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Can you hear me now? AI-centred voice call quality testing

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Can you hear me now?

In a world where mobile communication is focused on the use of apps and data, does the quality of a voice call still matter? And is it worth communications service providers (CSPs) spending effort on improving it?

In this blog post Amr Ashraf, Digis Squared’s RAN and Software Solution Architect and Trainer argues that “Yes, it absolutely is! Voice quality, and particularly silence within calls – can you still hear me? – is one of the most tangible aspects of network quality for end users.”

Read on for insights into Digis Squared’s AI-centered voice call quality testing capabilities, using INOS.

If it’s important, we call.

Does voice quality still matter? “Yes! As voice technologies continue to evolve, and call costs drop, it continues to be important to ensure that the quality and clarity of voice calls is maintained,” explains Amr Ashraf, RAN and Software Solution Architect and Trainer.

“The phone call, the most basic and original capability of the mobile phone service, is also the most tangible for end users. Despite the huge range of apps we have on our phones, more often than not, it’s a voice call that’s used for communicating the most important, most sensitive and most urgent information.”

If we can’t clearly hear and understand what is being spoken on a call, or in a voice note, whichever app or method is used to connect or send the audio, then the customer’s perception is always that the network coverage or capacity is of low quality.

“If you find yourself saying ‘Can you still hear me? Are you still there?’, or thinking ‘What did they say?’, then the assumption is that the ‘fault’ is a poor quality service from the CSP”, says Amr. “Of all the aspects of a mobile network, voice quality is the strongest and most obvious indicator to an end-user of the quality of the service. Customers’ expectations of voice quality remain high, whichever technology the digitalised sound is transmitted over.”

Voice technologies today

Today, whilst some traditional mobile voice calls are still carried over legacy circuit-switched networks, calls made over 4G and higher, and for all app-based solutions, these digitalised sounds are transmitted as Voice over IP (VoIP), Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and Voice over WiFi (VoWiFi), all of which enable cost-effective ways to transport voice. Having a single solution that can assess voice quality across all technologies, in an automated and efficient way is vital – and in the web of complex multi-system networks, that AI-centred voice call quality testing solution must also work with solutions from all vendors.

INOS

Digis Squared’s INOS AI tool is a vendor agnostic, multi-network-technology solution delivering automated assessment, testing and optimisation of networks, across all technologies.

INOS & voice call quality testing

“If one of our clients – a CSP, MNO, MVNO or regulator – wants to better understand voice call quality on a specific mobile network, then we use our INOS AI tool to analyse the data,” shares Amr.

Image 1: voice codec rate. INOS analysis, for a specific drive test, on one mobile network, in Cairo

Notes on Image 1: For a voice call to be transmitted over the mobile network, it must first be digitized and compressed. Various standardized compression technologies, or codecs, are used to efficiently transmit the data. This image shows data collected during voice calls during a drive test, and the key on the left shows the codec used.

Enhanced Voice Rate (EVS) and Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) are audio compression formats used in the transmission of voice calls – EVS is a super-wide coding standard developed for VoLTE, and AMR is the older standard developed for GSM and UMTS (3G), sometimes called HD+.

Image 1 shows the variation in codec and compression rate utilised during test voice calls, made during a drive test. The changes in codec and compression rate are caused by changes in network coverage and capacity during the coverage, and will have resulted in fluctuations in call quality.

“Using INOS, we can simulate a customer call using the voice quality test to produce unbiased, industry-recognized audio quality scores,” explains Amr. “This test can reveal a great deal about your customers’ experience, as well as the quality of service being provided by your carrier. It also takes minimal preparation to undertake.”

Vital to this test is POLQA – Perceptual Objective Listening Quality Analysis – the global standard for benchmarking voice quality of fixed, mobile and IP-based networks. Standardized by the ITU in 2011, it is used for voice quality analysis of VoIP, HD Voice, 3G, 4G/VoLTE and 5G networks.

