sky thinking” led to robust spectrum management solution with efficient DevOps application delivery
The project team deployed an end-to-end, cloud native spectrum management platform that included architecture design, data engineering, APIs, and UI/UX. The first application-to manage spectrum transmission compliance-went live in just six months, and more applications launched in rapid succession over the next six months. The comprehensive solution provided functionality to address each item on the client’s wish list, including:
- A modern cloud architecture - that’s highly responsive, scalable, secure, and cost effective
- Automated reporting and dashboards- to speed decisions and enhance the user experience
- A data unification tool- that links multiple data sources into a single composite view for real-time analysis
- GIS mapping- to quickly pinpoint and view telecom assets
- A historical database- so business teams can glean analytical insights to improve working models
- Automated bots- to reduce manual effort on repetitive tasks
- Role-based access controls- for improved application security
THE IMPACT
Now, the spectrum asset management team has a comprehensive, unified platform to manage FCC licenses, perform compliance checks, identify issues in complex spectrum patterns and monitor detailed usage of the company’s most important asset, valued at nearly $100 billion.
In addition to the successful platform deployment, the software engineering team has a streamlined process to deliver new features, functionality, and applications. Technical product managers work closely with Business Owners to translate business needs and ideas into new features. Then, software architects define the architecture and technical design of modules to identify reusable components, accelerating application delivery and improving developer productivity. The business and technical teams collaborate each quarter on high level software delivery goals and clearly defined sprint objectives.
With the new spectrum management platform and application development ecosystem in place, the telecom company has achieved these goals:
- A 40% savings on development costs- thanks to the reusable components and streamlined DevOps processes
- A predictable annual OPEX cost of less than $100,000 for the entire platform - because of astute decisions on the solution architecture and infrastructure
- A time savings of approximately 160 hours overall and an additional 16 hours per month- because the regulatory team no longer has to manually verify spectrum bands in the FCC’s universal licensing system
- A savings of $200,000 so far in 2023 for the legal regulatory team - thanks to automated FCC administrative update filings for approximately 6,500 spectrum licenses
- Non-compliant spectrum issues resolved 60% faster - because the new compliance functionality can quickly identify regulatory infractions
The client is well-positioned to expand the spectrum management platform to other business units, like spectrum clearing, network strategy, and national development, to automate and streamline processes—and achieve even more cost and productivity savings.
RESOURCES
https://www.ust.com/en/industries/tmt
https://www.ust.com/en/industries/tmt-telecom
https://www.ust.com/en/who-we-are/ust-newsroom/ust-featured-in-women-in-cable-telecommunications-event--tech-it-out
https://www.ust.com/en/insights/what-is-devops-and-where-are-all-the-ops-going