TELUS Case Study: GIS for Telecommunications

TELUS Case Study: iVAULT
implementation improved corporate
intelligence

Developed by Pacific Alliance Technologies
A member of StarDyne Technologies
www.pat.ca ivault.pat.ca

• Development Partners with:
• Bentley, Autodesk, ESRI
• Microsoft Gold Certified

• iVAULT CMS for GIS developed for:
• ESRI ArcGIS Server
• MapGuide Enterprise/Opensource
• Google Maps

• Est. 1998, now a member of StarDyne Technologies
• Revenues of $40 million+
• 320+ Staff
• In the top 25 of Canada‟s software companies

Agenda

0. Business Context
1. Project Overview
2. Architecture Diagram
3. Spatial Data Store
4. FieldView Next Generation
5. Business Benefit: Customer Delivery Analysis
Tools
6. Workflow: Increasing TELUS TV
Subscribership
7. Workflow: Data Aggregation for Network
Planners
8. Workflow: Wi-Fi Planning Tool

1. Project Overview – Current State
• To get access to comprehensive data TELUS‟s hundreds of field users
needed to use many disparate systems:
• GeoExplorer (MapGuide 6.5), Google Maps, Fieldview 1.0 – all over an aircard and
in separate windows.
• They were using consumer GIS applications side-by-side with corporate applications
to meet business workflows

• Many Departments could better use their spatial data to advise
decision-making:
• Technology Strategy,
• Marketing,
• Cable Screening,
• Planning,
• Engineering and Construction.

1. Project Overview – Future State
• GeoHAWK needed to prove out two foundational technical components:
1. The IMAGE data could be accessed and aggregated with other business systems
2. The Field View Next Generation application could be used for delivery of custom
analysis tools

• GeoHAWK needed to provide:
1. A Spatial Data Store as a holistic repository of spatially enabled data providing
enterprise wide access to TELUS infrastructure information and related business and
service information.there anything I shouldn‟t mention? Is
Is
TELUS using Google Maps under license?
2. A more flexible, targeted web & mobile mapping solution for all user communities.
3. The capability of viewing, searching, analyzing and editing both spatial and attribute
data through a browser and capturing/editing data in the field (using smart phones).
4. Easy administration through a web-interface and a report generation tool
5. A viewer that could work with the Telus Spatial Data Store.

• Started the project by quickly prototyping Google Maps and Bing Maps

2. Architecture Diagram
Field View Alternative Customer Delivery
Geo-Web Apps Analysis Tools

Intergraph IMAGE Cable Field Force Planning Boundary
Field View Replacement Screening Feedback (FDSA) Manager
.dbf
Spatial NET AGSI Go360

Microsation Enterprise Spatial Application Service
.dgn files
MicroStation
map tiles
Integrated Cadastral
Spatial Information Society
Periodic Replication Data - Utility Data
Spatial ETL Exchange - Cadastre
Legacy Intergraph
Framme FME Server or
Application: AGSI Location Warehouse
IMAGE Address
BC
IMAGE
Oracle IMAGE
Live Spatial Data Warehouse AB
Link Spatial Data
MicroStation
Store Geo-Edmonton
MicroStation
map tiles
MicroStation
map tiles Location
Calgary JUMP
MicroStation
map tiles PDS
map tiles
Existing Technology Dependencies
Legend: GeoHAWK Technologies
New Technology Components

• A geospatial Oracle data store was designed and implemented
• This was connected to the data store in the TELUS Intergraph Framme environment as well
as other corporate and commercial spatial data stores.
• The IMAGE database segregates each feature table into one of almost one
hundred “segments”
• This was to overcome performance issues that have since become redundant so the first
step was to eliminate the concept of segment tables
• combined all the segments for a particular feature into a single table
• We next cleaned the existing British Columbia data, removing records that
had invalid FRAMME keys, duplicate records, or were orphans (pointed to
parent records that did not exist)
Data Anomaly Removed Archive Tables Comment
Invalid Keys 76,000 PROB_feature RB_PRMRY & RB_SCNDRY values
Duplicate Records* 3,300 DUP_feature based on the FRAMME keys
Orphan Records 340,000 OR_feature See slide: IMAGE data Anomalies

• The resulting SDS data model for attribute data in all other respects is identical to the
conceptual IMAGE data model. It is a compromise that will enable some enterprise
reporting and web display while permitting continued maintenance with FRAMME.

