More XT problems as independent reviewer appointed

Problemscontinue to plague the XT Network as cellsites are upgraded and Telecom announcesthe company that will review the recent outages.

In astatement this afternoon Telecom CEO Paul Reynolds says the company has rolledback the migration of 16 cellsites to a new Radio Network Controller, followingservice degradation in some areas.“We successfully migrated thefirst four cell sites to a new Radio Network Controller on Tuesday and lastnight we migrated a further 16 sites between 1.00am and 3.00am. Some of thosesites showed problems and service degradation once the traffic load began toincrease in the morning. We have subsequently rolled back the migrations whilstwe do urgent engineering work to understand the cause of thisdegradation. All sites were fully-restored by 2.30pm.”

Telecom andAlcatel Lucent have implemented a programme of work since the major outage on27 January. This includes the addition of processing capacity and surgeprotection measures in the Radio Network Controller, adding further RadioNetwork Controllers, including new cell sites, the addition of signalamplification technology, and more fibre optic backhaul.

Meanwhile,the company has appointed Analysys Mason to conduct an independent review ofthe XT Network. “The Analysys Mason Group (AMG) is a highly respected UK-basedinternational consultancy specialising in telecommunications, technology andmedia and bring world’s best practice around design, build and operations ofmobile networks,” the statement reads.

“AMG arebringing a multi-disciplined team of up to seven specialists who have indepth knowledge of the design, planning and operation of 3G and IP networksfrom a range of technology suppliers.  Their consultants were hand-pickedfor their knowledge of radio, core, and transport networks and theirunderstanding of operational processes.”

The reviewis expected to be complete within eight weeks and will involve Telecom staff,customers, Alcatel Lucent and other key stakeholders.

Last weekGen-i CEO Chris Quin told TelecommunicationsReview it’s likely only the report’s recommendations will be made public.