“So, whilst drive testing with the INOS kit, we set up a voice call and then use our own hardware solution to inject a POLQA reference audio into the voice call from one side of the call, and from the other side, we record the call, and then compare it using the POLQA algorithm.”

“Given that the POLQA reference audio is 6 seconds long, to analyse this data, we must split our call into audio files that are each only 6 seconds long. To ensure very precise splitting of the audio file, we leverage our AI engine to find the beginning of specific words in audio files. This way, we can ensure that we are aligning the analysis with natural speech patterns, and achieve a more realistic analysis of the data.”

Image 2: MOS score with 6 second sampling. INOS analysis, for a specific drive test, on one mobile network, in Cairo.

Notes on image 2: using data from the same drive test shown in image 1, now the data has been analyzed by INOS, and split into 6 second chunks, aligned with the start of specific spoken words in the audio file.

In telecoms, the Mean Opinion Score (MOS) is a numerical measure of the overall ranking of the quality of voice and video sessions. In image 2 above, we can see that on this journey, only a small minority of sections score the minimum 1 MOS (in black), and most of the call is green (MOS 3 and 4).

Image 3: MOS Score per call. INOS data, for a specific drive test, on one mobile network, in Cairo.

Notes on image 3: again using the same data as above, here the data is averaged out for specific calls, rather than 6 seconds chunks of a call shown in image 3.

INOS & silence within a call

“Silence within a call is a major problem with mobile phone conversations, and significantly impacts the customers’ perception of call quality. We’re all familiar with having to say ‘Can you still hear me? Are you there?’ whilst one of the people on the call is travelling in a car or bus,” continues Amr.

“To measure this, the Digis Squared team utilize our in-house AI capability within INOS to detect silence in voice calls, and analyse the percentage of silence.”

Image 4: Silence per call in seconds, INOS data, for a specific drive test, on one mobile network, in Cairo.

Notes on image 4: this analysis identifies areas where silence during the call was detected. Green indicates no silence, and in yellow, red and black are increasing amounts of detected silence.

INOS: automated, actionable voice call quality reports

INOS delivers automated voice quality reports, with customised KPIs, and actionable insights.

Amr concludes, “All our INOS reports can be fully customised, and are generated within 15 minutes of receipt of the data file, sent directly from the test devices in the field, over the air. What our clients find most useful is that not only are the reports conveniently formatted for immediate use, they also, thanks to our AI engine, clearly identify issues and provide actions which can be taken to address those issues. Data is no use without analysis, and the AI capabilities we have developed within INOS ensure that the analysis is fast, efficient and actionable.”

Find out more about INOS

INOS can be implemented as a public or private cloud, or on-premise solution, and is also available as a “Radio Testing as-a-service” model. Its extensive AI-analysis and remote OTA capabilities ensure speedy and accurate assessment of all aspects of network testing: SSV, in-building and drive testing, network optimisation and competitor benchmarking, across all vendors, network capabilities and technologies, including 5G, private networks and OpenRAN.

INOS is built with compute resources powered by Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors. Digis Squared is a Partner within the Intel Network Builders ecosystem program, and a member of the Intel Partner Alliance.

In conversation with Amr Ashraf, Digis Squared’s RAN and Software Solution Architect and Trainer.

If you or your team would like to discover more about our capabilities, please get in touch: use this link or email sales@DigisSquared.com

 

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About Digis Squared

Managed Services, System Integration & Consulting. We transform telecom networks, deploy new technologies, and manage vendors, for network operators, service providers and regulators. Apply our vendor-agnostic expertise, automated AI-led tools and processes to transform your technical and commercial capabilities. We work with agility, deep experience, and our in-house cognitive tools to optimise and manage multi-vendor networks across all technologies. Headquartered in the UK, Digis Squared has offices in Angola, Egypt and UAE.

Digis Squared ◦ Enabling smarter networks.

Digis Squared to open new business and offices in Riyadh

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Riyadh, KSA – The Digis Squared Team met last week with the Ministry of Investment in KSA, and initiated the process to open a new business and offices in Riyadh.