• Huge Data Investment:
• 300 staff working for 10 years = ~3,000 person years of investment in the data
• This ¼ person year project unlocked all that data

• IMAGE Database Anomalies
• Migration of data to the target model was complicated by the large number of data
issues
• A comprehensive data cleaning exercise brought the database to a state of integrity by
removing duplicate records and records with invalid FRAMME keys and orphan child
records.
• MicroStation elements are implicitly joined to database records by way of the
RB_PRMRY and RB_SCNDRY values
• The process found a substantial percentage of the MicroStation elements had no
corresponding database row
No Table Total Records Orphan Record Count
1 SDO_COPPER_SEG5701_SYMB 15,680 1,533
2 SDO_COPPER_SEG5701_TEXT 186,079 50,888
3 SDO_COPPER_SEG5701_LINE 15,260 2,717

3. Spatial Data Store: Populating the SDS using ETL
• To embark on this initiative, we first had to determine a target coordinate
system to provide seamless coverage for western Canada and,
potentially, all of Canada
• Chose the Mercator EPSG: 3875 projection (same as Google Maps)
• A mathematical transformation was required to change all location data
from the province-specific coordinate systems to the new single,
seamless coordinate system.
• Several sample workflows were developed using TELUS data to
determine which of these attributes would be required for individual
element types, with the ultimate goal that adequate MicroStation data
richness was being retained
• About a dozen workflows were built to process and load the hundreds of
MicroStation V7 design files, with FRAMME database linkages, into
Oracle Spatial tables.
Class Area DGNs cell arc ellipse line mtext shape text node Grand Total
Common CODL 398 1 13 25,524 32,319 2 56,831 77 114,767
Copper CODL 330 4 12 15,256 46,895 27 17,847 21 80,062
Fiber BC 12,523 157,052 689,614 2 199,000 5 1,045,673

4. FieldView Next Generation (FVNG)
Current Version
of FieldView
• Limited
functionality
• Not integrated with
any
other system
• No orthophotos
• Limited Attribution
• Better attribution is
available in IMAGE
– but not
accessible

4. FieldView Next Generation (FVNG)
• Web-map
publishing options:
- ArcGIS Server/Bing
Maps
- Google Maps
- MGOS
• Hosted iVAULT
MapGuide
OpenSource
• Connects to and
aggregates many
spatial data formats
• Web-based
administration with
iVAULT

4. FNVG- Authentication
• Linked with Active
Directory & LDAP
authentication
• Role specific:
• Data Layers
• Map types
• Attributes
• Searches
• Functionality
• Session

TELUS Confidential 14

4. FVNG – Data Searching & Querying Capabilities

• Any of TELUS's
corporate data or
IMAGE data is now
searchable and
locatable


4. FVNG – Data Mining & Reporting Capabilities

• Any of TELUS's corporate
data or IMAGE data is
now available to users
based on security access
for that user
• Report generation tool
facilitates easy creation of
TELUS specific reports
• Query results can be
displayed in:
• HTML
• Excel
• The map as a tooltip
or in the results panel
• A Custom Report


4. FVNG - Database Editing Capabilities

Any of TELUS's corporate data or
IMAGE data is now editable
through custom forms designed in
the iVAULT administrator


4. FVNG- Customized Toolbox

The Administrator has a configurable framework
from which to expose web and role-based spatial
and database tools.


4. FVNG - Map Markups

Field crews pass through notes on the data
through a redlining layer.


4. FVNG - Dynamically Themed Layers

Interested in which customers have TELUS
phone service but not TELUS Internet? – Create
a new theme.


4. FVNG- Administrator

All components of the interface are controlled by
the Administrator through an easy-to-use,
browser-based, interface.


4. FVNG - Administrator – Site Configuration

The Administrator can configure different lay-outs
for different job roles.


4. FVNG- Administrator – Data Configuration

Adding data sets is a process of pointing to the
sources of the data and specifying which roles
can view them at which scale.


4. FVNG - Administrator – Tools Configuration

The Administrator also configures which roles can
view, edit and report on which components of the
corporate data.


5. Business Benefit
• FieldView NG provided TELUS customer data mapped by property
and themed for the first time – the benefits of which are that it:
• Advises and informs decisions on new infrastructure investment
• Allows Service Managers to better direct field crews
• Directs and provides change over time to support target marketing
• Custom Delivery Analysis Tools provided by FieldView NG:
• Services by Address • Fibre Visualization
• Customer Churn • Cable Counts
• Field Locate • Orphan Cable
• Document Linking • Bridge Taps
• Trouble Ticket • Wi-Fi Analysis

5. Business Benefit

• Allows Analysts to run scenarios against the data:
1. Which customers will benefit from an infrastructure upgrade?
2. How many prospects benefit?
3. What‟s the revenue potential vs. cost?
4. What‟s the marketing plan for this area?

