CASE STUDY

Aricent helps its

customer save 20 BTS Release Testing for a Leading
Million USD in BTS Wireless Infrastructure Vendor
Release Testing

Customer Profile
The customer is a global enabler of communications services and provides a complete, well-balanced product portfolio span-
ning both wireless and wireline network infrastructure. Its product portfolio includes broadband access, IP transport, operation
and business software, radio access, converged core and the associated services.

The company understands the challenges that traditional telecom businesses face in managing complex and overlapping net-
work layering and architecture. Therefore, it focuses on driving the transition towards simplified network architecture enabled
through innovative, environmentally sustainable solutions that facilitate rapid growth.

Customer Challenges
• Reduce expenses while improving operational efficiency by transitioning multiple and large
product lines to a strategic partner
• Optimize resource utilization in test infrastructure management
• Efficiently manage enhancements and evolution of multiple product lines

Solution
Aricent addressed the customer’s requirements by:
• Conducting a thorough analysis of the existing technology, products and services at the customer site
• Transferring the development and testing of the product lines to Aricent facilities offshore
• Quickly ramping-up the team with the right mix of domain and technical expertise

Results
• CAPEX and OPEX savings of more than USD 20 Million
• Complete ownership of customer’s BTS product line in 6 months, leading to lower overheads for the customer
• Successful roll-out of more than 15 releases on operators’ live networks

Why Aricent?
The customer chose Aricent for its demonstrated ability to:
• Establish and maintain large development and test labs across the world, which included an existing setup of over 100
BTS, 20 BSCs, MSC and HLRs
• Assume ownership and manage, enhance and evolve over one million lines of legacy code
• Manage multiple product lines and releases simultaneously
• Seamlessly work with teams spread across different geographies
• Retain project-specific expertise for a long duration through a plan formulated exclusively for the customer
 B T S R e l e a s e Te s t i n g f o r a L e a d i n g W i r e l e s s I n f r a s t r u c t u r e Ve n d o r

Customer Challenges
The customer primarily faced a growing pressure to curtail costs and overheads incurred in managing multiple, large
and complex systems (product lines). The costs and complexity was increased as most of these systems were managed
by teams spread across different geographies. Another key challenge was to seamlessly evolve the multiple product lines
through next generation technology releases (from GSM to GPRS to EDGE).

To address these challenges, the company decided to transition the maintenance of its BTS products, including release
testing, feature additions, validation and verification, to a strategic partner. The partner would need to improve opera-
tional efficiency and automate test processes.

Aricent Solution
The solution offered by Aricent included maintenance, enhancement and evolution of the BTS software through multiple next
generation technology releases - from GSM to GPRS to EDGE. As multiple product lines needed to be enhanced and tested, the
Aricent team conducted a thorough analysis of the existing technology, products and services at the customer site. Subsequent-
ly, the entire development and testing of these product lines were transferred to Aricent facilities offshore. Quickly ramping
up its team to 60 engineers within 12 weeks, Aricent assumed the complete ownership of the BTS solution and completed the
entire transition within a record time of six months, far exceeding
BSC MSC
the customer’s expectations. HLR
Abis A-interface

Test Setup for BTS Testing

Salient features of Aricent’s testing solution include: GPRS
data trolley
• Capture and analysis of traces on Abis Interface MS
LAN
• Use of Work Station for BTS commissioning and configurations
• End-to-end call testing LAN Gb SMS-SC

• Mobile Station (MS) connected to GPRS/Data call set-up as BTS Analyzer (NetHawk)
and when required LAN

• Nethawk tool connected to Gb, an interface for protocol SGSN

Workstation for Testing GGSN
message monitoring as per the requirement of test case

With the transition complete, Aricent today supports all development and testing activities for the BTS software product lines
and is responsible for feature additions, end-to-end testing and post- implementation support services.

Aricent has already completed over 200 person years of project execution since the project started in 2006. Today, with a team
of over 100 engineers, Aricent provides the customer with technology
Aricent Team
expertise in the following areas: 120
• GSM/GPRS 100
• Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
Team Size

80
• Operation and Maintenance (O&M) 60

• Abis and Air interface protocols 40

20
0
Results 0 1 2 3 4 8 12 16 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 28 32 96

Weeks

Aricent is now a key strategic partner for this customer and has taken over the complete ownership of managing and testing
several product lines. Aricent’s solution delivered the following significant benefits to the customer:
• CAPEX and OPEX savings of more than USD 20 Million
• Complete ownership of the customer’s BTS product line in 6 months, leading to lower overheads for the customer
• Successful roll-out of more than 15 releases on the operators’ live networks

CO R P O R AT E O F F I C E
© 2009 Aricent Inc. All rights reserved. All
700 Hansen Way Aricent brand and product names are service
Palo Alto, CA 94304-1388 USA marks, trademarks or registered marks of
Aricent Inc. in the United States and other
Phone +1 650 391 1088 countries. All other marks are the property of
www.aricent.com their respective owners.