Digis Squared, the UK-based managed services, system integration and telecoms consulting specialists, continues its business expansion, and initiates the process to open a new business and offices in Riyadh, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. With a London HQ, Technology and Global Customer Support Centre in Cairo, and businesses in Luanda, Angola, and Dubai, UAE, this fifth new company is a significant milestone in the sixth year of business.

Ziad Khalil, Co-Founder & CEO, said “This is a key strategic region for Digis Squared. I am delighted to meet with the Ministry of Investment and progress our plans to open a new office here in Riyadh.”

“This milestone will enrich and expand our current business in Riyadh and supports our Tier 1 CSP clients in the region”, shared Yasser Elsabrouty, Co-Founder and KSA Managing Director. “As we deliver on our plans to open a new company and our own offices here in Saudi, the Digis Squared team will deepen its local investment, and expand our existing capabilities.”

“This step is another key delivery against our GTM strategy, and we are on target to achieve a doubling of our market share in the region,” shared Mohamed Hamdy, CCO.

Left to right: Yasser Elsabrouty, Digis Squared Co-Founder & KSA Managing Director, Mohammed K. AlShalfan, KSA Ministry of Investment, Ziad Khalil, Digis Squared Co-Founder & CEO, and Mohamed Hamdy, Digis Squared CCO.

About Digis Squared

Managed Services, System Integration & Consulting. We transform telecom networks, deploy new technologies, and manage vendors, for network operators, service providers and regulators. Apply our vendor-agnostic expertise, automated AI-led tools and processes to transform your technical and commercial capabilities. We work with agility, deep experience, and our in-house cognitive tools to optimise and manage multi-vendor networks across all technologies. Headquartered in the UK, Digis Squared has offices in Angola, Egypt and UAE.

Digis Squared ◦ Enabling smarter networks.

If you or your team would like to discover more about our capabilities, please get in touch: use this link or email sales@DigisSquared.com .

Digis Squared, independent telecoms expertise.

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  • Image credits: Digis Squared, Shutterstock
  • Also reported by: TelecomPaper

First ever mobile video call in Yemen, on 5G-ready Y-Tel network

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In Yemen, even simple person-to-person 2G calls are unreliable – this first ever mobile video call, marks a colossal transformation, only 18 months after Y-Tel initiated this major transformation program with Digis Squared.

Aden, YEMEN – 15 June 2022 – Y-Tel has made the first call on in its new 5G-ready network in Yemen, and the first ever mobile video call in the country. This significant technical milestone marks the start of the leap from legacy 2G to transformed 5G-ready network operations, and heralds a new era of stable calls and mobile data for the first time for the Yemeni people.

After the war, and as part of the re-construction mega-project across the country, the Yemeni Government in Aden assigned 4G telecommunications licenses to Y-Tel. Previously, Y-Tel ran only a legacy 2G network for voice and SMS, which like all Yemeni networks suffered from very patchy coverage, and significant network instability.

Following a rigorous selection process, the entire Y-Tel network major transformation program – covering everything from the entire network planning and design, through to vendor selection, end-to-end Radio on-site rollout, network core infrastructure implementation and integration, through to network go-live, and operations – was assigned in its entirety to Digis Squared, including end-to-end Managed Services and System Integration. Working throughout the pandemic, the highly motivated teams have solved complex technical and logistical issues to transform all aspects of capability, to deliver a world-class 5G-ready network in Aden, Yemen, and in parallel managed the current 2G legacy network, to keep the limited existing capability going, and migrate the subscribers to the new secure network.

“This on schedule first call, plus first 4G data connection and first ever mobile video call in the country are significant and exciting program milestones for our client Y-Tel and the Digis Squared Team,” shared Digis Squared COO Ahmed Zein.

