How Relevant Is Data Management in Rural Telephony in Todays Context - Coursework Example

Order 218665 As the global economy grows, connectivity and convenience also grow proportionately. While a few years ago, getting connectivity to rural areas was a huge task. Today, it is the management of data, which has taken precedence in the area. As mergers and acquisitions are made, companies grow larger; their subscriber base grows bigger. There have to be systems in place for data management, whether for landlines or mobile connections. Data management is fast merging as a challenge for all telecom companies: big or small. Introduction With the world going digital, connectivity across regions has become the need of the hour. Cities, towns, villages, remote interiors across the globe, are all getting connected through fixed landlines or GSMs. In this context, besides the basic issue of connectivity, network management has become a challenge. A few years ago, getting connectivity to rural areas was a huge task. Today, it is the management of data, which has taken precedence in the area. Here, we review the challenges faced by the rural telecom industry worldwide and the shifts that have taken place in the past few years. Literature Review and Statement of Problem Statement of Problem: How relevant is data management in rural telephony in today's context According to Denise Pappalardo in NetworkWorld.com, (02/07/06) "Network managers tasked with managing their company's telecom budget are familiar with the fact that their bills are often incorrect. From charges for circuits that should have been disconnected years ago to using old, higher rates for current data lines, errors are not uncommon." With telecom service providers getting more and more business, there arose a need for telecom expense management (TEM), with sophisticated software and electronically managed TEM services. Some companies are now offering products not only to manage wireless expenses, but also handheld devices and service plans. And some carriers are offering managed services using these systems. Other companies, which outsource the software solutions, are also offering bill auditing and TEM services. As telecom companies grow to cater to the needs of the rural populance, the same business users may just find an increased need for TEM products or services. According to C. Jagadish*,,1, Vinod Kumar Jammula1 and Timothy A. Gonsalves2 in the paper Low-cost data communication network for rural telecom network management "the backbone networking infrastructure of rural telecom networks is often costly and is of limited bandwidth. The availability of connectivity such as DSL or leased lines is scarce. In order to keep operational costs low, these rural telecom networks are often kept unmanned and are managed from a centralized network management station (NMS). This often requires a low-cost, efficient and reliable data communication network (DCN) between the rural telecom equipment and the central NMS. The conventional DCN used for telecom management consists either of leased lines or Internet connectivity. These are often costly and not freely available in rural areas." The researchers developed a new DCN model, based on dial-up, which is easily available. This DCN has been implemented in corDECT networks, which is currently in use in India and Tunisia, and is under implementation in other countries. It has been shown that this DCN meets the QoS requirements of a telecom network at an affordable cost. Today in India and other developing countries the telecom network is fast growing and considered to be critical for technological development. But the growth rate in urban and rural areas is asymmetrical. Telecom operators often neglect deployment in rural/undeveloped areas. The major discouraging factors are low population density, low affordability and lack of skilled personnel. Thus factors absolutely necessary for a rural telecom solution are low cost infrastructure and low operational costs. A centralized network management system (NMS) will ensure low infrastructure cost . A centralized NMS will not only maintain a common inventory, it will also reduce the need for skilled personnel at each and every site. Another advantage of NMS is that operations such as billing and provisioning can also be centralised. Data communication network (DCN) between the network element (NE) and the NMS system are one of the critical requirements for any NMS system apart from the software and hardware requirements. Generally, the DCN is one of the major contributors to the operational cost of the NMS system. Availability and response times of the DCN are also factors critical for the smooth functioning of any NMS system, apart from the cost. In the example cited above, of centralized NMS, this DCN requirement is at the backbone of the telephone exchange, which needs to be managed. In today's situation, with the advent of access network technologies such as wireless in local loop (WiLL) and DSL, the cost of the local loop is coming down drastically. But the availability of the backbone capacity still remains as a bottleneck for the fast-growing user base and bandwidth-intensive applications. The effect is much worse in rural areas, where the backbone bandwidth is really thin and costly. Hence, for a viable rural telecom deployment, apart from low-cost telecom technology, there is a need to implement better bandwidth. According to the Report of Collection of VSAT Network Applications in the Americas, 2007, "The need to satisfy new markets in the short term and, at a competitive cost as compared to other telecommunication service options, has strengthened VSAT networks. Technological developments have made it possible to overcome limitations above all in the area of satellite applications. Developments and innovations in this area bring us continually closer to a convergence of technologies. Experience indicates that applications of these networks cannot be separated from those of other telecommunications systems, given that they work together, and are complementary services." Analysis and discussion of likely outcomes From the above discussion, we can analyse the following: As connectivity grows, there will be a rising need for data mangement, which will in turn require sophisticated software programs and their implementation. AS companies merge and aquisitions happen, there will arise a need for low cost , reliable , yet efficient data mangement. AS the industry grows, there will be other related technologies and applications which will be used widely, like VSAT,wiLL etc. Summary /CONCLUSIONS This paper proposes dial-up as a cost-effective and easily available DCN for rural telecom network management. From the cost comparison it is seen that dial-up can be a cost-effective solution for most normal deployments. Network executives who have to keep up with each carrier's billing system will be eliminated and management systems will take over. This simply creates an environment ripe for disaster and errors, which could be costly. Thus we can conclude that as the field of Network Management continues to grow and develop, different technologies (e.g. wireless) and new priorities (e.g. security) will take precedence over other techniques like fault-finding and performance management. References 1. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgibin/abstract/114030165/ABSTRACTCRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 ,accessed on 14th April, 2008 2. Denise Pappalardo in NetworkWorld.com, accessed on 14th April, 2008 http://www.networkworld.com/weblogs/wan/011043.html 3. http://www.citel.oas.org/ccp2-radio/VSAT/vsat_report_2.asp, accessed on 14th April, 2008. Read More