ntl builds Revenue Assurance Operations Centre using Cartesian’s Ascertain tool suite

ntl, a leading UK fixed network operator with over 3m customers, has completed the initial phase of development of a Revenue Assurance Operations Centre (ROC) and has implemented Cartesian’s Ascertain Revenue Assurance toolset, together with Atio’s ‘X-Plor’ test call generation system, to be the nerve centre for ntl's programme for revenue assurance and compliance to regulatory requirements under the UK Ofcom Metering & Billing Direction.

The objective of the ROC is to provide a clear and comprehensive synopsis of system operations from a revenue assurance (RA) and data integrity perspective. The ROC is intended to give visibility and, rather like a Network Operations Centre, allows the health of ntl’s sales to billing process to be monitored by a relatively small operations group.

Cartesian and ntl have implemented a number of Ascertain tools as ‘sensors’ within the ROC to give visibility of usage and subscription data from network through to billing:

  • Cartesian’s data integrity module, Ascertain RDA, addresses subscription revenue assurance by highlighting inconsistencies in telephony features and line rentals between various network elements and the billing system data. It provides ntl’s business units with access to the network and billing level detail to assist in the correction of data inconsistencies. At the ROC, Revenue Assurance is in a position to monitor exception situations and to check the age of discrepancies and the clear–up rate.
  • Cartesian’s traffic monitoring module, Ascertain Usage Monitor (UM), provides end to end usage analysis, trending and reporting of data feeds from almost 100 switches to a number of downstream systems in order to ensure completeness and timeliness of billing. UM examines the throughput of event transaction files, volumes and trends. It identifies missing files, loss of records, excessive suspense or filtered records, files out of sequence, backlogs in processing and changes in trend outside of acceptable thresholds. UM also generates data for Key Performance Indicators and raises alerts both externally and for reporting through the dashboard.
  • Cartesian’s Ascertain Test Call solution employs the ‘X-Plor’ call sender units to generate test calls for a range of particular scenarios. The resulting test calls are rated by Ascertain Rater independently from ntl’s operational rating mechanism. Ascertain Matcher is used to compare the generated CDRs with those extracted from the live systems and to produce analysis and exception reports for any discrepancies.
  • Cartesian’s Ascertain Dashboard provides a graphical front-end with views onto the above modules which will highlight any unusual switching or processing situations and track trends, allowing drill-down and investigation at will. Any problems identified will get passed into the Ascertain Issue Management Module where their resolution can be tracked through displays in the ROC.

The ntl ROC and the underlying systems have already been providing tangible benefits in highlighting a number of Revenue Assurance issues and by pointing at their source. They also assist staff in resolving the issues efficiently. As a consequence, the ROC largely contributes to regulatory compliance, improved operational margins and customer satisfaction at the same time.

Moly McMillan, ntl’s Group Revenue Assurance Director, said, “For ntl, the ROC is central to our vision of systematic and proactive revenue assurance, enabling us to have confidence in our sales to billing process as well as to demonstrate compliance with the Ofcom Direction on accurate billing and with SOX. Cartesian’s Ascertain toolset plays a fundamental role in the ROC, and its flexible modular structure will enable the GRA to continually evolve the ROC, phasing in more automated ‘sensors’ and expanding the functionality deployed.”


About NTL Incorporated

  • NTL Incorporated offers a wide range of communications and content distribution services to residential and business customers throughout the UK.
  • NTL Incorporated is the UK’s largest cable company with 3.3 million residential customers, and the UK’s leading supplier of broadband services to consumers, with 1.7 million broadband customers.
  • NTL Incorporated’s network can service 7.9 million homes in the UK.
  • Information on NTL Incorporated and its products can be obtained at www.ntl.com

About Cartesian

Cartesian is an independent technical consulting and software development company, delivering products and services to the telecoms industry. Cartesian’s expertise covers networks, engineering, and technology, through to revenue assurance and billing.

Ascertain is Cartesian’s widely–deployed suite of software tools which address the revenue assurance and data integrity needs of telecoms operators. With these tools, customers can prove rating accuracy, reconcile customer data, analyse and reconcile event records, prove completeness of processing, and monitor trends and volumes. All this can be done in an automated manner to provide reassurance all day, every day.

Cartesian’s customer base includes, among others, Bulldog (UK), Cable & Wireless (UK), Cablecom (Switzerland), The Carphone Warehouse (UK), ish (Germany), MCI (UK), ntl (UK), 3 (UK), TDC Mobil (Denmark), Telewest Broadband (UK), T-Mobile (UK), Ono (Spain), Vodafone (Ireland).


For further information phone Cartesian on +44 (0)20 7643 5555 or email enquiries@cartesian.co.uk