Tollgrade has added a software interface to its handheld VBT in-home broadband testing tool that will allow service providers to aggregate and store test results in a central location to ensure compliance with field repair processes.
The new tool, the VBT Manager, is designed to allow service providers to more quickly troubleshoot service calls and standardize test procedures in an effort to minimize repeat dispatches and chronic problems.
"Until now, broadband service providers have not been able to measure compliance with their field procedures nor have they been able to send aggregate in-home repair data directly into the Operational Support System (OSS) before or after a fault is resolved," Mark Peterson, vice president of global sales-broadband at Tollgrade, said in a press release. "The VBT Manager is the only tool available allowing service providers to know if their field technicians are in compliance with field repair processes."
Initial deployments have been encouraging, Peterson continued, with a 50 percent reduction in repeat dispatches based on information gleaned and processed from the VBT Manager.
The VBT Manager, the company said, is placed in line with the residential DSL modem and automatically runs 50 tests that look at many common problems such as no or slow Internet service, random connection drops, poor speed or connections at certain times of the day or modem problems. The technician is then given suggestions on what actions to take and the VBT Manager stores the data locally before transferring it directly into the service provider OSS for further analysis and use.
For more:
- see this Tollgrade press release
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