Many wireless users have been in the midst of an important call when suddenly, the call is dropped. It`s no big deal if it happens once. But when it becomes the norm, customers might flee. If this is common knowledge, why is it still an issue?

"Network [managers] are very aware of the problems they have," said Yuval Davidor, president and founder of Schema, a network management and optimization solutions provider. "It takes a lot of daily work to adapt a network to the increasing usage patterns."

The Strategis Group says that the main reason carriers lost customers was because of the better price plans available elsewhere, according to its mid-year 1999 findings regarding cellular and PCS consumer trends. Coming in second was customers` quests for better services.

For carriers to add new services and attract more customers to offer better rates, they must better manage their networks. "As prices flatten out, ultimately it will be network quality that differentiates [companies]," said a Bell Atlantic Mobile spokeswoman.

Customers are demanding more of wireless networks. But regulatory restrictions and the cost of real estate have made it expensive for operators to increase capacity by adding cell sites. Therefore, operators are looking to optimize their existing infrastructures. Network management tools offer an alternative to improving network performance than relying on engineers chancing upon problems.

"Whenever a driver is in a certain place and there is always a dropped call there, an individual complaint does not receive a response generally," Davidor said. "It needs to happen 10,000 times before it goes to the engineers` attention."

Schema has worked with customers such as BAM and Cellcom Green Bay to improve network optimization, frequency management and network planning. "Schema seemed to provide the right fit, specifically designed to squeeze the most out of our frequency," a BAM spokeswoman said.

Schema`s Falcom Telecom Resource Management system includes three components. The planner function generates optimal channel allocation plans for wireless networks; the builder enables carriers to automatically create data based on various data sources and information on the network switch; and the viewer provides a user interface for the system.

A little more than a year ago, Safco Technologies acquired Swedish-based ComOpt AB, an automatic
frequency planning company that had been supporting wireless operators in Europe with its optimization tool CellOpt. Like Schema`s offering, it helps network operators optimize the use of their spectrum and network hardware, while improving network capacity and quality.

The company has worked with about 17 carriers overseas and has plans to work with U.S.-based carriers. "We can automatically help operators make better decisions on how to set up their networks," said Joachim Samuelsson, vice president of Safco`s ComOpt operation in Sweden. "We want to increase awareness that what we are offering [can become] an important differentiator as carriers compete more on quality."

As the industry moves closer to third generation networks, major issues will emerge concerning network RF planning, said Elliot Hamilton, vice president of wireless products at The Strategis Group. However, operators are paying more attention to their networks, he said. "As usage keeps going up, they are putting incredible pressures on existing networks."(see figure)

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