The contract covers deployment of 4TEL II to monitor more than 2 million phone lines operated by Czech Telecom.
Czech Telecom awarded the contract to Teradyne following an intensive study of best practices among the world’s leading telecommunications service providers. The 4TEL II system will be installed beginning in March 2001, with full implementation throughout Czech Telecom’s network completed later in the year. Czech Telecom has used Teradyne’s 4TEL (R) system to maintain its network since 1998. The knowledge-based component of 4TEL II called ExpertLink also provides part of the software analysis infrastructure of Celerity – Teradyne’s newest test system focused on DSL qualification, provisioning, and service assurance.
Through the introduction of expert systems technology, 4TEL II enables rapid, remote identification of faults within a telecommunications network, helping service providers improve customer service and reduce maintenance costs.
With 4TEL II, Czech Telecom can proactively identify line faults as they develop and more accurately dispatch repair technicians when needed, said Harley Hasenberg, product manager for Teradyne’s Broadband Test Division. Customer trials have shown that 4TEL II enables more reliable customer service and is expected to give Czech Telecom a significant annual savings in maintenance costs. Also, with 4TEL II being compatible with Celerity, this was an added plus to Czech Telecom as they consider future applications for their line test system.
4TEL II extends the diagnostic power of the 4TEL automated line test system with a knowledge-based system called ExpertLink (TM). 4TEL II precisely identifies and isolates faults within a telecommunications access network-inside or outside customer premise-without the need for customer isolation equipment. 4TEL II also integrates information from multiple expert systems to give service providers the analytical power of dozens of experts and experience extracted from millions of unique historical cases to accurately diagnose access network faults. 4TEL II can isolate faults to such zones as exchange hardware, exchange wiring, access cable, inside premises wiring and customer equipment.
4TEL II will allow Czech Telecom to respond immediately to increased competition and customer demands while improving day-to-day operating efficiency, said Andreas Knoll, Teradyne European sales director. Meanwhile, the system architecture will provide Czech Telecom with the capability to support advanced bundled services in the future.
