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Monitoring the regions

The challenge

ntl:, now part of Virgin Media, was the UK's leading supplier of bundled services to residential customers. These included a range of digital and analogue cable television, broadband internet and telephone services. ntl: operated two of the largest cable networks in the UK, accounting for approximately 3 million customers. The company's networks covered 40 regions, from Southampton to Glasgow and from Colchester to Belfast.

ntl:'s top priority was quality of service i.e. ensuring the consistent delivery of the required services to each of its customers, with rapid identification and correction of any faults. However ntl:'s existing TV surveillance facilities were failing to provide effective monitoring or fault identification facilities. For instance, it was not possible to check that the correct regional BBC1 service was being broadcast in Glasgow without actually going there. An automatic monitoring system in each of the regions was required.

IPL was already working with ntl: on set-top box (STB) developments, and having witnessed the problems at first hand, IPL proposed a STB-based solution.

The solution

ntl: selected IPL to develop a prototype Remote Quality of Service (RQoS) system. IPL constructed and developed a successful prototype, then developed the full-scale system, and helped to roll it out to the 23 regions of ntl:'s largest network.

Key features provided by the RQoS system are:

• Central access to equipment representing consumers' STBs i.e. receiving the same TV services as consumers.
• The ability to capture a recording of any TV service and view it at the central monitoring facility.
• Continuous monitoring for service information faults.
• Direct access to previously unavailable service information.

The highlights

An extremely close working relationship between ntl: and IPL ensured that RQoS delivered the facilities required to effectively monitor the network's quality of service and to diagnose faults.

The prototype and the final system were implemented by IPL to demanding timescales.

RQoS has now been in service for a number of years. ntl: was delighted with the system, recognising it as instrumental in delivering high quality services to its customers.