6. TELUS TV- Customers by Use for Network
Planning
• Network integrity is
better if customers are
serviced by Distribution
cables rather than
Feeder cables.

Determine which urban areas need upgrading.


6. TELUS TV- Loaded Plant in Loop
• In rural areas this
shows which
customers would
benefit from an
investment in
equipment (load
coils) at certain
intervals.
• In this case, the
area is serviced
by digital
subscriber loop
access modules
(DSLAMS) and Determine which rural areas need upgrading.
any identified
areas would
indicate were
there‟s a higher
probability of a
records issue.

6. TELUS TV – Tailored Marketing

The Network Planners can pass this qualification
map onto Marketing so that they can tailor their
campaigns.


6. TELUS TV – Customer Classification: Business vs.
Residential

Identify current TELUS residential customers.


6.TELUS TV: Customers – Overlay Subscriber Data
onto areas qualified for service

These are existing TELUS customers that qualify
for the service and could be up-sold to a different
package. The purple have been up-sold and the
green are potential up-sell opportunities.

Action: Use this analysis as the basis of a Direct
Marketing campaign.


6. TELUS TV: Customers – Current Service Type

Of the current customers – which service do they
use? Who do we send the flyer for the upgrade
promotion from TELUS DSL to TELUS TV?


6. TELUS TV – Qualification Classification

When a prospect calls to purchase the service the
phone representative can quickly determine the
highest level of service available to the prospect
(this used to require two systems).

Different quality of services allow different
products to be sold in certain areas. The client
service rep can use this tool (the same one
produced by network planning and used by
marketing) to determine the quality of package a
prospect qualifies for.


6. TELUS TV: Trouble-shooting

Bridge tap shows TELUS areas where they may
need to go in and 'cut pairs' to improve
transmission characteristics, i.e. Reduce dB loss.
It is a primary cause of clients experiencing
trouble with their high speed service when others
in the neighborhood aren‟t having trouble.

Action: The Planners can identify areas were the
highest level of service is available.


6. TELUS TV- More Trouble-shooting

• Network integrity is
better if customers are
serviced by Distribution
cables rather than
Feeder cables.
• This report allows
TELUS to identify
areas where there may
be some „clean up‟ to
do in terms of how the
cable is being used, or
• Perhaps it is an area
where TELUS needs to
look at the cable
classifation in the
records. i.e. it could
point to records issues. Customers by Use for Network Planning


7. Business Benefit from Data Aggregation

• . Administrative
Boundaries were in a
different system so the
Planners couldn‟t see
who the clients were that
would be compacted by
an upgrade.
• Other data that was
previously in other
systems:

1. TELUS Buildings Allows the field crews to see all TELUS assets on
a common base map within ONE system.
and Cabinets
2. TELUS Mobility
Towers

3. Trouble Tickets


7. Business Benefit from Data Aggregation

.
1. Wireline data
from IMAGE
2. Copper Cables
and Drop Cables
3. Fibre optic
related features
4. Poles, ducts &
Vaults

Allows Network Planners to see all physical plant
in ONE system.


8. Wi-Fi Network Designer Tool

• Developed to provide TELUS network planners with a tool to cost
out targeted Wi-Fi network support for overburdened 3G networks
• User selects Wi-Fi Access point technology for trial
• Wi-Fi network developed using TELUS owned or joint owned poles
• Buffer automatically generates based on range of selected
technology
• User can analyze the one time and re-occurring equipment and
implementation costs associated to the network design
• Saved networks can be shared across the enterprise


8 Wi-Fi Network Designer Tool

The Wi-Fi Network Designer application allows for
planners to cost out infrastructure enhancement
projects and technology prior to implementation.


8. Wi-Fi Network Designer Tool – Analysis and Reports

Bottom line: Now that TELUS‟s data is liberated
they can quickly and cheaply run scenarios
against that data.


Questions?

Chris Webber – CW@pat.ca

Contact Us: Visit our Websites:

Head Office www.pat.ca
604.676.6000

Toll-free ivault.pat.ca
877.691.9171
Check for
Seattle upcoming and recorded
206.409.9105
webinars:
Email: sales@pat.ca
http://ivault.pat.ca/webinars

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TELUS Case Study: GIS for Telecommunications

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