Orange Côte d'Ivoire has been using SMAQ since mid-2018. Ferdinand Tra, Head of the Service Management Center, shares his experience with this application.
SMAQ is a mobile network Quality of Service (QoS) analysis application. Developed by Sofrecom, SMAQ processes data collected during drive tests and generates numerous reports that help quickly identify areas for improvement. It is available in an “as-a-service” mode and accessible online to facilitate and accelerate data submission and processing.
How do you manage mobile QoS measurements at Orange Côte d’Ivoire?
F.T.: We conduct a monthly benchmark of mobile service performance. We measure the performance of our voice and data services, as well as those of our competitors, to see where we stand and to identify areas and services that may require improvement.
Currently, we use a service provider to carry out the drive tests. However, we perform the analysis of the results internally.
What does SMAQ bring to your performance analysis?
F.T.: The first advantage of SMAQ is that it’s accessible online. There’s no need to be at the office or connected to a VPN. I can launch a report from anywhere, and 2 to 3 hours later, it’s ready.
The second advantage is the standardized reports. They’re clear, accurate, and intuitive, which makes the analysis work much easier. Unlike other tools on the market that function like “black boxes,” we know exactly how SMAQ compiles its analyses.
Other tools, although more comprehensive, produce more complex analyses that require a higher level of technical expertise. With SMAQ, I fully trust the results and the conclusions I draw from them.
As Sofrecom regularly enriches the solution with new indicators, the standard reports are becoming increasingly comprehensive. There is also an “advanced mode” for experts who want to perform more in-depth analyses.
Finally, I know the Sofrecom team is available to support us if we have questions or issues with the tool. But so far, thanks to its simplicity, I’ve never had to reach out. I’m fully confident using the tool. And in terms of performance, we’ve never had any problems—SMAQ has always worked whenever we needed it.
In short, SMAQ saves us a tremendous amount of time.
What other use cases do you foresee for SMAQ in the future?
F.T.: Currently, customer complaint-related QoS measurements and analyses are handled by an external provider. They conduct the drive tests and produce the analysis. We need to ensure the reliability of those results. For now, we perform verification using another QoS analysis tool, but I’d like to explore whether this could be done directly within SMAQ in the near future.
