T-Mobile
SLIPED - Storage of Last-mile of IP and Ethernet
Customer Challenge:
T-Mobile required a reconfiguration of its 15,000 cellsites to support the company’s strategic decision to convert from older ATM-based network backhauls to IP-based configurations. In planning for this reconfiguration, it quickly became apparent that a bottleneck existed around the assignment of the IP addresses. The T-Mobile Engineering Systems team needed to create an application which ensured consistent practices for the conversion of the UMTS network to IP-based backhaul. This would both replace the inefficient spreadsheets which had been used by numerous engineers, and provide a shared environment which could safely reserve, test, and track the conversion process. The prototype of the application needed to be available in less than six weeks.
What we did:
Ventera created a web-based application which centrally stored all potential addresses for the major network switches, as well as the existing cell sites. Using basic designs from the T-Mobile engineers, a rules engine was created to allow a consistent means of both reserving and testing IP backhaul addresses. With the prototype delivered in less than six weeks, several enhancements were requested for further integration into the enterprise, tying the application closer to the business processes. The application is now the only system of record for this mass conversion of backhauls.
Results:
- Removed a critical bottleneck for T-Mobile’s strategic initiative of converting cellsites to IP backhaul.
- Created a single, reliable entry point for consistent reservation of backhaul IP addresses.
- Mapped the various conversion business processes into an easy-to-manage rules engine, allowing administrators to enact policy changes with little-to-no code.
- Delivered a one-of-a-kind application which fits the business need exactly as needed.