“The impact of this major program on the Yemeni people can not be overstated. This is a country where even person to person calls are very unreliable, where there is incredibly limited coverage and almost no mobile data, making it very difficult to keep in contact with loved ones in the country and internationally,” Zein continued. “Until you have lived and worked here it is hard to imagine or remember life without mobile connectivity. We over use the term ‘digital transformation’ in our industry; I simply cannot express the impact this project will have on the people here in Yemen. The ability to phone a loved one, to place an order with a company, to send a photo to a friend – the connectivity we are delivering will truly transform lives, and improve the functioning of society. The benefit this project will bring to the Yemeni people, starting with Aden, is colossal.”

“Digis Squared have completely replaced and upgraded the legacy infrastructure, entirely transforming the capability, stability and capacity available, and delivered every element of this network for Y-Tel”, explained Zein. “Starting from a blank piece of paper, we have handled everything from network design and architecture, vendor and equipment selection, contract management, logistics and warehousing, physical network rollout and optimization, back and front office implementation, network commissioning and dimensioning, everything through to network operations – every element from the ground up. The old legacy systems have been dramatically upgraded to best-in-class cloud-based solutions. We have worked closely with the Y-Tel team, the telecom sector in Yemen, and the Ministry of Telecommunication.”

The transformed Y-Tel network will launch initially in Aden, before a phased national deployment. These “first calls” mark the start of network operations and pave the way for a phased roll-out of infrastructure and portfolio of customer services.

Looking across the bay towards the Presidential Palace, Aden, Yemen, June 2022 [credit: Ahmed Zein/Digis Squared].

“This program in Yemen is incredible. I am immensely proud of our Digis Squared team in Yemen, and our global team who have worked together to achieve this entirely transformed network infrastructure, and the milestone first calls last week,” stated Digis Squared CEO Ziad Khalil. “This first ever mobile video call in Yemen is testament to the hard work, dedication and skill of our teams. It builds on our significant achievements in launching and operating the Africell Angola network earlier this year. If we can contribute to change people’s lives for the better, and completely transform, launch and operate a 5G-ready network, if we can do this in Yemen, we can do this anywhere.”

“After working closely together with Digis Squared for the last 18 months, it was a real thrill for me to make the first video call together with Zein!,” said Ahmed Gadallah, Vice Chairman of Y-Tel. “This reliable, and fast connectivity will bring such a dramatic improvement in communications to the Yemeni people, we can’t wait to bring our new fast 4G network to the people of Aden and then across Yemen. We have a very exciting time ahead of us!”

Images from Aden, Yemen, June 2022 [credit: Ahmed Zein/Digis Squared]. Left to right: The first Digis Squared 4G mast for Y-Tel ◦ A billboard with part of the Y-Tel pre-launch marketing campaign ◦ A hillside near Aden.

About Digis Squared

Managed Services, System Integration & Consulting. We transform telecom networks, deploy new technologies, and manage vendors, for network operators, service providers and regulators. Apply our vendor-agnostic expertise, automated AI-led tools and processes to transform your technical and commercial capabilities. We work with agility, deep experience, and our in-house cognitive tools to optimise and manage multi-vendor networks across all technologies. Headquartered in the UK, Digis Squared has offices in Angola, Egypt and UAE.

Digis Squared ◦ Enabling smarter networks.

If you or your team would like to discover more about our capabilities, please get in touch: use this link or email sales@DigisSquared.com .

Digis Squared, independent telecoms expertise.

Discover more

Further notes

  • The first voice and video calls were made on the new 4G network on the 8th June 2022 in Aden, Yemen between Ahmed Gadallah, Vice Chairman of Y-Tel and Digis Squared COO Ahmed Zein.
  • The transformation project included,
    • Legacy 2G infrastructure transformed to 4G, with 5G-ready capability (5G license not yet available).
    • The Digis Squared team managed all elements of,
      • Network planning, design and architecture
      • Vendor and equipment selection, contract management
      • Logistics and warehousing
      • Physical network rollout and optimization
      • Customer registration (mobile, public internet and new number range)
      • Network security
      • Network core infrastructure implementation and integration
        • Legacy Core and Charging systems modernized to Cloud Core Network, Cloud Charging/BSS and VAS consolidation – this will enable Y-Tel to deliver a comprehensive catalogue of commercial products and services to meet the daily needs of the Yemeni people.
      • Back and front office implementation
      • Network commissioning and dimensioning
      • Managed Services: all elements of live network operations
  • Y-Tel mobile network soft launch of 4G is scheduled for Aden very soon. In parallel, fast-paced work is underway to be ready to launch in Mukalla, Mareb and Sayoun during 2022, with further coverage extension to other provinces in 2023.

