To implement Vodacom SA’s Carrier Services strategy by optimally routing of voice traffic, dial code management, destination management, analyse, monitor and report on traffic performance, research traffic and market trends, traffic quality assurance, traffic cost base tracking and manage traffic to international and national destinations and provide administrative support
Essence of Role – Key Accountabilities
- Traffic routing and dial code management
- Receipt acknowledgement of all rate sheets sent by suppliers individually or via Ascade Connect
- Upload of rate sheets into the Optimised Routing Tool and automated XML export of rates, destination names, dial codes and effective dates to billing system
- Analyse the supplier rate, quality parameters and route capacity to select optimal routing for each service (standard, optimum and premium)
- Define the rules around proportional traffic splits and traffic overflows to fulfil volume commitments and maximize routing occupancy and efficiency
- Develop and propose traffic routing cases
- Request routing cases to Senior Manager Interconnect for approval and MML export to the switch for technical routing implementation
- Forward routing request and MML to DCG department (Network Group) through Remedy ticketing process for implementation in the International Gateway (IG) as per Service Level Agreement (SLA) with DCG department
- Compares routing number plans to all suppliers to identify possible savings and new destination opportunities
- Verify all changes to supplier rate sheets and destination dial codes and map dial codes to the network routing plan to stop potential mismatches and losses
- Generate buy/sell rate sheets
- Design criteria for routing tables supplier portfolio based on service characteristics
- Provide input to product design for wholesale and interconnect partners
- Mapping of supplier dial codes to network routing to the network routing number plan to stop potential mismatches and losses
- Develop quality bench marks based on best in class practice for voice products and services and apply routing to ensure QoS service levels
- Provide input to supplier portfolio utilisation for voice products and service based on supporting routing tables
- Responsible for international destinations as per allocation by SM Interconnect and act as back-up to other traffic specialist as and when required
- Development of regional destination plans and cost base tracking per assigned destination against base line
- Generating SMS routing cases and instructing routing of SMS per approved process to the VAS team
- Whitelisting/blacklisting of countries, operators for SMS as per approved process with the VAS team
- Prepare AA19 agreements and coordinate signing of AA19 agreements by GM Network Operations as per SMS AA19 strategy/plan and inform/coordinate with Billing Operations of new agreements
Traffic Analysis and Monitoring
- Monitor and analyse traffic data daily from switch generated CDR’s via EMM in real-time pertaining to Traffic Volume & Carrier Quality of Service (using ASR, ABR, NER, ALOC, etc.)
- Drill down analysis using interactive world map colour-coded GUI displaying the route quality and set up alerts via SMS and/or Email.
- Evaluation, analysis and recommendations on voice product performance – on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis – that is consistent with the business plan
- Cost analysis and tracking and monitor volume agreements, thresholds and agreements.
- Tracking voice traffic to fraud destinations and flagging inconsistent trends to Fraud department/BRM and possible exploitation of MTN
- Tracking SMS traffic and flag to Fraud department/BRM any inconsistencies in SMS traffic flows and possible exploitation of MTN
- Barring and/or other corrective action wrt fraud and maintaining of barred number database
- Monitor if technical routing is per voice & SMS supplier as per routing cases
- Monitor product and service performance LCR, Optimum, Premium per customer
- Monitor supplier performance wrt delivered traffic volumes, QoS and traffic management support
Reporting / traffic trends and market research
- Comprehensive and flexible correlated and uncorrelated traffic reporting through mainly Business Objects as reporting tool
- Develop customised reporting based on traffic and business functional requirements
- Traffic reports will include traffic top movers report, capacity utilization report, near-real time traffic report, rate buy history report, rates buy history with dial codes report, rates buy mapped report, rates buy mapped with dial codes report, rate sell history report, barred numbers report, rates sell target report, carrier selection report, generic routing plan report, routing number plan report, number plan routing future report, switch routes report, balancer agreement revenue report, balancer agreement revenue report, balancer agreement volume report, balancer agreement volume tracking report, balancer agreement revenue tracking report
- Business functional reporting based on agreement: Agreements, commitments and targets and traffic volumes; agreements by carrier (capacity) and agreement by carrier; Agreements by Account manager; Volume agreements that have expired; Agreement traffic per destination and traffic type
- usiness functional reporting based on trading: Sell Import Prices report; Buy Rates and Number Plan per Carrier Report; Trading Margins report; Customer Pricelist History Report; Time of Day report; Dial Code report
- Business functional reporting based on routing: Carrier Selection Impact by Destination report; Carrier Selection Impact by Incoming Carrier report; Future Numbering Plan report; Carrier Selection and Routing Discrepancy report;
- Business functional reporting based on traffic: Wholesale Traffic Volume – Inbound vs. Outbound reports; Wholesale Traffic Volume Top Movers report; Wholesale Traffic Volume Bottom Movers report; Traffic Volume by Destination Type report; Traffic Volumes by Origin Type report; Margin by Carrier Out report; Inbound Traffic by Rate Band report; Incoming Traffic Volume by Account Manager; Outgoing Traffic Volume by Account Manager; Margin by Account Manager; Carrier Outbound versus Incoming Revenue by Destination report
- Business functional reporting base on quality: QoS Report – Country; QoS Report – Destination
- Compile and report on market intelligence research and analysis regarding interconnect to management.
- Provide input into the Weekly and Monthly reports
- Collate and analyse data for presentation purposes and stakeholder requests
- Reporting on SMS and researching market trends for SMS access and SMS Interconnect
- Traffic and business functional reporting of SMS Interconnect, Interworking and SMS access
Traffic Quality Assurance
- Test all voice products, suppliers, potential suppliers and perform business intelligence for international calling
- Test for voice quality over TDM and VOIP of back played human speech
- CLI verification utilising Ascade Global Test network (CLI Yes, CLI number wrong, CLI no number, CLI unknown)
- FAS detection for pre-charging and false connect problems
- Simbox detection with incorrect CLI delivery on a country specific basis using dialler generated traffic or specifically configured test nodes
- Fax testing for fax speed, actual speed, potential error code and message
- Connectivity testing and route quality for PPD, ASR, NER
- Test unrestricted 64kbit data bearer capability for 3G video calling
- Assure quality per developed QoS benchmarks
Customer Satisfaction
- Understand customer and supplier needs and input into the development / fine-tuning of systems accordingly
- Adopt a proactive approach to prevent problems from arising in the future
- Manage the escalation process to the highest level in the organisation to ensure that timelines are met
- Contribute towards initiating change to continually improve all aspects of service delivery
- Ensure all customer and supplier queries are attended to and resolved within agreed SLA’s
- Weigh up the pro’s and con’s of each solution to provide the best service to customers and suppliers
- Consider the implications of actions to be taken for the customer / the effect of actions on the customer and suppliers
- Provide advice on the best approach to reach the best results
- Deliver first time right service excellence
Administrative support
- Assisting with order management, contract management and process definition and documentation as provides by CS management
Experience
- Matric + 5 Years’ experience that consists:
- At least 1 year exposure to carrier services (either technical or commercial)
- At least 1 year experience in traffic management (routing, analysis, reporting, monitoring)
- Exposure to international calling products and services
OR
- 3yr Degree/Diploma + 3 Years’ experience that consists:
- At least 1 year exposure to carrier services (either technical or commercial)
- At least 1 year experience in traffic management (routing, analysis, reporting, monitoring)
- Exposure to international calling products and services