Bell has been optimizing the efficiency of its LTE wireless network over the past couple of years through the help of SevOne, a performance and analytics company similarly used by major wireless carriers in the U.S., to help reduce network wastage.
In an interview with Light Reading, Bell’s wireless network connectivity manager, Zlatko Zahirovic admitted it “grossly, grossly” allocated too much LTE capacity (excess LTE spectrum in this case), based on seeing what the original iPhone did to AT&T’s network, spending roughly $26 million over the past seven years, saying “It was simple, but introduced a lot of waste.”
SevOne now has Bell monitoring its wireless network every second instead of previously at one minute intervals, to reduce network wastage and to optimize LTE traffic spikes, such as the 34% jump it saw during the recent World Cup and also during the previous 2014 Olympic Winter Games when Team Canada’s hockey teams were playing.
Bell says network wastage also is present with existing 2G and 3G networks still operating in various areas. However, though analyzing where LTE was performing optimally and being used by the most customers, the carrier was able to re-tool its legacy networks to be more efficient.
Zahirovic noted “The principle requirement for the tool was capacity and performance management, making sure we have a proactive view, which we didn’t before,” regarding SevOne’s monitoring solution.
SevOne also helped Bell stop bleeding money through the form of maintaining expensive truck rolls to manage and troubleshoot cell sites, plus staff wages from constant on-site testing and network maintenance.
Currently, Bell has 15 teams and over 400 users using SevOne’s performance monitoring platform, but work isn’t done yet. Bell says they are undergoing a ‘Network Transformation’, with a goal to dismantle silos within the company and retool their business with a “one-network approach to everything we do.” The company eventually plans to create a common portal for both staff and customers to access services, with the help of SevOne.
Back in September, tests by PCMag declared networks by Bell and Rogers a tie for being the fastest overall in Canada. Have you noticed a difference in Bell’s wireless networks over the past two years?