Related coverage,

Digis Squared & Private Networks

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Yasser Elsabrouty, Digis Squared Chief Business Officer and Co-Founder, shares updates on the Private Network approach Digis Squared is undertaking for clients, and developments in the pipeline. But first, what is a Private Network?

 

What is a Private Network?

Built specifically for individual businesses or organisations, these dedicated LTE or 5G networks have typically been envisaged for mission-critical or highly secure environments. Increasingly however, businesses are deploying them to ensure robust coverage and capacity, reinforce intellectual property protection, and deliver commercial independence from the major network operators and CSPs within their physical business campus-environment.

Private Networks can be deployed in many different shapes and sizes, using various mix and match combinations of spectrum, applications and other factors.

Deployment

  • Dedicated, on-premise networks for both radio access network and core network
  • Hybrid use of some public mobile components plus dedicated on-premise components

Spectrum

  • Industrial: in some countries, regulators allocate specific licensed spectrum (Germany and Japan for example)
  • Shared: regulators allocate spectrum which is shared by multiple stakeholders, under license
  • Public: MNOs or CSPs lease part of their licensed spectrum to an enterprise for a fee
  • Unlicensed spectrum: assigned by the regulator, non-exclusive, free-to-use

 

 

Digis Squared & Private Networks

Digis Squared provides end-to-end System Integration services across multiple technologies including RAN, 4G/5G Core, Security, Messaging and Cloud, covering design, installation, testing, managed services operations.

Yasser Elsabrouty, Digis Squared Chief Business Officer and Co-Founder shares insights into the Private Network activity of the team.

“At Digis Squared, we are providing end to end Consultancy and System Integration services to build private networks to meet our customers’ needs. We work very flexibly with our clients – some know exactly what they need, and will ask Digis Squared to manage the System Integration, deployment and operational aspects of their pre-defined project. Others ask us to define all end to end elements: the deployment model, Spectrum, Radio details, Core network, orchestration and applications. Our teams are able to work with considerable flexibility, and according to the customer’s requirements and use cases to ensure they have and optimised Private Network which meets their needs.”

“We also offer predefined mix and match ‘off the shelf’ models that can be used as a starting point, and then adapt and deploy for the specific, customised and bespoke needs of each customer. We can take into account their specific requirements, including the size of the facility, devices deployed, which machines need to communicate with which departments, and other considerations. Some clients are looking at Private Networks to resolve specific coverage issues, or explore latency management for time-sensitive networks (TSNs). Whatever the scope of the Private Network, project our teams are enabling customers to scale up their businesses, serving more customers and satisfying the ever-increasing demand for private networks.ֿ”

“Using this mix-and-match method, we are developing profiles for different kinds of customers that can easily be implemented as needed, depending on size, area, number of sensors and cameras, or any other parameter. This approach will save time in deploying systems for customers, serving more customers while ensuring top-quality, optimised installations.”

 

 

If you would like to arrange a dedicated time to talk with the team, please get in touch, sales@digissquared.com

 

 

Digis Squared, independent telecoms expertise.

We transform telecom networks, deploy new technologies, and manage vendors, for operators, service providers and regulators.

Apply our expertise, automated AI-led tools and processes to transform your technical and commercial capabilities. We work with agility, deep experience, and our in-house cognitive tools to optimise and manage multi-vendor networks across all technologies.

 

Discover more

 

Image credit: Sarah Doffman (Birmingham)