VoIP Operators : From a Carrier Point of View

Abstract: Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a service that has recently gained a lot of attention from the telecommunications (telecom) world since both Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecommunications operators have realized the important advantages that it can offer. Although traditional telephony is well established both in the telecom world and in our daily lives, VoIP is now competing with it by offering cost savings, simplicity, and introducing new ways of communicating. Internet service providers have already started deploying efficient VoIP services for their customers and carriers are transforming their network infrastructures in order to be able to accommodate the requirements of VoIP traffic. There are a lot of essential factors that both providers and carriers have to take into consideration in order to efficiently build and operate VoIP technologies. Proper service planning and well-established monitoring and troubleshooting procedures are vital for successful VoIP service. This thesis focuses on commercial VoIP implementation at the carrier’s side and investigates how a carrier can efficiently maintain and troubleshoot their VoIP infrastructure so as to comply with the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) they have signed with their customers (ISP providers), as well as analyses proactive actions that can betaken for minimizing the resources required for customer support. As an outcome, this thesis presents efficient ways of network planning and monitoring, as well as it provides conclusions regarding what are the efficient methods for troubleshooting the carrier’s VoIP products inboth technical and organizational level.